7777777 comments

OK, I have some compassion for the dad and monk b/c the article said the parents turned to the medical profession first and apparently tried the medical route for "several years" to no avail so out of desparation and love for their daughter perhaps they tried an alternative method. I can`t find fault in them for this. They are just trying to help their daughter who was obviously suffering with what ever condition she had. I also have to consider is water dousing any worse than some of the things the psychology profession does to people? If you know people with mental illness they too can tell you stories of people going into a mental health facility healthy and coming out dead or in a trance like state of being. The psychology field has a lot of protected abuses. They also tie people down and often put them in solitary confinement for long periods of time. The only difference is they have a degree that lets them do it so legally they are protected.

I actually feel sorry for the parents because I think they were just trying desparately to find something to help when the medical/psychological field failed. They didn`t want to give up on their daughter so they went another route that had a tragic ending. I think it is just a sad story of people desparately trying to find some answer.

The UN gets involved. Ha! When has it solved any problems?

"It's time for tepco to hire foreign aid / workers to help this situation"

Oh what a can of worms that would open! Japan exploiting foreigners in probably under developed countries & killing them by sending them to Fukushima to work! Japan`s name would be ruined forever if it did this. And their foreign countries would be demanding repriation costs for decades to come. And China and Korea would have further proof that Japan is still an evil Imperialist nation, that will never change. This is a horrible idea diplomatically and ethically speaking.

We were told there was no meltdown, all was fine, it`s ok to eat radiated food, etc. & now we are supposed to believe that an explosion is highly unlikely, but if it does explode that is okay b/c TEPCO will have it all under control.

More than getting mad at the government, he should be mad at his ruthless relative. Im sickened to hear what his relative did to him. Shes probably the one screaming the most at the government but at the end of the day shes worse. At least the government gives a pathetic rice ball & a cardboard partioned place to sit in a gym, yet she (his own blood) wont even open the door to an old man. Disgusting!

As for him or anyone wanting to stay, I think its their right and choice but NOT at the expense of other citizens by expecting government to permit them to continue farming & spreading the radiation. They can stay but they cant farm to sell. They can farm to eat and provide for themselves but don`t send it to others.

The saddest part of this is his first reaction was to get out but he was turned away so this really isn`t his first choice of where to stay. In some ways it became his only choice and he now accepts that fate.

"I absolutely agree that bullying starts with bad parenting."

I think obviously kids from bad families are more prone to bullying, but bullying is not exclusively from bad families. I`ve heard of kids from really good homes that went through a stage where they bullied. Those from good homes I think eventually abandon this behavior and realize it was wrong or if their parents find out about the bullying that usually puts a stop to it real fast. Nevertheless, even kids from good homes can fall into the bullying trap. And there is also reverse behavior where kids from good homes bully the kids from bad homes because the kids from the bad homes may not be clean, have nice clothes, nor good manners. So the kids from the good homes start making fun of or putting down the less fortunate kids without really realizing the damage they are doing or recognizing it as bullying. They may think a bully is someone that threatens to beat up another. They may not think of pointing out a person smells and wears the same clothes everyday can be a form of bullying too.

To me the saddest thing is the boy desparately tried to get help. He told teachers, parents, police, and possibly friends and possibly he called the child bullying help line that schools give to students, yet in the end nothing helped and he just gave up because after all his efforts, nothing changed and nothing helped. Even authority figures couldnt stop the bullying. I hope the bullies realize what theyve done now.

"So what do you think - if you don't think Iwate beef should be sold now, when should it be able to be sold? Or should all agriculture in Tohoku shut down for eternity?"

I think all of the Tohoku area should be evacuated like Chernobyl. The gov. money for these residents should be invested in clearing out unused land in another part of Japan that could be used for farming. The gov. would pay residents to clear & prepare the farm land, pay for farm equipment and animals (all farm animals from Tohoku would be put down because if any farmers took them with them they would be tempted to sell the milk or breed it with another animal). No food of any sort should be allowed to be sold from Tohoku area.

These people do need a job and Japan needs to produce its own food but lets start with a clean slate by moving the people to new, uncontaminated farm land. Lets not pretend radiation is healthy to eat at the expense of our next generation. Let`s look out for the farmers and all people who would be eating this food if farmers were kept in Fukushima/Tohoku area.

