Off to the beach

I'm going to Shimoda for the weekend, to lay on the beach (weather permitting) and do nothing. I probably won't have any new posts until I get back on Sunday evening, at the earliest.

In the meantime, here are some links to keep you busy:

•   Worried about racism in Japan? Relax, the UN is on the case.

•   Sea turtles are endangered. Endangered by Japanese TV cameramen, that is.

•   Possibly undermining its efforts to boost tourism, Japan will start fingerprinting foreign visitors next year.

•   On the other hand, the Kishiwada municipal government in Osaka is letting foreigners vote in local referenda if they've lived in Japan for at least three years, even if they don't have permanent residency status.

•   If it has a 638cc engine and lets you shift gears manually, is it still just a scooter?

•   You ask yourself, "How much more chrome could it be?" And the answer is, "None. None more chrome."

•   A group of Tokyo residents is opposing Japan's controversial new history textbooks.

•   I'm going to have to check out this movie about a Japanese biker chick.

•   A Japanese researcher has invented a 3-D computer game for the blind that uses no graphics, only sound.