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Tokyo Weekender
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Tokyo Weekender
Why Japanese Leftists Are Using Melonpan to Mock Sanseito
A soft and fluffy sweet bread with a crispy cookie-like crust on top, melonpan is a popular snack in Japan. Not actually flavored with melon, it gets its name from the distinctive grid-like pattern on the crust. You'll find these sweet snacks in convenience stores and bakeries all over Japan, but are they safe to eat? Not according to Toshiaki Yoshino, a dentist, periodontist and leader of the political group Japan Seishinkai . At least, that was his view three years ago when he was delivering a speech ahead of the 2022 House of Councillors election as a member of the Sanseito Party. List of Contents: Melonpan Adopted by Communist Party To Mock Sanseito Sanseito's Anti-Wheat Policies Related Posts Melonpan Adopted by Communist Party To Mock Sanseito 'I've seen a lot of people die the next day after eating melonpan ,' said Yoshino. He left Sanseito the following year, citing differences in ideology. However, the video of that speech from the election campaign has recently resurfaced online, with the Communist Party using it to mock Sanseito . At a rally in Osaka on July 4, Communist Party leader Tomoko Tamura was handed a melonpan by her colleague. She held the sweet bread aloft while singing 'Power to the People' by John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band after criticizing Sanseito's anti-foreigner policies. Since then, melonpan has become the party's unofficial symbol, with supporters bringing them to rallies and l eft- w ing activists waving them in protest during Sanseito speeches. On July 10, Mizuho Umemura, who joined Sanseito in June, posted on X , 'Eating melonpan will kill you' is not the official stance of the party.' She added, 'We ask all citizens to be cautious of spreading misinformation.' The message was posted with a picture of Umemura with a melonpan in hand. In another post, she criticized the policies of other parties , such as the Constitutional Party of Japan, the Communist Party and the Japan Innovation Party, while asking why ' Sanseito's melonpan topic is getting so much attention?' This was followed by a n X Community Note, providing some background details. Image and logo: Wikimedia Sanseito's Anti-Wheat Policies One of Sanseito's key policies for the Upper House election is to promote food and health care without using chemicals. It feels the Japanese diet became too Westernized after the US-led Occupation. It has also been claimed that the party believes that wheat was introduced to this country after the war as a tool to poison the Japanese mind and body. Responding to Sanseito's reported anti-wheat policies, leader Sohei Kamiya said , 'You should look at the evidence and eat what suits your constitution. I don't think it's 100% a lie that 'wheat is bad for you,' but it's being exaggerated.' Sanseito is known for its controversial policies. It recently pledged to make terminally ill patients cover all medical expenses for their life-prolonging treatments. Related Posts Sanseito Leader Says 'Japanese First Approach Is Not Xenophobic' How Much Do You Really Known About Melon Pan? Shigeru Ishiba's Snap Election Backfires as LDP Loses Majority
Eater
10-07-2025
- Business
- Eater
Japan's Most Popular Curry Spot, Go Go Curry, Has Opened in Los Angeles
is the Lead Editor of the Southern California/Southwest region, and has covered dining, restaurants, food culture, and nightlife in Los Angeles since 2008. When it comes to Japanese curry, the American market has been passionate about the yoshoku (Westernized) dish for decades, going back to the opening of Curry House in 1983. Though Curry House closed all of its restaurants in 2020, the dish is poised for a comeback with the arrival of Japan's most popular chain, Go Go Curry, which opened a stall on June 26 inside Tokyo Central Market in Gardena. The chain already has outlets in New York City, New Jersey, Cambridge, Dallas, and Hawaii, but this marks the first time the restaurant has expanded to Southern California, and it just might help fill the void that Curry House left. Taking over the former Croissants du Tokyo bakery at Tokyo Central Market's flagship location on Artesia Boulevard, Go Go Curry serves fried pork and chicken cutlet laced with dark brown Kanazawa-style curry that allegedly takes 55 steps, 5 hours of stewing, and 55 hours of 'maturing' to create. While the marketing jargon leans on the number five (go-go means the number 55 in Japanese), the result is a thick, rich sauce that sits under the fried cutlets or comes spooned over a mound of white rice. The dish comes with a choice of tasty Japanese sausages or fried shrimp, or altogether as the 'home run' curry that combines sausage, hard-boiled egg, a piece of fried shrimp, and either pork or chicken cutlet. A larger 'grand slam' has twice the home run portion with 16 ounces of rice, and a huge shareable 'world champion' serving, equal to five servings (that costs $55.55, of course), comes with a truly ridiculous amount of food, probably enough for a family. All dishes come with shredded cabbage to balance out the dense curry and fried foods. Go Go Curry's opening at Tokyo Central Market (a subbrand of the older Marukai Market brand) could signal a larger partnership with the grocery store, which operates seven stores in the Los Angeles area. Last year, Tokyo Central opened a new location in Torrance in December 2024 with a casual sushi spot called Vanshow, and in March 2024, Tokyo Central in Gardena debuted one of the best conveyor belt sushi restaurants in Southern California, Waka Sakura. Clearly, supermarket customers want some good Japanese food to go along with their Go Curry is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily and is located at 1740 Artesia Boulevard, Gardena, CA, 90248. Go Go Curry menu in Gardena. Matthew Kang The 'major' curry with pork cutlet, shrimp, sausage, hard-boiled gg, and more from Go Go Curry. Matthew Kang Eater LA All your essential food and restaurant intel delivered to you Email (required) Sign Up By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
