Hajimemashite!

HAJIMEMASHITE JAPAN offers Japanese conversation classes for beginners who wants to learn about Japanese language and Japanese lifestyles. A'Work Souzoukan is a foundation for adult education supported by the local government of Osaka.

The class (HAJIMEMASHITE JAPAN) is for a small group
of people, where students can study Japanese with a qualified Japanese teacher and also have opportunities to talk with many Japanese about anything they want.

Classes start on November 12th for twelve weeks and runs every Wednesday from 6:30-8:30pm. The course is free of charge although students are required to pay some miscellaneous expense).

Send your application by fax with your name, address, phone number, nationality, and gender.

Venue: A’Work Souzoukan, is a 5 minute walk from JR loopline Ashiharabashi station
Address: 2-3-8 Kizugawa Naniwa-ku Osaka
Fax: 06-6562-1549 attn. (Mr.Imura) Tel: 06-6562-0410
Website: http://www.adash.or.jp/

Laugh Out Loud (LOL):
GaijinPot's Online Comedy Film Festival

GaijinPot is proud to announce the call for submissions for our first Online Comedy Film Festival: LOL.

The 3 month festival (Oct.-Dec.) is sponsored by Vodafone and supported by the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan, GPlus Media, the Australian Embassy: Australian Arts Festival Japan 2003, The Foreign Buyers' Club, The Mansions, 100 Meter Films, Sakura House and Club Tocoo.

Entries are to be 60 seconds or less in duration and somehow include the spoken word "Sumimasen" or the written letters "LOL". Samples of videos submitted almost 10 years ago are viewable online. http://www.gaijinpot.com/lol/ Click the following link to see the list of stunning prizes: http://www.gaijinpot.com/lol/prizes.php

All entries should be submitted on Mini-DV or VHS (NTSC format). Entries received after December 15th, 2003 won't be accepted.

Send in as many entries as you like from anywhere in the world but remember the theme: comic insight to the "Japan Experience". Each entry must be accompanied by an entry form and submitted on a separate tape. Videos may be rejected on grounds of suitability for a general audience.

For more info, email: lol@gaijinpot.com

Japan news

Hiroshima Dome Vandalized
What appeared to be a handprint pressed on with paint was found on a stone bearing an engraved explanation about the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, known as the Genbaku Atom Dome, at Hiroshima Memorial Peace Park.

Local residents are infuriated by the thought-less prank. The image made from dark paint was found and investigators began their probe on suspicion of property destruction. Malicious acts of tampering have been reported at the Hiroshima Memorial Peace Park in the past as well. In March 2002, paint was splashed onto the Memorial Cenotaph for Atomic Bomb Victims, and paper cranes dedicated to the A-bomb victims were set afire in August 2003.

Hiroshima City has since taken reinforced security measures, setting up monitoring cameras and sensors. The latest incident, however, occurred outside cameras' range.

New Thunder Warnings
A local cooperative in western Japan said it will develop a system to forecast thunderstorms from space with a special sensor on a private satellite it is developing. The project will be commissioned and funded by the government-affiliated New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization.

No. 1 Robot User
Japan used more industrial robots than any other country in 2002, while orders for industrial robots surged worldwide in the January-June period this year, the U.N. Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) said last month.

Orders for new industrial robots in the half-year period surged 26% from a year earlier due to a strong recovery of numbers for industrial robots, the ECE said, adding that the number of orders is likely to increase for the next three years.

World Cup Baseball
At the World Cup Base-ball held in Santiago de Cuba, Japan overturned a one-run deficit to defeat the United States 2-1 and maintain its flawless record in the preliminary round of the tournament.

After falling behind in the third inning at Guillermon Moncada stadium, Japan tied the game on a wild pitch in the fourth and Daisuke Kusano drove in the decisive run with a single in the seventh to give the group B leader its sixth straight win. Japan stays undefeated at time of print.

Returned Abductees Comment on Past Year
It's been a whole year since the five Japanese abducted to North Korea returned to Japan. Yet the families of the five former abductees have not been able to come to Japan to be reunited with their loved ones, and the abductees' family group and their support group are determined to further press their demand to the government.

A day before the one year mark, the Hasuikes and the Chimuras spoke at a news conference where they did not hesitate to show their frustration toward the current stalemate, making remarks such as "one year does not put an end to anything" and "one day's delay of our families' return to Japan feels almost like one year of delay". Hitomi Soga, one of the five former abductees, also spoke before the media, and expressed her feelings.

Following such comments from the former abductees themselves, the Association of the Families of Victims Kidnapped by North Korea and its support group are scheduled to hold a news conference as well.

The groups are expected to express their intention to further urge the Japanese government to work toward having the families of the five come to Japan and confirming the fate of other Japanese abducted to North Korea.

A Japanese Cardnial
Monsignor Stephen Fumio Hamao of Japan, head of the Vatican office of Migrants, is one of 30 new cardinals that Pope John Paul II have installed joining the list of successors to the ailing 83-year-old pontiff. In a ritual-filled ceremony, the pope gave the new "princes of the church" their red hats and declare them members of the elite band of churchmen who will elect the next pope.

