J-list Blog

There are two things that are really strange to watch in Japanese: sportscasters giving the play-by-play of an American football game and news reporting on American politics. With the U.S. presidential race officially underway, everyone is watching the caucuses to see which candidates will look the most "presidential" by the time they're done. The Japanese masukomi -- what the news media is called here, from "mass communications" -- is no exception, following candidates around with cameras and explaining to viewers in extra detail just what is going on, since the American political process is about as confusing to the Japanese as, well, the rules of American football. Japan's political structure is quite different, a British-style parliamentary democracy in which two major and three minor parties compete for seats in the country's two legislative houses, with the party or coalition of parties in power electing the Prime Minister. Because the people don't choose their leader directly as with Presidential elections, there's a lot less dialogue between the Prime Minister and the people when it comes to the issues. The Japanese are often fascinated with the gap between flamboyant American presidents with their positive speeches that start with "My fellow Americans" and the more subdued politicians found in Japan, a country in which building consensus with other lawmakers is valued more highly than individual leadership skills.

I talked last time about how many Japanese women don't seem to set the same goals for themselves as women from the West, in many cases actively wanting to get married and become full-time housewives. Not everyone is this way of course: the more urban the area you're in, the more likely you are to find educated women with good careers they wouldn't give up for anything. But by and large, the majority of females live by the motto that "marriage equals quitting your job." Since Japanese law requires that companies provide equal opportunity to both men and women, companies have evolved a two-track system that lets employees choose whether they want to be on a "career" path or the less-demanding "office work" path. At the bank we use in Japan, there are two kinds of employees: tellers who wear bank uniforms while they help customers, and the managers wearing normal business suits, who are responsible for making decisions and bringing new business into the bank. "Career" employees of either gender have to take qualification tests, move around the company more frequently to expose themselves to all its operations and have their performance measured, but they receive higher pay and promotions; "office" path employees, on the other hand, earn less but have fewer responsibilities. While it's probably not perfect, this system seems to work pretty well. Employees who want to pursue a career in banking can opt for the more challenging path, while those who don't want the added work (or who want the option of being able to quit at any time, say to get married) aren't asked to be more career-minded than they want to be.

Tragedy struck the other day when a man got caught in the doors of a gondola at a ski resort in our prefecture, falling to his death, and I happened to note that the news report stated that he was a "part time employee" of the ski resort. A person's status as defined by how they're employed seems to be somehow more important in Japan than it is in the U.S., and news reports regularly inform viewers of whether the person being talked about is a kaisha-in (full-time company employee), arubaito (part-time employee, from the German word for "work"), komu-in (public employee) and so on. It can be odd to hear this information provided so meticulously, especially when the employment status of the person being reported on has nothing to do with the event in question. One of the most common "people categorizing words" you hear is mushoku, or unemployed, so often tied to reports of crimes in the news. It's not stated overtly, but it seems like the inclusion of a persons employment status in news reports helps viewers know how they're supposed to feel, with the assumption that something that happenes to a homeless man or a "member of a violent gang organization" (the polite way to say a Yakuza gangster) is fundamentally different from a white-collar salaryman.

Fans of PC dating-sim games, we've got some good news for you in the form of Cat Girl Alliance, a very special new release coming soon from G-Collections, which we've posted for preorder now. You are Eiji, a new transfer student whose life is turned upside down when you learn that your school's class president has a secret. What adventures lie in store for you as you explore the strange world you've found yourself in, with the cat girl-cosplaying Rumi; the pouting and beautiful Natsuki; the temperamental Shizuko, who detests all men; and Masayoshi, Natsuki's strange step-brother. Now in production -- you can preorder this game for free shipping when it's ready.

Here are today's "really cool products" that I've picked out for you, out of the 30+ new items we've added to the J-List and JBOX.com sites today. Note that some products may be "not safe for work" but that all links will allow you to redirect yourself either to the J-List or JBOX.com websites. To see all the J-List products, check out J-List or the JBOX.com updated products link.

