The New York Yankees are so loaded with talent that newly signed Japanese baseball star Hideki "Godzilla" Matsui is likely to spend much of the season on the bench, boos Shukan Jitsuwa (2/13). Shukan Bunshun (2/6) advises readers of "defense techniques" they should adopt to protect themselves from predatory foreign criminals. Shukan Shincho (2/6) staggers that the ravages of mad cow disease have just barely begun. Yomiuri Weekly (2/9) advises how to avoid being cheated by Internet auction scams. Shukan Gendai (2/8) blushes that retired sumo grand champion Takanohana is still in love with actress Rie Miyazawa, who he dumped years ago to marry a former TV announcer 10 years his senior. Flash (2/11) says that in two more years, foreigners will have driven native Japanese wrestlers out of sumo's top division. Sunday Mainichi (2/9) says the chief blame for sumo's current troubles is the scandal-ridden Futagoyama stable. Weekly Playboy (2/11) advises readers to spend 10 minutes stocking up on emergency rations in preparation for an attack by North Korea. A Kobe-based company president found murdered at his secretary's apartment was well known for his nocturnal carousings, eulogizes Shukan Asahi (2/7). Asahi Geino (2/6) describes what it's like to be the wife of a professional hit man. Telecommunications giant NTT puts surveillance cameras on its employees round the clock, fidgets Shukan Post (2/7). Aera (2/3) peers at the "new kinoko" mushrooms that some are saying prevent cancer and lower blood pressure. Spa (2/4) zooms in on the pleasures and dangers of producing (or acting in) your own sex film. A doctor counsels Shukan Taishu (2/10) readers not to worry if they notice their wives or girlfriends are sprouting hair on their chests. Hanashi no Channel (2/20) scrums what's behind the declining popularity of rugby, whose games in Japan are no longer being televised. (Compiled by Masuo Kamiyama)

Russian Roulette is filled with inherent dangers, but Japanese schoolgirls have apparently devised a version where there're plenty of shots fired, but none of them are bullets, according to Hanashi no Channel (2/20).

Instead of a single bullet being loaded into a revolver chamber and the trigger pulled until it lets off with a blast, Russian Sex Roulette, the schoolgirls' derivative game, sees the girls allow any number of men to unleash their weapons in her chamber.

An added thrill comes from whether the girl picks up a long-term reminder of her role in the game, and though some can take out insurance to play, it seems the participants are sadly unaware of just how dangerous an undertaking they have made.

"I've heard it's just amazing. Now high schoolkids everywhere are into it (Russian Sex Roulette). It's basically just an orgy with the same number of girls and guys, but the object is for the girl to have unprotected sex with every guy there to see if she gets pregnant or not," a Tokyo schoolgirl tells Hanashi no Channel. "I'd like to have a go, but I'm a bit scared."

The schoolgirl continues, saying the games are usually held at the home of somebody whose parents are absent. Couples pair off, then proceed to various parts of the home.

"Positioning is all important," the schoolgirl tells Hanashi no Channel. "The rules stipulate that the guy can't withdraw when he ejaculates and you can't have more than one couple in the same position, so if you've got a pair with rear entry in the kitchen, you'll have another couple facing each other on the sofa and yet another guy and girl on the bed in the missionary position. Everybody gets a turn at deciding couples until everyone has been with everybody else."

Amazingly, despite taking the name of their game from a potentially lethal pursuit, kids taking part in Russian Sex Roulette seem to have little idea that they could be doing something deadly. Awareness of contraception is limited.

"I'm scared of getting pregnant, but as long as you get it out of you, it's all right. I've heard you'll be safe if you scrape out (semen) with a plastic coffee spoon, so I always carry one around with me, just in case," a girl of 16, the age some Russian Sex Roulette participants are rumored to be, tells Hanashi no Channel.

Even if participants do fall pregnant, they don't seem to see it as a worry. Partygoers have to pay "Ejaculation Insurance" of about 5,000 yen before they're allowed to take part. This money is all pooled and used to pay for abortions should any girl be saddled with an unwanted pregnancy.

Astonishingly, neither the magazine nor any of the participants it interviews mentions anything about a fear of AIDS or other sexually transmitted diseases, though venereal disease is at record high levels among Japanese schoolgirls at the moment. Instead, the girls who have played Russian Sex Roulette gush about the experience.

"For a girl or a guy, once you've had a taste of the game you'll want to go back for more," an "experienced" schoolgirl tells Hanashi no Channel. "I can't get by with normal sex anymore. Watch Russian Sex Roulette get its big break this year."

WaiWai stories are transcriptions of articles that originally appeared in Japanese language publications. The Mainichi Daily News cannot be held responsible for the contents of the original articles, nor does it guarantee their accuracy. Views expressed in the WaiWai column are not necessarily those held by the Mainichi Daily News or Mainichi Newspapers Co.

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