Shibuya Introduces Littering Fine

Above, Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Japan is one of the most cleanest countries in the world.

It is rare to see litter on the ground even in the most populous cities in the world such as Tokyo. Apparently, with huge numbers of foreign visitors, a litter problem is developing in the Shibuya Ward.

They are now instituting a litter fine in Shibuya.

According to the BBC:

Litterbugs in the Japanese tourist hub of Shibuya will now face an on-the-spot fine of 2,000 Japanese yen ($13; £9), as new penalties take effect amid the country's tourism boom.

The fine collection system kicked in on Monday in Shibuya Ward, a commercial and entertainment centre that is home to the famed Shibuya Crossing.

In certain districts, authorities are also handing out fines for food and beverage shop operators who do not install waste bins.

To read more, go here. 

Claudia Cardinale Dies At 87

Above, John Wayne and Claudia Cardinale in Circus World.

Italian actress Claudia Cardinale has died at the age of 87.

According to the BBC:

Claudia Cardinale, the Tunisian-born Italian star of The Leopard, 8 1/2 and Pink Panther, has died at the age of 87.

She had a six-decade long career, rising to fame during the golden age of Italian cinema, and was directed by greats such as Federico Fellini and Luchino Visconti.

The actress died at Nemours in France in the company of her children, according to her agent Laurent Savry.

"She leaves us the legacy of a free and inspired woman both as a woman and as an artiste," Savry told AFP news agency.

Born in Tunisia to Sicilian parents in April 1938, Cardinale won a beauty contest at 16 that saw her declared "the most beautiful Italian woman in Tunis". 

Last year, I visited the John Wayne Birthplace and Museum in Winterset, Iowa and picked up a DVD copy of Circus World (1964) starring Wayne, Rita Hayworth and Claudia Cardinale. 

To read more, go here.

Trump: Kirk Assassin Apprehended

A suspect has been apprehended in the Charlie Kirk assassination.

This has been confirmed by President Trump as reported by NBC News:

Trump announced in an interview on Fox News this morning that law enforcement have the suspect in the Kirk shooting in custody.

“I think, with a high degree of certainty, we have him — in custody ... everyone did a great job we worked with the local police, the governor, everybody did a great job," he said.

To see more, go here. 

Travel Ban of 12 Countries Took Effect

Above, yours truly in Havana Port, Cuba in 2019. Cuba is under partial restrictions.

Yesterday, the travel ban imposed by President Trump went into effect.

Several countries are under a total ban while others are under partial restrictions. 

According to the BBC:

President Donald Trump's sweeping new travel ban which bars citizens of 12 countries from entering the United States came into effect at 00:00 ET (05:00 BST) on Monday.

The order, which Trump signed last week, restricts the nationals of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen from entering the US.

Nationals from a further seven countries - Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela - will face partial travel restrictions.

The US president said the list could be revised if "material improvements" were made, while other countries could be added as "threats emerge around the world".

Above, Havana's Plaza de la Revolución in 2019. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

To read more, go here. 

Final Batch of JFK Assassination Documents Released

Above, the assassination site in Dallas, Texas. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

As promised, the Trump Administration released the purported "last batch" of JFK Assassination documents.

This was the result of President Trump's executive order made in January.

From the BBC:

The US government has released the final batch of documents on the assassination of President John F Kennedy - a case that still sparks conspiracy theories over 60 years later.

The release follows an executive order in January by President Donald Trump that required unredacted files in the case to be made public.

Experts are combing over the documents, but have said they do not expect many ground-breaking revelations. Trump expected 80,000 pages of records to be unsealed.

US authorities have previously released hundreds of thousands of JFK documents, but held some back, citing national security concerns. Many Americans still believe the gunman, Lee Harvey Oswald, did not act alone.

To read more, go here. 

Police Probe: Are The New Years Terror Incidents Related?

Above, the Las Vegas Trump Hotel. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Investigators are looking into the terror incidents on New Years to see if they are related.

It seems quite possible since they came within hours of each other.

According to the BBC:

Police in the US are investigating whether an explosion outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas is linked to the deadly car-ramming attack in New Orleans.

The driver of a Tesla Cybertruck was killed and seven other people were injured in Las Vegas after the vehicle - filled with fuel canisters and firework mortars - exploded. Officials said all injuries were minor.

