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More JAL Rumors, and This Time They're In American's Favor

Remember when we told you about those rumors trickling out of Japanese media outlets, to the effect that JAL was dumping American/oneworld and embracing Delta/SkyTeam? Remember how we told you that the story made sense because, the shadiness of the sourcing aside, switching probably makes the most financial sense for the bankrupt Japanese airline? Turns out we may have called that putt a little too early:

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Tags: Airline Bankruptcy / Japan Airlines / JAL / Airlines / Airline News / Airline Industry / Japan Travel / Delta / Oneworld / → All Tags

Breaking: Japan Press Rumors Say JAL Deal Done with Delta, Dumping American

Having finally filed for bankruptcy Tuesday after what seemed like forever, Japan Airlines is free to look toward long-term restructuring rather than short-term "please god let us operate another week" revenue generation. The next big question was how the Japanese flagship airline would decide in the high-stakes poker game between American and Delta, both of whom have been heavily courting JAL—American to keep them in oneworld and Delta to get them to switch to SkyTeam. Now there are reports precolating out of Japanese media, and we haven't seen them on any of the wires yet, so you're warned, that JAL has just closed the deal with Delta.

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Japanese 'Train Pushers' Will Be The Craziest Thing You See Today

Thanks to a Jaunted reader who emailed to bring this craziness back to mind, we present you with the infamous train pushers of Japan. The video above is the craziest we've seen yet on YouTube, but the most famous one is this clip from the subway.

Our tipster also included the remark: "and we thought the MTA was bad!" That would be the New York subway system—the Metropolitan Transit Authority—and yep, although NYC's subways system can get crazy crowded, videos like these remind us that it could well be worse.

It's even worst than in Rome, where we'd wait an average of four trains before we could get in one during rush hour—and those aren't air-conditioned, and you're contending with touchy-feely smarmy guys who don't make distinctions when they reach out and touch someone. Do you know any other cities where the public transportation gets this bad? Share your stories in the comments, so we can all learn where to keep our jackets zipped up and our bags small.

Related Stories:
· Japanese Train Pusher videos [YouTube]
· Taxis, Cable Cars and Ferries, Oh My! A Guide to Hong Kong Transportation [Jaunted]

Tags: Japan Airlines / JAL / Airline Industry / Airlines / Airline News / Japan Travel / → All Tags

Japan Airlines' New CEO Is A Buddhist Priest Who'll Work For Free

Last Monday we told you that debt-ridden Japan Airlines would be declaring bankruptcy, throwing the airline industry into disarray. By this time tomorrow that should be a done deal. People are already looking ahead to what a post-bankruptcy JAL will look like, up to and including the nitty-gritty of who'll be in charge of what. And, after a predictably brutal stock plunge, the airline's CEO is preparing to resign and his replacement has already been chosen.

The new CEO—having been duly selected with input from the government and the turnaround body—will be 77-year-old Japanese tycoon Kazuo Inamori. He is by all accounts a brilliant businessperson. He founded Kyocera Corp and rose to become Japan's 28th richest man. He is an ordained Buddhist priest with an iron will. His reputation for turning companies around is legendary.

Those are the good, confidence-inspiring parts. The more interesting parts have to do with Inamori's early public statements, where he said that he's too old to work full time and that he doesn't know anything about the airline industry. Seriously. He said both of those things:

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Done and Done: Japan Airlines Going Into Bankruptcy

This time last week there were a wealth of confusing options for keeping Japan's troubled flagship carrier, Japan Airlines, out of bankruptcy. There was talk of bankruptcy-avoiding restructuring. There was talk of a kind of half-bankruptcy where the airline would stay listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. There was talk of a government bailout. And the conclusion? Nope and nope and nope.

The sixth-largest bankruptcy in the history of Japan—a country which, we'll remind you, is something more than a bit player in the global economy—is set to happen and it's set to happen soon:

A final decision on the future of Asia’s largest carrier, founded in 1951, may be made this week, and a bankruptcy filing will follow next week, according to three people familiar with the situation. The finance ministry and the Tokyo-based carrier’s biggest lenders all favor a court restructuring, according to people familiar with the matter.

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Japan Airlines Basically Just A Total Mess Right Now

What. A. Clusterfark. Japan Airlines stock lost 25% of its value on the last trading day of 2009, as the airline declared that it might declare bankruptcy on account of its $15 billion debt. The next day they followed up by announcing that they might cut international flights, effectively upending the airline industry. That got folks' attention.