"Why in light of such continually frightening news do a number of foreigners insist on staying on in Japan? Isn't it time to get out? Why do foreign people elect to stay on in and around Tokyo and other potentially contaiminated areas? And is the food safe anywhere in the country now? Why aren't foreigners leaving in droves? I don't get it"

If I were young and single, Id return to my home country like a lot of the other foreigners who left. Or if I were married to another foreigner especially if I had children then we could return to our home country together. These are the kinds of foreigners Ive seen leaving and I don`t blame them. I think it is good common sense.

But for the many foreigners who have chosen to stay, some stay for work and others like myself stay because of family. Our family is Japanese so to leave means we have to literally break up our family and we prefer to face whatever consequences are upon us as a family than to break up. I am not a foreigner who denies the seriousness of the situation. I see some foreigners who do this and will get mad if you suggest the radiation could be dangerous to their health. I am not one of those. I fully recognize the risks in staying and I have not just woken up. I immediately started researching right after Fukushima blew the first time, and I quickly understood what the government was saying and the reality were two different things. However, I chose to stay to keep my family together. Family comes above health or safety to me. That is my priority and that is why I stay and that is why some other foreigners stay. Others stay because they are in denial. Others stay for money. There probably are other reasons but these are the 3 main reasons I`ve encountered.

"Because of these people going in and out of the reactors, how could they track health related problems from the workers? There could be deaths by now, how would they know? Do they even track those folks?"

They conveniently "lost track" of something like 134 of these workers. They can keep track of them. They chose not to because they dont want negative reports. Id venture to say there have been deaths in the Fukushima/Tohoku area that may have been related to radiation but where recorded as something else. A lot of the ppl hospitalized after the tsunami were having stomach complaints. How many of these ppl died & how many of them were examined for internal radiation? What about in other areas outside of the 20km zone? In my area, so many kids are getting stomach ailments since Fukushima plant blew but there are NO records being kept despite the fact radiation has been found in my town just like some hot spots in Tokyo and other outside areas. These areas are being completely ignored when it comes to record taking. I don`t think any real records are being taken of the effects of this radiation just like they were purposely not being taken in Cherynobyl. No government wants a record trail of truth on things like this.

"I can't stand people that think pit bulls are born to maul people. I always say that it's not the breed, it's the owner. I've seen toy breeds more vicious then pit bulls."

Gurukun, I completely agree with this. I once got a throw away pit bull who from an illegal dog fighting ring. One would think a dog from this background especially a pit bull should be put down with no exception but this was the sweetest dog in the world. She was NEVER once agressive to anyone and I could have anyone over to my house and other dogs and cats around her. She was just a good dog. She wasnt possessive or territorial. She was as sweet as they come. So I dont think people should have prejudices against certain breeds, but I do think the stronger breeds need to go with experienced owners who understand dogs. Therefore the sellers have a responsibility to make sure potential owners are getting a dog that they can manage and meet its needs. Some people buy dogs having no idea of a dog`s nature and needs. They just pick the cutest face so a seller needs to steer buyers away from this mentality and help them make a good companion match.

I voted no b/c it would be too limiting of a law. If the owner knows the dog bites or attacks ppl and does nothing to prevent this (no muzzle, no leach, makes no effort to stop the dog, or always takes the dog to a populated area rather than an isolated one), then if the dog attacked I would say prosecute the person because they knew the potential of the dog and did nothing to prevent it.

However, if the dog has never shown aggression and is a good natured dog with a responsible owner and the dog snaps for some unknown reason, I would not prosecute the owner. The owner would be responsible for any medical bills but this would not be a criminal offense.

Also, if the dog is not aggressive but someone showed aggression to the owner and the dog protected the owner or someone was provoking the dog and the dog bit the person, in either case I would not prosecute the owner because the provoking person is responsible for the attack. Owners have to be responsible but people also have to be responsible around dogs just like we have to be responsible around property. We cant let our kids jump around and climb on the shelves in the wine section of the grocery store lest the shelves fall over and our children get cut and injured from the broken wine bottles. Is it the grocery stores fault if our children are injured in such a case or our fault for letting our kids do this risky behavior around wine shelves? The same is with dogs. People can`t tease dogs or let their kids tease dogs or run up and jump on a dog without taking some risk. So the responsibility goes two ways.

