Posted in: South Korean investigators call for indictment of detained President Yoon See in context
Lock him up.
2 ( +2 / -0 )
Posted in: Luxury trains offer tourists a chance to visit Japan's hidden gems See in context
Although tickets were pricey at 750,000 yen to 820,000 yen per person, all six tours sold out.
I'd be interested to know how many foreign tourists bought tickets. A very small percentage I'd guess, at those prices. Still, it's a good idea on the whole. I can imagine there's a reasonable domestic market for it, and anything that boosts rural areas is a positive development.
2 ( +2 / -0 )
Posted in: Masayoshi Son, Trump's Japanese buddy with the Midas Touch See in context
The all-out race to develop AI that's smarter than us continues, regardless of expert voices warning of the peril. A man (Prof Geoffrey Hinton) who knows far more about this than any of us here on JT estimates a 10-20 percent chance of humans becoming extinct in the next 30 years after AI overtakes us in intelligence.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/dec/27/godfather-of-ai-raises-odds-of-the-technology-wiping-out-humanity-over-next-30-years
As the man says, "How many examples do you know of a more intelligent thing being controlled by a less intelligent thing?"
-1 ( +1 / -2 )
Posted in: Masayoshi Son, Trump's Japanese buddy with the Midas Touch See in context
@Ken
the value of that control is priceless.
You mean the hate and misinformation spread around is what you and them value, you like people being ignorant to the truth and you prefer chaos and pain over world peace
You're absolutely right, but you can't shame committed fascists. Don't bother. He'll probably live to understand the horror of what he once supported, like some in Germany in the early-mid 1940s.
-1 ( +1 / -2 )
Posted in: Coughing and sneezing without consideration for others topped the list of annoying behavior on trains in a survey by the Japan Private Railway Association in 2024. What tops your list? See in context
@GuruMick & John-San
You are completely missing the point. It's Japanese people who are complaining about this, which means they're complaining about people who don't properly cover their mouths while sneezing. It happens. I've seen it, and dislike it too. Didn't the Covid pandemic teach you anything? That's a likely way to catch a cold or flu yourself... someone who has a cold sneezing in your vicinity.
4 ( +4 / -0 )
Posted in: TV host, ex-SMAP singer Nakai announces retirement over sex scandal See in context
@CigarLUV88 and robert maes
You're both apparently new arrivals in Japan. Welcome.
Just for your info, rapists almost never go to jail here (I say "almost", but that's a hopeful take on it... possibly just "never"). And if they have a bit of money... forget about it. No chance of a conviction whatsoever. Going to the police here is a waste of time, as most women know. Quite a few rapists among them as well.
3 ( +8 / -5 )
Posted in: Trump faces stiff challenges delivering on his promised 'Golden Age' See in context
@ClippetyClop
His entire legacy could be ruined within a year if botches Ukraine and gives Putin the excuse to make a new national holiday. Nothing else he does will mean anything.
etc... It's pointless to talk about ruined legacies as if there were some other potential outcome. There is no other future than disaster for the US and the world with this individual in the White House. To what extent the damage will be repairable/survivable after he's finally ejected is the only question.
1 ( +1 / -0 )
Posted in: Trump's pardons will embolden Proud Boys, other far-right groups, say experts See in context
Proud Boys = Brown Shirts
3 ( +5 / -2 )
Posted in: John Krasinski named People magazine's 2024 Sexiest Man Alive See in context
*Krasinski, 45, told People that his immediate reaction to the honor was “just immediate blackout, actually. Zero thoughts.” *He added that he thought he might be getting pranked.
Have to give the guy a bit of credit for having some self-awareness at least. Not that I'm a connoisseur in these matters, but I imagine if you dragged a chair to a busy location in any major world city you'd spot 10 sexier men within half an hour. It's all a matter of taste I suppose, but really...?
2 ( +2 / -0 )
Posted in: Trump pushes ahead of Harris with second swing state win See in context
Oh! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O'er the land of the 1% and the home of the slave?
3 ( +9 / -6 )
Posted in: Trump pushes ahead of Harris with second swing state win See in context
YOU ...HAVE...BEEN...CONNED
5 ( +13 / -8 )
Posted in: Threatening ‘the enemy within’ with force: Military ethicists explain the danger to important American traditions See in context
He is the enemy within.
1 ( +2 / -1 )
Posted in: Enoshima Sea Candle See in context
@Jay
The Sea Candle is a stunning reminder of the power of natural beauty
Natural beauty? Are you joking? That's an ugly tower. Natural beauty = a waterfall or some other majestic sight in nature. Come on!!!
