blimp comments

@Villanova,

Not to question you, but rather just to partially answer the question. Statistics do indeed seem to support your claim that major economies do not have a surplus.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/264710/countries-with-the-highest-public-surplus/

https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/countries-with-the-top-budget-surplus.html

I do wish they came up with different words for type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

今年こそ as the saying goes.

Perhaps we could get a comparison with countries such as the Nordic countries or the Netherlands. I wonder how Japan would fare then.

Unfortunately the Commission did a rather bad job here.

Some European products still require radioactive testing. Berries, jams, mushrooms etc. The Commission should have pushed for reciprocity.

That's an interesting theory. What disease exactly would people catch from wearing helmets?

You are asking the wrong question. With mandatory law on helmet wear comes lower use of bicycle as a mode of transport.1 With less bicycling comes more obesity, more diabetes, more cardiovascular related impacts, a more dangerous environment for not motor vehicle users, more lung diseases due to worsen environment etc.2 The list goes on and on.

There is a direct correlation between number of cyclist and safety of cyclists.*3

*1 https://www.cycle-helmets.com/index.html

*2 https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/cycling-health-benefits

*3 https://ecf.com/resources/cycling-facts-and-figures/safety-numbers

More reading: https://cyclingindustry.news/discussion-are-helmet-standards-overdue-a-revision/

@thelonius

Why don’t more people put solar panels on their roof in Japan?

Panel makers (Sharp, Kyocera) are protected with import tariffs, making solar panels 2x or more expensive here.

That is factually wrong. There are no import duties on solar panels in Japan. Neither on parts. The closest you get to an import duty is on some of the chemicals and metals used in the manufacturing of solar panels. However, using various FTAs a zero-duty preference can be used.

Reference: Japan Customs. chap 85

There are some that point out that it is a private school. Does this mean that private companies could also set up rules on dating/sexual activities, and to put it even more bluntly, same sex relationships? To me it is just mind boggling that Japan allows this.

In 2007 I visited the LPD for talks with one of their committees. The meeting room which was used had ash trays on the table(s). And, yes, politicians were smoking during the meeting! I should say that these days smoking is not allowed in LDP meeting rooms as far as I know and have experienced.

I am (positively) surprised that so many companies are saying that they will do it.

Looking at the documents from MHLW, it certainly looks like an undertaking.

https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/seisakunitsuite/bunya/vaccine_shokuiki.html