Alex Hutchins comments

Completely unacceptable. These quality control issues have implications which endanger people's lives!

If there is one thing that Tokyo really lacks and which would make it a much more friendly city, it is seating. 

Too true. The seating makes me happy -- I don't care so much about what's inside. Nice trees too! Well done.

Abe is despicable. Does he know that higher domestic spending is necessary to drive the Japanese economy (and thus drive more tax from sales)? Of course he does; he just doesn't care. Abe would rather decrease taxes on cash-hoarding J-companies and push the burden to small businesses and average citizens than do anything that would hurt himself or his corporate cronies. Increase corporate taxes and cut needless spending on more highways and other concrete throughout the country-- this is how you cut down debt.

Hoping this park it less kitschy than other European theme parks built (in the 80s and 90s) in Japan. There are too many to list off and many have gone belly-up since. We will only see!

Japanese universities will not prosper in the future nor rise in rankings if they don't adapt to globalization at a faster pace and encourage english-based degree programs. It seems such programs are evident at some institutions, but it should be more widespread. That only 11% of Tokyo University students are international students is pretty embarrassing.

I've always thought that if a couple Japanese universities, say Kyoto University, were to begin mandatory first-year intensive English coursework for particular schools within the university, that they could then implement english-based degree programs much easier and create knowledgeable students who move on to study or work outside of Japan. There is definitely an imperative for Japanese universities to change their amount of foreign faculty, etc, but I also believe that some universities should begin more holistic entrance examinations but expect more of their students once they enter.

People who commit suicide have a mental illness -- they cannot make fully rational decisions. Please don't criticize them as cowardly or stupid for ending their lives. When you are in your 20s suffering, longevity does not hold the same value.

The figures in the article are referring to the Standard Land Prices and do not reflect actual land price increases in Japan. It is more of a government benchmark that can be used to understand or predict trends.

This article does a better job to explain what these figures mean in relation to actual land/real estate prices.

http://japanpropertycentral.com/2018/09/standard-land-prices-across-japan-increase-for-first-time-since-1991/

Drinking at 7am? Then go driving during morning rush? That's crazy. Wow

I think she probably was still drunk from a wild time the night before. There are times I have been still drunk (or at least not sober enough to drive) at 10am, despite not having a drink since 2am. It seems morning drunkedness has been the cause for multiple accidents we read about here on JT.

That's a big number....I'm glad damage and injuries are low, at least from what we hear now.

To be fair, at other sections of the stream there are more trees being planted. But if you stray from beneath the canopy of the trees and happen to actually look down at the stream you may find....a cute, miniature version of the LA river.

Also, the big new building that was built right next to this one is pretty ugly. And both are pretty uninspired blocks. I'm kind of surprised that Google Japan and other companies are choosing to re-locate here because these developments don't seem "innovative" in any shape or form.

The Kansai airport was a first-of-its-kind when it was built in the 1990s. Other airports built on reclaimed land in the sea, such as the Hong Kong International Airport, learned from KIX's design, as well as its failings. When criticizing KIX, some of you forget that it was a revolutionary design at the time which has influenced airport construction across the world and which also solved issues surrounding the fact that a big enough available area in Kansai on top of already-existing land could not be easily found.

The damage wrought by this typhoon hardly warrants some of the groans in this comment section...as with even the best planned works (like Kyoto Station), the effect of abnormally strong typhoons can not easily be predicted.

This all said, I do wish they had somehow build KIX closer to central Osaka but one can't get everything one wants ;-)

My first thought when I hear about people getting their teeth knocked out is, “Who pays for the implants?”

One would think that would be the person pulling the fists, but that’s not normally the case is it?

In any case, I feel really sorry for both victims. I hope they can heal soon.

While I have my resignations about the environmental impact of the global meat industry and its entrance in the Japanese market, I see the TPP as somewhat necessary for other reasons.

One reason being that the Japanese agricultural industry needs a significant impetus to start producting more efficiently (fewer, larger farms) and deliver high-quality value-added products. (Ex: Japanese cheese is usually dreadful)

The average Japanese farmer has long had grey hair and I can’t see the current model lasting much longer without an increase in exports from overseas. The Japanese government should continue to financially support farmers who are able to remain efficient without becoming reliant on an under-class of imported labor like the U.S.

The best result from the TTP would be cheaper produce for the average Japanese (who are getting poorer) as well as financial support for farmers in Japan, especially for young farmers and recent migrants to Japan (though the latter may rarely happen under Abe).

