Let's Japan.org Debunking Eikaiwa and Ramblings in Japan

This is from last week's Classifieds in the Japan Times, but it's a keeper. Eikaiwa is fraught with tales of low pay, insane students, insane managers, and general stupidity that would make Scott Adams drool with excitement.

NOVA is back in the news again with articles in the Yomiuri and Asahi shimbun detailing how NOVA just can't make its problems go away. These are quick-and-dirty translations, so if I've gone horribly wrong somewhere, let me know.

First, the story from the Yomiuri Shimbun.

Who knew breakfast was good for you? Here's a good example of advertising masquerading as news, a news-mercial if you will. In a poorly translated piece of screed from the Mainichi Shimbun:

A well-balanced, nutritious breakfast is important to help people concentrate on work and increase their productivity, an experiment conducted by a leading pharmaceutical company has shown.

, NOVA has posted a loss of 2.5 billion yen.

A summary of their earnings can be found in this Nikkei BP Net article [in Japanese].

More evidence of the biofuel craze affecting the food supply:

TOKYO, May 14 (Reuters) - Japanese food and service prices are creeping up, a possible sign that companies are finally starting to pass on higher raw material costs to customers despite overall tame consumer inflation, analysts say.

As you already know, one woman died and 19 others where injured in the roller coaster accident at Expoland in Suita, Osaka Prefecture.

So Kumamoto's "konotori no yurikago" (stork cradle) hatch at Jikei Hospital has opened. It's sad that this kind of thing has to exist, but if it does some good, I think it's worth it. Prime Minister Abe, however, isn't crazy about the idea:

In Tokyo, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe remained critical of the baby hatch and said he wants parents to consult the government or local administrative authorities before giving up on their babies.

This comes via Debito's blog. From an article on the pervasive racism and xenophobia in Japan:

Yet again, another example of the food for fuel problem. Mayonnaise maker Kewpie announced yesterday [in Japanese] that the price of mayonnaise will increase by 10% as of June. As you know, mayonnaise is its own food group in Japan, so this is serious news. The reports on TV made a point of noting how the price of mayonnaise hasn't changed in 17 years.

This is definitely a sign of Japan's impending doom.

Takeshi Yamashita does not look like a homeless person.

From his carefully distressed jeans to his casual-cool navy striped T-shirt, he is every bit the trendy Tokyoite.

Yet the 26-year-old has been sleeping in a reclining seat in an Internet cafe every night for the past month since he lost his steady office job and his apartment.