1. A court in Tokyo has ordered a cyclist to pay nearly half a million US dollars in damages to the family of an elderly woman he knocked down and killed.
Apparently the use of bicycles has risen dramatically in recent years. I admit that they frighten me because men and women bikers alike often ride at high speeds on sidewalks, weaving around pedestrians, and sometimes making some physical contact while brushing past. The judge says that he wants to make an example of this reckless cyclist so the public knows this behavior will be removed from Japan.
2. A 23-year-old woman who works as a school clerk in Osaka has been disciplined for having tattoos.
She has one on her left arm and two by her left ankle. Since one month's salary is docked, she has agreed to have them removed.
We don't see many tatoos here. For one thing, you can't get into a public bath (onsen) with one!
3. A trove of ancient documents unearthed at the Vatican could shed light on the brutal crackdown on Christianity in isolationist Japan under its samurai rulers, scholars say. The hoard contains about 10,000 pieces of paper, collected by an Italian priest who lived in Japan in the last century, mostly dating from the "Edo" period (1603-1867), when the country shut itself off from the outside world and declared Western religion illegal.
Okay, this news isn't about daily life nor reckless behavior as such. But what a treasure-trove for historians!! I would love to spend many days studying the artifacts!
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