cierzo98 comments

I don't own an iPhone and I'm not intending to buy one, let alone stand out side a shop in a line for one. But I do know about digital photography. Anyone who measures the imagined quality of a phone's camera (or any camera for that matter) by the megapixel number on a technical specification sheet is demonstrating that they really are the easy target market for the phone companies who push for extra megapixels. They are the people who are sucked in by the meaningless numbers, and probably they are best suited to using a phone instead of a real camera. In fact, they are behaving like the 'sheep' they so fondly acuse Apple purchasers of being as they blindly follow spec sheets without looking at results. As others here have already pointed out, it is the lens and sensor specification that matters, not MPs. To get any benefit from 20 MP the sensor would have top be too big to fit in the phones they are talking about. So it's there for marketing, but doing nothing, wheras the iPhone lens is superior and gets better results with no more than 8MP as measured professionally by independent reviewers. Meanwhile those who know better get the quality they choose to pay for, and the ridicule of those who don't don't know what they are talking about.

So many here are stating as a 'fact' that this elderly man didn't know the difference between the brake and accelerator pedals. Having read the article I can't find where it said that he didn't know the difference. It says he pressed the accelerator instead of the brake.I can accidently press the wrong elevator button - it doesn't mean I don't know the difference. It's a error, but nobody dies. I dare say most of these anti-elderly evangelists who like to re-write the article to suit their preconceptions don't drive themselves either. If they did, they would know that wet shoes or loose sandals can cause this type of accident. Most experienced younger drivers and those who drive for a living have, at least once in their driving lifetime, had their right foot slip onto the accelrator, but luckily not in front of a pedestrian. There have recently been deaths caused by drugged up or angry younger people deliberately ploughing into pedestrians. That seems worse to me, but we're not asking for everyone in their 20s to be banned.

I'm all for regular tests for those over whatever age is commonly regarded as being questionable (be it 65 or whatever) - as a precauition. But he worst driving I have witnessed in Japan is not by the elderly. It is by agressive people in the age group 25 - 50 most of whom drive a lot faster than the elderly. Many of them youngish mothers struggling to see out of their massive (and frankly pointless) V8 4x4 'off-roader' in the city and seemingly having no consideration for of any other road user.

Absolutely. Just walking along the street at least half the people we see are either on the pnone or texting. Trying to walk or down steps in the station we are obstructed by people who slow up or suddenly stop completely because they are texting. Yet 15 or 20 years ago there weren't queues of people lining up to use pay phones. I doubt more than a small percentage of these calls and texts are actually necessary. It's just the tendency people have to require passive input to relive the new boredom, rather than thinking or planning anything in advance. Frequently we see young mothers, on the train or in a coffee shop, texting or browsing the internet while their kid or infant in the push-chair is practically abandoned, dying of thirst and receiving no attention at all. Maybe they shouldn;t have kids - just upgrade their 'smaho' instead. Couples or friends meet and go to a coffee shop or restaurant and then sit opposite each other almost isolated with each focussed on their own smart phone. Those of us who don't want to dumb down with the rest of them and play childish online games on the train are no doubt thought of as odd, but it will eventually change again.

If China would regulate their own internal corruption then few of its citizens could afford these luxury brands at the current prices - which only reflects the customers' ability to pay - and there would be no need for so-called monopoly regulation (the meaning of which has been reinvented to suit China), as they wouldn't be selling enough to have any impact.

Audi might be owned by VW AG but it is an older company than VW. Mercedes Benz is older than Daimler, and Fiat is older than it's 'parent' Chrysler. Stating that they are just a luxury division is nonsense..It does apply to Lexus, Infinity and Acura, but so what? If China could make a proper car you could bet that there would be enough Chinese to buy them, but look at their "Geely" effort and try not to laugh, I dare you. They haven't got a clue. The more you hear about China (the political nation, not the invididuals) the more you wonder where it's going to go....

