Understanding group culture through photography, all about Social Security in Japan, and would you like "lice" with your bento?

The Japanese are a very group-oriented people, and one of the worst things a person can be is nakama-hazure (nah-kah-mah HAH-zoo-reh), meaning "being left out of the group," i.e. an outsider. It's funny to see some of the social mechanisms that are in place to keep groups of people functioning happily. For example, if you watch Japanese taking group photographs, they'll usually take two, so that the person holding the camera the first time can get in the second picture, and no one feels left out of the group by not being in every shot. This little ceremony is very important -- if, say, the owner of the camera were to suggest that the second picture wasn't necessary, perhaps to save film, he'd basically be putting the circle of friends at risk by allowing the implication that every member of the group wasn't as important as all the others to stand, a psychological dynamic that certainly would be rare to see in the U.S. Although you don't think of a family as an in-group, it's certainly possible to be nakama-hazure even with people you share the same home with, something my Japanese wife has learned as she watches our kids get better and better at English. Sometimes we play cruel tricks on her at the dinner table, asking if she'd like more "lice" and smirking when she says yes.

Most industrialized countries are struggling with the aging of their societies, and with its very low birth rate, Japan generally leads the pack. There are two systems that provide health insurance and retirement income in Japan, the Social Insurance System (available to any employee of a medium-sized or larger company, and their families) and the National Insurance System (available to everyone else, including self-employed). Both systems work fairy well, covering 70% of medical costs and providing a basis for Japanese retirees to live. Oddly, although everyone is ostensibly required to pay into the local version of Social Security, there are no penalties for not doing so, and many Japanese don't bother with the system at all. This includes some politicians, which caused a scandal that ended several careers a few years ago. Currently Japan's Social Security system is in hot water after losing data on up to 50 million citizens who paid into the system over the past twenty years, including that of yours truly -- we recently asked for a report on the payments I'd made when I was teaching ESL and were told they didn't have me in their computer. It turns out that a change in the number used to track these payments caused information on millions to disappear, causing extra retirement headaches for many.

Bento, Japan's visually beautiful boxed lunch, has become a famous image of the country throughout the world, and very popular with J-List customers, too. The Japanese have a tradition called shoku no bi, or "the beauty of food," and many dishes are aesthetically pleasing to look at as well as being delicious. In keeping with this great concept, bento becomes much more than something you eat at lunchtime. It can be an art form, as wives and mothers show their creativity each day with fun and delicious new ways of cutting sausages into little flowers or crabs or octopi. Eating a boxed lunch that your wife or mother has put a lot of effort into can really make a person try extra hard at work or school, and it's not uncommon for bento to include the word GANBATTE! (gahn-BAH-teh, meaning "Please work hard!") spelled out in cut nori seaweed. Ultimately, bento can be an expression of love in a country where married couples might spend their entire lives together without ever saying "I love you" to each other, and the image of a young salaryman eating his aisai bento (or "loving wife bento") is extremely romantic.

J-List has been involved with bringing Japan's PC dating-sim games out to fans in the English-speaking world for years, and we're really happy with the acceptance the games have achieved. In addition to our extensive line of bishoujo ("pretty girl") games which feature all manner of pretty anime girls for you to interact with, we also have the first-ever yaoi games for fans of dramatic "BL" stories, and fans of these yaoi games will be happy to hear that we're reducing the prices of both Enzai - Falsely Accused and Absolute Obedience by $5 today, making today a great day to give these titles a try. Fans of our traditional games, we've got some good news for you, too: we're reducing the price of the upcoming Pretty Soldier Wars A.D. 2048 by $5, too, with retroactive pricing for all fans who have preordered the game. Why not browse our great lineup of PC dating-sim games now, and see what surprises we have in store 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" (a yes/no verification screen will be displayed to filter products from our mature site). To see all the J-List products, check out J-List or the JBOX.com updated products link.

	Gorgeous Nov. 2006 vol. 01. Gorgeous new magazine just released. Covers harder themes and features a DVD too.
	Mejiri -- Reina Sakaki. The Mejiri series is famous for this rather interesting pose on the cover. It's been running for more than twenty years. Yes, American pr0n companies sometimes rip the pose off thinking no one will notice.
	Amuro Cos! -- Ami Yamazaki. Amuro is of course Amuro Namie, the girl who changed the face of JPOP a decade ago (did you think it was Amuro Rei?). This is a real mainstream actress who's been tempted into a career change by SOD. God she looks good.
	Newtype Feb 2007. New issue of Newtype, loaded with color.
	Directory of 800 Train Station Bento ~ Shun no Ekiben Meikan 800. Loads of information on Train Station Bento from all around Japan.
	Coakuma Peach ~ Peachy Little Devil - Koakuma Peach. Peachy Little Devil? Anyway, a fascinating manga about gyaru, aka "gals" or their old name, kogals.
	Hatsu Inu 2 ~ First Dog part 2. Fascinating ero manga combining some of the most amazing themes I've seen, and that's saying something.
	Figure Maniacs vol. 24 Spring 2007. New issue of Figure Maniacs, the magazine for people who really love anime figures. I swear I could read this thing for days without getting tired of it.
	Haruhi Suzumiya Gakuran Costume 1/8 Figure ~ Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu *Preorder*. New Haruhi figure up for preorder. Looks great.
	Hello Kitty Hariko Daruma -- Red ~ Handmade Traditional Style Daruma. This is fabulous -- a Hello Kitty Daruma! It will bring you lots of "kawaii" good luck.
	Sonsaku Hakufu 1/8 Figure by Kotobukiya *Ikki Tousen* . New Hakufu figure, but limited stock so don't be too slow on it if you want one of them. This is from Ikki Tousen, the show that raised panty shots to an art form.
	Hello Kitty Chirimen OTEDAMA ~ Red. Also got more of the Hello Kitty "otedama" toys again.
	Space Battleship Yamato Mechanical Collection Part.1 ~ Full Set (Set of 5). Cool! Yamato toys, including the Andromeda, the most excellent ship anywhere.
	Sukiyaki Furikake -- Sukiyaki (Beef & Egg). A "delicious" flavor of furikake for your rice.
	Japanese Sake Brand Cafe Bag -- Otoko-Yama ~ Black. New "sake bag" for men or women. Looks great.
	YAKIUGI -- Baked Japanese Cedar ~ Geta Sandals. New variety of stylish Japanese sandals on the site.
	Kuro Figure ~ Tekkon Kinkreet Movie Collection. Tekkon Kinkreet is looking to be awesome, and here's a figure from the series.
	Absolute Obedience - Zettai Fukuju Meirei . For yaoi fangirls and fanboys (mostly fangirls, since yaoi is enjoyed by like 90% straight girls who are usually hot, go figure), we've reduced the prices of the two yaoi titles we've published. Enjoy the new prices!
	Pretty Soldier Wars A.D. 2048 *Preorder*. Also, enjoy a $5 reduction in this upcoming title, which we're doing to better line up our products, making a nice $24.95 line of lower priced new games. Preorder your copy now!