girlinjapan comments

why? umm..because their parents send them abroad to school, and expect other people to raise them, in whichever manner that may be. Lack of responsibility only begets the same.

I agree with these services being fairly pointless, except the tissues. I think it's a genius form of advertising .. cheap & gets their name out there for sure. And everyone needs tissues at some point or other! I was always annoyed with the 'human traffic sign' guys trying to show me helpfully where to walk, when clearly if I tried to walk in any other place, I'd fall into a hole, or walk into a wall. Thanks! The supermarket arranging & rearranging drove me nuts too.

So sad .. I worked in that area once upon a time, and always felt safe in Melbourne. Random violence can happen anywhere.

Just a little FYI ... there was another fatal motorcycle crash last night here on Oahu. And he wasn't wearing his helmet ...

This is the 2nd fatal motorcycle crash in Oahu since I've been here (only 2.5 months) ... The laws in Hawaii are ridiculous, but I do see people wearing their helmets occasionally. It is a personal choice, but one I will never understand. Very sad that this happened, but why why why would you ride a motorcycle on a highway, without a helmet?

@elbuda: ummm .. have you ever been to Canada? Smoking pot is normal there. People are generally not 'fat and lazy', nor do they sit around eating. I think it's great that countries are waking up to the fact that marijuana shouldn't be illegal, when always-legal alcohol causes so many worse problems. If only places like Japan could open their eyes and see the truth!

It's so sad that marriage is portrayed as so negative and secretive here. I simply can't understand being in a relationship where you would hide something. If I want to spend my money shopping, I will. If my husband wants to spend money drinking with his friend one evening, he will. Where's the free will in these marriages? The problem stems from being totally dependent on one person, and that person cracking under the pressure!

This is a sad story, and I would never ever tell women to stop travelling by themselves. However, women - unfortunately - do have to exercise much more caution when alone. I know girls of other nationalities who have done stupider things whilst travelling alone - they just ended up lucky. This poor girl didn't.

earphones and a book. and eyeshades.

Absolutely - there is good music, by talented musicians, and then there is music driven by the masses, and produced en masse. I find people don't generally mock others' tastes, unless it runs towards the typical, run-of-the-mill, soulless music, which whiskeysour mentions above!

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I'm so tired of reading this talk, I cant be bothered reading all the comments and can barely make it through the article. It is just so boring!!! Everybody is so individual. * I totally agree; everyone is coming at this issue from such an individual angle, that it's almost hard to take the comments seriously. That being said, it is almost impossible to speak objectively on this issue. Steve, if you were a woman, I suspect your views would be extremely different. If the rest of us were men with a good business to support a good wife at home who doesn't need to work, maybe our opinions would be more like Steve's. Hard to say. One thing is certain: Japan is like the 50's and 60's in so many ways; whether you choose to believe that's good or bad is up to you. 2 days ago a girl told me a story about how when she told her boss she was pregnant, her boss basically asked her to resign, although not in so many words. She was a manager, and couldn't continue working 14-hour days. Instead of helping her or trying to come up with a compromise, he would simply rather see her go. This would be a lawsuit where I come from - and a winning one. If women choose to stay at home, so be it. If a mother wants to work, so be it. I think most people in this thread could disprove Steve's 'theory' that children of working mothers "ON AVERAGE" turn out worse than their counterparts. Clearly that is not the case.

Maybe it's just me, but I feel like I've been seeing a lot of these stories lately .. what's going on in Japan?!

In response to the comments about Japanese-language teaching being poor in International schools, I disagree. All teachers are qualified Japanese teachers, and teach in similar ways to Japanese schools. The 'kanji upside down' comment I find a little strange; why would a Japanese teacher do that? (I dislike when people automatically assume things when they don't know the background!) I think the reason for poor Japanese levels, is their lack of desire in a lot of cases, to study a language which they feel they already know. Also, in school these kids speak English, and often socialize outside of school in English. I have heard students say, "my mom told me I was more like a gaijin than Japanese", to which one student responded with, "you sent me to international school; it's your fault."

Interesting article...In my experience, it is true that many Japanese students in International schools have less ability in their own language. If they plan on staying in Japan, getting into Japanese universities, it does present a problem. However, many of these students now go overseas for post-secondary, (mainly the US, Canada and England), as it is these environments in which they feel most comfortable. Often, parents send their children to intl schools here in order to make sure they'll be able to go to universities overseas. I do find it sad sometimes, that these children are less knowledgeable about their own language. However, they are, for the most part, receiving a well-rounded and international education, which will go far in today's globalized society. And yes, IB can and will take them anywhere!

@ Nicky - exactly! It's not a hugely popular dish; people don't really care about eating it (according to those whom I've talked to)...they just want to show the world that it's their tradition and they can do what they want. Frustrating, because although it might be 'their' tradition, these are not 'their' whales .. or dolphins! They belong to the world, to the oceans!

I applaud so many people in Tokyo riding bikes as an alternative to cars and trains. I really wish that it was safer for everyone for them to do so, however. As a pedestrian I get so tired of crossing the street, only having to dodge a cyclist who ignores the red light. I find many cyclists in Tokyo to be ignorant of the laws - and am constantly dismayed by the lack of helmet usage. Bicycle education is a must in this country!

A lot of airlines only have Business Class, not First Class. Therefore, Business is the equivalent, for all intents & purposes; it's still extremely expensive. @gwragged ... wow, you have some extreme views. It's rare for a woman these days to stay home and not work, so I presume you are suggesting that most mothers in today's world "are a selfish bunch in general, who treat their kid like a hobby instead of centre of their life"?? Like I said before - just because you and your family can afford to have a single income & still live comfortably enough to enjoy First Class travel ... does not mean that everyone can. Most people CANNOT. I would never dare to suggest, however, that most stay-at-home mothers are a bunch of privileged and lazy beings who can't be bothered to go out and work. I prefer a balanced view of life ...

Icewind007: Do we know if the female is not Japanese? The story didn't specify on whether or not she was a foreigner. To Klein2: Keep up the 'bird' talk, and people might just assume you are not such a 'equality for the sexes' kinda dude ...

smithinjapan, I agree with you wholeheartedly, and applaud you for responding with intelligence and reason. I have lived in many different countries, and have felt unsafe - not from violent crime, but sexual - in Japan alone. People in other countries are surprised to hear this; but this underbelly of does Japan exist, and here we see it first hand.