When Japanese TV personality and model Aki Higashihara blogs, bad things happen.
Higashihara’s blog has been dubbed ”Death Blog” by the Japanese internet, a reference to Death Note, a popular manga about a supernatural notebook that possess the power to kill whoever’s name is written in it. Similar to the fictional “Death Note”, internet legend has it that whatever Higashihara writes about in her “Death Blog” is destined to meet an unfortunate fate.
For example, in 2010, Higashihara blogged about her visit to a famous shrine in Kamakura, mentioning: “I wanted to eat ginko nuts!” Two months later, a 1000-year-old sacred ginko tree located in the shrine was completely uprooted and severely damaged.
In 2012, she wrote a post about the hardships of raising children, saying: “My kids were fast asleep at 8:30 tonight. This is completely unrelated, but it makes me feel a little better when I think that even pandas neglect their kids.” The next day, the first baby giant panda to be born in Japan in 24 years was found dead — at 8:30 am.
Still not convinced? On January 16, 2013, All Nippon Airways (ANA) grounded 17 of its Boeing 787 Dreamliner planes for inspection after one had to make an emergency landing due to smoke suddenly appearing in the cockpit. Japan Airlines similarly grounded their Dreamliner fleet following the incident.
You’ll never guess what Aki Higashihara blogged about last month.
“My son loves planes. Trains, planes, the Shinkansen bullet train — he’s really into vehicles!”
Yup. Roughly one month after Higashihara updates her blog with a photo of her son’s favorite model plane — a Boeing 787 — Japan is forced to ground its entire Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet.
But that’s not all. On January 7, only a few weeks after the blog post, a battery overheated and started a fire in a 787 operated by Japan Airlines (JAL); the next day a second JAL 787 experienced a fuel leak and its flight was cancelled; on January 11, yet another 787 was found to have a fuel leak, along with a crack in the cockpit window.
The nail in the coffin came earlier today when the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that the Boeing 787 Dreamliner will also be grounded in the United States until they could be proven safe to fly (source).
Can we get a doctor in here to call it? Anyone?
We know that some of you will call this mere coincidence; that a single Japanese woman couldn’t possibly possess this kind of power. Take one more good look at the photo above. Notice how one of the wings on the model is attached upside down? That’s certainly no condition for a plane to fly in…
Here’s a list of some of the other known casualties caused by Aki Higashihara and her Death Blog (via Know Your Meme)
In 2003, she began dating Japan’s star Judoka Kosei Inoue. At the 2004 Athens Olympics, Inuoe suffered a major upset against Elco van der Geest of the Netherlands and didn’t place, despite the media predictions that he will win the gold medal.
From 2005 to 2007, she worked as an advertising model for the loan firm Deposit Insurance Corporation of Japan, which filed bankruptcy soon afterwards. Its parent company, Citibank, also became involved in the 2008 U.S. subprime mortgage crisis.
In 2007, she began appearing on horse racing show titled “Super Keiba.” During her gig as a caster, her predictions for the winning horse were unfulfilled in 21 consecutive races and 38 races in total. The show, which ran for over two decades prior to Higashihara joining the cast, was cancelled three months later.
In 2007, Higahshihara appeared on a panel session for Toshiba’s HD-DVD technology at the Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies. In the following year, Toshiba abandoned the format.
In 2008, she stated that she’ll marry the Japanese Judo star Inoue at the Imperial Hotel; Following their wedding ceremony, a fire broke out at the hotel.
In early 2008, Higashihara made a public appearance at a McDonalds restaurant. The next day, parasites were found in the burgers.
In 2008, Higashihara moved to the United Kingdom with her husband Kosei Inoue. That year, Queen Elizabeth II lost 37 million pounds in personal wealth.
In March 2009, she responded to Michael Jackson’s announcement of the live concert tour by saying that “it will come true” on her blog. Three months later, Michael Jackson passed away and the tour was canceled.
In August 2009, Higashihara attended a fireworks event in commemoration of Japanese Self-Defense Force and blogged about it. Two months later, a Japanese Navy warship collided with a South Korean commercial vessel and a minesweeper collided with a fishing boat on the following day.
In December 2009, Higashihara posted a photo of her new iPhone in a blog post, which apparently led to concerns from other netizens who worried that her endorsement of the product would bring bad luck for Apple.
In January 2011, Higashihara mentioned “earthquakes” in a blog post. Exactly two months later, Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami disaster struck the nation.
In September 2011, she wrote about her recent purchase of a Sony digital camera in a blog post. One month later, Sony’s digital camera factories in Thailand were shut down due to a flood.
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