Posted in: Japan's 'naked men' festival succumbs to aging population See in context
I'm sure aging played a big part in this, but my guess is that it was more a liability issue - that perhaps the insurance on the event had become too high, or people were too worried about injury. Japan certainly isn't litigious on the scale of the US, but there's been an increase in lawsuits after accidents and they may not have wanted to risk it.
Foreign men or, god forbid, women taking part could help a lot of these events go on. Along the coast in Iwate, traditional dance groups are now teaching girls as well as boys - it's the only way to keep going. Why not? One hamlet in Oga has invited men from outside the area to take part for the last several years, though they still insist no women can do so. We'll see.
3 ( +4 / -1 )
Posted in: Unusually warm weather in northern Japan puts damper on winter events See in context
I’m not going to say “it’s always warm this time of year,” but I remember a February so warm I rolled up the sleeves of my shirt. I pinned this down to February 2009 and checked Japan Meteorological Agency records. That February had one day of 23.5 degrees. The summer didn’t have particular extreme temps in Tokyo - the July high was 34 - but it’s hard to know how many 34-degree days there were.
Anyway, not unprecedented in Tokyo. But not good.
-4 ( +2 / -6 )
Posted in: Snowfall leaves more than 130 injured in Tokyo See in context
“Thunder snow” is a rare but known phenomenon, I saw it once when I was a kid in the US. What IS interesting to me is that this is the second thunderstorm we’ve had this winter, there was one in January too.
2 ( +3 / -1 )
Posted in: Japan earthquake survivors battle unsanitary conditions with no running water See in context
Those temporary houses may look nice, but remember that these are folks by and large used to living in a freestanding house. I know that after 3/11, this was a source of stress for folks in the disaster zone.
11 ( +13 / -2 )
Posted in: Aso's comments about Kamikawa expose Japan's ongoing sexism impasse See in context
Unfortunately, Aso can't hide behind the excuse of dementia - he's been this way throughout his career. The only person who's said more insulting things than he has is Yoshiro Mori.
9 ( +9 / -0 )
Posted in: Kishida vows 'ceaseless' aid as snow hampers quake relief See in context
Given that the central government response has been less than impressive up to now, "ceaseless" efforts are essential if he wants to save his skin. A lot of people are asking why it took so long for the SDF to show up and for the government to set up emergency headquarters to deal with this - and while I think "emergency headquarters" in many cases are just a PR job, taking a day in this case is pretty unforgivable. Kishida could have turned his approval ratings around, but this is just likely to make things worse for him once the media starts asking about the poor response.
7 ( +11 / -4 )
Posted in: Japan sees heavy New Year holiday traffic after COVID-19 downgrade See in context
Eastman, where are you? Japanese aren’t so interested in overseas travel because of high plane fares and the weak yen. Also, they may start showing up now; yesterday was the last working day for many.
7 ( +8 / -1 )
Posted in: Avoiding a catastrophe if Mount Fuji erupts after major quake See in context
As somebody said, a slow news day story. While Fuji is not extinct, it is very well monitored and there’d be a fair amount of warning. Around 2000 there were some very minor tremors and it was big news. Yes it may well erupt but they’ve been talking about the Nanksi Trough quake for decades…
-1 ( +2 / -3 )
Posted in: Dogs, antennas and honey for Japan's big bear problem See in context
Sloppy reporting, just mentions climate change and aging society without any details, numbers or proof. Also, I’ve never heard about the severed head and think I might have.,,
-16 ( +5 / -21 )
Posted in: Novo to launch anti-obesity drug Wegovy in Asia with February Japan roll-out See in context
Removal of lymph nodes can cause weight gain.
Removing lymph nodes can cause lymphedema, which is different from normal weight gain and needs to be treated differently - with compression garments and specialized massage, as well as exercise. Dieting helps with LE but can't cure it completely.
