ben4short comments

Health officials said the likely cause was a smoked salmon . . .

Don'cha know it? There's always one in every school.

And to think this occurred in the high-end Bvl-geri building . . . shameful.

Mea culpa. Thanks for the education.

Maria, perhaps a little self-education would be in order before castigating others.

You confuse vegetarian with vegan. The former allows for dairy and eggs, the latter forbids them. This recipe most certainly is vegetarian but not vegan.

One of the many social/political single-frame satirical cartoons I wish I had the talent to draw would be two Japanese making love in bed, each wearing a white mask.

"Respectful of reality," huh? Gee, how can we ever thank you?

MsD . . . because sex drive in very low on the list of factors determining population size (i.e., economic, social, political, geographic factors, and others).

As for fresh aloe, I tried it myself years ago and can attest to its inefficacy. Bowling ball Ben.

As any self-respecting medical/nutrition "professional" should know, Asian males produce far lesser amounts of testosterone than their Western counterparts, thus accounting for their (Asian) lower sex drives, fewer cases of prostate cancer, less facial and upper-body hair, and more hair on their domes, among other things.

@Strangerland, @Nemrut Dagi

Yes, unfortunately the Ugly American hasn't changed much over the years and is still alive and well in Japan. Which is really too bad.

This stuff doesn't stress me out at all, though I appreciate your advice. I simply realized when I turned fifty that being cynical gets you nowhere. It is a dead end that does not lead to wisdom or personal growth. And it is far far too easy. A lazy man's response.

I’m quite surprised, actually, by the abject hostility of the posters above because I had (naively) thought they were a bit more sophisticated to appreciate the textured differences between cultures. Boy was I wrong.

Look, Japanese TV is a multi-billion dollar industry, and the producers, writers, performers, technicians, TV station execs, etc really couldn’t care a rat’s ass what foreigners think of it. Japanese TV is what it is for one simple reason: this is the way the Japanese like it. Period. So please stop b*itching and telling 120 million Japanese what they SHOULD like, according to YOUR personal tastes.

Japanese TV, like TV anywhere, is a cultural institution, and one with roots hundreds of years old. Rakugo, kabuki, Noh, Bunraku puppetry, enka and other performing arts have strongly influenced an industry that is only 60-some years old, so criticizing it for being childish or crappy is the same as disrespecting all of Japanese culture. I mean, how can making a stupid cup of tea be considered an art form, right? Is there any difference between disrespecting Chanoyu tea and Japanese TV? I think not.

I’m not a big fan of Japanese TV myself, believe it or not. But I understand it for what it is, the audience it aims to please (and does a good job), and I avoid the shallow, tired, repetitive complaints reflected above by hordes of “our-way-or-the-highway” Westerners.

Enough cultural imperialism and ethnocentric arrogance. How ‘bout it?

@katsu78

Your understanding of the social, political and religious reasons why Muslims turn into IS monsters is surprisingly naive and narrow.

Putting aside the population question temporarily (I quoted the Muslim fella who mans the phone at the organization I called . . . you quoted a Wikipedia article from 9 years ago), the actual number is really irrelevant. The fact remains that there are thousands of young Muslim men working illegally in factories outside of Tokyo who have come here to set up their cover. Not all of them, mind you, but as we've seen too many times before, it only takes a handful to do the unthinkable.

More importantly, your belief that "People don't join IS because their Muslim-ness compels them" is so totally off the wall it discredits all your posts on the subject. As you should know, IS are strictly Sunnis, and in their warped minds Shias are apostastes to be killed. In fact, more fellow Muslims (Shias) have been killed by IS than all the non-Muslims in foreign countries combined. People join IS not because their city or neighborhood might be Muslim-unfriendly. IS is not that parochial. They look at the world at large and take stock of the way their religion has been mocked, lampooned, disrespected by the West, and this is what plants the seed of hatred and ultimately violence. Yet the fundamental cause is the Sunni-Shia hatred that dates back hundreds of years.

As for your NRA analogy, it is spurious at best, laughable at worst.

@commanteer

Yes, I thought the 600k figure was also a bit high when I was given it on the phone, but that's exactly what was said by the Japan Muslim Association (or maybe it was the Japan Halal Association, since I called both six months ago). When I questioned the figure, the answer was "nobody really knows for sure" because so many Muslims (Indonesians included) are working underground." Keep in mind also that like any religion, you can be Muslim but not practice the faith by attending a mosque or keeping other traditions/laws/rituals, so your 7500 figure may be off.

There are approximately 80 mosques throughout Japan and 600,000 non-Japanese Muslims, of which approximately half are undocumented day laborers (factories, construction, etc).

OF COURSE IS will strike here, and of course sleeper cells already exist. Attacks will start in 2018 in an attempt to disrupt (cancel) the Olympics. Sourcing local explosives is too problematic, so IS's biggest challenge right now is figuring out a way to import large amounts of firearms, grenades, etc.

No artist (assuming that is what Chameleon Crowe considers himself) should ever ever apologize for any artistic decision he makes. Explain? . . . ok. But to grovel in order to satisfy your PC money-grubbing handlers is beyond reproach. Shame on you, Mr. Crow (sic).

I wholeheartedly salute these two brave, trailblazing women. Go get 'em!

Not at all surprised that Murakami's politics are as insipid as his fiction.

Smitty, give it a try.

You know what they say: "Once you go geriatric, you can't do any other trick."

Now if only Japan would end its silly censorship hypocrisy, the rest of the world might stop laughing at its otherwise interesting porn industry.

BK is a little late on this one. Already saw (buy didn't buy) a Wendy's "edible" lubricant in an adult store in Shibuya. The name of it was "Where's the beef?" I guess if BK wanted to follow suit, they could call theirs "the Whopper," but only in the West.

Please, give mama a break. She simply misread the recipe for hot cross buns.

Fundamentally, though, your abilities are determined by the talents you’ve been born with.

I only wonder if, when the world finally sees Murakami as the mediocre writer he really is, he'll turn around and blame his parents. (Looks like a foot just stuck into one very glib mouth.)

A bit surprised to see so many posters who prefer their nightlife over-sanitized, over-regulated and all but lifeless. The touts in these areas, which I frequent, are an integral part of the experience, for they bring an energy and humanity hard to find elsewhere. I enjoy talking and getting to know these guys, their stories and histories and thoughts on their jobs. Learn some street smarts and how best to handle the bad apples, and enjoy the diversity, energy and color they add to this city.

Now this is a visually interesting photo. Nice job, Mr. Hoshiko.

Further proof that M's prattle solidifies his standing as a highly insightful and articulate pundit of the obvious. Nobel material? lol

Japan unveils first domestically made passenger jet in four decades , , , and then announces a recall.

Although it is only proper and right to memorialize these innocent little angels, why don't we ever see protests against the Hamas monsters who are the ones responsible for their deaths?

The number of ethnocentric missionaries of Western culture on this site is truly mind boggling. Pachinko ain't your thing? Fine, stay away, but please stop telling the Japanese what you happen to think is best for them.

@taj

I doubt they're looking for money / financial compensation.

You've gotta be kidding. If as you say they're suing for other reasons, then they should sue for 100 yen per child. But at 100 million per child, they're not after money? Right.

Disgusting.

@KnowBetter

If there is a god, he sure does work in mysterious ways and sure took damn long enough!!! There, I said what many of you were thinking but too scared to say it. Neg away... Or not, if you're not too scared. ;)

Would you mind, sir, expounding on your glib and presumptuous comment?

And why isn't the name of the hospital mentioned?