Rah! Rah! Rah! Cheerleaders pep up dour Japan

On a recent Saturday, some 20 members of elderly cheerleading club Japan Pom Pom performed at a competition near Tokyo, waving gold pom-poms and dancing to the rhythm in shiny red costumes adored with sequins and wearing bobbed silver wigs. The club, whose members' ages average 66 and add up to 1,520 years, practices two hours a week and often performs at children's hospitals as well as nursing homes. In Tokyo's bustling business district of Shinjuku, Aya Saito, 33, has been dancing on a street every morning to the 1980s pop song "Mickey" for seven months as commuters rush by to work.

My opinion

The group's enthusiasm appears to be contagious. Although they are not young and cannot dance well, but their try them best. This courage is so great. I should learn from them. I hope when I old or do not need work, I can do some interesting things like them. I think if they show themselves on the ground, everybody will clap their hands. Fighting!

Japan astronaut gets designer 'space suit'

The US space shuttle Discovery blasted off on Monday with Yamazaki and two other female crew on board, bound for the International Space Station (ISS) on a historic mission that put more women in orbit than ever before.Ahead of her departure, Yamazaki, 39, asked Ashida, daughter of fashion guru Jun Ashida, to design her work clothes for the 13-day space mission and she came up with a slim knit cardigan in light blue with navy blue shorts."As a female designer, I chose a design and colour with a sense of grace ... so that she can feel at ease as she carries out a tough mission in a male-dominated, bleak atmosphere," Ashida said on Wednesday."It's like a dream come true to see my clothes worn in space," said Ashida. "I'm looking forward to seeing her wear my design."

My opinion

The designer is so cool. I also like design something in my daily life. I want to become a stage designer, because it is so cool. I can design the stage which I like. Of cause, I also can see the star. The designer can have this idea is very interesting. Next time, they can try to design the spaceship. Japan's astronauts have shown a penchant for space entertainment in the past.

Japan's NEC offers eyewear translator

Most eyewear improves vision or cuts through solar glare, but a new gadget from Japan may soon sharpen linguistic skills and cut down language barriers instead, inventors said Thursday.High-tech company NEC has come up with a device that it says will allow users to communicate with people of different languages.The text -- provided instantly through voice recognition and translation programmes -- would effectively provide like movie 'subtitles' during a conversation between two people wearing the glasses.Users can still see their conversation partner's face because the text is projected onto only part of the retina -- the first time such technology is used in a commercial product, according to NEC.

My opinion

This eyewear is very great. If I can have one, we can know foreign langrage well. Maybe we English listening will be best. Ha-ha. I think this is a good implement to promote communication. We can use it to instead of translator. You can imagine that every official wear this eyewear in international meeting. It is so cool. But, it is have a question that if we speak local langrage or the pronunciation is not very good, how this eyewear can translate? Is this subtitle on glasses harmful for eyes? Maybe it is still has many problems to use.

Fat fingered sumo wrestlers given iPads

Japanese sumo wrestlers have been given iPads to communicate because their fingers are too fat to use a standard mobile phone.The Japan Sumo Association is distributing about 60 iPads among all the 51 training stables and top association officials from this week to help improve communication.A 62-year-old former wrestler admitted that while he can read incoming text messages on his mobile phone, he does not know how to write replies and does not usually use a computer.But "time flies if you play with this", he said of the Apple gadget.The iPod was chosen because the sumo association believed the device was big enough to cater to wrestler's fat fingers, unlike the smaller keys on mobile phones, according to reports.

My opinion

God! I want to be a sumo，so I can get a free iphone. Ha-ha. My mum always doesn’t allow me to buy iphone, but I want to have one very much. Sumo’s finger is fat as same as their leg? It is so funny. I think if they cannot use normal hand phone, they also cannot use computer or Mp3. How about their closestool? Is it bigger than normal one？Ha-ha.

China is expected to surpass Japan this year

China is expected to surpass Japan this year as the world's second-largest economy, an unprecedented position for a still-developing country and one that has brought strains as well as triumphs. Second-quarter GDP figures from Japan reported Monday morning show that its economic output, at $1.288 trillion, fell short of the $1.339 trillion China reported for the three months ended in June. That suggests that China is likely to pass Japan once and for all this year. China's output has topped Japan's before, in the last quarter of the year, when the Chinese economy tends to run hotter for seasonal reasons. Outpacing Japan in an early quarter is seen as a good indication that China has the momentum to zip past Japan for the full year.

My opinion

I am proud of my motherland. Many years ago, China is a backward country. The civil was hungry and poor. Many people immigrate to other countries. Today, many people still think China is a low development country. For example, there are many foreigner have ever asked me if many Chinese do not have enough food and cloth. Actually, china has developed very well. Except Shanghai and Beijing, most of cities are also very beautiful and improved. In contrast, China still is a third world county, has a widening gap between rich and poor. I do not understand business, but I think China is more and more strong.

