Toyota recalling fuel-cell Mirai vehicles

TOKYO, Japan — Toyota said Wednesday it is recalling all the Mirai fuel-cell vehicles it has sold globally due to a software glitch that can shut off its hydrogen-powered system.

The auto giant said it would call back about 2,800 Mirai vehicles made between November 2014 and December 2016 to repair the defect.

Toyota launched Mirai — which means “future” in Japanese — in late 2014 as it looked to push further into the fast-growing market for environmentally friendly cars.

Mirai was its first mass-market hydrogen fuel-cell car, after Toyota scored a win with the top-selling Prius hybrid, which combines a regular engine and rechargeable electric battery.

Separately, Toyota on Wednesday launched a new plug-in model of its Prius, after the first version sold poorly following its 2012 release.

The new model can run in electric-only mode — unlike the original Prius — at higher speeds and longer distances than the previous version, Toyota said.

Fuel cells, meanwhile, work by combining hydrogen and oxygen in an electrochemical reaction, which produces electricity. This can then be used to power vehicles or home generators.

But a lack of hydrogen refuelling stations has been a major hurdle to bringing fuel-cell cars into the mainstream.

The Mirai was launched with a relatively expensive 6.7 million yen ($58,000) price tag.

source: interaksyon.com

Japanese porn star Maria Ozawa in town for ‘business’

Male fans of Magic 89.9 FM’s “Boys Night Out” were in for a surprise treat Monday when the popular evening radio talk show featured the world’s most famous Japanese porn star, Maria Ozawa, for the 9th anniversary of its #ManyakMonday shows.

Ozawa told “BNO” hosts Tony Toni, Slick Rick and Sam YG that she would be in town till Wednesday for some “business talks”. She is in Manila to sign a contract with Parallax Studios of photographer Wesley Villarica, who will represent her for projects in the Philippines.

Now 29, Ozawa joined the vibrant Japanese pornographic film industry in 2005 and starred in numerous adult video titles until 2011. She has since branched out into mainstream work in films, television and modeling not just in her native Japan but also in other Asian countries, including China, Taiwan, and Indonesia.

As disclosed by Karlo Samson, managing editor for UNO Magazine, Parallax hosted a dinner for Ozawa shortly after her arrival on Monday for a head shot photo session with the men’s magazine. She was also interviewed by UNO editor-in-chief RJ Ledesma for the magazine and for his Philippine Star column.

Ozawa also revealed in her personal Facebook page that she will appear in an upcoming issue of another men’s magazine, FHM Philippines.

During her 35-minute “Boys Night Out” interview, the half-Canadian spoke fluent English and candidly answered the probing and often naughty questions of the show’s three hosts.

She said that she started appearing in adult videos when she was only 18. “I went to this place to audition and I wanted to become a star,” she recalled.

Being an adult video star, she said that it was hard for her to have a real relationship although she admitted that she tends to fall in love with her co-workers or leading men sometimes.

“It’s one hundred percent real. You can’t be faking it,” she said in response to a question by Tony Toni as to whether her sex scenes, including her expressions and moaning, were just acted out.

Ozawa, however, also revealed that her days as an adult video actress are over since she had already “quit the industry” and is now working on her own.

“I own a bar in Tokyo, Japan in the Shinjuku tourist area. I do dancing, I do club events, I go to (countries like) China, Taiwan to do movies,” she added.

In movies, she means mainstream movies. She also does photo shoots for magazines as well as TV commercials. A business card she gave Samson states that she is president of Lilly Promotion Co. Ltd. In Japan.

Does she miss ever working on adult videos?

“It was a good memory. Sometimes, I miss it. But not to the point where I’ll come back doing it again,” she quipped.

Listen to the rest of her “Boys Night Out” interview as posted on Facebook by Trending Videos PH:

source: interaksyon.com

Japanese filmmaker Nagisa Oshima dies aged 80

TOKYO – Japanese film director Nagisa Oshima, best known for the sexually explicit film “In the Realm of the Senses” and “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence”, has died from pneumonia, aged 80.

The Hollywood Reporter said Oshima died on Tuesday in Fujisawa, south of Tokyo, where he had been living since retiring from making movies.

The British Film Institute described Oshima as one of the major directors of the new wave of Japanese cinema in the 1960s whose politically charged films contrasted starkly with the stylistic conservatism of classical Japanese filmmaking.

