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Stranger Than Fiction! Man Marries Video Game Character
This past Sunday a man known as "Sal9000" and his fiancé Nene Anegasaki vowed to stay together until death, or a power outage, do them part. You see Sal9000's new wife Nene happens to be a video game character in the addictive Nintendo DS game Love Plus. A priest, live audience, MC, and friends of the happy couple were also present at the event, and the bride's virtual maid of honor even gave a speech.
Oh Snap! Not Your Typical Wine Snobs
A sommelier pours a bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau at an open air wine spa in Japan. The crowd, which may or may not be of drinking age, looks like it's having a fabulous time. I think I know where I'm going on my next vacation!
The Dark Side of Cute
Kittens in casts. Babies nudged to laugh every five seconds. Stuffed teddy bears left at killing-spree sites.
Rent-a-Friend Business Booming in Japan
One of my favorite episodes of How I Met Your Mother involves Barney and his hired "family." The eternal playboy (played by Neil Patrick Harris) wants his mother to think he has settled down, so he pays actors to play his wife and son, concocts an elaborate backstory with details including his son's "catch phrase," and plays along for years every time he visits his mother with his fake family in tow.
Well apparently, Japan has turned this sitcom plot into a reality.
Japan's New First Lady Has Been Abducted by Aliens
Japan mixed things up this week by electing the opposition party for the first time in 50 years. Along with Prime Minister-elect Yukio Hatoyama, the country will welcome his eccentric wife Miyuki Hatoyama as their first lady. Here are some key facts to help you get to know more about the newest addition to the First Spouses Club.
Word du Jour: Herbivore
"Herbivore" is a term used in Japan to describe a man who rejects traditional masculinity when it comes to careers, romance, and material possessions.
The term, which typically means an animal who feeds on plants alone, is meant to indicate a man's disinterest in "flesh" — in other words, they're not into chasing women or accumulating material goods. Almost half of the men surveyed by a Japanese research firm described themselves as "herbivores."
Très Bizarre: Bagel Face Body Modification
Would you like a lox schmear with that bagel in your forehead?
Club kids in Japan are kicking extreme body modification up a notch by having lumps and bumps injected into their foreheads (and other body parts) via saline inflations or injections of saline into bags that are inserted under the skin. These self-inflicted deformations (like the bagel face saline implantations above) look insane, but they can be deflated by the next day.
Très Bizarre: Japanese Company Cares About Global Warming
How do they express this? By featuring a young girl shaving a hot bear in the forest in places he can't reach. If you shave a bear in the forest and no one's around.
Shotgun Weddings on the Rise in Japan
Almost one third of brides in Japan are what the Japanese call "double happy." In other words, they have two things to celebrate: an impending marriage and a baby already on the way!
Japanese society used to frown on shotgun weddings, but recently more and more women are walking down the aisle visibly pregnant.
Oh Snap! Japan Hasn't Forgotten About the Swine Flu Thing
Japanese students on a field trip at the House of Councilors are given facemasks and hand disinfectant before they enter. With the hope of stopping the spread of swine flu, the government office has prepared facemasks for every one of the 3,000 people who visit each day. Meanwhile in the US, fear of contracting the illness is at an all-time low.
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