The Japanese paper Asahi Shimbun reported today that the Japanese Diet (parliament) will consider amending the country's pacifist consitution to allow the use of force against pirates.

Since the end of the World War II, the Japanese constitution has stipulated that its military hold only non-combat roles. Is this a first step on the way to bigger non-combat roles or even combat for Japanese troops in places like Iraq and Afghanistan?

"This is like putting your little pinky in the water--or even maybe your big toe," says Gerald Curtis, an expert on the Japanese military at Columbia. "Piracy is an opportunity to do something that isn't really the use of force to settle an international [problem]."

If Japan is ready to take the fight to the pirate, they're just in time. The United States announced today that its Navy will head up a new 20-country coaltion of boats to fight piracy off the Somali coast. Some of the countries in that coalition "did not have the authority to conduct counter-piracy missions,” according to the Navy's statement. Defense department spokesman Lt. Col. Patrick Ryder clarified for me: "There were some nations who were members of [the task force] who were not able to conduct counter-piracy operations based on their national charters." The countries in the coalition have not been announced yet, but that certainly sounds like a description of Japan.

The U.S. taskforce has an impressive roster, including two ships, two aircraft, and the 1,000 personnel on ships assigned to "assist" the operation, according to Ryder. The mission will collaborate with the EU mission already deployed.

As for tactics, Ryder includes "increased patrols of heavily trafficked areas, enhanced planning and coordinated execution of operations, hard intelligence and demonstrations of force."

Sounds like they read Lt. Gen. Paul Van Riper's advice. Time to kick some pirate booty!

Photo: U.S. Navy 

Anyone know how to say "Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated," in Japanese? Not suprisingly, the land of the rising sun blows away the competition on IEEE Spectrum's robot density map:

I guess it's impressive, but this sort of thing makes me very worried for them.

(Hat tip: Andrew Sullivan)

The Year of the Ox starts Jan. 26. An "ox," according to Webster's New World College Dictionary (4th edition), is "esp., a castrated, domesticated bull (Bos taurus), used as a draft animal."

In a recent report predicting that Southeast Asian stocks will make a limited comeback this year, CIMB-GK Research analyst Toh Hoon Chew wrote:

The year of the castrated bull seems appropriate given our expectations for 2009.

But some are still hoping for a virily bullish year in the stock markets. South Korea's Financial Services Commission chairman, Jun Kwang-Woo, second right, adorns a bull with a crown of flowers to celebrate the 2009 opening of the stock market at the Korea Exchange (KRX) in Seoul on Jan. 2.

Meanwhile, the folks at the Tokyo Stock Exchange seem to have the ox theme down. Kimono-clad women and a cuddly, cartoon-like ox celebrate the first day of 2009 trading today, Jan. 5.

Via Japan Probe, a Hilton in Osaka is offering guests a chance to use the yen's rise against the dollar to their advantage. The price in yen "$80 party" package fluctuates daily based on exchange rates. So if you reserve a party, expecting the value of the dollar to stay low, you can get a pretty good deal.

Here's what you get for your money (in Japanese):

Around 25 people commit suicide every year by jumping from Japan's scenic Tojinbo cliffs. Alarmed by this statistic, local citizens have formed an organization to conduct "suicide patrols" along the seashore, to talk the would-be jumpers down. In November alone they saved six lives, according to Mainichi Shimbun.

In a sign of the times, four of the six were recently laid-off temporary workers.

Photo: Flickr user Simbon

Speak Japanese? Me neither. According to Japan Probe, though, this video report tells the tale of one Mr. Nakamura, a boxing-gym owner in bicycle-clogged Osaka:

Nakamura acts a volunteer bicycle parking manners enforcer, standing around for hours forcing people to re-park their bicycles in places he decides. All his efforts are ultimately meaningless, as the sheer volume of bicycles means there will always be parking chaos.

Watch the video here:

As Japan's population ages, the country is facing the new and unexpected problem of senior crime:

The number of people aged 65 or older arrested for crimes other than traffic violations totaled 48,605 last year, up from 24,247 in 2002, the Justice Ministry said in an annual crime report. Elderly crimes rose 4.2 percent in 2007 from a year earlier, though the total number of people arrested fell 4.8 percent to 366,002.

Thefts, such as shoplifting and pick-pocketing, were the most common crimes committed by older people, the report said, citing low income, declining health and a sense of isolation as the main causes of the trend. Serious crimes such as murder and robbery were less prevalent among seniors than younger people.

The report said elderly crime is growing at a much faster pace than the population of senior citizens.

