Asia Blog: China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam

The Telegraph, in Geisha numbers grow as internet and TV coverage explodes, points out that number of registered Geisha in Japan is increasing for the first time since the 1950s. Geisha now number over 100 members:

The numbers of young maiko, or trainee Geisha, rose above 100 in March this year for the first time since time since the 1950s. The boom in recruiting follows the establishment of a website by the Kyoto Traditional Musical Art Foundation, which made the music, dance and practices of the Geisha available to those outside the formerly closed world of the courtesans and their clients.

Geisha recruitment hit a nadir of 28 in 1978. In the post-Second World War changes roiling Japanese society, which weakened the monarchy and aristocracy, theirs appeared to be a vanishing world. In the following decades the annual numbers stabilised between 50 and 80.

In the modern world, the Geisha trade is complicated by the easy availability of entertainment in the form of bars, clubs, the internet, access to pornography, and mobile networking. Furthermore, Geisha are expected to be single; if they marry, they retire.

This is cute, it made me wonder if joining the Japanese Air Force was in my future. Then, I found out its from the flying sim Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation (エースコンバット6 解放への戦火, Ēsu Konbatto Shikkusu Kaihō e no Senka). Still, putting cute anime on fighter jets is adorable…

The game looks half decent, it’s rated 80% on metacritic!

Tomohiro Kato from Shizuoka, a man the media first incorrectly reported as a Yakuza gang member, drove a mid-sized truck into pedestrians in Akihabara, the main electronics shopping district of Tokyo on Sunday. The New York Times reports that seven people died from the stabbing rampage, while another 11 were injured.

The truck used by Tomohiro Kato

The man who committed the “stabbing rampage” was Tomohiro Kato. He lived by himself in a small apartment, and had grown tired of life. Kato told police that he had grown “tired” of life, “hated the world” and had gone to Akihabara to kill random people. “Anyone was O.K., I came to Akihabara to kill people. It didn’t matter whom I’d kill,” he said. Kato wore a beige suit and black-and-white sneakers, and was armed with a 12″ survival knife.

Tomohiro Kato being captured by police

There is more coverage at Japan Probe, who’ve compiled a good list of links and news stories about this incident. It goes to show that even in countries that ban guns–like England and Japan–crimes, killing sprees, and murders can still be committed. And if knives are banned, only criminals will carry knives…

Update: Mashable reveals that the killer “twittered” his attack plan on a Japanese forum:

“I’m going to Akihabara to kill people. If my car is destroyed I’ll use a knife. Goodbye everyone.”
“I’m tired.”
“It’s time, I’m leaving.”
“I’ve entered Kanagawa [prefecture, en-route to Tokyo], I’m taking a rest.”
“I’ve reached Akihabara. Today it’s a pedestrian area, I think.”
“It’s time.”