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Southwestern Japan hit by more heavy rain as death toll rises to 49

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Kyushu really seems to get hammered by natural disasters. My heart goes out to all the people living there.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Japan is not broke by any stretch of the imagination. It has trillions of dollars salted away and can easily afford to weather (pardon the pun) this latest weather crisis.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

I am getting alerts on my phone and am hoping our area is spared too much damage or worse, It has been rain for over 30 hours now non stop, sometimes really heavy and another 24 or so predicted, Meanwhile doesn't anyone see any incongruity in these stories that keep mentioning the government concerned about the spread of Covid in evacuation centers. These prefectures have had no cases for some time and are opening up to big public events now because clearly the spread of the virus is not a problem ( or why would it be okay to have such events that are sure to spread the virus) . Maybe these same prefectures will have exactly some such events soon. Yet now they admit they are worried about the virus so does that mean they don't believe the same numbers that justify opening to big events? I am confused!

2 ( +2 / -0 )

commanteer

Sure. I live in Kyoto, but Kyushu has a much better climate. Milder winters and sunshine. Just live in a place like Miyazaki and far from mountainsides or overflowing rivers, and you have no problem. And I meet a lot of friendly folks from Fukuoka.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Japan may be the top country in the world which loses money by natural disasters every year. We are broke.

1 ( +5 / -4 )

My friend in California was wishing for rain, and when I mentioned our situation in Kumamoto, she said, "Not that kind of rain."

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Kyushu really seems to get hammered by natural disasters. My heart goes out to all the people living there.

Kumamoto has certainly been hammered. The earthquake there was very localized but was a rare one where what used to be called a "yoshin" (aftershock) was larger than what was assumed to be the main tremor. A shindo 7 following a shindo 6+. I don't think building regs etc. assume this can happen.

Kyushu also gets hit by many typhoons and has active volcanoes in the middle and down the bottom.

On the plus side, Kyushu is probably the best place to buy an old Japanese farmhouse. They are beautiful buildings, but freezing cold in winter and very costly to winterproof. You basically have to rebuild the envelope. It's much easier just to buy one in a location with mild winters and make cosmetic DIY level repairs.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Stay strong folks!

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Thank you. And my heart goes out to people who have never lived in Kyushu.

not sure what you are trying to say but ok.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Yet now they admit they are worried about the virus so does that mean they don't believe the same numbers that justify opening to big events? I am confused!

The numbers are for public consumption.

Of course, they know they are not testing enough or outright not testing and are in the dark regarding the spread of infection.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Countless people have suffered innumerable losses today.

I hope they can find peace in such a devastating situation.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Japan is not broke, it is in a MUCH better position than any Western country because most of its national debt isn't held by foreigners but by other Japanese.

Also, most Japanese still value hard work and making stuff, which means the nation is far from "spiritually" broke either, unlike certain other countries I could name...

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Japan is not broke by any stretch of the imagination. It has trillions of dollars salted away and can easily afford to weather (pardon the pun) this latest weather crisis.

Trying to argue that major natural disasters occurring every year in Japan does not have serious effects on its economy and hence its financial health is naive at best.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Japan is not broke, it is in a MUCH better position than any Western country because most of its national debt isn't held by foreigners but by other Japanese.

This is a fallacious argument. Japan does not operate out of thin air. A debt is a debt and it needs to be serviced. Japan spends several hundred billions US dollars to service its debt every year, which is as high as the GDP of some countries. This is huge and a major burden on citizens. If Japan would be OK as you say, it wouldn't have ended up increasing two times its sales tax, making even a bigger burden to the population as it faces even more expensive prices. The same debt has also been a major cause of the economical stagnancy that Japan has seen since basically the 90's. The argument that Japan's debt is owned in Japan only helps Japan to adjust interest rates at low levels so that repayment values don't become catastrophic, avoiding to go default.

As Japan continues to dive into a gigantic debt, the risk of default gets higher, and the bond interest rate become higher. It is believed that by 2041, assuming tax revenue remains constant and there won’t be any economic shocks, Japan’s interest repayments will exceed tax income. Japan can continue to sell most of its debts to its citizens and continue to live in deflation as for long periods of time, it makes government debt and other low yielding assets much more attractive. But we all know what deflation made to Japan economy though. And Japan’s population is shrinking and aging, so it’s highly doubtful that the country can increase national savings to a point where purchasing government bonds is sustainable. And because Japan is a net importer of goods, the only way to reduce debt will be by having foreign investors.

So because the structure of its society will not change significantly and its economy is not productive enough. I doubt that Japan is "in a much better position than any Western country".

Also, most Japanese still value hard work and making stuff,

Ah yeah, any data for that? Looking at the data of the GDP produced per hour, it seems that Japanese really are not the hard work you seem to naively think.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Back on topic please.

My friend in California was wishing for rain, and when I mentioned our situation in Kumamoto, she said, "Not that kind of rain."

Every now and then, California gets nailed. Landslides galore and Malibu beachfront houses filled with waves. That's in addition to forest fires and earthquakes.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Kyushu really seems to get hammered by natural disasters. My heart goes out to all the people living there.

Thank you. And my heart goes out to people who have never lived in Kyushu.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

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