Random Japan

 Young Magazine pulls ‘inappropriate’ AKB48 breast pic

Image shows a topless Tomomi Kasai being fondled from behind by a young Caucasian boy

A weekly comic book magazine has delayed the release of its upcoming issue after editors deemed a lurid photo of a member pop group AKB48 to be “inappropriate,” reports the Sankei Shimbun (Jan. 11).

Shukan Young Magazine, which is published by Kodansha, announced on Friday that its issue originally scheduled to hit newsstands on January 12 will be delayed over the inclusion of an image featuring a topless Tomomi Kasai being fondled from behind by a young Caucasian boy.

The magazine, which typically features gravure (pin-up) idols in bathing suits on its covers, offered readers an apology on its Web site. “The photo contains an inappropriate expression,” read a statement from the editorial staff. The message also said that the site would provide an update as to the publication date of its next issue.

stats

   51.6

Percent of Japanese people who agree with the statement “Husbands should work outside while wives stay at home,” according to a Cabinet Office survey

8.9 million

Number of foreigners who are expected to visit Japan in 2013-the most ever, according to JTB

77

Percent of Japanese people who donated money or goods for March 11 disaster relief in 2011, according to the Japan Fundraising Association

FAIL

 Officials at the Nuclear Regulation Authority were forced to admit that every single one of their radiation-dispersion forecast maps is “riddled with errors.”

Police believe a weightlifting accident caused the death of a 23-year-old Chiba man who was found “with an 80-kilogram barbell on his neck inside a training room” at a local gym. Gee, ya think?

Local broadcasters say they received 236 phone calls complaining about poor reception last month following a 30-second test of TV signal transmissions from Tokyo Skytree.

A study conducted by the Saitama municipal government found that the lighting at one of the two home stadiums used by the Urawa Reds is too dark for J. League standards.

 

Competition Is Stiff

For This Job

You Lost

But I Won

I Beat You

Because I’m An Asshole  

From D-Cup T-Shirts to Nostril Power Outlets – the Creative Clowning of Takayuki Fukuzawa



Jan 12, 2013 by Philip Kendall

Quirky Japanese designer Takayuki Fukuzawa is on a mission to make people smile.

A graduate of Tokyo’s Nihon University, Fukuzawa started designing his own unique brand of “humourous art and design” products not long after entering full-time employment as a home designer. After bringing smiles to exhibition attendees’ faces and realising that he might be on to something, he quickly established his own company, ekoD Works (pronounced “eco doh”), and hasn’t looked back since.

Japan’s Excite News sat down with Fukuzawa to pick his brains about his unusual product line-up, the meaning behind the company name and the runaway success of his mercilessly cheeky “Wild Idea Mapping red Bra T-shirt”.