Somehow, farming in Japan will need to change dramatically in the next 20 years...and TTP must be followed up with additional efforts to ease this transition.

Be safe everyone!

Stupid me decided to bike around Shikoku in the rainy season and yesterday I was pummeled by rain for 9 hours, eventually leading to a nasty fall and road rash. Maybe today will be better.

Im hoping things let up soon! Any trip to Kyoto would be amiss to not include a lovely stroll along the banks of the Kamo River.

Crazy...Okinawa is a colony on two fronts, both by the Japanese and the Americans. Let Okinawans have control of their land and have full agency over how to develop their society and economy. These accidents won't stop until America's neo-colonial policies are put to an end.

Headline could read "Media gets first look at Abe's useless money-hole that will certainly go over-budget"

Even if this was an affair, who the **** cares? What really gets me going is that these dormitory rules extend to company housing and to college dorms...meaning that no one is allowed to stay over. This strikes me as very old fashioned...why do institutions feel like they can police the private lives of their workforce or student body? Smh

Wow, so many misinformed commenters here.

It is a GOOD thing that Japanese children, like all children, learn about people different from themselves. And for the 8% (yes it is around this percentage) of students - who are discovering new things about themselves and about their feelings towards other kids - having someone there to shed some light on these feelings, or let them know that they have a support network, will do wonders for their development and sense of self.

Y'all complain that Japanese teachers do a bad job teaching english but when some attempt to be proactive about other subjects, y'all just complain some more. It's ridiculous. Shame on you for wanting to keep this subject hidden from kids who can easily grasp this information if presented.

Me thinks there are other politician misdeeds that we should all be worrying about than this. I can certainly emphasize with her, especially given that using the car in that context allowed her more time to effectively balance life and do her job.

Beware, always, of the "truth-seekers" of the world. They will not be coming to Japan to grasp cultural meaning or insight - simply to find answers to problems that self-absorption and consumerism have wrought into them.

Yamabushi training is quick, practical, and effective, and provides a powerful context in which to resolve any challenges, questions, or decisions that need to be made.

And this company does not represent the true insight of the yamabushi of old. Beware of any institution or retreat that claims to be quick, practical, and effective." How can a refined, conscientious way of thinking be found in a three or five-day stay? It's impossible. It takes the greatest zen masters, Hakuin or Dogen for example, years - and for the most dedicated practitioners their whole lives - to be able to understand how to honestly confront live's problems.

I love this! Out of disaster and insult, people are reaffirming their commitment to community and place. It's heartwarming to say the least.

I find it hard to imagine the products escaping the machinations unscathed.

From the article it seems that the origami comes into plastic containers, which buyers then put into a sack outside the machine once they receive it.

What a cute, environmentally-friendly idea! I would totally be a customer - the origami is so cheap too!

I am simply ashamed to be an American right now. I am technically also Australian and I've been thinking of telling Japanese people that I'm Aussie just to save myself from constantly explaining how a person like Trump could ever get elected. I'd be wedging a bet, though, that Japanese people can't tell the difference of an American and Australian accent (in Japanese). Worth a try, anyways!

Protect these workers. Do not let them be exploited. And if they would like to stay long-term, give clear pathways to do so.

Good on them - get APA where it hurts. Although historical fact and reasoning doesn't seem to work on these kind of revisionists, they always seem to balk at the prospect of losing $$$.

How marvelous! This is how the SDF ought to be primarily used - helping out the country's populace through bad times and hardship - not engaging in (usually) useless, foreign wars.

"Kimi no Na wa" was very tastefully done and I'm happy the English-speaking masses will have something besides Miyazaki films to reference when they claim to love Japanese films, still forgetting of course that none of these animated pieces (or shoddily done samurai action flicks) really eclipses the work of Ozu or Kurokawa. But alas, we can never expect much!

Plz Americans buy smaller, fuel-efficient (or even hybrid/electric) cars! Cheap gas will not last forever. If only we paid as much for gas as the Europeans we would have probably developed better public transport and I wouldn't have to see suburban moms driving huge trucks anymore...

Japan's great consumption of bluefin tuna and other marine species will not last much longer....for their will be hardly any of these animals left to make fishing for them viable. An environmental catastrophe.

Ah, if only 24hr.Tokyo trains/subways were a thing for the rest of the year, too! Think of how much more fun nightlife would be!

May 2017 look favorably on Japan (and the rest of the world). We need all the good fortune we can get...