-1 ( +4 / -5 )
Posted in: Election shock in key U.S. ally Japan could embolden China, other rivals See in context
"With the U.S. divided it helps to have a stable Japan."
There are few countries more stable than Japan. New faces in power clearly wouldn't change that. The author apparently favors deeply conservative governments (as opposed to the "somewhat conservative" leadership an anti-LDP government would almost certainly constitute).
7 ( +11 / -4 )
Posted in: Developers begin cutting trees in Tokyo park that environmentalists want to protect See in context
I live in Tokyo and we have lots of of trees in our neighborhood and nobody is demanding to cut down the trees.
How would you know? Are you monitoring the phone calls of everyone in your neighborhood to the local government office? In any case, you must live in an area with limited appeal to "developers" (for the moment).
2 ( +2 / -0 )
Posted in: Who do you think would be better for Japan as the next U.S. president? See in context
Geeter Mckluskie
Our enemies aren't dumb enough to fall for swagger like the MAGA.
Well Kim Jong Un was smart enough not to antagonize Trump further after his "I've got a red button" threat. That threat resumed when Biden took office
Actually, no it didn't. Kim has been very quiet in recent years. The odd missile test. Big deal. Don't let the facts get in the way of your fantasies though.
8 ( +14 / -6 )
Posted in: 20-year-old man arrested for assaulting 4-month-old baby, says he doesn’t remember doing it See in context
@Gaijinjland
Why do women always get a free pass?
So she's guilty of something, according to you? What is that exactly?
-1 ( +1 / -2 )
Posted in: Man United fires Ten Hag after woeful start to the season and puts Van Nistelrooy in interim control See in context
@Moonraker
On the other hand, it is Man Utd. It's all a situation schadenfreude was created for.
I'm loving it while it lasts. I was worried when they mentioned Thomas Frank as no. 1 likely choice. Now it's the "up & coming" Amorim, who has no experience in the Prem. Good times to continue for a while?
0 ( +0 / -0 )
Posted in: Jon Stewart will remain 'Daily Show' host on Mondays through 2025 See in context
Unless Trump is somehow installed in the White House, in which case Stewart could find himself in a gulag somewhere in the New Mexico desert along with Nancy Pelosi and anyone else the thug might have a grievance against.
0 ( +0 / -0 )
Posted in: Developers begin cutting trees in Tokyo park that environmentalists want to protect See in context
@Some dude
"the usual pollarded stumps found along streets all other parts of the city".
Well put. Substitute "all cities in the country" for "the city" and you have a perfect summation of the situation. Have you ever been to Nagoya or Kita Kyushu? If you see a single tree anywhere above head height it feels like winning the lottery. These people are environmental vandals who call themselves nature lovers. Yes, that's right. The truth hurts.
-1 ( +5 / -6 )
Posted in: Developers begin cutting trees in Tokyo park that environmentalists want to protect See in context
@Some dude
Tokyo is already a depressing place, full of concrete and they want to add more?
I was in London a while back and I was amazed how much greenery there seemed to be compared to Tokyo.
I was in Beijing recently, and I was amazed at how much greenery there was there compared to Japanese cities. No kidding! 100% electric cars too, so clean air as well. I could go on at length about this, but it would raise my blood pressure. J-city = concrete desert. Put that in your textbooks, MEXT.
-2 ( +4 / -6 )
Posted in: Bruised PM Ishiba scrambles for support from other parties See in context
The chairman of the Japan Business Federation on Sunday urged political parties to focus on policies to grow the economy and overcome current challenges.
"It is difficult to say that sufficient discussions have been made on a mountain of important issues, and it has to be said that issues have been postponed," the head of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives said.
This is the problem. Aside from minor fringe lunatics, there is no sense of competing visions for the future of the country. Whoever steers the ship, it's always just a case of muddling along as usual. No wonder voters are apathetic.
0 ( +2 / -2 )
Posted in: How effective a fighting force do you think Japan's Self-Defense Forces (SDF) are? See in context
@OssanAmerica
Well trained and well equipped. Probably very effective at defense on home turf. Which of course is what they were created for.
Hard to argue with that. Plenty of potential to cause serious problems to any force reckless enough to attack them. And the defence budget has recently been ramped up significantly. Up to date systems count for a lot.
1 ( +1 / -0 )
Posted in: Overseas people see Japanese women as sexual beings and think they don’t speak up for themselves, but I’ve always thought that is not true. See in context
@Peter14
Thanks as always for your sane and thoughtful comments.
2 ( +2 / -0 )
Posted in: Overseas people see Japanese women as sexual beings and think they don’t speak up for themselves, but I’ve always thought that is not true. See in context
@Gene Hennigh
Still don't quite understand the fantasy, but it's real. Ask any Asian woman in the US.