1 ( +1 / -0 )
Posted in: Hawaii may allow Japanese tourists to pass border checks from Japan See in context
While it’s true that younger Japanese aren’t as interested in travel, it’s the ridiculous airfare and strong dollar that are inhibiting folks heading for Hawaii. Southeast Asia is closer and cheaper.
8 ( +9 / -1 )
Posted in: Technician arrested for taking voyeuristic images of woman during electrocardiogram See in context
No, usually you don’t have a bra on for an ECG.
Why was her face covered with a towel? Obviously to allow this perv to do his thing but I’m surprised the woman didn’t think it was weird.
0 ( +2 / -2 )
Posted in: Kishida plans income tax cut for households and corporate tax breaks See in context
Having a sales tax on food has always struck me as outrageous. Get rid of that and things might improve a bit for the average person
7 ( +9 / -2 )
Posted in: Japan's Self-Defense Forces struggling to recruit new members See in context
I once spoke with somebody who grew up in an SDF family. He said the pay was terrible because the SDF members are essentially civil servants, so it’s very hard to get salaries raised.
6 ( +9 / -3 )
Posted in: Bodies of 4 elderly hikers found near mountain trail in Tochigi Prefecture See in context
Why did it take police until sunset to abandon the search if the distress call came at 1230 pm?
2 ( +5 / -3 )
Posted in: Typhoon Kanun kills two in Okinawa, injures at least 62 See in context
the Japan Meteorological Agency said, adding that they no longer forecast it to directly hit China.
This typhoon was NEVER forecast to "directly hit China" No meteorological agency anywhere made such a forecast!
Actually I believe both China and the JMA said it earlier this week, and before the turn eastward became clear it did look possible.
2 ( +4 / -2 )
Posted in: Sapporo's faltering 2030 Winter Olympic bid victim of Tokyo Games scandals See in context
Many people knew as soon as Tokyo was awarded the Olympics it would be conducted with under the table deals and mate’s rates. It is how Japan works.
Not just Japan, I think this is virtually guaranteed with any Olympics, sadly.
I actually enjoyed the Olympics up until Tokyo, but watching how the IOC pretty much forced Tokyo into holding it during the pandemic has soured me on the whole thing. The sports can be nice to watch, but I think the organization itself is rotten to the core.
9 ( +14 / -5 )
Posted in: Was Ghibli right not to market Hayao Miyazaki’s new anime? Opening box office data is in See in context
This article doesn’t even mention “Your Name” by Shinkai, so I can’t really trust the story.
0 ( +0 / -0 )
Posted in: Hong Kong's seafood businesses brace for sales slump as Japan plans to discharge wastewater See in context
Why are LANDLOCKED Nagano and Saitama on this list? That’s just weird.
23 ( +25 / -2 )
Posted in: Japan's lower house passes contentious LGBT understanding bill See in context
Imagine that you can't inherit your partner's assets, you don't have parental rights to children you may have between you (unless you gave birth to them) and you can't even make medical decisions for them or visit them in the hospital. This is what same-sex couples want, the basic right to live with whom they love and have a secure life.
8 ( +11 / -3 )
Posted in: Body of partially burned newborn baby found on Shizuoka coastline See in context
I imagine this was an effort by a very upset person to cremate the baby, so in a twisted way they were trying to do right by it and give it proper rites. It's hardly unique to Japan; what's unique is that this kind of thing makes the news here. If pregnant women were aware of more options, this sort of thing might happen less frequently - for a lot of reasons.
0 ( +0 / -0 )
Posted in: Tokyo Rainbow Pride parade celebrates advances in LGBTQ rights See in context
Or would you prefer to live in the traditional Japan where international/interracial marriage was a social taboo?
The mean spirits on view in many of these comments shouldn’t surprise me, but do. How does it hurt anybody to let people marry whom they love? Especially since I’d venture to guess many of these commenters may be in what were known as “mixed” marriages - that were frowned on - in the past?
