Japanese men getting fatter, women thinner

Japan is facing a queer problem - men are getting fatter by the year while women are getting thinner. Latest estimates released by the country's cabinet office on Wednesday says that 31.2% men aged 20-60 years are presently obese (body mass index over 25) as against 25.3% in 1995. In comparison the ministry of health, labour and welfare's 2010 National health and nutrition survey found that 29% of women in the 20s were too thin (body mass index less than 18.5). In fact just five years before (2005), 21.9% women in their 20s were found to be too thin. (India Times, May 26) Source: http://newsonjapan.com/html/newsdesk/article/96558.php

Korean idol enrages Japanese netizens by eating instant noodles from the pot

TOKYO —While the Internet in general is known for being a bottomless cauldron of hate, nothing quite gets Japanese netizens seething like South Korea. Case in point: the Japanese Internet is raging over a video of a young South Korean woman eating instant noodles because she has bad table manners. The video is actually part of a promotional series for Shin Ramyun instant noodles in which members of Korean girl group T-ARA share their favorite home recipes. The clip in question features member Park Ji-yeon, who divulges that she prefers to stick with the orthodox recipe and proceeds to show viewers how to prepare Shin Ramyun according to the directions on the package.

Japan's largest McDonald's opens in Harajuku Omotesando

TOKYO — McDonald’s Japan on Sunday opened its largest store in Japan. The Harajuku Omotesando branch occupies 795 square meters and seats 328 customers. It will soon feature a new McCafe inside where customers can order coffee made to suit their individual preferences. The cafe is to open in July, ahead of other branches, in an attempt to appeal to a more adult market than usual. Japan Today Source: http://www.japantoday.com/category/business/view/japans-largest-mcdonalds-opens-in-harajuku

Maid cafe waitresses show off their scientific know-how

Girls dressed in French maid outfits running craft classes on soldering, of all things, might seem like something out of Japanese anime. But this is Akihabara, Tokyo's "Electric Town," and home to all things anime and "otaku," meaning geeks. The workshops are the brainchild of electronics parts retailer Wakamatsu Tsusho Co. Akihabara has long been home to many electronics parts shops. But nowadays, it also serves as "ground zero" for otaku culture and attracts thousands of enthusiasts of anime, videogames, cosplay and other pop culture trends. Wakamatsu came up with the idea of craft classes run by waitresses in maid costumes to revive interest in the science behind electronic gadgets. The company, established 36 years ago, hosted a free craft session in March at Akihabara Network & Embedded Technology Center, Akiba NET-kan, in the Sotokanda area of Chiyoda Ward. In addition to Wakamatsu Tsusho workers and specialists close to Japan's leading semiconductor manufacturer, Renesas Electronics Corp., it included Erika Kurosaki and Shion Arimura from Togenkyo maid cafe as instructors to offer tips on soldering. Twelve people, ranging from a 6-year-old girl, who is set to attend elementary school this spring, to a 62-year-old man, joined the session. After they were given basic tips on soldering, they worked on a heart-shaped circuit board to complete an LED flasher that plays music.

Food poisoning deaths jumped in '11

Eleven people died from food poisoning in 2011, the first fatalities in three years and the first time the toll has exceeded 10 in nine years, according to health ministry data obtained Saturday. The victims included seven people who died of the O-157 strain of E. coli bacteria, five of whom fell ill amid a rash of cases linked to raw meat served at a "yakiniku" barbecue restaurant chain. However, the total number of food poisoning cases fell to 1,062 in 2011, while the number of people who were sickened also dropped to 21,616. A subpanel of the Pharmaceutical Affairs and Food Sanitation Council, which advises the health minister, will be briefed on further details about the data at a meeting Monday. Source: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120318a9.html

Japan wants cuisine listed as UNESCO heritage

TOKYO — Japan said Friday it was applying to UNESCO to have its cuisine listed as a global cultural treasure as part of a bid to restore global confidence in its food after the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Tokyo is to ask the UN's educational, scientific and cultural arm to register "Washoku: Traditional dietary cultures of the Japanese" as part of the intangible heritage of humanity, the foreign and agriculture ministries said. "Washoku" or the Japanese diet, is traditionally based on rice, fish and vegetables, but the varied and highly seasonal cuisine of the country has won it plaudits around the world. The government said washoku was characterised by respect for nature and the importance placed on the way in which dishes are served as well as the quality of ingredients used. The nation also "needs to restore confidence in Japanese food, which has been adversely affected by rumours due to the nuclear accident" at Fukushima, the government said.

