Apsara comments

It says in the article that it's takoyaki.

Working only 48 hours a MONTH and putting your kid in daycare... I mean.. really??????????????????

How are they going to work those 48 hours if they don't have childcare for that time? I assume that part-time workers will be eligible for part-time daycare. You can't assume that they are putting their children in for 40 hours a week in order to work 48 hours a month.

I work about the same number of hours, and put my son in private daycare for that time, but my job is relatively well paid, so I can afford it. For people earning less paying for private daycare may make it economically not viable to work, hence the need for subsidised public daycare so women can contribute to their family's income without having to work full time.

Currently, use of daycare centers is limited to full-time working women and other women with special circumstances

??? there are part-time workers who have their kids in daycare centers..

Yes, odd that the article says that. It's true that public daycares in the big cities are usually filled with the children of full-time working mothers, who have priority, but there are plenty of private daycares where kids can go for even a couple of hours a day, so the article isn't really worded accurately.

Which country, oldman_13? Japan? Murders and other violent crimes do happen here, did you think they wouldn't because there was something special and different about Japan? Disputes between neighbours seem to escalate into attacks quite frequently here.

oh gimme a break, the truth is that in 10 years of living in Japan I never saw a male janitor, as he wouldn't be allowed to clean the ladies toilets

Where in Japan did you live?? In Tokyo you see them all the time, especially in train stations, and yes, they also clean the women's toilets. Often there is a sign saying that the cleaning staff is male so not to be surprised if you see them in the toilets. I'm female and see men cleaning the women's toilets plenty of times.

I second noro being massively infectious- we accidentally took it overseas from Japan one Christmas (developed symptoms just after the plane landed basically, and within a week about 10 family members who were at a Christmas party had come down with it. About the sickest I've been in my life. Basically if you use a toilet that a person with noro has used in the last few days, you are in trouble- that's probably what happened at the sushi restaurant.

I don't think 4,000 police were too many. Such a massive mobilization probably limited the guy's avenues of escape and boxed him into a corner in the park.

From what they described on TV he was caught because they did have another police officer in the direction he ran in, and that was enough to make him give up on running. Last night was so wet and miserable in the Kanto area that he probably decided he was better off behind bars where at least he would be warm and dry!

It's always these geriatric 70-80-year old hunters

In this case the hunter was only 62, not young, but not really old enough to have senility as an excuse either.

Eventually they no doubt will send that kind of number of people- there are plenty of organisations that mobilise volunteers after a disaster like this. I doubt any country has 2,500 people on standby ready to leave for a disaster area within a couple of days of it happening, not to mention the supplies (can you imagine the amount of supplies as far as food, accommodation and toilets that would be needed for that amount of people?). Sometimes right after a disaster more is not always better. I saw on the news that Japan is already planning to send SDF troops to assist in the near future, but there has to be some kind of assessment of the situation first, surely.

It is ridiculous feelgood pork.

If you read the article even the Fukushima governor says that it is a symbol and just one step- noone thinks this wind farm will solve the energy problems. I'm interested to know what your solution is, if wind farms are useless?

It's considered by the experts to be another aftershock of the 3/11 quake. Every so often we get little swarms of them. Just because one quake happens to make the news doesn't mean it's any more important than any of the many, many other quakes of similar magnitude that have happened in that area in the last 2.5 years, it just means that the news agencies happened to pick it up. I saw a headline in an overseas paper today saying "M5.5 quake rattles Japan's east coast"- what rubbish, it was barely felt on the mainland, if at all.

No it isn't, we've had thousands of similar earthquakes since 3/11, that was just another small aftershock. I have no idea why yet another 5.5 earthquake in that area is suddenly considered newsworthy.

He doesn't appear to be of mixed heritage

Seeing him on TV this morning when they picked him up I thought he could well be half Japanese, and the name and the fact that he has Japanese citizenship (as reported on the news) suggests he is too.

It is really hard to generalise about maternity clinics and hospitals in Japan, there is just so much variation. Everything from the full-on hospital experience with epidurals (and there are plenty of hospitals where they are available, in Tokyo at least) and almost guaranteed episiotomy, to midwife clinics where you give birth on a futon in a tatami room (if not in a birth pool) and will have staples rather than stitches if you tear (since they absolutely don't do episiotomies).

I gave birth in a hospital and didn't have to take sheets, fruit knives etc, and was free to buy whatever I wanted from the vending machine. Only the nurses were allowed into the nursery to bring the baby out- this makes sense when you consider there are newborns in there and that letting lots of people who may or may not have colds, the flu etc go in there may not be a good idea.

The advice against yelling too much during labour is given in other countries too, it's to stop you wasting your energy screaming when you need it to push.

I really dislike when people assume that their experience (or in this case, their friend's experience) is "how it is" in Japan, or say something like "The Japanese believe..." One hospital isn't the same as others here in many ways, and one midwife's opinion doesn't represent the opinion of every single midwife in Japan. Some things you can generalise about to some extent- many doctors are ridiculously strict about weight gain, but mine never said a word. Epidurals are not as common here, but they are certainly available.

I could go on, but it's too complicated a topic. All I can say really to someone who wants to give birth here is shop around, there are lots of options, including a fair number of English speaking doctors in midwives in Tokyo. Don't assume that one person's experience in universal- it absolutely isn't.

As someone mentioned above the maternal and newborn mortality rate here is very low, and the standard of care here is usually very high. Breastfeeding rates are also fare better than most other developed countries.