2 ( +14 / -12 )
Posted in: All-male BOJ selections another blow for gender equality in Japan See in context
The misogyny on display here is stunning. Look at the numbers - Japan ranked 116 out of 146 countries on gender parity in the World Economic Forum's global report last year, the lowest of any country on the International Monetary Fund's list of advanced economies. Or Women make up just 15% of Japan's senior public and private-sector officials and managers, according to data collected by the International Labour Organisation. Are there really NO qualified women here? This sort of figure, in 2022, points to something systemic.
Tokiko Shimizu and Yuri Okina were high on the list for potential candidates. Both have long careers in finance. They'd have been good. On the other hand, given that the job this round is a bit of a poisoned chalice - the two top men in contention absented themselves from consideration one way or another - perhaps it's best a woman not be part of what's likely to be a rocky couple of years.
-7 ( +4 / -11 )
Posted in: Japan aiming for record number of foreign visitors in 2025 See in context
Meanwhile, the Japanese citizen arrivals breezed through their own vast and empty counter zone with no waits at all.
The Japanese authorities should end their discriminatory attitudes and systems if they want the number of foreign visitors to rise so sharply. Treat everyone the same. I'm not optimistic, though. Discriminatory attitudes are ingrained here.
Stupidity? yes. Discrimination? probably not. Every country has separate lines for citizens and non-citizens, and in mid-January there simply were more foreign travellers than Japanese, I imagine. (I came back in early January and breezed through the shortest lines of all: foreign re-entrants with PR) It's more a staffing issue than anything else.
15 ( +19 / -4 )
Posted in: Toyota to replace Akio Toyoda as president and CEO See in context
"He has youth..."
At age 66??? Has youth been redefined?
This is referring to Sato, though I'd argue the same point can be made about 53.
7 ( +7 / -0 )
Posted in: Japan decides to ease medical rules on COVID-19 on May 8 See in context
May 8 is of course totally arbitrary and because they want to say they were doing prevention during Golden Week. I imagine most folks will still continue with the masks - or take them off earlier. In restaurants I've been in recently nobody has been pretending to wear a mask while they're enjoying themselves, and they are - talking is at normal levels. So it's kind of silly to put the mask back on once you leave but....whatever.
I know that in most cases Covid is not serious, but I have a friend who got it a year ago and is still struggling, so that makes me a bit warier about it all. Though I also think at some point they may find that some people are simply immune no matter what.
7 ( +11 / -4 )
Posted in: Heavy snow in northwest Japan leaves drivers stranded overnight See in context
I'm asking this sincerely, but why does this kind of thing happen virtually every.single.year? I grew up in a place with heavy snow and have the experience of being whited out on highways, but we went to the nearest exit and found a hotel and were fine. Do people just think it won't happen to them? We were the only ones on the highway and figured we were foolish, learned our lesson....
5 ( +7 / -2 )
Posted in: Tokyo District Court dismisses damages suit by same-sex couples See in context
This was such a SMALL part of the whole ruling:
Japan court upholds ban on same-sex marriage but voices rights concern | Reuters
1 ( +1 / -0 )
Posted in: Japan aims to revive inbound tourism to pre-pandemic levels by 2025 See in context
Counting on tourism is way easier than doing things that might improve life for the JAPANESE people who live here, like raising wages perhaps.
0 ( +10 / -10 )
Posted in: Myanmar court hands Japanese journalist 3 more years in jail See in context
Of course I’m not completely unsympathetic, but there are some regimes you just don’t mess with, and Myanmar’s one of them - has been like that for years, and worse since the coup.
That said, I imagine they’ll release him in a few months, once they’ve made their point.
5 ( +6 / -1 )
Amazing BoJ taking risk to ship it's short term rate from -0.1 / 0% range to 0 /0.1%. It is…
Posted in: Bank of Japan ends negative interest rate policy, opting for its first hike in 17 years
The US has the most advanced military in the world.
Posted in: An expanding NATO uses its diversity as strength
Thank you putin for uniting Europe!
Posted in: An expanding NATO uses its diversity as strength
Posted in: Chinese professor at Japanese university missing after visiting homeland