The Toronto Star has released a new series focusing on the G20 and the world’s problems and most interestingly the World Bank’s focus for a solution. With a stronger banking system, the European debt crisis and maternal health will all be tackled by the G20 in Toronto. But devoting resources to one group — girls — could lead to gains in all three areas. So suggests the World Bank, among others, observing that countries that don’t invest in girls have slower growth and reduced income. It’s not just the …

Female urban farmers keen to keep their agricultural hobby close to their heart can now grow their own rice in a special bra designed by Japanese lingerie maker Triumph. Triumph, makers of other eccentric, gimmick bras that include one with a sushi set and another that comes with solar panels, said it came up with the “rice bra” because of the growing popularity of farming among city dwellers in Japan. The bra, made of recyclable plastic, can be tied together to create pots that also double as the cups.

Book-off has expanded it’s wares to include more than just books.
The secondhand market is growing rapidly, particularly for those who still want to enjoy their shopping despite the lingering economic downturn. Specialists say consumers’ minds are apparently changing in Japan, where people were widely believed to be far more obsessed with new products over used goods than in other developed countries.
Read the rest of the story: Japan’s love affair with brand-new products cools off amid recession

Move over Gucci. Here comes Forever 21. Trend-conscious Japan is outgrowing its longtime love affair with luxury brands and turning to a new passion: Fast fashion.
The star brand of American mall-style clothing — reputed for delivering runway looks at cheap prices — opened Thursday in Matsuzakaya department store in Tokyo’s upscale glitzy Ginza district.
In a move symbolic of the shift to bargain hunting in slowdown-struck Japan, Forever 21 is replacing what was a Gucci boutique, packing five floors with colorful racks of 350 yen ($4) tank tops and 1,580 …

The 2009-2010 Race Queen of the Year award was presented on Wednesday. The winner this year was 21-year-old Nanao Arai, a model who has appeared in magazines such as non-no and PINKY.
Originally from Saitama, Nanao is currently a student. She made her debut as a race queen just last year at the SUPER GT, as part of the TEAM YOSHIKI ROCKSTAR Girl crew. She was named Miss Tokyo Girls Collection in 2009, and has been chosen as the 2010 Sanai Mizugi Image Girl and one of the 2010 SUPER GT …

Japan-based Korean singer Iconiq (25) is making a splash and is about to be in a wave of new commercials aired in Japan. She will be in commercials for no less than seven different corporations at the same time only three months after making her debut in Japan. This is said to be a record. Even funnier is that all seven commercials will air together on TV Asahi March 13th. Some of the corporations involved are ANA, Starbucks, and Maserati. With all this momentum, her Japan debut album …

An online clock service using photographs of young Tokyo girls is attracting growing attention.
The “Gal Tokei” (Gal Clock) made its debut on Dec. 3, attracting so many viewers that the Internet server crashed temporarily. It will inform the viewers of hours using images of gals in their late teens to early ’20s. A total of 1,440 pictures of girls holding up a sign with the current time will be displayed on screen all day long, meaning every minute is announced by a different shot.
The site is a riff on …

Abercrombie & Fitch is opening it’s new store in Ginza and like other grand openings has a line around the corner already. The TV news is covering the event as a spectacle of consumerism in hopes that a single store can end the looming economic times and somehow boost the economy into life again. Well, let’s hope that preppy clothes can do just that. It’s reported that the first few people in line will receive a free poster similar to the photo below.

Photos by: gniliep and …

This year, one kakasenai (can’t do without) fashion item is sure to warm your ears and catch the eyes of fashion conscious passers-by.

Along with simple earmuffs in glorious plush winter whites and browns, you can find fashiony puffs in heart, smile and even hamburger shapes.

There are also ear warmers, attached to woven bands that fit snuggly like a headband to keep out the winter chill.
Keep warm this winter from ear to ear.
Only next winter will tell if the trend lives on from year to year.

JGY
Aikawarazu Life in …

Well…for Star Trek fans this might be the closest we’ve come to the universal translator..for the rest of us it might be the next new toy to exploit in both the workplace and well…abroad.
Electronics giant NEC has reportedly developed a wearable optical device that interprets foreign languages and projects a real-time translation directly onto the retina, enabling the wearer to communicate with other language speakers without an interpreter.
The prototype device — called “Tele Scouter” — consists of a tiny retinal display and microphone mounted on an eyeglass frame. The microphone …