Major manufacturer Kao is providing mass lessons to young women who are seeking post-college jobs. Is make-up about “expressing your personality,” displaying “your intellect or enthusiasm,” or maing “a good impression on a job interviewer who is about your father’s age”? One girl learned to take off her false eyelashes and thick eyeliner to land a job. Reading this “news story” is like some weird pre-feminist Time Warp.
At a Tokyo university that shall not be named, I was startled by, and drawn to, loud male shouting. Imagine my glee at discovering these college students simultaneously pushing each other into stretching poses and shouting at full volume. I have no idea what they were saying, but the camaraderie and aggression made a sublime pairing. Later, I spotted them running around the campus carrying 2 liter plastic bottles full of water. Their faces mixed determination with exhaustion. This was *very* moe.
It’s back to school time. In the United States, that includes the opportunity to read your college’s Active Shooter Survival Tips. No kidding. At Lafayette College in Pennsylvania, with a “U Can” slogan, there is a web page detailing survival tips and “what to expect.”
Obviously my favorite survival tip is #D: “Hide.” The definition of active shooter is also helpful: “An active shooter is a person who appears to be actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area.”
You can read the whole page here. And now you know why college in the US costs $50,000 per year.
Tokyo Moe 