Asiaman7 comments

Princess Aiko is not eligible to ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne, as the 1947 Imperial House Law does not permit females to do so.

If we’re going to have an unnecessary monarchy, gender discrimination should not be a part of it. 

Only 17 years ago, upon hearing of the conception of the child who eventually became Prince Hisahito, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi scrapped his plan to submit a bill to the parliament to let women inherit the imperial throne. How unfortunate that was.

“Japan gives up on female royal succession,” 10 February 2006, https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna1126762

The figure for affluent individuals rose 16.8 percent from the preceding year …

> … mainly boosted by profits from their investments abroad amid a weak yen.

Around 7.7% of that could be attributed to the yen weakening from a dollar-yen yearly average of 131 in 2022 to 141 (so far) in 2023.

its even more common for my male colleagues to talk about how often their own wives give them a hit when they’re pissed off

Serious red flag. Not acceptable!

This is also one of the reasons why the others that are married don’t want to consider having a child so they could have an easier exit strategy if it does not work out.

Married, but cautious.

The very sanctity and role of marriage in this society has been so heavily corrupted and for the few that end up happily married with kids, they truly are the lucky ones.

So true.

This comes from a man who has slept in a seperate room to his wife for 30 years …

Well, that arrangement has obviously worked for them for 30 years. In the U.S., one in five couples sleep in separate bedrooms, mostly because of snoring or conflicting schedules. And I would guess that committed couples in Japan are far more likely to sleep in separate beds/futons than their Western counterparts.

In fact, according to studies by Hideki Kobayashi, a graduate professor of engineering at Chiba University. 26 percent of married couples living in Tokyo-area condominiums sleep in separate rooms. Kobayashi also claims that four out of ten married couples over 60 don’t share a bed, and that 53 percent of spouses whose children have moved out prefer to sleep solo.

Kobayashi’s research was published over a decade ago, but I suspect Japanese society hasn’t changed much in this regard.

@diagonalslip

NK doesn't hold a monopoly on that!

Isn’t that what @dagon wrote in his original comment quoted below? Perhaps you should fully read someone’s comment before you scratch that itch to criticize.

”… the authoritarianism and scarcity [North Koreans] experience is an exaggerated version of what even those in the G20 nations are experiencing more and more.”

According to the Asahi Shimbun, “The Kyushu region has something of a reputation for having particularly domineering or patriarchal men, often stereotyped by the term ‘Kyushu danji’ (Kyushu boys).”

https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14528958

According to Hawaiian authorities, around 1.17 million people traveled to Hawaii from Japan between January and September 2019,

Yes, but the yen was around 107 in September 2019, over 40% stronger than it is today — unfortunately.

@Shunryū Suzuki

[Saizeriya is] still a Japanese restaurant with Japanese dishes AND non-Japanese dishes.

The food is created and made by Japanese people.

First, Saizeriya’s grand menu comprises mostly dishes (as I listed above) that would be considered “Western.”

Second, Saizeriya’s staff is likely to contain some non-Japanese these days, so I would not naturally assume, as you do, that “the food is made by Japanese people.”

And third, I would not necessarily consider warming a frozen item to be “cooking.”

We do agree that Saizeriya may not serve exemplary food. I just don’t consider its menu items to be representative of Japanese food.

@Shunryū Suzuki

Small local restaurants and even chains like Saizeriya can be pretty low quality.

Sorry, I don’t really consider Saizeriya’s typical menu items (e.g., spaghetti with meat sauce, pizza with sausage, fried shrimp, chicken salad, Hamburg steak) to be “Japanese food.”

Don’t think I’ve ever been to a Japanese restaurant outside Japan that’s better than what we have inside Japan.

So this fellow essentially walks away scot-free after being instrumental in his parents death and allegedly bullying and sexually abusing actors and staff working at his theater collective.

And I’m guessing he’ll make his return to Kabuki in a few years.

Absurd.

Fame is a social debt that weighs people down. It genuinely sucks when you can’t even go grocery shopping without people wanting a photo.

ONLY said by someone who doesnt understand baseball. One or two trophies does not make a player the GOAT. 

He's got to keep it up for at least a decade before he is even ready to be considered to be a part of the discussion. 

Agree 100%. I suspect @Fighto! used the acronym “GOAT” without accurately understanding its meaning. He has a tendency to blindly cheer for everything Japanese without regard for clear contemplation/reflection.

@Fighto!

Absolutely fully deserved and unanimous - there is no way any judge could have voted for any other player. Ohtani is simply the best baseballer on earth - many more MVPs to come, that's for sure!

Congrats on such a successful year GOAT!

