media

As you already know, one woman died and 19 others where injured in the roller coaster accident at Expoland in Suita, Osaka Prefecture.

So Kumamoto's "konotori no yurikago" (stork cradle) hatch at Jikei Hospital has opened. It's sad that this kind of thing has to exist, but if it does some good, I think it's worth it. Prime Minister Abe, however, isn't crazy about the idea:

In Tokyo, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe remained critical of the baby hatch and said he wants parents to consult the government or local administrative authorities before giving up on their babies.

As I mentioned previously, the media has reported with great fanfare the introduction of bioethanol to Japan. Hooray for technology!

More on the biogasoline as the English-language press picks up the story:

The Environment Ministry and the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry are pressing forward with the introduction of bioethanol saying that it helps prevent global warming because corn and sugar cane from which it is made absorb carbon dioxide.

Uhhh....but don't we end up burning the stuff anyway? And what about consumers who are quick to jump on the environment bandwagon like this guy?

This story has been making the rounds in Japan-related forums and blogs:

Thousands of Japanese have been swindled in a scam in which they were sold Australian and British sheep and told they were poodles.

Flocks of sheep were imported to Japan and then sold by a company called Poodles as Pets, marketed as fashionable accessories, available at $1,600 each.

I know I've been harping on energy and cars lately, but this kind of "reporting" on TV [link to video and transcript in Japanese] has me scratching my head. This is a prime example of news dressed up as an advertisement or PR. The clip is about biofuels (bioethanol from sugar cane and other plants) becoming available to consumers in Yokohama and how it will help combat global warming. The biofuel goes on sale tomorrow at 50 gas stations with the goal of supplying biofuels nationwide by 2010.

The Japan Times has an article on Toyota North America President Jim Press who said that technology is key to solving the auto industry's problems.

Two weeks following the death of Lindsay Ann Hawker, the suspect is still on the loose. Reporting by the Japanese media has followed a typical pattern--pretty much all we know is what the police have told the media and what the media has relayed to its readers and viewers.

Asada Mao spoke at The Foreign Correspondents' Club on Friday the 6th. When you get a chance to ask questions of one the world's top figure skaters, you'd think the topic would be figure skating, wouldn't you? The Japanese media, however, was quick to point out the absurdity of some of the questions.

Here's an interesting look at how we see the news. The English press in Japan reported on a finding in a survey about how young Japanese women have been injuring themselves on purpose. Here's how the Kyodo News reported it: