New karaoke machine feature gives singers clearer voice amid virus

NAGOYA - Karaoke lovers can now sing their hearts out and hear their voices clearly even with their face masks on, thanks to a new feature recently installed on karaoke machines across Japan.

Individuals can utilize the new "mask effect" on the popular karaoke machine "Joysound" used in karaoke boxes across the country, according to Nagoya-based karaoke machine operator Xing Inc.

The singing parlors, which reopened in line with the lifting of the state of emergency, have been seeing a rise in customers, albeit with the new normal of having their face masks on to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The newly introduced setting can be switched on using the "Joysound" device for selecting songs, and automatically amplifies the mid-range to high-range pitches, which can sound muffled through a mask.

With the new feature, masked customers need not raise their voices even during the chorus -- often associated with the climax of a song -- to hear themselves clearly.

Karaoke venues, typically consisting of multiple rooms in various sizes equipped with karaoke machines, fall under the "3 Cs" -- confined spaces, crowded places and close contact -- that should be avoided to prevent the spread of the virus and were closed during the state of emergency declared across Japan since April.

The state of emergency was eventually lifted in late May, and business restrictions were eased in stages. With that, venues have resumed operations while implementing various countermeasures.

An industry group established guidelines in May to prevent the spread of the virus, including tips on ventilation, disinfecting and limiting the number of people.

"We will continue to devise ways for people to enjoy karaoke safely and carry out thorough measures (to curb the virus spread)," a company spokesperson said.

-Kyodo News-

Japan's 1st outdoor Legoland park opens in Nagoya

NAGOYA - Japan's first outdoor Legoland park opened in Nagoya on Saturday, with the major new attraction raising hopes that more foreign tourists will visit the area and deliver an economic boon to the country's third largest business region.

With children's tickets priced higher than Tokyo Disneyland's, Legoland Japan offers various rides inspired by the Danish construction toy and serves meals including whimsical block-shaped fried potatoes in the seaside premises.

"We want children from all over the world to come to Nagoya and make unforgettable memories," Torben Jensen, president of Legoland Japan Ltd., said at an opening ceremony.

Visitors can stroll down a miniature town, called Miniland, which has models of landmark buildings in Japan, such as Tokyo Station, Kiyomizu temple in Kyoto and a 2-meter-high Nagoya Castle.

Some 10 million pieces of Lego plastic blocks were used to complete the miniature town, according to the park's operator.

Children can drive go-karts, ride a roller coaster and take a "submarine" tour through a real fish tank in the 9.3-hectare park in the Kinjo Wharf area.

Jensen told reporters recently that the park's operator plans to expand the size of the premises, open a Legoland hotel and build new attractions to increase the number of repeat guests.

Legoland Japan will also enhance cooperation with foreign travel agencies that are contemplating selling package tours whose prices include entrance ticket fees, Jensen said.

A local think tank expects the new theme park could give an economic boost worth 96.8 billion yen ($865 million) to Aichi Prefecture, whose capital is Nagoya, and other areas in fiscal 2017 starting Saturday.

Ryoichi Namba, economist at the Chubu Region Institute for Social and Economic Research, said that the park, which is only 17 minutes by train from the Nagoya shinkansen bullet train station, will attract a lot of foreign tourists as only the second Legoland in Asia after one in Malaysia.

The institute urged the park's operator to make efforts to encourage guests to come back after their first visits by rolling out new projects and increasing investment to keep their business on track in fiscal 2018 or later.

Namba said "it is premature" to forecast how successful the new Legoland business will be in the long run, but there is a concern that the 5,300-yen ticket price for visitors aged between 3 and 12 could discourage repeat guests. Visitors aged 13 or older pay 6,900 yen.

Tokyo Disneyland, meanwhile, charges 4,800 yen for visitors aged between 4 and 11. Universal Studios Japan, a major amusement park in the country's second largest business area including Osaka, charges 4,723 yen for the same ages.

Japan already has Legolands in Tokyo and Osaka, but these are indoor theme parks located inside shopping malls. The Nagoya park, the first full-scale outdoor theme park of its kind in Japan, follows in the footsteps of seven similar parks abroad.

==Kyodo

source: news.abs-cbn.com

World's oldest man dies at 112 in Japan

TOKYO, Japan - The world's oldest man, Yasutaro Koide, died on Tuesday at the age of 112 in central Japan, a local official said.

Koide, born just months before the Wright brothers made their first successful flight, died in hospital in the central Japanese city of Nagoya, where he had lived for many years, said the city official.

The super-centenarian, recognised as the world's oldest male at 112 last year, died of heart failure and pneumonia, the official added.

Koide, a former tailor who was born on March 13, 1903 in Fukui prefecture, northwest of Tokyo, received a certificate from Guinness World Records confirming the achievement after another Japanese man who was just a month older died in July.

Asked about the key to longevity, Koide had reportedly said: "The best thing to do is avoid overwork and live with joy."

Japan is known for the longevity of its people and around a quarter of its population of 127 million is aged 65 or older.

It was not immediately clear who would succeed Koide as the world's oldest male.

Currently, the world's oldest person is American Susannah Mushatt Jones who is 116 and was born on July 6, 1899, according to the Guinness World Records website.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com