Greetings from J-List April 16, 2004

Hello and TGIF from all of us at J-List!

Japan is overjoyed over the safe return of the three Japanese who were taken hostage in Iraq. Ever since the crisis began, Japanese television has been showing images of the hostages non-stop, along with the experts giving opinions and emotional pleas by the parents of the three to pull the SDF out of the country. At a press conference, one of the former hostages did a very Japanese thing: she apologized to everyone for causing such an inconvenience. And quite an inconvenience it was: the crisis sent shock waves through the entire country and caused a minor financial panic. Now that it's over, many voices are critical of the three for going to Iraq in the first place. The world is a dangerous place, they say, and Japanese who are "heiwa boke" (lit. "stupid from too much peace") and think that the rest of the world is a happy, safe place like Japan should just stay home. While we're happy that the three have been freed, there are still two Japanese journalists who are being held by militants.

It's starting to get hot in Japan already, and that means the start of the "air-con wars" -- the male employees at J-List setting the air conditioner where it belongs, at just above freezing, and the females in the office come along behind them to set it higher. Japan's summer is hot, humid and very long, so it's common for Japanese homes and businesses to be outfitted with heavy-duty air conditioners that can really pump out cold air. The trouble is that everyone has a different opinion about what the temperature should be.

Japanese is an interesting language grammatically. In Japanese, you have various "particles" which you use to mark words in a sentence -- a subject particle, an object particle, particles for various prepositions, and so on. Related to this are the many Japanese "counters" you use to count different things. There are hundreds of these counters, each used with different kinds of objects. To count thin, flat objects like cards or sheets of paper, you use "mai" (e.g. ichi mai, ni mai, san mai). To count long, cylindrical objects like an umbrella, you use "hon" (ippon, ni hon). There are special counters for birds (wa), small animals like dogs (hiki), larger animals like cows (tou), people (nin) and so on. It's quite fun to try to learn them all.

Remember that the new JLIST and JBOX websites feature a handy "tree browsing" feature which lets you quickly view all the products in any category and click on the products that you want to see. It's great for people who want to browse the 2500+ products J-List has quickly, and it's also excellent for slower connections, too.

For the new update, we've got some excellent products from Japan for you. They include:

• First, for Shirow Masamune fans, we've got the new Roman Album (art book/movie data) of the new Ghost in the Shell Innocence movie -- it's really gorgeous
  
• Domo-kun lovers, we've got good news for you: a great big update of Domo-kun items, including over a dozen newly restocked items for you -- check out our massive selection
  
• For cute idol fans, we have the new photobook offering of Mitsuho Ohtani, a truly elegant Japanese beauty
  
• For fans of "candy toys," the small but meticulously detailed toys from Japan that usually come with candy inside, we have an excellent and unique series: the World of Lassen, featuring five beautifully sculpted sea creatures from Lassen's paintings (full sets available)
  
• For fans of the eternally cute penguin Pingu, we've got a very high quality plush toy line in stock for you
  
• Next up, a very cool Hot Wheels Japan toy set featuring the popular Power Rangers (sentai) characters from Abaranger (Dino Thunder in the U.S.)
  
• Also for candy toy fans, we've got a great restocking of the popular Ultraman vs. Monster series, which comes with a hero and monster for you to battle -- full sets are in stock
  
• Interested in eerily beautiful traditional Japanese music? We've got three new selections of folk music from Japan's past for you
  
• Love Pocky? We've got a great new flavor, Chocolat Orange, with a delicious half-bitter taste of chocolate and delicious orange
  
• Also newly added to our snack page, find scallops & soy sauce flavored rice crackers (yowza!), two new varieties of the soft candy Hi-Chew, and more
  
• Hello Kitty collectors, we've got more Sanrio items that are only sold in Japan -- we have a cute talking Kitty Shinkansen (bullet train) and a really fun cup with curly straw for your little ones
  
• Fans of the ultra-cool Paper StitchLock, a staple-less stapler that stitches sheets of paper together, we've got four new colors of the most compact unit yet
  
• For fans of really cute stationary from Japan, we have more Panda Z items, the super cute panda robot who defends the Earth against evil, we have more cute Panda Z goods for you
  
• Looking for a really unique portable case to hold your phone, digital camera or other item? We have a nifty "minus ion" item from Dr. Ion, as well as fresh stock of the popular "minus ion shiatsu pen"
  
• We love parody items from Japan -- look for fresh stock of the injection needle ballpoint pens, which look very real!
  
