The Daily Yomiuri, for all its faults, has a nice event every year with its cartoon contest. Tied for third place was this cartoon, which prompted me to laugh out loud–but I caution you that you have to be a bit familiar with things Japanese to understand it.

The Japanese government moves closer and closer to amending its American-imposed peacetime constitution so as to curtail or repeal the no-war stipulation. But it also realizes that Japan is going to need more soldiers when that happens. Not to worry; the Japanese government is on the job. What’s the strategy?

Dancing sailors.

Really. The commercial features seven men dressed as sailors, prancing about the deck of a warship, singing, “Nippon Seaman Ship, Seaman Ship, For Love…For Peace.” Really. I kid you not. I mean, they might have taken the “Navy of One” route. Or perhaps, “Sea All You Can See.” But it looks like they opted for, “The Few. The Proud. The Dancing Navy.”

You gotta take a look–the Japanese Navy, called the Japan Marine Self Defense Forces, has put the commercial up on their web site (Flash plugin required), complete with high kicks and gyrating hips. It’s quite a thing.

Update: Here’s the video via YouTube:

The end of an era: Beef in a Bowl. Gyuudon, as it’s called, has long been a favorite dish for diners seeking fast food in Japan, at places like the now-famous Yoshinoya. But that is beginning to end now, after a single cow in the United States tested positive for Mad Cow Disease. The gyuudon restaurants are taking beef off the menu, as U.S. beef is banned and Aussie beef doesn’t sit as well with the customers. So beef is out, and many gyuudon lovers will have to find cheap culinary satisfaction some other way.

Of course, one has to wonder, why U.S. beef is banned. The single cow that tested positive came from Canada, and the U.S. has found no other cases in three months. You could say that they are being careful, but if that is so, then why is Japanese beef still on the market? Japan just uncovered yet another case of Japanese BSE, the eleventh so far since the first was discovered on September 10th, 2001. And all of those cows were born and raised in Japan.

Seems to me U.S. beef is safer.

You might enjoy this man-on-the-street bit from Japan Today. The question: What kind of attitude toward Japan or Japanese by foreigners don’t you like? Some pretty interesting answers there, and some discussion by mostly non-Japanese people afterwards.

Poor Mr. Aso.