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Posted in: Halloween crowd control tight in Tokyo's Shibuya, Shinjuku districts See in context

You had something that developed over years in and of itself organically and then the police shut it down. There's something really oppressive about that. Especially given that there weren't any real problems.

-1 ( +5 / -6 )

Posted in: Celebrations subdued in Tokyo's Shibuya district on weekend before Halloween See in context

 noise from big crowds during the Halloween period in recent years.

Laughable. They now have police screeching into megaphones and whistling all night long.

-1 ( +12 / -13 )

Posted in: Man arrested after throwing petrol bombs at Japan ruling party HQ in Tokyo See in context

"as elections which are the very foundation of democracy are under way,"

Can't go distracting attention from the bi-annual megaphone-truck-shouting competition...

2 ( +5 / -3 )

Posted in: Japanese people budget less for summer break amid inflation, weak yen: poll See in context

"despite sharp pay increases by large domestic firms"

Surely that's only a drop in the water though. 70% of workers are with small to medium companies here. When also taking into account the service industry and foreign owned companies based here, the shunto negotiations don't really tell us a lot.

Would be nice if anyone can let us know how many workers benefit from shunto negotiations.

3 ( +9 / -6 )

Posted in: Domestic travel top Japan leisure pursuit but below pre-COVID level See in context

Waiting for hotel prices to fall back to normal really. I expect this to happen soon as the US consumers buying up hotel space seem to have finally run out of savings.

They've already come down quite a bit from last year from what I've seen.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Posted in: 'Deadpool & Wolverine' is here to shake up the Marvel Cinematic Universe See in context

Saw it last night There was one joke towards the end that had the whole place in stitches laughing. Rare to see that in cinemas here.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Posted in: Japan likely spent some ¥3 tril on intervention as yen jumps See in context

The major factor behind the feeble yen is the wide interest rate differential between Japan on one hand and the United States and Europe on the other.

And with a rate cut extremely likely in September, we should see a stronger yen. Which is great for those of us long suffering yen earners.

We want our buying power back.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Posted in: Yen briefly dips past 161 against dollar to 37-year low amid intervention talk See in context

@Josh That was Fry not Bender, I think.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Looking for the Fountain of Youth? Try the gym and weight-resistance training See in context

Went to the gym today after reading this. I do it on and off but probably need to make it more of a habit - as they say use it or lose it right?

I find lifting things to be pretty dull though. DOMS and chance of injury also put me off it. - I prefer running or swimming which I do pretty often but running in this humidity is brutal..

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Japan warns of appropriate action any time against rapid yen moves See in context

Perhaps someone more enlightened about monetary policy than me can explain - but don't these interventions erode confidence in the yen over the long term?

Don't get me wrong, I realize something has to be done even if it's just to postpone its descent over the short term while they wait on external forces to restore the exchange rate. But "speculators" aren't going to be exactly encouraged by these interventions right?

9 ( +10 / -1 )

Posted in: Tesla turns up charm ahead of investor vote on huge Musk pay package See in context

Would Musk being awarded the money mean that the lawyers who stalled the award lose their $5.6 billion claim?

What a tremendous shame that would be.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Posted in: Japan biochemist who discovered statins, Akira Endo, dies at 90 See in context

One of the great life-extending discoveries of the last hundred years. Let's hope we have a few more Akira Endos over the next hundred.

1 ( +14 / -13 )

Posted in: Shibuya Ward to extend night street alcohol drinking ban all year-round See in context

when I was young and poor I tended to take a beer on the park bench with a friend from time to time

Exactly. I don't do it these days but saved a bit of money grabbing a can after work with colleagues back in the day. The old timers are just too far removed from that though and maybe they think they can transfer that revenue to the local bars? Good luck squeezing blood from stones.

As asked by some commenters here for the Halloween and New Years ordinance articles, who pays for all these toothless security guards?

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Posted in: Shibuya Ward to extend night street alcohol drinking ban all year-round See in context

People can still say it's just a case of old people having a big whinge - which considering there have been no actual incidents of violence - it most certainly is.

6 ( +8 / -2 )

Posted in: What is the average cost of living in Japan? See in context

We don't buy alcohol.

