About police and "police boxes" in Japan, learning to mispronounce your own language, and various meanings of "genki"

The subject of Japan's police is an interesting one. Japan's boys in blue are organized under the umbrella of the National Police Force, one of the first areas of society to be modernized in the European model when the country began its transformation from a feudal backwater into an industrialized nation in the 1870s. As with the Ministry of Education, Japan's police are a very top-down organization, and there's very little in the way of variance between police in different parts of the country, from Hokkaido to Okinawa. One big difference between the police in Japan and in the U.S. is the network of koban, the so-called "Police Boxes" or small police stations situated around Japanese cities. If you have a problem or need to ask for directions, there's usually a Koban nearby where you can get help. Police in Japan are komuin (KOH-mu-een), part of the sprawling caste of life-long public employees originally modelled on Britain's Civil Service system, who must pass a challenging regimen of tests in order to achieve that enviable status, just like firemen, teachers and employees at government offices here. Because komuin by definition cannot be fired except in extremely rare situations, it creates somewhat of a gap between society's protectors and Taro Q. Yamada (i.e., the average Japanese person on the street, Joe Sake Bottle if you will).

When you learn Japanese, or any foreign language for that matter, you need to get used to new and often strange pronunciations of familiar words. In the film "Madagascar," which my kids still try to watch at least twice a day if they can get away with it, Marty the Zebra is trying to find "the wild" which he believes is located in Connecticut. Once, my wife asked the kids, "Why does he want to go to Connecticut?" For phonetic reasons, Connecticut renders quite bizarrely in Japanese, a five-syllable word that sounds like "coh-neh-chi-KAH- tto" (in katakana, it's コネチカット). This pronounciation was so different from the English name that my kids were used to that they burst up laughing, then spent an hour trying to get my wife to pronounce "Connecticut" the proper way (which she couldn't do -- kids can be so cruel). In addition to place names, the Japanese use many English words in daily life, with altered pronunciations to fit their language, and it's always hard for English speakers to learn to "mispronounce" words, like "weekend" (ウィークエンド, which sounds like "oo-EE-koo-EN-doh"), "stew" (スチュー, which comes out like "su-CHOO" according to the rules of Japanese phonology), or good old "McDonald's" (マクドナルド, which is "ma-ku-do-NA-roo-doh"). Ogenki desu ka? This is one of the first phrases a student of Japanese encounters, and it corresponds to the greeting "how are you?" although "are you well?" is a slightly more accurate translation. In the context of this greeting, genki means "fine or "well" and you can reply by saying "Hai, genki desu (Yes, I am fine). But words don't always map cleanly to other languages, and genki can have other meanings, such as describing children running around (energetic), or someone beaming with happiness about something, or someone getting healthy after an illness. An elderly person is called genki if he's still hale for his age, you try to cheer up a depressed person by saying Genki wo dashite (lit. show me some genki), and the word can also describe the state that many men find themselves in when they first get up in the morning. The o on ogenki desu ka is an honorific prefix that shows respect, and it's often found on family titles (okaasan = mother, obaasan = grandmother), Buddhist words (otera = Buddhist temple), and "cute" words often used around kids or babies (oshiri = a cute-sounding word for a person's rear end). You never know where the next "boom" is going to come from in Japan. It could be sneakers with ridiculously thick soles one year, fashionable clothes sporting the Union Jack the next year, and ridiculous librarian-esque horn-rimmed glasses the next. Right now Japan is in the middle of an "Ichigo Boom" or surge in strawberry-flavored food products, with dozens of delicious strawberry related products showing up in stores. Today we've posted some great new ichigo products for you to sample, from chocolate covered Koeda stick snacks to Strawberry Choco Flake to a bold new Strawberry Crunky, the chocolate with the oddest name in Japan. Check out our line up of strawberry products now! J-List loves to bring Japan to our thousands of customers, and one of our most popular product categories are our "reserve subscription" magazines, which make it easy for you to get the best anime, manga, toy and hobby, goth-loli fashion and other magazines sent to you each month. You can pay for each issue as it comes in and quit or change magazines at any time, or choose to pay annually via our new annual subscription option. We've posted a great new magazine to the site today, the gorgeous Comptiq, a 350+ tome filled with beautiful color pictures of popular characters from bishoujo anime and games, with a special focus on the beauty and design of the characters. Each issue of Comptiq is filled with cool free stuff, too, like posters, pencil boards, cards, and more. If you love Megami Magazine, Newtype Japan or Dengeki G's, we hope you'll consider checking out this great new character-centric offering for you. Here are today's "really cool products" that I thought were especially noteworthy. Note: the J-List links below may be for adult products and should probably be considered "not safe for work." To see all the J-List products, check out J-List or the JBOX.com updated products link.