Quiet please! Noise irks Japan's commuters the most

Taking the train in Japan and want to avoid annoying fellow passengers? Keep conversation to a whisper, turn down your iPod and put your cellphone on vibration mode, a recent survey by the railway association showed. For Japanese commuters, noise is the biggest issue, with loud conversation and music from headphones the top two offenders and cellphone ringtones in fourth place, the survey by the Association of Japanese Private Railways showed.Here are the top 10 examples of bad rail manners according to the association's online survey, with responses from about 4,200 people:

1. Noisy conversation

2. Music from headphones

3. The way passengers sit

4. Cellphone ringtones and talking on phones

5. Pushing, shoving when getting on and off trains

6. Applying make-up

7. Littering

8. Sitting on the floor of the train

9. Riding the train drunk

10. Riding a crowded train with a child in a stroller

My opinion

Make a noisy is a very bad habit. It is not only on bus, also in public place like classroom, restaurant, hospital. In china, if you make noisy or strange voice in public place, the other people will think you are impolite. But for Chinese bus, many foreigners may complain about pushing and shoving that accompanies getting into the bus. However, the people will give up for senior citizens or pregnant women. But my Thai friend told me it is a strange thing in Thailand?! Anyway, we must have a good habit when we are in public place. We cannot disturb the others.

Kabuki

Kabuki is a traditional Japanese form of theater with its origins in the Edo period. In contrast to the older Japanese art forms such as Noh, Kabuki was the popular culture of the common townspeople and not of the higher social classes. Kabuki plays are about historical events, moral conflicts, love relationships and the like. The actors use an old fashioned language which is difficult to understand even for some Japanese people. Actors speak in monotonous voices accompanied by traditional Japanese instruments. Kabuki takes place on a rotating stage (kabuki no butai). The stage is further equipped with several gadgets like trapdoors through which the actors can appear and disappear. Another specialty of the kabuki stage is a footbridge (hanamichi) that leads through the audience. In the early years, both men and women acted in Kabuki plays. Later during the Edo period, the Tokugawa forbade women from acting, a restriction that survives to the present day. Several male kabuki actors are therefore specialists in playing female roles

My opinion

Kabuki is always a special culture in my heart. It is like the Beijing opera, is Japanese traditional culture. I like their cloth and makeup. It is very different from Chinese theater. When you watch it, you can have a special experience like drink a cup of gongfu tea. I have ever heard that many Kabuki actors are must learn it from childhood, and every pose and action must be traditional. They are split into many ratings, and when you get a certain gating, you just can wear kimono to play. I am not sure it is true or not, but I think this art must very wonderful.

Parties start as Japan's cherry tree season blooms

Spring has begun, and so has Japan's obsession with cherry blossoms. The pale pink blossoms or "sakura" are in full bloom, signaling that it's time to flock to parks across the country for picnics under the cherry trees. At Tokyo's Yoyogi Park, people waited for hours to reserve the best spots to view the picturesque trees. These flower-viewing parties called "hanami," or "flower viewing" in Japanese, are spring traditions held among families, friends, or co-workers. Parties beneath the cherry trees can go on all day and night, especially during the weekends. As the blossoms -- a national obsession found in paintings, poetry and literature dating back centuries -- appear only briefly, throngs rush to catch a glimpse of them before spring rains sweep their fragile petals to the ground.

My opinion

Some Japanese say that the cherry blossoms ‘ephemeral nature serves as a poignant reminder of how life itself is fleeting. The cherry blossom has meant a new start. I very like cherry blossoms. How beautiful it is! It is pink and small, but when the hundreds of cherries blossoms is blooming, everywhere is pink. A string of cherry blossoms look like an elegant wash drawing. Chinese very like it. In my hometown, we have many brand’s logo is cherry; many cherry blossoms food. Every year, we also go to the park to view the flower, and the park will hold many activities that about cherry blossoms.

Japan boasts top number of world's marine life

In a historic roll call of the ocean, a scientific survey has found approximately 33,629 kinds of sea creatures in the waters surrounding Japan--the widest diversity of species in 25 oceanic regions.The Census of Marine Life--a group of about 360 researchers from 13 nations and regions--released the results Tuesday, which were compiled from a database on sea creatures based on information obtained during the survey. It recognized the existence of about 230,000 kinds of sea creatures.Although the waters surrounding Japan account for just 1 percent of the world's oceans, about 15 percent of all sea creature species live there. Among them, mollusks, including snails, squid and octopi, marked the largest number with 8,658 species; arthropods, including crustaceans such as crabs and prawns, followed with 6,393 species recorded."The high diversity Japanese sea creature life can be traced to the varied environments existing in Japanese waters--from Hokkaido where ice floes come adrift in winter to Okinawa Prefecture where coral reefs grow," said Katsunori Fujikura, a researcher at the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology.

