Ginza blues: Sister, can you spare a hostess?
January 22, 2012
“Tonight we’re having a shinnen-kai (first party of the New Year), and we haven’t got enough gals to go around. Would you mind lending us Rei-chan and Tomo-chan?”
“Tonight is quiet here, so no problem. Tell you what: take three and I’ll send them over.”
The above exchange, relates Shukan Shincho (Jan. 26), took place not long ago between two bar “mamas” while getting their hair done at a beauty salon in Ginza 7-chome. Read more
Carnal desire and survival at Tohoku evacuation centers
May 14, 2011
After disaster strikes, issues like food supply, clothing availability, and adequate shelter are known to be of top concern. Shukan Shincho (May 5-12), however, adds that carnal pleasures are not far behind — even following the Great East Japan Earthquake in March, in which some Tohoku evacuees have been struggling to find places for intimate activities.
The city of Otsuchicho, Iwate Prefecture, whose number of deceased and missing persons totals 1,700 (one of whom is the mayor), has members of the Japan Self-Defense Force, police officers, and fire department personnel on the ground making strides in finding victims in the midst of heavily damaged and burned buildings.
At one street corner, the magazine’s reporter sees two elementary school boys looking around. Perhaps they are looking for their parents or lost items? When asked, they said, “Juhachikin.”
They were looking for what? Read more
Sumo chairman dined at Michelin restaurant day scandal broke
February 10, 2011
TOKYO (TR) – On the night of February 3, the day the sumo bout-rigging scandal was revealed, the chairman of the Japan Sumo Association was photographed dining at a Michelin 1-star Japanese restaurant in Tokyo, reports Shukan Shincho (Feb. 17). Read more
Thomas the Yak Engine? Publisher alleged to host gangster front company
September 8, 2010
Children’s books and criminal organizations go together like water and oil. However, reports weekly tabloid Shukan Shincho (Sep. 9), the pair is apparently coexisting under the same roof at the Tokyo headquarters of the well-known publisher Poplar Publishing, which prints Japanese language editions of the “Thomas the Tank Engine” series of books.
Established in 1947, Poplar began its shift in tenants last autumn. “In September, a company joined as a tenant on the 6th floor of the publisher’s headquarters in Shinjuku Ward’s Yotsuya district,” says an individual associated with the publisher who does not name the company in question. “This tenant joined under the direct referral of Hiroyoshi Usuda, the chairperson. The company is said to sell devices that eradicates pollutants from water.”
Read more
Sumo world’s ties to gangsters, baseball betting have long legacy
July 7, 2010
Ever since weekly tabloid Shukan Shincho reported (in its May 27 issue) that sumo wrestlers frequently gamble on professional baseball games with organized crime members, the Japan Sumo Association has been on the defensive.
On Sunday, the association decided to dismiss 34-year-old wrestler Kotomitsuki and his stablemaster Otake. Other wrestlers and senior advisors received punishments.
Recent revelations that Yamaguchi-gumi crime syndicate members have been supplied with ringside seats for past matches — ostensibly so that fellow gangsters behind bars can catch a glimpse of their compatriots on television — have also soiled the image of the pastime. Read more
Tokyo college seniors expelled over project ‘to protect ugly women’
July 1, 2010
Tokyo Metropolitan University, or TMU, was formed in 2005 by the merger of four public institutions of higher learning in the Tokyo area. The institution was in the headlines recently when two of its seniors majoring in system design were summarily expelled.
The two had come up with a project they named “Dobusu wo Mamoru Kai” (group to protect ugly women).
“They went around on the street accosting women, saying they were ‘researching an article,’” a source at TMU tells Shukan Shincho (July 8). “Later it was determined that the video, showing the faces of certain women, had been posted on YouTube without the subjects’ permission.” Read more
Concrete controversy: DPJ’s Mieko Tanaka travels to Yamba Dam
May 10, 2010
Last month’s visit by Democratic Party of Japan representative Mieko Tanaka to the Yamba Dam project site in Naganohara, Gunma Prefecture lacked professionalism, squeaks Shukan Shincho (Apr. 29).
With the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma now at the forefront of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama’s agenda, the weekly says that the dam, whose construction was halted following the DPJ’s historic victory in last year’s lower house election, has become a secondary issue.
A native of Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture and one of “Ozawa’s girls” — referring to the group of attractive female candidates dispatched to minor constituencies under the guidance of DPJ politician Ichiro Ozawa — the 34-year-old Tanaka fell short of former Prime Minister Yoshihiro Mori in Ishikawa Constituency No. 2 in last August’s election. Yet she wound up qualifying for a house seat through the proportional representation system. Read more
Porn actresses pen salacious memoirs in chasing legacy of Ai Iijima
March 20, 2010
Realizing that playing with pens might be more beneficial than swords, former and current AV (adult video) actresses have released titillating tell-all memoirs over the past year as they pursue the fame of former starlet Ai Iijima, the author of the million-selling book “Platonic Sex” who died in late 2008, reports Shukan Shincho (Mar. 25).
Honoka resigned from the AV business a year ago, after starring in 50 films over a career that spanned five years. Her biography “The Basket” was released on January 18. The weekly provides one excerpt. Read more
Deflation equation: room, board, Ginza hostess — all in, 12,800 yen
February 19, 2010
Usually entry to a high-end Ginza hostess club requires an initial outlay of tens of thousands of yen. Yet the wave of deflation is causing one new establishment to charge a mere 12,800 yen for an hour of all-you-can-drink and — get this — food and lodging.
Shukan Shincho (Feb. 25) reports on the latest project by mama-san Shiho Masui, 41, who has appeared in the media numerous times since 1995, when she opened the hostess club Futago-ya (Club Twins) in Ginza’s 6-chome district. This separate pricing venture began on the first of the month. Read more
Ozawa’s gals appearing anxious as party ponders path
January 23, 2010
“Ozawa girls” is a title that refers to the group of attractive female candidates dispatched to minor constituencies under the guidance of the Democratic Party of Japan’s scandal-plagued Secretary General, Ichiro Ozawa, for last August’s lower house election.
At the party’s annual convention inside the Hibiya Kokaido on January 16, three of these ladies, who wound up winning seats in their districts, seemed a bit on edge, reports Shukan Shincho (Jan. 28). Read more
