Chinese firm sending 10,000 on trip to Japan

After much lobbying from Tokyo, a Chinese health food and cosmetics company picked Japan as the destination of its free group tours awarded to 10,000 people for their strong business performances.

Beijing-based Baojian.com will offer the group tours--the largest to Japan--in October.

"The economic effects from the group tours will be at least several hundred million yen," said an official of the government's Japan Tourism Agency, which had asked Baojian.com to choose Japan for the tours.

The trips will be awarded to the company's sales agents who have achieved positive business results and their family members. Baojian.com has about 500 sales outlets in China.

Some of Baojian.com's 3,000 employees will join the tours, the company said.

The group tours will take the winners to either Tokyo or Osaka for six-day visits, during which they will travel to onsen hot spring resorts and shop at large electric appliance stores.

Baojian.com had previously sent employees on group tours to Thailand and Taiwan.

When the Japan Tourism Agency invited Baojian.com executives to Japan, they met tourism minister Seiji Maehara, who promoted Japan as a destination for the group tours.

The company ended up picking Japan over South Korea for its next group tours.

The government plans to triple the 2009 number of foreign visitors to Japan to 20 million by 2016, with an eye on travelers from China.

Earlier this month, Japan eased visa requirements 　for individual Chinese tourists.

The Japan Tourism Agency will open a booth at a trade fair in Guangzhou, southern China, next month. Agency officials will also visit companies in Shanghai to urge them to choose Japan as the destination of their group tours.

和約

中国の会社は日本に10000人の中国人旅行者を送った。彼らは日本で温泉を楽しんだり、買い物を楽しんだりした。政府は2016ねんまでに中国人旅行客を3倍に増やそうと考えてる。そして中国人に対するビザを緩和した。

感想

今の中国の発展はすごいですね。日本の経済も中国人旅行者を増やすことによって良くなるといいですね。

単語

firm　会社

destination　目的地

traveler　旅行者

health　健康

promote　促進する

Asashoryu served with papers

Tokyo police have sent papers to prosecutors on former yokozuna Asashoryu for allegedly assaulting an acquaintance while drunk during the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament in January, a source close to the investigation said Monday.

The source said the 29-year-old former sumo grand champion from Mongolia, whose real name is Dolgorsuren Dagvadorj, fractured the nose of a 39-year-old acquaintance with a punch while riding together in a car after drinking in Roppongi in the early hours of Jan. 16.

The former yokozuna told police in May that he had no intention of assaulting the man, saying, "My hand might have hit him in the car. I'm sorry for causing trouble."

After the incident, the victim submitted a copy of a medical certificate to the Azabu Police Station and the former yokozuna also submitted papers for an out-of-court settlement to the police on Feb. 2.

The victim later told police he was assaulted by Asashoryu but did not want him to be punished. The Metropolitan Police Department, however, determined Asashoryu intentionally hit the man and sent papers to prosecutors, according to the source.

Asashoryu announced his intention to retire on Feb. 4 as sumo's governing body was discussing his punishment.

和約

朝青竜は1月に知人男性を殴ったとされ書類送検されました。この事件が問題となり朝青竜は2月4日に引退することを発表しました。

感想　

野球賭博などで問題になっている相撲が今とても話題になっています。悪い事で話題になるのではなく、国技なのだから良いことで話題になってほしいです。

単語

source　源

victim　犠牲者

punish　罰する

retire 　引退する

incident　事件

50 people dead in China after heavy rain

BEIJING--Flooding, landslides and torrents of mud have killed 50 people in southern China and another 15 are missing after days of torrential rain, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said late on Saturday.

More than 17 million people spread across nine provinces have been affected by downpours since the start of July, the ministry said in a statement on its website.

Some 42,000 homes collapsed, and another 121,000 were damaged and hundreds of thousands of hectares of crops were spoilt or destroyed, with an early estimation of the cost of the rains as high as 8.9 billion yuan ($1.3 billion).

Among the dead were four miners killed by a gas explosion after heavy rain cut off power at their pit in southwestern Guizhou province, stopping ventilation equipment.

