Disillusioned comments

A new year will not change the fact that Japan's economy has been in a downward spiral for over twenty years. Zero salary growth and an ever increasing cost of living only means the same struggle for 90% of the population. It's impossible to remain optimistic under these circumstances.

Although the teacher was probably correct in his observation he shouldn't ridicule the students for any reason. "If you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all."

I taught in private high schools and colleges for nearly twenty years. I saw just about everything in that time. I saw a teacher knock a student out. I saw a group of boys attack a teacher. I saw a lady teacher have a nervous breakdown and had to be taken away by ambulance. The thing is though, this guy got nailed for ridiculing the student. However, ridicule and belittling are at the top of the list of Japanese teachers disciplinary arsenal. They do it all day every day. I've seen kids belittled so badly by teachers they contemplated suicide. It's ok for Japanese teachers to do it, but not foreign English teachers. There are two sets of rules in Japan and any leaniency afforded to japanese teachers does not apply to foreign teachers. Keep your opinions to yourself and you'll have great success.

Another loser! He would have ended up in hospital if I caught filming up my daughter's dress.

The guy that grabbed him must have been Japanese. I grabbed an upskirt photographer taking photos up the bum of one of my high school students at the train station a few years ago. The goon that took the photos was interviewed and released within half an hour. I was held for two hours having my visa and employer checked. They called the school I worked for, the agency I worked for and my wife. At the end of it a Japanese detective said to me in English, "Stay out of Japan business." They didn't really care about the creep taking upskirt videos. They were more concerned about giving me a hard time. I've witnessed many upskirt creeps in action since and I just ignore it.

The warnings must be working. There have been far fewer deaths in recent years.

Newgirlintown - There’s the classic story of someone sticking the vacuum cleaner hose down granny’s throat to suck the mochi out that was choking her.

It's not a story. They make an attachment for the vacuum to perform this task.

Cheating on some one is not an excuse to beat on a woman. There is never an excuse to beat on a woman. The offense is assault causing serious injury. He should be given jail time for this offense although, it's unlikely he will.

The best thing was winning $87 in the $90 million lotto jackpot draw.

The worst thing was winning $87 in the $90 million lotto jackpot draw.

Gangs of thugs roaming the streets of Kashiwa looking for victims to mug. It sounds unusual but not improbable. However, I'm more inclined to believe the victim knew his attackers.

They'll all go to Roppongi and Shinjuku instead. The Shibuya local gov are a bunch of nannies. It's 2023/24 not 1923/24.

Some gathered the fish to sell or eat.

Gees! You'd have to be very dumb or very desperate to eat these fish not knowing what caused the mass kill.

There is a virus the effects sardines and causes these mass fish kills.

It's likely the mother was living in fear of violence and would do nothing for fear of retribution.

TIJ! Wait until the crime trail starts after the Osaka Expo.

Mr Kipling-Sounds like another "lived all their life" with parents cases. Who is to blame? Let's start with the parents.

> borsch - No word in the article about whether the 64-year-old son was ‘unemployed’ or retired and had a pension, too.

Both of these posts have jumped to the wrong conclusion. He was living with his father as a carer. He was not unemployed, retired or a live at home with his parents.

Every year they approve extra budget spending to fight inflation but it has no effect and people are still struggling with low salaries and an ever increasing cost of living. It's not difficult to conclude that the J-Gov is not addressing the issues behind the inflation and just throwing money at it in a hope it will fix itself.

Asiaman7 - According to the Asahi Shimbun, “The Kyushu region has something of a reputation for having particularly domineering or patriarchal men, often stereotyped by the term ‘Kyushu danji’ (Kyushu boys).”

That pretty much describes all of Japan. I've been married for seven years and my father-in-law still gives me lectures on how I should look after my wife and how I should treat her. This comes from a man who has slept in a seperate room to his wife for 30 years and the only time he speaks to her is to tell her to get him food or more ice for his shochu. TIJ!

Yet another creep getting his jollies watching kids go to the toilet.

Police quoted Nagasawa as saying he can’t remember what happened.

As soon as I read the headline I knew this line would be in the article.

It is true that antibiotics can not treat a cold. However, they can treat the associated chest and ear infections and prevent complications like pneumonia.

If he was hungry he would have stolen something more substantial than snacks and no alcahol beer. Just an old fella exercising his entitlement.

I remember being part of a group of ALTs that were refused entry to a bar in Chiba for 'nomihodai' because foreigners drink too much. TIJ!

Man arrested for beating up girlfriend in parked car

He is not a man. He is a cowardly thug.

It seems many Japanese parents do not know the difference between discipline and abuse.

Isn't that assaulting a police officer?

Speed - Lucky for her that this new law was passed. I hope she catches a break and is handed down a much lighter sentence.

As stated in the article, the alternative is 30-40 years in prison. She is 49 years old. She will likely die in prison either way.

If her story is true she made a very stupid decisioin to carry the bag without knowing its contents. It is very well known that a few countries throughout Asia give the death penalty for drug smuggling. Whether she knew what was in the bag or not is irrelevant. It is still her responsibility to know what is in the bag. She was a seasoned traveller and should have known better, which makes it difficult for me to believe she wasn't aware of the consequences or the contents of the bag.

The charges should include assault, theft, theft of a motor vehicle and driving while intoxicated. Sadly, the way Japanese law works, he will only be charged with one offense and not necessarily the most severe offense..

Seeing all those people on the bridge brings memories of the many footbridges that have collapsed around the world during sporting events and concerts.

What a kill joy! The more he protests the more people will come. Instead of attempting to ban it he should be updating the infrastructure to accommodate and make it safe for so many people. This is a major event in Tokyo. Get your finger out of your bottom and get it organised baka jiji. Kawasaki has even more people for their halloween event but it is organised and works very well. This event is a major boost for the local shop keepers. I think Shibuya needs a new mayor.

It's a great idea on paper. Working ten hours a day four days to make up 40 hours makes good sense. However, I don't know of any Japanese salary earner who only works 40 hours a week. I fear it will be abused to get more working hours out of staff. Who remembers Premium Friday? ..... Exactly!

the impact it would have on people and the environment was "negligible."

This is a very subjective comment. There will be some impact but the impact is determined to be small by their standards. Let's wait six months and how bad the impact actually is.

Who is complaining? I'm sure the merchants aren't complaining about their sales.