uzneko comments

wow, and it only took nearly a year! oh, and let's just ignore the fact that pretty much all the other animals the government has "saved" from the exclusion zone have been put down so far

If you really want to help support a group who will rescue and care for the poor animals, donate to Hoshi Hiroshi, Japan Cat Network or the United Kennel Federation... don't fall for the governments lies about "saving" animals

@Andreas Zachcial

I don't see how this is that different from how my old local SPCA chapter ran things, you could sit and play with the cats and dogs, learn about them from workers and adopt them while there after becoming attached to one. Heck, the only thing the SPCA is missing is charging people to come in, since they do even have a drink menu

as long as it is from outside of the contaminated areas, I do not see any issue with this project at all. It seems silly to me that so many prefectures are unwilling to help their fellow citizens in this grave matter...

daisan - they do have green tea, even in the US a lot of places (including many grocery stores) sell it.

Lovenot - " this pot has fruit such as slices of apple, orange and kiwifruit in the broth. The broth is made from an oolong tea base with fragrant olive wine, and other spices." that sounds pretty friggin healthy to me, especially compared to most places that seem to only serve pastries

Personally, I really hate tradiational oden, mostly because of the fish cakes, but this sounds quite interesting and worth a try. Thanks for the reccomendation.

I wish they would enforce these laws more often, and definitely not JUST in Tokyo. Out here in the countryside of Yamanashi I have had 2 students end up in the hospital this school year because they were not paying attention while on their bikes and rode into the street while they didn't have the right of way.

One of them even went into a coma for a few weeks... and yet her friends are still out there talking on phones, carrying umbrellas and riding with no lights at night. What will it take to make them realize it isn't just illegal, but unsafe?

That was surprisingly interesting and heart felt. I actually want to go buy their book and get a look at some of the other ingenious methods they invented

jforce: you do realize that saying that whole prefecture is dead from the disaster is like saying the entire state of MD died, right? I volunteer there, I eat food there, just 30km from the zone, where I often help residents, the levels are usually around .004.

This town may not be safe (I can't say either way without seeing proper studies and facts), but the entire prefure not being safe? No. Incredibly not true.

jforce: it's a sad truth that many of the people I have read about being caught for crimes in the area, are clearly looting because they have lost everything themselves

Mabo: they switch out the cops that are along the exlucsion zone border every 2-3 weeks to give them a break, but there are still quite a few of the original coppers throughout the area.

Also, it really is that bad, the last few times I went into the zone for volunteering we got stopped by every single cop that saw us, and no it was not because we are gaijin, they are under strict orders to check every car they see with license plates from outside the area. They openly talked to us about how hard it has been to try and keep the crimes down since the border is so huge, and that for the last few months jerks have been going in and even stealing cars, so now they have to check every registration of drivers and do bi-weekly house checks on top of their usual duties. It's not easy going to be a cop in that area.

I agree with Ranger, I wish there was a way to give him supplies, this man is amazing and deserves every bit of help he can get.

tmarie - it's a reality in every country that people that old are still driving. My all of my grandparents are still behind the wheel and they are between the ages 85-92. I do agree they should have stricter tests for the elderly, especially involving sight. Using my grandparents as an example, I know one of them is almost legally blind, and yet his license does not even say he has impaired vision. No good. Love the man dearly, but he should not be driving if he can't even tell which grandchild I am from across the room.

wait, why the heck would she hold a charity concert IN Japan, for another country? That does not seem right

They are even selling very adorable boxes with good luck messages at the JP now so that friends and relatives can mail their best wishes.

There are also mobile death trucks (NOT kidding) http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/feb/25/japan-stray-animal-death-trucks

There is also a documentary called "The last thing they see" that follows one of these trucks for a day and asks people why on Earth they would do this. Most people simply say things like 'we got bored with them.' I will not link it here because it is incredibly emotional and disturbing, but if you want to see it, a simple google search should bring it up

it may seem odd, but I for one like this idea, it will keep things looking nicer, staying fresher and not getting dirty while on their ride around.

This will also be terrible for all the animal search and rescue groups still working in the Fukushima exclusion zone.

I wish them luck, they are already getting freezing temperature and snow up there.