In the New Orleans attack, a 42-year-old US citizen is believed to have driven a pick-up truck into a crowd on a busy street, killing 14 people and injuring 35, before being shot dead by police.

President Joe Biden said investigators were looking into whether the two incidents were linked, but "thus far, there is nothing to report".

To read more, go here. 

Attack At Kabul Airport May Be "Imminent"

JUST IN (0843): REPORTS COMING OF FIRST SUICIDE BOMB ATTACK OUTSIDE OF KABUL AIRPORT. MARINES INJURED. 

Fox News is reporting that an attack on the Kabul airport may be "imminent", according to British sources.

They reported:

The possibility of an "imminent attack," perhaps within "hours," loomed over Kabul’s airport on Thursday, according to a British official.

James Heappey, Britain’s armed forces minister, told the BBC on Thursday there was "very, very credible reporting of an imminent attack," possibly targeting the airport in Afghanistan, where tens of thousands of people have been gathering over the past two weeks in hopes of leaving the country.

A senior US official who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed the British report, saying the threat by ISIS-K or another affiliate of a vehicle bomb or suicide bomber has been measured as "more likely than unlikely" for over the last 24 hours.

If this happens, this would be another tragedy that would be firmly tied around His Fraudulency Joe Biden's neck!

To read more, go here. 

Wonder Woman Star Gal Gadot Under Attack For Tweet

Above, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman.

Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot has come under fire for Tweeting her support for Israel in the current fight with Hamas. Actually, she came out for peace between the two sides.

Hamas has been indiscriminately firing rockets into Israel over the past several days.

From the BBC:

Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot has received a backlash online over her tweet about the escalation of violence in Israel and Gaza.

The Israeli actress and former Miss Israel posted: "Israel deserves to live as a free and safe nation," adding: "Our neighbours deserve the same."

The comments attracted thousands of replies - now switched off - leading to her name trending on Twitter.

In her youth, Gadot completed two years of mandatory military service.

"My heart breaks," the 36-year-old posted online.

"My country is at war. I worry for my family, my friends. I worry for my people. This is a vicious cycle that has been going on for far too long.

"I pray for the victims and their families. I pray for this unimaginable hostility to end, I pray for our leaders to find the solution so we could live side by side in peace. I pray for better days."

While some high-profile people, including US politician Ted Cruz, praised Gadot for her remarks, many others reacted angrily.

She was criticised by supporters of the Palestinian cause, who pointed to her service in the Israeli military.

I, for one, am a supporter of Israel and a fan of Gal Gadot.

To read more, go here.

"Godzilla vs. Kong" Has Monster Box Office

Back in the Showa era, the 1962 King Kong vs. Godzilla was the highest-grossing Godzilla movie produced by Toho Co., Ltd.

Now, the "rematch" (not officially) between the two, Godzilla vs. Kong by Warner Bros./Legendary Pictures, appears to be a hit with moviegoers.

The BBC reported:

Hollywood film Godzilla Vs. Kong has set a new global record for pandemic-era filmgoing,

Takings have been more than $385m (£205m) since opening two weeks ago.

The strong showing came despite continued limits on attendance in many places, bringing hope to an industry that has been battered by the virus.

The $48.5m the film brought in during its first five days in the US outpaced the weekend debut of the Godzilla franchise's previous film.

Overall, the film has made more than $236m outside the US, although it has yet to open in some key markets, such as Japan, Brazil and many parts of western Europe. More than half the sales were in China. 

As for myself, I haven't seen Godzilla vs. Kong as yet. I am heading to Durango, Colorado (one of two places nearest to me that's showing it) for a mini-trek to see it this week. Durango is less than four hours away. Theaters in New Mexico are closed down thanks to the state's governor.

To read more, go here.

Godzilla Being Sabotaged By The Critics?

Above, my Godzilla: King of the Monsters theater ticket. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

It is indeed bizarre to read the negative reviews of Godzilla: King of the Monsters by the critics, while at same time, laud the 2014 Godzilla. Sometimes I wonder if they saw the same movie as I did. 

Although I liked the 2014 Godzilla (I found it more entertaining than Toho's Shin Godzilla), I don't like it as much as Godzilla: King of the Monsters. Back then, I gave Godzilla a B+.

In general, fans like the current entry. At Rotten Tomatoes, fans give it an 86% audience score, while the critics are giving it 40%. Over at various message boards, quite a number of fans are telling others to "ignore the critics". This smells of "critic sabotage" to me.

