DickTaterTots comments

No matter what reason she went to his apartment, she does not deserve to be raped, and it is not her fault. Hence why it's being investigated as a crime.

For all we know the guy could have claimed to be a chef or good at cooking and said he wanted to cook for her, some women may see that as a harmless romantic gesture. If he has done this multiple times, he was clearly good at talking to women online and may have put forth a more trustworthy persona to trick them.

Or who knows, maybe she did go intending to have sex with him. But taking away her autonomy to have sex on her own terms, to say yes or no on her own, is rape regardless of whether or not you think she wanted the D.

In any case, women should not have to tip-toe their way through life and be held accountable for being victims of men's bad behavior. If a woman's presence or existence is enough to "provoke" you, the problem is you, not her, and women should not have to live a life of fear simply because you refuse to do the bare minimum required to be a decent human being.

Because they are weak.

If they called me weak, I'd laugh it off, because I'm strong.

The fact that they take offence, proves that they are weak.

"...I'm strong" says the incel hiding behind an anonymous profile on the Internet but OK.

"Saying 'Me Too' in Japan carries risk of being criticized, ignored"

Remove "in Japan" from here and the statement still runs true. You outta see the levels of harassment that women who come forward must face all around the world. It's disturbing. Japan is no exception, but it's definitely not worse than in most other places...however even though I say this, that is still setting the bar REALLY low because it's a terrible problem around the world and humanity as a whole is failing to properly address the abhorrent backlash and harassment that many women who speak out face online.

MeToo in the West brings attention to abusive men in power but it sadly still leaves victims at risk of extreme forms of bullying and harassment and it shouldn't be this way. It's been an eye-opening movement but some people wait foaming at the mouth trying to discredit women who come forward. Just look at how disgusting people acted about the woman who told her story of how Aziz Ansari treated her...."why didn't she just leave?" "this doesn't count as #metoo because they didn't work together" "she wasn't forced into anything, why did she comply with his demands if she didn't want it?" And some people even accuse others who come forward of using #metoo of just looking for attention or social media followers. But it gets even more extreme, I know a few women in America who have been doxxed after coming forward, I'm talking full personal info and family info shared online amongst internet trolls, some people went as far as to call their workplaces or clients to try to make them lose their jobs/work.

Glad she is unharmed. Thank God he seemed to be concerned about having her consent because this incident could have ended up so much worse. But he should be arrested anyway because it's really not right for him to be taking in/inviting in a minor, especially as he admitted he had hoped things would go well between them and lead to a physical relationship. One must wonder how bad her situation is at home that she would consider staying with a stranger 30 years her senior as a better option.

They resort to kidnapping young women and young girls because nobody in their right mind would marry these sickos.

I actually wanted to go for this event but yep, hotel issues. Wasn't the smartest move to host it in a place that doesn't have the room capacity for this kind of event. It's cool for small towns to host a Pokemon Go event as a way of revitalizing tourism in areas that haven't been doing well but please make sure you have the infrastructure and room capacity first. The number of people that show up is no joke.

Japanese government logic:

Let's host an international sports event run by a corrupt organization and allow ourselves to be bullied by them left and right. And we'll hand the contracts out to various corrupt domestic organizations as well, so we can be on more equal footing with the level of corruption. Can we afford it? Nope! Where's the money going to come from? Hmm, let's increase taxes and tourism! Even though we are totally unprepared to deal with 20 million+ tourists per year but hey that's not our problem.

Also Japanese government logic:

Let's increase sales tax for people living in Japan even though salaries have stagnated and a large swath of young people are stuck in dead-end, unstable, low-pay contract jobs!

But let's allow tourists to shop tax-free.

Annnnnd also Japanese government logic:

Let's tax our own residents who dare leave the country on their hard-earned holiday even though we already raised sales taxes. Cuz we need that money for cough Olympics cough more tourism!

Wait, people are actually defending this because it's legal in some Western countries, yet Westerners like to label Japanese as perverts?!

This stuff gets into the news in Japan because it's illegal and he got caught red-handed. While it angers me that such perverts exist we should at least be thankful that it's becoming more common for bystanders to intervene and for these sleazebags to face the consequences for their actions. How can you blame the victim simply for wearing a skirt? How about instead we ask what is wrong with people who think that their desire to photograph other people without consent is somehow more important than those people's dignity? If you are trying to justify his actions you are part of the problem.

