This article is reproduced from the discontinued, but much loved Mainichi Waiwai column by Ryann Connell. Read more about this at the bottom of this article.
A “badger game” is a type of extortion scheme in which the victim, often a married man, is coerced into a compromising position and then subjected to some form of extortion, either for money or information. The Japanese word for this, “tsutsumotase,” is written with the characters for “bijin” (beautiful woman) and “kyoku” (affair).
According to Asahi Geino (Aug. 31), who knows how many Japanese men in China — convinced they’ve met the girl of their dreams — have been falling victim to such entrapment.
Continue reading WaiWai: Japanese prove easy prey for Chinese honey traps
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi a week ago paid homage to Japan’s World War II dead at the Yasukuni Shrine, drawing South Korea’s and China’s condemnation, which was heightened by the date of his visit – the anniversary of Japan’s surrender. Despite repeated protests from Beijing and Seoul, Koizumi kept a promise to make a sixth pilgrimage as premier to the shrine – which honours Japan’s 2.8 million war dead, including 14 Class-A war criminals – before he steps down next month. The visit was the first made in 21 years by a prime minister on the anniversary of the war’s 1945 end, which is remembered in Japan as a defeat but which South Korea celebrates as Liberation Day after it and China both suffered under Japan’s often-brutal wartime occupation.