Very good points made by several commentors here on the spending of tax revenue.

And we shouldn't forget that no matter how long we foreigners reside in Japan, many of us with so-called 'permanent resident status, and many of us paying tax at the higher rates, we will never be allowed to vote - lest we vote against all this graft and stupidity.

@mgglife

If China were really a "great nation" and a developed one as you suggest, China would stop living in the past and harping on about revenge for centuries-old humiliation that no one else is interested in. China humiliated itself by being unprepared for the obivious. A once powerful country with capability to be prepared simply wasn't because of bad rule and complacency. It's time to stop crying about being a victim (it's embarrassing to listen to) get over it and enter the modern world, behaving like a responsible nation without this attitude of "revenge will be ours"..

When countries go on and on and on about past deeds of some ancient enemy it shows their lack of political and social development. Germany is not still seeking opportunity for revenge for beiing defeated by Allies during two world wars - they are holding their heads up and playing a very active part in world politics. And Germany is light years ahead of China in its international image as a result. They surpassed other nations by honest hard work, lack of corrpution and by not stamping out scientific and industrial know-how.

No one - no one at all, is responsible for their 'ancestors' actions therefore why should they be the subject of revenge? Your ancestors from a couple of centuies ago might even have been spys for the other side for all you know. What's the point of all this backward-looking nonsense. It is either the sign of a nation which is trying to cover its inferiority complex by rabbiting on about how strong it now is, or one that has been brainwashed by corrupt leadership - or both. It certainly isn't a sign of being fit to enter the international political arena. Time to grow up and stop irritating other peaceful nations.

It's pointess talking about ego. A company like airbus is not driven by ego or face saving. There are millions at stake and It would have been a pure business decision, considering not just the order in question but future orders from other carriers. I think we can rest assured that Airbus management thought this through and are not actiung emotionally.

Serrano is right. The much quoted "abenomics" has boosted a few Japanese exports - short term - and now we are seeing the other side of the coin. Japan doesn't make big commercial airplanes and has to use the weakened yen to buy them - this is the result. If Skymark go under the government won't care as others will pick up the trade and taxes will still come in. But the Skymark employees might change their voting pattern. Abe is also moving to kick-start the nuclear power stations again, including those built right on top of fault lines (which are suddenly declared 'safe') because the weakened yen can't buy in as much fuel from overseas and Japan has none of its own. There's Abenomics for you - you can't have it both ways. The rest of world doubted the sense of it at the time of all the smug smiles and swaggering.

So many people here imagining all the unknown details about the girl's relationship with her parents, and what they did or failed to do. Clearly the girl has history of mental issues and and the authorities, or the 'system' (if they had been informed by parents or the school) failed to take action to protect others from her potential. But let's face it, there are countless people around the world, including in Japan, from 'broken homes' or whose parent has remarried and who don't like the new step-parent, and they don't all commit a barbaric pre-meditated murder. Many go on to lead normal and productive lives.Those commenting here that the blame lies completely with the parents presumably like to apportion blame for all attrocities on someone other than the perpetrator. Of course they probably could have done more, but there's no point in us readers making detailed assumptions without any evidence. Sometimes people are just evil or suffering from extreme mental illness and no amount of parenting is going to change that - they're off the scale. Other killers have grown up at home with both parents around for them. Suggesting a corellation from a sample of 1 isn't very clever.

@Hunter Brumfield - as a foreigner in Japan you are in the minority, and you won't find many Japanese people in Tokyo or anywhere else who keep their cars more than three years - let alone 18. The outrageous shaken system which has little to do with car safety (designed to keep Toyota and Nissan afloat) keeps them buying new cars even when they've done no more than 30,000 km.

