Greetings From J-List
5/16/2012Yesterday was the 40th anniversary of the return of Okinawa to Japan by the U.S., and there was a ceremony marking the event attended by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and U.S. ambassador John Roos. Japan's southernmost prefecture, Okinawa was a separate kingdom with its own culture and language until it was annexed by Japan in 1609, and to this day it's expected that Okinawans will be different from Japanese in subtle ways, usually violating the rules of joshiki or "universal common sense" that mainland Japanese pride themselves on. (For example, they love A&W root beer, which Japanese nearly always dislike.) Okinawans are thought to be attractive, and most of the major pop groups from the 1990s hailed from talent schools on the island, though South Korea has taken over this role lately. A big issue in Okinawa today are the U.S. military bases, which take up 20% of the prefecture's land mass and bring various hardships to the local population, though much of the economy depends on military-related jobs, too. In addition to hosting the U.S. bases, Okinawa's second most important economic activity is serving as the setting for the obligatory "fan service" swimsuit episodes that virtually every anime series has these days.


There are many reasons for Japan's falling birth rate; Okinawans are subtly different from Japanese.
Last time I talked about the international coverage of the impending "extinction" of the Japanese people, which will happen a millennium from now according to current projections. Making predictions about a time that far into the future is silly, of course, but it is interesting to explore the reasons Japan's birth rate went from 2.75 children per female in the 1950s to just 1.38 today. Some of the more obvious reasons include economic ones (it costs a small fortune to raise a child in Japan) plus the trend of people leaving more rural prefectures and moving to cities, where the scarcity of parks and wide-open spaces can turn off many would-be parents. There's an inverse relationship between education of women and a country's birth rate, and it's interesting to compare modern Japan with Afghanistan, where education of girls is seriously lacking and the birth rate is 6.5 babies per female. Finally, stress and other factors lead Japanese couples to engage in the horizontal mattress dance less often, driving the trend in "sexless" marriages. Clearly the best way to solve the problem is for more gaijin to marry Japanese women, which will introduce an element of competition and get Japanese males back into the bedroom.
While I love Japan, there are some challenges to living here, including difficulty finding really good cheese, movie theaters that cost the equivalent of $22 per person and the occasional street that's so narrow a car and a bicycle couldn't pass each other side-by-side. There's also a huge problem with hay fever during allergy season, thanks to erroneous policies by Japan's Ministry of Forestry, which decided to standardize planting sugi (Japanese cedar) trees almost exclusively several decades ago...leading to a massive outpouring of pollen when all the trees start to flower at the same time. Happily, researchers in Toyama Prefecture have developed a special strain of Japanese cedar that produces no pollen, and plans to plant 30,000 saplings in the coming years. Maybe in a generation or so that unfortunate aspect of living in Japan can be improved.
J-List pays a lot of attention to what awesome products from Japan our customers are most interested in. For example, we have a report (J-List version here, JBOX.com here) that tells us what keywords people are searching for, so we know to stock lots of Touhou, Tenga, Evangelion and shimapan products for everyone. I also like browsing all J-List products in "wishlist" order, which shows us what products customers are adding to their J-List wishlists and lets us judge relative popularity of all products. You're almost guaranteed to find something you didn't expect!
Today's New & Restocked Items
Huge Update of Dual-Sided Touhou Keychains
You know those awesome Touhou keychains? Well, we've got the rest of the series here for your collection and enjoyment. Featuring Sakuya, Remilia, Marisa, and other cute Touhou characters. The best thing is, these keychains are dual-sided, showing the back of your favorite characters, and very awesome to hold in your hand. VIEW PRODUCTS
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COSMODE May 2012 ~ Super Cosplay Magazine 045
New issue of the #1 cosplay magazine in Japan, loaded with pictures, reference images, and even a costume pattern -- for all cosplay lovers. view products -
Saber, Kuroneko Figmas Restocked
Who would win in a cat-fight between Saber and Kuroneko? We've got both figures in stock, allowing you to make them fight together on your desk. view products -
Teens Ever Micro Mini Spats size M~L
Get your very own authentic Japanese pair of spats, used by girls as extra protection under their school uniforms from pervy eyes. view products -
Teens Ever Pink School Bag ~ Sports Type
Match your clothes to your new school bag and become super kawaii, showing off in the pretty pink pastels. view products -