My opinion

Japan is very lucky! There are so many creatures in their ocean region. Japanese sea is very beautiful. I am very interested in it. I want to go for a look. Sea always is a very mysterious region. It has diversity and wonderful sea creatures. Japan has about 23000o kinds of sea creature. It is really a precious resource. Maybe, this is the reason why mostly Japanese food culture is about seafood. Except take pride in this, Japanese also need to consider how to protect this sea environment. How can we do for keeping sea creature living environment non-pollution? This is a big headache for government today.

"No English, no job" for some Japanese office workers

As Japan's population shrinks, the country's retailers are increasingly looking to boost sales by expanding abroad and some firms are waking up to the necessity of being able to speak the global language of business in order to succeed overseas. Rakuten, Japan's biggest online retailer, plans to make English the firm's official language, while Fast Retailing, operator of the Uniqlo apparel chain, wants to make English more common in its offices by 2012 and plans to test its employees for proficiency."It's about stopping being a Japanese company. We will become a world company," Rakuten CEO Hiroshi Mikitani said last week at a news conference in Tokyo -- conducted almost entirely in English.Other high-profile Japanese companies, including automakers Toyota Motor and Nissan Motor, have announced moves to make the use of English more common in the workplace.Some experts say the switch to English is healthy but just one of the changes companies need to make to go global.

My opinion

When I read this news, I felt I did a good choice. English do is the most important skill for a person. It is world language, and you need it to communicate with people from other countries. Not only this, it is also the one business skill. If you want to have a good job, you must use English well because every industry and area both need use English more or less. English is a very useful language. For example, I study abroad, and I cannot speak their national langrage, but if I can speak English, I also can communication and live here. I can study in Thailand because I can study by English. This is also the reason why I choice to study English. Actually, I do not very interested in English.

Japan robots chat, play -- and help find lost specs

Robots that can chat, find misplaced glasses, draw aero planes and play with your children are attracting thousands of visitors during an expo in Tokyo as Japan adapts to changes in society.Robots, such as the sound-sensitive Chapit, answer simple questions and even joke with people to help the solitary fight loneliness and stay alert in old age. The robot can also help find misplaced spectacles by identifying them with a sensor."Many older people in Japan live alone and have no one to talk to," said Kazuya Kitamura, a representative of the expo organizer. "Communication robots accompany people and don't mind listening to the same stories over and over again."The robot also can use the Internet to find a simple image and then draw pictures, keeping children company while parents work.

My opinion

Japan has one of the world's fastest-ageing societies and the government predicts that by 2050 the proportion of people over 65 will reach 40 percent. Many old people live alone because the young people in today are too busy to stay with them. Many young people also do not like live with ole people, they do not like listening old stories again and again. This robot is very good way for old people to find a partner. They can talk with them and do not worried it is boring. It is can reduce aloneness. But this is only a auxiliary for make your parents. If you want your parents feel real happy, you must have more time and patience for your parents.

When 'I do' means 'I don't anymore'

With divorce on the rise in Japan, some couples are choosing to celebrate the end of an unhappy marriage by saying "I do" for a final time at a divorce ceremony before friends and family.Divorce ceremonies were pioneered about a year ago by a former salesman, Hiroki Terai, who set up a "divorce mansion" in a small undercover space in Tokyo.
The latest couple, who called themselves Mr and Mrs Fujii, met near Sensoji Temple in Tokyo's traditional Asakusa area on Sunday and rode in separate rickshaws to the divorce mansion.Friends and family of the Fujii couple followed closely behind the rickshaws on foot, arriving at the divorce mansion for a ceremony where the Fujiis smashed their wedding ring with a gavel, a gesture signifying the end of their partnership
The gavel has a frog's head as frogs symbolize change in Japanese culture."When we smashed the ring together, I felt like 'Oh, this is the end of it, really' and my heart and soul felt renewed. Now I feel I can have a new life and start all over again," said Mr Fujii.His wife of eight years also expressed relief.

My opinion

Divorce is on the rise in Japan, where it was once taboo, with about 251,000 divorces taking place in 2008. I feel it is so strange! Japanese are always so funny. Why does someone want to celebrate divorce? If you get a divorce, it means you have a fail marriage. It is really not worth celebrating. Maybe they think they will begin a new life, but I cannot accept it. I think it is so ironic.