A law graduate, he began his filmmaking career at the age of 26 with the 1959 movie “A Town of Love and Hope”.

But his international notoriety was ensured in 1976 with “In the Realm of the Senses,” a graphic portrayal of insatiable sexual desire between a hotel owner and one of his maids in 1930s Japan.

The film contained scenes of unsimulated sexual activity and had to be registered as a French production to bypass Japanese censorship laws. Its uncensored version remains unavailable in Japan.

Oshima won the best director award at the Cannes Film Festival in 1978 for his film “Empire of Passion,” another erotic tale.

He teamed up with British actor/singer David Bowie on the 1983 film “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence,” based on author Laurens van der Post’s experiences as a prisoner of war in Japan during World War Two.

Oshima suffered a stroke in 1996 but recovered enough to return briefly to filmmaking, making his final film “Taboo” in 1999, a movie about gay samurai.

source: interaksyon.com

Japanese Band Breathes New Life Into Kamikazee’s ‘Narda’

MANILA, Philippines – A visual kei band from Japan has performed their own version of “Narda,” one of the biggest hits of local rock group Kamikazee.

Uchusentai Noiz, a five-piece band, recorded and even shot a video for the song, which was uploaded on YouTube on Aug. 7. While some groups would tend to translate foreign songs into their vernacular, Uchusentai Noiz’s vocalist Angel-Taka sang “Narda” with its original Filipino lyrics—though with a thick Japanese accent. The video has so far spawned 160,000 views on YouTube.

“Narda” is the carrier single off Kamikazee’s sophomore album “Maharot,” which was released in 2006. The song serves as a serenade to classic comic book heroine Darna and her “normal” persona, Narda.

Kamikazee lead singer Jay Contreras has also seen the video and tweeted about it on Aug. 9.

“RT @hilarion @jomalee @jaykmkz Nakita niyo na 'to? Haha kulit eh. youtu.be/lde76arEmGA – hehehehe,” he posted.

Gabby Alipe, vocalist of another rock band Urbandub, is likewise impressed by Uchusentai Noiz’s rendition.

“PANOORIN NYO! Coolest thing! @jaykmkz @jomalee @chitomirandajr @RosariOko: Japanese band NOIZ (Uchusentai NOIZ)http://youtu.be/lde76arEmGA,” he tweeted.

Chito Miranda of Parokya Ni Edgar, who had done numerous collaborations with Kamikazee, responded, “hehe! ayus no?!”

Formed back in 1999, Uchusentai Noiz is composed of vocalist Angel-Taka, guitarists Kotaro and Masato, bassist Kyo, and drummer Yamato. Their genre, visual kei, is usually identified with Japanese rock music, and a type of fashion characterized by heavy make-up as well as flamboyant hair and costumes—reminiscent of glam rock.

The group is scheduled to perform shows in Manila and Davao in September. Meanwhile, a Japanese-language YouTube clip that’s been uploaded December last year sees Uchusentai Noiz also in Davao where they are shown going to the beach and even doing some form of charity work, personally giving out toothbrushes to children as well as singing for them.

source: mb.com.ph

Lady Gaga auctions teacup to help Japanese artists

TOKYO — Fans bidding in a charity online auction to buy a teacup used once by pop diva Lady Gaga had offered more than four million yen ($50,000) by Tuesday, with five days left before the hammer falls.

The china cup and saucer set was used by the star at a press conference in Tokyo three months after the massive tsunami of March last year swamped a large stretch of coastline.

Lady Gaga told reporters at the time that she would auction the cup, marked with her lipstick and bearing the Japanese message “We pray for Japan” along with the star’s autograph.

All the money raised will be used to help young Japanese artists who want to study in the United States.

The cup was put on “Yahoo! Japan Auctions” at midday Monday, with the starting price of one yen. The auction is set to finish midnight Sunday.

By Tuesday morning, more than 500 bids had been placed, with the top offer at more than 4.1 million yen. The auction can be followed at http://page3.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/c323847712

The quake-tsunami catastrophe killed some 19,000 people on Japan’s northeast coast and sparked a nuclear accident, leading to a plunge in visitors to the country.

The songstress visited Japan twice after the disaster and called on tourists from around the world to follow suit.

She is due back in Japan next week as part of an Asian tour.

source: japantoday.com