Instinct tells me that of the approximate 30,000 annual suicides, less than half (30%? 40%?) choose this method, so why not just focus on suicide in general and its connection to lousy weather?

The figure I have heard is about 1,000 people a year, so just 3%. 1,000 is still a significant number of people though, so if there's a way to prevent what might be a split-second, on the spot decision for some people, why not try?

Surely it's common knowledge (or just common sense) that bad weather (i.e. lack of bright light) can cause already depressed people to feel worse and push them to a point where they decide suicide is their best option. I have acquaintances who suffer from clinical depression who have told me that it is much worse for them if there hasn't been any sun for several days.

Amazing that so many people commenting above don't believe there is any kind of correlation between weather and mood- there is in healthy, non-depressed people, of course there is in depressed people.

cl400, it isn't a Korean idea. Some stations here have had those barrier gates for 12 years or more, and lots more have been installed in the last 10 years, with work continuing. The Tokyo rail system is far more extensive than the Seoul system though, so it takes time and money.

Sorry ladies, but many of you also leave the seat up. The covering seat that is!

Most people call that the lid, not the seat. It's left up in our house because putting it down would make it difficult for our two year old to use the toilet- don't really want to add another step for him, accidents would probably result.

AKBfan said

remember how the other South shaved her head?

Minami Minegishi is the one who shaved her head- your fan qualifications are looking doubtful!

in the U.K. expectant mothers are encouraged to drink Stout or Guinness (in moderation) because it contains vital nutrients and promoted lactation.

Lactating mothers, not expectant mothers. This (half a small glass a couple of times a week is recommended by some people after the baby is born, not while still pregnant!

You're walking around with a 3 or 4kg baby inside you. Expect to gain AT LEAST that much weight, and maybe more as you're fueling two bodies.

About 7kg is usually considered the minimum, even here. Weight gain comes from the weight of the uterus, amniotic fluid, increased blood volume etc as well as the weight of the baby. Gaining only the weight of the baby would actually be a net loss. Having said that, there are issues with gaining too much weight just like not enough. Gaining 30kg isn't a good idea whether you are pregnant or not! They take it much too far here though, I gained 16kg while pregnant and most doctors here will tell you that is too much, luckily I had a very relaxed doctor. I lost all that weight and several kilos more (I'm not overweight to start with so didn't really need to) within 2 months of having my baby, with no effort at all.

as well as sushi, but she was adamant about listening to her doctor.

No one in Japan suggests that pregnant women don't eat sushi, or actually any other kind of food. I never saw anything about restricting types of food in any of the Japanese literature I read. I was really surprised, since people are so cautious about it in English-speaking countries!

So we can expect the new pope to promote kindness to animals?

He is not a b-rate actor trying to revive his fame, he doesn't need doing a PETA poster.

What does PETA have to do with it? Cleo was referring to St. Francis' legendary affinity to animals. Promoting kindness to animals would be another way to emulate St. Francis.

I think Hisahito's dad's work schedule has a bit more flexibility in it than most kids' dads...

@mikihouse Ban the knife ? Are you stupid ? where does it end with people like you. I understand the gun thing to a point. But look where the ban on survival knifes went. People just move to kitchen knives are you going to ban them too ?

THEGONGSHOW, it's pretty obvious Mikihouse is being tongue in cheek, and is most likely pro-gun, since pro-gun people can be relied on to come out with that kind of comment every time there's a stabbing.

Mikihouse, how many people do you think might have died if he'd had a gun? I would say a lot more.

Only the wealthiest couples can adopt children or find surrogates not this Japanese couple

They are both women- no surrogates required, just a sperm donor. You really have been living under a rock for quite a while, haven't you?

I was in Chch at the end of last year and there is a lot of rebuilding still to be done- some suburbs are just disaster zones, not to mention the city centre. Hope the rebuilding momentum builds up from now and Chch can be a vibrant city again.

As the eldest of three, I was looking after my youngest sibling (6 at the time) when I was 14, and even though I might not have been able to look after a small child ****well, I certainly could have kept a 3-year-old alive at that age. There has to be more to this story than we are seeing here- maybe medical conditions with one or both kids.

any mother will know that a 3yo needs to be forced fed since they have likes and dislikes, like literally put food into their mouths!

This is rubbish. As the mother of a picky toddler I can tell you that they can't be force-fed, but that they will not starve themselves if food is available.

The murderer's mother seems to have been separated from her spouse

What this has to do with murder I have no idea. My parents are divorced and I had relationships go wrong in my early 20s but never did I consider for a second picking up a knife. I don't think anyone can "prevent further occurrences" by looking at these factors- they are far too common, you're probably looking at about 40% of the population of most countries there.

It would be a lot more practical to look at whether he had a history of mental illness.

Must have been an unusual family, to say the least!

I find it terrible when people use little children or even babys to explress political opinions.

I don't see how the baby is being "used" here, other than a banner being rested on the stroller. It has come along with its parents on the protest, it doesn't look to be in any discomfort. Aren't people allowed to protest once they have children?

To elaborate, I suppose this means at a depth under the earth's crust, but it is confusing in a news report about an earthquake "in the Pacific Ocean."

I don't think so. Earthquakes are always reported with their magnitudes and depths, and anyone used to seeing earthquake reports (which anyone in Japan very much is) understands immediately that the depth given is beneath the crust, regardless of where the earthquake happened.