These 3 Countries Produce The Most Beef Worldwide
Humans have been cooking and consuming meat for 780,000 years and began domesticating cows more than 10,000 years ago. Each country's relationship with cows is different. While some groups have always used them for meat, places like Japan actually considered it a sin to eat meat (devout Buddhists thought so, anyway) and spent thousands of years using the mammals for labor instead of food. Those days are gone. As the world has gotten richer, we've started to consume more and more meat. In fact, global meat consumption has been rising steadily since the 1960s. So, who's fueling our obsession with this delicious ingredient? It turns out, just three countries produce 52% of all meat. The first two, the United States and Brazil, are predictable, but the third, China, is surprising. Both the United States and Brazil have strong cowboy cultures and their BBQ styles are renowned around the world. As the birthplace of hamburgers and brisket, the United States clearly loves a good steak. Brazil is famous for its juicy churrasco, which cooks large skewers of meat over an open fire. China, on the other hand, is better known for dishes like Peking duck and dim sum than it is for its steak. And yet, the unexpected third place winner actually consumes so much beef that it has to supplement its production with imported meat. If its traditional dishes aren't as beef-heavy, it's because the country developed its strong taste for the meat fairly recently as income has risen and tastes have become more Westernized. Read more: 7 Costco Meats You Should Buy And 5 You Should Avoid These three countries not only produce more beef than any other, they dominate the market by a large margin. The United States is responsible for 20% of beef production around the world, which comes out to 12.29 million metric tons of meat. Brazil isn't too far behind, with 11.85 million tons and 19% of production. These numbers make one wonder if Brazil could someday overtake the United States in terms of its meat production, though this seems unlikely given that American beef is becoming so alarmingly large, butchers and consumers are having to adapt to the huge portions. Still, Brazil is probably not worrying too much about it, given that it's the top producer for other highly coveted goods like coffee. China lags behind both of these countries somewhat, producing 7.79 million tons of beef, which represents 13% of global production. While not as large as the first two countries, these numbers are still impressive, especially when you consider that the entire European Union (the fourth largest beef producer) only makes 6.63 million tons and counts for 11% worldwide production. India holds fifth place, with 3.18 million tons of beef. If India lags behind other large nations, it may partly be because many Hindus and Buddhists don't consume meat. The origin of beef makes a difference in taste, so it's good to know that the two top-producing countries pride themselves in their beef quality, leading the way in global production. For more food and drink goodness, join The Takeout's newsletter. Get taste tests, food & drink news, deals from your favorite chains, recipes, cooking tips, and more! Read the original article on The Takeout.
Daily Mirror
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Big Brother star 'terrified' as she fights tears over feeling forced to leave the UK
Big Brother winner Nadia Almada has revealed that she's contemplating leaving the UK after the Supreme Court's recent ruling on the Equality Act. Last week, the Supreme Court ruled that the terms "women" and "sex" in the Equality Act referred to biological women and biological sex. Speaking on Good Morning Britain, Nadia opened up about how she no longer felt safe as a transgender woman in the UK. "It's terrifying times for me," she said. "The whole idea that we are not women for that matter based on our sex is terrifying. For me and for us, my generation who have lived with those experiences of being discriminated and now having those protected rights taken away from us. It's very very dehumanising." Nadia added that if she was taken into the male ward of a hospital as a result of this ruling, she would refuse life-saving treatment. "The idea of waking up in a male ward - I would rather refuse treatment than be subjected to that," she said. After challenged by host Adil Ray, Nadia explained: "The moment that Supreme Court ruling happened, it was super dysphoric for me. You have to understand, I've been trying to work through this and tried to be not super vigilant and hyper sensitive about things. "I've embraced all parts of who I am but once this happened, it triggered the whole idea of how feminine am I, how people will see me, do I have the right to Westernized views of what a woman should look like?"