Japan plans high-tech World Cup 2022 bid

Japan has devised a high-tech bid for the 2022 World Cup.The country, which co-hosted the football tournament with Korea in 2002, hopes to convince Fifa to award it the tournament for a second time with an elaborate high-tech bid.Japan plans to make use of 200 high definition cameras to film the matches and then transmit them across the world to be shown on giant 3D screens.Football fans will use digital tickets to get into matches and use GPS to find their way around stadiums.In accordance with the global green trend, Japan also hopes to make use of the energy made by spectators to partly power the communications system.

My opinion

It is so amazing! Japan score team always the stranger in Asia. If Japan applies to hold FIFA successfully, they will order a high-tech experience for score fans. I expect the 3D screen make the experience even more immersive for viewers at the match. Another thing that let me feel amazing is the energy system. You can imagine that when the fans cheering, stamping and clapping; it will all change to electric energy for math. How cool it is!

Sumo

Sumo is a Japanese style of wrestling and Japan's national sport. It originated in ancient times as a performance to entertain the Shinto gods. Many rituals with religious background are still followed today.

The basic rules of sumo are simple: the wrestler who first touches the ground with anything besides the soles of his feet, or who leaves the ring before his opponent, loses. Fights take place on an elevated ring, called a "dohyo", which is made of clay and covered in a layer of sand. The fights themselves usually last only a few seconds, or in rare cases, about a minute.At the top of the sumo wrestlers' hierarchy stand the yokozuna (grand champion). Once a wrestler reaches the rank of Yokosuka, he cannot lose this status but he will be expected to retire when his results begin to worsen. Many former wrestlers remain active in the sumo world as members of the Japan Sumo Association.

My opinion

Such an interesting Japanese sport. I am very interested in it, because many cartons often describe these sports. The modeling of clothes is very funny. （ha-ha）They are looks so cute and so fat. Their hair style looks like a nutria (hahaha). I like it. In china, we also have wrestling like it, but it is meng’s (one minority like hang) traditional sport. People play it when they celebrate festival. I have ever watched meng’s wrestling before, but I have never played it.

Jpanese Sushi

Sushi is a combination of boiled rice marinated with rice vinegar, and seafood on top or rolled in the middle. It is a healthy icon of Japanese cuisine known the world over. Boiled or roasted seafood is used for sushi on occasion, but generally raw ingredients are used. Some people may have never experienced sushi because they object to the idea of raw fish, but there are many types to choose from. Sushi for those who won’t eat raw fish is also available.
The origins of sushi can be traced back to “nare-zushi” (nah-leh-zoo-shee), a traditional form of fermented sushi. Today a lot of emphasis is put on the freshness of raw ingredients used, but in those days the ingredients were preserved. In short, nare-zushi is a fermented combination of river fish and rice that originated in Southeast Asia. Eventually it was introduced to Japan, and is still prepared today as a local delicacy in certain regions. Marinating the boiled rice with vinegar is a practice that originated in the Edo Period, beginning in 1600 AD.

Sushi can be eaten by hand or with chopsticks.
Eel is already prepared with sauce, but most other sushi should be dipped in soy sauce before eating it. After eating a rich piece of sushi, it’s always refreshing to crunch on some pickled ginger, which is offered as a condiment.

My opinion:

I like eating Sushi very much.
In China, Sushi is very popular among the young generation. I think it is one kind of healthy food, and looks very toothsome. Because all of the ingredients that make sushi are raw, it is more fresh and nutritive. There are many conveyor belt sushi restaurants in Kuming(My hometoen). A conveyor belt loaded with plates of sushi moves from table to table around the restaurant, and customer can take what they want from it. Price is determined by the color of each plate. It is inexpensive for people, but if you go to some famous Japanese restaurants like Haiyi Hotel, Mingu, and Tongren restaurant around Green Park Lake, it is very expensive.

There are many different types of sushi to choose from.

Nigiri Sushi：This is the most common type of sushi.

Pressed Sushi (Oshi Zushi)：This type of sushi is often eaten in the Kansai region, especially in the Osaka vicinity.

Battleship Roll (Gun-Kan Maki)：This is one type of nigiri sushi

China ang Japan co-operation in Africa

Plans to transform the east African oil sector by building a pipeline from south Sudan to the Kenyan coast were boosted yesterday when a Japanese company expressed interest in joining the project. The project would be the boldest yet by a Japanese company in Africa. China has also been studying the proposed pipeline and Toyota Thrush said that co-operation with Beijing was possible. 　At present, the oil is exported via pipelines leading through northern Sudan to an export facility on the Red Sea. The government of the semi-autonomous south wants the new pipeline to reduce its dependence on the north and to create an export route via Kenya.

China National Petroleum Corporation, a state-owned company, has the largest foreign stake in Sudan's oil industry and Beijing received 79 per cent of Sudan's petroleum exports in the same period. Japanese diplomats acknowledge that, in common with China, securing oil and other natural resources in Africa is one of their main objectives.