	Lucky Star Figure Collection Basic Set of 5. Lucky Star is *the* anime in Japan right now, a popular series based on a 4-koma (4-panel) comic that has seized he hearts of otaku all over the world. These figures have now come in and are ready for your order, but note that our stock is limited because it was so popular as a preorder item (more than half our stock is sold already).
	Mikuru Asahina, Haruhi Suzumiya Sega Extra Figure. Haruhi fans, enjoy these great figures of Haruhi in her school PE uniform and Mikuru in her nurse uniform. Features great detail in the eyes, the hair, and other important parts. A rare treat because these are prizes from crane games, not usually available through distributors in Japan.
	3D Oppai Mouse Pad -- Nanaka Shirakawa ~ D.C.II. There is no finer otaku item than the 3D mouse pads featuring beautiful anime characters recreated in three dimensions. We've gotten stock of this gorgeous mouse pad of Nanaka from Da Capo II, wow!
	Delicious New Japanese Snacks. Today's yummy new Japanese snacks include a limited edition Village of the Bamboo Sprouts (they're shaped like that, don't ask) in Cookie and Macadamia flavor, an amazing Green Tea Moose Pie from Fujiya, and healthy snacks made with tofu milk and soy beans.
	YUTANPO ~ Hot Water Container & Cover 2.8L. Speaking of keeping warm, here's a great Japanese tradition that's been practiced for centuries: a large bottle that holds hot water which you put in your bed to make everything nice and toasty warm.
	Crayon Shin-Chan Soundrop Full Set of 8. The Soundrop line of keychains is great because each one plays a classic Japanese line or sound effect when you press the button. This is the Crayon Shin-Chan series that plays his best and most off-color lines. Think of the fun you can have with these!
	Dental Sigma 360. Here's an incredibly innovative toothbrush from Japanese manufacturer Vivatech with bristles going all around the brush, 360 degrees, which gets your teeth incredibly clean. Currently a huge hit product in Japan, carried by customer request.
	Japan's Backalleys 100. A fascinating new way to look at Japan, through its narrow backalleys. See 100 narrow Japanese streets in beautiful cities like Kyoto and Nara, with pictures shot in all seasons.
	HI-UCHI-ISHI ~ DX Natural Flint Stone Set in Wooden Box. Here's a fantastic item: a magatama amulet made of iron and a stone of flint, which are used in Shinto ceremonies and considered to be of great spiritual importance here in Japan. Comes in a beautiful wooden box.
	Cotton HANTEN ~ Winter Kimono ~ Quilting Inner / Blue Stripe. A hanten is a warm winter kimono, and a great way to keep warm in the winter. I wouldn't go anywhere without my hanten and am extremely happy to be able to sell them on J-List now.
	Various Back Issues of Nihongo Journal. One tool I used to help myself study Japanese effectively was Nihongo Journal, a monthly magazine with various lessons at different levels, allowing you to back to previous issues and do new lessons that might have been too hard the first time through. We're posting several back issues to the site today, with the study CD included.
	Microwave Potato Chip Maker. Make your very own potato chips in a microwave oven with this wacky and fun product from Japan. Back in stock.
	Kotomi Ichinose 1/8 Figure ~ Clannad by Kotobukiya *Preorder*. Check out the upcoming Kotomi figure from the hit anime Clannad for preorder, and it looks like it'll be a great figure when it comes out. Features optional rabbit ears for the girl to wear. Set to be released in May 2008.
	Cat Girl Alliance *Preorder*. We're posting a great new PC dating-sim game for fans on the site today, which will be released in the coming months. When you discover the secret world of futanari Rumi and her friends, your life will never be the same! One of the boldest "H" games to be ported into English ever.
	Gal and Do! vol. 02 ~ Galando! Jan 2008. A bold new magazine for fans of "gals," which is short for "kogals" and denotes the super-fashionable bad girls of Tokyo's Shibuya region. Gorgeous models and photography and a 150 minute DVD for you to enjoy.
	ERIKA -- Erika Sawajiri. Erika Sawajiri, whose name sounds designed to make you think of touching her butt, looks great in this restocked photobook.
	TGWOA 22 ~ Manya-Ita! 2007 Winter. From the futanari-only circle TGWOA, which of course means The Great Works of Alchemy, this is their newest doujin book made for the recent Comic Market at Tokyo Big Sight. Great item for futa fans!
	Comic AG Super Manga Anthology vol. 71. Then enjoy the new issue of Comic AG, the popular anthology "H" manga that brings you 80 pages of the best works from Japan carefully translated into English from the artist's original pages. Best of all, you get manga from Tuna Empire!
	Restocked Manga Titles. Got some outstanding restocked manga titles today, including Take On Me and Take On Me 2, the great futanari works First Dog part 1 & 2, and Swimsuit Girl, for fans of the way girls look in bathing suits.
	Black Tights Complete 8 Hours Special. Japanese AV studios are great at focusing on unique genres, and beautiful girls wearing black tights fits the bill. This is a great release, an incredible *8 hours* of women in silky stockings.

Some random pictures that I had in my queue to show you. My friend, who is a bigger otaku than he out to be, has this on his motorcycle. He's got a new one he's making that has Kagami from Lucky Star shouting "Hey you, drive properly!"

Happiness is traveling with a laptop that has MacMame on it (an arcade game emulator) and episodes of CSI on it.

Pic of a couple of cosplayers from the show in New York. I dunno, I think Koreans make better gothic vampire types than Japanese, what do you think?