I am a foreigner myself but I do not believe that foreigners should have the right to vote unless they naturalize.

The only exceptions I can think of in Japan's case are the ethnic Koreans who are considered special permanent residents.

It's nice to have a government that listens to our concerns but it's walking a dangerous line opening up election participation to foreign nationals.

Cool concept but nonsensical DJ lineup as the result of an organizer crew that is really out of touch with the music scene.

This is actually the replacement for Japan's failed launch of the Sensation festival, which tanked two years in a row but the organizing company had already reserved Makuhari Messe quite far in advance and likely didn't want to cut their losses on that.

The pre-launch party for Fantasia that already happened earlier this year was bizarrely bad. It was a concept that should have been good but was badly executed. From an organizational standpoint it was just sloppy, lacked cohesiveness as an event, and was poorly promoted. But the concept of having 20 different rooms to explore at this one sounds pretty cool at least.

I agree with the comments that the statue is not relevant to the US so it doesn't really have any business being on public land here. In Korea, China, Philippines etc it's OK. But I feel like these are popping up over the US as a way to try to make Japanese feel unwelcome in those areas rather than as a way to resolve the issue.

And there is something very ironic about the statues in the way they try to internationally shame Japan, but South Korea has never once even recognized the countless Vietnamese women their soldiers raped during the Vietnam War or the half-Korean children born as a result. These Vietnamese women are still struggling to have their voices heard.

If S. Korea wants the statues to truly represent the struggle for human rights, the country also needs to come clean and offer support for the hundreds of victims who are still alive. Otherwise these statues just make it look like some kind of p*ssing contest. South Korean former comfort women DO speak up about this issue as well but for the sake of politics it tends to get overlooked.

Perhaps the biggest problems with Korea, Japan, and probably most other countries in the world is that they expect sympathy when their own people are victims but don't extend that same sympathy towards others as much, especially when their own country is the aggressor. Nationalism and pride are rearing their ugly head around the world quite frequently these days and people continue to suffer needlessly as a result.

lol the cats reacted to his music the same exact way I do

I am guessing he got out of the charges related to having sex with a minor by paying out a handsome sum to the girl and/or her family, some people disagree with that but I can understand why a lot of women would take that instead of going to court and having to relive their trauma again being questioned by police and defense attorneys etc.

Either way the public isn't being forgiving of him and his career is now rightfully in the gutter.

I think some ppl are missing the point, it's not sushi that you eat, it's diapers rolled up and covered with "toppings" (other useful baby items) in the shape of sushi. I'm not really interested in the world of motherhood and babies and stuff but it is a neat idea because new mothers do tend to need diapers but people might feel strange just giving plain diapers as a gift. Plus, the guy who started this is specifically employing women who can't find normal jobs because they have to take care of young children at home. It's only 10 people but it's still a good thing that he decided to go for people who are often overlooked or feel unable to get jobs. He gets my thumbs up even if his idea is a bit offbeat.

Geez so many of the comments here are utterly disgusting. A lot of women either play along or freeze up in these situations because they are SCARED for their personal safety. There are so many instances of women being physically or verbally attacked or followed for turning down men. The onus shouldn't be on the women to speak up, it should be on men not to treat women like pieces of property. Just talking to someone doesn't mean you've given them the green light to touch you. Even if you exchanged numbers. Do you people have any idea how pushy, whiney, manipulative and aggressive some guys are about getting a woman's number, and how many women cave in and give the number in hopes that the guy will stop perstering them for the time being?

Anyway the cultural differences excuse for letting him off the hook is a load of horse poop as well. If someone is so socially inept that they either can't catch nonverbal cues or they make their moves so fast that they aren't even paying attention, it's just being an entitled, selfish, neanderthal turd.

At least this guy got a few months detainment before being let go but I am afraid this ruling will send out the wrong message. It will end up being the gaijin equivalent of the "I was drunk, I don't remember" wildcard. "Cultural differences, I didn't know she didn't want to be asaulted!"

