Hikosaemon

YouTube video by Tokyo Digital Crew Mash Battle Ep 041: Barbie Girl! THE WINNING TRACK!

Here we go!

2145: Mash Battle Winner youtu.be/ezGpq0RZ1bM?...
2200 Tokyo Tonight (Iran, Foreigner Bounties, more)
youtube.com/watch?v=xMqU...
2300 Tokyo Afterparty
youtube.com/live/qRxXV_s...

Come join me then!

YouTube video by Tokyo Digital Crew Mash Battle Ep 041: Barbie Girl! YOU VOTE, YOU DECIDE THE WINNER!!

Don't forget to vote in this week's Mash Battle, votes close in 2 hours!

Mash Battle Ep 041: Barbie Girl! YOU VOTE, YOU DECIDE THE WINNER!! youtu.be/cvB3RlHiXxM?...

I think it's connected to a simplistic idea that higher wage earners are somehow more trustworthy or better quality. Yet those low wage earners are the ones keeping Japan's farms and factories afloat... It shows there is zero thinking going into this.

It looks designed to foster mistrust of foreigners, to waste the time and resources of authorities that will need to follow up, and to alienate the many innocent foreigners who will clearly now need to constantly prove to strangers they are here living and working normally.

The trap Anthropic built for itself | TechCrunch Anthropic, OpenAI, Google DeepMind and others have long promised to govern themselves responsibly. Now, in the absence of rules, there's not a lot to protect them.

This has been a fascinating sequence of events to watch. What started as an inquiry to Palantir, that was forwarded to DoD(W?) seems to have ended up being used as a political opportunity to assert dominance by US govt

The trap Anthropic built for itself techcrunch.com/2026/02/28/t...

Economic loss from hay fever in Japan estimated at $1.6 billion per day - The Mainichi TOKYO -- As spring approaches and warmer days increase, a challenging period begins for hay fever sufferers, which comes at a cost to businesses too:

For a country that can produce cube shaped watermelons, it's surprising they can't do more to make cedars that produce less pollen.

Economic loss from hay fever in Japan estimated at $1.6 billion per day mainichi.jp/english/arti...

Number of foreigners detained in Japan down 40% from 20 yrs ago - The Mainichi TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The number of foreigners detained in Japan in the five years through 2025 fell 40 percent from the peak recorded 20 years earlier, an

The National Police Agency publishing stats to rebut xenophobes online showing that even with dramatically more foreigners, there is no particular impact on public safety

Number of foreigners detained in Japan down 40% from 20 yrs ago mainichi.jp/english/arti...

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who led the Islamic Republic since 1989, is dead at 86 - The Mainichi DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who assembled theocratic power in Iran over the decades as its supreme leader and sought t

It's hard to feel bad for this guy who has been orchestrating violence against other countries and recently against tens of thousands of his own citizens.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who led the Islamic Republic since 1989, is dead at 86 mainichi.jp/english/arti...

Athletics: Ethiopia's Takele wins back-to-back Tokyo Marathon titles - The Mainichi TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Ethiopia's Tadese Takele won back-to-back men's titles at the Tokyo Marathon on Sunday, while Kenya's Brigid Kosgei clocked a course

I enjoyed watching this today, basically like a 1.5x sped up version of my own run last year

Athletics: Ethiopia's Takele wins back-to-back Tokyo Marathon titles mainichi.jp/english/arti...

Japan refrains from outright support of US, Israeli attacks on Iran - The Mainichi TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan has refrained from expressing outright support for the weekend launch of U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran as Tokyo continued Su

Generally views on the attacks on Iran have been seen negatively in Japan. Japan has good relations and purchases oil with Iran, and 90% of its energy goes through the Strait of Hormuz

Japan refrains from outright support of US, Israeli attacks on Iran mainichi.jp/english/arti...

Japan’s Real Wages Still Lagging Behind Inflation Real wages fell by 1.3% in Japan in 2025, as payments to workers fail to keep step with inflation.

Real Wages continue to make grim reading. Considered together with increasing visa fees, you would wonder how Japan can secure workers it needs

Japan’s Real Wages Still Lagging Behind Inflation www.nippon.com/en/japan-dat...

Tokyo Still a Population Magnet: Internal Migration to Japan’s Capital Remains High Internal migration to Tokyo from elsewhere in Japan remains high as the capital retains its attraction, especially for young people from less populated areas.

Population decline like birthrate decline is a problem that you are not going to make people choose to not go to Tokyo simply with occasional cash handouts

Tokyo Still a Population Magnet: Internal Migration to Japan’s Capital Remains High www.nippon.com/en/japan-dat...

Japan’s “Foreigner Policy” Skirts Key Issues: No Orderly Coexistence Without Plan for Immigration Amid rising voter concerns about immigration, the Japanese government must find a way to maintain social cohesion while meeting industry’s labor needs. The author argues that the Takaichi administrati...

Interesting statistics here but generally following the LDP's false assertion that people here on working visas are not "immigrants"

Japan’s “Foreigner Policy” Skirts Key Issues: No Orderly Coexistence Without Plan for Immigration www.nippon.com/en/in-depth/...

