1
At this year's Kyoto University graduation ceremony one graduating student dressed up as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. It took him three months to grow the beard, but he pulled it off very well: youtube.com/watch?v=QcH2zZ…
2
The Nara city government considered building a monument at the spot where former Prime Minister Abe was assassinated, but some residents didn't want one. In the end, Abe got this unmarked flowerbed. twitter.com/themainichi/st…
3
Japan won. You may have laughed at this photo, but the otter was right. The otter was right. twitter.com/PopulismUpdate…
4
A pro-Trump #StopTheSteal march is being held right now in Tokyo. Hours before the #January6th march takes place in America, these people are holding their own event supporting the claim that Trump actually won the 2020 election.
5
An advanced monkey-based simulation of tonight's Japan vs. Croatia match has determined that Japan will win 3-1 and advance to the next round of the World Cup:
6
NHK is reporting that Abe Shinzo was apparently shot in the chest while delivering a campaign speech in Nara. A reporter is saying they heard 2 gunshot sounds and saw him fall over, bleeding from his chest. He has been taken away in an ambulance.
7
Endō Tatsuya, creator of the popular Spy × Family manga series, now has a gold checkmark on Twitter, which is supposed to cost $1,000 a month and be reserved for organizations. According to this tweet, it seems he didn't apply or pay for it. twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
8
Osaka's Tennōji Zoo held a training exercise today to prepare staff for the possibility of a lion escape. As you can see from this NHK news video, they put great effort into making it very realistic.
9
Most people in Tokyo were roused from their beds by earthquake alerts at 4:16AM today, but the Kabukicho entertainment district never sleeps. Here is some street footage of the moment the earthquake struck.
10
A Japanese media outlet has broken the silence and released the name of the religious group that Abe's assassin has a grudge against. It's the Unification Church. twitter.com/mrjeffu/status…
11
Video: Japanese police struggle to restrain a suspect and ultimately decide to wrap him up in a blanket like a big burrito. This is a standard procedure to deal with violent/drunk suspects without resorting to the use of weapons.
12
A 26 year-old YouTuber was just elected to the Hiratsuka city council. Shin runs a local Pokémon card shop and has a YouTube channel that reviews local restaurants. Instead of using his real full name, he officially ran as "Shin the Hiratsuka YouTuber" and received 3,827 votes.
13
Takashima Ryosuke, the 26 year-old newly-elected mayor of Ashiya, has an impressive CV. He left Tokyo University after one year to go to Harvard. While still a student he founded a non-profit that would help 300+ Japanese students go to university abroad. https://t.co/cI4FF8l8wz
14
From NTV's Bankisha program: a report about a 49 year-old Japanese man with no military experience who volunteered for the Ukrainian military. Recruiters almost rejected him, but his past experience as a yakuza convinced them of his willingness to fight. youtube.com/watch?v=meyEu8…
15
Tokyo Pokémon card shop bans sales to adults so kids can enjoy the hobby: Hareruya 2 in Akihabara will not sell new Snow Hazard and Clay Burst packs to anyone over junior high school age, hoping it will block adult resellers and make the new cards more accessible to children.
16
More reports about the assassin's motivations, with more vague wording about a "certain group" (特定の団体) that he hated and associated with Abe. This is even more vague than earlier reports that suggested it was a religious group. 1/ twitter.com/ura5ch3wo/stat…
17
A video of Golden Week holiday horror at the Shinkansen ticket gate area of Tokyo Station.
18
The Hemp Party's pro-marijuana legalization candidate did not win a seat in the Fujisawa city assembly election. When the ballots were counted on Sunday night, it turned out he received 420 votes. I'm not joking. That's actually how many votes he got. twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
19
The Abe shooting suspect built his own firearms in a one room apartment. The sound of the machinery was very loud and neighbors reported it to the building management company, which responded by...putting fliers into every mailbox asking residents to be quiet and considerate.
20
Many Japanese Twitter users are talking about popular artists and non-bot friends whose accounts were purged today in what appears to be a mass suspension aimed at spam/bot accounts. Until today, Japanese Twitter has largely not cared about Elon Musk's takeover of the company... twitter.com/mrjeffu/status…
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Some additional information: This was not simply a comedic cosplay. The graduate dressed as Zelensky was holding a sign expressing support for the Ukrainian cause. It included this quote from the president's speech to the US Congress.
22
A BBC television report about a Japanese food store opening in Wales that aired on this day in 1983: "What about the idea that you eat raw fish all the time?"
23
This announcement was only made in English to what Musk has called a "Japan-centric" site. When Japanese language media picks up this story, expect some very negative reactions from Japanese users who don't want to pay for basic features. #投票有料化
24
The Japanese government's Twitter account is promoting a contraption developed by researchers at Osaka University that can track moving "pests" and deliver death by laser beam.
25
Watanabe Tadahiro (Ishin Party), a longtime campaigner for a barrier-free society, was elected to the Chiba city assembly on Sunday. He is the founder of Universal Access Designing, a non-profit that works to improve the accessibility of local tourist facilities. twitter.com/tadahiro_wt/st…
PhD. Special Lecturer at Kanda University of International Studies. Japan's Politics/Nationalist Activism/History Disputes/Pop Culture. RT/Likes ≠ endorsements