1
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.
2
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.
3
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.
4
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…
5
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…
6
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…
7
Japan won. You may have laughed at this photo, but the otter was right. The otter was right. twitter.com/PopulismUpdate…
8
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…
9
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…
10
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…
11
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:
12
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.
13
I have seen a lot of accounts spreading this fake news story. These beds were 1) designed before COVID-19 with recyclability in mind and 2) can stand up to 200kg (440lbs) of weight. mainichi.jp/english/articl… twitter.com/aravosis/statu…
14
"Marshmallow" is trending in Japan after the suspension of the official Twitter account of Marshmallow QA - a service that let followers ask Twitter users questions anonymously. Many users are claiming that there has been a mass suspension of accounts that used Marshmallow.
15
The 2019 footage in this Asahi TV report about a Kurdish man being brutalized while in an immigration detention center is truly horrifying: today a Japanese court ordered the government to pay ¥220,000 ($1,640) in damages to the man.
16
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.
17
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.
18
Upper House lawmaker Nishida Shōji (LDP), one Japan's leading voices against LGBT rights, was asked to clarify his statements about "forces that seek to divide" Japanese society. He said It's the Marxists. His ideas about Marxism are fleshed out on his YouTube channel... twitter.com/tbsradio_news/…
19
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
20
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.
21
I am often amazed at Suzuki Eito(@cult_and_fraud)'s bravery when it comes to reporting on the activities of the Unification Church. Here is a clip of him in Korea last week, reporting about a mass wedding at the UC HQ:
22
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…
23
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…
24
Vice-Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications Sugita Mio was asked if she wrote a blog post bashing Ainu and Zainichi Korean women who were fighting against discrimination. Her answer was pretty much: "Yes, but I wasn't a lawmaker at the time." twitter.com/JapanPoliticsC…
25
The alleged shooter's name has been released: Yamagami Tetsuya (山上徹也). From witness reports of smoke and the weird appearance of his firearm, it looks like some kind of homemade weapon.
PhD. Special Lecturer at Kanda University of International Studies. Japan's Politics/Nationalist Activism/History Disputes/Pop Culture. RT/Likes ≠ endorsements