Retro Gothic Style Otome Youkai Kimono ~ size 5L
Enjoy the upcoming season of summer festivals and anime conventions dressed in a beautiful and easy to wear kimono. view products -
Vocaloid Bikini Swimsuits, Shimapan for Cosplay
Our Vocaloid-inspired striped bikinis sold faster than we could believe. Good thing we have more! Stock won't last long, so get 'em while you can. view products -
Patto Mi!! Code Geass
The fan book of all things Code Geass from the animated series -- tons of CLAMP artwork, plus character profiles and behind-the-scenes info! view products -
New High School DxD, One Piece Manga
Enjoy some fanservice with a new volume of High School DxD, or continue the One Piece adventure with volume 66. Plus more great items! view products -
Freezing First Chronicle
This prequel to Freezing delivers all the epic battles and sexy girls you expect from one of the best ecchi manga around. See it on the J-List side. view products -
Big Restocking of Popular Manga Too
Also see fresh stock of popular works such as Inu x Boku SS, Listen to Me Girls, I Am Your Father (PapaKiki), and the delicious Maken-Ki! view products -
Hatsune Miku Concert Blu-rays, Too
Get caught up on the world's hottest digital idol, or continue collecting her kawaii goods. We have something for all levels of leekgirl fans. view products -
Ghibli Blu-ray w/full Subtitles Restocked
See fresh stock of gorgeous new Ghibli film The Borrower Arrietty in region free Blu-ray disk with full subtitles & dubbed tracks. Laputa & Howl, too! view products -
Region Free Anime Games for PSP Restocked
Enjoy the best anime games on PSP, including Queen's Blade and Ikki Tousen (yay ecchi fighting games), plus Magical Girl Nanoha, Railgun and more. view products -
EVA&LOGOS Eco-Friendly Tumblers (350ml)
Perfect for hiking and travel, these great items are the perfect way to show off that you have the best taste in classic 90s anime. view products -
Monster Hunter, Smile Slime Products
Fans of the Dragon Quest series of games will love these fun products featuring your favorite characters and monsters as plushies, accessories and more. view products -
Totoro Watermelon ~ Mosquito Coil Holder
Keep bugs away with this cool summer item that features Totoro as a summer watermelon. view products -
Paper StitchLock, Sushi Magnets, more
Lots of neat office items that are from Japan, like a staple-less paper holder, privacy stamps, money origami and more. view products -
Mamegoma 3-Tier Aluminum Pen Case
We love finding kawaii things to post to the site, and this is a great item: a 3-tier pen case for storing all your writing instruments. view products -
Nama Ramune Candy, 100% Juice Gummy
Make your own nama (raw) ramune candy with this cool and easy to use DIY kit, just add water -- plus many more tasty treats too. view products -
Restocked 'Food Drops'
Even more fun flavors of "Food Drops" from Japan, including Sapporo Beer Drops, Kobe Cheese Cake and Miso Ramen from Hokkaido, yum! view products -
Japanese Snacks & Ramune Restocked in San Diego
Get a 1-up on life with some cool Japanese products delivered quickly to your door -- shipping from San Diego. view products -
Lots of Restocked Japanese Snacks
See a nice restocking of popular snacks including Takoyaki Puff Balls, Grave of the Fireflies candy, Okinawa Puccho and awesome Kyoto Candy! view products -
Hello Kitty Tight Sealed Bento Box ~ Love Sweets
And for all the Hello Kitty lovers out there, we've got this amazing bento box, with a very colorful character top that latches securely for safe travel. view products -
Traditional Bento Boxes Restocked
We love carrying awesome traditional bento boxes from japan, and have restocked several today, incl. "Hiragana Face" and more. view products -
Cute Rilakkuma Products for Bento
Cute bento accessories and more, all featuring the kawaii Rilakkuma bear and his friends, including a sandwich and rice shaper, soy sauce bottles and more. view products -
Hello Kitty Bento Products Restocked
Hello Kitty goes with bento products like miso and soup, and we've restocked some kawaii bento items from Sanrio today. view products -
Awesome Chopsticks from Japan
J-List goes out of our way to bring fascinating chopsticks from Japan to you. See our Alien chopstick line restocked + several other fun items! view products -
My Japanese Table
Learn how to make all the delicious dishes that can be found in Japan, all detailed and beautifully photographed in this wonderful book. view products -
AnoNatsu Rinon Plush Toys
For fans of AnoNatsu, here's a soft and squeezable plush of that adorable mascot Rinon. Comes in two convenient sizes! view products -
Yozora Mikazuki, Sena Kashiwazaki Figures *Preorder*
Check out these amazing figures starring the girls from Haganai. Just the right combination of cute and sexy to make your mouth water. view products -
Kuro Yuki Hime Nendoroid Figure ~ Accel World *Preorder*
And there is always room for the cutely proportioned figures from the Nendoroid style, this time with Kuro Yuki Hime. view products -
Monster Hunter, Yu-Gi-Oh! Figures & More!
Yu-Gi-Oh's Seto Kaiba, Kuroyukihime from Accel World, and Konohanasakuya from Persona 4, and awesome Revoltech dragons from Monster Hunter! view products