Before trading opened yesterday morning, the Japanese government revealed that JAL might not have to go into bankruptcy at all. Instead government officials are asking the state-owned bank to double the airlines' credit line, giving the company valuable oxygen while it tries to get back on its feet.

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JAL Promises To Loosen Grip On Narita, Signs Open Skies Pact With The US

Japan and the US have finally gotten around to signing an Open Skies agreement to facilitate air traffic between the two countries. Japan's airlines still have to ink sharing agreements with US alliances - promising another few weeks of highly entertaining back and forth between American/oneworld and Delta/SkyTeam over Japan Airlines - but other than that it looks like we're good to go:

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Japan Exports Hello Kitty, Cars, And Now Fuel-Efficient Planes

We know that Japan is great at making robots and creating Hello Kitty hype, but now this technologically-advanced, sushi-loving nation is ready to make airplanes too.

Government-backed company Mitsubishi Regional Jet (known to the cool people simply as MRJ), which also has financial support from Toyota, started off last year when Japanese carrier (and anti-pee squad) ANA ordered 25 jets for delivery from 2014. But MRJ just got a much bigger boost, with a large order being placed by US carrier Trans States (which usually flies as United Express). They want 50 jets and an option for 50 more.

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New McDonald's Campaign In Japan Imagines Americans As Nerdy, From Ohio

McDonald's is launching a new ad campaign in Japan, this time revolving around four new burgers they're making available exclusively on the island nation. To spearhead the effort, they're rolling out their local mascot Mr. James, a kind of stereotypical American nerd who speaks broken Japanese but is very, very exuberantly bubbly about it. The only problem is that the actual Americans who live in Japan loathe the character, who is roughly the reverse equivalent of when Americans put on fake Japanese accents by turning 'l's into 'r's.

Except on top of having pronunciation problems, Mr. James is an incoherent and painfully annoying simpleton. He stars in a number of spots in this campaign, going to McDonald's locations all over Japan and musing about his favorite burgers. He even has a blog, on which he goes into deep background about his Ohio birthplace and about how he loves to shower foreigners with cash. That last bit isn't part of the stereotype; it has something to do with a cash prize McDonald's is giving out, but the rest of the ensemble has Japan's small foreign community less than pleased:

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Andy Warhol Grins In His Grave Over $2,500 Luggage Bearing His Name

Between this Globe Trotter Warhol-branded luggage set and the Flight 001 chichi rent-a-luggage we covered a few months ago, we're starting to think that manufacturers are just trying to bait us. Are people really dropping thousands of dollars for something they check through at the front of the airport, only to pick up hours later when they're bleary eyed and jet lagged? Here's the deal on these pricey, limited-edition bags:

In association with the week-long Andy Warhol x Hysteric Glamour pop-up shop at the ISETAN store in Tokyo’s Shinjuku precinct, a marquee item... with three different sizes, each feature an all-black exterior while the inside features a Warholian skull motif with signature. The Andy Warhol x Hysteric Glamour pop-up shop on the 4th floor of ISETAN runs from the 16th till the 23rd of September.

True story: we have a writer at Jaunted HQ whose very first non-airport experience in Japan was at the world's busiest train station in Shinjuku. During rush hour. Dragging all his international luggage. Because our writer is not very smart. That's a whole other story howeve, and this post is about Warholian skulls on the inside of overpriced luggage sets. Just how overpriced, you ask?

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Groping Epidemic On Tokyo Trains Has Us Watching Our Butt

On the whole, Japan is a dream for travelers; it's full of polite people who go out of their way to help tourists. But that can all come to an abrupt stop when you get on a train in Tokyo (or, to be fair, probably any big city). That's when the gropers appear, and we don't mean the fish.

Authorities are warning travelers—especially females—to watch out for subway passengers who feel the need to grope them. They say they're particularly concerned at the moment because many of the recently-nabbed gropers say they have been inspired by websites on groping. One recent offender said in his defense: "He had viewed a website that detailed how and when to grope people and wanted to confirm if the hints worked..." And he'd even traveled 60 miles out of his way to ride a train line the website listed as being "easy" for groping.

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Today The World Remembers The Bombing Of Hiroshima

Sixty-four years ago today was the date that a little Japanese city by the name of Hiroshima entered the world's consciousness forever. It was on August 6, 1945 that the plane Enola Gay dropped the atomic bomb, resulting in the first use of a nuclear weapon in warfare and over 140,000 deaths almost immediate deaths.

It also happens to be the 119th anniversary of the first death penalty executed by electric chair, so today isn't exactly the brightest of days.

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