CaptDingleheimer comments

I would say yes. My kid goes to the local Saturday morning Japanese school here in the US (where most of his classmates like him have 1 Japanese parent, 1 American parent).

There are some kids in the older classes, family friends, who can't seem to put down manga books in their free time. Those kids have really good Japanese. It seems to give the kids an enthusiasm for the language that goes beyond communicating with grandparents on FaceTime calls and yearly visits and whatnot.

What is an average public high school tuition? I'm surprised that wasn't touched upon.

I never understood why so many refugees cross multiple European countries to get to the UK. Once they step off the boat in Croatia or hop the fence in Hungary or wherever, aren't they home free and safe from danger?

It's almost as if they have their sights set on the country where they can collect the most public money for sitting around and not working...

You might want to have a word with your military about winning wars.

Huh. I didn't realize we lost WWII.

These statistics are misleading. They include people who get 25 hours a week making ¥1000 an hour as a temp.

The US currently boast an unemployment rate of 3.9%. Again, very misleading. That doesn't count people out of work and not looking for a job. Among people of prime working age (18-54), the US labor force participation rate is about 80%. That means that 20% of Americans don't. When that's pointed out, progressives like to claim that those people are all taking care of sick relatives. Perhaps a couple percent are. But that still leaves tens of millions of Americans who are just chillin', milking the system for every benefit they can muster (which can pay about $50K a year in some states when all eligible programs are tapped into). Just go into different area of cities and see how many people are sitting around of their front steps in their pajamas at 1:00 on a Tuesday afternoon.

If you don't like it Japan, then next time you start a war with us, DON'T LOSE.

I'm an American who has no interest in football; I've never even watched a game start to finish.

That being said, I think it's funny how a mere mention of the sport works some Brits/Aussies/etc. into a tizzy, like anyone cares how much they disapprove of football.

Whatever his motivations or mental state, I very much doubt that a House rep's staffer in Japan makes much money at all.

Was the big fat guy in the suspenders dumb for risking his life for his crappy job? Sure.

Did I enjoy watching those thieves run away like schoolgirls and get their little mopeds knocked over? You bet.

Would I have preferred to see the big fat guy use that pole thing to cave a couple of their skulls in? Absolutely.

These are the people who make everything cost more for all of us, insurance premiums included. If they risk getting their heads kicked in when they go in to steal, I'm good with that.

My hat is off to you, big fat guy in suspenders.

Lame.

People do that here in the US, too. I know people in the corporate environment who brag about how they just worked through the days they took off, like I’m going to be proud of them or something. No, actually I just think you’re a loser.

...and then he cross-checked it against Google Maps, which has much higher resolution photography of the same places.

Just about the only thing that is transparent about the Japanese justice apparatus is its incompetence.

Eat iburigakko together with slices of sharp cheddar.

thank me later.

By “North Korean spy satellite” I can only assume they mean “satellite that beams Google Maps down to North Korea when their Internet goes down”.

Nice of them to provide a warning, I guess.

Even if it makes it to orbit, their crappy satellite isn’t going to do anything Google maps satellite view can’t do…

Terrific news, I guess.

Although all that demand is getting airlines to charge crazy expensive airfares, because they can.

I'm in a position where I have to fly my entire family from the US to Japan every year to visit family, so it really isn't a matter of sucking it up for my once-in-a-lifetime dream vacation. The exchange rates are in my favor once I get there this year, but the airfares still make it very expensive.

Flying elsewhere in Asia starting from my home airport (Boston) can be literally half as much as flying to Japan these days.

A few of these people have been shot here in the US.

Oopsie daisies! Guess you picked the wrong guy there, Bucko.

Go look at the YouTube channel called ‘Police Activity”, repository for police shooting body camera videos.

Then come back here and tell us that a couples 9mm rounds will stop a crazed criminal immediately.

The fact that the officer's actions were justified by the department would suggest that warning shots into the air likely is standard operating procedure. Which it shouldn't be. This is a major urban area, not an Iraqi wedding party. True, it would be pretty unlucky for that bullet to hit someone in the head. But it could happen. And that someone could be a child. Unacceptable.

When a man is charging police with knives, the only acceptable place to put bullets is in his center mass to stop the threat ASAP. Not in the air, not in the leg. Gonna use a gun? Use it all the way. If not, keep it holstered.

No good on the wife beating. Her being a fragile old lady makes it worse.

But also noted from the article:

One thing I respect about Japanese people is they aren't afraid to go out and just get hammered until the wee hours of the morning no matter what age they are. I'm in my mid 40's and I was an animal when I was younger, but I'm too settled in now- and so are my buddies- so good luck rallying the troops to go whoop it up anyway. In fact, the only time I rage these days is when my family goes back to Japan and I get together with all my Japanese buddies I used to party with in my 20's when I lived there .

That's pretty cool. Creative and simple. Not like when they wrap the Arc de Triomphe in bunch of toilet paper.

They should make ol' Hachi in the kitchen next, standing proudly over the remains of a cake he pulled off the counter and onto the floor.

Just because you're concerned about something doesn't mean there's a legitimate concern.

Just because you try to show everyone what a victim you are doesn't make you a victim.

I wonder if they've voiced the same concerns to China over the years for releasing water with higher concentrations of radioactive material into the Pacific Ocean?

I'm surprised more gaijin don't sign up for those jobs...

You ever click on one of those "Top jobs in Japan" links here on JT? Jobs that require fluency in Japanese and English pay like $20K a year. Those jobs paid twice that 15 years ago.

You'd qualify for government food stamps on that salary where I live...

Then who's gonna do the landscaping?

When you pay someone $8 bucks an hour, they should be able to have a beard if they want.

I'm sorry, but someone with that level of executive responsibility deserves a paycheck even larger than that.

It used to be the Philippines. Now Cambodia is the new playground for the Japanese bad boys?

They’re probably kiddy diddlers, too.

Cambodia is a playground for Japanese molesters.

Hold this guy for the maximum 21 days in interrogation. Tune him up daily for 16 days. Give him 5 days for the two black eyes, bruised ribs, and busted lip to heal so he's presentable in court.

"He was missing those 7 teeth when we arrested him, your honor."

Hopefully they arrested 28, not 25.

The 3 who scammed the most old people on fixed incomes got skydiving lessons over the South China Sea.

What a wonderful human being that man is.

Hopefully the next steps were properly taken in getting her some quality mental health care, with the young woman doing her best to work on herself and get better as she is treated.

Thanks JT for running this story.