• Want to store business cards for later reference? We have a very convenient case that lets you store up to 72 cards
  
• Students of Japanese, we've restocked the handy Wordtank IDC-310, a fantastic electronic dictionary with many super features for gaijin learning the language
  
• Want to make sushi? We've got sushi makers in stock for you, a very wacky item from Japan
  
• Finally, we have more wacky Japanese signs, Hello Kitty soy sauce holders, cute hamster "rocket pencils" that are fun to play with, and more!
  

For our 18+ customers, we've got many new products. The new items include:

• For fans of Japanese 18+ magazines, enjoy the new Deca Melon, featuring superbly sexy Race Queens being really naughty
  
• Then there's Do-Up, a great magazine featuring Tokyo girls and kogals in love hotels
  
• Then for photobook fans, enjoy the beautiful hardcover offering of Alice Mizusaki, a cute little button from Japan
  
• Also, we have the breathtakingly innovative and beautiful photobook of Toshimi Millionaire, a super item for collectors
  
• Then we've got a super sexy photobook capturing Japan's most well-known swimsuit idols in a great all-bikini photobook that will blow your mind
  
• We've restocked many photobook items too, including the best-selling Kaoru Private Collection, Moe Yoshizawa's More II, Yuko Ogura's Hitorigoto, Miki Komori's flexible photobook and more
  
• For H manga collectors, we have some great new works for you, including a new offering by Masaki Kamitou, the mind-blowing Fallen Make-up, a manga dedicated to "panst" themes and much more
  
• Restocked manga volumes include Melty, Bad Slammers 1 & 2, The Den and many other popular works that had sold out
  
• For DVD collectors, we've got an extra-cool lineup of titles for you, starting with the debut performance of Aya Koizumi, the luscious 19 year old starlet billed as a "Vitamin Idol" (whatever that is) (region free)
  
• For fans of anime cosplay, we've got a great 4-hour collection of the best-ever cosplay of Big Morkal, with 7 stars performing in many famous anime outfits (region free)
  
• Next up, a former Ms. Kyoto beauty queen debuts as a JAV idol in a very wet and interesting new release from SOD's Deep's label
  
• From Soft on Demand, a new "reverse nampa" DVD in which three eager gals take on guys in the Magic Mirror Boxcar (region free)
  
• Then, from Waap Entertainment, the elegant and lovely Yuria is ready to assist your every pleasure, a great new release (region 2)
  
• Also, from Moodyz, we have more CFNM action, featuring women who are fully clothed toying with men on camera (region 2)
  
• Yulia Nova fans, we've added stock of the popular Yulia videos vol 4-9, for fans of this most amazing woman -- be sure to preorder her upcoming DVDs, too!
  
• Finally, we've restocked many great DVDs for you, including Moscow and Swedish Girls, the Animation & Marchen series, Japanese naughty pro wrestling, and more!
  

The JMATE.com website has been updated yet again, this time with a new English interview with the lovely Ryoko Mitake, one of Japan's most elegant and stylish JAV idols. The URL is http://www.jmate.com/

Remember that J-List's famous Japanese T-shirts, with bizarre messages like "Beware of Perverts" and "It is Forbidden to Commit Seppuku," are in stock and available for immediate shipping from our San Diego warehouse. All shirts are printed in the U.S. and all are full American sizes. If you're unsure what size you are, note that you can easily check the sizes of our shirts in inches or centimeters -- just look for the "shirt size" link below each shirt. This is great for our customers outside the U.S. who may not be sure what their size is in U.S. sizes. If you buy 3 or more of these cool shirts, you get an automatic 10% off through the shopping cart, too.

Greetings from J-List April 14, 2004

Hello again from Japan, where thumb wrestling is called "yubi zumo" (literally "finger sumo wrestling").

In my recent Wired website interview, I was asked why Japan had such a large cultural effect on the rest of the world. It's a difficult question -- why has Japan, a tiny island nation with the land area of Nebraska, left such an amazing cultural footprint on the world throughout the 20th century up til today? I've always thought that Japan was very similar to England in many ways: both are island nations that were able to develop a very strong domestic culture without being invaded every few centuries by outside forces. Historically, both colonized lands to the west of them as a practice run for larger global empires, and both used navel power to extend their influence in ways that would have been impossible otherwise. Perhaps sensing many of the similarities between Japan and Britain, the Japanese reformers of the Meiji Era based many of their legislative and legal institutions on those of England. If you'd like to see the Wired interview, the URL is here: http://wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,63009,00.html?tw=wn_culthead_5

One problem nagging many Japanese homeowners right now is "kekkan jutaku," or defective homes: houses which are built by unethical construction companies that cut corners to save money, using substandard concrete or building the structure on concrete blocks rather than on a strong concrete foundation. Prime-time variety television shows have latched onto this topic and love to do exposes on the new national problem. Builders who use inferior materials can bring about another problem for homeowners: "sick house syndrome," in which toxins and pollutants inside the house torment the inhabitants, who don't know what is making them sick all the time. Construction companies often go bankrupt as soon as they're sued by one of their former customers, further adding to the agony of the unlucky homeowners.

