Posted in: Japan pledges $6 bil aid to Middle East ahead of G-7 Summit See in context
So far it's just a pledge. Many pledges for donations at international donor conferences were never fullfilled. And I would like to see some details about this pledge. Quite certain that there will be some conditions on that. Like the reconstruction work has to be done by a japanese company or with japanese machines involved, etc.
1 ( +1 / -0 )
Posted in: Abe aims to double number of tourists by 2020 to boost economy See in context
Looks more like a desperate move. As all other parts of japanese economy who could create growth are failing. And as others mentioned before where should they stay? Japan does not has enough hotels for so many people and it will take years to build them. Alternatives like airbnb got restricted. And what if the Yen keeps rising as he does lately? The truth is; Abe has no clue how to raise Japan's economy and tourism is his last hope.
5 ( +6 / -1 )
Posted in: Two trains collide in Germany; 10 dead, 80 injured See in context
As a German, I must say I am shocked but not surprised. The quality of service in Germany went down a lot in the last years. Companies want to save money and save on staff and material. It is not the first time this happened and it will not be the last time for sure. Same story in many other countries, USA and UK are just an example.
2 ( +3 / -1 )
Posted in: TEPCO to lower power rates ahead of deregulation battle See in context
For example, a family of four who live in a 3LDK apartment will save about 1,000 yen per year with the new “standard plan.” Still a looooong way to go for Japan Corp to understand the meaning of competition.
1 ( +1 / -0 )
Posted in: Republicans rush to shut U.S. borders to Syrian refugees See in context
The US have quite a tradition to refuse entry to refugees (ironic if we consider that the US was build by refugees in the first place) http://www.floridahistorynetwork.com/june-4-1939---jewish-refugee-ship-turned-away-from-florida-coast.html
There is not one proven link between the Terrorists from last Friday and Syrian refugees. The terrorists were all french or belgium citizens. It would only be consequent if they would refuse entry to all citizens from this two countries.
1 ( +8 / -7 )
Posted in: Former American POWs visit Japan, recount memories See in context
Very happy to see so many japanese representatives, like the mayor of Yokohama and other ppl from the japanese ruling party on this picture..... Oh I was just dreaming and thought after 70 years Japan finally acknowledged their own history, but who am I kidding??!!
-1 ( +1 / -2 )
Posted in: Why do extremists drive Toyotas? asks U.S. See in context
US is always great with finger pointing on others. But they have to answer a few questions themselves. Why did they bomb a MSF hospital for about one hour in Kunduz? And who helped to create the ISIS terror group in the first place??
3 ( +3 / -0 )
Posted in: As Europe opens its doors, Japan considers clamping down harder on asylum seekers See in context
@Guy Fawkes. The reason why soooo many of them are well - clothed and have smart phones, is simple that they are not coming out of the jungle. Syria was one of the most advanced countries in that region, had a very good education system. Many of the refugees are well trained, teachers, doctors and engineers. They had to leave everything behind. The jews arrived well-clothed too at the camps and they even had wrist watches. And you should watch your language. "...hoards invading Europe..." But I assume you must be British.
-1 ( +12 / -13 )
Posted in: As Europe opens its doors, Japan considers clamping down harder on asylum seekers See in context
Japan is a racist country and we should say so. In Europe it's a humanitarian crisis, those people have no place to go. Germany and a few others refuse to watch them die, the UK and Japan on the other side among others, prefer that they stay in Syria and get killed there. To all those who claim that Japan and others can not take them in, just try yourself for one second to imagine to be in that position of those refugees and ask yourself what you would do. They don't want to leave their country, they want to stay but can't. People and governments who are refusing them shelter are the same who would have sent the Jews back to the camps, perod.
10 ( +27 / -18 )
Posted in: Tokyo Olympic committee scraps controversial logo See in context
The Tokyo Olympics so far: No Stadium, No Logo, No Plan. This becomes more and more a major embarrassment for Japan. And they just dreamed of another 1964.
