Big in Japan: Are children becoming addicted to cell phones?

by Matthew Firestone on

At the risk of sounding like the anchorman on your local news channel, I’ll go head and pose a somewhat sensationalist question:

Are children suffering from cell phone addiction?

If you’re a member of the Japanese government, then the answer is a resounding ‘yes.’

According to Mr. Masahuru Kuba, a high-ranking government official who is proposing a limited ban on cell phones in schools, young students are suffering from the negative effects of cell phone overuse. In particular, Mr. Kuba believes that cell phone addiction can cause kids to inadvertently participate in cyber crimes, and sacrifice free time in favor of exchanging text messages with their friends.

“Japanese parents are giving cell phones to their children without giving it enough thought,” says Mr. Kuba. “In Japan, cell phones have become expensive toys that have moved beyond mere communication devices. Parents are finding it more and more difficult to monitor what they’re children are doing with their cell phones.”

Indeed, the numbers are striking. According to government statistics published by the Ministry of Education, about one-third of Japanese sixth graders have cell phones, while almost two-thirds of ninth graders have them. However, some Japanese children commute long distances by trains and buses to schools, and busy parents rely on cell phones to keep in touch with their children.

Along with the proposed partial ban of cell phones in schools, Mr. Masahuru Kuba is also recommending that Japanese cell phone makers implement special child-friendly models. Specifically, these models would only feature talking functions and global positioning systems (GPS), which would allow parents to monitor the location of their child.

In particular, Mr. Kuba is worried about the growing trend of using cell phones for internet access and e-mail. According to Mr. Kuba: “Some children are spending hours at night on e-mail with their friends. One phenomenon is ‘the 30 minute rule,’ in which a child who doesn’t respond to e-mail within half an hour gets targeted and picked on by other schoolmates.”

In addition, other children have become victims of internet crimes. In one high profile case, a young girl was asked to send in her snapshots for a beauty contest, and was then blackmailed for money in order to have them taken down from an explicit website. While Japan does boast a relatively low crime rate in comparison to other developed nations, Internet-crime is sadly on the rise, especially since Japanese people tend to be very trusting people.

So, once again I pose the question to all of you: do you think that children are suffering from cell phone addiction?

Feel free to chime in and share your thoughts as this is certainly not a clear cut and dry issue, and it’s likely that you’re going to start to hear more about this in the years to come. After all, cell phones in Japan are already equipped with television, so it’s only a matter of time before Americans can start taking their favorite shows with them everywhere…

Trimming down the Japanese waistline

by Grant Martin on

By now we all know that obesity is a problem in the United States and around the world. We frequently post articles in an ongoing discussion of weight per passenger and charges that the airline can/should levy against them. Australia made headlines last year by upgrading part of their ambulance fleet to accomodate overweight passengers — too many patients couldn’t fit into their operating fleet. And yet we continue to indulge in unhealthy lifestyles, expanding our waistlines and surging the diabetes and heart disease epidemic throughout the country.

Across the Pacific, Japan sees our plight and wants to take steps to prevent the same epidemic. Granted, obese isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when many think of the Asian body type, but facing an aging population and rising healthcare costs, Japan wants to keep it that way. So they’ve passed legislation to force companies and local governments to measure the waistline of their residents, requiring all overweight or in their words “metabo” people to either diet or take blood pressure medication. The cutoff for the metabo label? 33.5″ waist lines for men and 35.4″ for women.

Anything beyond that and they’ll be given dieting guidance in increasing tiers of severity until they shape up. For companies employing metabo workers, financial penalties will be levied until everyone is within tolerance. No speculation in this New York Times article was spent on how these levies will be passed down to employees.

Would something like this work in the United States? I wish it were possible, but I imagine it would be way too difficult to implement and enforce. Would you be willing to participate in a government backed weight loss program?

[thanks to Uncle Barish for the tip]

Big in Japan: Bigger breasts through better medicine?

by Matthew Firestone on

Men and women come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, which is why we can all take comfort in the simple fact that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Indeed, the human form is incredibly diverse, which is a testament to the wonderful variation that exists within our highly adaptable species…

With that said, preferences for certain sexual characteristics do sometimes exist, one of which is the male preference for women with larger breasts. Whether you believe it’s the result of human evolution or sexual perversion, you don’t have to be an anthropologist to note that most societies place a premium on large breasts. After all, what other species on the planet would slip a saline-filled plastic baggy underneath their skin for the purpose of mate selection?

Sadly, women the world over face an incredible amount of pressure to conform to so-called ideals of beauty. For instance, Japan is home to some of the world’s most beautiful women, the vast majority of whom are relatively slender given their incredibly healthy diet and active lifestyles. In recent years however, Japanese women are increasingly being compared to more full-bodied Western women, which has spawned an entire industry of products aimed at increasing bust size.

While I am by no means a doctor, allow me to take a moment to debunk the idea that you can get larger breasts by applying a ‘miracle’ cream…

By their own admission, a significant number of Japanese women are concerned about their breast size, especially since they are inundated with images of Hollywood celebrities with ample bosom. While breast implants have been reduced to a high school graduation gift in some parts of America, plastic surgery still carries a strong stigma here in Japan. In fact, the underlying rule in Japan is that ‘natural is beautiful,’ a philosophy that perhaps we should adhere to with greater frequency in the West.

