TOKYOMANGO

Abused Woman Arrested For Visa Violations

A story about a kidnapped sex worker in the news today highlights a classic problem in Japan concerning trafficking and immigration.

A 37-year old Chinese sex worker in Tokyo was walking home early in the morning when a group of men gagged her, tied her up, threw her in a truck, beat her, and then made repeated phone calls to her friend asking for ransom money.

She was released today for no known reason, and arrived at her friend's house on a cab. They called the cops. The cops arrested the kidnapped Chinese sex worker.

Okay do you see why this is really fucked up? True, the woman was guilty of violating her visa provisions and being in Japan illegally. But hello. She's a kidnapping and abuse victim. And I am almost willing to bet that part of the reason she was kidnapped was because she was involved in one of the many trafficking rings that manipulates a vast majority of foreign sex workers in Japan in one way or another. If anyone learned a lesson from this incident, it's probably this: foreign sex workers learning that they should not report things like abuse, kidnapping, and trafficking to the cops because they could be deported.

It's the wrong lesson.

For more about trafficking in Japan, please read my Metropolis article.

Ruzilla Firefox

Did I ever tell you that Ruby modeled for Mozilla when they were looking for a logo for their web browser, Firefox?

Omelet Rice Mouse Cover

If you've never had Omuraisu (omelet + rice), then you're totally missing out. It usually has ketchup-based chicken fried rice inside, and there's a whole art to how to make the egg on the outer shell perfectly soft and fluffy. In Japan, there are restaurants that specialize in Omuraisu and TV shows dedicated to the art of making the perfect prototype.

The one in the picture is pretty obviously fake. It's actually a mouse cover from creative gadget company Solid Alliance. And as you can see from the series of pics below, there are many different ways that you can have fun with it.

 

Holy Pillow Picks Up Sounds

This guy is silly. He's too lazy to put the phone to his ear, so he bought this sound-catching cubic pillow to put the receiver in. Apparently this not-so-comfortable-looking pillow full of holes streams all sounds from the room in through its crevices and into your ear. So even if you're watching TV at low volume so you don't wake up your kids, you can hear it right in your left ear.

Get yours here.

Poodles Aren't Sheep, Silly

Do you know the difference between a sheep and a poodle? Apparently, a lot of people don't, because a British/Australian company deceptively calling themselves "Poodles as Pets" successfully imported and sold  flocks of sheep to an estimated 2,000 Japanese people who wanted puppies.

One couple found out their dog wasn't a dog when they took it to the doggie salon for a nail trim, where they were told that their poodle had hooves.

The scam took place in Hokkaido. So if you live on the lovely northern island and bought a poodle recently, check to make sure it's really a dog.

The animal in this picture, by the way, is a toy poodle. Not a sheep, or a mop, or a black furry blanket. Her name is Birdie.

Link (Thanks, Zach and Brian!)