20110515

12-year-old boy wins Japan spelling bee with word he didn't know

Kyodo

Twelve-year-old Yuichi Yoshioka from Global Indian International School won a spelling bee Saturday in Tokyo, correctly spelling out a word of Latin origin he did not know by guessing. Following the first such spelling bee held last year, the 2nd Japan Times Bee for children aged 8 to 15 was held over two months after the initially scheduled March 12 due to the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, with 19 students aged 10 to 14 taking part. (Kyodo)

Media starting to tally the economic effects of foreigner flight

Japan Times

News reports immediately following the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear plant accident of panicked foreign residents lining up for the first flight home - in many cases advised to flee by their own governments - had the initial result of helping to feed the sense of angst among Japanese that has pervaded much of the postquake reporting. Subsequent TV news spots have aired interviews with farmers and small manufacturers who faced labor shortages after foreign "interns" and other workers bailed out. Two days before Tokyo Disneyland reopened on April 15, one sports tabloid went so far as to claim the key cause for delays in the theme park's reopening (it had been closed since March 12) was not the rolling power blackouts in Urayasu City but a lack of foreign entertainers to perform in the parade that serves as the day's most popular event. (Japan Times)