I’m Bill Tsutsui with another Postcard from Asia from the Center for East Asian Studies.
It’s a book bag! It’s a GPS system! It’s the Oribie Navi Land and it’s two, two, two things in one. Available in Japan, the $300 device is a book bag that uses the same technology as GPS cell phone fusions: with an embedded Global Positioning System chip to help you keep tabs on your kids’ whereabouts. This modern update on ‘call me when you get there’, fits neatly into the longstanding Japanese obsession with safety; checking their GPS maps, parents will know exactly where their kids are at any time…The only problem: they still won’t know exactly what they’re doing. That will be the job of the future GTS: Global Tattling System.
Today’s Postcard from Asia was written by John Schneiderwind. From the Center for East Asian Studies, I’m Bill Tsutsui. Wish you were here.