As for the green thing - have you ever seen the data on the environmental cost of putting a Prius or your 'Aqua' on the road? You should look into the environmental cost of the batteries alone. And how long will those batteries last - 18 years? I don't think so. Then they have to be disposed of and won't seem very eco at that point - you'll be charged for recycling - or I should say that the rest of us will have to subsidise hybrid recycling. Hybrids haven't been on the road long enough for anyone to raise the point of what is going to be done with the multitude of non-eco battery cells in every single hybrid when they no longer accept a decent charge. And if you intend to keep your "eco" Aqua for 18 years you'd better start putting money into an annuity fund for replacing them all as they won't be available cheaply in Autobacs and Yellow Hat. Or you could probably buy a nice new German diesel for the same price as a Toyota + extra batteries which would last for several 100,000's of KMs and have a bit of decent style, handling and driveability thrown in for your money while your at it. but I suppose being German and understated it wouldn't have smug ECO lettering and green leaves somewhere on the bodywork to make the buyer look caring in the traffic and to disguise the fact that they're as ugly as sin.

What happened to the well established term 'street wise' which is not only real English but also easy enough to understand. These days we have 'smart' everything and the non-word smarts has been invented as a noun? Anyone else had enough this? Let me see, next this will be picked up by the Japanese to become 'do-sma' or 'sma-do" and they will wonder why we don't understand it because it is 'English'.

OK - if the daft law says 10 years is maximum that a so-called 'minor' can get for murder, I am sure the court could separately charge them and add on a few extra years for drugging the girls, abducting them and assaulting them - to be served consecutively. But I suppose that would be at the cost of the tax payer, so the idea is a fairly light sentence then kick them out of Japan, and end of story (for Japan).

@Tony Ew

I am still waiting for anybody to debunk my observations

No one actually knows where to start to debunk your 'observations' because it's all such total nonsense it would be pointless - like arguing with a lunatic. It's easier to argue with someone who has daft opinions but who has at least a partial grip on reality.

@ Tony Ew.

They were in international waters, not Chinese waters, where everyone has a right to be, so there is no justification for either side locking weapons radar. But don't let the basic facts get in the way of your ranting. Your posts have all the hallmarks of someone who is losing touch with reality and who is trying their hardest to impress us all with big words. Typing in upper-case letters doesn't give your points any additional credence - it just appears that you have little confidence that anyone will accept what you write and indicates that you are close to losing the plot altogether. Which part of China are you from, by the way? Don’t bother answering – it’s a rhetorical question.

This move may be seen as a step backwards for masked wrestlers serving in office

Presumably this comment in the article was made 'tongue in cheek' or is it common in Japan to have masked wrestler legislators?

He hasn't been out of school long enough to have "worked his ass off". He seems to expect the world owes him something for his modest contribution to our lives.

The matter of the 'comfort women' is a serious issue and not to be tretaed lightly, but that's not why China and Korea have suddenly joined forces and whinged to the UN about a wrong that was done about 80 years ago. It's clear that they don't actually care a damn abou those women. What havbe they done for them? They are just using them as a point scoring exercise.

The disputed island issue isn't getting as much support internationally as China hoped and so two not so pally states join hands and and go running to the teacher to tell about something else a 'bad boy has done' to them as well, in order to drum up sympathy. They (mostly China) are so transparent and the fact that they think the rest of the world can't see though their strategies is ridiculous to the point of being an insult to other nations' intelligence.

@sfjp330 ............... Hide Suzuki and kurumazaka are spot on correct.

You say American cars sell well in Europe - no they don't. You're being very liberal with your interpretation of an American car. Certainly Fords (like the European designed and built Focus and Fiesta) sell well, because they are excellent cars built by and for Europeans, as do some GM cars (Opel, Vauxhall) These are European designed and built cars from European companies bought over by GM most of which don't sell in America because they are so un-American. Chevrolet even sell a few cars in Europe (re-badged Suzukis). This does not represent American cars. The few Cadillacs etc. (Hummers in the past) that sell are niche imports and count for little in terms of sales stats - there are actually as many of that type selling in Japan - TV talent people like that sort of 'bling'. You will search long and hard for any standard American cars or those awful jacked up 'trucks' on the streets in Europe.

