Asinine comments

It would have been more "sustainable" to make long-lasting wooden or steel beds and then sell them on the second-hand market, which is common in other countries but not so much in Japan.

Exactly, any one of us expats with a brain knows that steel is more sustainable than cardboard. What a fail by Japan again! No country in the West thinks that cardboard is sustainable compared to steel

Superhero, so did you approach them and ask who they are, and how long they’ve been in the country?

Is this a serious question a year and half into a global pandemic? Jeez I thought us Westerners had "critical thinking" from the time we were birthed due to our superior culture? Did you miss out?

You approach a bunch of random inconsiderate and selfish drunk foreigners, you get COVID

His US 8mil + salary wasn't enough. It probably cost that much for the staging a lavish wedding at the Palace of Versailles at which his guests dressed as 18th century French aristocrats.

Haha tbh he should be getting the gallows just for that, what an absolute pompous twat. It worked out for Japan though, oily Carlos is stuck in Lebanon forever, never to wield a position of power or influence again, his daily wakeup a humiliation, and at the complete mercy of Hezbollah when they want him to start funding their terrorist activities again. Absolutely good riddance lmao

All this because insiders at Nissan colluded with central government to oust Ghosn.

How embarrassing for Japan.

Agreed, Japan embarrassing itself in front of the world again.

Glad cancel culture has come to Japan, about time too! It's past time speech is regulated to prevent discrimination

That's what happens when you lose a war, you end up paying $2B per year in taxes for ever.

Exactly, you play you pay. Japan lost so they have to pay forever

I hope they remember that foreigners are not the same size as Japanese

True, there may be serious injuries among foreign athletes if this isn't considered properly

I have no sympathy for women enablers who find themselves treated as inferior to men. They bring this on themselves by doing nothing or even supporting these vile bigots

Yep spot on, judging by the non-response from women here and even women coming out supporting Mori, it's hard to feel sympathy towards Japanese women unfortunately..

The #1 thing that Japan could do to draw HK business would be to offer immediate permanent residence to HK nationals that agree to invest a certain amount

Only the mentally infirm or the not so sharp expats who failed to make it to HK or London go for a PR in Japan. As pretty much everyone here has noted, the level between HK and Japan is massive and irreconcilable, only the non-professionals and unskilled come to Japan, the brighter ones go to HK or Singapore.

So sick of Kore'a whinging, they have a perverted obsession of Japan we all know this. We all hope Korea can become a normal grown up country one day.

Good to hear, soon these criminals will be rotting in prison where they belong. Ghosn on the other hand is stuck in Lebanon forever, the definition of a failed state that is run by an Islamic terrorist group. Yeah, he's gonna suffer enough ROFL

UK shouldn't be building cars in the first place, their quality is garbage

As a Brit, I agree with this. Brexit means Brexit, no more special treatment to foreign companies in the UK, most of them will leave the country anyway leaving the UK better able to improve our godawful quality problems.

@Tokyo-Engr

Glad to hear some expats are putting their money where their mouths are and actually doing something about their situation instead of meekly submitting as is the norm. Regarding those with families or with established businesses, again that's a choice they made. Not to mention if they've been here for decades they would have made the personal choice to move to Japan back when the country was far more restrictive and xenophobic than it is today. To feign surprise at the situation today when they originally moved in a worse time is a non-starter and can be dismissed out of hand.

As I said, we're all here by choice, it is your choice to raise a child here who will likely be bullied throughout school and face lifetime discrimination professionally and socially. It is your choice to live in a country where the rules have been clearly clarified that you will never be equal to a citizen and could face a ban on re-entry at any time. If your work is more important to you than your dignity or your family, that's your choice and yours alone.

My point stands, no sympathy from me whatsoever when the expectations have been clearly laid out. Moving here in the first place is an explicit acceptance of those conditions and acceptance of the subsequent consequences. In the end, Japan is one of the few countries that doesn't give 2 Fs about the opinions of foreigners and that won't change. I've made my decision to leave because we only live once and I didn't want to live that one life as less than a citizen. If you do, that's on you.

I guess we can THANK the J-govt for one thing though, NOW we all know EXACTLY WHERE we stand as ""residents"" of Japan

Yep, Japan sets the rules in Japan and the rules have been clarified for everyone. Now what will you do from here? Accept your status as a temporary visitor forever with no rights and whinge online all day long, or will you do something about it? As others have posted, a lot of brave expats are apparently making the decision to head back home even after living here for decades as their situation is no longer tenable or bearable. Are we supposed to feel sympathy for those who can't be bothered to take action to improve their apparently dismal situation? Remember we're all here by choice, so you've chosen to live like this.

It's time for us expats in Japan to show some spine for once and vote with our feet or withhold our taxes. Not many will be brave enough to attempt it, but if we can't even be moved to take any action whatsoever, then this issue isn't as important as everyone is making it out to be is it? Grow some balls and do something about it instead of whingeing online all day long. This is why Japanese have no respect for foreigners and we'll always second class residents

maybe you should direct your anger at the IJA for their unprovoked attack on pearl harbour and using Japanese civilians as human shields and suicide bombers during the battle of Okinawa. over 150000 Okinawans died as a direct result of the IJA

Ah, so because Japan were aggressors in WW2, they should take responsibility for being nuked? The atomic bomb was completed in 1945, no one on Earth knew it existed until it was used against Japan, but by your logic Japan should have known that if they started a war they would be destroyed by a yet-undiscovered weapon?