The rise in elderly crime has also forced many prisons to renovate their facilities and provide nursing care.

I shudder to think what this will mean for the next generation of yakuza movies.

CNN reports from Obama, Japan:

If you need a late-afternoon laugh, check out this video of Nozomu Sato, a Japanese comedian who has been impersonating U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama lately. And, he's 5 foot, 7 inches, tall -- only about half a foot shorter that the real thing.

When economic times get tough, sounding out of touch on pocketbook issues can debilitate even the most nimble politician. Just ask Taro Aso. The Japanese prime minister was already being pilloried as an elitist over his hotel bar tab and his epicurean tastes. So you'd think he'd be extra careful to avoid a pocketbook gaffe, right?

Wrong. Now, Aso has bungled a key question for any Japanese politician: What's the price of a cup of instant noodles?

Aso said: 'I think it used to be very cheap, but now it costs around 400 yen (4.12 dollars), doesn't it?'

An opposition lawmaker immediately retorted that a cup of instant noodles -- popular with Japanese on a tight budget -- actually costs around 170 yen.

Aso admitted with a wry smile: "I don't buy them myself these days."

Granted, it's better to err on the high side in making these sorts of seat-of-the-pants estimates. But what's with the gratuitous remark there at the end? It's almost like he's trying to give the opposition a boost.

As for this ill-timed photo op from earlier today, it's just icing on the cake:

John Stillwell-pool/Getty Images

FILE'; Kiyoshi Ota/Getty Images

Most days, after all that dreary business of running a country, Japan's new Prime Minister Taro Aso gets down to more important matters: a fine cigar to calm the nerves and perhaps a serving of grilled eel for $175 a pop. Newspapers report that since taking office a month ago, Aso has gone out to posh restaurants and hotel bars on all but four evenings. When asked about his high-flying habits, Aso, a political blueblood and "scion of a wealthy family," is unapologetic. From Asashi Shimbun:

How am I supposed to respond if people say I was disrupting business by showing up at places that are cheaper (than hotel bars) with reporters and police always around me?

Lawmakers in his party are concerned that he will seem out of touch with average people and, if nothing else, a little scandalous. But Aso isn't one to be pooh-poohed. Heads of state get to go have fun too, you know:

Don't you know bars at hotels are not so expensive?" Aso told reporters on Wednesday night. "Fortunately, I've got money, so I'm paying the bills myself."

In case spending his own money isn't enough to appease average citizens, though, he dropped by a supermarket on Sunday to see how shoppers were coping with price increases. If you ask me, this is asking for it. If only Japanese politicians could remember Bush Sr.'s gaffe of appearing too amazed at a checkout scanner. Honestly, supermarkets are no place for the patrician type. And knowing all the gadgets and gizmos that the Japanese probably put in their supermarkets, it's a virtual deathtrap for the 68-year-old Aso.

KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP/Getty Images

An otherwise bland Asahi Shimbun article from Friday raises the interesting possibility that a victory by Barack Obama could put some wind beneath the wings of Ichiro Ozawa, the Japanese opposition leader (picture at right).

Ozawa heads the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), which is more or less the Washington Generals of Japanese politics -- doomed to lose out year after year to the dominant Liberal Democratic Party. But given all the recent governmental upheaval, the DPJ's legislative gains, and the continued low popularity ratings for new Prime Minister Taro Aso (left), Ozawa clearly sees an opening.

Which leads Robert Dujarric, a professor at Temple University's Japan campus, to speculate to the Tokyo-based newspaper that Aso must be worrying that Japanese voters are thinking that change is possible for them, too: "If Obama, why not Ozawa?"

At 66, Ozawa is not exactly a spring chicken. And he may even be less popular than Aso -- Newsweek's Christian Caryl describes the opposition leader as "known for muddled speeches and a penchant for intrigue."

Still, he seems to be embracing a new style of politics and reaching out to young voters: going on an Internet talk show, alluding to past unrequited love, and dishing about his favorite type of tofu. Ozawa probably won't be able to convince too many people that he's some sort of Obama clone. But for a country where politicians have long been intolerably boring and opaque, win or lose, it's a welcome change.

KAREN BLEIER/AFP/Getty Images

Think Richard Fuld didn't humiliate himself enough yesterday?

Appearing before Rep. Henry Waxman's House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Monday, the Lehman Brothers CEO said he felt "horrible" about his company's collapse, adding, "I wake up every single night wondering what I could have done differently."

"Your company is now bankrupt and our country is in a state of crisis," Waxman asked. "You get to keep $480 million. I have a very basic question: Is that fair?"

