Posted in: Salty foods are making people sick − in part by poisoning their microbiomes See in context
Unfortunately a lot of Japanese food is extremely salty in many parts of Japan. 12gm per day is normal in some prefectures. Such saltiness may have been a necessary addition to preserve foods in the colder parts of Japan which are covered in snow in the winter in the past, but with refrigerators and a modern transportation network it is no longer necessary.
I find I have to avoid a lot of Japanese food such as pickles and miso as they are far too salty for me to eat. If I have a bowl of miso, I know I will be thirsty for the rest of the day.
I suppose that is why I nearly always eat home-cooked food and also avoid precooked supermarket food.
Actually, low-salt alternatives in supermarkets can be just as bad because they often contain sugar as a flavour enhancer.
1 ( +4 / -3 )
Posted in: Japan business lobby chief hopes for gov't efforts to end deflation See in context
I haven't noticed any signs of deflation recently. In fact everywhere I look I see signs of inflation. This is particularly noticeable with prices in the supermarkets. I don't suppose Masakazu Tokura spends much if any time shopping in supermarkets though.
0 ( +1 / -1 )
Posted in: Too much of a food thing: A century of change in how we eat See in context
What a strange photo. Why on earth are the staff faceless? That destroys the photos. It would have been better to crop the photo so that no people appeared in it.
0 ( +1 / -1 )
Posted in: Tokyo police mistakenly arrest Filipino man for allegedly overstaying visa See in context
Perhaps all of us gaijin should study our rights.
Arudou Debito/Dave Aldwinckle, who is a naturalised Japanese, has studied how gaijin are treated and what their rights are. A policeman can ask you for your ID, but you have an equal right to ask for his and take a photo of it. You may want to keep the following link on your phone and show it to the police if you are stopped. It explains your rights in law and has a Japanese translation you cn show the police.
https://www.debito.org/GcardLAWS2.pdf
2 ( +3 / -1 )
Posted in: Japanese student at Yale urges Gaza ceasefire as U.S. universities quiet dissent See in context
You forgot the part about who declared war to who.
Gaza declared war to Israel (again).
Flute, it is you who forget who declared war. Gaza was being held in a seige on October 7th. October 7th was a reaction against a long seige. I am not condoning it or supporting that attack. Gaza was surrounded.
Both Gaza and that part of Palestine nominally under control of the Palestinian Authority, including the part often referred to as the Occupied West Bank, have been under attack by Israel for years.
There was a distinct possibility of Israel and Palestine accepting each other's existence and living in peace. Unfortunately Rabin, the Israeli peacemaker, was assasinated not by Hamas, not by an Arab, but by a Zionist. Netanyahu denies one of his speeches incited the violence that led to that assasination.
Each time Netanyahu has been Prime Minister Israel-Palestine relation have worsened, construction of illegal settlements has increased.
In addition to enforcing a long seige of Gaza, the Israeli forces killed 492 Palestinians in 2023 acording to the UN. That is more than twice the number killed in any year since the UN was taking records of such killings.
-3 ( +0 / -3 )
Posted in: Japanese student at Yale urges Gaza ceasefire as U.S. universities quiet dissent See in context
If you want weapons for Zelensky, you have to agree to send weapons to Netenyahu as well.
Ukraine is smaller than Russia, Gaza is smaller than Israel.
This should read, "If you want weapons for Zelensky, you have to agree to send weapons to Gaza as well."
Sending weapons to Israel is more like sending weapons to Russia to help them against Ukraine. Israel is using F35s to attack a place with no air force.
Israel is also regulary attacking and kidnapping people from the rest of Palestine and has been doing so for years.
The US does not send weapons to Russia, so why send weapons to Israel?
-3 ( +1 / -4 )
Posted in: U.S. charges yakuza gang leader with conspiring to sell nuclear material See in context
Where would yaks get there hands on uranium or plutonium, Fukushima? Who takes care of the disposal of toxic waste in Japan?
