Everything you know about sex is true.

Trailer of Air Doll, a film directed by Hirokazu Koreeda and based on a manga by Yoshiie Gōda.

Hideo, who lives alone, owns a life-size air doll, which suddenly finds herself with a heart. Everything is new to her in the world outside Hideos house. She meets all kinds of people. The world is filled with so many beautiful things, but everyone seems to have some kind of hollowness, just as she has. In the morning, she pumps herself up, and takes a walk.

One afternoon, she meets Junichi who works at a rental video store, and instantly falls in love with him. A first date. New words she learns from him. She starts working with him at the store, enjoys talking and being with him. Everything seems to be going perfect, until something unexpected happens to the doll.

This is a story about a new form of love.

Via La Petite Claudine.

Triumph International, maker of the quirkiest (a diplomatic version of the word 'ridiculous') and most puzzling bras in the world, is offering a new kind of support for Japanese women on the prowl for a husband.

Their latest bra features an electronic nuptial timepiece, putting women seeking spouses literally on the clock. If an engagement ring is inserted into the mechanism, the countdown stops and the bra plays Felix Mendelssohn's "The Wedding March." The bra also includes holders for the traditional seal some people use to sign off contracts and a pen for any possible nuptial agreement.

Triumph spokeswoman Keiko Masuda said the product, which is not for sale, would suit modern Japanese women who are no longer content to sit and wait for a potential husband to approach them.

Via jezebel.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has developed a next-generation space toilet, which they hope to complete within the next five years.

Clean and easy to use, the envisioned space toilet is designed to be worn like a diaper around the astronaut’s waist at all times. Sensors detect when the user relieves him or herself, automatically activating a rear-mounted suction unit that draws the waste away from the body through tubes into a separate container. In addition to washing and drying the wearer after each use, the next-generation space toilet will incorporate features that eliminate unwanted sound and odor.

The developers indicate their next-generation space toilet may also prove useful in earthbound settings — particularly in hospitals with bedridden patients.

The current ISS toilet is a Russian-built, western-style commode that sucks waste away like a vacuum cleaner. Use of that toilet requires practice before heading to space, particularly because an improperly seated user has the potential to create a messy situation.

Via eyebeam reblog.

A Japanese lingerie retailer that sells underwear for cross-dressing men has found that bras have become one of its most popular items.

Since launching two weeks ago on Rakuten, a major Japanese web shopping mall, the Wishroom shop has sold over 300 men's bras for 2,800 yen (£20) each.

"I like this tight feeling. It feels good," Wishroom representative Masayuki Tsuchiya said.

Wishroom Executive Director Akiko Okunomiya said she was surprised at the number of men who were looking for their inner woman. "I think more and more men are becoming interested in bras. Since we launched the men's bra, we've been getting feedback from customers saying 'wow, we'd been waiting for this for such a long time'," she said.

Rakuten say the bra, which comes in black, pink and white, will “make you feel more gentle” and “give you a sense of relief - because that is a very important feeling to have”.

The underwear has stirred a heated debate online with more than 8,000 people debating the merits of men wearing bras in one night on Mixi, Japan's top social network website.

Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Japan has one of the world's most rapidly aging societies, and an adult diaper fashion show Thursday proved the country's diaper producers are intent on keeping the elderly clean and dry.

"Diapers are something that people don't want to look at," said Kiyoko Hamada of the Aging Lifestyle Research Center. "But if you make them attractive, then people can learn about them more easily," she said.

Before the models took over, players at the theater in downtown Tokyo acted out skits instructing viewers how to tell when elderly loved ones need diapers, how to convince them to put them on and how to properly use them.

In one skit, an elderly man shook his head in dismay after his wife pointed out that he wet the bed overnight again.

"Ah, maybe the loose-fitting diapers I use during the day aren't good to use at night," he concluded, leading to a discussion about well-padded nappies made especially for nighttime use.

Like many events in Japan, the show was heavy on detailed information, showing how certain types of diapers suit the bedridden, such as models that can be wrapped around the midsection. Pants-like slip-on diapers, on the other hand, are more suitable for active oldsters.

Speakers blared oldie hits such as "Relax" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood as models jaunted on the stage with diapers pulled on over black tights.

Each model held a number to designate the model of the diaper. Some of the models, all volunteers, playfully shook their hips on the stage.

The crowd of several hundred people included diaper manufacturers, nursing home workers and doctors.

Nursing home caretakers Mitsuru and Aya Habuka watched with rapt attention, exclaiming when diaper models they hadn't seen before were displayed on stage.

"It was great to see so many different types of diapers all in one showing," gushed Aya Habuka, 26. "I learned a lot. This is the first time that diapers are being considered as fashion."