Japan

[Heracleum Persicum]

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Factories shut down
worst Japanese earthquake since 2011

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Kumamoto city, close to the epicentre, has a large semiconductor industry, while manufacturers such as Sony and Honda also have factories in the region.

The quake left companies scrambling to determine the damage to their plants, sparking fears of disruption to the global supply chain.

A shortage of parts out of Kyushu forced Toyota to begin temporary shutdowns at car plants across the country.

Sony halted production of image sensors — which are used in Apple’s iPhones and other smartphone cameras — at its Kumamoto plant after the first quake on Thursday.

Production lines at two other image sensor plants in nearby Nagasaki and Oita were restored on Sunday.

Sony declined to comment on whether it could make up for the lost capacity by shifting production to its other plants.

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Damage seems to be extensive

Also, Japan should think twice starting the nuclear reactors .. better go with LNG (Gas) turbines for electricity.

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[Typhoon]

Still trying to contact a friend in Kumamoto.

[Nonc Hilaire]

Still trying to contact a friend in Kumamoto.

Post some human interest pieces if you can. My news does not show people; just a "Ring o' Fire" map and a 5 sec blurb that 1) there was an earthquake in Japan and 2) it is not related to the one this morning in Ecuador.

[Heracleum Persicum]

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The woman who makes fake fingers for Japan's reformed gangsters

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[Heracleum Persicum]

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World's Best
Whisky

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“I never expected our Japanese whiskies to be so popular overseas,” said Ichiro Akuto, 50, whose single malts sell for as much as 100,000 yen ($920) a bottle. His distillery, Venture Whisky Ltd., in Chichibu in Saitama prefecture, is working with local farmers to establish a supply chain for a malting plant he built in 2013. “I want to produce whisky with the flavor of Chichibu -- something I believe would be admired around the world.”

World’s Best

Akuto has already gained that level of recognition -- winning awards every year from 2007 to 2012. In Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible for 2015, Yamazaki Sherry Cask 2013, a single malt made by Tokyo-based Suntory Holdings Ltd., was named “World Whisky of the Year,” while Asahi Group Holdings Ltd.’s Nikka Taketsuru 17 Years won the “World’s Best Blended Malt” title at the World Whiskies Awards last year.

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[Nonc Hilaire]

Radioactive wild boars multiplying like crazy in the abandoned zones around Fukushima

Communities in northern Japan are being ransacked by wild radioactive boar exposed to toxins from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi power plant.


http://www.fukushimawatch.com/2016-04-1 ... shima.html

[Heracleum Persicum]

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Japan’s exports fall for 6th straight month

According to the ministry, March exports fell 6.8% from the year-ago month, after dropping 4.0% in February. However, it beat the economists’ consensus estimate for a 6.9% drop.

The decline was blamed on China’s slowing economy, soft demand for electronic components for products such as the iPhone, and a strengthening yen.

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“A delayed recovery in the US economy, slowdown in China, and sluggish demand for electronics parts on a cut in iPhone production were factors behind weak exports,” Hidenobu Tokuda, senior economist at Mizuho Research Institute told Reuters.

In March, Japan exports to China – its largest trading partner — tumbled 7.1% year over year, while the US-bound shipments fell 5.1%. Asia, which accounts for more than half of Japan’s shipments, saw exports sink 9.7%.

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[Heracleum Persicum]

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Russia and Japan eye Kurils deal

Abe mentioned a “new approach” to the territorial dispute

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[Typhoon]

Yakuza moll at the Sanja Masturi.

rweFCEO6--s

[Typhoon]

Radioactive wild boars multiplying like crazy in the abandoned zones around Fukushima

Communities in northern Japan are being ransacked by wild radioactive boar exposed to toxins from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi power plant.


http://www.fukushimawatch.com/2016-04-1 ... shima.html

Fukushima Watch isn't.

[Typhoon]

The current LDP Abe government is continuing to implement regressive policies

JT | Docomo makes smartphones covertly trackable by Japanese authorities

The other mobile phone companies, au and Softwank, will probably follow:

携帯のＧＰＳ情報、本人通知なしで捜査利用　一部新機種

Bollocks. Time to give my mobile phone a proper rooting . . .

[noddy]

a rooting is always better than a softwank.

in more seriousness, none of the mobile SOC's are properly auditable, they all have binary blobs in the logical location of the BIOS on x86 boxen.

the nature of the modern telco/cloud beast is such that even with trusted hardware the moment you participate you have undone all of that.