-2 ( +1 / -3 )
Posted in: Chinese consumer prices suffer quickest drop in 14 years See in context
Oh the poor suffering Chinese. We in Japan, on the other hand, would be happy to have such problems. The LDP and Kishida seem to know how to increas prices especially food prices.
-2 ( +3 / -5 )
Posted in: Fatigue sets in for Japan earthquake survivors facing long road to recovery See in context
It is probably not a feral. Pets are important to many people and people are important to their pets. That cat is used to being fed and has probably never lived in the wild, maybe never even played outside. Most humans are not used to living, are not even capable of living outside in the wild, most household pets are not either.
At times like these humans need what may well be their best friends. They need companionship.
"If I hadn't made it to this center, I feel I might have buckled" under the mental strain, Tomita said.
Doesn't that tell you she couldn't just dump her cats and stay in a place without them?
3 ( +3 / -0 )
Posted in: What are the symptoms of an enlarged prostate and how is it treated? See in context
I suspect many older men reading this have prostate problems. I also suspect many men have problems but don't even suspect they have them. Over a certain age it is good to have a check for both prostate cancer and an enlarged prostate and also a test for urine retention, which may be for other reasons. As we get older, our body changes. Many of these changes such as prostate, hearing, eyesight are so gradual that we do not notice them. If you are waking up at night to go for a pee, it could be because simply you drank too much beer, but it could be because of an underlying problem like diabetes or a prostate problem. Try to catch such problems early before they become more or cause other problems.
3 ( +3 / -0 )
Posted in: What are the symptoms of an enlarged prostate and how is it treated? See in context
In Britain and much of the world PAE, Prostate Artery Embolisation is a common treatment. In Japan in 2016 there were only four or five hospitals in Japan that performed this operation.
An interventional radiologist inserts a catheter in the artery that deeds blood to the prostate. Plastic balls are inserted in the artery to partially block the flow of blood to the prostate. This causes the prostate to shrink. The operation is less likely to have side effects than more invasive techniques. One side effect of more invasive techniques is retrograde ejaculation.
If you are seeing a urologist about your prostate, ask about PAE, and if your urologist doesn't know about it, find another urologist. You could try the Keio University Hospital or Hiratsuka City Hospital. They work together on this or did in 2016.
3 ( +3 / -0 )
Posted in: Biden says U.S. 'shall respond' after drone strike by Iran-backed group kills 3 U.S. troops in Jordan See in context
What are American troops doing in Jordan anyway? If America wants to stop military escalation in the area, America should stop filling the area with weapons, stop supplying the main terrorist organisation in the area, the IDF and stop supporting genocide.
If American soldiers get killed in that area, it is because Biden and America are supporting war in the area.
-6 ( +2 / -8 )
Posted in: How genocide officially became a crime, and why South Africa is accusing Israel of committing it See in context
Zibala, have you heard of the Warsaw ghetto uprising? Are Hamas so different from the Jews who rose up against the Nazis? Are you incapable of seeing the similarity between Gaza and the Warsaw ghetto? Did the UN say that those in an occupied territory have the right to fight against the occupiers.
We must learn about and understand the difference between Jews and Zionists and Israelis.
Are Jews the problem? Are Israelis the problem? Are Zionists the problem? Are Muslims the problem or is Hamas? We must learn to differentiate.
Many Jews, American Jews and Israeli Jews, Jews worldwide are protesting about the genocide and calling it genocide, protesting about the action of Zionists, Netanyahu, the Israeli government.
When Jews and Israelis themselves criticise what is going on in Gaza, when the find the courage to criticise the Israeli government there is something seriously wrong.
Not all Jews, not all Muslims are extremists. Just a minority are and the same applies to Christians, Hindus, other religions.
If Hamas is a terrorist organisition, what is the IDF? If the IDF is not a terrorist organisation, what is it doing in the occupied West bank every day? How many Palestinians have been killed in since Oct. 7th? How much has been destroyed? It should also important to take into account the actions of illegal settlers in Palestine.
