Justin McCurry “Nine people choke to death eating rice cakes in Japan” http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/05/nine-people-choke-to-death-eating-rice-cakes-in-japan
日本ではこの正月に餅を咽に詰まらせて９人が死んだ。今年の死者数は特に多い。
「餅」というものについての解説を試みようとしている部分は読んでいて、ついつい笑ってしまう。
Japan’s habitual New Year killer has struck again, after nine people were reported to have died in recent days from choking on rice cakes.Mochi – glutinous cakes of pounded rice – are traditionally eaten in vast quantities over the holidays, usually in soup, or toasted and served with sweet soy sauce and wrapped in dried seaweed.
Several people die eating the starchy delicacy every January, but this year the number is particularly high.
Local media reported that nine people had died over the holidays, while 13 others were in a serious condition in hospital.
Last year there were at least four deaths, compared to two in 2013.
More than 80% of such deaths occur among the elderly, who find it harder to swallow the sticky cakes.
詰まった餅を吐き出させる方法について。やはり伊丹十三の『タンポポ』*1なのか（笑）；
Popular methods for dislodging trapped mochi include a sharp slap on the back, the Heimlich manoeuvre and, as featured in Juzo Itami’s film Tampopo – sucking it out with a vacuum cleaner pipe*2.Amid fears that the mochi-related death toll will rise as Japan’s population continues to age, a firm in Osaka said it had developed easy-to-swallow mochi containing an enzyme that renders them less sticky*3.
Japanese people each consume an average of 1kg of mochi a year, mostly during the first week of January, according to the mochi trade association.
伊丹十三DVDコレクション タンポポ コレクターズセット (初回限定生産)
- 出版社/メーカー: ジェネオン エンタテインメント
- 発売日: 2005/09/22
- メディア: DVD
- クリック: 8回
- この商品を含むブログ (11件) を見る
Justin McCurry “Bluefin: Japan’s favourite big fish, but for how long?” http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/05/sushi-boss-nets-bluefin-tuna-25k-tokyo-tsukiji-fish-market
クロマグロ*5の初競りの話。今年は昨年よりも安かった。記事の後半は、鮪の資源枯渇問題と近畿大学による鮪の完全養殖の話*6。ところで、築地市場*7って「世界最大の魚市場」なの？
*1:Mentioned in http://d.hatena.ne.jp/sumita-m/20141226/1419566569
*2:See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83KgeYls7iM
*3:Justin McCurry “Japan confronts mochi rice-cake death-trap with technological solution” http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/30/japan-new-year-mochi-death-technology
*4:Agence France-Presse “Japan suffers lowest number of births on record as population shrinks” http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/01/japan-suffers-lowest-number-of-births-on-record-as-population-shrinks
*5:See also http://d.hatena.ne.jp/sumita-m/20100312/1268364836
*6:鮪の幹細胞を培養するという話はないのね。See 田中大貴「ヤバすぎる！｢培養肉ハンバーグ｣の衝撃」http://toyokeizai.net/articles/-/56802 Mentioned in http://d.hatena.ne.jp/sumita-m/20141231/1420039908
*7:Mentioned in http://d.hatena.ne.jp/sumita-m/20050816 http://d.hatena.ne.jp/sumita-m/20081124/1227462507 http://d.hatena.ne.jp/sumita-m/20081203/1228273265 http://d.hatena.ne.jp/sumita-m/20100131/1264960326 http://d.hatena.ne.jp/sumita-m/20100312/1268364836
