Yamazaki Resveratrol Tea‏

Yamazaki, best known for bread and snack products, also has a drink line. This month, they started selling a resveratrol (the wine component thought by some to have life extending properties) containing tea called Resuberashi Tea (レスベラシー茶). It contains 0.5 mg of resveratrol per 500 ml bottle, the equivalent of a 120 ml glass of wine.

http://www.yamazakipan.co.jp/company/news/20120626.html

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

Yamazaki Spiderman Products‏

Yamazaki is featuring Spiderman on many of its products to coinside with the release of the new Spiderman movie. The products include the sandwiches and snacks.

http://www.yamazakipan.co.jp/feature/spiderman/index.html

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

Marudai Olympic Sponsor

Marudai Foods is an official Japan Olympic Committee sponsor.

http://www.marudai.jp/ganbarenippon3/index.html

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

Morinaga Name the Cow Contest‏

Morinaga has used a cow's head on their condensed milk packages since 1956, but this cow has never had a name. To rectify that situation, they are now holding a campaign to name the cow. The winning entry receives goods related to this line of products.

For those even just starting Japanese study, the copy for this ad is pretty cute - 「モウそろそろ、名前がほし～い！」 or "mo sorosoro, namae ga hoshii!", which means "I would like a name pretty soon!". By simply changing the hiragana of the first word "mo" to kanatana, you get a double meaning because the MOO which means "about time" in the original can then be seen as also standing for the sound cows make in Japanese - MOO as in "more" and not MOO as in "move".

http://rennyu-name.jp/

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

Lion Tomato Vinegar

Lion is a company largely associated with household goods like cleaning solutions and toothbrushes, as well as pharmaceuticals. However they also sell functional foods. This link was advertised on Facebook and the product is sold via mail order - tomato vinegar. Vinegars of various sorts are popular in Japan and are generally considered to be healthful. Lion claims that after research on various vinegar varieties, they determined tomato vinegar to be superior due to elevated and optimal levels of 1) potassium, 2) glutamic acid, 3) aspartic acid and 4) GABA. It has been approved by the Japanese government for a FOSHU claim for lowering high blood pressure.

http://www.lionshop.jp/lp/TATR-3E980/?cid=51129

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

Nisshin Olympic Sponsor

Nisshin is an official Japan Olympic Committee Sponsor.

http://nishikori.nissinfoods.jp/product/

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

Yahoo Whale Meat Sales (more)‏

More from the same site I described yesterday. As you can see, various ways of preparing and eating whale meat are shown: sashimi, tartare, grilled, sauteed with vegetables, etc.

Price on Yahoo Japan 9,980 yen/5 kg (via cool shipping).

http://store.shopping.yahoo.co.jp/kuidaoreichiba/2011110312.html

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

Meiji Essel Cup Travel Giveaway

To promote Meiji Essel cup ice cream, Meiji is giving away JPB travel vouchers (100,000 yen in vouchers to 10 people plus lesser prizes. Entry is by proof of purchase and postcard.

The campaign is called gattsuri seishun (ガッツリ青春), which roughly means "plentiful youth". The meaning is not completely clear until you read an explanation elsewhere which instructs "eat a lot of Essel to get many (ガッツリ) travel vouchers for a 'youth vacation' (青春旅行)" as the campaign is obviously aimed at school girls. Gattsuri does not appear in all dictionaries, is said to be most commonly used in Hokkaido, and is most commonly used with food, but I think "plentiful youth" conveighs the meaning better than "eat a lot youth".

http://www.meiji.co.jp/sweets/icecream/essel/closed.html

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

Nisshin Oillio Olympic Sponsor

Nisshin Oillio is a Japan Olympic Committee official sponsor.

http://www.nisshin-oillio.com/be/

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

Yahoo Whale Meat Sales‏

Several items have appeared in the international media recently about how Yahoo Japan allows sales of whale meat on its shopping website - implying that Yahoo Japan's connections with Yahoo USA should make it more globally conscious in this matter. Nothing has changed though. Here is just the top offering of many on the Yahoo Japan shopping site that popped up when I checked.

As you can see, the type of whale is clearly indicated. No attempt is made to identify this as the product of legitimate scientific research, as it is usually portrayed by the government. Nor is there any attempt to conceal the fact this is an endangered species - Fin Whale (see the Japanese Wikipedia link below). In contrast, the fact this meat comes from the second largest whale species is advertised as a selling point.

Draw your own conclusions.

http://store.shopping.yahoo.co.jp/kuidaoreichiba/2011110312.html
http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%8A%E3%82%AC%E3%82%B9%E3%82%AF%E3%82%B8%E3%83%A9

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.