You've been in Japan too long when you get a "nihongo ga jozu" ("your Japanese is very good") and feel really insulted. It's an odd fact of life in Japan, but foreigners who are learning Japanese strive for that magic moment when Japanese will finally stop complimenting them on their Japanese. Being complimented on your language ability is a sign that your Japanese is good, but not quite good enough for the person to just shut up and talk to you normally. After four years of study at SDSU and almost thirteen years living in Japan, I am hopefully as bilingual as I'll ever need to be, but I still run into linguistic problems from time to time. Once, I was at the Kentucky Fried Chicken drive-thru, and for some reason, I wasn't able to make myself understood to the girl who was taking my order. It turned out, she was a Chinese student studying in Japan and hadn't understood my "American" Japanese accent.

For the new update, we've got some excellent products from Japan for you. They include:

• First, for fans of the Japanese tradition of "cosplay," that is, dressing up in cute costumes, we've got a great pair of photobooks featuring cute girls dressed up in uniforms from famous Japanese part-time jobs
  
• Domo-kun fans, we've got a great new item: a metal business card holder that is both useful and stylish
  
• We have two new varieties of Japanese sandals in stock for you, including a beautiful pair of wooden geta shoes and traditional simulated snakeskin setta sandals
  
• Also, we've got some cool ballpoint pens that feature famous chewing gum from Lotte on them, so wacky and uniquely Japanese
  
• We've got more of the high quality "minus ion" (negatively-charged ion) products from Dr. Ion, including a dynamite soft case that you can use to carry documents and many other handy items
  
• Also, for fans of the Canon Wordtank, we've got a great soft case that will hold your valued Japanese study partner safely
  
• Also for Japanese students, we've restocked several of our handy (and inexpensive) Japanese dictionaries
  
• From Takara, we've added more of the very cool Pucchi Blythe dolls, so cute and fashionable
  
• Fans of super cute Japanese swimsuit idols, we've restocked several of Yuko Ogura's photobooks
  
• For fans of Hayao Miyazaki's hit film Spirited Away, we have a rare stamp set featuring five scenes from the film created by Mr. Miyazaki himself
  
• For fans of our Japanese snacks, we've got some bizarre and delicious new items for you, including Caripoli Grape Yogurt and Soda sticks, creamy Collon cookies, and taste Meat n' Potato snacks
  
• Also, a Japanese classic: ebi-sen, or shrimp flavored rice crackers, with a tangy kiss of pickled plum
  
• Restocked snack and gum items include Shigekix Ramune flavor, Strawberry Mushroom Mountain treats, Okinawan Black Candy, and delicious Black Black sugarless gum
  
• We have more "fortune telling chopsticks," disposable chopsticks which give your fortune in Japanese when you open them
  
• Gundam fans, we have the new Gsight mobile suit figures, very detailed and fun to play with
  
• Hello Kitty fans, we have a great item: a deluxe Kitty toothbrush holder and cup set that is so cute
  
• We've restocked several DVD titles, including the wacky and fun Yatta! - Happa Tai, more OH! Mikey and Vermillion Pleasure Night, and more!
  
• Daisuke has restocked the very popular Groomy plush pets with soft leather bottoms, which you can use to keep your computer monitor clean -- enjoy the newly restocked Welsh Corgi, Shiba, American Short Hair, Pug and more
  
• We've restocked several Gothic & Lolita items, including the two patternbooks which make it easy to create your own gothic costumes
  
• Finally, look for a handy pill dispenser, more Buddhist prayer beads, and many more great items from Japan!
  