Therefore, if you have a law that says a dog that bites or attacks another person the owner will be held criminally responsible, then there`s no room for looking at each case from a common sense standpoint. With laws we need to have room to look at the circumstances and use common sense before making a judgement or arrest.

"Japan didn't ask for your cereal, and pop tarts and other useless garbage that you donated; most of which was thrown away anyway. Utter useless stuff."

I have to agree with Bluewitch that this statement is an utter disgrace. If others read this statement & there is another major disaster, do you think anyone would want to help Japan? You could be harming a lot of future people in desparate need. I recall after this disaster in some locations, all the Japanese government gave was a rice ball and a cup of tea to people who lost everything. If I had to choose between a box of pop tarts and 1 little rice ball, Id pick the pop tarts any day. You have to remember too, it doesnt cost the government anything to give, but individuals who give it costs money. It comes out of their pockets that could be spent on their own children or their own needs but they chose to give to others instead. What a thankless, pathetic comment you made to those who gave. It is a disgrace, and I would like to believe you do NOT represent the Japanese feelings at all.

So to tie this in with suicide. Part of suicide is the feeling of hopelessness and isolation. When people see & understand that others care about them, and that they matter, then they are less likely to commit suicide. One way people try to express this to victims and encourage victims is by providing for their basic needs. If no one gave and no one showed any interest or care in all these victims, the suicide rate probably would be soaring through the roof, but because not just the Japanese but the international community came to the aid of these people, it gave some hope and encouragement, I believe, because it let these people know they were not forgotten and people do care. So those poptarts that some caring person gave DID matter.

I agree that psychiatrict help isnt the answer to these ppls problems. If they are already mentally healthy then they dont need a shrink, they need practical help & handouts isnt what they need either although initially it is helpful. These ppl need the dignity & security of a job & home of thier own. If someone can get up, work, & take care of their family, this is mental health.

Since 90% of Japanese land isnt used, I think the gov. needs to find some liveable, unused land, prepare it for farming, & give it to the farmers to start a new life & new community. This helps the farmers & all of Jp b/c the farmers wont be producing food & selling it all over Jp spreading the radiation. Just evacuate the land & start over. For the businessmen, give them government loans to start businesses in these new communities & pay the young healthy ones to build the new communities to start generating instant income & making them feel like they are helping themselves & their own ppl. If they feel like they are saving their ppl & rebuilding themselves, this is the best mental health care a healthy person can get.

Why was the woman arrested? A 4 year old is walking around on the streets w/her mom gone at 4AM, a friend of the mom who knows the girl picks up the child and takes her to her house where at least the child is not left alone like if she were taken back to her house & the child is safe. How can she return the child to the mom when the mom`s not at home but probably out with some man. These woman sound like prostitutes to me to be out at 4AM. Anyway, the friend could have taken the child to the police and got the mom in trouble but instead she helped the mom and child out and she ends up arrested. This is horrible injustice.

"Japanese people need to harden up and adjust. In South-east Asia, many people survive without Aircon.... Japanese need to change..."

Japanese are DYING and going into the hospital by the THOUSANDS and you say they need to change! The ones dying and going to the hospital are the ones trying to adjust to the temperature. It is the smart ones that are not sitting in the heat but are turning on the air conditioner so they don`t roast and die. People need common sense. If you have clean water, drink it. If you have an a/c use it. These luxuries serve great benefits to the health and well being of humans.

"Wow this thread is infested with the American right wing to whom the concept of balance means "My WAY ONLY!"

I disagree with this statement. Im an American but not a right winger. Nevertheless, Im totally opposed to Obama`s attack and bus tour. Perhaps what you are seeing is not right wingers all over this board because basically most Americans I meet in Japan are very liberal compared to the general American population. What you are seeing is Americans across the board very disappointed with how Obama has handled his role as President and the decisions he has made.

Im more sympathetic than whiskysour. However, I have to agree with whiskysour that this was just a stupid, needless death, and most likely it is a death. I mean what GROWN up woman does something like this unless she has a mental disorder, and if her mental disorder is this bad, she shouldnt be allowed to travel alone unsupervised.

If Sasoriza is right this is probably a yakuza crime because there are multiple ppl involved with the crime, a man is beaten to death, and there were no missing people reports before the crime. The good news is the general population probably is safe from a serial killer. The bad news of course is evil has happened.

