Derek Grebe comments

Well my my my.

I am shocked - SHOCKED, I say - that this resignation was a ceremonial piece of kabuki with no intention of a friend of the LDP having to face any consequences.

And what are the odds that he was rehired on a significantly higher salary than before to reward him for his performance?

Does this whiny little crybaby ever stop bleating about himself?

I will never understand how anyone could think he has the temperament to be POTUS.

Police said Hosoi was drunk at the time and had fallen asleep on the floor near the ticket gate.

And yet it's troublesome when non-Japanese have a conversation on the train after a hard day's work or when enjoying a once-in-a-lifetime holiday to these hallowed shores.

Don't forget - We Japanese have good manners, which you must understand if you want to visit from Gaijinland.

Short answer: yes.

Don’t snack, and don’t eat after 8pm.

I lost 26 kg that way over the last 2 years.

It’s simple self control,

How will the decision be made?

In a smoky back room of a very expensive restaurant (for which we, the taxpayers, will foot the bill), and all policies will be agreed.

All policies will be “just keep doing what we have been failing at for thirty years “.

Election to be called in December, docile electorate complies.

Rinse and repeat.

Number of candidates: 9

Number of new ideas to get Japan out of its 30-year death spiral: 0

Chance of winner of back room deal being elected in a landslide by docile electorate: 100%

John-san

What makes you think I am American?

And how can something which started in 1969 be “culture” in a country with such a long history as Japan?

Also, if this slaughter is “culture “ why are we not allowed to watch it? Why must it be hidden behind blue tarpaulin?

This massacre shames Japan.

This is a disgrace on the reputation of Japan. If it's some great part of traditional culture, let's all watch it, like Kabuki or manga. Be proud of it.

But no.

They know the world is repulsed by it so they stick up blue tarpaulins and arrest anyone who tries to report on it.

It didn't even start until 1969.

This is not culture. It is bloody barbarism.

In Minami-Kashiwa, where I live, there are painted-off strips at the side of some streets, many of which lie flush with the marker between r\car territory and guttering. To use that as a bicycle lane is impossible, since one's pedals hit the raised curb.

In other areas of the town, we get a generous 20-30 cm of tarmac before the painted line demarcates us. Unfortunately, some genius at the city office has decided to place bollards within that space, rather than on the painted line itself, thus making it necessary for cyclists to use a 60-cm more narrow road.

The cycle lane is blocked with bollards. Why, a suspiscious mind could read something into that.

This is my #MeToo moment. Many years ago when I was younger and prettier than I am today, a dirty old sod decided that, given the crowded nature of the Chiyoda Line train we were sharing, he should exercise his curiosity about the package a six-foot Englishman was toting.

I will never know if I measured up to his expectations, but I am pretty sure he won’t be trying that kind of exploratory research again.

What a massive surprise.

LDP/Construction industry/Yaks sign a contract for something nobody really wants.

Suddenly, for no valid reason and without consultation, the costs increase exponentially.

Taxpayers pick up the tab and say “Shoganai “

Rinse and repeat.

Spitfire, don't be silly. This money is all going to whaling fleets, Osaka Expo, and every other boondoggle the LDP is wrist-deep in kickback agreements with.

This used to be your money. Now it belongs to Taro Aso's buddies, and don't you dare raise your voice about where it all went.

So much for the much-touted omotenashi.

Which LDP apparatchik crony spent 10 minutes picking a colour to stick on a shapeless generic kagoul?

And how much of our tax revenue did Dentsu get for coming up with that bolleaux about sunrises?

Why do people keep falling for this rip-off?

The capacity of the Japanese government/construction/yakuza cabal to plunder the public purse for these unwanted, unnecessary and staggeringly wasteful boondoggles is probably the only way in which Japan remains global #1.

The cabal is extremely lucky to reign over a docile population.

How many thousands of trees were hacked down to create this flash in the pan?

And will the accounts ever be released to scrutiny?

There is too much arson about.

I wish I had LDP privileges.

Do whatever you like, get caught, found guilty and get straight back out there for a taxpayer-funded booze-up.

Why are the powers that be so obsessed with deciding they know best what Japanese moviegoers should and shouldn’t be allowed to watch?

The multiple Oscar winning film is available to buy overseas, for those who still enjoy physical media.

Here, we’re still wringing our hands about whether or not it’s suitable.

Release the film. If Japanese moviegoers want to see it, they will buy their tickets and make up their own minds about the merits of the picture.

Or might it offer unwelcome competition against a Crayon Shin-Chan film which has been churned out?

Trump is such a whining little crybaby.

How anyone could look at this fragile-feeling, thin-skinned rapist with half a billion in felony charges, with 91 further felonies to come, and mistake him for the potential Leader of the Free World bewilders me.

he inadvertently stepped on the accelerator, mistaking it for the brake pedal

Well, isn't that a total surprise?

Crikey, Mr. Saito, tread softly and choose your words carefully.

Remember, you've got that Amakudari position to think about. Don't want to get the big boys displeased with you.

And we still can’t see it in Japan.

Now why am I not surprised?

As with so many other LDP schemes, I would not be remotely surprised if it turned out that there has been a budget to prepare for basics such as beds and heating, and it’s been misappropriated by the good old boys for unspecified (ie corrupt) purposes.

The electorate is an open wallet for these thieves.

And you can bet, when the tsunami does hit, they’ll be straight out pleading for us to dig deep to help them in their hour of unforseeable need.

Steal, do nothing, then play the victim. It’s the LDP modus operandi.

Japan, now world's No. 4 economy, on steep road to reverse low growth

Correction: Japan, now world’s No. 4 economy, accelerating on slippery slope to total collapse due to decades of mismanagement by complacent, corrupt and incompetent LPD monolith which can’t understand that it’s no longer 1986.

Don’t tell me - she mistook the gas pedal for the brake?

Lucky nobody was killed, but it’s no thanks to this careless obatarian.

A great triumph for Kishidanomics indeed.

LDP takes Japan back down the hole of decline and what will change?

Not a damn thing.

You can put me down for a few of these. I'll have my Sunday fry-up, then send me in for a new heart and liver.

Waste not want not.

Oxo cubes.

Piccalilli.

Various seeds for my roof garden, for a good fragrance in the pleasant weather.

Antiperspirant, which does a substantially better job at keeping my shirts in one piece than Japanese deodorant does during the hellish summer months.

Anti-inflammatory cream for my incipient arthritis.

A separate suitcase full of salt and vinegar crisps for my daughter, for whom it serves as a Proustian memory of long summers spent in Wales with her grandparents, now both gone, who delighted in every moment they were able to spend together when she was a child and the world was a happier place.

headed to a device near you.

Not if you live in Japan they’re not. No Oppenheimer here.

When my daughter was born I was allowed to leave early, but expected to be back at work the following day.

I also had to make up the hours I’d missed.

There was not one millisecond of service sangyo done from that day onwards.