John-San, please learn the difference. Most Jews are on good terms with Muslims. The problem is Zionists. Another problem is Zionists try to convince people that Zionists and Jews are one and the same. They are not. But the Zionists like to scream antisemitism at every anti-Zionist comment.
The women and children killed, maimed, turned into refugees are not Hamas. However, what the Israeli government is doing is increasing hate of Israelis and Jews while increasing not decreasing support for Hamas.
0 ( +4 / -4 )
Posted in: Execs of fruit sales company arrested for fraudulently falsifying apple export documents See in context
Were they sold as organic?
-3 ( +1 / -4 )
Posted in: Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry finally stops using floppy disks See in context
Are those 5.25 in floppies in the photo? If so, they are probably in some strange Japanese format like 640kb or 1.2Mb with a non-standard number of sectors.
The US was using 8in floppy disk to control its ICBM system until 2019. I am sure I read they had them specially made as no manufacturer was still producing them commercially.
4 ( +5 / -1 )
Posted in: U.S. scientist brews up a storm by offering Britain advice on making tea See in context
Agitating the bag.
If she is using tea bags instead of loose tea, she is not very knowledgeable about tea.
If the tea bag has that yellow and red tag that we see all over Japan, she is absolutely clueless. I never saw that when I lived in the UK, and I believe all my British friends would aggree it is absolute rubbish.
I am quite willing to believe salt would improve the taste of that Liptons, but it would still be undrinkable rubbish.
0 ( +3 / -3 )
Posted in: Safety reforms and new tax system threaten to drag down Japan trucking industry See in context
Sometimes when trains when stopped at a station change drivers. Would it be possible for trucks to do this, too? The big takkyubin companies have depots all over the place.
2 ( +2 / -0 )
Posted in: Fujitsu in firing line over UK Post Office scandal See in context
The biggest computer company in the UK used to be ICL. Fujitsu took control of ICL. That is how they got a foot in the door in the UK.
It seems Fujitsu were warned a long time ago. This has just become news again because of a TV drama based on the incident.
The following link is a claim by a software engineer who discovered flaws in Horizon.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-lancashire-67921974
Jason Coyne, who worked for Preston-based Best Practice Plc at the time, was instructed to examine the computer system called Horizon in 2003.
He said he notified the Post Office the data was "unreliable" but he was ignored, sacked, and then discredited.
and
The system was developed by the Japanese company Fujitsu for tasks like accounting and stocktaking.
He said the Post Office then used their own internal and Fujitsu experts.
3 ( +3 / -0 )
Posted in: Popular Korean pizza shop Allday Pizza Service opens first branch in Tokyo See in context
Buger sauce sounds disgusting. Maybe it nees renaming. It makes me think of boogers.
-3 ( +2 / -5 )
Posted in: 'Snack' bar tours giving tourists a taste of after-dark Japan See in context
I think many foreigners see snacks as places to avoid because of the likelihood of being overcharged, ripped off.
6 ( +9 / -3 )
Posted in: Apparent Israeli strike kills senior Hamas figure in Beirut and raises fears conflict could expand See in context
Ramsey's KitchenToday 10:28 am JST
Good. Target the leadership and try to reduce collateral damage and innocent civilian loss of life.
Are you suggesting Hamas should target Netenyahu?
0 ( +2 / -2 )
Posted in: Foreign English teacher in Japan calls student’s ability garbage; says it was an 'American joke' See in context
The biggest problem for most Japanese learning English is overcoming the fear of making mistakes. I used to teach at universities and soon realised that this was their problem. I used to tel my students that it was easy to make no mistakes. Do nothing, and you will make not mistakes, but do nothing, and you will learn nothing.
I used to teach my students that it is alright to make mistakes. I told them I would be more likely to get angry with them if they made no mistakes bcause if they made no mistakes, they were not trying hard enough, not trying anything new. This is true for learning anything.
I also asked them if they always spoke perfect, grammatically correct Japanese.
Unfortunately, Japanese schools seem to teach that all mistakes are bad and they should never make mistakes.
