It has been almost two weeks since Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe suddenly resigned from office. A press conference was called suddenly, and everyone left the room more confused than when they went in. Abe was silent for over a week, and has only just come out earlier this week, saying effectively that his timing to step down was rubbish, and he for the first time apologised deeply to the nation. In the week after he quit, Abe admitted to hospital for extreme stress and fatigue. But what were the real reasons for his sudden and irresponsible departure, and what happened over his last couple of weeks?

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Stippy.com, due to popular demand is opening a new line of articles on Romance in Japan, and specifically this time on “Picking up in Japan”. Enjoy this piece entitles “Leading” by our friends at Osaka Crew. They say, “Women want to be lead through an experience. They don’t want to decide the experience, they just want to have it safely. They have to trust your strength that they will be safe with you on that journey”. Come and find out more.

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Masahiro Origuchi (折口雅博), the infamous ex-President of Comsn (コムスン) - the company that, according to their English homepage, is “preserving the dignity and independence of the elderly” (link) when they are not screwing taxpayers by lining their pockets with illegal subsidies. This is the story of him and his private jet.

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Starting November 20, 2007, all foreign nationals landing in Japan will be required to submit to fingerprinting and having their picture taken. Yokoso! Smile! You’re a terrorist suspect!

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This is the third installment in a series about my personal experience of being pregnant in Japan (or perhaps I should say, of my wife being pregnant). There is no topic better than pregnancy for old wives tales to prevail and it seems that the topic of food - what you can, can’t or shouldn’t eat - really takes the cake when it comes to misconceptions in not only Japan but every country in the world.

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