DenTok2009 comments

@fraris Location, location, location! I bet Tatsuko sold her takoyaki for 1,000 yen or more. Lots of tourists near Osaka castle who opened their wallets to snack on takoyaki. Go get your truck and open your stand there. =)

Isn't it nearly $306/day? If she made, $306/day then in a month that's $9,180 and in a year, it comes to $110,160. If she sold takoyaki for $6 and had an average of 51 customers every day then her takings are quite possible. Gindaco in Tsukiji always has people lining up and one can spend around 600 yen there if just ordering takoyaki and no drink.

She was around 67 in 2014. If her claim about not being familiar with the procedure of filing tax returns is true, then prior to opening her takoyaki stand, she must have been a housewife or caregiver. Perhaps her husband or parents passed away and she came up with the idea of opening a takoyaki stand as a way to provide for herself. She must've been ecstatic that her business was flourished, thanks to the tourists visiting Osaka Castle.

Don't Minors need their parents or guardians to co-sign those gray contracts? I guess not... Because if they did, then their parents or guardians would say this says you have to work so much hours and your pay will be this much and from that pay, these are the deductions and your take home pay is zero plus you are paying for transportation costs. How are you going to pay for that? You want mama and papa to give you an allowance? Are you sure you're all right with that? Is fame worth being treated like a slave? No time to bathe?!? And, even after gritting your teeth and signing away three to seven years to fulfill your contract obligations, you can't freelance or sign up with another agency for a few years.

I want to go to Osaka just to shop at Tamade just to check out the ridiculously low prices plus film the action when some poor sap tries to rob the place and is forced to strip!

In other words, you are just a puppet, we own you.

Does anyone know for sure that he has pension money coming in? If he did, then his daughter might not have abandoned him in the expressway parking lot.

How was he able to get into her apartment? Did he pick the lock? No deadbolt or push bolt?

I have never been to Shibuya to celebrate Halloween. Is the street party really a party with food, music, games and dancing or just people in costume milling around? Loved to celebrate Halloween by dressing up to attend a friend's party (she really loves costume parties) at home. Dunking for apples, eating pumpkin pies, handing out treats to the children who ring the doorbell (sometimes scaring the bejesus out of them before handing out the chocolates!), movie marathon (screamfest natch!)...

Educator60

Thanks. Guess I miss a lot since I don't have a TV at home.

Is carrying the baby to term less than 100,000-200,000 yen? I guess for those women who end up having the baby at home or in the park toilet and then abandoning the newborn, it is.

Does Ai Fukuhara speak Chinese well? I think I saw her in one of her engagement interviews or maybe it was after her wedding, where she was being questioned by Chinese reporters and an interpreter was on hand. I was thinking that Chiang Hung-chieh must speak Japanese in order for them to communicate.

I wonder whether the walls are thick enough so guests won't hear their neighbors snoring or farting.

Going back to the days after the war when Made in Japan equaled inferior products. Japan has come a long way since then. Why are Japanese companies falsifying data? Can't they make quality products anymore? Is it easier to change numbers rather than go through the research and testing? "Oh, so what if we get caught? We bow and apologize."

@garypen thumbs up. Yup, stop the guilt trip on the co-worker who takes time off for whatever reason and no expectation of omiyage or some offering to appease those who feel put upon.

Don't drag your feet when clocking out, get up and leave! "Mata ashita!" =)

Funerals are for the wealthy.

Perhaps some sort of business in conjunction with a government entity can be created as a public service for those who are not well-off, estranged from their family or have no family and are worried about what happens after their death. Those who are religious and want their remains buried at a temple or cemetery pay so much and those who aren't religious and don't care whether their remains are buried on consecrated grounds will have their ashes scattered in parks (help flowers bloom!) and their bones buried in a paupers' grave.

I think the day is coming when we all might be paying for a National Funeral Expense Insurance or something similar to help the city governments cover burial expenses for the poor.

"Sekisui House ignored information suggesting the deal was potentially fraudulent" I wonder who spotted that and whether the individual or the team has now been rewarded. The powers that be at SH decided to take a I don't-care-if-something-is-off-about-the-ownership,-I-want-that-land-before-anyone-else-acquires-it stance with the result being a huge loss. So, who owns the land? Is it one of those that the owners or heirs can't be located?

Where did the woman get the money to pay for the key? From her parents? Or from her savings into which she deposited her paycheck into when she was employed?

I'm guessing the foreign worker with no skills has a chance for permanent residency if he is fully proficient in Japanese and has knowledge and experience in the more than ten fields (why isn't the exact number given? is it an odd number? 11, 13?) the government deems there is a shortage of labor that its citizens won't step up and fill the positions in.

Speak Japanese plus pass the exams for the certificate in their field of work? Highly skilled or not, foreigners who have language skills and pass the exam should be paid well above minimum wage.