Ohtani might someday be considered the GOAT, but he first needs to consistently perform at an outstanding level over time against the top competition. He’s been in the Majors for five years and has two AL MVP awards, so he’s certainly on his way. But I’m sure Ohtani himself would not consider himself the GOAT at this point in his career. He’s still on his journey.

Angels' Ohtani wins historic AL MVP

Well deserved! Ohtani is an hard-working athlete with grit, an exceptional representative of Japan.

copies can still be found online, such as here

I actually found the ad to be rather humorous. I’ve been in that couple’s situation so many times.

Breakfast is from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

I stayed at a place recently (Hotel Terrace the Garden Mito) where breakfast was served from 7:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. with the last order from 9:00 a.m. Nice breakfast though.

https://www.hotel-terrace.com/restaurant/

Moderator: The article above should likely read “10:00 a.m.” Otherwise, that’s a mighty loooong breakfast!

Moderator: Thanks. The typo has been corrected.

On Wednesday, Kimura stepped down for her usage of the paid advertisement, which urged people to vote for her on YouTube. Her office said she paid some 140,000 yen with her credit card for the advertisement.

Japan's public offices election law prohibits the posting of paid advertisements online for specific candidates, rather than political parties.

Not allowing a candidate to post an online message encouraging voters to vote for the candidate seems absurd — even though I do realize that Japan’s election law has likely been crafted by the ruling party to keep the ruling party in power.

Although all that demand is getting airlines to charge crazy expensive airfares, because they can.

Exactly. It’s called “Greed-flation.

From a broadcast of NPR’s “Planet Money” earlier this year …

“Corporate profit growth accounted for nearly 60% of inflation, to be more precise. Normally, Andrew says, it contributes less than a third. So this is about double.”

https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1175487806

at a park in western Tokyo

That would be Musashino Koen in Koganei, by the way.

Kitano discusses new film on homosexual relations

This is the same fellow who claimed back in 2012 that if you supported gay marriage "then eventually you would support marriage to an animal."

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2012/06/03/national/media-national/homophobic-joke-goes-awry-for-beat/

strong demand from Southeast Asia

Just checked the data. Since January 2023, we’ve had about 3.3 million visitors from Taiwan. That’s over 14% of their population of 23.5 million!

How much are we talking? Apparently many millions of dollars, which does seem to be rather excessive.

According to Mainichi, “the construction cost for the ‘Osaka health care pavilion’ that the Osaka prefectural and municipal governments are planning to showcase has also been updated from the initial 7.4 billion yen ($49.2 million) to 9.9 billion yen.”

Additionally, “the Union of Kansai Governments made up of local bodies in west Japan's Kansai area announced on Oct. 26 that the estimated construction cost for its pavilion is now some 670 million yen (roughly $4.46 million), about 145 million yen more than the original quote.”

https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20231027/p2a/00m/0na/015000c#

@tora

It's exactly what they did in Otsu this year, increasing the area of seating that is subject to ticket pricing. The locals were not very happy all.

There are three choices: (1) Cancel the event, (2) Sell tickets, or (3) Allocate more tax revenue to fireworks.

Your choice, #3 — i.e., spending tens of millions of additional yen on fireworks — seems rather foolish.

The first two choices are the only prudent options.

Sell tickets. In August and November, I attended fireworks festivals that sold tickets priced between 3,000 and 7,000 each. Both festivals were very full, but not uncomfortably full, and provided a pleasant, safe experience for the attendees.

If the fireworks festival is in an area that would not have enough public support of ticket sales or enough in allocated tax revenue, perhaps the festival should not be held. Japan has many fireworks festivals, and another one somewhat nearby can usually be found by most residents.

Pacific island nations express concern over Japan's water release

Fukushima residents are pretty upset too!

“Residents and fishermen file a lawsuit demanding a halt to the release of Fukushima wastewater,” 8 September 2023,https://apnews.com/article/japan-nuclear-fukushima-wastewater-release-lawsuit-9d507ac176c308fe4a332be2a7baf263

Of the total, 8.88 trillion yen will be secured by issuing new government bonds, adding to a pile of state debt already amounting to more than twice the size of the economy.

When did “fighting inflation” by flooding the market with more money become a good idea?

*which is the most Slams among all active women's players in the world *

Um, did you forget about Iga Swiatek. She’s already got four Slam victories, and she’s only 22 years old!

And she won Slams on clay and hard courts, a claim Naomi cannot make.

Don’t gloss over her record since her last Grand Slam victory in early 2021.

0 wins out of 18 tournament entries

Look up “has been” in the dictionary. You’ll see her photo.

Just keeping it real.

Has she ever provided the evidence she renounced her US citizenship?

Ever hear her try to speak Japanese? In Japanese, she would not be able to say “I renounced my U.S. citizenship.”