Recently in Japan, I’ve started to notice a new product entitled Lovely Bust, a small tin of pinkish goo that retails for around 4000 yen or roughly US$35. The cream is advertised as containing a breakthrough compound known as Volufilin, which is designed to cause fat cells to differentiate, thus causing firmer and more voluminous breasts.

First of all, can we just pause for a moment and reflect on the name ‘Volufilin?’ I’ve heard of some bizarre prescription drug names over the years, but I must say that the marketing execs are getting increasingly more absurd!

As the story goes, Lovely Bust is designed to be massaged on your breasts twice a day for up to six months, thus causing ‘bulging bust.’ The product even comes with a dodgy pamphlet containing all sorts of pseudo-scientific results, claiming that cup size can increase by as much as 10% with frequent use.

So what the hell is volufilin? Good question.

If you’re going to sell a miracle beauty product, then make sure you have a good back story. According to the makers of Lovely Bust, volufilin is a rare compound that comes from the root structure of French lilies! After all, there is nothing more sexy than D-cups, wildflowers and anything French!

Needless to say, I think you can pass on Lovely Bust, even though you can probably expect this stuff to start appearing in beauty stores throughout North America sometime in the near future!!

So that’s why the Japanese are so spunky

by Grant Martin on

Walking through Tokyo’s Harajuku the other day, I happened to stumble upon a safe sex store — and when you’re in a place as strange and foreign as Japan, you’re pretty much required to go in.

As Matthew frequently points out in the Big in Japan series, Japanese are obsessed with looks, improving their appearances and improving their sex lives. Check out the F cup cookie if you don’t believe me.

They’re also obsessed with cartoons, anime and make believe creatures.

And what happens when those two passions intersect? You get Pokemon’s Pikachu style condoms. As to how well they work (and/or if they’re meant to work), I’m not sure. There is a disclaimer on the box that says “For entertainment uses only, will not prevent STDs”. But is that entertainment as in “look at it on the mantle” or entertainment as in actual use?

All that I know is that it looks terribly uncomfortable for both parties involved. Needless to say, I did not spend the 800 yen.

Big in Japan: 5 mistakes made by rookie karaoke singers

by Matthew Firestone on

Karaoke (????????????), which literally translates to empty orchestra, is something of a national past time here in the Land of the Rising Sun. From carousing teenagers and courting couples to boozing salarymen and fun-loving retirees, karaoke is one of the great social equalizers in Japanese society.

With that said, karaoke doesn’t enjoy much popularity in the West, which is probably why a good portion of first-timers in Japan dread the idea of belting out karaoke tunes. Of course, if you spend any more than a few wild nights out over here, you’ll quickly realize that a trip to the karaoke parlor, much like drunk-induced munchies, is something of a given.

For those of you out there with naturally rich voices, perfect pitch and years of vocal training, a karaoke marathon is a chance to impress your Japanese hosts and garner some self-confidence. For the rest of us however, a karaoke marathon is ripe with unforeseen perils and dangers.

But, fear not as today’s posting is all about the 5 mistakes made by rookie karaoke singers!

1) Don’t sing karaoke if you’re sober.

There is a reason why Japanese people usually head to the karaoke parlor when they’re absolutely hammered. While researchers have yet to uncover the exact science behind the correlation, excessive drinking and karaoke proficiency are intimately related. If you are in the unfortunate position of being sober in a karaoke parlor, fear not as most places do serve liquid encouragement!

2) Be careful of the tempo and the pitch.

Even if you’re not technology-savvy, it is vital to know that you can control the tempo and pitch on most karaoke machines. Needless to say, this is essential for making sure that the notes stays within your vocal range, and that the words don’t blow past you on the TV screen.

3) Look out for card-carrying members.

Karaoke isn’t always a cheap outing, which is why Japanese aficionados carry point cards to subsidize their hobby. While it is sometimes hard to tell at first glance who is gifted and who is merely a wannabe karaoke star, never brag about your karaoke talents in front of card-carrying members! Trust me – these guys and gals were owning karaoke machines while you were still nursing!

4) Know your audience.

Japanese people have extremely varied musical tastes, though the music you typically listen to at home won’t always cut it here in Japan. Indeed, karaoke skill comes not only from singing along in perfect key and rhythm, but also choosing a song that melts everyone’s hearts. If you’re trying to impress an older, more business-minded audience, Beatles classics (think Yoko Ono) are sure-fire hits. For younger audiences however, bust out your best rap skills.

5) Beware the juu-hachi ban (十八番).

If there is one Japanese word you must learn, it’s juu-hachi ban or simply the number eighteen. In karaoke parlors, this slang word refers to your karaoke standard, or the song you belt out to prove your vocal supremacy. If you hear someone say that their juu-hachi ban is coming up, I can promise you that you don’t want to follow their act!

Good luck, and happy singing (^_^)

** Images courtesy of the WikiCommons Media Project **