7 ( +8 / -1 )
Posted in: Japan to impose sanctions on three senior Hamas members See in context
How about freezing Israeli assets? How about sanctions on Israel?
What Israel is doing is far worse than anything Hamas has done.
Israel has been taking hostages for ages and still does, and not just in Gaza but in the rest of Palestine, too.
Why are the heavily-armed illegal settlers never called terrorists?
Why does the US continue to supply weapons to Israel when they are used for genocide?
The Israeli right-wing extremists are the problem.
0 ( +6 / -6 )
Posted in: Takashimaya apologizes after 900 customers complain over ruined Christmas cakes See in context
At least they refunded. There are many Japanese companies that try to deny there is anything wrong with their product. Companies that sell a faulty product and treat me correctly by either fixing the product, replacing it or giving me a refund retain my custom as I know every company sometimes delivers a faulty or problem product and I know that company treats customers well. If they don't, I avoid that companies products whenever possible.
3 ( +4 / -1 )
Posted in: Cyclists can pose risks both to others and themselves. We expect people to ride bicycles in a way in which they can fully hear the sounds around them. See in context
It is against the law to ride a bicycle on the pavement (US sidewalk). It is against the law to ride without a helmet. It is apparently also against the law and evidently to stupid to ride with earphones.
It is news when the police decide to enforce any of these laws.
The solution is simple. Require a licence for riding bicycles. There doesn't need to be a test. However, every cyclist would be required to carry it just as a driver is. A cyclist who commits an offence could then lose his licence and the right to ride a bicycle. That should get a few morons off the road.
2 ( +2 / -0 )
Posted in: Territorial disputes with Japan over, says Russian foreign minister See in context
TaiwanIsNotChina
My point is quite clear. Japan also believes squatting entitles you to territory when it is to Japan's advantage.
On the subject of squatting are the Kuomintan squatting in Taiwan or is the Communist Party squatting in China, and what is their entitlement to the land they are squatting on?
1 ( +1 / -0 )
Posted in: Territorial disputes with Japan over, says Russian foreign minister See in context
The Senkakus are ours because we occupied them, but the Kuriles are not Russia's even though they occupy them now and have done for a long time.
Confusing, isn't it?
1 ( +1 / -0 )
Posted in: Japanese women fall prey to host clubs See in context
Well done, Kishida! You are urging the police to do what is their job. But seriously, do you think your urging will make any difference.
I have always suspected that their is some sort of agreement between the police and the yakuza. The yakuza with few exceptions do not mug people in the streets, are not pickpockets. I believe they, not the police, make the streets of Kabukicho pretty safe, they take care of the freelance would-be pickpockets and so on. It is in their interest to do so because in my wild magination doing so allows them with what amounts to police permission charge what they like in the clubs and bars their, run prostitution and other rackets. The police will crack down on drugs and physical violence though. No drugs, no physical violence keep the streets clean and anything else goes. That seems to be the deal.
1 ( +4 / -3 )
Posted in: Disinformation is rampant on social media – a social psychologist explains the tactics used against you See in context
"Weapons of mass destruction." Did that one come from social media or The White House. More recently we have the babies executed by Hamas. The US government and its agencies are as guilty as anyone of spreading disinformation.
-2 ( +3 / -5 )
Posted in: U.S. says its destroyer downs 14 drones in Red Sea launched from Yemen See in context
Why don't they down some of the weaponry targetting Gaza?
Why does America support genocide?
Why does America protect those guilty of the genocide in Gaza?
-14 ( +0 / -14 )
Those nifty scarfs Pete loved to wear on camera will add to his “value” in prison.
Posted in: Supreme Court chief justice denies ex-Trump aide Peter Navarro's bid to stave off prison sentence
Posted in: In Germany, the far right is on the rise again. How did it happen?
Posted in: Japan pledges to launch new dialogue on nuclear material ban treaty
Posted in: Japan society on transgender issues to drop 'disorder' from name