Good call on Japan`s part and it gives a clear msg to the world that violent, out of control, druggies are not welcome. If your a civil human being then please come but not trouble makers.

Good question Borat, but of course we know the answer that politicians are always held above the law in any country.

With reports like this, people will be inclined to stop giving all together. I really think the wording of this article is hurtful to the people because it gives the impression that the people are not in need and are unappreciative, but I don`t think that is the true case. I think this is just a case of careless journalism. I think probably needs are still there but not for winter clothes and bedding. The organization I give to has stated this that they no longer collect clothing and bedding items. Now they just collect food, personal hygiene items and things to pass the time (games, books, craft supplies, etc.) but probably the "pass the time" collection will only be for 1-2 weeks since that supply will quickly be filled. But food and personal care items need to be regularly replenished. These run out quickly.

"Speed - It would have been helpful had the government and NPOs been more specific about what was/is needed as time went by.

Actually, they have been. They mostly wanted money."

But who wants to give money when we all know how money never seems to get to the people? It is always wasted away in administrative costs. I never give money unless I can give it directly to a person, not an organization. Also in the beginning we heard these people only had the clothes on their backs & 1 small glass of water and rice ball/day so it sounded like clothes, food, and water were their immediate needs that the government was not filling. Money was useless to the people since there were no stores to buy anything. They needed clothes and food so to say "this disaster was a good excuse for people to fill their 'motainai' needs and get rid of a lot of their old goods without having to pay for it to be picked up." is really way off base. Not everywhere in Japan has to pay to have their garbage picked up. I can throw things out for free where I live. So your conclusion is wrong. People gave because they cared and wanted to do something to help their fellow man not to selfishly unload their stuff on another person. Also a lot of the charities only took new things so many of the blankets and clothes are not unloaded garbage but something people went out and bought with their own hard earned money.

" Is this a serious question? If so, I'll go ahead and answer it. One of the qualifications for President, written in the constitution, is that you must be a natural born citizen of the United States. That means, you must have been born in the US. There are some who like to claim that it also should mean, that both your parents should be citizens, but thats not how the law has been interpreted so its a non issue. So, the reason he should have released this back when he was a candidate, has to do with qualification. Does he meet all the qualifications to be President"

This is exactly right. When I was in public school in America I was required to show my birth certificate just to play sports! It was not a Constitutional regulation that I show my birth certificate, but the school required it so I showed it. I have had to show my birth certificate for other various things in life, none that were mentioned in the Constitution. I have many times had to give my social security #, but the Constitution does not mention that. However the Constitution DOES say the President to be qualified has to be a natural born citizen. So why must I show all my documents when there`s nothing in the Constitution saying I need to, but the Pres. refuses and hires LAWYERS to prevent ppl from seeing his birth certificate when the Constitution would indicate he needs to show proof of his qualifications?

It has been so many years now and so much money spent to prevent anyone from simply seeing his birth certificate that I dont believe it is real. It is fake. There was no reason he had to fight so hard and spend so much money to keep it concealed unless there was something he had to hide. A birth certificate is not overly personal. Theres no reason he could not have shown it from day one.

"Standing by South Korea is one thing"

Stand but South Korea? But do you think for one second they would stand by Japan if North Korea attacked? I doubt it. South Koreans still carry a lot of hate and resentment towards Japan. The US is basically Japans only friend, yet I wouldnt trust Obama for a second to give a single care about Japan if she were hit. Japan needs to work on making Asian friends and then alliances but not a one-sided alliance with someone that hates you.

I cant believe the ppl who are calling this a crime. A crime is an intentional act to hurt or rob another person. This mother has 2 other children that need her. Do you just want to rip the mom from them and throw her in jail? I seriously doubt she did this on purpose and Id guess she feels enormous guilt that she will live with till she dies. And I bet she will obcessively check her other childrens seat belts and doors from now on IF she even drives again. Her other children need her. I think Japanese moms just dont realize the risk. It has just recently become a law to put children in seatbelts so many dont get it. I had a muslim friend who thought I was cruel because I wouldnt take my crying baby out of a car seat. She told me I should trust Allah so I would not need a baby seat that makes my baby cry. She said no one in her country straps babies down like that! When people have not grown up using seat belts and car seats they really don`t understand the risks. Most Japanese grew up never using car seats and seat belts with children so it has not been engrained in the culture yet, but more incidents like this should start waking people up. And really when someone gets a drivers license/renewal and has to sit through that video, it should show a clip of what happens to children not properly secured in their seats. Part of the problem is the population has not been well educated on the dangers. More news and variety shows should focus on this problem too. It is a problem of lack of education not a problem of a criminally minded mom.

