Random Japan

 Doreamon get his first ever CG overhaul in upcoming movie, “Stand By Me: Doraemon”

 Philip Kendall

Those encountering the wide-mouthed blue robot that is Doraemon for the very first time could be forgiven for not realising that he’s supposed to be a cat. And even once filled in we’re sure that few people would ever imagine that this earless robo-feline should be any more popular than the thousands of other quirky anime characters that exist in popular culture today.

But for most Japanese, and perhaps a handful of Westerners who were introduced to the anime as kids, Doraemon is a seriously big deal, and fans are currently buzzing with excitement following the news that one of Japan’s most-loved characters is not only getting a brand new movie of his own, but will be appearing in gorgeous 3-D computer generated form for the first time ever.

STATS

¥10.5 million

Price of an 18cm-tall Ultraman figure made of solid gold, which was on sale at Takashimaya in Shinjuku last month

4,386

Tons of mislabeled rice sold by Mie-based Mitaki Shoji since October 2010, according to prefectural police

¥3,000-¥5,000

Hourly fee charged for “rental friends” by the Tokyo-based company Client Partners

CRACKING UP

Students at Konan University in Kobe have created a pair of robots that can perform as a manzai comedy team. Though a professor involved with the project admits, “they are often not very funny.”

A photo believed to be the last ever taken of famous dog Hachiko during its lifetime has been put on display at the Shirane Memorial Folk and Literature Museum in Shibuya.

Officials at the NPA say the number of stalking cases involving elderly people has nearly quadrupled during the past decade.

Among the regulations to be relaxed ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics are those on “high-rise apartments… [and] rented accommodations to be used as hotels for tourists.”

Who Needs A Lawn Mower

 When You Can Have A Goat

She Didn’t Like Her Teaching Methods

 So She Gave Her A Pastry

 Elderly Women

Seek Five Finger Discount

90% of foreigners arrested last year were legal residents

Illegals accounted for only a small portion, crime white paper says

 BY TOMOHIRO OSAKI

STAFF WRITER

Of the 5,423 foreigners arrested last year for committing crimes, more than 90 percent of them were living in the country legally, while illegal immigrants accounted for just 5.9 percent of the cases, unlike in the past, according to government white paper on crime released Friday.

As of January, visa overstayers taken into custody had fallen to 62,009, the lowest figure in two decades. The government attributed the decline to tightened scrutiny at immigration points and Japan’s prolonged economic doldrums that served as a disincentive to stay in the country.