4 ( +4 / -0 )
Posted in: Leicester fines Vardy over racist term aimed at Japanese man See in context
This seems to be quite a racist team, there was a incident in Thailand a few weeks ago. http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/jun/17/leicester-sack-three-players-racist-thai-orgy Maybe Okazaki wished already he had stay in Germany.
1 ( +1 / -0 )
Posted in: WWII aftermath: How did Japan and Germany become global powerhouses? See in context
Germany cities were destroyed and burned to almost 100%, but the industrial sites survived the war in a surprisingly good condition. The Nazis invested a lot in the core industries and they were very modern, compared to many other european countries. After the war it was not difficult to change from war production to consumer goods. Of course the first 5-10 years were hard, but after that it improved very fast. Germany also profited a lot from the fact that millions of germans who lost there homes in the east, because of ethnic cleaning after the war, now came into the FRG and they were "hungry" for almost everything, those people worked very hard because they lost everything. The Marshall plan also helped, but it was not so generous from the US as you might think, the money given, were given under the condition that the countries had to buy with it goods from the US, so it helped also the US a lot. In the GDR, the situation was quite different. The Soviet Union dismantled a lot of factories, buildings, infastructure and brought it to their country. In the FRG this practise stopped much earlier and never reached that level as in the GDR. So it was not really a miracle what happened.
Believe me, there was no “Wirtschaftswunder”
3 ( +3 / -0 )
Posted in: 7 decades after WWII, many praise Germany, scorn Japan See in context
And I am so mad about those hypocritical US media and politicians who remind Japan to admit to their past. We have a saying in Germany "Don't throw with rocks if you are sitting in a glass house" Where is the apology from the US about slavery, the genocide of the native americans, vietnam, Chile, etc ? They still have the genocidaire Andrew Jackson on their 20$ bill. the bridge in Selma still bears the name of a KKK leader, their is no monument in the entire US to the victims of the slavery. I believe Japan is a bit ahead admiting to their crimes, at least they don't have Tojo on their currency.
5 ( +10 / -5 )
Posted in: 7 decades after WWII, many praise Germany, scorn Japan See in context
Maybe it is not known to most of you, that it took Germany some time too, to admit to it's past. In the first 20 years after the war nothing happened much. Adenauer (the first german chancellor) didn't want to talk about it and wanted to move forward. He always praised the "brave german soldier" In the 60s a few very important things happened, the Auschwitz trial in which for the first time, ordinary germans were sentenced for their crimes as guards in Auschwitz, sentenced by a german court. The proscecutor in that case, Fritz Bauer, had to overcome so many obstacles to start the trial, that he said once "when I leave my office I enter enemy territory" than their was the decission that there is no statute of limitations on nazi crimes, which was very important and made it possible to have Nazi trials still today. And there was a book "Die Unfähigkeit zu trauern. Grundlagen kollektiven Verhaltens (The Inability to Mourn: Principles of Collective Behaviour), first published in 1967, discussing why the Holocaust, the war crimes, and the sentiment of guilt on the offender's part were not dealt with adequately in post-war German society, by Alexander Mitscherlich.He pointed specifically to the Germans' inability to mourn their beloved leader, Adolf Hitler. Those events changed a lot in Germany. In Japan something like this never happened. Why? One reason is that Japan shifted to a more right and nationalistic policy during that time, with the help and support of the USA. Many left and liberal teachers, journalists and government workers were fired from their jobs. Former nationalists were put back in their place. Imagine if Germany would have done this. They would maybe have the some problem with their past.
9 ( +11 / -2 )
Posted in: Revised cost of Tokyo 2020 Olympic stadium approved See in context
The japanese ppl should not fool themselves and think this will ne the end of it. Be assured that the costs for that "thing" called Olympics will go much more up. Japanese people have a nostalgic feeling about the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and it brings a lot of good memories back especially to the older generations in this country. But this are other times now, costs will explode and future generations of japanese people will have to pay for this prestige object. It will mean less money for education, health care, disaster prevention and so on. Of course there will be people who will make a lot of profit on this Olympics but the japanese people in general will not see a piece of it.
