Jun 23 2008
A Moment of Silence for WaiWai.
From Mainichi Daily News:
This led to a fundamental re-think about WaiWai and on June 21, the decision was made to cease publishing the corner. On the Mainichi Daily News site, we listed the following notice: Some readers pointed out that various articles published in the WaiWai column were inappropriate content for the Mainichi Daily News. We respond to this criticism by halting publication of this column.
But what about my articles about pedobear teachers, panty selling school girls and cell phone girls who use them as vibrators! Nooooo! 
Damnit, that was the only reason I ever read Mainichi Daily news lol now it’s gone. Goodbye WaiWai, you will be missed.
Tags: news
12 Responses to “A Moment of Silence for WaiWai.”
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That’s why I never borrow someone else’s phone.
Yea but these cellphones were like “brand new” from the store. The sales girls were “testing” them before selling them to customers
∑(O_O；) OMG, I’ll never look at cellphones the same way ever again.
Too bad about the news.
Where do you get these phones? Maybe I could get one as an accessory for Kooh….
[sarcasm]
I guess humanity’s wrongs are not appropriate for a daily paper.
I for one welcome our propagandist overlords. (I have been socially engineered to welcome them)
[/sarcasm]
The worst part of this to me (other than no longer being able to read WaiWai, which I also enjoyed) is that part of the reason it was canceled was because Japan doesn’t want the world reading about some of its issues (the whole WaiWai was “debauching Japan by sending around the world information that could be misunderstood”). K, Japan, I know you want the world to think you’re perfect, but really … I enjoy reading about how silly you are!
Yea basically
Cannot thing anything to say but:
~~ aa~~ dame~~~ etc2 etc2
and thus ends a golden age… coming up next the dark ages…
Dear Japan,
Don’t worry. We already know how silly you are.
Signed,
ZAA WARUDO
OXOXOXOX <3
The reason that WaiWai was canceled was that the column was translating stories, most of them sensational and false, from tabloid weeklies (shukanshi) without putting them in their proper context.
Each WaiWai story has a picture of the cover of the weekly it is from, but anyone who isn’t familiar with these weeklies would not be aware that these are unreliable tabloids that regularly feature fake stories, alongside real investigative journalism and gravure spreads! Not that Japan doesn’t have issues, but having these fake stories published in the English website of a newspaper without properly explaining where these stories are from is problematic because these stories are being passed off as real news. And The MDN statement does a horrible job at explaining this.
Anyone who is interested about this and about shukanshi can read more here:
http://neojaponisme.com/2007/09/20/how-the-world-learns-about-japan/
http://www.japanprobe.com/?p=4958
http://meta.neojaponisme.com/2008/06/22/byebye-to-waiwai/
There’s also a book in English called “A Public Betrayed” about shukanshi:
http://www.pliink.com/mt/marxy/archives/000273.html
I’ve read parts of it, but I can’t recommend it because the pro-cult slant the book takes in the middle is eerie and borders on propaganda.
So as much as I enjoy reading WaiWai once in a while, I don’t think I will miss it that much.
(Sorry for the long comment that has nothing to do with anime! I love this blog. Keep ranting!
)
karenai> Thanks for the explanation. You’re right MDN didn’t explain that these were from tabloids kind like “STAR” in the US which is fulla pics of celebrities in their bikinis and Britney Spears
Some stories really did seem wacko though that I didn’t always believe them but none the less they were entertaining to read 