Random Japan

So that’s what they mean! SWAT hand signals as explained by a working Japanese mother

 Preston Phro

If we had a 100 yen for every action movie that showed scenes of SWAT teams sneaking around waving hand signals at each other, we’d probably have, um, a lot of yen. At least enough to buy a Happy Meal or something. But have you ever looked closely at those hand signals? For most of us, they could be making it up on the spot and we’d probably never know! Fortunately, this is the Internet and everything you could ever want to learn about anything is probably available online.

And that includes hand signals! For a few years now, charts explaining the hand signals that sneaky tactical groups use to communicate silently have floated around on the web, though their explanations have always been a bit…straightforward. “Stop.” “Look over there.” “Holy crap, they’re shooting at us!” All pretty standard fare, we suppose. But standard fare is never good enough for the Internet, and thus “Hand signals commonly used by mothers with babies” was born!

STATS

83.6

Percent of Japanese people who say they read printed newspapers, according to an industry association survey

7.7

Percent who read newspapers online, according to the poll

36

Number of pedestrians or bicyclists taken to Tokyo hospitals in 2013 due to accidents that involved fiddling with their smartphones, according to the fire department

HOW DO YOU SPELL “NIMBY” IN JAPANESE?

It was reported that residents of the resort town of Yufu in Oita are objecting to the construction of a new solar power plant because they’re worried it will “wreck the area’s scenery.”

A ban on off-base drinking is being credited with a drastic fall in the number of crimes committed by US military personnel in Okinawa.

Officials say the number of crimes reported last year was the lowest since 1972, when Okinawa reverted to Japanese control.

Bottom Story of the Week: “Photos Depict History of Saw-Tooth Roofs” (via The Japan News)

Virginia Passes A Law

 Tokyo Cries In Its Beer

  Bad Music Comes To Japan

 Gets Huge Support From Lovers of Bad Music

  Yamaguchi-gumi “The Yakuza”

Discover The Internet

Photos, illustrations in school textbooks altered to make activities look safer



 Apr. 5, 2014 (Sat.)

Several images for new Japanese school textbooks showing children doing potentially dangerous activities — such as climbing a tree in short sleeves — were edited during screening to make the activities appear safer, it has been learned.

One principal says the changes were necessary, as an increasing number of teachers lack outdoor experience and don’t know what is dangerous.