Ouch. Pretty embarrassing, right?

Well, this is how they do corporate apologies in Japan:

That's via James at Japan Probe, who explains that the man in the video is president of a study abroad company that went bankrupt.

UPDATE: I'm not sure if this kind of stuff happens in Japan, however. 

Judging by this photo, Japan's former prime ministers don't think much of their successor:

TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP/Getty Images

Japan's ex-prime ministers, Shinzo Abe (L) and Yasuo Fukuda (R), listen to the policy speech by new Prime Minister Taro Aso at the lower house of parliament in Tokyo on September 29, 2008. Aso promised tax cuts to revive Asia's largest economy and ripped into the opposition.

Junko Kimura/Getty Images

People walk past a half-body statue in Shibuya, Tokyo's main shopping area, on August 22. Online Game Company NHN Japan has set up a series of these statues to promote the mobile game site hange.jp. When people touch the statue's arm with their mobile phone, the application site will automatically open and a lucky winner will be rewarded 10,000 U.S. Dollars.

Japan's heaviest sumo wrestler has pledged to his fans that he will gain even more weight. Yamamotoyama currently weighs in at 511 pounds, but the 24-year-old's goal is to tip the scales at 531, surpassing the previous Japanese record holder, retired wrestler Susanoumi, who reached 529 pounds.

Yamamotoyama is reported to have once devoured 146 pieces of sushi in a single sitting, so packing on another 20 pounds seems doable. But he might be setting himself up for a difficult situation 16 years from now. This year, Japan enacted a policy that requires citizens ages 40 to 74 to undergo mandatory "fat checks." Those with waists more than 34 inches will be put on special exercise programs. It's part of an effort to keep citizens' bulging bottoms from breaking the government's budget, as reported in the FP article, "Bulging Bottom Lines."

Surely, though, there must be a special sumo exemption?

Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images

The Japanese fishing industry is in dire straits, the LA Times reports:

If we lose our fishing industry, we Japanese will face a food crisis," said Masahiko Ariji, a fishery specialist at the Amita Institute for Sustainable Economics in Kyoto. About two-thirds of the nation's fishing groups were in the red last year, he said. With fuel prices higher this year, some "are about to collapse." [...]

If fuel prices keep rising, as many as 20% of Japan's fishing companies will close and 85,000 fishermen could leave the industry, the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Assns said. The fish catch, it says, could fall by almost half.

On balance, the fact that the Japanese fishing industry is suffering isn't necessarily a bad thing. If the trend keeps up, high gas prices might end up saving Pacific fisheries from imminent doom where regulation and conservation have failed. Add this one to the list.

In some ways, the iPhone is a step backward for Japan, where the masses are accustomed to using their mobile phones for everything from watching television to buying Royal Milk Tea from vending machines. But the iPhone 2.0's lack of such modern conveniences failed to deter the more than 1,000 people who waited patiently overnight outside the Softbank Mobile store in Tokyo to get their hands on Apple's latest device for the first time. Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son, the richest man in Japan, hailed it as "a historic day."

It's hard to tell from the photo below, but it looks like this guy is so excited, he's made himself an iPhone hat. Either that, or he's wearing a visor and leaning against a very clean glass window:

Francois Durand/Getty Images

Japan's chief cabinet secretary is disappointed that Carla Bruni, the wife of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, won't be attending this year's G-8 summit in Hokkaido.

I can't say I blame her. The supermodel-turned-singer has an album launch this coming Friday, and she'd rather prepare for it than sit around learning how to fold kimonos and sipping tea with the other G-8 wives.

Back in Europe, her album seems to be getting as much coverage as the summit itself. The British press is agog at the revelation that Mrs. Sarkozy has had 30 lovers, and the AFP reports that France's "gossip press" is "nearing fever pitch," and the album has gotten rave reviews thus far.

In case any French music critics are wondering how to handle the unusual task of critiquing their first lady's musical talents, Carla has a ready answer in "Ta Tienne" (Yours): "I am yours, if they diss me or damn me, I don't care a hoot."

This just might be the coolest vending machine of all time:

Michael Keferl of CScoutJapan reports:

Pushing the button on the vendor won’t exactly pop out a car, but it does dispense a branded tube containing pamphlets on the new models, dealer information, and a sheet of Smart Car stickers featuring the available colors.

Not quite as cool as an actual car vending machine, but ingenious nonetheless. I'm still waiting for MIT's Media Lab to roll out its long-hyped stackable cars, though.

(Hat tip: TreeHugger)