Electra Kanvas comments

Throwing money at the problem (i.e paying for people to live in refugee camps in Jordan indefinitely) is as good as doing nothing.

As for the problems Japan "needs" to tackle before taking on any refugees? These problems have persisted for quite some time and there is no indication that we are going to solve them any time in the next decade. Should we just tell Syrians to hang in there till we do? Besides, there isn't a single country in the world without domestic problems that need addressing. Doesn't mean they should ignore people fleeing a war.

Tiptoeing around cultural nuances can be a pain but some of these complains are so simple to navigate I was surprised to see them on the list. #1 is the perfect example. If you are hosting, make something else for yourself. Nobody will castigate you for not eating turkey. If you are a guest, you still don't have to eat an enormous amount just to be respectful. My Japanese family sure doesn't mind when I skip half of the osechi items.

We really are living on the edge in this country! Not to worry though, I was looking at some quake/tsunami maps the other day and chances are by the time this super volcano has woken up there will be nothing left for it to do.

Car date? Is that something people do?

I've heard of all kinds of absurd typhoon fatalities, like old ladies going shopping during a storm but surfing? Taking pictures of huge waves? Come on, it doesn't take that much common sense.

A lot of volcanos are active but still open to climbers. Mt. Usu is a good example of recent and pretty impressive activity (one of it's recent eruptions caused the formation of a new mountain). There's even smoke coming out but that doesn't always mean it's about to erupt. Still, when you see the ash coming, you put the camera down and you try to get out.