Posted in: Pachinko is ‘recreation for morons,’ magazine claims See in context
The game’s image also suffered because some of the hall owners sent their earnings back to families in what is now North Korea, turning pachinko into a source of hard currency for that isolated nation. During pachinko’s peak in the 1990s, hundreds of millions of dollars may have flowed into North Korea every year, though the industry says recent economic sanctions have largely cut off that financing.
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Posted in: 12-year-old boy jumps to death in Nagoya subway; leaves suicide note See in context
While antiーbullying measures in schools are a good idea in any country, Japanese society is stratified into the in group and those outside the group. Japanese adults themselves act like children bullying those who have less power than themselves. I am not sure if just telling kids not to bully each other when it is structurally condoned within business and interpersonal relationships. When managers are allowed to hit their subordinates, I can see no moral authority to tell children not to say mean things to each other. Any prohibition against bullying in school will mean nothing unless society changes first.
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Posted in: China sells Tojo ice cream on war end anniversary See in context
Hiroshima chocolate and Nagasaki macha flavored ice cream cones for sale in Japan?
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Posted in: Japan's smartphone 'zombies' wreak havoc on the streets See in context
Come on... every expat in Japan knows that the locals are not aware of their surroundings:
Stop to chat after stepping off the escalator and creating an obstacle for everyone behind them? - Check
Walk in a random fashion without looking who is going to intersect their path through a busy train station? - Check
Stop in the doorway of a building and block pedestrian traffic? - Check
The cell phones only make it easier to put the responsibility of avoiding collision on someone else that much easier.
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Posted in: Osaka becomes first Japanese city to embrace free Wi-Fi See in context
Japan... You are cheap.
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Posted in: Man says ‘Sorry, I’m hungry,’ before robbing Gunma convenience store
The companies want - NEED - a US law that prohibits them from most work that helps the CCP. They…
Posted in: China's President Xi meets U.S. executives, academics in Beijing
Posted in: Plunging births push Japanese diaper maker to switch to adult market
Posted in: Kishida, Biden to commit to peaceful use of outer space