Maybe it hasn't quite occurred to you yet Gene, but yes, many people do have particular preferences when it comes to potential or fantasy love interests. "Asian" can be one. On the other hand, some people are into very "heavy" types of any ethnic background. We could draw up a list, but surely that's not necessary.
1 ( +2 / -1 )
Posted in: Drifting off -- U.S. late night talk shows no longer must-see TV See in context
@Jimizo
He certainly knows the zeitgeist and sells well to to it.
Certainly no idiot.
If you define a person's intelligence solely on their ability to milk profit from an intellectually impoverished market, then yes, Rogan is no idiot. I judge people on their actual intelligence though. Therefore, Rogan gets a big, fat F, of course.
-1 ( +3 / -4 )
Posted in: Don't let tech gurus decide the future: Nobel winner Simon Johnson See in context
Mr. Johnson is merely stating the blatantly obvious, but I suspect even **that is lost on large swathes of the masses, clubbed into a sense of hopelessness and servility as they are.**
@Moonraker
This is how capital works and has been working since it began to take power from the feudal landed gentry.
Sweeping statement and by no means true in many cases, even in relatively recent history.
Governments do its bidding now.
So you're reconciled to that, are you? Justice is dead?
And while it would be a good idea if companies were taxed based on the wider damage they do to minds, community, politics and nature (thus balancing the apparent good they do, which is all you hear about when they control the news and the minds), you would find that very few would make any profits at all then AND no governments, bought and paid for by capital, is ever going to be able to implement such measures.
Normally you write sensible posts, but this time you disappoint me. So, according to you elite corporate scumbags and the corrupt worms they've bought make a combination too powerful to fight? We all just have to get used to it? Roll over and die? I suggest you think again.
0 ( +0 / -0 )
Posted in: Japan's SMEs could be election losers as parties pledge wage hikes See in context
Election time! 'Tis the season of promises destined for the bin as soon as normal service is resumed. ("Oh yes, we really wanted to raise wages! But it is difficult. We deeply regret the inconvenience to our woolly flock".)
-2 ( +3 / -5 )
Posted in: Taipei says Chinese aircraft carrier group sailed through Taiwan Strait See in context
*Over the weekend, a U.S. and a Canadian warship passed through the 180-kilometer Taiwan Strait, part of regular passages by Washington and its allies meant to reinforce its status as an international waterway.*
Yes, international. China is a nation. Need we say more? It's not smart for posters to fan the flames of hatred unnecessarily. Shocked to find myself in agreement with Blacklabel & Zaphod about something. Everyone needs to try a bit harder to stay calm these days.
-2 ( +4 / -6 )
Posted in: Trump likens Capitol rioters to WWII Japanese American internees See in context
@OssanAmericaOct. 19 08:24 pm JST
BlackstarToday 07:56 pm JST
@OssanAmerica
Trump needs to lose the election and be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and be incarcerated and kicked out of US politics for the rest of his insurrectionist life.
Sure. No doubt about it. But I think you and others here might be missing the bigger picture. Trump is just the front man, the "charismatic face" (god help us all) for a really sinister, deep-lying, racist, ultra-conservative movement. If a bullet were to finally find it's mark, the big picture wouldn't change.
No I think you are the one missing the big picture. Exactly as you say, there will always be a portion of the country (hopefully small) who are a sinister deep-lying racist ultra-conservative movement. But they are powerless without a political leader who commands an entire Political Party of sycophants and enablers willing to justify and excuse his criminal and insane behavior.
Let's Make America Great Again by permanently removing Donald Trump from US politics. Not all Judges and Prosecutors are in his MAGA pocket. The rule of Law will ultimately prevail.
I hope with all my heart that you're right, but don't overlook the weirdness of the US electoral system that potentially allows "electors" in a state to overturn a result. A couple of states in recent times, I forget which...check yourself... Georgia?, Arizona? have been officially stacked with MAGA type operatives who will act as the "electors" and are potentially/most likely willing to overturn the democratic vote if it doesn't go their way. This is what they tried in 2020 but didn't have things set up in advance. Even then democracy only narrowly prevailed because of a few heroic figures. Now the fascists are better prepared.
0 ( +0 / -0 )
He got let of easy. Should be headed to the gallows.
Posted in: Man sentenced to life in prison for raping 10 elementary school girls
Posted in: Tax enforcers, rocket scientists, bank regulators fired as Trump slashes federal workforce
Posted in: Tax enforcers, rocket scientists, bank regulators fired as Trump slashes federal workforce
Posted in: Man sentenced to life in prison for raping 10 elementary school girls