Japan Today

AsTime GoesOn comments

Posted in: China seethes as U.S. chip controls threaten tech ambitions See in context

@OssanAmerica you are correct in my incorrect usage of the verbiage 'hypothesis.' I agree with your explanation of the historical context at the time. Sorry, maybe I should have just said 'reasoning.' And yes, all the major powers were actively involved in some of colonization including Japan who was following the norms of the times. Incendiary provocations of any sort combined with threats never to lead to positive outcomes.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Posted in: China seethes as U.S. chip controls threaten tech ambitions See in context

“China won’t swallow everything. If damage occurs, we must take action to protect ourselves,” the Chinese ambassador to the Netherlands, Tan Jian, told the Dutch..."

“I’m not going to speculate on what that might be,” Tan said. “It won’t just be harsh words.”

This sounds like a familiar situation prior to WW2 where Japan complained loudly that the United States was blocking Japan's access to vital raw materials for it's industries and that it had no choice but to launch a preemptive attack on Pearl Harbor on the US naval fleet there. Today many in Japan still believe in this hypothesis.

2 ( +6 / -4 )

Posted in: Stanton's 485-foot homer leads Yankees over Giants 6-0 See in context

@Kumagaijin. Point well made!

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Posted in: China ships stay in Japan waters near Senkakus for record time See in context

Increasingly Japan sounds like a 'paper lion' and it roars publicly in the media with nothing to back it up. China will continue to ignore Japan's diplomatic protests and will do what it wants. If China decides to land on the Senkaku's with troops, what will Japan do? Oh, probably file another protest through the foreign ministry and another at the United Nations etc, etc, etc.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Posted in: 8,000 steps once or twice a week cuts mortality risk: study See in context

We will all die one day. That is guaranteed. What matters is our quality of life as we age. This is an easy recommendation to extend your lifespan with a healthier body.

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Posted in: Tarantino says script finished on his final film See in context

Enjoyed Pulp Fiction which I think is his greatest movie. Normally, gratuitous violence is abhorrent to me but Tarantino elevated it to an art form and resulted in a movie that will remain a classic.

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Posted in: 'Omuraisu,' comfort food for Japanese and Koreans, a symbol of warmer ties See in context

Interesting on the omurice connection between Japan and South Korea. I ate a lot of omurice in Korea in my younger days. Funny how the simple things in life connect people.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: Police search Japan inn that rarely changed hot-spring bathwater See in context

Do people pee in onsens? I know they do in swimming pools. Government regulations say water should be changed once a week. How many actually do that? Or actually add chlorine to the water? The guilty onsen owners in question said they didn't like the smell of chlorine being one reason they didn't change the water often. Gensen kakenagashi spring water where the water flows constantly directly from the source untreated seems to be the best choice.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Posted in: 'Paper City': The untold story of the firebombing of Tokyo in World War II See in context

100,000 civilian casualties from the firebombing is indeed incredibly sad and unfortunate and as is usually the case in wars, the civilians suffer the most. For comparison purposes and not to give in to Japan bashing, in late 1937, over a period of six weeks, Imperial Japanese Army forces brutally murdered hundreds of thousands of people—including both soldiers and civilians—in the Chinese city of Nanjing (or Nanking). According to numerous eyewitness reports and later analyses, between 20,000 and 80,000 women were brutally raped and tortured, including young girls and elderly women. Many of them—including victims of gang rapes—were mutilated and killed after being assaulted. There are no official numbers for the death toll in the Nanjing Massacre, though estimates range from 200,000 to 300,000 people. Soon after the end of the war, General Matsui the commander in charge and his lieutenant Tani Hisao were tried and convicted for war crimes by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East—both men were soon executed.

These numbers make the death toll in the Tokyo firebombing pale in comparison although no less horrific. In one sense, I can understand China and other asian countries still feeling resentful of Japan not acknowledging their responsibility in these actions.

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Posted in: 'Paper City': The untold story of the firebombing of Tokyo in World War II See in context

As I understand it, history is a record of events and is available to all to either learn from the mistakes or to ignore them and possibly repeat the unfortunate lessons of the past. I am curious to know if anyone would care to comment, what is being taught to students in Japan's educational system about the Japan's involvement in world war 2 and what are the student's perceptions of it. Are they aware of the extreme pain and suffering and brutality that was caused by their military in other Asian countries?

-5 ( +3 / -8 )

Posted in: Shichimi: Japan's seven-spice powder See in context

Great seasoning. I use it in place of plain pepper.

