Tattoo discrimination? In the Japan? I mean, in Japan?

In Japan, tattoos have long been associated with the Yakuza. Partly due to safety reasons, even today public places such as bathhouses and gyms have banned people bearing large tattoos from entering their premises. Now, tattooed city employees are also being subjected to new employment restrictions.

Osaka Major Toru Hashimoto, who has a long history of making controversial decisions, has ordered all public servants to fill out a form on which they must specify where in their bodies they have been tattooed. Employees with any visible marking could potentially be excluded from jobs where they will be in direct contact with the public.

Hashimoto claims that the new policy is part of strategy to safeguard the credibility of government services, but union officials are calling the move discriminatory. Some Japanese are concerned about the form being illegal and in violation of the employees’ human rights. About 38,000 city employees could be affected by the ordinance. We at SG, especially Rick Snee, call it A-OK.

And now, バックアップ未来メガシティ東京-su

As you may have been made aware of earlier this year, Japan kind of went through the ringer in terms of natural disasters. And you know what? As time goes on, it’s just going to get worse and worse.

That’s why what’s being suggested for Tokyo doesn’t sound too crazy of a concept. Some of Japan’s Democratic Party have come up with the idea that backing up the city of Tokyo, much like storing your data on a floppy disk, would be a good action to take just in case an earthquake hits the area and it become Doomed Megatopolis. Okay, maybe it wouldn’t be just like a floppy disk.

The new city would take on all the functions of the capital city in the event of an emergency. It would boast office complexes, resort facilities, parks and even casinos. The city’s centerpiece would be a tower that would rank among the tallest in the world, coming in at just over 650 meters (2,133 feet). It’d be built to house 50,000 residents and accommodate a workday population of around 200,000 people from the Osaka region

When you live in a world where Godzilla, Rodan, Biollante or Space Godzilla can strike at a moment’s notice (beware the bubbling bubbles of Tokyo Harbor), it can’t hurt to be prepared. Unless you’re dealing with King Caesar. Night of the Lepus taught us that floppy-eared rabbits, no matter how tall they are, should be feared.

Fake viagra is the most egregious fake blue pill of them all

So it’s a Friday night and you’re looking for a good time. Me? I tend have a few drinks with friends. But maybe you need some Viagra to get you through the shame of having to deal with a hooker (not that there’s anything wrong with that in Las Vegas).

The National Police Agency in Japan has announced that even more yakuza have been arrested in an Osaka drug ring for selling fake Viagra to thrill seekers like yourself. Two Yamaguchi-gumi members were arrested again on charges of unauthorized pharmaceutical sales, with a third member also getting thrown in the clink.

The police found 13,000 fake Viagra tablets in a Naniwa condo, which they believe is one of the bases for the drug ring. Officials suspect that the drug profits are being redirected back to the organization itself. The three yakuza who were arrested are suspected of selling 120 pills without a license to three men for about 39,000 yen between April 27 and May 5.

So what’s wrong with the fake Viagra? No, the problem is that it’s equivalent to about two regular Viagra. You might think that having a raging hard-on that could take down small cities with one fell swoop wouldn’t be that bad, except for when you watch an episode of House or E.R. and realize how exactly to rid yourself of a little condition called priapism. That, and the fake pills can cause heart attacks and death. Yeep.

I guess it’s lucky for the customers of the yakuza that they made it out unscathed. Although one of them even had the audacity to complain, “It was relatively cheap and it worked. What’s the crime in that?” Double yeep.

That’s like 50 dollars in moonbucks

One year in prison and suspension for three years over … 2.5 yen in electricity?

According to the current exchange rate, 2.5 yen is about $.02. Yasumasa Hirai, 46, was busted for stealing that value in electricity from a shared outlet in his apartment building.

That doesn’t sound like much, but the Osaka District Court ruled that this thief failed to pay his electricity bills and was too lazy to work. He didn’t stop nabbing all of that electricity despite being warned by the apartment manager. The apartment manager (and the judge, apparently!) were pissed off because he broke the cover to an outlet in the hallway and ran a cord to use electricity in his apartment.

2.5 yen in electricity. Anybody feel like coming up with a collection fund for the guy?

Eagle technique, snake technique … possum technique?

Hey, it works in video games! If your name is Solid Snake. Otherwise, GTFO.

Some motorcycle guys were out having fun in Sakai City until one of them ran into a police motorcycle. After the collision, the guy tried to bolt, but was caught not too far away by police. When he was questioned, he just played dead to get out of any trouble. Police even called an ambulance, despite his regular breathing and heartbeat.

Of course, in situations like this, there’s only one thing to do: mess with him to get him a reaction. That’s what one of the medics was thinking when they inserted a catheter into his urethra. But this guy’s good: he didn’t even flinch.

Apparently, his act went on for about three hours. Then his mom showed up. So totally lame.

“I was tired, so I just went to sleep,” he lied said.

Way to finally join the show, Japan

Deer are a fearsome and deadly animal. Like the bear, they are a godless killing machine. They willingly jump in front of cars, kamikazing into the humans’ simple transportation vehicles. Well, Japan is finally deciding to fight back. Perhaps all that time spent building robots shaped like animals was simply spy work?

The Toyoka Hunting Meister Education School (enjoy long names much?) was established in order to teach a new crop of would-be hunters how to take down these ferocious beasts, with the ever-present problem of aging limiting veteran hunters and marksmen from taking down these creatures.

The school was set up in Hyogo prefecture due to repeated calls to action in the rural prefecture for dealing with extensive farm damage, somewhere in the range of $250 million. It’s really serious.

In one spot between Kyoto and Osaka, a railway network that once stopped for nothing has been overrun by nature’s beastly onslaught, with trains forced to a standstill as a menagerie of deer, boar and monkeys invade the tracks.

You hear that? The deer are conspiring with monkeys. They can use guns. I’m bringing a kevlar vest next time I want really fresh sushi.