A wet start to the summer shows little sign of letting up. Nearly 400 people died after heavy rains in June, and storms are forecast to hit some badly affected areas again as early as the start of this week.

That could also put extra strain on weak river banks.

Along many rivers that feed into the Yangtze, China's longest river, water has risen over flood warning lines -- in one part of southwestern Chongqing municipality, by some 3 meters (10 ft), the official Xinhua news agency said.

和約

中国での土砂災害で50人が亡くなりました。1700万人の人が災害の影響を受け、約42000帯は崩壊しました。豪雨の影響は深刻な事態となっています。

感想

自然災害の恐さは計り知れないものだと思います。現地の人々が少しでも早く元気になってくれればと思います。

単語

affect　影響する

kill　殺す

estimation 　見積もり　

forecast　予報

agency　代理店

ANIME NEWS: PiFan set to feature Japan anime July 15-25 in South Korea

The annual Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival (PiFan) takes place in the South Korean city from July 15-25 this year. Since its launch in 1997, the festival has grown in scale and increased its presence in the field of "fantastic films."

Now in its 14th year, the festival brings together about 200 feature-length and short films from around the world in the science fiction, suspense, fantasy, horror and action genres.

The festival has eight sections--including the official competition section with a lineup of 12 works--as well as special programs and retrospective screenings.

An Asian film festival, PiFan includes many Japanese films and animations every year, and this year is no exception.

Of special note is the Japanese anime "Gintama The Movie," an entry in the Puchon Choice competition section. The only other Japanese work in this section is "Confessions." As the sole animated film, "Gintama" will be up against feature films for the Best of Puchon, Best Director and Jury's Choice awards, among others.

The Ani Fanta section focuses on animations, and many Japanese anime are shown in this category. This year, "Detective Conan: The Lost Ship in the Sky," a recent theater release, will be screened, in addition to "Planzet" and "Negadon: The Monster From Mars," both directed by Jun Awazu.

One of two specials in the retrospective series is "Asian Major Studio--Sunrise Mobile Suit Gundam: Memories of Universal Century," which focuses on the robot animation. The "Mobile Suit Gundam" first movie trilogy, the "Mobile Suit Z Gundam" trilogy and the first episode of "Mobile Suit Gundam UC" will be screened. It is rare for such films to be featured in South Korea, and this event is sure to delight local Gundam fans.

和約

アジアの映画祭は毎年沢山の日本の映画が公開される。今年は韓国で映画祭が行われたが、日本のアニメは現地の人々を喜ばせた。

感想

世界に通用する日本のアニメはすごいですね。

単語

event　出来事

fantastic　魅力的な

annual　毎年の

festival 　お祭り

film　フィルム

ANIME NEWS: 'Doraemon' celebrates 40th anniversary with DVD specials at Lawson stores

This year happens to be the 40th anniversary of Doraemon's first appearance in magazines for children. Various events are being planned to celebrate the special year for the popular blue cat robot from the future.

One is an anniversary campaign launched by the Lawson convenience store chain that focuses on characters created by Fujiko F. Fujio, the renowned manga artist who created Doraemon. The stores will sell works by the artist, as well as related products.

A DVD product hit the shelves on June 15. Titled "Fujiko F. Fujio Anime Kyarakuta Daishugo!!" (Assembly of Fujiko F. Fujio anime characters), the three-volume DVD series brings together representative episodes of different anime works for the first time.

The first volume contains a total of five episodes from "Doraemon," "Paman" and "Chimpui." Volume 2 features "Doraemon," "Esper Mami" and "21-emon;" while Volume 3 contains installments from "Doraemon," "Kiteretsu Daihyakka," "Pokonyan" and "Mojako." Most are well-known episodes and are expected to draw attention.

The price of each DVD--five episodes at 1,000 yen including tax--is also a bargain. Each episode costs no more than 200 yen. This is the lowest price ever for collected works by Fujiko F. Fujio and is being offered only as part of the anniversary year celebrations.

In addition to the regular five episodes, each DVD comes with links for five to eight pay-per-view episodes, each costing 105 yen. A customer buys a password via mobile phone for each episode, viewable for a week. Fans who want more besides the DVDs will be sure to enjoy this.