So say if the US went into Iraq and then the entire US suddenly got wiped off the Earth by a yet undiscovered weapon, you'd still say well the US was the aggressor so those now extinct dopes should have been prepared for total extinction? How little respect do you have for fellow human beings and human life?

I think it will be timely for the residents stuck abroad to sue the Japanese government in a class-action lawsuit when they eventually return and claim for compensation for their financial and other losses.

Great idea! It's time for expats in Japan to put their money where their mouths are and create a bit of noise, because until that happens only a few thousand or so people in Japan care about the opinions of foreigners. A racism lawsuit will surely turn the tide and bring back a bit of respect and self dignity to all foreigners in Japan.

@Mocheake: Yeah I understand your point, I wasn't suggesting that you leave, I was questioning why one would move to a country they consider to be the worst and most racist in the first place? If it was a forced transfer then that's unfortunate, but surely management would have taken into consideration your repulsion of the country they are forcing you to move to? Maybe your company is the problem forcing their employees into such conditions without respect to their personal views?

Although, if it was 3 decades ago like you said it would have been a different age. Around that same time let's look around the world. We have Apartheid South Africa where few would be brave enough to argue that their system wasn't the most racist on Earth. We have the Rwandan Genocide where 1 million of a minority group were hacked to pieces. We have the Rodney King riots in LA. I'm sorry, but not in a million years would I consider the Japan of then even in the same order of magnitude as the stand out racist examples of that time period. And the Japan of today is many times less racist than it was in the 80s and 90s..

I have been to about 40 other countries and spent one or two days in some and upwards of a week or two in others but what I feel is a telltale sign is the warmth, or lack of it, you feel upon arrival or right after arrival. I have felt coldness and a bit of hostility/animosity from the natives in only two countries - Japan and South Korea. This was in stark contrast to the extreme warmth I felt in Thailand, Singapore, Australia, Brazil and a few others. Even now, after having been here over 3 decades, I feel hostility and coldness from a few of my Korean and Japanese co-workers and neighbors. It has ALWAYS been the case.

I have to ask, you've allegedly traveled to 40 countries around the world, all of them being far more warm, open, friendly, less racist, and welcoming to you, yet even after the supposedly racist experiences you suffered here to the point where you consider Japan the most racist place on Earth, you still chose Japan as the country you want to live in? For over 3 decades?

I'm not calling BS, but I cannot comprehend or understand your logic. Were you tricked into coming perhaps? Either way, judging by your actions, it appears that even you don't believe what you're saying otherwise I have to question your decision making. You even passed over Australia..? Wha?

If you were ever in any doubt as to your real status here, permanent resident or not, this should be a wake-up call...We are surplus to needs.

Very true, pretty much all expats in Japan are considered temporary guests who are expected to leave at some point. Expats are the butt of jokes to Japanese, usually perform the most menial and denigrating unskilled labour, get paid less, and won't ever really be fully accepted and respected in society.

Leaving Japan is obviously an option but I doubt any expats want to return to their home countries after seeing how badly the virus has ravaged the developed world. Safety in these times will be a premium so I'd say embarrassed expats will stay in Japan despite their daily bitterness.

LOL. So all those uncertified and unqualified experts weeping at how silly masks are at the start of this pandemic were wrong?! How could it be that no qualifications or expertise could result in being hilariously and catastrophically wrong on every single topic? The non-professionals should know their place very clearly now.

Yeah right, Japan is always in the top 5 for PISA scores determining academic ability of the populace, ranking 3rd in the latest rankings. The US ranks a comically dopey 31st and the UK an embarrassing 23rd. The lauded delusion of "creative thinking" of the West gave us Trump, Brexit, and irreversible political division. Only a product of these broken education systems would think they are better. No, just no

It's more humane and considerate to keep him in prison so he can adjust to his new life inside, because he will be away for a long, long time for his crimes. Good on the judge

Regardless of how far and how much South Korea fabricates lies and data, we need to show understanding as they cannot help it, just like their North Korean brothers

Lol an ankle bracelet won't stop him from fleeing or destroying evidence, in addition to what he's destroyed already. Hopefully they charge him for that evidence destruction too. Good to see a justice system that actually punishes crims

If the man poses a threat of illegal escape into the country, this treatment is not only warranted but common sense. One only has to look to Europe to see what happens otherwise

That's karma for you Carlos. Can't do the time? Don't do the crime

I agree with Canada, all children should be protected from unpleasant facts and thoughts regardless if it is fact. It should go further too though and all adults should be protected and only positive thoughts should be legal

And now, after all this, the poor bugger has to quickly get back into the strict rules of Japanese society! In a strange way, he probably had more freedom when he was being held prisoner.

@kawabegawa198: Agreed! Being a tortured prisoner of an Islamic terrorist organization and forced to convert to Islam is still far better than being in Japan. And people live here our of choice too, do they have no shame?

The UN really has its priorities wrong. Instead of dealing with the unbelievable genocide in Myanmar, the historic crimes against humanity committed in North Korea, the destruction of democracy and decency in Russia, the incalculable abuse of human rights in China, the slide to dictatorship in Turkey, the UN instead bizarrely focuses on a handful of unproven claims by wealthy and prosperous Koreans?

How courageous of the UN