Unregulated ‘herbs’ spread among youths seeking a buzz

Authorities are cracking down on dried plant stems, leaves and seeds similar to drugs, although legal, which are spreading among youths and may be damaging their health. The number of stores that deal in these products, known as “legal herbs” because they are unregulated, has increased sharply in Tokyo. According to the metropolitan government, 93 stores sell “legal drugs,” a broader category that includes these plant fragments, up from 17 in fiscal 2010 and two in fiscal 2009. “Even though these products are billed as 'legal,' the constituents closely resemble those of marijuana and stimulants,” a metropolitan official said. “They can cause serious drug dependence and health damage.” Many stores that handle “legal herbs” and smoking equipment call themselves sundries stores. The plant fragments are often sold as incense or aromatic products, not for inhalation. Tokyo’s Metropolitan Police Department plans to keep a closer watch on sales of these products. At a store in Shibuya, the dried fragments, cut into 2- to 3-millimeter pieces, were sold in 10-centimeter-square bags for 5,000 yen ($65) or more per bag. On the night of Jan. 25, three boys, aged 17 to 18, were taken to a hospital after complaining of headaches and nausea at a parking lot in Shibuya. They were smoking cigar-shaped “legal herbs” they said were given away at a nearby store. “Similar stores have cropped up in Shibuya, and some let customers smoke inside the stores,” a senior police officer said. “Damage to young people will increase if these products are left as they are.” Whenever certain substances are prohibited, peddlers come up with new products whose chemical structures are slightly different from those of the banned substances. “Stores are familiar with the law,” a senior official at the Metropolitan Police Department said. “It is difficult to take action unless banned substances are contained.” The health ministry is considering revising ordinances to introduce a blanket regulation over products whose chemical structures resemble those of prohibited substances. In January, the ministry also asked officials in prefectural governments to more closely regulate stores that deal in “legal drugs.” (This article was written by Kaoriko Okuda and Yutaka Shimizu.) Source: http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201202080007

VOCABULARY

1.      Cracking down (phrasal verb) - to become more strict in dealing with a problem and punishing the people involved

2.      Unregulated (adj.) - not controlled by a government or law

3.      Fragment (n) - a small piece of something that has broken off or that comes from something larger

4.      Constituent (n) - one of the substances / form of something

5.      Revising (v) - to change something because of new information or ideas

6.      Resemble (v) - to look like or be similar to someone or something

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1.      Name commonly used herbs in your country.

2.      Which herbs are considered illegal?

3.      What are some uses of drugs?

4.      What are the effects of drugs?

5.      Discuss about illegal drugs in your country.

From Banking to Ice Cream Making

As the huge styrofoam ice-cream cone took shape, day after day, in her Miami backyard, Suzanne Batlle frequently asked herself how she had come to be spending $30,000 (£19,500) on it. A single-mother supporting two teenage children, she had resigned from a well-paid job in banking and set up an ice-cream shop in the city's Little Havana district. With bank loans difficult to obtain during the credit crunch, she ploughed $280,000, mainly borrowed from her mother and brother, into the business. Ms Batlle spent a couple of months studying "the chemistry and physics" of ice-cream at two specialist institutes, and then enlisted the help of a chef friend and began to concoct her own flavours. These ranged from the Latin American fruit mamey, to avocado, to rum cake and a blend of guava, cream cheese and crackers, which echoes a popular Cuban habit of eating the three together. Customers engage in lively debates to help refine the flavours. Ms Batlle thinks the styrofoam ice cream outside her shop could be the world's biggest. After five months, Ms Batlle is taking $750 a day - enough to cover rent, bills, ingredients, loan repayments and a small wage for herself - although it isn't enough to live on. At this rate, she says, the business's debts will be paid off within five years. A local restaurant has recently begun selling her lemon and basil ice-cream, and she hopes eventually to sell wholesale, and also to open other premises. And now that the Styrofoam ice-cream is proudly displayed on the shop's front, she has another goal: to get it certified by the Guinness Book of Records as the world's largest. Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16450031

VOCABULARY

1.      Styrofoam (noun) - a soft light plastic material that prevents heat or cold from passing through it, used especially to make containers (polystyrene)

Example: a Styrofoam cup

2.      crunch (noun) - a difficult situation caused by a lack of something, especially money or time

Example: Cost cutting had enabled the organization to survive a previous cash crunch.

3.      Ploughed (verb) - to use money that you have earned from a business to make the business bigger and more successful

Example: Companies can plough back their profits into new equipment.

4.      Concoct (verb) - to make something, especially food or drink, by mixing different things, especially things that are not usually combined:

Example: Jean concocted a great meal from the leftovers.

5.      Cover (verb) -  it is enough to pay for it

Example: The treatment wasn't covered by her healthcare insurance.

6.      Premises (noun) - the buildings and land that a shop, restaurant, company etc uses

Example: Schools may earn extra money by renting out their premises.

7.      Certified (adj.) -  officially approved as having met a standard

Example:  certified organic vegetables 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1.      Would you consider putting up your own business?

2.      Discuss about your future business plan.

3.      How would ice cream business be like in your country?

4.      Tell us about ice cream brand in your country.