Face tattoos have been slowly gaining popularity what with artists like 6ix9ine, XXXTenacion, and other famous names that defy literacy wearing them. Even in Japan where all tattoos still have somewhat of a lingering stigma to them, you might spot the rare face tattoo here and there. That being said, face tattoos like the one on Masashi Echizenya are quite rare. So much so that his perp walk on the TV news showing him staring right at the cameras with a tattoo of a snake wrapped around most of his face and what appears to be a grill is easily the most striking one we’ve seen in Japan all year. ▼ A news report on the arrest: It’s worth sticking around for the CGI re-enactment. The 49-year-old Echizenya was arrested after an incident on 15 November in which he is suspected of shoplifting and assault. The store clerk suspected him of stealing items, causing him to run out of the store. The clerk went in pursuit and Echizenya allegedly headbutted him in the face multiple times. The serpentine suspect then fled again, dropping a bottle of coffee and two baked goods in the process. Most people reading this will probably not be shocked that such a man could be capable of this crime. However, when reporters interviewed his neighbors in Tokyo, they generally thought of him as a mild-mannered guy. “I would bump into him in the laundry room,” said one neighbor, “and at first I was really surprised, but when he talked he was always soft-spoken and quite polite.” Another neighbor admitted that he looked like a tough guy but always greeted people in a cheery voice, saying, “He didn’t seem like a bad person. He just looked like one.” The testimonies that Echizenya comes across as a big old softy are supported by the fact the store clerk actually bothered to chase him. As a general rule, if a guy with a snake tattooed on his face did that on my watch, my minimum-wage-earning butt would stay firmly behind the counter and call the police. After all, the guy’s pretty easy to give a description of. So, it would seem that this clerk was under the assumption he could have apprehended the suspect but instead ended up with injuries that are expected to take two weeks to recover from. Meanwhile, Echizenya is exercising his right to remain silent in police custody for the time being, leaving readers of the news unclear about what his deal is. Nevertheless, there’s a general agreement that the facts of the case speak for themselves. “It really shows you the power of a polite greeting.” “I know it’s wrong to have a bad impression of people with tattoos but I’d be scared if that guy greeted me.” “That face is a good life hack to keep you on welfare the rest of your life because no one’s going to hire you.” “Maybe he could be a TV personality. Guys with faces like that usually have some interesting stories.” “He might really be a good guy, but how can you not judge him by that appearance?” “His greeting would have to be inhumanly cheery for me not to be terrified of him.” “Maybe he’s like that guy in Ushijima the Loan Shark who had to get the tattoo as a punishment.” “He’s going to have to do a little better than just saying hello to win me over.” “It’s really hard to fit into Japanese society looking like that. He was probably just broke and hungry.” “Being nice like that is just a standard beggar’s technique. That’s all.” Following his arrest and these comments, subsequent investigations by both the police and media found that Echizenya was indeed a notorious mooch among the larger community. He was reportedly often seen standing by vending machines and calling out to passersby for 100 yen to buy a drink, bumming cigarettes off anyone he could, and just making people uncomfortable all around. A look into his social media presence also revealed that in addition to the snake tattoo and grill, he had his tongue surgically forked. Source: FNN Prime Online, Shueisha Online, Hachima Kiko Read more stories from SoraNews24. -- Criminals of Japan’s Edo Period Were Often Punished by Getting Face Tattoos -- Big win for tattoo artists: Japan’s Supreme Court rules medical licenses aren’t necessary -- Japanese lawyer comments on legality of tattoo ban at hot springs, netizens share thoughts tooAn on-field interaction between a UW-Madison Police officer and a Nebraska football assistant coach after Saturday's game was a "misunderstanding" that ended in an apology, a police spokesperson said. Lt. Adam Boardman, one of the UWPD officers escorting University of Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell to the locker room amid fans rushing the field after a 44-25 Huskers victory, turned away to grab Nebraska offensive line coach Donovan Raiola by the arm, video posted to social media showed. That followed an apparent exchange of words between Raiola and Fickell and Badgers assistant offensive line coach Casey Rabach, who were walking in opposite directions. The context of the discussion wasn't apparent from the video, but Fickell and Raiola both pointed at the other, and Rabach later pointed at Raiola. Boardman and Raiola talked for about 15 seconds after Boardman pried Raiola away from a hug with Nebraska running backs coach EJ Barthel. UWPD spokesperson Marc