The pope's increasing frailty, on display during a rigorous week of ceremonies surrounding his 25th anniversary, has added poignancy to the consistory, which some Vatican observers say may be his last. The new candidates are from around the world.

Seaweed Essence Flu Remedy
Researchers at Saga University say they have isolated a substance from seaweed that could fight flu virus with a smaller dosage than existing flu medication and produce little side effects.

The study, led by Yuto Kamei, a Saga University assistant professor who specializes in marine biotechnology, could pave the way for developing new influenza drugs that are more potent and cause fewer side effects.

Two Foreign Trainees get Sick from Bottled Water
Police found caustic soda, designated by the government
a "deleterious substance," in the residue of bottled mineral water drunk last month at an Osaka university laboratory by two foreign nationals who later fell sick. A 35-year-old man from Bangladesh and a 25-year-old woman from Turkey complained of sickness after drinking water from the same plastic bottle on September 26 at a laboratory of Osaka Prefecture University's agricultural department.

73 Years for Citizenship
Kazue Watanabe who emigrated to China 73 years ago, finally was allowed by a court to live in Japan permanently. For decades, she has wanted to bring back her Japanese mother’s ashes back to Japan but was not allowed to do so until now.

The move came after the Osaka Family Court said that Kazue Watanabe is Japanese and can make a new census register in Japan although she forgot where her original domicile was after leaving Japan, according to court documents.

International news

World’s Tallest Building Completed in Taiwan
Taipei celebrated the completion of the world's tallest building,
a bamboo-shaped skyscraper standing half a kilometer tall downtown that knocks Kuala Lumpur's 452-meter Petronas Towers out of the top spot. "The 508-meter Taipei 101 building has now become the city's new landmark, which fully demonstrates our ambition to bring Taipei to the world," Mayor Ma Ying-jeou said at a ceremony attended by engineers and VIPs.

700 JGSDF Troops to Be Sent to Iraq
The Japanese government has began coordina-tion work to dispatch about 700 Ground Self-Defense Force troops step by step, starting in December, to Iraq for humanitarian assistance in the reconstruction of the nation.

The number of troops was reduced from 1000, which the United States originally requested for, to avoid possible criticism that the Japanese government satisfies the US demand without independent judgment. Several areas, including An Nasiriyah in southern Iraq, have been chosen as candidate sites for the JGSDF deployment. They will provide water supply and medical help to the citizens of Iraq.

Rice Ball Cafe Opens in Manhattan
While New Yorkers turn to lower-cost fast food, a newly opened Japanese rice ball store is drawing crowds. Japanese food remains hot in New York, with more than 2,000 sushi restaurants in the area. Now, for the first time in the Big Apple, a shop that deals exclusively in "omusubi" rice balls has just opened. In its display case are approximately 20 different kinds of rice balls.

The rice balls contain not only fillings Japanese people would find familiar, such as pickled ume plums and seasoned seaweed, but also unique and creative items, New York style, such as pastrami and prosciutto Italian ham. The rice balls are priced at $1.20 to $2 per piece.

North Korea Fires Missle into the Sea of Japan
North Korea fired a ground-to-ship missile with a range of 100 kilometers into the Sea of Japan Japan's Defense Agency sources said, citing unconfirmed U.S. intelligence. "We are aware of unconfirmed information of that nature.

We are now trying to confirm it," said a spokesman for the Japan Defense Agency, referring to a report of a possible test-firing by Japan Broadcasting Corp (NHK) on its midday bulletin. On a previous day, North Korea also test-fired a missile from Pyongyang which apparently presented no threat to Japan. The test-fired surface-to-ship missile was part of its annual military exercise, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.

Kobe Bryant goes to trial
NBA star Kobe Bryant must stand trial on a charge of raping a 19-year-old Colorado resort worker, clearing the way for a celebrity trial the likes of which haven't been seen since O.J. Simpson was in court.

Eagle County Judge Frederick Gannett said prosecutors presented enough evidence Bryant might have committed the crime on June 30. The Los Angeles Lakers guard could face a life sentence if convicted. His next appearance, in district court, would be Nov 10.

Bryant, 25, has said the sex was consensual. His attorneys suggested the woman's injuries came during sex with other men in the days before her encounter with Bryant at a posh resort in nearby Edwards.

Princess Diana letter reignites conspiracy theories
Months before she lost her life in a car crash, Britain's Princess Diana claimed in a letter there was a plot to kill her in a car "accident," according to published extracts which reignited conspiracy theories surrounding her death.

"This particular phase in my life is the most dangerous," Diana reportedly wrote to her butler and confiant Paul Burrell, 10 months before she was killed in a car crash in a Paris underpass on Aug 31, 1997. She wrote that someone "is planning 'an accident' in my car, brake failure and serious head injury in order to make the path clear for Charles to marry" again.

Diana also said in her letter that her husband and heir to the throne Prince Charles had put her "through such hell," and described how she longed to hug Queen Elizabeth, her mother-in-law. Extracts of the letter were splashed across Britain's Daily Mirror and will also be published in Burrell's book, "A Royal Duty," which the paper
is also serializing.

Diana named the person she believed was plotting to kill her, but the newspaper said it was unable to repeat the allegation for legal reasons.

News section compiled by Jason Mills