和約

ドラえもんは雑誌で登場してから４０周年をむかえる。これを祝ってローソンなどはキャンペーンを行う予定だ。そしてお得なDVDも発売される。ファンはこれをとても楽しみにしている。

感想　

ドラえもんの人気にビックリしました。

単語

shelve 延期する

renown 名声

June 10

Protein may help treat allergie

The discovery of a protein that suppresses allergic reactions may lead to new "fundamental" treatments for hay fever, atopic dermatitis and other allergic conditions.
A team of researchers at the University of Tsukuba found that stimulating a protein called Allergin-1 in laboratory mice curbed the release of allergy-causing chemicals such as histamine.
Since humans have a similar protein, the findings could lead to "development of a fundamental treatment for the onset of all kinds of allergic diseases," according to Akira Shibuya, the professor of immunobiology who led the research.
Allergic reactions happen when allergens such as pollen bind to antibodies and are attached to mast cell surfaces, causing the cells to release chemicals. The Allergin-1 protein is a receptor found on the surface of the mast cells and was found to inhibit the transmission of the signals that activated the mast cells.
Mice deficient in Allergin-1 showed enhanced allergic reactions, the team reported in the June 6 online edition of the U.S. journal Nature Immunology.

和訳

タンパク質は、アレルギーを治療するのを助けるかもしれません

アレルギー反応を抑制するタンパク質の発見は、花粉症、アトピー性皮膚炎と他のアレルギーの状況の新しい「基本的な」治療につながるかもしれません。
筑波大学の一連の研究者は、研究所マウスのAllergin-1と呼ばれているタンパク質を刺激することがヒスタミンのようなアレルギーを引き起こしている化学製品の放出を抑制するとわかりました。
人間が類似したタンパク質を持っているので、渋谷彰（研究を導いた免疫生物学の教授）によると、発見は「ありとあらゆるアレルギー疾患の発症のための基本的な処置の発達」につながることができました。
花粉のようなアレルゲンが抗体と結合して、肥満細胞面に付けられるとき、アレルギー反応は起こります。そして、細胞が化学製品を放出する原因になります。
Allergin-1タンパク質が、肥満細胞の表面で見つかるレセプターで、肥満細胞を起動させた信号の伝送を禁止するとわかりました。
Allergin-1に欠けたマウスは強化されたアレルギー反応を示したと、チームが米国のジャーナルネイチャーImmunologyの6月6日のオンライン版で報告しました。

私の兄もアレルギーを持っているので調べました。アレルギーがなくなると、多くの人がつらい思いをしないで済むので、早くアレルギーがなくなった世界が来るといいです。

allergic アレルギー
hay fever　　　　　　　花粉症
atopic dermatitis　　アトピー性皮膚炎
treatment　　治療
research　研究

June 2

Manga publisher targets Kindle, iPad

NTT Solmare Corp., the country's largest distributor of comics for cellphone users, will reach out to manga fans overseas by releasing titles for Amazon.com's Kindle electronic book reader and Apple Inc.'s iPad tablet computer.
According to an NTT Solmare announcement last week, the firm has four current titles for Kindle in English, including "Itsumo Soba ni Iru" (Always by Your Side) and "Zutto Dakishimete" (Hold Me Always), at a cost of $1 to $2 per episode.
For iPad, the company distributes three titles: "Itsumo Soba ni Iru" both in Japanese and English, "Salaryman Kintaro" in Japanese and "Eleven" in Japanese.
It charges 115 yen ($1.26) to 450 yen per volume, including tax. Viewers abroad can purchase them for download using their local currency.

和訳　
NTT Solmare社はアマゾンの電子BOOK読者とアップル社のipadタブレットコンピュータのためにタイトルを発表することによって、海外の漫画ファンに接触しようとしています。現在４つのタイトルがありiPadのために同社は３つのタイトルを配信します。そして海外の読者は彼らの現地通貨を使ってそれらの漫画をダウンロードすることができる。

感想
iPadの影響力はすごいですね。

単語
distributor 配給
currency　　通貨