Let's face it...America has a lot of crooked people in power who WANT Trump to keep taking the spotlight for ridiculous, irrelevent, or controversial stuff because it shifts the media circus onto him and enables them to do their dirty work and not even make a blip on the radar. Most of them never liked him but they did realize that they could play him like a pawn in the media, and distract the democrats as well as the general public at the same time.

I'm no fan of Trump but he isn't half as bad as some of these other vampires lurking in the shadows.

I still think most Republicans want Trump to get frustrated and resign and put Pence into power. If that happens, then the real nightmare will begin...

the smaller music festivals in japan always have much better line-ups.

summer sonic's line-up this year is pretty bad....actually that's putting it mildly. and it's not that all the acts themselves are bad but rather the few actually worth seeing seem awkwardly out of place on the line-up.

fuji rock is slightly better but both fuji rock and summer sonic need to stop trying to awkwardly push the latest popular electronic acts in there. It just becomes painfully obvious that the promoters don't really understand that kind of music and how to make a good event with it--and I'm saying this as a person who loves electronic music.

I think the smaller festivals in Japan would be a lot more interesting to go to, especially the ones with more domestic line-ups, whether rock or electronic or otherwise.

Labyrinth isn't a festival though....it's an outdoor rave. Have always wanted to go to it but sadly its timing has always made it impossible.

If the person is being genuinely kind, then it's not outdated.

But some guys nowadays do this kind of thing because they expect something in return.

What I really don't like though is that these manners are associated with Western men being "gentlemen" but for the vast majority of those men, it's an easy way to publicly pose as being a "gentlemen" without actually being gentlemanly in the more important aspects of life.

They shouldn't be using bears :(

The horses and dogs maybe as long as they are trained, treated, and kept in comfortable and humane situations, but there really isn't a humane way to train a bear to do something like ride a bike and other difficult tasks all while remaining obedient. Circus bears tend to end up in crappy situations the same way circus elephants do.

@sensei258 - It's not for awareness about their mere existence but for awareness regarding the myriad of social and legal issues they face. LGBTQ people have to jump through hoops that straight/cis people can't even imagine just to try and have a vaguely similar lifestyle to our own.

Keeping their orientation secret from their family or workplace or even landlords because of discrimination, lack of "normalization" in the media, the high expenses and long waiting list for gender reassignment surgery, lack of job opportunities or available housing for openly gay/lesbian/bi/trans individuals, marriage rights, the high rates of trans women and gay/bi men pressured into the sex industry (likely due to lack of other opportunities as a result of discrimination in the workplace), the way trans men are almost treated as invisible, health issues and barriers faced when seeking medical treatment, the objectification of lesbian relationships for hetero male pleasure, etc are some of the many problems that LGBTQ individuals face in Japan. Not to mention, a show of solidarity for LGBTQ people around the world who suffer much worse, more violent fates in other countries. From the high murder rate of trans women in America to the systematic torture and murder of gay men in Chechnya to the practice of "corrective rape" to "fix" lesbianism (which occurs around the world from the UK to South Africa and India and many more places), there are very few safe havens for LGBTQ people in the world where they are afforded the same rights and protections as everyone else.

And I think the "entertainment" aspect of these parades should also serve as a reminder to us all about how much of our entertainment industries we also owe to the LGBTQ community. The disco boom, the creation and development of house music, and some of the greatest rock musicians of all time, for starters. All the things the fashion industry has "borrowed" from LGBTQ forms of expression and marketed for mass consumption. For some people it may also be celebrating the relative freedom they have to express themselves in Japan compared to some other countries (this doesn't mean Japan is free of problems, but there very well may be some participants who come from countries where "coming out" could get them assaulted or killed, and they may have not had the opportunity to claim their identity with pride in such places).

I don't think there are many people in Japan who are unaware of the existence of LGBTQ people, but there are plenty who are unaware of the daily struggles they face.

Tokyo is a great place to be if you're still single into your 30s or 40s because it's still very much possible to find an attractive partner who isn't married/hasn't been married before and doesn't have kids.

Try being single in your mid 30's+ in a lot of other cities around the world and it can be challenging to even just make friends your same age who are single or don't have kids, and the dating scene can be even harder if you're looking for a reasonably attractive partner.

The biggest challenge in Tokyo's dating scene is finding a partner whose lifestyle matches yours. And also, some people really want to rush into marriage while others won't consider it until after 5-10 years of dating.

