You have to hand it to Tama-chan. The superstar bearded seal has caused some lively public discussion about important social issues. Because of Tama-chan, people have started talking about the disgusting state of the country's rivers, the cavalierly cruel treatment of animals, the impact that rubber-stamped construction projects have on the environment, and even the necessity and fairness of the residence card system.
Tama-chan's grip on the public imagination has impressed the media so much that even the smallest tributary leading off the main story attracts swarms of reporters looking for a new angle. After all, it was Tama-chan who led the media to the Pana Wave Laboratory.
Pana Wave is the scientific arm of a mysterious cult -- Chino Shoho -- whose members dress all in white and drive white vehicles with white stickers in the windows because they believe white protects them and their leader, a 69-year-old woman named Yuko Chino, from electromagnetic radiation. The media has dubbed them a "doomsday cult" because of Chino's prediction that a planet will collide with the earth.