JapanToday: the link for the Children's calander - pages.machico.mu - does not work

Dwolf: she is dressed as Faye Valentine from the Cowboy Beboop series

some great volunteering organizations that often get overlooked since they are animal oriented, but still desperately need people:

Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue Services (JEARS) - located in Tokushima, Niigata and Fukushima http://jears.org/ Japan Cat Network (JCN) - located in Hikone http://www.japancatnet.com/ (is part of JEARS but mentioning seperately since they are closer for you Tokyoites) Animal Refuge Kansai (ARK) - located near Tokyo http://www.arkbark.net/?q=ja/

All 3 offer free lodging, can sometimes help with travel expenses, and are amazing experiences. I have personally helped with JEARS / JCN and can honestly say that they changed my life, so much so that at the end of my teaching contract I will begin working for them full time as a volunteer, no pay, but so worth it.

wow, thank you to these brave men and women for undergoing that terrible task.

Not a very accurate study for the entire exclusion zone though, because just like in the area around Chernobyl, the farther perimiters will become opened up over time. I would be quite interested in hearing the opinions of those that were within the 20-30km, especially since some of that is already slowly reopening

And a side note, which I know will get me "thumbed down", but whatever: please do not call the people who want to return to where they spent their entire lives idiots, most of them probably lived in the area for generations and that is all they ever knew. Even if it is not safe, it is not that unreasonable to want to go back to everything you previously had and try to reclaim your previous life. It just seems heartless to call them idiots or say that they will definitely die prematurely, these people lost everything and just want to reclaim what they can.

I hope whomever thought of it at the company a year or two back got a raise.

The article states it was started in 1999

If you want some quality contact balls, try Dube they are made from high quality acrylics, which means they will last longer, look clearer and are just a better use of your money. The Fushigi cannot be high quality, you can tell just from the price of it, this one is just resin

Also, just a side note to JT, it is NOT a glass ball, ever. Glass would be far too heavy to use and expensive to make it be able to withstand the drops.

I'll try it, was pleasently amazed when I gave Hot Pancake Drink a shot last year, so who knows?

my boyfriend and I actually do contact juggling, and we took a look at the Fushigi product when we were back in the states, and I have to say, they are really bad quality balls. I recommend going for a company that specializes in contact juggling equipment, it will probably be a bit more expensive, but it is better to invest in something that is made well and will not break quickly insted of just getting whatever you see first.

Also, just FYI back in the US these guys are mostly sold at those "as seen on TV" stores....

Personally this news sounds fantastic. My boyfriend lived right outside of Sendai for years before he moved south so we could be together, we were offered a volunteering spot to help in Sendai shortly after the disaster, and he refused, instead we went to Fukushima... he said it would just be far too painful to see what had become of his former home. Now upon reading this article about how some businesses are doing even better than before, he nearly cried.

We are both so happy to hear that things are looking up for that area, it is a very well deserved break for the people of Tohoku. Gambate <3

Not nearly a clear enough test. These guys also need to do tests outside of 'inner city' areas. What about all the soda guzzling teens that just sit around and play computer games or use it to fuel their study time? Are they also 9-15% more likely to begin exhibiting violent behaviors?

Or is it, perhaps, possible that it just happens to be a coincindence that teens drinking tons of soda in 'inner city' areas are more violent? It could just as likely be that those kids are also from lower economic families or have parents who just aren't invovled in their lives, or something else that correlates to WHY they are drinking so much soda every week.

Fantastic article, thank you for giving us such an interesting insight into what happens off the streets with big NGOs

To each their own I say Thank you JT for an interesting look into a part of Japan that I had no idea existed at all, although now I think I understand why one of my Japanese friends randomly asked "you swinger?" when I mentioned I was going to Shinjuku for the weekend ;)

oh man, I wish I lived closer to a BK so that I could take advantage of this deal! Burger King is one of the few things I really miss about living in America, always loved their burgers a lot more than other places, and this would be a fun way to get my fill of the burgers with my other ALT friends.

I also think it's rather brilliant, because as the people above me have commented, a lot of people can only eat one or two, especially within 30mins, so the idea of "all you can eat" will drive people in, but then they will not loose a lot of money due to the average person just not being able to consume that much so quickly.