Japan Visa Fees Are Rising in 2026: A Guide for Foreign Workers and Employers Japan visa fees are set to increase in 2026, with permanent residency likely rising to ¥200,000. Here’s what foreign workers and employers need to know.

While it is reasonable to collect fees at cost as needed, the PR fee looks punitive and aimed at discouraging lower wage workers becoming permanent residents

Japan Visa Fees Are Rising in 2026: A Guide for Foreign Workers and Employers blog.gaijinpot.com/japan-visa-f...

Ibaraki Will Offer ¥10,000 for Reporting Undocumented Foreigners Ibaraki Prefecture plans to pay residents ¥10,000 to report undocumented foreign workers. Critics warn the policy could lead to discrimination.

I'd support this if it included a 100,000 yen fine for false reporting. How in the hell is anyone outside the Ministry of Justice supposed to know the visa status of any foreigner..?

Ibaraki Will Offer ¥10,000 for Reporting Undocumented Foreigners blog.gaijinpot.com/ibaraki-undo...

Okay, time for Tokyo Tonight Topics!｀

Japanese labor law does not mess around. I once jokingly explained to an overseas lawyer that you need to burn down your building to get the level of misconduct needed for dismissal in Japan, and was corrected by a labor lawyer who said he knew a case of reinstatement after an arson conviction

Given that some country we all know will treat this as a deadline, it seems to me that they would have done better to announce it AFTER deployment. Also not sure why it takes four years to carry some missiles there...

Said nobody EVER....

Japan's AI Affinity The reasons many Westerners despise AI explain why Japanese don't

I've been noticing that Japanese seem more inclined to see AI tools positively than Westerners, and wanted to figure out why. The answers have less to do with the tech than they do with Japan still having a functioning society. blog.pureinventionbook.com/p/japans-ai-...

Happy Haru-Ichiban everyone (which is that huge wind blowing right now, the first big winds of Spring)

YouTube video by Tokyo Digital Crew Mash Battle Ep 040: Tití Me Preguntó! THE WINNING TRACK!

Here we go!

21:45 Check the Mash Battle Winner (Tití Me Preguntó!)
youtu.be/rh3BVQG3JWQ?...
22:00 Join me LIVE for Tokyo Tonight (tariffs, tourists and more)
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23:00 Join in and choose the music for the AfterParty!
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The 10 most annoying things foreign tourists do on Japanese trains, according to locals Train etiquette can be hard to navigate for tourists, but locals need to watch their manners too.

Yep.

The 10 most annoying things foreign tourists do on Japanese trains, according to locals soranews24.com/2026/02/19/t...

Japan to ban in-flight use of power banks from April - The Mainichi TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's transport ministry has notified airlines that it will ban the use of power banks on airplanes from April after a series of in

This is inconvenient but I'd hate to be in a plane crash because of a fire started by one of these

Japan to ban in-flight use of power banks from April mainichi.jp/english/arti...

Japan Toilet Survey Tracks Use of Rear Spray Function Even if they have a bidet toilet in their home, around 20% of respondents to a survey in Japan said that they never use the rear spray function, while just over half use it almost every time.

I'd wash my hands after shaking hands with people from low usage prefectures.

Japan Toilet Survey Tracks Use of Rear Spray Function www.nippon.com/en/japan-dat...

Hong Kong urges caution when visiting Japan, citing Sapporo 'attack' Authorities ask Tokyo to ensure traveler safety after incident amid Tokyo-Beijing tensions

PRC running nationalist propaganda out of HK government now. At least in the very rare cases of any sort of crime involving tourists in Japan, those crimes are not baited and encouraged by the govt

Hong Kong urges caution when visiting Japan, citing Sapporo 'attack' asia.nikkei.com/politics/int...

Pivoting solar panels balance power needs with farming in Japanese paddies Energy company Idemitsu Kosan's setup to help nation reach renewable energy goal

Good to see Japan continuing to support wind, solar and nuclear while many nimby activists are basically handing clean energy to China and driving a return to dirty fossil energy

Pivoting solar panels balance power needs with farming in Japanese paddies asia.nikkei.com/business/ene...

Japan’s new “Cunte” contact lenses aren’t pronounced like you’re probably thinking they are Cunte Jelly Trick and other lenses’ names might be too clever for their own good.

I'm kind of surprised there hasn't been a Japanese sedan already released with this name

Japan’s new “Cunte” contact lenses aren’t pronounced like you’re probably thinking they are soranews24.com/2026/02/20/j...

23 teens arrested after mass brawl between biker gang and delinquent group in Tokyo - The Mainichi TOKYO -- The Metropolitan Police Department announced on Feb. 19 that it had arrested 23 boys aged 16 to 18 on suspicion of assembling with weapons in

Ah Hachioji... Title implies the biker gang members are not delinquent...

23 teens arrested after mass brawl between biker gang and delinquent group in Tokyo mainichi.jp/english/arti...

Zelenskyy hopes for defense cooperation with Japan, meeting with Takaichi - The Mainichi KYIV (Kyodo) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday expressed hope for cooperation with Japan on defense issues and an early meeting w

Not only is this morally the right thing to do, but also it is essential for any country wanting to be ready to defend itself to learn from Ukraine and this conflict.

Zelenskyy hopes for defense cooperation with Japan, meeting with Takaichi mainichi.jp/english/arti...