BelCanto comments

Posted in: Kyoto to introduce Japan's 1st empty homes tax See in context

RodneyToday  10:37 am JST

used several times a year as a vacation home, would attract an annual tax bill of roughly 939,000 yen.

ive been looking for a second house for about a year, an empty one, free or very cheap. Hard to find. Now with tax…impossible

The full sentence was "Meanwhile, a five-year-old condominium on the top floor of a central high-rise building, 100 square meters in size and used several times a year as a vacation home, would attract an annual tax bill of roughly 939,000 yen."

You really think that's the kind of property you're going to find for free or very cheap?

"The tax on a vacant 40-year-old apartment, 60 square meters in size and struggling to be sold, would be around 24,000 yen a year."

There you go. If you're looking for a cheap or free besso, you ought to be able to swing that, eh? No need to continue identifying with an economic elite that doesn't include or care about you.

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Posted in: Odds of Unification Church dissolution order hinge on if there is enough evidence See in context

Found the moonie.

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Posted in: Kamakura Kannon See in context

Once you see the yonic imagery, you can't unsee it.

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Posted in: Australian rugby player arrested on cocaine possession charge See in context

Only commit one crime at a time.

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Posted in: CyberHuman Productions scans celebrities to create working digital twins See in context

Michael Crichton tried to warn us back in 1981 that this will not end well.

Each model is offered a contract to have her body scanned digitally to create 3D computer-generated models, then the 3D models are animated for use in commercials. The contracts seem to be incredibly lucrative for the models; once their bodies are represented digitally, they get a paycheck for life, never having to work again, since their digital models are used for all their future work in commercials.

However, when these same models start dying under mysterious circumstances, Roberts becomes suspicious and decides to investigate Digital Matrix. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Looker

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Posted in: Sapporo hopes Tokyo Games success will boost 2030 Winter Olympic bid See in context

They just don't learn, do they?

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Posted in: Prince Harry says he moved to U.S. to 'break cycle' of family 'pain and suffering' See in context

"Family dysfunction rolls down from generation to generation like a fire in the woods, taking down everything in its path until one person in one generation has the courage to turn and face the flames. That person brings peace to their ancestors and spares the children that follow."

— Terry Real

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Posted in: Kyoto families angered by new policy forcing high school students to buy tablets at own expense See in context

Their justifications for requiring students to provide their own tablets is that [...] they can accumulate their study notes on a single device over three years and continue to access them after graduation

Hands up if you ever referred to notes taken in high school after graduation.

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Posted in: Anti-nuclear rally See in context

Beware those who advocate nuclear energy/power.

Vested interests often lie beneath such positive representations.

I've been waiting for my first nuke check for 10 years now...

Does anyone seriously think that the coal and LNG industries aren't actively creating the false antagonism between renewables and nuclear, and laughing their a**es off at everyone gobbling it up?

The two together they are the only approach that will keep us from cooking ourselves out of existence as we know it. Actual climate scientists and serious discussions of climate change readily acknowledge the role of nuclear in any attractive timeline for human society.

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Posted in: Anti-nuclear rally See in context

The ongoing troubles of Fukushima refugees are of course real and tragic. But for most of the issues in your list, borscht, the finger should be pointed at the Japanese government and at Japanese society itself rather than nuclear power. But I'm sure they're happy for you and everyone to keep looking in the wrong direction.

The argument in your second paragraph is simply too specious to address seriously.

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Posted in: Anti-nuclear rally See in context

3/11 quake and tsunami deaths: 15,899

Fukushima radiation exposure deaths: 1

Annual deaths attributable to air pollution in Japan: 42,600

Annual deaths due to air pollution have risen steadily each year since 2011, now at +9,000/yr over that baseline. Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/935022/number-deaths-air-pollution-japan/

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Posted in: 4-year-old boy dies after choking on large grape at Tokyo kindergarten See in context

justaskingToday  01:23 pm JST

@BelCanto

They have this law in place, but doctors and rescuers are still sued for malpractice. I wonder what's wrong?

Yes, medical practitioners and those paid to respond (paramedics, etc.) are held to a different standard. Whether that's reasonable and helpful is another question. But the rest of us are protected, even if we provide aid in the course of our work, as long as "no reward is exchanged."

A preschool teacher who gives aid to a child is protected as long as they're not getting paid specifically or additionally for giving aid, and as long as they check the other key boxes (not grossly negligent, etc.).

A layperson who provides needed CPR is protected if some ribs are broken in the process, or even if the patient dies - UNLESS they accept (or demand!) any kind of gift or payment.

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Posted in: 4-year-old boy dies after choking on large grape at Tokyo kindergarten See in context

gogogo Today  10:17 am JST

Not sure if this is the case but in Japan you can be sued for trying to help and failing, or even worse trying too, saving them but causing other issues.... it's why so many people don't get involved and just stand around.

Absolutely false. Please don't make uninformed statements that might dissuade someone from helping when it's needed most.

Here's one of the first hits when you search "Japan Good Samaritan law." This is an accurate summary of protections for rescuers.

https://tokyorave.wordpress.com/2010/03/24/why-you-may-be-refused-medical-treatment-in-japan/

Happy to cite the actual laws later if anyone wants, but gotta work now.

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Posted in: Princess Mako's marriage to boyfriend in limbo See in context

This means I still have a chance.

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Posted in: Tokyo Marathon to restrict entry to elite athletes due to coronavirus See in context

How can these runners be considered a "risk" of potentially spreading the virus, when presently plane-loads of Chinese are entering the country by the day?