[Simple Minded]

Radioactive wild boars multiplying like crazy in the abandoned zones around Fukushima

Communities in northern Japan are being ransacked by wild radioactive boar exposed to toxins from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi power plant.


http://www.fukushimawatch.com/2016-04-1 ... shima.html

Fukushima Watch isn't.

Everybody is going to look stupid when Japan Inc. turns that whole restricted zone into a Jurrasic Park and makes billions of $ on tourism.....

in theory, frozen hamburger patties made from radioactive boar meat wouldn't need to be microwaved as long as normal hamburger patties.....

[YMix]

And you can go home with a third arm growing out your back. Best holiday souvenir ever.

[Typhoon]

And you can go home with a third arm growing out your back. Best holiday souvenir ever.

I disagree. Rather, a "fourth leg" would be the best souvenir ever.

[Simple Minded]

And you can go home with a third arm growing out your back. Best holiday souvenir ever.

I disagree. Rather, a "fourth leg" would be the best souvenir ever.

I once visited a the private residence of an individual who cared for a few discarded exotic animals.

Petting a mountain lion and listening to and feeling the vibrations of their low rumbling purr was a memorable experience.

Getting inside the containment area with a Lynx and a Bobcat was also fun. I got scratched by the Lynx and it bled a bit. The owner apologized. I said "No need to apologize. Now I have a souvenir!"

[noddy]

i wonder how much of the japanese radiation hysteria is panic against it being wishful thinking that pacific rim could be a documentary.

5guMumPFBag

[Simple Minded]

i wonder how much of the japanese radiation hysteria is panic against it being wishful thinking that pacific rim could be a documentary.

5guMumPFBag

Great movie. It hits all the big emotional E-Stop buttons. If it ain't Momma Nature taking us out as "payback" (and we all know payback is a bitch), it's the tech we developed to stop Momma Nature from taking us out, that takes us out.

There is no other path! Right?

[Typhoon]

i wonder how much of the japanese radiation hysteria is panic against it being wishful thinking that pacific rim could be a documentary.

5guMumPFBag

You have a point. The hysteria is mostly based on people not be able to differentiate between science and science fiction.

As for Japan specifically, it is based on the WWII experiences even though the firebombings actually killed more civilians.
To this day, many "Nuclear Medicine" departments in Japanese hospitals use the short form "RI" to avoid the word "nuclear".

I found Pacific Rim formulaic, predictable, and boring except for the moments with Kikuchi Rinko in tight outfits,



whom I preferred in The Brothers Bloom where she stole every scene she was in without saying a word:

KGNnVbN6AM4

Good script writing seems to be something of a dying art.

[noddy]

their is a place in the movie world for mindless action with eye candy.

its better when it comes with witty dialog or clever plot politics but dumb block busters are ok in small doses.

as for the inability to seperate fact from fiction i fear that reality is just too mundane for many - looking in the mirror, reflecting on their lives, they need fantasy to deal with it.

[Typhoon]

their is a place in the movie world for mindless action with eye candy.

Indeed.

its better when it comes with witty dialog or clever plot politics but dumb block busters are ok in small doses.

as for the inability to seperate fact from fiction i fear that reality is just too mundane for many - looking in the mirror, reflecting on their lives, they need fantasy to deal with it.

Possibly.

[Typhoon]

A few good articles on changing Japan

Nippon | Regular Full-Time Positions Increasingly Elusive for Japanese Workers

Q: JT | How long can Japan’s old mens’ club last?

A: More than long enough to do considerable damage to the future of the nation.

This following article has an aura of conspiracy theory about it, but given the highly insular, inbred, and opaque nature of the political class in Japan, it is not as crazy as it reads:

Japan Subculture Research Center | ippon Kaigi, a small cult with some of the country’s most powerful people, aims to return Japan to pre-WWII imperial “glory.” Sunday’s elections may further its goal.

Anyways, there is an election taking place for the Upper House of the Diet and it unfortunately looks like PM Abe may win the 2/3rds majority he needs.

[Typhoon]

Looks like PM Abe and the LDP won a 2/3rds majority in the Upper House election.

Damn.

[Heracleum Persicum]

Looks like PM Abe and the LDP won a 2/3rds majority in the Upper House election.

Damn.

yes, was landslide .. wonder what that means

Nikkei225 up 3.7% .. Yen flat

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[Heracleum Persicum]

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Japan’s Population Falls by Most
Since Records Began in 1968

.. a failure to boost the nation’s birthrate could see its labor force collapse by more than 40 percent by 2060, according to a projection by a government panel.

Hmmmm


Somebody should send this to Spengler .. he should focus on Japanese birthrate and why so, instead bugging the mad mullahs


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