fishy, I doubt the mom realized the door opened and her child fell out. I mean certainly she would have stopped if she had realized either case. Also this probably happened very quickly as the car was moving so even if she realized it, it may have been too late. I think this is purely an unforunate accident that the mom will regret and be haunted by for the rest of her life. I actually feel very sorry for the mom. She has enough guilt so beating her over the head with it is useless.

"This is actually a good ruling. However what makes it a good ruling, is that it is about the same sentence a Japanese person would have gotten for the same crime."

I agree with Molenir on this. I just with the other 3 teens had to go to court too. It was not fair that only one had to take all the blame when all 4 equally participated. I also think it was right to reduce the charges from attempted murder since I don`t think that was the intentions of the teens. I think the judge summed it up accurately when he stated, "This incident had no purpose or clear motive. It was nothing but troublemaking, dangerous, illegal and vicious.” Finally, I think it is only right that this incident forced the other families to leave Japan.

goddog my mom has severe asthma and I did have terrible asthma at one point in my life so I understand scents causing one to go into a breath gasping, red faced coughing fit. But the fact is when we leave our houses where we can ask no one to wear any scents, in public we cant ask people to remove their clothes that have been washed in heavily scented softner, remove strong deodorants, perfumes, etc. If our asthma is this severe we have to wear a mask, take oxygen, go 1st class, etc. Its like the autistic child that is sensitive to a particular every day sound we cant ask the world to stop making that sound when we go into the general population. Somehow we have to learn to cope. With that said, because I grew up around asthma, I dont wear heavy scents but Ive never asked nor seen my mom ask a stranger to remove the expensive cosmetics because its a problem for us.

I completely agree with tkoind2. The nitpicky, uptight person that wrote this article is worse than any of the other types to me. Id rather sit next to an average person that might make a little noise than some anal person like this writer. People have common sense and generally try to be polite while flying. There will always be the occassional person thats not pleasant to be around but in my 20 years of flying I have ZERO complaints about fellow passengers, but flight attendants are another story. And usually if you have a problem with a fellow passenger, if you politely and reasonably point it out, they will try to adjust but you also have to be willing to adjust and put up with a certain amount before speaking since the world does not revolve around our personal comforts and ideas of a great flight. I mean we cant ask someone to remove their scented deodorant if we are sensitive to smells or ask someone to brush their teeth if they ate a Whooper. And we have to put up with a certain amount of banging on our seats especially if theres a tall person behind us trying to get up or a small child sitting in a parents lap. We cant give a nasty look every single time our seat is bumped because there is so little room. If someone wants to clap on landing, let them be happy and clap. That doesnt hurt anyone except a Scrouge. As for the people mover, just say "excuse me please". Theres no reason to get all huffy. I usually never have someone in my way but a polite word is all that`s need if they are.

Im a parent so Im pretty tolerant of others kids as well as for tired, stressed parents. Personally Ive never had problems w/my kids b/c I go well prepared but I think the biggest problem w/crying is air pressure. Kids need something to chew or suck on on take off & landing. If not, they may have pain the whole flight. I was on a flight where a small child screeched in pain the whole time. The flight attendant only made snarly comments which was not helpful. Flight attendants should provide something for them to suck on and warm cups to put on the ears. The parents got irritable b/c they couldnt calm the child down & passengers were giving them ugly looks. Ugly looks & nasty comments to parents dont help either. I tried offering gum but I dont think they understood me & felt too frustrated to deal w/me, but a competant flight attendant they probably would have listened to. As for kids noisy kids, they are bored. Again parents should bring lots of entertaining things for kids but travel regulations make that rather difficult these days & inexperienced travelers may not know what to pack so flight attendants should have things on each flight to keep kids busy. Also for elementary age and up, choosing an airline that has individual entertainment units on their seats is best. Most of these kids & parents aren`t bad. Flying is just uncomfortable, stressful, & often unfamiliar territory for small kids.