cubic comments

tmarie - if they had a phone in their hands I'm sure people would understand. If they used those Bluetooth phone gloves where you talk into your hands - THAT would be insane (and hilarious, so we should encourage it).

You missed out another variety of insane person often sighted on trains here by the way - the foul-smelling tramp who sits on the priority seats (usually on the Yamanote), and repels all forms of life within a 2m radius. The train usually smells like a bin, and is only marginally better than when somebody has been sick on the seats.

tmarie

Cubic, the issue, as I stated, is that people don't keep their voice down.

But if you do keep your voice down, it shouldn't be a problem. The rule should just be - don't talk loudly on the train, whether it be to the person next to you or on the phone.

tmarie

Cubic, no one keeps their voice down. People also get so wrapped up in their chat that they become a pain in the butt to others. Game players are a pain in the butt as well but at least we don't have to listen to them.

But if you do keep your voice down, it shouldn't be a problem right? Seems weird to me that you're 'allowed' to talk to somebody next to you, but can't talk to somebody on your phone - it's the same thing.

Random thought: I can never really understand why it's frowned upon (pretty much anywhere in the world) to talk on the phone while you're on the train, yet talking to the person next to you is fine. If you keep your voice down, what's the difference?

This hysteria is a clever marketing ploy by those mask companies. They must be raking it in now. 2011 and 2012 were "the years of 防災/bousai goods" - now everyone has their rucksack, torch and canned tuna, 2013 is the "year of the mask."

Why, so some Japanese can claim their culture is being attacked and only sports Japan is good in are being taken away?

Sounds a lot like a certain country on the other side of the Pacific...

70k? Doesn't really seem worth it considering the risk/reward at stake.

Well, if Bruce Willis says so then I suppose that's case closed.

They must feel shattered and wonder to do now.

Do pro wrestling and get paid. If they don't mind being punched in the face, do MMA and get paid.

This is all still primitive and is probably not all that practical yet, but this kind of technology is the future. These guys should keep at it - entrepreneurial spirit from new grads in particular is what Japan needs!

2 people with their arms up in the air? That'll make the Russians change their minds.

I hope Hamilton's car is competitive (though I have a feeling it will be pretty far behind on the basis of last season) - he is an exciting and brilliant diver, and I hope we have the chance to see him racing Vettle, Alonso and Button competitively.

for all those people in Showbiz that get caught , Shaving their head should be the new norm!!

She would look even more like a drug addict if she shaved her head...

Alonso showed his class when he took it to the wire with a dog of car last season - hoping he has a car that can really push the Red Bulls, especially at the start of the season.

smith

Power point? Downloading notes and data? NO WAY!

PowerPoint is generally a massive waste of time, apart from at say sales meetings with clients, etc where you need to present an idea in a sort of aesthetically pleasing way. For internal meetings it is just a waste of time - see the one page project manager for a WAY more efficient way to plan/explain anything.

Donating all of his salary to charity? He's always been a classy guy Beckham. Good luck to him.

No sportsman should be subjected to abuse like this. A complete disgrace, and Nakamura's decision to walk away is the biggest message he can send to the Slovakian FA. FIFA and UEFA will do nothing but hand out minuscule fines and meaningless warnings - it's sadly up to the players to either walk off the pitch (like AC Milan) or walk away and show fans that this will not be tolerated.

Cleo -

Ah, but earlier you specifically said they're entitled to enjoy it. Controlled conservation and 'sport' hunting for the sheer pleasure of killing are two completely different things.

Yeah, that was my bad with what I wrote first. Well, they can kind of be the same - some 'sport' hunting doubles up as controlled conservation. Anyway, whether they are ethical or not, they are just two reasons why banning guns completely just isn't going to happen.

realdoll & Matthew Simon - Good to see the pro-gun contingent citing relevant issues like the 'threat of invasion.'

Cleo - I'm no hunting advocate either, but until it's made completely illegal, people who wish to do so have the right to do it. There are some endangered species in Kenya that were saved as a result of controlled hunting of their predators - whether that's right or wrong, the people doing the hunting aren't just in it for fun.

cleo

Really? As a gun control supporter I cannot think of any legitimate reason for anyone to own or carry a gun that trumps the right of the average citizen to walk the streets/send their kids to school/sleep in their beds secure in the knowledge that they are not likely to be gunned down by a trigger-happy nutter.

Fair enough. I'm all for gun control, but I'm not against people owning guns for something like hunting for example. Hunting ain't my cup of tea, but I'll accept that is for some people and they're entitled to enjoy it as long as it's in a controlled environment.