In the countryside and 2nd tier cities in Japan people prefer compact hatchbacks and mini 'yellow plate' cars (which America doesn"t build). But in the major cities there are a lot (and I mean a lot) of European cars. BMW, Audi, Benz, Volkswagen and increasingly Citroen and Peugeot are every 5th or 6th car that pass you on the street in the better off areas, and in the worse off areas they don't want any imports anyway. You say disparagingly that BWW and VW account for only 5% of inports - well then all the rest (incl. US cars) must count for less than 1%. What does that tell you about the US car v the European car? The style of American cars suits the same people in Japan as it does in Europe - 20-something boutique owners or trendy musicians. Real people don't want the typical poorly designed stuff with its dated technology. I can't think of a single American car that I would buy in any circumstances with any budget - and I'm not anti-American - there are other US products that I love. It's just that the cars look and feel as if the people who design them haven't got a clue and don't care that you don't live in Texas. Most Americans here don't buy American cars - why's that?

Let's face it - why does anyone have a Tosa or a pitbull? It's all about hard image and power. Just look at the klind of people who do. Granted not all, but in any country a high proportion are the swaggering track-suited cerebrally challenged types who crave some sort of respect or status they don't otherwise have. I'm sure some of them make nice pets, but there's a lot less damage done to humans and other animals when some of them inevitably go berserk. If my neighbour was one of these half-wits who doesn't know how to train and treat a dog, I'd rather he had a Border Collie than a Tosa. The 90 year-old woman who was killed in Yamanashi might just have survived a collie attack.

@ Fadamor

Police said they found Yamada’s purse and bank book at that apartment. If they found her empty handbag 200 meters away from her, then shouldn't this read that they found her WALLET and bank book at the friend's apartment?

A handbag is only a 'purse' in the USA. In other more traditinsl forms of English a purse is not a handbag, it is the female's version of a man's wallet. Purses usually are carried inside a handbag.

Your other comments were good, however.

People don't buy laptops to get a touch screen - they buy laptops because they don't like depending on a touch screen. Touchscreens are fine for those who want them, and they have tablets with accessory keyboards if they need them. This thing will be a niche producrt with low sales and dead in a year. As for Google Chrome Senior VP's comment 'People will give up a MacBook Air for this,' did he really say that? I'm not saying one OS is better than the other (despite my personal preference) but does he really think Mac users will give up the OS they love and all the software they are familiar with to get a touch screen glued onto an Apple lookalike keyboard running Chrome? Maybe using that logic a Windows machine with a slot for making toast or pressing trousers might tempt them away as well.

@FPSRussia

Japan lives next door. It's time Japan solve its own problems.

I can't believe that Japanese, Chinese and Koreans can't come to terms given how much you look alike and the common culture that you share. You wanted Cain and Abel, man you got it and you got it bad.

You may deny the physical resemblance that fact is its true. NK is behind in everything. You need to trade with them. You need to share the technology we have today with them. You need to set up Little Tokyo and Chinatown there. Send your best Ambassadors who respect others.

is that a serious post? What on earth are you talking about? This situation has nothing to do with Japan as a neighbour (not exactly 'next door' either - check your school atlas if your school had one).. ..There is so much in your comments that is ridiculous that it's hard to know where to start. So Japan should share technology (which technology would be shared?) and have even more copywrite infringments than have been carried out by China? Sharing technology usually is a two way thing - maybe NK can help Japan with failed subsistence farming, steam trains technology, launching botched satellites into the sea or even precision mass dancing in funny coloured high waisted dresses. As for saying 'how much YOU look alike', who are the YOU that you talking to? Has it ocurred to you that this forum (in the English language) is really here for foreigners living in or related to Japan -except for a small few, you're not really talking to Japanese people here, and the majority ofreaders here niether physically resemble nor share the culture of North Koreans. In any case, you as an American perhaps look like a Frenchman, African or Mexican - does that mean you share common culture and can automatically trade with them by virtue of appearance? You've got to be joking. But I suppose you think everything not-American is just more of the same - it's all 'unamerican' therefore they can sort out their petty differences by having a drink and sharing their inferior tech. If you represent the USA maybe NK and China do have something to fear. But I think most Americans are a lot smarter than that.