Lovicott said it was a "misunderstanding amid a pretty chaotic scene." He said Boardman made contact with an "unknown individual who had approached" Badgers coaches as they were leaving the field. "Once it was confirmed that the individual was a member of the Nebraska coaching staff, the UWPD officer apologized for the misunderstanding," Lovicott wrote in an email Tuesday. "The interaction concluded cordially with a handshake." Lovicott said UW Police has made contact with counterparts at Nebraska "and they're also considering it a misunderstanding." Raiola played for Wisconsin from 2002 to 2005. "I don't want speculate without knowing, obviously Donny went to Wisconsin, so I don't know if there was some history there with somebody or something," said Nebraska coach Matt Rhule, who said he was shown video of the incident Monday. "When I asked Donny about it, he was like, 'No big deal.' Things happen after games and people are emotional, but he seemed to kinda brush it off." Fickell said he didn't know much about the interaction when he was asked about it at his weekly news conference Monday. "I mean, I don't know if he was talking to Casey, somebody said something, I don't know," Fickell said. "I just said it looked like maybe he said something to me, but I had no idea. And I had no idea that that was even something. So if it was, I didn't spend a whole lot of time thinking about it." — Lincoln Journal Star reporter Luke Mullin contributed to this report. Get local news delivered to your inbox!
Nittany Lions will face No. 1 Oregon next Saturday in IndianapolisReal Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham believes he was made a scapegoat for England’s Euro 2024 shortcomings. Gareth Southgate’s side lost in the final to Spain and Bellingham finished the tournament with two goals and one assist in seven appearances. However, the 21-year-old felt England’s failure was pinned more on him than anyone else and it took him several months to get over that. After helping the national team qualify for the Nations League under interim boss Lee Carsley , Bellingham posted on Instagram earlier this month he had “got his smile back”. Asked about why he had found things so difficult he said: “I’ve got to be honest, I think I lost my smile a lot after the Euros when it came to playing for England because I felt like I was a little bit mistreated in comparison to what I contributed. “I felt like some of it was a bit harsh on me. I felt I was a bit like the scapegoat. Maybe I was feeling a little bit sorry for myself.” Speaking at Anfield ahead of the Champions League clash with Liverpool he added: “I think that camp (under Carsley earlier this month) with a lot of new faces really brought out the joy in my game again and I think you can see that in the two games. “In general, I haven’t lost my smile in the Madrid shirt. I am annoyed when we lose and I get frustrated but it is never a case of not being happy. “I’m the luckiest lad in the world. I get to play week in week out for the biggest club in the world and represent my country. “I think it (the post) was more to do with a little bit of how I was treated on the back of the Euros. The smile is back.” Bellingham refused to speak to any media during the tournament, which drew its own criticism, but he justified that by saying it was a protest at the treatment some of his family had received from the press back home while he was in Germany. He said he was well-equipped for the scrutiny he received but his family did not deserve the attention they got. “For me pressure is not a problem, I understand that playing for Real Madrid the expectations are going to be high for me wherever I go with the national team,” he added. “I felt like I contributed some pretty big moments and, in the end, it kind of felt like the whole world was crumbling down on me after the Euros, especially after the three days following the final. It wasn’t a nice feeling. “There were a few things that happened during the tournament. I had some personal things going on, journalists who went to go and see members of my family whilst I was at the tournament, went to visit my grandparents and that’s something I kept to myself. “I don’t think that’s fair. I think that crosses the line of respect. I took it a little bit personally and decided I was going to focus on the football and try to let that do the talking. “Maybe I should have communicated that before so people understood my situation but that was a little bit more personal and that’s why I decided to keep my mouth shut.” After a slow start to the season Bellingham has begun to find his form, scoring his first Madrid goals of the campaign in back-to-back league matches before arriving back in England. “Criticism is part of the game and I know how to accept it but when it feels personal it does give you a bit of a new challenge to continue to shut people up,” he said. “That’s something I’ve dealt with since I was very young, coming into the first team at Birmingham when people aren’t sure you’re ready. “You take those little things and you try to use it as motivation. Like I say, it’s not something I’m really worried about. I understand it is part of the game.”