For our 18+ customers, we've got many new products. The new items include:

• First, we've got the great new issues of Penthouse Japan and Penthouse Special, two made-in-Japan magazines featuring all-Japanese models
  
• For fans of the Japanese genre of "hitozuma" (that is, married women who are more mature), we've got the new issue of "I Really Do Love Married Women"
  
• For photobook fans, enjoy the lovely hardcover offering of Saori Yamamoto, the delicious 98 cm I cup sexy idol from Japan
  
• We've restocked various glossy photobooks for you, including Arisu Hoshi's lovely offering
  
• For H manga fans, we've got a great lineup for you, starting with JUNKS, a superb parody of JUMP with great artwork; a superb work by Touge Hiro; and the ultimate boob manga
  
• Also, we've got many restocked manga for you, including several popular items that had sold out
  
• We stock many unique toys for adults from Japan, and we've made a major restocking of popular items for you, including massagers, love pillows and more
  
• For DVD fans, we've got some great new items for you, starting with a fabulous and wacky all-female parody of Battle Royale (region free)
  
• Then enjoy 4 hours of forbidden play in a great new compilation DVD by TMA (region free)
  
• Also, Soft on Demand brings you a great DVD filled with the very best girl-on-top performances in their recent story, featuring all the top-name stars (region free)
  
• Then enjoy a great new girl-girl title featuring the sweet love of a tennis team, including the first performance of Yume Imano (region free)
  
• Fans of Kyoko Ayana, one of the most beautiful full-bodied actresses in Japan, we've got a great new title with 180 minutes of great indies performances from Wanz Factory (region 2)
  
• Also, an amazing new star will assist you in various sexy ways in a great new release from Waap Entertainment (region 2)
  
• Finally, look for more restocked DVD titles, including Miki Komori's very flexible "Straddle," the timeless sexy Bulgarian gymnasts in Gold Bird and more.
  

Remember that J-List has a great offer -- get 20% off any four or more of our extensive selection of English-translated Japanese dating-sim games. We pride ourselves on having the best selection on the planet, and we carry virtually every dating-sim game in print from any company. All titles are in stock and ready to be shipped out to you from our San Diego office, and we ship daily.

Greetings from J-List April 12, 2004

Hello again from all of us at J-List!

It's been said that the construction industry is to Japan what defense is to the U.S. While the U.S. works closely with its defense contractors to ensure the development of military technology, Japan's government has a very close relationship with a variety of contractors who receive billions in contracts each year to build roads, bridges and other projects. Japan spends a massive amount on public works each year, trying to recapture its former economic health: incredibly, Japan spends enough to build the Panama Canal every year. As you can probably imagine, there's plenty of corruption and pork barrel inefficiency, resulting in some very wasteful projects that are an embarrassment to the government. The Tokyo Bay Aqua-line, a massive bridge-and-tunnel that cuts across Tokyo Bay to Chiba Prefecture, cost $7.7 billion to build; the toll to use it is over $40, so most drivers continue to use the old freeways. In Northern Japan, the Shinkansen line was recently extended to Aomori Prefecture, the northernmost point of the main island, despite the fact that this is one of Japan's most sparsely populated regions. Sometimes Japanese public works projects actually benefit us though: about 10 km from our house, there's a large trash incineration facility, with a complex of public swimming pools next to it called Caribbean Beach, featuring a wave pool, water slides and a pool with a fast-moving current, all heated with energy from the incinerator and very cheap to use. A project like this wouldn't be possible without Japan's otherwise questionable New Deal.

One thing about Japan: it's a very seasonal place, with very distinct seasons. Spring is beautiful with its short-lived cherry blossoms, summer is hot and humid with many fun festivals, fall is filled with crisp brown leaves, and winter is cold and frosty. I've met many Japanese who tell me with great pride that, unlike America, Japan has four distinct seasons, and they enjoy every one of them -- apparently these people haven't ventured outside of Southern California. Japan doesn't really have four seasons, actually: it's more like nine, since there are various mini-seasons interspersed with the larger ones, such as Japan's dreary rainy season (mid-May to mid-June), typhoon season (which comes at the end of summer) and super-windy kara-kaze season in December.

When you're learning about Japan through anime or manga, it's always fun to learn some of the small, unimportant details along the way. One is "Ai-Ai Gasa" (lit. Love Love Umbrella), a cute doodle that is drawn by elementary school students, the Japanese equivalent of a boy and a girl carving their initials in a tree surrounded by a heart. In anime, this famous doodle is usually used to imply a romantic relationship between a weak-willed main character and overpowering female, with very amusing results. Supposedly, the idea of a boy and girl walking in the rain under the same umbrella is quite romantic to the Japanese. To see what Love Love Umbrella looks like, click this link (the names under the umbrella are Taro and Hanako, the Japanese equivalents to the names John and Mary): http://www.asahi-jc.com/images/kasa.gif

For the new update, we've got some excellent products from Japan for you. They include:

• First, for fans of Panda Z, the ultra cute panda-shaped robot piloted by young Pantaron, we've got more cute character goods in stock, including paper protectors, rulers and other great items for school
  
• Want to study Japanese? We've restocked the popular hiragana and katakana study cards, along with other fun cards for studying Japanese vocabulary words
  
• For fans of our unique Japanese snacks, we've got delicious "throat candy" that contains Japanese "yuzu," a uniquely flavored tart citrus fruit, as well as excellent Nata de Coco candies
  
• Also, delicious ramune candies in cute plastic "cans" -- classic, cola and vitamin drink flavors
  
• Xylitol is a popular sugar-free flavoring from Norway that improves the health of your teeth -- we've got delicious new Recaldent gum in stock for you to try!
  