When you buy alcohol or tobacco the register asks “Are you over 20?” Since there often isn’t a “NO” button you’re forced to touch “YES” which simply magnifies how the whole system is – aside from removing any responsibility from the store - completely pointless.

This article appears to be one person's subjective opinion rather than independent reporting, but nevertheless, if the writer wanted to point out something really pointless, how about this.... in every convenience store I have used (7-Eleven, Family Mart, SunKus..etc) you have to press the "I am over 18" button when buying alcohol free (i.e 0%) 'beer' or zero alcohol 'cocktails'. Considering it can't even be described as beer according to the trading standards people, due to the contents, and should be called "beer-styled beverage or vodka flavoured soda, it makes you wonder why a middle aged bloke standing there with his teenage children has to declare he is over 18 to buy the foul-tasting stuff.

@ Balefire, it may not be nationwide, but where I live in Tokyo the vending machines selling alcohol require you to have your driving license scanned before they will dispense anything. So there is control in some places.

Irrespective of the size of the statues or whether, or not, their nakedness is approved by some of the residents, you have to wonder what the " businessman who hails from the area " was thinking when he donated them. I'm sure the money spent on them could have been allocated to something more useful for a town in Shimane, and caused less contoversy. It smacks of an egotistical gesture more than anything else.

Is it not the photographs that some are regarding as 'obscene' rather than the photogrpaher, as the headline of this article implies?

@tian4670

China is indeed fascist in behaviour, both internally and externally. And whilst "Japan does not represent the whole free world" it's fairly clear that China's ambitions look well beyond Japan. China invades Philippine waters as well and that's a bit further away. China is quietly trying to carve up parts of Africa too for when they're own resources run out.You choose to have blinkered vision, but the rest of the world is not so naïve. Or possibly you're just as daft and uneducated as Takumi Saito (above)

I'm sure Alan Shirahama feels great about it. He has a night opf passion with a girl he likes and she apologizes for it on YouTube and TV, saying it was thoughtless and immature and seeking forgiveness. He must really feel that he made an impression on her, after a night with him is receiving the same sort of regret and shame as going on the game, taking drugs or lying ariound drunk in the street. Maybe he should do the same.

Shouting really does seem to be the way to make a point in Japan. In the work place managers yell at staff as if they are five years old. In high schools students making speeches build up to a tearful crescendo of shouting out how they will 'gambaru'. High school softball and tennis playing students scream every time they throw a ball, hit a ball or even just arrive on the court to do training. And in TV dramas they shout more than they talk - even in family converstion. As for Sanma-san..... . Now husbands are shouting about their obento boxes. Are sales in headache tablets booming in Japan?

For those posting here and trying to claim it wasn't all that bad - whether the teacher forced them to drink very diluted HCl (similar to stomach acid - as some have claimed) or whether he actually gave them diluted lemon juice is mostly irrelevant. They thought they were having to drink HCL and probably expected it would harm them, but cooperated due to fear of their teacher. Is that something any child should go through in pursuit of education? Should they even be punished at all for their practical experiment failing to work? Unless they were messing around it is their teachers' responsibility to ensure that their practicals work out properly. Bad behaviour can be punished but punishing failure to achieve is not education and this kind of action is not punishment, it is abuse. There is a certain sadistic streak in teacers here - for whatever reaosn.

Who wrote this article..? "Daimler's Mini brand" ? The Daimler name has been out of use for a couple of years and they never owned the 'Mini' brand which has been with BMW since being sold by Rover in UK