Surf o'holic

In Japan, hunting is nearly non-existent, and as a result there are wild boar attacks which could be prevented, and hikers(and others) are sometimes attacked by bears but are defenseless. Granted, those are not very common, but they do occur. But, in other countries, where hunting IS a significant cultural tradition, such as Canada and USA, the Japanese style ban would be unacceptable to a large part of those societies.

Even the most ardent of gun control supporters will accept that a complete ban on guns is neither realistic or reasonable. What is painfully obvious though, is that there is no need for civilians to own assault rifles or magazines that house huge amounts of ammunition (if you can give us a reason, go ahead). If people want guns for hunting, fine - only sell guns that can hold small amounts of ammunition, get rid of the gun show loopholes, make the background checks more strict, etc. Perhaps then the US will be closer to a resolution and a safer society, where less nutcases are able to get hold of assault rifles with relative ease.

Surf O'holic

In Japan, where conformity is cherished(or enforced : The nail that sticks up gets beat down), individualism is limited to inconsequential externals. The US is a whole different kettle of fish, particularly since it has been based on exceptional individualism since its inception.

So you're basically justifying gun ownership with individualism? (and also that criminally over-quoted Japanese idiom which should result in an automatic vote down) Biggest load of garbage I've ever heard.

If the US controlled gun ownership like Japan, you would have much less gun crime - surely that can't be disputed. Do you not want less gun crime?

Scrote

Now, if you choose to go and work in that country you must surely be aware of the risks involved.

Maybe the 66-year old guy had the choice whether or not to go, but a typical Japanese expat either goes where they're sent, or they have no job at all. You can argue that they should just find another job, but we all know life isn't always that simple.

For all of the analysis being done about this incident, I really don't think there is much they could've done to prevent what happened, short of having armed guards stationed all around the complex. According to some reports, the terrorists apparently had 3 people working in the plant as spies previously, and a number of informants inside (12 employees were questioned). Maybe the facility could have had more sophisticated security to prevent the terrorists from getting inside, but this was clearly a very carefully thought-out attack.

"technically, that is..." - usually there is nothing remotely 'technical' about what the person is about to say.

I'm a floater. No doubt.

It'd be good if this was a generally used term. e.g. "why is that floater there?", "who left that floater in my department?", etc. Toilet humour at it's finest.

cleo -

Not everyone can work from home of course, but the bottom line is still that 'salaries are higher in the city' isn't the simple equation it at first seems to be.

Yeah, you're right - if you're in a line of work where you can be flexible and work from home, then basically your living situation just comes down to where you want to be, but that only really applies to a very small % of the workforce right now. Things will be changing in the future when employers get more creative in how they cut costs, but if more companies in Japan allowed their employees to do their desk work from a desk at home remotely, maybe the inaka economy would be in a better position.

Betraythetrust & cleo

I was responding to the guy calling people "morons" and "sheep" for flocking to the city in my comment, but I do agree with you that the quality of life in the countryside is generally much higher (I've lived in the sticks and plenty of big cities in Japan myself). I'm sure you'll agree that average salary is way higher in Osaka than say Tottori, which is what I was getting at with the money thing. Obviously there are some well-paid jobs in the country, but nothing like the city.

The problem is, unless you're prepared to work in agriculture, nursing, the civil service, retail, or set up a business like Betrythetrust said - what else is there? For your average university grad/mid-career job changer, the city is the only place offering a wide variety of opportunities. People who move back to the country are generally doing it because they were chewed up and spat out by Japan Inc, not because the country is brimming with work opportunities.

uzneko

You forgot to mention that many JETs look down on people who are teaching privately here and often hang out in their own little cliques

English teachers looking down on other English teachers? There really is nothing to do around here.

kringis

Maybe these morons should realise that flocking to the big city like sheep isn't the best way to serve their country. Staying in the country and helping to bring jobs and investment back into less populated regions is one of the ways Japan can save itself.

Yeah, stay in the country where there are basically no jobs for people with career aspirations. Stay in the country, and get paid a fraction of what you could get in a big city. Sounds like a plan. Developing local economies is in the hands of companies and the government, not the job-seekers.

lostrune2

No. If there's a legit goal, the goal-line tech automatically sends a wireless signal to the ref's watch which would then alarm - all within 1 second after the goal. It's up to the ref whether to acknowledge the goal if he is unsure, or not to acknowledge it if he is sure that it is not a goal from his POV.

Ah, got it. Thanks! Didn't know it works like that.