brians comments

Posted in: Mr Abe, you really have no idea what war is, do you? See in context

War doesn't respect birthdays, zichi.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: City in Niigata drops milk from school lunches See in context

The Niigata Nippo, the prefecture's largest paper, covered the story in its July 1 edition. The Sanjo, Niigata, BOE had held an extraordinary meeting the day before to pronounce its decision. The one member of the School Lunch Steering Committee who is a parent of a child affected by the BOE's move said the board was not listening to the voices of the children and that its decision to discontinue milk at lunchtime did not make sense. Indeed, children interviewed for the article were mostly against the BOE's plan, some saying that it would be hard to swallow food without something to wash it down, with others saying lunch tastes better accompanied by milk. The school board has said that milk will be served at another time of day, during "Drink Time". Students who do not like milk told the Nippo's reporter that this would be hard on them as there would be nothing to mask its flavor.

6 ( +8 / -2 )

Posted in: Sports minister says trouble-plagued stadium to be ready on time for Olympics See in context

Mr. Shimomura, are you not ultimately responsible?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: 5 children, woman injured after car plows into them See in context

According to the Mainichi Daily, Ms. Nakamura was returning from dropping off her daughter at a bus stop (not a station) when the acccident occurred on a 7.6 meter wide 2-way street with no pavement for pedestrians. Ms. Nakamura has told police she cannot remember what happened to cause the accident. Police are looking into the possibility that immediately before the collision Ms. Nakamura was attempting to pass a car ahead of her that had stopped at a 4-way intersection (no signal) before making a right turn. The police think that in this way the suspect's car entered the opposing lane, at the edge of which the children were walking.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Smartphones are nothing more than poison to intelligence, personality and creativity. See in context

More to the story than JT reports. Chancellor Yamasawa: "Stop using smartphones or withdraw from the university", immediately followed by "Switch off your smartphone, read books, talk with your friends, and think for yourselves." Makes for a less sexy quotation, the latter bit.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: 13-year-old boy jumps to death from tower in Niigata See in context

Some clarifications and additional information: the Asahi Shimbun reports that the boy's whereabouts were last known at about 5 pm on Sunday; the boy's mother phoned police at 9 that evening. The boy didn't stop going to school after the start of the 3rd term but was frequently absent. During this time his homeroom teacher visited his house weekly to inquire after him, and on the Friday before his death the boy received a visit from the head teacher of his grade. Finally, the boy had answered in the negative to the school's monthly bullying questionnaires.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Wakayama City official arrested for taking fruit knife home from work See in context

Mirai Hayashi, why was Mr. Yamada's bag searched? The man was so sloshed he couldn't identify himself (much less explain the presence of the knife), so the coppers opened his bag looking for some ID; the search was not illegal.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Parents of schoolboy liable for Y15 million after wayward soccer ball leads to man’s death See in context

According to Japanese-language reports, the boy was practicing free kicks at the time. An errant strike caused the ball to sail over the school gate and into the path of the eldery man.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Turning English learning on its head See in context

Eikaiwas are not to blame for creating "a nation of people who do well on English tests but have very little communication skills". Is that statement even accurate? Assuming it is, the fault lies with English education at the secondary level, driven as it is by entrance exams. .

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Posted in: Firebombing survivor fears Japan starting down road to war again See in context

Some estimates of the dead in Dresden run as high as 200,000.

3 ( +7 / -4 )

Posted in: The government has to set up a proper system to help educate these kids. As the children get older, they have to break the poverty cycle and education is the key. See in context

Plenty of educated parents out there with no choice but to work for 750 an hour. That 's your poverty, Ms. Kuribayashi.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Japan negotiator: TPP trade deal with U.S. doable by spring See in context

Japan's automakers have done very, very well in the US market, even with existing tariffs on imports. On the other hand, Japanese agriculture, the culture and economy of local food production, the very survival of rural communities, will be gravely undermined if this country's small farmers are forced to compete with industrial-scale agriculture in TPP nations such as the US, Canada, and Australia.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Posted in: Kawasaki boy told friend on Line he might get killed See in context

To address but one of your comments, Disillusioned: while it is true that compulsory education requires that students attend school through the end of junior high, 不登校生徒, or those who don't attend school, are nevertheless permitted to graduate. There are no truancy officers rounding up such students or issuing citations to their parents.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: Kyoto’s amazing underground bike parking system See in context

Sankei News West reports that the underground parking system is available on a monthly basis for 2700 yen. The average wait time for retrieving a bicycle is 13 seconds. The facility pictured holds up to 200 machines.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: 12-year-old idol singer in hospital after inhaling helium on TV Asahi program See in context

An update on the girl's condition: her eyes are open, and she's able to eat, drink, and raise her hands. She is not yet able to speak but shows signs of wanting to do so. The specialist treating the girl cannot say whether she will suffer lasting impairment.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Posted in: Japan eyes compulsory 5 days' paid holiday a year See in context

Yubaru: IF someone works for a typical company that has weekends and holidays off...

