Mt.Fuji is the most classic, aesthetic and symmetric mountain in the world as far as I know. And it is proven by the mere fact that it’s beauty is renowned not only domestically, but also internationally.
“Harumafuji” and “Terunofuji” are both distinguished Mongolian SUMO wrestlers, though their name includes the word ‘FUJI’.
And yesterday, the new Yokozuna or Grand Champion Kisenosato crushed Terunofuji twice to win the Spring SUMO tournament, according to the Associated Press. Its’ truly a little surprise that AP has posted this article on Japan’s indigenous ‘sport’ – which I must say is in a way an incorrect term, since SUMO is NOT precisely a sport but a Shinto ritual that roots back 1500 years ago.
If you are a foreigner, you may wonder “Boy, aren’t these FATTYS obese! Eating too much rice bowls and ramens?”.
Well, I do not deny that. But remember, these boys are not just a fatty like Mr Michael Moore, but DO have huge muscles and they also train their body (especially the hip-joint between the legs) to make it extremely soft in order to prevent serious injuries.
Now.
People in North Korea are purportedly eating shoes.
ASICS? NIKE? Onizuka Tiger?! Adidas?! Who knows. Malnutrition seems rampant, since their authoritarian regime is keen on flooding 90% of its annual budget into its nuclear missile program. Not enough food on the table, and its citizens are skin and bones.
But there’s just one exception. Yes, the “Fatty” Sumo-wrestler-like guy, Kim Jong un.
“North Korea is behaving very badly” と、アメリカ大統領がツイートしたと3月24日付けでLos Angeles Times紙は報じた。ミサイル発射を繰り返す北朝鮮を名指しで「態度が極めて悪い」と非難したトランプだが、自分の最大公約だった ‘Healthcare’法案が、下院で拒絶された今、彼自身かなり「悪い」立場に置かれている。民主党議員のみならず、’味方’ 共和党議員からも見放された形だ。
Trump administration’s Steve Bannon claims U.S is struggling with its $20 trillion debt.
And we have the 45th Mr President totally indoctrinated by his advisor Mr B. ‘Our monstrous debt is a real killer! I’m gonna create more jobs fella. More jobs! Oh, our nation is bankrupt’ – they reiterate.
Um…. so?!
So what?!
Big deal. We’ve all got to bear on our mind that back in the 1970’s and till the late 80’s, US (not IS) would bully Japan saying “You guys export too many small HONDA and TOYOTA cars to the U.S goddamit, creating huge trade deficit and huge unemployment. Stop it!” .
What a self centered, arrogant claim it was. American public loved (and the still do fortunately!) cars made in Japan or by Japanese automakers and the sales skyrocketed, but somehow the US government claimed ‘the system is unfair’; whatever that means.
For the past 50 years or more, whenever Washington started losing economic-wars, they put a total blame on Tokyo pointing out ‘Free trade is what America is all about! But we have a huge deficit crisis here, you and I. And that’s because the way you do business is UNFAIR!”
Hilarious and despicable.
This ‘Yankee bully’ against Japan continued even after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Clinton administration saw Tokyo as an economic-menace in the 1990’s imposing various kinds of legislations and pressures to clandestinely undermine its ‘ally’.
It was a huge success indeed.
Bill from Arkansas enjoyed flirting with Monica to say the least, and also had a huge fun targeting its ‘new adversary’ after the end of the Cold War.
Oh Ronald…dear Ronald Regan, only if you were the U.S leader also in the 90’s sir!
And now in 2017, we don’t have Ronald, but the world is in awe of ‘Donald’- who is cooking up excuses for America’s debt and ‘loss of jobs’ to ‘unfair trade’.
The only difference is folks, this time the foe is China. Not Japan.
Needless to argue Beijing is an abrasive, ruthless rising power that’s creating huge instability and turmoil in Asia with its military might. However, what’s more ridiculous is the same old rhetoric and tactic by the Whitehouse to bully its trade partners to achieve its political means.
Why don’t Apple make iPhones in California?!
You know the answer, of course. Go ask the widow of Mr Jobs.
Why are American jobs in jeopardy?!
“Because China, Korea and Japan is UNFAIR” – Mr Donald would argue during last year’s presidential campaign. Impose punitive 45% tariff on iPhones “Made in China” ?
Oh give me a break. Not a KitKat.
To my view, U.S will never become ‘great again’ as long as it intends to enforce its domestic shortcomings on the third party.
Japan used to be a threat for the U.S back then, and now it’s Xi Jinping. We all know that.