According to the BBC, the negativity is being blamed for Godzilla: King of the Monsters "disappointing" box office results. One has to remember that it is up against some stiff competition such as Aladdin.

They wrote:

After some pretty punishing reviews, Godzilla – and his monstrous cohorts Rodan, Ghidorah and Mothra – have fallen short of expectations at the US box office. 

The latest in the 'MonsterVerse' from Legendary Pictures, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, has made $49 million (£38.7 million) across more than 4000 screens in the US, which doesn't bode brilliantly for a movie that's cost around $200 million to make. 

For perspective, the previous movies in the series, Godzilla and Kong: Skull Island, did notably better on their opening weekends, launching to $93 million (£73 million) and $61 million (£48 million) respectively. 

Though things brightened slightly worldwide, with a total haul of $179 million (£141 million), but industry outlets like Variety are already calling it a 'fading franchise'.

It will be interesting to see if Godzilla: King of the Monsters picks up more business through word-of-mouth in the coming days and weeks or has enough "staying power" to maintain steady box office business.

To read more of the BBC article, go here.

BBC: Why Is "Seven Samurai" So Good?

Above, the Seven Samurai mural at the main entrance to Toho Studios. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Okay, movie fans! Here's one for you.

Many Japanese kaiju fans have broadened their movie-watching interests into other genres with some focus on prominent Japanese movie directors. Akira Kurosawa is one of them. Many Japanese movie fans have enjoyed a long list of Kurosawa movies, most prominently is Seven Samurai (1954). This includes me. I have a copy of Seven Samurai.

The BBC has an interesting article on Seven Samurai, "Why is Seven Samurai so good?"

It begins with:

Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai (1954) is a three-and-a half-hour-long black-and-white epic set in war-torn, 16th-Century Japan. As elevator pitches go, it’s hardly ideal, yet not only did Seven Samurai take first place in BBC Culture’s 100 greatest foreign-language film poll, with 41 critics (20 per cent of the total) voting for it, Kurosawa was one of the most popular directors overall, with three of his other films (Rashomon, Ikiru and Ran) all making the top 100. Tellingly, though, Kurosawa’s global appeal didn’t reach as far as the Japanese critics who took part; not one of them voted for Seven Samurai, or any other Kurosawa film, preferring the subtler homegrown talents of Yasujirô Ozu and Kenji Mizoguchi. But perhaps that’s what we should have expected. Even during his most successful film-making years, Kurosawa was often held in higher esteem abroad than in his own country.

The article is an interesting read. I recommend it!

Interestingly, Seven Samurai and Godzilla were both boxoffice hits in 1954 and both are honored with murals at the main entrance to Toho Studios in the Setagaya ward of Tokyo.

To read the full article, go here. 

How Hiroshima Rose From The Ashes

Above, the A-Bomb Dome in 2004. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Hiroshima was the first of two Japanese cities to be obliterated by an atomic bomb. But today, it is a thriving city with very few reminders outside of Peace Memorial Park of the atomic attack in August 1945.

BBC Travel has an article on how Hiroshima rose from the ashes.

They wrote:

Today’s Hiroshima is a bright, welcoming place, blessed with an enviable location on the shores of the Inland Sea, with its maze of misty islands. On the other three sides are mountains. Six rivers run through it, earning Hiroshima the nickname the ‘City of Water’. 

Visitors invariably leave here with an overwhelming feeling of admiration and respect for the tremendous character of Hiroshima’s residents, who resolved to pick themselves up and start all over again, turning their tragic experience into a force for good in the world. Many visitors also say they experience a notable spike in their levels of empathy, compassion and altruism. It’s what you might call ‘the Hiroshima Effect’.

To read more, go here. 

New App Translates Rail Announcements for Tourists

Above, a cleaning crew waiting to begin cleaning a shinkansen train at Tokyo Station. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Japan continues to come up with innovative ways to make things easier for visitors. The newest is an app that will translate train station announcements and send them in text messages.

According to an article in the BBC website:

A new mobile app could make life easier for foreign tourists in Japan by turning loudspeaker announcements into text in their own language. 

