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Worker runs over people at Japanese plant, 1 dead
A disgruntled worker slammed his car into employees at a Mazda factory Tuesday, killing one and injuring 10, stunning Japan just two years after an autoworker went on a deadly rampage in central Tokyo. Toshiaki Hikiji, 42, was arrested about an hour later on attempted murder charges after fleeing in his car from Mazda's Ujina plant in Hiroshima prefecture, southwestern Japan, police said. Japanese media reports said Hikiji was a contract worker who had been let go in April. He bore a grudge against the automaker and went there with a knife with the intention to kill, they said.

But Mazda Motor Corp. spokesman Kotaro Minagawa said he had quit in April on his own, citing personal reasons, after working just eight days at the plant, and there had been no reports of troubles. The rampage has revived memories of a stabbing spree in Tokyo's jam-packed electronics shopping district two years ago, also by an angry autoworker, that killed seven people when he slammed a truck into a crowd and then stabbed onlookers.

(boston.com, Jun 22)

7 Feb
What kind of (unexpected place' are we talking about? Doing it outdoors? Or on the dance floor of her club, in front of the other patrons? "No, no, that's not what I meant," she replies. "By 'place,' I mean a part of the body. You see, I had an orgasm while getting screwed in my armpit!!" But it seems there are some women whose armpits happen to be erogenous zones. Lick them in the right place --- shall we call it their U-spot? (Tokyo Reporter)

7 Feb
Unlike China, Japan's population is in danger of shrinking dramatically. The main reasoning behind this development is what is being called "herbivore men." This type of man is said to have no desire in having sex or developing relationships. About 36 percent of males from ages 16-19, according to the Japan Family Planning Association, have said that they do not desire to have that sort of relationship; however, young men are not the only ones to develop those feelings. Fifty-nine percent of women in the same age group report not wanting to have sex. There have been different reasons given as to why these people do not want to have sex. Answers from men in this generation varied. They said that developing a relationship causes too much work, and that it would also take away from how they normally like to spend their time. Other speculations about the decrease in sex interests are that the individuals are becoming more obsessed with technology and virtual relationships than real ones. (bangstyle.com)

7 Feb
Over a thousand people gathered on the outskirts of Tokyo, shovels and ladders in hand. Their goal: to dig their way to victory in the Japan All-National Hole Digging Competition, and claim the coveted Golden Shovel. The annual contest, now in its 12th year, drew 259 teams from around the country at the weekend to test their hole-digging prowess and claim awards for the deepest hole, the most creative hole and the most original costume worn during the digging. At the shriek of a whistle, contestants -- some dressed as skeletons or wearing Arabian-style headgear -- began digging frantically, tossing earth behind them as their shovels bit into the soil. Some went for creativity, carving a heart out of the ground. Others aimed at depth, using buckets to haul up the earth. (Reuters)

7 Feb
The United States said on Monday it has struck a deal sparing U.S. exporters from hundreds of millions of dollars in European and Japanese trade retaliation in a dispute over how Washington calculates anti-dumping duties on steel and other goods. "I am proud to announce today that we have finally put these burdensome and potentially damaging trade disputes behind us," U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said in a statement on the "zeroing" deal struck with the European Union and Japan. "What this means for the American people and the country as a whole is that American farmers and businesses can invest in job-creating export markets without the uncertainty of possible trade retaliation," Kirk said. The United States has lost numerous cases at the World Trade Organization in the past decade over a practice called "zeroing" used to calculate anti-dumping duties on products it says are being sold in the United States at less than fair value. (Reuters)

7 Feb
An ad hoc committee set up by the Cultural Affairs Council endorsed a plan Monday to get Japanese food culture listed on UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage list. The government will present its formal nomination to the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Culture Organization by the end of March so a decision on the listing can be made as early as autumn 2013. UNESCO has put 20 Japanese cultural traditions ranging from the performing arts of kabuki and noh to festivals and traditional crafts on the list so far. (Japan Times)

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