But we have all forgotten the history of how Mr Trump’s predecessors undermined Tokyo with its baseless claims using the notorious legislation ‘Super 301‘
instead of cooking Sushi together as an ‘ally’.
To be honest I do value the new U.S President’s candid character, as well as his approach to North Korea’s Mr Fatty Kim. But as an Outspoken Samurai of the 21st century, I just cannot turn a blind eye to the typical smear campaigns from Washington using ‘unfair deals’ rhetoric for the trade deficits and American trucks and cars not selling at all in Japan.
Protectionism?!
What a nonsense. Wasn’t America about ‘free trade’ and hotdogs?!
Remember folks, tax on American car is 0% in Japan! And it’s 25% on the opposite. Despite the fact, TOYOTAS are recording massive sales in Mr Trump’s home country.
Why is that?!
Ivanka san, why are they selling by far more than your great shirts and skirts?!
肉体トレーニングのために、ぼくは乗っているのだが、通常の道路よりもオフロードで乗る方が100倍楽しい。なにせ木の根っこや、急な段差などMTBで苦労しそうな山道でも Super Fatty ならばスムーズに走破できるのだから。気付いたら何時間も乗っていたりするので、体脂肪を燃やす、という本来の目的は充分に果たせつつある。
Team Japan won the inaugural ‘World Baseball Classic’ (WBC) in 2006. Just four years later, the defending champs prevailed once gain, with the ‘classic’ plays by big names such as Ichiro and Yu Darvish.
Just as for a quick notice, Darvish is a Japanese super hurler that plays for Major League Baseball (MLB)’s Texas Rangers. However, since his dad is Iranian, some anticipate that ‘daddy’ may be perpetually blocked from entering not only the ball park, but the United States.
Thank you, Mr President. I still love your wig sir.
Now, where were we?!
That’s right, the WBC. In 2013 tournament, the defending champion Team Japan succumbed to Puerto Rico in the Semi final, or the ‘Championship Round’.
And here we are now in 2017, only four teams left! (See below)
Baseball prohibited in North Korea by Mr Kim!?
Japan, Puerto Rico, Netherlands and the U.S.A. The ‘Big 4’. South Korea by the way (not North, Dear leader Mr Kim allegedly prohibits its 22 million citizens from playing the sport founded by ‘Imperial Americans’) was initially seen as the rival of Japan as had been in previous tournaments, but they have already been marginalized in this tournament, just like the impeached beauty（and the FMR President） Ms.Pak Geun hye and its politics. They couldn’t make it the 2nd round.
Puerto Rico is playing the Netherlands right now (as I write this article. 3-3! Super tight game) in the first semi final match. But what interests me more than the game is their ‘political status’.
According to the Wikipedia, this small island nation of 3 million is ‘not a U.S state’ , but the “Puerto Ricans were collectively made U.S citizens” in 1917 by the Jones-Shafroth Act. This article argues that ‘U.S imposed citizenship in order to draft Puerto Rican men into the army as American entry to WW1 became likely’.
It is a feasible assumption regarding the fact colonial imperialism was rampant in those days. And whats more striking, the Puerto Ricans today are deprived of their rights to vote for the congress or Presidential election despite the fact they are ostensibly ‘U.S citizens’. I’ve heard a chubby woman from Guam make the same complaint in Tokyo Narita Airport in January this year. That’s right, these two ‘nations’ are not even a sovereign state.
When the United States of America’s founding principles are ‘Democracy’, ‘Equality’ and ‘Human Rights’, their current double-standard in these two ‘pawns’ is difficult to comprehend and simply indefensible. Of course, I understand that the $70 billion debt by the Puerto Rican government was an issue in last year’s U.S Presidential election.
The reality that San Juan is unsustainable without Washington’s financial aid is not to be argued. However, amid the recent rise of nationalism and Brexit movement (Scotland’s proposal of its 2nd referendum on independence has been rejected by Mrs May), the outcome of Puerto Rico’s upcoming referendum on June 11, 2017 on whether to choose between a statehood and independence is surely something we should all focus upon as advocates of fundamental rights.
Oops! Please remember I’m no anti-Trump or anti-American. I’m nothing but an Outspoken Samurai of the 21st century thirsty for truth and fairness, just like the famous Fox News.
