A moving livingroom, building the greatest toilet, Chopstick shortage, Mickey hatred, and other tidbits

The online newspaper, japantoday.com, has a "Quote of the Day" section. Here are some of my favorite quotes from the past few weeks that really give insight to this society (and some that are just funny).

• "My car is like a moving livingroom. It doesn't make sense not to have a TV in it." A 32-year-old company worker who admits he likes to watch TV while he is driving. Police say the number of accidents that occur while drivers are watching TVs is increasing. (Asahi Shimbun)
• "Japan is a country in which you are forgiven (in many cases) if you apologize soon." Corporate crisis management consultant Tatsumi Tanaka, who says Swiss elevator manufacturer Schindler took too long (9 days) before issuing the first clear apology for a fatal elevator accident in Tokyo.
• "In my day, men thought the kitchen was a lady's castle, but now young men are learning to cook and helping in the kitchen, while girls are not interested." Kyoko Hattori, who has been teaching Japanese-style home cooking for 31 years.
• "We can build the toilet that no one has imagined. That is our mission." Kyoji Asada, top designer for bathroom appliance maker Toto Ltd, who is considered Japan's top toilet designer. He believes Japan has the cleanest and most comfortable toilets in the world.
• "It is as easy to get sushi in Lexington as it is to get a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken at Mount Fuji." Japanese Ambassador to the U.S. Ryozo Kato, speaking of the intertwining of the two cultures during a speech to 170 members of the Japan America Society of Kentucky and the Kentucky World Trade Center at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky. Earlier, Kentucky Gov Ernie Fletcher appointed him a Kentucky Colonel.
• "I saw that half of the people left when the credits began to roll at the end. Some people even stood up and left the theater in the middle of the show." Hiroshi Kawanabe, 58, who said he studies Christianity and culture, after attending a screening of "The Da Vinci Code" on Saturday.
• "We're not in an emergency situation yet (over chopsticks), but there has been some impact." Ichiro Fukuoka, director of the Japan Chopsticks Import Association, after China slapped a 5% tax on sales of chopsticks over concerns of deforestation. The move is hitting hard at the Japanese, who consume 25 billion sets of wooden chopsticks a year — about 200 pairs per person. Some 97% of them come from China.
• "Always be able to kill your students." One of the teachings of Grand Master Masaaki Hatsumi, 76, the only living student of the last "fighting ninja," Toshitsugu Takamatsu, the so-called 33rd Grand Master who was a bodyguard to officials in Japanese-occupied Manchuria before World War II. He fought - and won - 12 fights to the death.
• "Pop culture has the power to influence the public, so we want to and need to have it on our side. Popeye, for example, planted in the Japanese an image that Americans are nice and strong. Until then, the Japanese despised them." Foreign Minister Taro Aso, proposing a "Nobel Prize" for foreign "manga" cartoon artists. He said the United States — once Japan's enemy — won over Japanese hearts with its pop culture and cartoons.
• "People seem to think sumo is a simple sport. If they put on a 'mawashi' (loin cloth) and tried it for themselves, they would soon realize how hard it is." Bulgarian sumo wrestler Kotooshu, speaking at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan.
• "I hate Mickey Mouse. He has nothing like the unique sensibility that Japan has." Tokyo Gov Shintaro Ishihara, during a speech at the Tokyo International Anime Fair. The governor urged anime creators to tackle more important themes and practice some concision to raise the level of the art form.