Have you heard about any of these news stories in Japan?
◎ The wife of the Japanese Prime-Minister-elect, Miyuki Hatoyama, seems to be a bit eccentric.
She has been quoted as saying that she was abducted by aliens and taken into their triangular UFO for a trip to the planet Venus…which she described as rich with green foliage!
She also said that she and her husband eat some of the sun every morning for energy!
And that she met the famous American actor Tom Cruise in another life when he was Japanese!
◎ DoCoMo, the most prominent cellular-phone provider in Japan (and the one that my family uses), plans to begin selling their cell-phones in America. As well as offering many of the services that they provide in Japan, such as their “I-mode” internet service. It’s not clear yet if they plan to offer their cell-phone wallet service which is extremely popular in Japan to pay for everything from vending machines to groceries to fast-food to train fares.
The key-pad of a Japanese "DoCoMo" cell-phone.
◎ A small train line in a small town near Osaka, Japan was in danger of closing down until the media in Japan reported that a cat that had been hanging around the area was “hired” as the new 駅長 (station master).
The cat’s name is 「たま」 (Tama) and she gets paid with cat-food by the train line.
I remember when this story was on TV here about two years ago.
It’s seems that the tactic worked…people are coming from all over Japan to ride the train and see 「たま」 (Tama), the 駅長 (station master).
All the new customers are good for business and have kept the train line from closing down…but it created a new problem—where to put the cars from all the customers that drive to the station from around Japan.
The train station that the cat works at, 喜志駅 (Kishi Station), doesn’t have any car parking spaces near it.
Tama the feline station-master
Tokyo Five 
Thanks for your input, and I have pointed folks to this post in my latest one. Cheers!
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You mean at this post of yours here.
Thanks.
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Hi,
Thank you for leaveing your link.
>I guess politics in Japan is quite different from America’s.
Do you think if a presidential candidate has such wife, could he win in US?
Even though she’s such a eccentric women, the Japanese had no other tangible candidate but Mr. Hatoyama at this election and I hope he will do his job properly.(if he needs the sun for it, eat it a bit!)
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>Do you think if a presidential candidate has such wife, could he win in US?
I don’t know. But I think it would be a bigger deal than it is here.
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I see. Thanks!
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I have never seen ケータイ in USA and Europe that it is for electric money like in Japan.
Also, Japanese cell phone has better camera compare to here.
well…here, people use text message only, but Japanese cell phone is for e-mail, electric money, GPS…etc. it is so different!
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Wallet function, camera, video, e-mail, internet, and GPS are all basic functions on cell-phones here now.
They also have MP3 players, radio, TV and more…
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I miss Japanese mobile phone so much. I saw many different kind of cell phone here in USA, but it looks like kid’s toy.
hmm…I hope Docomo sell their phone in USA soon.
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I have never seen a cell-phone from another country.
Are they very different from the ケータイ (cell-phones) in Japan?
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I haven’t visited your site in so long and I have missed it and all the news. I love Tama the cat, she is so cute! She has been there for over 2 yrs? Everyone must really love her, esp. the people in charge of the train. It is really incredible that she has been so popular and has been responsible for helping to keep the train going. I would probably want to see her too if and when we ever visit again.
We have heard about the new wife of the Prime Minister in Japan. Last night I saw on the news that she said something about eating from the sun!! and before that we heard about her trips to outer space. Wow, what does everyone there think of her?
Have you heard much of the news that is going on here, concerning Pres. Obama? there has been a lot of division because of some of his policies. he has also appointed almost 40 “czars”, who are his close advisors and some of them are reportedly very extreme in their views. there is going to be a huge march on Washington DC over the anniversary of Sept. 11th. there are hundreds of people from all over the country who are taking buses up to Washington to take part in it.
I haven’t heard anything about the cell phone company but that doesn’t necessarily mean it isn’t here trying to market itself. it hasn’t been on the news anyway. How is everyone there? are the girls back in school and do they like it? is number 1 daughter still working or was that just a summer job? please give everyone our love.
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>I haven’t visited your site in so long and I have missed it and all the news.
Yeah, please visit and comment more often!
>I love Tama the cat, she is so cute! She has been there for over 2 yrs?
Yes. I can’t believe it was two years ago that I saw the story about that cat on TV. Time flies.
>I would probably want to see her too if and when we ever visit again.
It’s far from Tokyo.
>We have heard about the new wife of the Prime Minister in Japan. Last night I saw on the news that she said something about eating from the sun!!
Was that on the news in America?
>Wow, what does everyone there think of her?
Noone really minds. It’s just kind of amusing.
I guess politics in Japan is quite different from America’s.
>Have you heard much of the news that is going on here, concerning Pres. Obama?
No. Unless you mean that he plans to give a speech to American school children and many parents are upset for some reason.
I don’t know much about that story though…and I don’t understand what the problem is.
>there has been a lot of division because of some of his policies. he has also appointed almost 40 “czars”, who are his close advisors and some of them are reportedly very extreme in their views.
I don’t know anything about that.
>there is going to be a huge march on Washington DC
Marching for what reason?
>I haven’t heard anything about the cell phone company but that doesn’t necessarily mean it isn’t here trying to market itself.
You should buy a Japanese cell-phone, if you can. They’re very “high-tech”.
>How is everyone there? are the girls back in school and do they like it?
Yes, the school-year resumed last week. (In Japan, the school year doesn’t begin in Autumn like America. It’s starts in April here).
> is number 1 daughter still working or was that just a summer job?
Yes, she’s still working part-time after school and weekends.
My second daughter’s class is on a three-day school trip to Kyoto until Monday.
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