I wonder whether the highly skilled worker who will be offered permanent residency and allowed to bring in family members will actually take the chance to make the big move to live here. Why not go elsewhere? Train here, obtain the skills and experience, learn the language then move on to some other country where you and your family can enjoy work and life.

I wonder what Tobias Gross was drunk on. Just curious as to what he drank that made him feel like creating a bit of mayhem. Did he try sake? I've tried sake a few times but not enough to make me want to light a shirt or stab a random stranger in the neck. Or perhaps he had beer. Maybe Gross had his first alcoholic drink/binge in Japan. That might be the defense his lawyers are going for with the "different personality to come to the fore."

Regarding Kenji Uno's concluding remarks, I think if there is no change and things continue as they are, companies will continue to hire based on the applicant's college (Todai, Todai, Todai... or some other prestigious school) and moldability then there continue to be stress for both students and companies. Why is everyone shying away from hiring based on specific skills? Don't be afraid and go for it. Making this move will help change the education system, all for the better, methinks.

I wonder whether Yamada was a weekend driver. Perhaps he commuted to work via the train or bicycle which may explain why he was able to keep his driving status a secret for so long.

"...long opposed to producing its premium Lexus cars in China because of concerns over quality..." Guess the powers that opposed are retiring and the newbies are much more concerned about profitability rather than quality. I don't have facts or statistics or otherwise a well-informed mind but that's not stopping me from feeling the time still isn't right for Toyota to build locally. Do the majority of Chinese feel "Made in China" is a great incentive (trusted and safe)? Whether it's food, diapers or vehicles, do the Chinese consumers love the "Made in China" label?

If Hiroki Hashimoto's opinion is taken to heart by the bigwigs, recruiting aggressively in the districts where unemployment is high might result in more applicants. Emphasize that when one enlists, one will learn a trade while getting paid and serving/protecting Japan. Skills that will pay off even when leaving the military for civilian life. The saying is tech skills may get you an interview but soft skills will land you the job.

I have an acquaintance diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer in 2016. She has been active, running in marathons and working as a consultant. I used to think that being told one's cancer is at the most advanced stage of breast cancer meant that death was imminent. It is, but modern treatments continue to improve survival for most women diagnosed today.

Kiki Kirin knew how she was feeling and also had PET scan showing where the cancer spread in her body. It's really good that her daughter uprooted herself (plus husband and child/children) to comfort and care for her mother. Death is near but who knows whether it'll come in a few hours, days, weeks or months?

Her daughter lives abroad (according to the article I read a sometime ago), so I'm glad someone found her. I enjoyed her various characters when I had a TV. Like BertieWooster, I admired her attitude towards life and death. She was strong and serene.

I was in a grocery store right at Kachidoki (right across the bridge from Tsukiji market) one morning and I screamed when I saw a big fat rat scurrying around. This is a nice clean store with freshly baked items not in plastic bags. It was darting around the freezer section which is around the corner and right nearby the bakery section. Guess what I'm trying to say is, those Tsukiji rats will cross the bridge and find a good place to hang out in Kachidoki. =p

"It depends on various factors that there may be bullying..."

Yup, certainly not saying there is no bullying going on international schools. I've stated on another topic (think it was on children committing suicide) that I know a Japanese girl who was picked on by some classmates early on and everyone else, including the teachers, joined in on making elementary school and middle school a miserable time for her.

When classmates and teachers go out of their way to put you down because one of your parents is from a country or race that they deem as unworthy (based on their insults about your skin color, hair texture and bone structure or name), going to school is not fun. I forgot the name of the model, actress, singer or タレント whose parent is an African, but I remember she and her friend (a guy who also is ハーフ) lamenting their lot in life. This is way before she became model or whatever. They were just kids who were attending a Japanese school and not bi-cultural. The foreign parent's culture and language was not celebrated. The guy couldn't cope with all the stress and committed suicide.

Being Japanese might mean being docile... part of the herd. Remember the world being amazed at how the Japanese didn't riot or break into stores after the earthquake tsunami of 3/11? Photos of people lining up for water and all... Gaijins are associated with being loud and aggressive. When there's a disaster, rioting and looting is the norm.

@Vince Black I think the "hafu" who are envied are mostly the Caucasian mix. The Japanese girls, who put in colored contact lens and dye their hair, do their make-up to look Caucasian or half-Caucasian. They enjoy the compliments, "Oh! I thought you were gaijin! You look like you can speak English or some other foreign language!"

My friend's daughter (she's in her late 30's) went through Japanese school from kindergarten through high school. I was surprised to find out she went through a rough time; being bullied. I thought she would be envied as she has brown hair and big eyes (think Peko chan... kawaii or Becky).

Another friend's daughter (now a 15 year old) also suffered from bullying in elementary school. She cried every day. Her father told me, he would have sent her to an international school if he could have afforded it. Like Naomi Osaka, her mother is Japanese and her father is African.

@Peeping_Tom, yup, you're correct. Just because you're born in Japan, doesn't mean you are Japanese. Both parents or one parent must be Japanese for the child to be Japanese.