Sensible precautions. However the flights from China continue...

The Chinese government's ban on group travel out of the country remains in effect.

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Posted in: Climate change sending Hakuba's snowfall fortunes downhill See in context

It seems completely in character for the local kids to stage their event on a Sunday, rather than taking themselves out of class as did actual climate strikers around the world. Wouldn't want to cause any trouble or inconvenience.

Great that they're at least aware and starting to act, I suppose, but we're all going to have to leave our comfort zones as we confront climate change - if not by choice then by force.

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Posted in: Two men beaten, robbed by gang in separate incidents in Sagamihara See in context

Used to live in Sagamihara. For the most part populated by regular decent folks, of course, but also rife with uyoku, bosozoku, and other riffraff. Not terribly to imagine this happening there, unfortunately.

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Posted in: Autopsy performed on wrong body at Sendai hospital See in context

Hey, free autopsy.

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Posted in: Film revealing 'true story' of infamous 'Paris Cannibal' to premiere in July See in context

He can't die too soon. I hope his only income is from the national pension as his brother claims, and that he doesn't see any financial benefit from this film.

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Posted in: Misaki Megumi Suisan: Promoting Japan’s ‘maguro’ — not tuna — to the world See in context

It's tuna, mate.

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Posted in: Suicide games can spread online for months before parents know See in context

Nobody knows for sure whether this particular suicide game really existed or caused teens to harm themselves, or if it was an elaborate hoax.

Yawn. I'm a parent, but forgive me for not clutching my pearls about this.

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Posted in: Man arrested for attempted murder in road rage altercation on Tomei Expressway See in context

Not blaming the victim here, but it sure seems like calling the cops and keeping the vehicle locked up until they arrived would have been a better move. Just because some maniac orders you to open your door, you don't actually have to do it!

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Posted in: Sipping sake and seeing snow sculptures at Japan’s original snow festival See in context

The festival being spread out across town is NOT a good thing. It's an almighty pain in the butt to even locate some of the locations, much less get to them. Parking is overtaxed and the shuttles aren't that convenient. And some of the sites are kind of a let down. Being the first snow festival doesn't equal being the best. Sapporo is now more popular for a reason.

(Source: I live in the area and have been to both festivals. Planning to take my family to Sapporo, even though Tokamachi is just a 30 minute drive.)

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Posted in: Detainee dies after choking on food in Saitama police station cell See in context

I'm liking where this comment section is going!

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Posted in: Detainee dies after choking on food in Saitama police station cell See in context

The pen thing just doesn't work. Movies are not real life.

Next they had 10 people from different walks of life - lawyers, police officers and students - attempt to use the pens to perform a cricothyroidotomy on the bodies of 10 people who had died within the past two days.

Six of the participants punctured the neck too low and stabbed the thyroid gland. Three of the participants punctured the neck at the right spot.

Only one person was able to break the skin, ligaments and airway wall to establish airflow. For that person, it took more than 5 minutes, three attempts and “a lot of patience” and force. The person also caused damage to the neck and airway.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-breathing-pen-idUSKCN0XP32Q

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Posted in: Detainee dies after choking on food in Saitama police station cell See in context

Yubaru  09:02 am JST

Oh and folks here do not assist not because of "it's not my job", it's because they can be held legally liable if they screw up. You assist someone who is bleeding or whatever, you make a mistake, they die or are incapacitated for whatever reason, YOU can be charged!

Simply not true, as long as you provide care that a reasonable person would consider appropriate - even if the outcome for the victim is poor. That's the law - Civil Code Article 698 and Penal Code Article 37 to be precise.

No layperson (excluding medical professionals) has ever been held criminally or civilly liable after providing emergency first aid in Japan. Not even once. 

Please, stop providing misinformation that might dissuade someone from doing the right thing.

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Posted in: Detainee dies after choking on food in Saitama police station cell See in context

Will Goode  09:28 am JST

It would be asking a lot of anyone to perform a tracheotomy on the spot, although we all know the technique of piercing the windpipe below the Adams Apple with a pen or something.

Hahahahahahaha. No. No, we don't all know it, and thank goodness. In Japan that's outside the reasonable standard of care from a bystander, and a great recipe for a criminal charge and a civil suit.

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Posted in: Woman injures pedestrian in suicide leap from building in Tokyo See in context

They need to start putting up those safety nets.

Please, explain the logistics behind that.

They've done this in Chinese factories where workers are sometimes tempted to commit suicide because of countless hours of work with little sleep. The nets are almost invisible so hopefully catch their fall.

So do this on every building of more than two stories in Japan? Suuure, we'll get right on that.

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Posted in: Mother, 6-year-old daughter killed in car crash See in context

ebisen  03:51 pm JST

K-Car, the death trap of the east... Would they be produced in other countries, Japan would have never allowed their import. But they're produced locally, and the Japanese auto lobby is very strong, and pays a lot of bribe money to the politicians...

Nope. Consumers demand them, but the auto makers would love to see kei cars go away. Low margins, separate R&D and production lines, no global potential to recover costs. Agree that they're death traps, but the bribe cliche is lazy and incorrect here.

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Posted in: 36-year-old father arrested for beating 8-year-old son to death See in context

Speed  10:57 am JST

I'm not against corporal punishment. But a parent needs to show restraint and know how much is too much.

Also, a lot of posters on here are speculating without a clue what it is that prompted this. You guys have no idea what the boy did or didn't do.

What could an 8 year old child do to provoke or justify a fatal beating?!

Please, build this idea out a little for us all. Or just delete it if you have any sense of shame.

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