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Create your very own edible Hello Kitty this Christmas with this “Face Cake” set!
Christmas cakes (yes, it’s already time to start thinking about the holidays) come in all shapes and sizes, so it’s not surprising at all to see our favorite feline character and international celebrity Hello Kitty turn herself into one. But this “Hello Kitty Face Cake” requires just a little bit more artistic creativity from you than the average cake. You see, the cake doesn’t come looking like the picture above — you actually have to make it into its Hello Kitty form!
- Japan
- (cake • Christmas • daiichi • Hello Kitty)
Japanese Documentary Tells the Real Story of the Daiichi Nuclear Plant Evacuees
- Andrew Miller
May 9, 2013
Two years after Japan’s great earthquake and the Daiichi nuclear diaster comes a documentary that tells of the citizens who still can’t return home to Iitate Village in Fukushima due to the high levels of radiation.
Over at our sister site, Pouch, film critic Kaori Saito was given the opportunity to check out the film production of “Iitate Village, the Problem of Radiation and Returning Home” (in Japanese “Iitate-mura hoshano to kison”) before it was released to the Japanese public on May 4. Kaori comments that the work deserves particular credit for its delicate treatment of the continuing problem of radiation and the depiction of the struggles of the inhabitants affected.
For the readers who are unfamiliar with Iitate, it is a village that is located 30 kilometers from Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant within the prefecture of Fukushima. While it is reasonable to believe that the level of radioactive contamination would be comparatively low for an area this far from the power plant, due to the strong winds, snow and rain that occurred directly following the disaster, the actual levels of contamination far exceeded original estimates. For Japan and Iitate Village, unprecedented levels of radiation poured down, making the land uninhabitable and thus leaving the former residents no alternative but to abandon their village and seek refuge elsewhere.
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Pump Springs Leak during Efforts to Correct Problem with Leaky Storage Tanks at Daiichi Nuclear Plant
- John Stuart Translations
Apr 12, 2013
Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) announced that while transferring contaminated water containing radioactive material from leaking underground storage tank No. 3 to tank No. 6 at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant on April 11 this year, water was discovered leaking from a joint connecting the piping being used for the transfer.
About 22 liters of water containing 6.4 billion becquerels of radioactive material leaked from the joint before the problem was chanced upon. TEPCO said the water leaked on top of the berm covering the storage tank and that there was no possibility of it seeping into the soil surrounding it.
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- Japan
- (contamination • daiichi • Fukushima • leak • nuclear • radioactive • Tokyo Electric Power Co.)
No Improvement for Fukushima Decontamination Workers – Subcontractors Still Only Paying One-fifth Minimum Wage
- John Stuart Translations
Apr 6, 2013
A dinner of boiled vegetables and 3.3 square meters of floor space for sleeping, those are the harsh conditions awaiting laborers who undertake government-mandated decontamination work necessitated by the nuclear accident at Tokyo Electric’s Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Fukushima Prefecture. In some cases workers are basically laboring for free when taxpayer-funded danger pay is excluded from their pay packets.
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- Japan
- (daiichi • Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant • Decontamination • Fukushima • harsh • minimum wage • Nuclear accident • Radiation • wages)
Paying Just $11 a Day, Subcontractors Ripping Off Fukushima Nuclear Accident Decontamination Workers
- John Stuart Translations
Jan 15, 2013
The Tokyo Shimbun has discovered that workers involved with national government controlled cleanup projects resulting from the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant are being ripped off by subcontractors.
Despite being able to rent lodging facilities from the government and others for free or for very little money, contractors forcibly deduct inflated accommodation and meal charges from workers’ pay. When the 10,000 yen (US$111) a day “danger pay” provided to contractors by the government (read: taxpayers) is taken into consideration, it means the contractors themselves end up forking out a measly 1,000 yen (US$11) a day per worker.
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- Japan
- (daiichi • Decontamination • Fukushima • Japan • Nuclear accident • pay • Radiation • rip-off • scandal • Tokyo)
Tokyo Electric Couldn’t Get Battery during Fukushima Meltdown, Made Trip to Hardware Store the Next Day
- Master Blaster
Oct 8, 2012
Recent tapes released have sent ripples across Japan’s news programs showing first-hand Tokyo Electric Power Company’s (TEPCO) handling of the Fukushima Disaster. Many were outraged over TEPCO management’s muddled communications with plant director, an increasingly frustrated Masao Yoshida.
Among the hours and hours of footage there’s one particularly odd incident in which one of the largest electric companies in Japan couldn’t seem to get their hands on a battery. In fact, it took about a 24 hours and trip to the hardware store to buy it while on the brink of meltdown.