3 ( +3 / -0 )
Posted in: Takata CEO: Air bag defect still under investigation See in context
“We apologize deeply for the great amount of concern and inconvenience we have caused to everyone,” he said. That's what you call it? An inconvenience?? Your products are killing people worldwide. And "...The problem has persisted for over a decade" How much time you need to figure it out? Fact is the quality of japanese products is on the way down since many years, companies are more concerned about profits than safety nowadays. In any other country the CEO of Takata would be in jail by now.
1 ( +1 / -0 )
Posted in: Japan offers $3.5 million to help Rohingya boat people See in context
There are 50 million refugees worldwide and Japan takes how many of those? Talking about ..." Japan is ready to take more responsibility for security on the world" But no, that's not what Abe meant, he wants to play more with guns and soldiers.
2 ( +9 / -7 )
Posted in: IOC approves venue changes for 2020 Tokyo Olympics See in context
This is becoming more and more an embarrassment for Japan. The events will be spread all over Kanto or even more wide. They won the right to have the Olymopics with a proposal which has nothing to do anymore with the reality.
2 ( +4 / -2 )
Posted in: Tokyo police, train operators launch campaign against deviant behavior See in context
Considering the increased cases where police officers were involved and found guilty of groping, they maybe should spend more hours on inhouse training sessions.
12 ( +13 / -1 )
Posted in: Defiant Blatter re-elected wins FIFA president amid corruption storm See in context
FIFA has more member states as the UN. Tiny tiny "nations" like Montserrat have the same number of votes like Germany or England. Those "nations" all depend on the money they get from FIFA. They will never vote against Blatter, because they know that would risk that money flow. I don't have anything against small countries, but the problem arises when those FIFA colonies combined have the mayority vote. That system can only be broken when Blatter gets arrested (let's hope). I would suggest, that Nations like England, USA, Canada, France, Germany etc. brake away from FIFA and start something new. Let FIFA have their "worldcup" without the big nations and see what will happens.
2 ( +2 / -0 )
Posted in: Academics call on Japan to face up to its history See in context
Thanks for the link. But in this way it can reach only a small group of japanese people who will be sharing the same view more or less already. Why not the more direct way and over an ad in the newspaper? (They could at least try it).
0 ( +0 / -0 )
Posted in: Academics call on Japan to face up to its history See in context
If those historians really want to make an impact in Japan, why is there no japanese translation of this "letter" available? Just asking. They could buy an ad site in the asahi or mainichi newspapers.
Japan commited crimes during the war; fact. The japanese imperial army was actively involved in Human trafficking, they enslaved thousands of women and children from asian and some european countries and used them against their will as prostitutes. (Japanese author Jun Takami writes about this in his war diaries). The current japanese government denies the involvement of the japanese army but refuses to declassify documents from the war which could proove the involvement of the army.
But to critizice the japanese government is easy, you should not forget who was responsible to establish the powers and political system after the war. It was the US occupation forces. They purged thousands of left or liberal teachers, government workers, journalists, union members out of their jobs. And the ones who were resonsible for the whole mess were back in their old places in no time.
This is a huge difference from what happened in Germany.
7 ( +8 / -1 )
Posted in: Abe hails Japanese Holocaust hero Sugihara See in context
Sagihara is not very much known among japanese people, there is no statue for him and kids don't learn about him in school. But the same is true for the german Oscar Schindler in Germany. But Abe choosed the wrong place to visit, he should rather been to the Bataan Memorial Museum, but who am I kidding.
3 ( +3 / -0 )
Posted in: 25 U.S. lawmakers urge Abe to reaffirm war apologies See in context
And one more point; you should remember what happened in Japan after the war. The purges against the liberal and left, people removed from offices (teachers, journalists, union members) It was done (1949-1950) by the U.S. armed forces. MacArthur put the old powers back in force. It was because of the Cold War, but it had fatal consequences for Japan which are mainly responsible for why Japan has such a problem to apologize. After the war Japan was on a good way, in literature, art (movies) they dealt with their responsibilty. Their was even an atempt by Japan to hold its own trial against japanese war criminals, even the emperor. All blocked by MacArthur. It's easy to critizise Japan but you should know who was responsible for it. If you release people like Nobusuke Kishi from prison and let him run the country again, what do you expect?