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Posted in: Ohtani to start opener; not thinking of free agency yet See in context

It's time for Ohtani to think selfishly about his future even if it means finding another team. He has sacrificed some of his best years to a team going nowhere, owned and mismanaged by Arte Moreno. If his agent is advising him correctly then he should come away with a record signing deal and with a team that can actually win.

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Posted in: Ruling out aliens? Senior U.S. general says not ruling out anything yet See in context

Regarding the general's statement about no evidence for alien life there are many creditable accounts from reliable persons about ufo's and aliens. Former Canadian Defense Minister, Paul Hellyer stated publicly in 2005 that the world's governments are concealing evidence of aliens and their human interactions. The Disclosure Project at a National Press Club briefing in 2001 presented testimonies of 20 ex military personnel who dealt with ufo's and one of them Clifford Stone had seen dead and alive aliens at ufo crash sites and up to 57 species. Gary Mckinnon, amateur computer specialist made the biggest hack of all time when in 2001 and for the next 13 months hacked NASA's computers in an effort to find evidence of a ufo coverup and found incredible information of ongoing space missions by humans in antigravity ships. The evidence is out there if you look for it.

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Posted in: Why are Japanese homes so poorly insulated? See in context

Just read the Mainichi which said today, "Students are forbidden from wearing coats at some Japanese schools, even as a severe cold spell hits the archipelago." Could this be due to the reason stated in the article above about why home insulation is scarce in Japan. "Takeuchi identifies two main reasons for Japan's poor showing. The first is the preconceived notion that Japan is a warm country... so standards have been established with this in mind."

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Posted in: Noise canceling ear plugs for a perfect night's sleep See in context

Simple foam earplugs are cheap and work for me.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Posted in: 72% of foreigners in survey say they’ve been disappointed by bad breath in Japan See in context

For purposes of comparison, it would be nice to have a similar survey done with Japanese people being asked the same question about their fellow citizens and a followup question asking about their feelings about the importance or lack of dental care awareness.

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Posted in: Boeing bids farewell to an icon, delivering its last 747 jumbo jet See in context

Having been fortunate enough to fly the 747 since the early 1970's till it's recent retirement in all the different classes of seating, I will say the upper deck business section is the best seating hands down. Quiet, spacious and lots of leg room and hardly any engine noise. I also remember the upper deck first as a lounge cocktail area, although I couldn't afford that at the time, but even in the rear of coach near the tail, there was a stand up lounging area with complimentary snacks. So cool compared to current planes. Also, it was different era of flying back then when most flyers dressed very nicely and behaved accordingly. And also noteworthy was that the flight attendants were all great and very attractive. Another memory is being able to converse with one the of captains of the newer 747-400 model in the 1980's and visiting the cockpit through an invitation and who mentioned exceeding the sound barrier (ground speed) on a HNL to west coast SFO run, albeit with a strong jet stream tail wind.

Please excuse this post if it sounds a bit boastful but these are some of the personal flight memories I will cherish about the Boeing 747, a truly magnificent plane.

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Posted in: We’re living in the age of being connected or reachable 24 hours a day by one device or another. Is this a good thing? See in context

Being connected is fine but increasingly people define their reality and existence by their social media connections and this may be a hindrance in finding a personal identity and meaningful balance in this journey we call life.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: 72% of foreigners in survey say they’ve been disappointed by bad breath in Japan See in context

it might be helpful to distinguish categories of "bad breath" to further identify the possible causes of it. While smoking and drinking are common ones, others have not been identified. I notice bad breath also includes odor like something is rotten or decaying. There are also smells that are rancid and foul. If a person has infected sinuses, that also could be a contributing cause. Then there is the category of consumption of particular food items that may also cause unpleasant odors, such as heavy consumption of garlic and other spices prevalent in some food cuisines.

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Posted in: Company uses whale meat vending machines to promote sales in Japan See in context

Everyone decides for themselves if their choices are acceptable concerning food items. There is a feeling among some that whales are highly intelligent sentient creatures. Others look at them as a convenient and traditional food source. It's a complicated issue with no simple universal solutions.

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Posted in: We raised lift ticket prices by 200 yen per adult but we can't suddenly increase it by 1,000 or 2,000 yen. We can't cover all the fuel and power bill cost increases so it’s difficult. See in context

Lift tickets are cheap in Japan compared to USA where Vail resorts lift tickets average 20,000 Yen to 30,000 Yen per day. Be glad that lift tickets are so cheap here.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: Japanese salted plum industry in dire straits, according to umeboshi company’s tweet See in context

Maybe the umeboshi industry should consider marketing its products to western countries as a healthy meal addition. Sake producers have discovered that nihonshu is widely popular in western markets and are capitalizing on it since domestic sales keeps shrinking.

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