Shimo-chan comments

Praying for those who died in war is a noble and meaningful act.

But I always feel that when we pass down the horrors of war and the importance of preventing it to future generations, it’s not fair to speak only about the suffering we experienced. We must also talk about the harm we've caused.

Otherwise, younger generations who haven’t experienced war themselves may lose the opportunity to reflect on the causes and responsibility of the war.

To Japan Today readers:

In Japan, there are frequent reports of railway fans disrupting public services for personal reasons.

I’m curious—do similar incidents occur in your country too?

I think it’s a good thing that there are services in Japan that help people quit their jobs on their behalf, especially since some companies put pressure on employees not to resign.

But on the other hand, would a new employee really go out of their way to pay money and use such a service on their very first day? To be honest, I can’t help but feel that this company might be making up the story to promote its own service.

Since Zensho Holdings made the major decision to temporarily close all Sukiya locations, it’s likely that the claim about part of an insect being found in a takeout meal is true.

However, since it’s relatively easy to fake foreign object contamination in takeout food, I hope this incident won’t be abused as a tactic to discredit the restaurant industry.

I also hope that accurate methods for investigating such claims will be firmly established.

Hang in there, Sukiya!

What does a car accident have to do with the photos on his phone?

Even if there were numerous nude photos on the phone, was it really necessary to investigate them?

Accepting refugees who face persecution in their home countries is a humanitarian and admirable effort. However, Japanese society is largely homogeneous, meaning most citizens are not accustomed to interacting with foreigners. Additionally, Japanese people tend to be more reserved and more likely to yield to others' opinions. Given this background, there is a possibility that immigration and refugee acceptance could significantly influence Japanese society relatively easily. For this reason, Japan must take a cautious approach when considering immigration and refugee policies.

I work for a Japanese company that has been around for over a hundred years, which means it is likely to be influenced by relatively old-fashioned, male-dominated thinking.

However, the proportion of female managers here has been steadily increasing. Both the company and the labor union seem to be actively working to improve the workplace environment for women.

Japan is certainly still developing in this area, but the situation is undeniably improving. Rather than lamenting the current state of Japan’s work environment for women, I believe we should focus on how women in countries like those in Scandinavia—where significant progress has been made—experience happiness in this regard and whether there are any social drawbacks to their system.

I think working as a caregiver, dealing with elderly individuals with declining cognitive abilities, is a far more demanding job than most people imagine.

At the same time, for residents of nursing homes and for those of us who may eventually require care in the future, the possibility of hidden violence occurring behind closed doors is a frightening thought. I wish there were ideas that could benefit both caregivers and residents alike…

May space exploration be a source of hope for humanity.

Their actions seem infantile.

I think the existence of the death penalty may ease the grief of murder victims' families to some extent. But in countries where the death penalty doesn’t exist, how do they prioritize the pain of the victims’ families and human rights?

The development of robotics will definitely have a positive impact on Japan’s future. It’ll also help with issues like labor shortages from the aging population and the challenges of accepting immigrants.

Right now, I’m still pretty far from the age where I’d need nursing care, so I can look at this kind of news objectively. But if I ever end up being cared for by a robot, I’m pretty sure I’d feel pretty weird about it.

Japan, as a homogeneous nation, is largely free from racial discrimination. The Japanese people are generally calm and polite, but at the same time, in order to preserve the benefits of being a homogeneous nation, they unconsciously become exclusive and discriminatory toward other ethnic groups. This is likely one of the reasons why refugee applications are rarely approved.

The increasing proportion of people working in unstable, non-regular employment seems to make it difficult to prioritize marriage or raising children over simply sustaining one’s own life. This situation is likely accelerating the decline in birth rates.

I am an ordinary single man in my 30s living in Japan. To be honest, I feel quite anxious about marriage and having children. This is because my income is low, and there is a high chance that in the future, I will struggle just to support myself.

Looking at Japan as a whole, the increasing proportion of people working in unstable, non-regular employment makes it difficult to prioritize marriage or raising children over simply sustaining one’s own life. This situation is likely accelerating the decline in birth rates.