dochira wrote:

Japan (and many other nations) were not pleased with the North Korean launch of their "rocket" for a "satellite".

Sad thing is it looks like no one can do a thing about it to dissuade them from doing it again.

dochira wrote:

Japan (and many other nations) were not pleased with the North Korean launch of their "rocket" for a "satellite".

my view is that north korea don't have the balls to start a war but just enjoy antagonising the u.s., japan and south korea. also maybe they were gauging obama's reaction.

kenjilina wrote:

my view is that north korea don't have the balls to start a war but just enjoy antagonising the u.s., japan and south korea. also maybe they were gauging obama's reaction.

I think so, too.

They're just that bratty little kid that thinks they can get away with anything.

A smack across the nose with a rolled up newspaper is needed.

Strong Earthquake shakes Tokyo

TOKYO – A strong earthquake shook the Japanese capital and surrounding areas Sunday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties from the temblor, which rattled furniture and walls in Tokyo homes at 7:56 p.m. (1056 GMT) Sunday, the agency said.

The Japanese agency recorded the quake at a preliminary magnitude of 6.9. The United States Geological Survey said the quake was magnitude 7.1 and that it was centered in the Izu Islands some 200 miles (320 kilometers) southwest of Tokyo.

gaijinmark wrote:

Strong Earthquake shakes Tokyo TOKYO – A strong earthquake shook the Japanese capital and surrounding areas Sunday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties from the temblor, which rattled furniture and walls in Tokyo homes at 7:56 p.m. (1056 GMT) Sunday, the agency said. The Japanese agency recorded the quake at a preliminary magnitude of 6.9. The United States Geological Survey said the quake was magnitude 7.1 and that it was centered in the Izu Islands some 200 miles (320 kilometers) southwest of Tokyo.

Hope no one's hurt and there's no damage...

I was watching tv when the quake hit. It went on too long for my liking.

Takoyama wrote:

I was watching tv when the quake hit. It went on too long for my liking.

That's the same here in SoCal... But as long as there's minor or no damage and no one's hurt, it's OK.

We just had another quake.

Takoyama wrote:

We just had another quake.

An aftershock... That's typical.

bmwracer wrote:

An aftershock... That's typical.

I dunno if it's an aftershock or not.

Tsunami Warning Issued After Strong Quake

TOKYO (AFP) – A major 6.6-magnitude earthquake struck central Japan early Tuesday, with a tsunami warning issued in the region, the meteorological agency said.

The quake hit at 5:07 am (2007 GMT) at a depth of 20 kilometres (12 miles) in the Pacific off Shizuoka prefecture, west of Tokyo, the Agency said.

Between the earthquakes, floods and typhoons, it's been quite a summer!!

No reports of injuries or even fires yet.

Niigata knows how it is to have an earthquake and typhoon hit together. Not fun.

Hang in there!
_________________

One woman, aged 43, is said to have died.
_________________

Japan up for a political change on Sunday? Looks more and more likely!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8220610.stm

EstherM wrote:

Japan up for a political change on Sunday? Looks more and more likely! http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8220610.stm

Yeah, it looks inevitable...

Though the LDP and DPJ on the surface appear to be the same... Time to Wiki this...

The day LDP ministers rush to the shredder machines to shred all their secrets have arrived. LDP lost the election...........FINALLY. ASO !

Eyeyore wrote:

The day LDP ministers rush to the shredder machines to shred all their secrets have arrived. LDP lost the election...........FINALLY. ASO !

very likely! Plus, the LDP had lost touch with reality long time ago. Good luck to Hatoyama and the DP, they�Lll have a though job!

New Japanese PM's wife 'rode to Venus on UFO'

Japan's next prime minister might be nicknamed "The Alien", but it is his wife who claims to have had a close encounter with another world.

"While my body was asleep, I think my soul rode on a triangular-shaped UFO and went to Venus," Miyuki Hatoyama, the wife of premier-in-waiting Yukio Hatoyama, wrote in a book published last year.

"It was a very beautiful place and it was really green."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/09/03/2675322.htm

But wait, there's more:

Japan's next first lady Miyuki Hatoyama: I met Tom Cruise in previous life, my soul took ride in UFO
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Thursday, September 3rd 2009, 10:16 AM


TOKYO - Japan's next prime minister is known for being bland in his speeches. His wife, however, is anything but.

Miyuki Hatoyama, a former actress and wife of Yukio Hatoyama — who will likely be sworn in as Japan's prime minister on Sept. 16 — promises to become one of Japan's most colorful first ladies ever.

A strong believer in spiritualism, Hatoyama said in a TV appearance earlier this year she met U.S. actor Tom Cruise — in a previous life. She also claims that her soul has traveled to Venus on a UFO.

"I have a dream that I still believe will come true, which is to make a film in Hollywood," she told a TV talk show in May. "The lead actor is Tom Cruise, of course. Why? Because I know he was Japanese in a previous life.

"I was with him then. So he would recognize me when I see him and say 'long time, no see!'" she said, though cautioned the program's young interviewer not to take her seriously.

Cruise starred in the 2003 film "The Last Samurai," which was set in Japan.

"I also eat the sun," Hatoyama said on the program, looking up with her eyes closed, raising her arms high as if she was tearing pieces off an imaginary sun. "Like this, hum, hum, hum. It gives me enormous energy."

"My husband has recently started doing that too," said the 66-year-old Hatoyama, who was born to Japanese parents in Shanghai and met her husband in the United States where he was a Ph.D student at Stanford.

Miyuki Hatoyama, a former actress, dancer and singer in the hugely popular Takarazuka Revue all-female theater group, wrote in a book published last year about her surrealistic space trip about 20 years ago.

"While my body was sleeping, I think my spirit flew on a triangular-shaped UFO to Venus," she said in the book called "Most Bizarre Things I've Encountered," according to an Internet bookstore bk1, which quoted the passage from the book.

"It was an extremely beautiful place and was very green," she said.

The book is a compilation of interviews with 26 prominent people, including writers, scholars and culinary experts revealing their strange or spiritual experiences, originally published in her "Miracle Interview" column in the monthly spiritual magazine "Mu."

She is also known for her healthy cooking and has published several books, including "Miyuki Hatoyama's Spiritual Food." She is also in charge of making her husband look presentable and healthy.

One thing's for sure, Barbara Bush she ain't!!

Edit:
Can't believe nobody else is paying any attention to this.

"I'll take 30 quarter pounders with cheese, 20 large fries, and a small diet Coke"

Details here: http://fnn.fujitv.co.jp/en/news/headlines/articles/CONN00162420.html

gaijinmark wrote:

"I'll take 30 quarter pounders with cheese, 20 large fries, and a small diet Coke" Details here: http://fnn.fujitv.co.jp/en/news/headlines/articles/CONN00162420.html

- good to know!

Makes think - there is this less than funny PR action, which McDonalds Japan launched in August:
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20090901ad.html