The free app, called Omotenashi Guide, is currently in the testing phase and is designed to work without an internet connection, the the Asahi Shimbun newspaper reports. It works by picking up a signal embedded in loudspeaker announcements, turning the audio into text in Japanese - for locals who may have hearing difficulties - and six other languages, including English, Spanish and Korean. It'll be trialled later this month at bullet train stations in Tokyo, Hamamatsu and Kyoto, and is also being tested in shopping centres and airports.

To read more, go here.

Kumamoto Area Hit By An Even Bigger Quake!

Above, quake coverage from the BBC.

Kyushu, Japan is still shaking. An even bigger temblor hit the Kumamoto area overnight.

According to the BBC:

A more powerful earthquake has rocked the southern Japanese city of Kumamoto in the middle of the night, a day after an earlier tremor killed nine people. 

The magnitude-7.3 quake hit at a depth of 10km (six miles) at 01:25 on Saturday (15:25 GMT on Friday) in Kyushu region. At least three people died and hundreds were injured. 

A village has been evacuated after a dam collapsed, it says.

To read more, go here. 

Ceremony Marking Centennial of Lusitania Sinking

Today marks 100 years since a German U-boat torpedoed the Cunard liner Lusitania during World War I.

According to the BBC's website:

About 1,200 people died and 771 survived when the British liner was torpedoed by a German submarine on 7 May 1915 during World War One. 

One of the largest ships in the world, it was sailing from New York to its home port of Liverpool when it was sunk off the coast of Ireland. 

A minute's silence will be held at 14:10 BST - the time of the attack - at a service in Liverpool.

To read more, go here. 

Japan Out of Recession, Although Growth Disappointing

Above, the National Diet Building in Tokyo. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Japan came out of its recession during the third quarter of 2014, but the rate of growth was disappointing.

According to the BBC:

The economy expanded by an annualised 2.2% in the three months to December in a preliminary reading, compared to forecasts for a 3.7% increase.

The recession did not affect Japan's tourism industry as they posted record numbers of foreign visitors in 2014.

To read more, go here.

Costa Concordia Captain Found Guilty of Manslaughter

Above, the Costa Concordia after the disaster.

The captain of the cruise ship Costa Concordia has been found guilty of manslaughter and received his sentence.

According to the BBC:

The captain of the Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia has been found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 16 years in prison. 

Captain Francesco Schettino was at the helm when the ship hit rocks and sank in 2012, killing 32 people. 

He was accused of taking the liner too close to the shore and then abandoning ship with passengers and crew still on board. 

Schettino denied the charges and said he was being made a scapegoat.

To read more, go here. 

BBC Record - London Picks Up Monster Japan Travelguide News

The news release on the clearance sale of The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan is starting to hit different media outlets. The first one is the BBC Record - London. This is the first I've ever heard of this news organization (it doesn't seem to be a part of the British Broadcasting System (BBC) and it apparently has origins in Pakistan).

It does seem odd that they don't include banner or any other kinds of headlines for their article postings. But, I'll take it!

To view the site, go here.

BBC's "Living In: Tokyo"

Above, a view of Shinjuku from Tokyo Tower. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The website of the BBC has posted an article in their Travel section on Tokyo, Japan.

The title of the article is "Living In: Tokyo" by Lindsey Galloway and, as the title implies, discusses living in Tokyo for expats.

The article begins with:

Described by residents as a “mixture of many faces” and a “Disney remake of Blade Runner” thanks to its diverse, trend-setting inhabitants and futuristic backdrop, Tokyo buzzes with an eclectic energy. But despite being one of the busiest cities in the world, it is also one of the most accommodating to outsiders and expats.

 To read the article, go here.

Richard Kiel Dies At 74

Above, Roger Moore and Richard Kiel in The Spy Who Loved Me.

Sad news in the world of James Bond.

The BBC website reported:

Actor Richard Kiel - who played steel-toothed villain Jaws in two James Bond films - has died in California aged 74. 

The towering American star, who appeared in The Spy Who Loved Me in 1977 and Moonraker in 1979, died in hospital in Fresno on Wednesday. 

A spokeswoman for Saint Agnes Medical Center confirmed Kiel's death, but did not reveal the cause.

Richard Kiel played Jaws in one of the best Roger Moore Bonds (The Spy Who Loved Me) and one of Moore's worst (Moonraker). Kiel's portrayals of Jaws in both movies had very menacing and comedic qualities to them. He was a fan favorite on the convention circuit during the past several years.

To read more, go here.