1 ( +6 / -5 )
Posted in: 25 U.S. lawmakers urge Abe to reaffirm war apologies See in context
Germany needed a lot of time to apologize too. It was not until the mid/late 60s under chancellor Brandt and his "Neue Ostpolitik" before it became really serious and honest. Germany even had a chancellor, (Kiesinger 1966 - 1969) who was a member of the NSDAP. Adenauer (chancellor from 1949 to 1963 was quite an antisemite and always defended the "good and brave german soldier". Interesting that Japan seems to have only problems about history with China and Korea. Korea has to do a lot soul searching about its complicity with Japan during the occupation time. Many Korean fought together with Japan and were often used as camp guards in SE Asia. They were often more brutal and sadistic towards the POWs. Many were sentenced and executed after the war by the Allies for that. And China, just look at their map. China became such a huge country because of invasion and war.
Of course, Japan still has to a lot about its history, it needs to show really remorse for what it has done to other nations. But which country does not have to do this? The USA never apologized for Vietnam, Laos, Chile, Iran (the 1953 Coup) etc. They still don't have a "Slavery memorial" anywhere in the US, the bridge in Selma still bears the name of a KKK leader. And the UK, France. Belgium, etc. still need to apologize for the colonial time crimes.
And now 25 US lawmakers wants Abe to apologize, they are hypocrites.
-7 ( +9 / -16 )
Posted in: Gov't discusses ways to keep streets, sidewalks cool during 2020 Olympics See in context
LOL, and they were all talking about the Qatar 2022 FIFA Worldcup. Temperatures in Tokyo, I mean the "real feel" will be about the same or even higher. There is a reason why Tokyo Marathon is in February. Hospitals will be overcrowded with all those overweight tourists who will need medical assistance.
0 ( +2 / -2 )
Posted in: Thank you See in context
Animal cruelty japanese style! Give him his freedom you damn morons!!
1 ( +9 / -8 )
Posted in: Sri Lankan man dies at immigration center after being denied medical attention See in context
The way Japan deals with immigration and asylum seekers is a total disgrace to humanity. They acceptepted 6(!!) asylum seekers in 2014. Japan wants to be a respected member of the international security but don't want to accept any responsibilities for the crisis in this world. It's good that this article is listed under "crime". Because crime it is how Japan deals with those people.
17 ( +20 / -3 )
Posted in: Yomiuri apologizes for using term 'sex slaves' in English edition See in context
There is a study from the Dutch MOFA and the Dutch Minister of Welfare, Health and Cultural Affairs commissioned in 1993 which states "The study shows that during the Japanese occupation, the Japanese military forces or military authorities were responsible for procuring the services of prostitutes for Japanese soldiers and civilians on the five large islands and a number of the smaller islands of the Dutch East Indies." http://www.awf.or.jp/pdf/0205.pdf Japan never argued with non asian countries (Australia, The Netherlands) about this and quietly accepted their claims because they know its true. Always say those claims are lies when they come from asian countries.
2 ( +6 / -4 )
Posted in: Gov't defends election over 'waste of money' criticism See in context
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters that Abe was within his rights to go to the polls early. No he is not and this decission just shows what he thinks of democracy. He is an arrogant, undemocratic nationalist and will lead Japan into catastrophe. The real motives for this election have nothing to do with the tax rise at all. He thinks he can do anything so long as he wins an election. "From now until next year, the Abe administration will be tackling even more divisive issues, such as restarting nuclear reactors and preparing laws to enable Japan to exercise its right to collective self-defense. Before starting debate on these highly sensitive issues, why not get an election over and done with to secure a new, four-year mandate that will give the administration free hand in governance. This is what Abe has in mind--and voters must know it."
1 ( +2 / -1 )
Posted in: Soaring egg prices in U.S. piquing interest in backyard chickens
Posted in: Ishiba, after meeting Trump, voices optimism over averting tariffs
Posted in: Japan's 2 major airlines log record sales on inbound tourism demand
Never trust US.. Never trust Trump..
Posted in: Ishiba, after meeting Trump, voices optimism over averting tariffs