Best of my Japan-Related Tweets for Week of October 1

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Photo by: Plus/Minus

* Brooklyn Synth-pop band Chairlift taps childhood memories of Japan for inspiration | The Japan Times http://ow.ly/efRlw

I was doing songs with my band way back in the 1980s in Japanese. I’m glad to see some foreigners are still doing this. I agree that the Japanese version is better than the English. Catchy song!

* Sometimes all you need is a little Pink Lady to brighten your day: http://ow.ly/egXSt [oooooooh....WANTED!]

I didn’t get into J-pop until the 1980s idol period (Nakamori Akina, Matsuda Seiko, etc.), but I do love me some 1970s Pink Lady. I’d never seen a live performance of this song ("Wanted") and it’s one of my favorites by the dynamic duo. And I love those funny voices they do in the middle!

* What are the most popular TV shows in China, India, Germany, Japan, India, the UK and Italy? http://ow.ly/efQFe

Now that we have YouTube we can see a lot of international TV that you’d never have the chance to watch unless you were abroad. And I’ll be you can find some clips of these if you try (though probably not the latest UK season of Downton Abbey!).

* Got Nihongo? NHK WORLD offers free Japanese lessons online: http://ow.ly/ebLaR

There’s really no excuse not to study a foreign language with all the resources available on the Internet!

* Japanese study says kawaii puppies and kittens make workers more productive - http://ow.ly/e7Er1

We’ve had to know there’s been some method to the madness of kawaii-mania that’s been a staple of Japan for years!

* If you're like me and can't make it to Tokyo right now, you can live vicariously via Style-Arena Japan: http://ow.ly/efBpX

I love looking at the street fashion on this site!

* Do Americans care more about fairness than the Japanese? Daily Yomiuri - http://ow.ly/e7EXL

Studies conducted on Japanese and Americans on what constitutes “fairness” are revealing.