• We love wacky messages in Japanese -- see various reflective stickers with funny messages for you
  
• Gundam fans, we've got a super new "Mobile Fortune" toy set featuring little Gundams that help you read your fortune -- they will tell if you what your future is going to be, and they're so darned cute
  
• Just in time for summer, we've got a great Hello Kitty shave ice machine which allows you to enjoy cold and delicious shave ice during the summer months -- yummy, and fun to make!
  
• Enjoy romantic JPOP songs on CD along with special hot springs powder for your bath -- a unique item from Japan
  
• We love cute things from Japan -- check out newly added Doraemon and Usacolle items
  
• Have need of a bag to hold things? We've got a handy canvas bag that is extremely compact yet expands to hold just about anything
  
• Gothic & Lolita Bible fans, we've restocked the popular Homemade Gothic & Lolita pattern book, which makes it easy to create your own gorgeous gothic outfits
  
• We've restocked the delicious tonkatsu sauce, just called "sauce" in Japanese
  
• Shirow fans, we've restocked the very popular Ghost in the Shell bilingual manga, which features color pages and a totally new translation from the Japanese original
  
• Looking for a really special oversized bento box? We've got a great Coca-Cola branded bento box that features many compartments, built-in chopsticks and a protective bag, so cool!
  
• We've restocked several popular Studio Ghibli DVDs, which feature full English subtitles and many extras: newly restocked are Nausica of the Valley of the Wind, The Cat Returns and Spirited Away
  
• Finally, we've got a cool ring to help you diet, more Hello Kitty chopsticks, more Japanese sugar and kitchen items, and other great things from Japan!
  

For our 18+ customers, we've got many new products. The new items include:

• For fans of Japanese photo magazines, we've got the dynamite new issues of Video Boy and Best Video, featuring dozens of top-name JAV stars
  
• Then explore the world of glossy Japanese photobooks with a new offering from the delicious Remi Kawashima
  
• Next up, Yoko Matsugane redefines the concept of beauty in her latest photobook (she looks so good in an oversized men's shirt)
  
• Then enjoy the delightful Akiko Momou in a superb sexy photobook from Japan
  
• Also for glossy photobook fans, we have the excellent and exotic photos of Rema Aoyaki, a startlingly beautiful Japanese idol
  
• For H manga fans, we've got some great works for you, including the bold and sexy Panicle Chronicle by Kabao Kikkawa, classic naughty manga by Action Comics, and an exploration of the world of human desires by Apple Comics
  
• Also, look for great restocked manga such as the Colors Anthology, Contents C, Refrection (sic), and the extremely popular Futanariko Love
  
• Also, fresh stock of the dynamite Hanafuda all-color oversized graphic novel for kemono fans
  
• For our DVD fans, we've got some great new items for you for the Monday update, including Ayu-Cos, great parody cosplay parodying Ayumi Hamasaki, the top name in JPOP in Japan (region free)
  
• Then explore the fiery world of flexible erotic ballerinas in a new release from Big Morkal (region free)
  
• SOD's Deep Kiss girl-girl kissing DVDs are part of JAV history -- now enjoy the Deep Kiss Best Ranking, the very best scenes from this timeless series (region free)
  
• Then we've got a "tickling torture" DVD release from SOD's Martian Devil label (region free)
  
• Next up is a great release from Waap, featuring the dreamy and beautiful Mai Sakashita (region 2)
  
• Then from Moodyz, we've got a first: naughty sumo wrestling, featuring a bizarre twist on Japan's famous sport that only Moodyz could think of (region 2)
  
• Finally, look for many restocked DVD titles, including the excellent Stairway to Heaven & Highway to Hell, Zenra Ballet, and several fabulous all-girl titles.
  

Remember that J-List carries a full line of Japanese snack foods, with many rare cult favorites in stock for you, like Pocky, Black Black caffeine gum, and also the delicious and popular Felix the Cat bubble gum, which is famous all the world over (we're not sure why this is, but we don't mind). Don't forget that all chocolate products will be removed from stock during the summer months, since chocolate melts in the heat and humidity.