National Archives Screenings of "December 7th" and Japanese Propaganda Film

 A few minutes ago, I finished watching a special 80th anniversary commemorative online screening of the 1943 film, December 7th.

From ABC15 Arizona:

The National Archives Museum will commemorate the 80th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor on Tuesday.

The museum is hosting an online screening of the documentary "December 7th."

The movie, released by the U.S. Navy, won an Academy Award in 1944 for Best Documentary Short Subject.

Following the screening of December 7th, a captured Japanese propaganda film was screened. It was produced immediately following the attack on Pearl Harbor and included footage of the Pearl Harbor attack along with the capture and occupation of Hong Kong that also took place in December 1941.

Some screenshots from the Japanese film of the Pearl Harbor segment:

And here are the films:

Japan's Yen Hits New Low, Shoppers Going Japan Crazy

Above, the Shibuya 109. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The weakened Japanese yen has made Hong Kong residents, among others, to stock up on yen and flock to Japan in record numbers. The U.S. dollar has also reached heights not seen since 2007.

According to Hong Kong's The Standard:

Hongkongers are stocking up on the yen and making plans for travel to Japan as the currency drops to a new low of 6.269. 

This came as the dollar sat around eight-year highs against the yen yesterday. 

In Tokyo, the greenback bought 123.66 yen, at one point reaching 123.69, its highest since mid-2007. 

Long queues were seen outside forex dealers in Hong Kong, with about three dozen speculators queuing up at shops in Central. 

Japan's foreign arrivals rose to a record of 1.764 million last month, up 43.3 percent from a year earlier, figures from Japan National Tourism Organization last week show. 

The agency also said arrivals from China more than doubled last month from the year before, exceeding 400,000 for the first time on a monthly basis.

 To read more, go here.

Shibuya 109 Store To Open In Hong Kong

Above, the Shibuya 109 store in Tokyo. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The Shibuya 109 department store in Shibuya's shopping district has some history in kaiju movies.

In Gamera 3 (1999), the store was blasted by Gamera while in pursuit of several Gyaos birds. In Godzilla x Megaguirus (2000), the store was obliterated by sonic blasts by Megaguirus.

Now, in 2014, it has been announced that plans are underway to open a Shibuya 109 store in Hong Kong next year.

According to The Japan News (Yomiuri Shimbun):

The Tokyu Group plans to open a Shibuya 109 store in Hong Kong — the store’s first overseas operation — as early as autumn next year, according to sources. 

Shibuya 109 is a fashion center in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, and is known as a trendsetter in young women’s fashion.

The Shibuya Ward, including the Shibuya 109 department store, is covered in The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan on page 27.

To read more, go here.

Gundam At Hong Kong Times Square

Figure.Fm posted some photos of Gundam at Times Square, Hong Kong.  They remind me of my 2005 visit to the Bandai Museum where, in meeting a challenge from G-fan Stan Hyde, I squeezed (barely) into a costume and posed on the Gundam Lift.

Here's one of the photos of me on the Gundam Lift:

Now, to see the photos of Gundam at Hong Kong's Times Square, go here.

Boeing's New 747-8 Lands In Hong Kong For First Time

Recent attention has been directed to the problems of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner's lithium-ion batteries.  Meanwhile, Boeing's newest generation of the venerable 747 has made its first East-Asian landing yesterday.

eTravelBlackboardAsia.com reported:

The first Lufthansa Boeing 747-8 flight from Frankfurt to Hong Kong landed at Hong Kong International Airport today. Hong Kong becomes the first East-Asian and the fifth destination worldwide to welcome the new Queen of the Skies, the all new 21st century version of Boeing’s legendary 747 Jumbo Jet.

The Boeing 747-8 is the successor plane to the Boeing 747-400.  It is an all-new plane that builds upon the positive features of the Boeing 747 series of aircraft.  It is also the world's longest aircraft at 76.3 meters long and has redesigned wings.  The 747-400 was introduced in 1989.

To read more, go here.

Sinking Yen Good News

Above, Tokyo's Akihabara "Electric Town."  The falling yen makes
Japanese goods more affordable on the export market.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The falling yen against the U.S. dollar and other international currencies are making Japanese goods and travel to Japan more affordable for foreigners.

According to Hong Kong's The Standard:

With inflation ever-present and with workers complaining of minimal pay rises, it's nice to know that some things are cheaper - provided they are made in Japan. 

With the yen falling rapidly against the US dollar, fruits, wheat, snacks and other goodies imported directly from Japan are now cheaper. What's more, a five-day trip to the Land of the Rising Sun is now HK$1,000 less, or a drop of 10 percent.

The yen has depreciated by 15 percent since November when the market tipped Shinzo Abe to regain the premiership and implement more aggressive monetary easing policies. 

It breached the 94 mark against the greenback recently and 100 yen is now worth just HK$8.25, compared with more than HK$10 a few months ago.

If the trend of the dollar rising against the yen continues, we might be seeing ¥100 per dollar by April.

To view the full article, go here.

Boeing 787 Era Begins

Boeing's new 787 "Dreamliner" made its inaugural flight today.

According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution:

After a delay of more than three years, Boeing's much-hyped jet, the 787, made its first commercial flight, from Tokyo to Hong Kong — and landed on-time.

The All Nippon Airways flight was packed mostly with aviation reporters and enthusiasts, some of whom paid thousands of dollars for the privilege and treated the experience like a rock concert, clapping after lift-off and snapping photos for posterity.

The 787, which is nicknamed The Dreamliner, is neither the fastest nor largest jet. But it is built out of ultra-lightweight materials and promises to be 20 percent more fuel-efficient than comparable aircraft, a big deal at a time of high oil prices.

Thus far, I've flown on Boeing's 747 and 777 jetliners with different carriers including United, Singapore Air and Korean Air to Japan. It will be interesting to fly aboard the new Dreamliner and whether or not the ultra-lightweight materials translates to lower air fares.

To read the full AJC article, go here.