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Maid cafe

Maid cafés are a subcategory of cosplay restaurants found predominantly in Japan. In these cafés, waitresses dressed in maid costumes act as servants, and treat customers as masters (and mistresses) in a private home, rather than as café patrons. The first maid café, Cure Maid Café, was established in Akihabara, Tokyo, Japan in March 2001,but maid cafés are becoming increasingly popular. As they have done so, the increased competition has made them become crazier in order to attract customers.They have also expanded overseas to countries like China, Taiwan, Mexico, Canada and the United States.

The maid costume varies from café to café, but most are based upon the costume of French maids, often composed of a dress, a petticoat, a pinafore, a matching hair accessory (such as a frill or a bow), and stockings. Sometimes, employees often wear rabbit or cat ears with their outfits to add more appeal.

Waitresses in maid cafés are often chosen on the basis of their appearance; most are young, attractive and innocent-looking women. For example, Royal Milk Café, a popular maid café, reports that the average age of its waitresses is 20.

Maid cafés were originally designed primarily to cater to the fantasies of male otaku, obsessive fans of anime, manga and video games. The image of the maid is one that has been popularized and fetishized in many manga and anime series, as well as in gal games. Important to the otaku attraction to maid cafés is the Japanese concept of moe, which generally describes a fetish or love for anime, manga or video game characters. More specifically, moe refers to adoration for young or innocent-looking female characters. People who have moe (especially a specific subcategory known as maid moe) are therefore attracted to an establishment in which they can interact with real-life manifestations (both physically and in demeanor) of the fictional maid characters that they have fetishized.

Today, the maid café phenomenon attracts more than just male otaku, but also couples, tourists, and women. Though the waitresses at maid cafés are sometimes interpreted as objects of romantic or sexual desire, they can also be viewed as simply aesthetically appealing figures. One female patron of maid cafés explains, "Sitting here and admiring how pretty the girls are is like admiring a flower".

There is also speculation that maid cafés are receiving increasing patronage from young women looking for otaku as romantic partners after the release of a popular feature film and TV series about "Train Man" ( Densha Otoko). "Train Man" recounts a purportedly true love story about a brave and endearingly awkward otaku who rescues a pretty woman from harassment on the train, and eventually begins a relationship with her.

Sumo ozeki admits to gambling Kotomitsuki says he bet on baseball

Highly ranked sumo wrestler Kotomitsuki has admitted to gambling on baseball games after earlier denying involvement in illegal betting, a source in the Japan Sumo Association said Monday.

The 34-year-old ozeki made the admission in a questionnaire sent out by the sport's governing body aimed at surveying wrestlers on their involvement in illegal gambling.

The association later announced that including Kotomitsuki, 29 wresters admitted to betting on baseball games. Another 36 said they wagered on mah-jongg, "hanafuda" games using Japanese playing cards, or rounds of golf among themselves.

A report on the 65 wrestlers was submitted to the police, the association said.

Kotomitsuki had categorically denied gambling when he was questioned by police and by the sumo association's executive board after a weekly magazine reported he has run up huge gambling debts.

He is set to be questioned by police again and the focus will turn to whether he will be prosecuted.

The sumo association's executive board is scheduled to meet Tuesday to discuss appropriate action, including punishing the ozeki.

According to association spokesman Michinoku, a decision will be made on whether to punish Kotomitsuki after he is questioned by an executive panel about his alleged involvement with gangsters.

Shukan Shincho published an article last month about Kotomitsuki's alleged gambling activities. It said he is heavily in debt from gambling and has been blackmailed by former gangsters to pay \100 million in hush money.

Kotomitsuki, whose real name is Keiji Tamiya, was promoted to sumo's second-highest rank in July 2007.

The latest incident to rock the sumo world comes after former yokozuna Asashoryu retired in February amid allegations he assaulted a man outside a Tokyo nightclub, while two stable masters have been punished by the sumo association for providing special tickets to gangsters.

Obama: We Will Make BP Pay For Its Oil Spill

President Barack Obama has told the American people the energy company BP will be required to pay for all the damage caused by its giant oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. It was the president's first nationally-televised address from the Oval Office since he took office 17 months ago.  

Eight weeks after BP's Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded, killing 11 workers and sending oil spewing into the Gulf, President Obama said the U.S. government will hold the company responsible.

"But make no mistake: We will fight this spill with everything we have got for as long as it takes," said President Obama. "We will make BP pay for the damage their company has caused.  And we will do whatever is necessary to help the Gulf Coast and its people recover from this tragedy."

Mr. Obama said when he meets with BP officials on Wednesday, he will demand that they establish a fund, administered by an independent third party, to benefit the spill's victims.

"Tomorrow, I will meet with the chairman of BP and inform him that he is to set aside whatever resources are required to compensate the workers and business owners who have been harmed as a result of his company's recklessness," he said.

Immediately after the president spoke, BP released a statement saying it shared his goal of cleaning up the oil and helping those affected by the disaster.

Mr. Obama returned to Washington Tuesday, after inspecting the damage during a two-day visit to the Gulf region.

He spoke hours after the government raised its estimate of the amount of oil gushing out of the ruptured well.  A government panel of scientists now believes that between 35,000 and 60,000 barrels of oil are entering the Gulf each day, up from the previous estimate of 40,000.

Mr. Obama called for a long-term Gulf Coast restoration plan, to help the region recover from years of environmental disasters, including Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.

The president is also setting up a national commission to understand the causes of the BP disaster, and offer recommendations on new safety and environmental standards.

"A few months ago, I approved a proposal to consider new, limited offshore drilling under the assurance that it would be absolutely safe, that the proper technology would be in place and the necessary precautions would be taken," said President Obama. "That was obviously not the case on the Deepwater Horizon rig, and I want to know why."

In addition, Mr. Obama announced his choice to lead the government agency that oversees oil and gas development, which has been accused of lax oversight of the industry.  He picked a former federal prosecutor, Michael Bromwich.

"His charge over the next few months is to build an organization that acts as the oil industry's watchdog, not its partner," said Mr. Obama.

The agency's previous director stepped down last month.  The administration plans to break the agency into three separate offices.