It causes mental distress in anyone who isn't a middle aged man with bad eating/drinking habits.

Gulping beer on TV commercials ranks in at only slightly less annoying than people who slurp or inhale their gyudon.

Sounded fairly plausible until the end. Japanese and certain other Asian populations often consume MUCH more caffeine than Westerners. Green tea is loaded with caffeine, for example. However, the only ones who seem to deal with it badly are the ones who have certain bad lifestyles, that's not genetics or necessarily even the caffeine, that's just working for a crappy company.

He forgot the obvious explanation that kissing is considered a more sexual act in Japan than it is in a lot of other countries, and therefore something that a lot of people save for when they have some privacy. And that it also can come across as rude to other people when couples are too show-offy as a couple in front of others, particularly friends, the big exception though is when newlyweds are socializing and drinking and all their friends are pressuring them to kiss in front of everyone. I have to admit, after many years in Japan, I do feel awkward when I go abroad and in social situations there is at least one very touchy couple in the group, especially if everyone in the group is aware that others in the group are single, or there is a couple going through a rough spot. I feel like it's inconsiderate towards those people but at the same time my awkward self doesn't dare to ask.

AKA, a list of books written primarily by white women or westernized japanese who want to feel like they have some sort of exclusive look at Japan in a way that no other "outsider" could possibly know.

Would have been cool to see a list of recommended works by Japanese female authors instead.

Why did Germany even allow this guy in after he committed arson in Italy?

claiming some people are more accustomed to a squat toilet isn't a mere "excuse", some people really are so accustomed to them that they do not know how to use a western toilet properly. i think anyone who has spent a good amount of time around southeast asia would have noticed shoe prints on western style toilet seats at some point. I've seen this in Japan too and in places where I'm pretty sure they didn't come from Asian tourists. In Japan it's probably mostly the elderly doing it, but as they mentioned, kids from poor areas living in old, low-income housing have a much higher chance of having one of these at home.

i do support increasing the number of western style toilets dramatically though because on the flip side, some people clearly do not know how to use old-school squat toilets and end up getting pee, poop, and even period blood (yep, have seen this is the old guesthouse I used to live in where the toilets were shared and unisex) all over not just the place for your feet but also the surrounding floors. it's not hard to learn to use those toilets and even less hard to learn common decency to clean up after yourself, but, pardon my pun, it seems that a lot of people just don't give a sh*t.

@Mike O'Brien

So, would you have no problem with some website publishing stuff like your real full name, social security number, your home address, phone number, workplace, credit card info, browser history, and list of internet aliases? Because those are all factual information as well.

And yes I know some people choose to make such information public but there are plenty who don't want to for a whole lot of reasons.

The problem with casting a white actress for this role is that it takes away from some of the deeper themes in the story that come from a very japanese perspective, especially on the underlying commentary in regards to globalization that were present in the original film adaptation of the manga. This would in essence, be lost if told through the eyes of a white American, and it makes me wonder if they ended up removing those nuances from the story entirely anyway.

The other thing, going back to the manga, is if I remember correctly, Kusanagi's design as a cyborg was intended to blend in with the normal population so that she wouldn't stand out. So unless they're gonna go and whitewash most of the population despite it being set in either Japan or Hong Kong, this doesn't make sense. Though from the looks of the trailer, it seems that aside from a few token roles, the Japanese or Asian-looking characters are primarily either bad-guys or exotified freaks that are part of the exotic Asian scenery.

Visually, the effects seem stunning and very lush, but the trailer can't help but make me feel like it's gonna end up as another "white people in an asian playground" kind of movie.

I might check it out eventually, even if just for the visuals, but it's not something I would pay money to see.

How exactly should publishing someone's age without their consent be protected under "freedom of speech"...? they're publishing people's personal identifying information that they do not want made public. And there can be a lot more at stake than just the risk of being on the receiving end of ageism when you can't control which of your own private information becomes publicly accessible. Posting people's personal identifying info on the internet without consent, for your own profit nonetheless, is not "freedom of speech," it's a violation of their privacy.

And as someone who has done some minor acting roles before, I can personally vouch that there are situations in which you can get flat out turned down before even auditioning if they know your real age, regardless of whether or not your appearance and voice can pass for being someone of the age of the role.