I would argue that the couple being cited don't buy alcohol either.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

Posted in: What is the average cost of living in Japan? See in context

3,808 a month on liquor for 2 people? Are the drinking The Brew?

10 ( +10 / -0 )

Posted in: 64-year-old woman arrested for fatally stabbing 76-year-old husband See in context

Disappointing.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Posted in: Testimony begins in lawsuit accusing Japanese police of racial profiling See in context

I haven't been checked by police in a few years now. I think it stopped around the time the American embassy issued a warning about racial profiling in Japan*.

There was a period where I was stopped and asked to dump the contents of my backpack into their bike basket every week outside my apartment though. Pretty annoying. Hope they caught the real criminal though. :D

*https://x.com/ACSTokyo/status/1467629914857816065

8 ( +8 / -0 )

Posted in: Sapporo sees earliest 25 C day of any year since records began See in context

If only this was as hot as it got...

6 ( +8 / -2 )

Posted in: Golden Week holidaymakers in Japan to reach 90% of pre-COVID level See in context

With Golden Week you have to zig while everyone else is zagging. Kyoto, Nikko, Okinawa - no way. But other places exist and they're worth checking out.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: Liverpool avoids damaging defeat to Man United but drops points in three-way race for the title See in context

I know he scored the penalty but Salah seemed a bit off his game. With all that said, United got lucky - capitalized on a mistake to get the equalizer. Odds are still in Liverpool's favor I think.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Posted in: Man arrested after pressing naked butt against water faucet in Tokyo park See in context

And this is just a case we know about..

How many more water faucets does this happen to that aren't reported?

Stay vigilant, people.

2 ( +7 / -5 )

Posted in: Irish PM-in-waiting Harris faces daunting but not impossible task See in context

He's too young to be Taoiseach. Likely it won't matter anyway as there will be a complete clear out come the General Election later in the year.

People are justifiably mad at this crowd - and they've long overstayed their welcome.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: 'Succession,' 'The Bear' win big at TV's Emmy awards See in context

Nothing for Better Call Saul. Kind of a joke contest.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Posted in: Disney debuts deaf Native superhero as 'woke' debate swirls See in context

Loved Vincent D'Onofrio as Kingpin on the Netflix show so will give Echo a chance. The trailer looks promising... Hope it's not a bloated, boring, meandering mess like most (all?) Disney+ Marvel shows.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Posted in: China plans to keep ships near Senkakus for 365 days in 2024 See in context

That only worked as long as the bulk of the Chinese population saw their economic lot improving measurably year after year. The "status quo" was ever increasing prosperity. 

Good points. I guess I would counter by saying the zero covid policy tested the appetite of the Chinese public for change and didn't really amount to much. I think you could be right over the long term though.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Posted in: China plans to keep ships near Senkakus for 365 days in 2024 See in context

Too many Chinese have studied and traveled abroad. Most families have relatives living abroad. Despite the censorship they know what their leaders tell them is not true and most do not harbor ill will towards the democratic nations like their leaders do. 

The problem is, most are quite comfortable with the status quo. They might know they're being lied to but they really don't care enough to do anything and are quite used to having limited state-approved conversations in public.

China would want to be careful about the Senkakus though. You have the current US president saying that they'll defend Japan if it comes to it and the likely opposing candidate would only love an excuse to give them a smack after covid.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Posted in: Are you optimistic about Japan's economy this year? See in context

Optimistic. Inflation will subside, interest rates increase to zero, salaries slightly increased to keep up with inflation, Kishida steps down and is replaced by Kono perhaps. Stronger yen.

Tourism boom will naturally slow down but stronger performance by Japan's private sector will offset the shortfall in money in for Japan Inc.

Something unexpected could happen - invasion of Taiwan, a quake, etc. - but otherwise pretty hopeful for 2024.

15 ( +19 / -4 )

Posted in: Tokyo’s Shibuya district bans public drinking on New Year’s Eve, cancels countdown celebration See in context

I don’t get it, Times Square, NY can pull it off but Shibuya, Tokyo can’t?

Yeah apparently not. Gerontoracy rules supreme in these parts.

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

Posted in: ‘The Marvels’ melts down at box office See in context

It's just that all these superheroes are C-listers. Spiderman and Thor will draw a crowd regardless of quality but I don't think I'd even heard of Captain Marvel until these movies started coming out.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

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