JAPAN: Popularity of bunnies soars ahead of year of the rabbit

Tokyo - A sunny weekend in the port city of Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture finds a small room packed with young visitors eager to get to the dozen metal cages lined up on a shelf.

‘‘Look, it’s getting all cozy and drowsy,’’ said a young woman to her husband as they sat on a bench, while a little boy timidly touched the furry little animal in his lap and smiled.

Usagi Cafe, or rabbit cafe, located not far from the city’s Chinatown district, has been a key attraction in the area since its opening in November.

Like the numerous ‘‘cat cafes’’ that have sprouted up across the country in recent years as more Japanese people turn to animals for comfort or relaxation, the cafe allows people to spend time with 11 rabbit ‘‘staffers’’ kept at the facility and to have drinks there.

Rabbits are already a popular pet here, with animal hospitals, pet hotels and clothes shops specializing in rabbits thriving.

But their popularity has increased in recent months as 2011 marks the year of the rabbit in the Chinese zodiac, and the emergence of the rabbit cafe is the latest sign of it...

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OSAKA, JAPAN: Ko Tae Mun, Ko Chung Hee, and the Osaka Family Origins of North Korean Successor Kim Jong Un

Kokita Kiyohito, Tessa Morris-Suzuki and Mark Selden

The following article by Kokita Kiyohito, on the family origins of Kim Jong Un, the leader designate of North Korea, is illuminating above all for the language, assumptions and treatment of issues related to North Korea in contemporary Japanese media, including the Asahi. Two brief commentaries locate some of the issues in broader perspective. The headline and article are taken from the Asahi’s weekly Aera; photos have been provided from other sources. The major story addressed in the commentary by Tessa Morris-Suzuki is the collaboration of the Japanese government and the International Red Cross in arranging the migration of more than 93,000 Korean residents of Japan, who had been deprived of Japanese citizenship following Japan’s wartime defeat, to North Korea. Mark Selden examines a range of issues related to the perspective of the Japanese journalist on Zainichi Koreans and North Korea.

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CHINA: Marriage database created to catch cheaters

7:45 PM Wednesday Jan 5, 2011

China's exploding wealth has created a culture of secret mistresses and second wives. Now officials are putting marriage records online so lovers and spouses can check for cheaters.

State media on Wednesday said Beijing and Shanghai are among the first places to put marriage databases online this year...

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CHINA: Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail opens in June

01-05-2011 16:49 BJT

Editor:Yang Jie |Source: Xinhua

The Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway will be put into operation by the middle of June this year, Chinese Railways Minister Liu Zhijun said at a conference Tuesday.

The high-speed link connecting the country's two most important cities will open ahead of its original schedule, previously set in 2012.

The construction of the 1,318-km railway was started in April 2008 with total investment estimated at 220.9 billion yuan (around 32.5 billion U.S. dollars).

The railway is expected to cut travel time between Beijing, China's capital in the north, and Shanghai, the country's economic center in the east, to less than five hours, compared with the current 10-hour rail journey…

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