Japan's Foreign Ministry revealed this week that Tokyo had joined other cities in unknowingly playing host to a secret Chinese police station, monitoring Chinese citizens living in Japan. Meanwhile, a ceremony that centers on the traditional New Year’s Eve dish of soba was given at a shrine in Uozu City, Toyama Prefecture. And while not unusual for certain days of the week to carry some extra significance in Japan, December the 20th was no different, otherwise known on as “buri-no-hi”, named after the Japanese species of Yellowtail fish, buri.