The Depression in Japan is really serious

Pioneer to cut 10,000 jobs globally

Pioneer Corp will cut 10,000 jobs globally to cope with sinking sales
of car audio equipment and flat-screen TVs. It will also withdraw from
its money-losing TV business.

The massive job cuts are the latest in a series of layoffs by corporate
giants. Sony Corp is shedding 8,000 workers while Nissan Motor Co
and NEC Corp are each cutting 20,000.

Two Japanese films picked up Oscars at the 81st annual Academy Awards

“Okuribito” (Departures) won in the Foreign Language Film
category and “Tsumiki no Ie” (La Maison en Petits Cubes) was
named Best Animated Short Film. The French name translates
as “The House of Small Cubes.”

Takita and lead actor Masahiro Motoki collected the award for
“Okuribito.” A beaming Takita said in English to the audience
“I am here because of films. This is a new ‘departure’ for me.
And I will, we will, be back. I hope.”

“Tsumiki no Ie,” directed by Kunio Kato, 31,
was Japan’s first Oscar in its category - the nation’s only other
animation success coming in 2003 with Hayao Miyazaki’s
“Spirited Away” in the category of Best Animated Feature.

“So heavy. Thank you very much,”
Kato told the audience on picking up the award.

“Okuribito” portrays with a humorous touch how a mortician
observes people’s lives and deaths. For the film, which was in the
pipeline for more than 10 years, Motoki, who plays the mortician,
studied relevant techniques under a real mortician.
During his training he wiped the faces of bodies and dressed them.

“Tsumiki no Ie” is about an elderly man living in a blocklike house.
He piles up bricks to build his house higher and stay above the
rising level of the sea.
The animation was painstakingly drawn by hand, meaning it took
about seven months to complete the 12-minute film.

Japanese Movies are AWESOME! GO JAPAN!

Someone Left $400,000 in a samll shrine... Who? Why?

A 72 year old woman found three bags which had 40000000 Yen
(about $400,000) in a small shrine in Wakayama city.

She was on duty to clean the shrine for this month.
She found 3 gray bags and take a look inside the bags, she
saw lots of money. She was surprised and went back home and called
the police. The woman said "Well, you know, a lot of countries are
in depression... What a strange happening."

HONDA's Hybrid Car "INSIGHT" Came Out!!

HONDA's hybrid car, INSIGHT, finally came out at the market!
This car is obviously considered as the hybrid car to beat
TOYOTA's hybrid car "PRIUS". This car costs $4,000 lower than
Prius and they already sold 10,000 INSIGHTs for 11 days though
their expected sales were 5,ooo cars for a month.

If this sale keeps going, the tide of hybrid car sale in the industry
will change. TOYOTA obviously needs a new strategy now to stay
at the top of Hyprid Car Sales.

That's Tsune! His Economic Effect is $600,000 !!

The former captain of Soccer Japan national team,
Tuneyasu Mitamoto, (as known as a hot soccer player), turn out
$600,000 economic effect in Kobe in Japan.

The branch of Sogo department store carries out a project
that women who buy chocolates there can give the chocolates
to soccer players who belong to Vissele Kobe.

And Tsuneyasu Miyamoto got chocolates most.
And also the sale was total $1270,000 it was 130% up from
last years sale.

I'm a man but I think he is so cool too. Besides he is intelligent.
God is unfair...

The best female Racehorse "Diawa Scarlett" ended her career...

I say she is the best female racing horse in Japanese horce
racing history. She won The Grand Prix as a female horse after
59 years in Dec in 2008. That was a landslide victory. She leaded
the race from the beginning and never let others pass her until
the goal. She was going to Dubai in March to enter "Dubai World Cup"
and also she was going to Europe to enter "Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe"

But... suddenly one of her legs was broken last week. I don't know
if her legs couldn't stand her speed or her tariner was too strict.
(since the trainer broke lots of good horses.)
But a lot of fans of her expected she would win races in Dubai and
Europe. But the dream didn't come true, she couldn't even challenge.

Now the ones who achieve the dream are her children.
I'm sure she will have lots of good racehorses.

And there is one more racehorse who can achieve her dream.
The horse is "Vodka". She is her rival and going to Europe and Dubai
this year. Actually she might be the best female Racehorse. We had
the legendary 2 female racehorses in the same year.
She won "Japan Derby" as a femal racehorse after 64 years.
And She had a legendary race with Daiwa Scarlett in the race
"Emperor Cup" She won the race against Daiwa Scarlett.
And the difference between them was only 2cm. I hope she will take
over Daiwa Scarlett's dream.

This is the race of Daiwa Scarlett(No.13) in The Grand Prix.　




This is the legendary race with Vodka(no.14) and Daiwa Scarlett(7).

The Legendary Day "GLAY EXPO 1999" 200,000 audiences Live Show

In 1999 in Japan, Some people were wondering if Nostradamus's
prophecy was going to be true and the earth was going to be gone.

Of course nothing happened and the prophet became the worst
liar in the history.

In the summer we had a legendary live show by GLAY called
"GLAY EXPO 1999" the audiences were 200,000 people.
Of course this is still the biggest live show in Japanese music history.
This is the first song of the live show of theirs. Check it out!

OMG!! Totoro's House was Burned Down...

A house was on fire at 2am on 14th in Tokyo. And the house is as
known as "Totoro's house" after ghibli movie "My neighbour Totoro".
Hayao Miyazaki, who is a director of the movie came across this
house in Tokyo and he liked this house. Because It's pretty much
close to his image of Totoro's house in which people and nature
can live together.
(This is the house before it was on fire.)

The house was on fire, and damage was especially severe in
the back the side away from the street.
So police suspect this fire was caused by arson.

Bummer....

DoragonBall writer drew Ayumi Hamasaki like a DB character!!

The movie, DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION, is coming out soon.
And Akira Toriyama, who is a writer of the extremely famous manga
DORAGON BALL Z drew the pictures of Ayumi Hamasaki for her CD
which is going to be used in the movie.
Lots of DBZ fans are mad at the manga being made into a movie.
And some of them say that they boycott the movie.
Akira Toriyama said "I think you will be able to enjoy the movie.
Let's think it's the diffrent "DragonBall".

Mao Asada achieved a Bronze Medal in a bad condition

Four Continents Figure Skating Championships was held in
Vancouver as pre-Olympic and Kim Yu-na from Korea won the
competition. Our ace Mao Asada who won the World Grand Prix
Final earlier in Dec in 2008 showed us unbelievable low
performance as hers in Short Program and she was in the 6th
place on the first day. But she showed us a good performance in
Free Style and she was in the 1st place of Free Style. After all
she got a bronze medal. After the competition, media said she was
injured. But Mao Asada contradicted it but also said she was in a
bad shape. She knows why she was in a bad shape but didn't tell
why.

I hope she will be fine soon. If she is in the best condition, no one
can beat her. 2010 Vancouver Olympic is coming soon!!

Sushi named "Mao Dynamite"... in B.C. in Canada

A Japanese restaurant, Kamei Royal, in Vancouver made a special
menu named Mao Dynamite after Mao Asada who is a famous ice
figure skater an also who has been expected to achieve a gold medal
in the next Olympic that will take place in Vancouver.

The restaurant is going to provide the sushi for $20.10 for 2010
Vancouver Olympic.

Well that's good to cheer her on. But I think there is order to make
such a menu. First of all they have to ask her to use her name for the
menu. I got the feeling they just made it to make profit. And lots of
people must have thought like that actually. What do you think?