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Recent Posts
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- Nissin takes the lid off its first-ever Cup Noodle Point Program for you to win fun prizes
- Sendai Bank gifts babies their weight at birth in money upon opening a new bank account
- Osaka man arrested for running little pet shop of horrors with dangerous crocodile
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MOST POPULAR
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Today
Make-your-own-Totoro plushie workshop event coming to Ghibli Park park this fall
Osaka man arrested for running little pet shop of horrors with dangerous crocodile
Family Mart releases 47 convenience store socks and stickers, one for every prefecture in Japan
Japanese food hack says to soak your grapes in carbonated water, but is the fizz worth the buzz?
Krispy Kreme Japan gets extra-local with adorable new Hokkaido snow fairy donuts
One of Japan’s best convenience store egg sandwiches is one you won’t find at the big three chains
Sendai Bank gifts babies their weight at birth in money upon opening a new bank account
Viral Yokohama cafe tops teas with mini teapots with a clever smoldering secret [Photos]
Yogurt and Japanese koji fungus is Japan’s latest food trend, but how does it taste? [Taste test]
Japan announces new permanent residency guidelines, foreigners must earn more than average Japanese person
Weekly
Japan announces new permanent residency guidelines, foreigners must earn more than average Japanese person
Studio Ghibli’s Calcifer is ready to light up your home as a magical-looking candle lamp [Photos]
Japan’s first-ever conveyor-belt Sushi Bus announces Tokyo tour start date, reservations now open
Foreign tourists get free Shinkansen tickets in Japan, and here’s how to claim them
Japan’s new travel route literally through the mountains links two other beautiful alpine courses
Family Mart releases 47 convenience store socks and stickers, one for every prefecture in Japan
Starbucks Japan says sayonara to the Filone for new sandwiches and a Pumpkin Soupuccino
Toys R Us is leaving Japan after 35 years in the country
Casio collaborates with a Kyoto foil master for a luxurious one million yen G-SHOCK
Foreign tourist numbers drop in Osaka, despite record-setting highs from U.S. and Korea
Monthly
Japan announces new permanent residency guidelines, foreigners must earn more than average Japanese person
Family Mart releases 47 convenience store socks and stickers, one for every prefecture in Japan
Starbucks Japan unveils new Pokémon collaboration with Pikachu Latte and exclusive goods
Studio Ghibli’s Calcifer is ready to light up your home as a magical-looking candle lamp [Photos]
Lady Gaga and Family Mart team up for a Japanese convenience store work video [Video]
New Gundam Base superstores coming soon in the U.S., with one opening this month
Studio Ghibli releases new plush mascot character collection with a focus on friendship
Studio Ghibli releases new onigiri rice ball-shaped lunch bag for Kiki’s Delivery Service fans
Do Japan’s new single-minded convenience store bento show depressing poverty or satisfying focus?
How to watch Studio Ghibli’s new anime in Japan, with a special after-dark outdoor screening for Halloween
Yearly
Japan announces sudden 400-percent increase in visa fees for foreigners entering the country
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Studio Ghibli has a new anime out, and there’s only one place in the world where you can see it
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
Tokyo subway installing new ticket gates that don’t accept payment through Suica or other IC cards
Japanese ninja certification exam attracts 131 candidates from Japan and abroad
Salomon releases Japan-exclusive Mt. Fuji hiking gear that doubles as an amazing souvenir
Japan reportedly adding Japanese language skill requirement to most common foreigner work visa
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RECOMMENDED STORIES
One of Japan’s best convenience store egg sandwiches is one you won’t find at the big three chains
Sendai Bank gifts babies their weight at birth in money upon opening a new bank account
Viral Yokohama cafe tops teas with mini teapots with a clever smoldering secret [Photos]
Yogurt and Japanese koji fungus is Japan’s latest food trend, but how does it taste? [Taste test]
Japan announces new permanent residency guidelines, foreigners must earn more than average Japanese person
Cuddly starry night Totoro and other Ghibli blankets set to keep you cozy in chilly months ahead
Nissin takes the lid off its first-ever Cup Noodle Point Program for you to win fun prizes
Foreign tourist numbers drop in Osaka, despite record-setting highs from U.S. and Korea
Tokyo no-map-app walk! Getting lost with Mr. Sato on the way to Kishimojin
Starbucks Japan says sayonara to the Filone for new sandwiches and a Pumpkin Soupuccino
McDonald’s Japan officially changes its mascot’s name…to Ronald McDonald
Do Japan’s new single-minded convenience store bento show depressing poverty or satisfying focus?
Studio Ghibli’s Calcifer is ready to light up your home as a magical-looking candle lamp [Photos]
Casio collaborates with a Kyoto foil master for a luxurious one million yen G-SHOCK
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