Companies boost childcare benefits for employeesPresident-elect Donald Trump has chosen health economist Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a critic of pandemic lockdowns and vaccine mandates, to lead the National Institutes of Health, the nation's leading medical research agency. Trump, in a statement Tuesday evening, said Bhattacharya, a 56-year-old physician and professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, will work in cooperation with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., his pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, "to direct the Nation’s Medical Research, and to make important discoveries that will improve Health, and save lives.” “Together, Jay and RFK Jr. will restore the NIH to a Gold Standard of Medical Research as they examine the underlying causes of, and solutions to, America’s biggest Health challenges, including our Crisis of Chronic Illness and Disease," he wrote. The decision to choose Bhattacharya for the post is yet another reminder of the ongoing impact of the COVID pandemic on the politics on public health. Bhattacharya was one of three authors of the Great Barrington Declaration, an October 2020 open letter maintaining that lockdowns were causing irreparable harm. The document — which came before the availability of COVID-19 vaccines and during the first Trump administration — promoted “herd immunity,” the idea that people at low risk should live normally while building up immunity to COVID-19 through infection. Protection should focus instead on people at higher risk, the document said. “I think the lockdowns were the single biggest public health mistake,” Bhattacharya said in March 2021 during a panel discussion convened by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. The Great Barrington Declaration was embraced by some in the first Trump administration, even as it was widely denounced by disease experts. Then- NIH director Dr. Francis Collins called it dangerous and “not mainstream science.” His nomination would need to be approved by the Senate. Trump on Tuesday also announced that Jim O’Neill, a former HHS official, will serve as deputy secretary of the sprawling agency. Trump said O’Neill “will oversee all operations and improve Management, Transparency, and Accountability to, Make America Healthy Again,” the president-elect announced. O’Neill is the only one of Trump’s health picks so far who brings previous experience working inside the bureaucracy to the job. Trump’s previous choices to lead public health agencies — including Kennedy, Dr. Mehmet Oz for Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator and Dr. Marty Makary for Food and Drug Administration commissioner — have all been Washington outsiders who are vowing to shake up the agencies. Bhattacharya, who faced restrictions on social media platforms because of his views, was also a plaintiff in Murthy v. Missouri, a Supreme Court case contending that federal officials improperly suppressed conservative views on social media as part of their efforts to combat misinformation. The Supreme Court sided with the Biden administration in that case. After Elon Musk acquired Twitter in 2022, he invited Bhattacharya to the company's headquarters to learn more about how his views had been restricted on the platform, which Musk renamed X. More recently, Bhattacharya has posted on X about scientists leaving the site and joining the alternative site Bluesky, mocking Bluesky as "their own little echo chamber.” Bhattacharya has argued that vaccine mandates that barred unvaccinated people from activities and workplaces undermined Americans' trust in the public health system. He is a former research fellow at the Hoover Institution and an economist at the RAND Corporation. The National Institutes of Health falls under HHS, which Trump has nominated Kennedy to oversee. The NIH's $48 billion budget funds medical research on vaccines, cancer and other diseases through competitive grants to researchers at institutions across the nation. The agency also conducts its own research with thousands of scientists working at NIH labs in Bethesda, Maryland. Among advances that were supported by NIH money are a medication for opioid addiction, a vaccine to prevent cervical cancer, many new cancer drugs and the speedy development of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. ___ Associated Press writers Jill Colvin and Amanda Seitz contributed to this report.
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