Sweaty hands? Your car won't start
Thursday, January 04, 2007

TOKYO, Japan (AP) -- Toyota Motor is developing a fail-safe system for cars that detects drunk drivers and automatically shuts the vehicle down if sensors pick up signs of excessive alcohol consumption, a news report said Wednesday.

Cars fitted with the detection system will not start if sweat sensors in the driving wheel detect high levels of alcohol in the driver's bloodstream, according to a report carried by the mass-circulation daily, Asahi Shimbun.

My sense is that Britain will probably avoid this latest Japanese innovation, even though there's a Toyota factory on our soil. The drink drive culture has pretty much evaporated in recent years. Young people in particular are very sensible about the issue.

In Japan, however, the masculine drinking culture has hardly been addressed at all. It remains perfectly normal to get drunk, grope women and vomit/piss in the street. Hopping into a car after a few drinks is still not the social taboo it needs to be.

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posted by Blamerbell @ 2:42 pm, ,


Going Japanese in the Assembly
Thursday, November 09, 2006

The Japanese ambassador was at the Assembly yesterday. They kept that very quiet.

Good job we have so many blogging AMs to fill us in on the details.

Carl Sargeant blogs on the ambassador getting into an awkward corner with the irrepressible Brynle Williams.

And Glyn Davies tells us how Japan only won the war with Russia in 1905 thanks to Welsh support - at least according to the first minister:

Rhodri Morgan was in fine form - telling us about the historical effectiveness of Welsh - Japanese cooperation. It seems that in the war between Japan and Russia some 100 years ago, it was the link with Wales that delivered victory to the Japanese. At that time early knowledge of the approaching fleet was crucial in sea battle - with both sides looking out for the smoke rising from ship's funnels, before the ships themselves came into sight over the horizon. The Japanese used Welsh coal which did not create any smoke at all which gave the Japanese the winning advantage. As Rhodri said, when Wales and Japan work in harness, they can overcome the most formidable challenge.


Of course, the Japan-Russia war came after a brutal war with China and just before the annexation of Korea. It kickstarted Japan's imperial adventure which then resulted in the second world war. Glad we could help.

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posted by Blamerbell @ 10:02 am, ,