6000億円という巨額を投じ、進められた豊洲移転プロジェクト。うるさい日本人も、先の東京都知事選に出馬した際に豊洲エリアで何度か街頭演説を行ったけど「今年の秋には、築地がここトヨスに移転・デビューします！世界のTOYOTAに並んで世界のTOYOSU Fish Marketがオープンするのです。新しいTokyoの顔として、ビッグな可能性がここから始まろうとしています！」とうるさく吠えたわけだ。
ところが2020年TOKYOオリンピックの準備が遅延しているのと同じで、豊洲移転もパソコンでいうフリーズ状態。報道によれば、‘毎日1000万円ほどの損失’ が生じているそうじゃないか。Yeah, every single fxxx’in day! つまり、移転が10日遅れるだけで1億円もの血税がドブに捨てられていることになる。
築地と豊洲の板挟みにあっている無数の業者も「都民バースト」モロの当事者で、気が気でないだろうし、何と言っても’TOUOSU IS DIRTY’ – トヨスは汚れている、という負のイメージを国際社会がすでに抱き始めていることは最悪。今年外国人観光客3000万人を目指す日本の「おもてなし」としても、アマチュアレヴェル。
Good Sushi, Good life. Good Sake, Good life. And Good Tokyo, Good Tomorrow.
Escape from the cul-de-sac of flooding ‘fake news’ and tumultuous daily routine, but instead grab a can of beer and your passport ‘n cheap LCC ticket ‘n come ‘n hop into the Hakone onsen just an hour or so train ride from Haneda airport or Shinjuku or Yokohama!
Ohayo Gozaimass!
Just as for a quick introduction, my name is Yujiro Taniyama. Though some ignorant phony may mistaken me for an illegal immigrant from Chongqing, China – let me warn you folks, I am a proud Japanese national with a bloody red 10 year Japanese passport! If Mr Donald J. Trump is the 45th US President, then I am the ‘Outspoken Samurai’.
Outspoken Samurai of the 21st century. Sushi Fighter.
And today I am honored to announce the launch of 「OUTSPOKEN SAMURAI 」、a challenging editorial that discloses my daily clandestine thoughts on world affairs, from entertainment, Anime to Melania Trump.
It will be in both English & Japanese, and written back and forth in these two languages.
SUPER GAIJINS
8,346,969 foreign tourists, or Gaijins (means foreign national in Japanese. To avoid misunderstanding, this term is NOT a pejorative – all my Gaijin friends in Tokyo loves calling themselves ‘Tokyo Gaijin’) visited Japan back 10 years ago, in 2007.
In 2010, the figure was still 8,611,175. Then in 2013, for the first time in Japan’s long winding history since Emperor Jinmu 660 B.C, the Gaijin tourists hit the 10 million benchmark! And what’s astonishing, the figure skyrocketed tremendously onwards. 13,413,467 (2014) , 19,737,409 (2015. Source: JNTO) , and last year finally surpassed 24 million! OMG
As the wave of protectionism and anti-immigration spreads across the globe thanks to Mr Donald and friends (including the mighty smart Brits), my narrow path to victory and diversity goes quite the opposite.
I embrace internationalism and globalization.
Having grown up in Adelaide and Bangkok myself, I refute any sort of racism having been bullied and downplayed due to my ‘flat face’ and the color of my skin in ‘white Australia back in the ’80s when my heros MJ, Madonna and George Michael had began to dominate the MTV!
Anyways, one of my secret mission of this 「OUTSPOKEN SAMURAI 」is to connect the dots, connect the people for a better understanding of the world we live in. Prudence and benevolence.
But at the same I am the obnoxious Outspoken Samurai fellas, ready to become a smelly villain by my adversaries if needed. We’ve got to speak out in what you believe in!
Conformity is definitely a huge problem within the Japanese society and mentality, and it hampers innovation. U.S.A is definitely not the ‘Greatest Nation in the World’ (lol) as was often quoted by Obama and still is by Trump – but I must admit one greatness of America is its potential for self innovation. When J.F.K was assassinated more than half a century a go, blacks were openly referred to as ‘Stinking Niggers’ and were prohibited from attending same schools and movie theaters as the whites. But 50 years on, you have a half-black-President.
That sort of drastic change would never take place in Tokyo, unfortunately. Innovation man, I say it again, innovation! And that’s exactly why we need the damn Gaijins!
SONY is dead, SHARP is dead ( it’s Taiwanese owned now to say the least), and now TOSHIBA is gone. Thank you Mr Westinghouse. The ‘smart’ Japanese elites were duped by our fellow Americans once again)
Who’s next?!
Good Rising!
Not good morning, ‘coz I’m standing on the land of the Rising Sun!