Some companies require a monthly minimum of days worked. In May, for example, employees of such firms must work on the weekend to offset the Golden Week holidays.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: More than 8,700 people sue Asahi Shimbun over 'comfort women' stories See in context

Sue sex-slave deniers in the media for besmirching Japan's reputation overseas, causing the nation lasting harm.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Posted in: 6-year-old boy injured in hit-and-run; dump truck driver arrested See in context

SenseNotSoCommon: >Altering the signals to give people a safe window...>

There were no signals at the intersection.

Additionally, the driver dragged the boy's bicycle 460 meters before stopping to investigate, whereupon he returned to the scene of the collision.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Posted in: Entrance exams: How parents ruin their kids' chances with misguided 'support' See in context

I have three children in public junior and senior high schools in Japan. As has been said, international schools are prohibitively expensive and not an option for most families; private schools are not cheap, either. However, as private high schools hold entrance exams and interviews in January, some two months before their public counterparts, and as students who fail to pass the exam at their first-choice public high school have to go to the back of the admissions line (as it were), it's a good idea to have a private option.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Posted in: Abe urges business leaders to increase wages See in context

"(C)ontinue wage increases next year..." Must have missed this year's wage increase.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Posted in: Sanjo See in context

Other (see above) Japan Today omissions/ errors: it's not just the elementary schools phasing out the milk but the junior highs as well. Moreover, there are 21 elementary schools in Sanjo, not 30; the figure "30" is the total number of 小 and 中学校. Minor points, perhaps, but JT owes it to readers to get the facts straight.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Posted in: Sanjo See in context

The Niigata Nippo newspaper last week reported the decision by the Sanjo BOE. The newspaper article (but not the JT piece) noted that the Sanjo BOE will serve yoghurt and furikake with lunches to enhance their calcium content. Depending on the furikake, the popular rice topping may contain more calcium than the typical 200 ml serving of milk: far more, in fact. As for the rationale for removing milk in the first place- that it doesn't complement Japanese dishes- it's hard to see how yoghurt is any better.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Posted in: Riot police raid Kyoto University after 3 activists arrested See in context

@dbsaiya "BTW, why are the Tokyo Met Police involved in Kyoto?"

Kyoto Prefectural Police carried out the raid at the university, not the Metroplitan Police Department, which conducted the investigation into the Ginza demonstration earlier in the month.

Important detail missing from JT's report: the police are supposed to contact the university before entering campus but failed to notify university authorities prior to the raid.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Posted in: The schools are a propaganda entity for Kim's regime. It's like putting a Cuban school backed by the Castros in Florida. See in context

Not apt, that simile. The Castros are not to Cuba what the Kims are to North Korea.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: Host club employee arrested for threatening girlfriend See in context

Hashimoto was arrested this week for allegedly threatening and attempting to extort over 3 million yen, in August, from his now ex-girlfriend. The timing is an important detail missing from the article (Some readers seem to think the police acted with dispatch).

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: Pensioner arrested for dumping 200 kgs of porn in park See in context

Lost in translation. According to the Sankei newspaper, two individuals were arrested on suspicion of illegal disposal; a 70-year-old company executive and a care nurse friend. There is no mention of a bedridden third party on whose behalf the elder man illegally dumped the porn. http://www.sankei.com/west/news/141017/wst1410170081-n1.html

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Biker assaulted by iron bar-wielding Nara innkeeper See in context

Incident occurred at approximately 10 pm, not am, as the article states. No mention in online Japanese reporting of "groups" of 暴走族 cruising the streets of Tenri that night; the victim of the assault was riding with 3 of his mates, and multiple complaints were received by local police about the noise the 4 were generating. Usually pays to go to the Japanese source of such accounts.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Posted in: Car crash in Niigata leaves two dead See in context

I live in Niigata City. It's "Nishikan-ku", not "Nishiura"; the kanji for "kan" and "ura" are similar.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Lawmaker bawls at press conference over his use of public funds See in context

The article suggests that Nonomura's 195 trips at taxpayer expense would not have presented a problem had he simply provided documentation. Really? Has he been arrested? Free on bail?

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Posted in: 13-year-old boy on bike dies after being hit by truck driven by 83-year-old man See in context

The 83-year-old driver of the truck, Mr. Shigeru Izawa, is unemployed. Furthermore, the intersection at which the accident occurred is not a blind one. See here: http://azarami.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-11698.html Yes, we have few details at present, but I have been cycllng Japan's city streets and rural roads for 15 years, covering many thousands of kilometers, and I am well aware of the curious blind spot motorists have with regard to those on 2 wheels.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Recent Comments

Popular

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites


©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.