Tag Archives: Tokyo
Nintendo DS Is Banned Everywhere But…
Image via Wikipedia
Nintendo is banned everywhere but the classroom at Tokyo Joshi Gakuen school in Japan as the ubiquitous DS consoles become the latest tool in English instruction.
Junior high school teacher Motoko Okubo has used the handheld DS and textbook software since May in weekly sessions focusing on vocabulary, penmanship and audio comprehension.
With years of games such as Super Mario on the prohibited list, she says students weren’t expecting the Nintendo welcome.
“They’ve been using it at home playing games, so at first they were surprised they can use it at school,” Okubo said.
Gadgets For Grown-Ups Next Big Thing In Greying Japan
Toys are no longer just child’s play in Japan, where an ageing population and expanding waistlines have spawned a wave of gadgets to help adults beat stress, battle the bulge or relieve loneliness.
From exercise assistants to dancing robots and nodding potted plants, Japanese toymakers are increasingly turning their attention to grown-ups as a growing market to make up for flagging sales to kids.
The shift comes amid increased efforts to get people into shape in a country where more than one fifth of the population is aged 65 or older, a percentage expected to rise to 40.5 percent in 2055, according to the government.