	Jyoyuu@. -- Ayano Azusa. Explore the mystery of "woman" with this photomag dedicated to the nude works of Azusa Ayano. Comes with a DVD too.
	The Collaboration of Panty hose Cosplay ~ Cho Bikyaku Corabo de Panst Cosplay. All I can say is, theyt've taken this low-angle, panty and stocking and high heel photograph to such an amazing level, I'm just amazed. Fabulous photography throughout this issue.
	R-017 Reina. Gorgeous photobook model really shines for her fans.
	Rola no Oshigoto -- Rola Sato (Laura Sato). Rola Sato is gorgeous, although I pity her -- her manager wasn't smart enough to make her name, y'know, Laura like it should be? But I'm sure the damage is done. She is, by the way, a look-alike for Aya Ueto. Which is pretty damn cool.
	Comptiq Reserve subscription. Gorgeous new magazine available via reserve subscription. In addition to the top notch manga and pictures, you get free stuff like posters, pencil boards, and in the current issue that we've got here, a full color doujinshi. Best of all, this is not an adult magazine -- the characters are so beautiful and compelling, there's no need for any of that stuff.
	Dawn of the Silver Dragon 3 ~ Gin Ryu no Reimei vol. 3. I'm always excited about an erotic manga that's also handled well, with a real story and great art and characters.
	Afternoon Jan 2007. Jeez Louise, this is a huge tome of manga -- like, 800+ pages! That's about 1.2 cents per page.
	Stand Alone Complex Solid State Society Visual Book ~ Koukaku Kidoutai Visual Book. Great item for Ghost in the Shell fans, like me.
	Hello Kitty Slippers (Leopard Style). Keep your feel toasty with Hello Kitty this winter!
	Strawberry Crunky Chocolate. Yummy Strawberry Crunky, new for 2007.
	Hinomaru Strap - Japanese Flag Strap. I don't know why, but there's something compelling about this. It's small, it's a soft plush Japanese flag made out of kimono fabric, and it can be put on many things including your phone or camera.
	Yuukanalia 1/6 Scale Figure -- Enchanter. Thisis one of the more captivating figures we've posted in recent months, and that's saying something. Large 1/6 scale, really good detail, viewable from any, er, angle.
	Onegai My Melody Costume Party -- Set of 8 *Full Set + Rare Item* ~ Kuromi x Maid Cafe Ver.. Maid Cafes are big in Tokyo's Akihabara region these days, and this is a great product: figures of maid costumes from real Akiba made cafes that are cosplaying Kuromi, the cool Sanrio character. They look great!
	Morinaga Strawberry Choco Flake. I've been a fan of Choco Flake -- essentially chocolate covered corn flakes from Morinaga -- for years. Now there's a new flavor to try.
	Kitty *Buden* Shoulder Bag -- Beige *Gamaguchi Type* ~ Buden High School *Kitty Club*. I love this retro Hello Kitty look, and here's a great way to keep your money safe and stay stylish too.
	Matsuri (Festival) Happi -- Orange. Beautiful happi coat from Japan, for Japanese festivals. Let this happi make you happy.
	Japanese Incense (Green Tea) w/Incense Stand. Cool, green tea scented incense with a very Japanese holder for it. Back in stock.