Godan comments

PS - And it doesn't say much for the men's team that no one seems to have offered his seat to a real winner from the women's team. :-(

JAL should have done the right thing and offered these young women first class all the way for all they have done on the pitch and for lifting the spirits of many over the years - especially because they aren't "professionals" like the men!! JAL - you dropped the ball on that one!

As for the geezers in charge at the JOC - you guys truly suck!

PS Good on the women for speaking up!

I am in the same boat, Zichi. My card says good until 2018 and I doubt that very much! When I asked the woman at the ward office which was correct, the 2015 or 2018 dates, she shrugged her shoulders. Glad to see some things never change! :-(

Odd there is no mention of the fact this was historical - three players from Japan in the starting line-up of a MLB team. It's been quite a historical season in many respects for baseball in the States. Cool!

I really feel sorry for the athletes representing Japan. To have these geezers sit there and pile pressure and more pressure on them when it is unnecessary in the first the place - just sad! Forget that, it is downright wrong! Especially when you see the group of "supporting staff" that accompanies them to London. No we have no money to support your training, but do your best! And meanwhile we'll fly business class and stay in ritzy hotels the whole time and "support" you with a passive/aggressive routine in front of the Japanese public. Really feel sorry for these young people.

5.8 billion yen to develop this? Call me nuts, but I think I will give it a try to see what carbonated coffee comes out like.

Education - and I don't mean only for the kiddies. I think a lot of people in Japan seriously have no idea that smoking can lead to all sorts of health issues. A concerted year-round effort may help. That and share the dangers of smoking on adverts and on the package. Just telling people to mind their manners when smoking is frankly sad.

Don't see the need for this project.

In the long run, this kind of revisionism and back-biting is exactly why anyone with any ability and a sense of morals will never step forward to be a leader of Japan. On the other hand, it seems to foster an atmosphere where the public can't wait for a "dictator" to show decisiveness and "leadership". The members of this "panel" should hang their heads in shame and have this "criticism" of Naoto Kan understood for what it really stands for: revisionism and politics at its worst!! Of course, I wholeheartedly agree with the spot-on comments from Zucronium and Co. above!

Is the number of suicides really down? Or are officials playing word games like they often do when it comes to sharing "bad news"?

I may be wrong, but shouldn't the title of this story be, "Genba Rebukes Japan's Ambassador to China...."? Since when has "Tokyo" been a country?

Moderator: Quite right. It has been fixed.

Wish I could be optimistic about this - but I am not. The need for everyone to be the same is so strong here - especially in education circles! And FYI, this is not new. Think we had a few such students way back when this first started 10+ years ago. The little "kids" were excluded from much of what goes on in a university. Poor kid I saw was alone all the time. Even if one of my sons were eligible for this kind of program, I would not let them enter it. Which is a sad statement to be made about education circles and Japanese society.

PS Whatever happened to the SELHI program? ;-)

I agree with Robert. I see these tailgating "conveys" everyday and don't get it! I avoid these accidents-waiting-to-happen almost on a daily basis. Guess "follow the leader" takes precedence over driving defensively. :-( As for the three who died, RIP.

Mitoguitarman -

No, thinking OF the box.

LMAO! :-)

Well said, Hereforenow, well said. :-)

AKB48 to the rescue!

And since nothing else has helped fix the "lost decade" (going on 20 years now!) why the heck not? Isn't this thinking outside the box?

Amazing to see one of the world's great misogynists surrounded by the women in the pic. The man has absolutely has no shame. :-(

When this news first came out, I figured it had something to do with an escalator. I have seen and been in a number of confrontations with people who purposely stand in the middle of the escalator. Such jerks care about no one and are obviously looking for a fight. Oftentimes, even saying "sumimasen" doesn't work - just sociopaths with vent up rage who they will take it out on anyone. Be careful one and all.

Nothing has really changed, has it? :-(

First, many in Japan will simply see no need to learn the language.

Second, having traveled the world, I can't remember anywhere else where the speaking of English is as ridiculed and/or laughed at like it is here in Japan. For some reason (revenge?) the media, the general public, and even the education system see nothing wrong with English being equated with games, childish images, ridiculous exams, and othering anyone who speaks the language with some level of competency. It's a real shame as I see many young people excel with their studies and English and really do something with their lives.

Lastly, there is a shocking lack of focus on listening skills and the appropriate use of English. In the former case, what is the point of studying a language that you spend no real time learning how to comprehend? As for the latter, for a culture that places great emphasis on "keigo" and "TPO" - it astounding to me to see how inappropriately many use the language. Say "ohayou gozaimasu" and I get the same back. Say "good morning" and get silence, laughter, or worst of all someone running away. :-( In the end, both are aspects of the curriculum and it almost seems to me that MEXT doesn't really want to foster English speakers.

So much for the AKB48 suicide prevention campaign. Heck maybe it worked and thus the number of young men contemplating suicide went down? Of course, maybe it is also one reason for the increase among young women?

If this is so, Dennis, I wonder if Nintendo ever thought about making a phone?

Sorry about the mistake:

And maybe victims' rights in change will also improve?

should be

And maybe victims' rights in Japan will also improve?

Watched this unfold on the news last night. Took me about 1 minute to figure out what was going on as I was shocked that the police would do something so thoughtless and moronic. The father of the pregnant woman who died was really giving it to the police who came to apologize and who could blame him?! I was impressed that the news showed more or less the entire rant at the police. The guy went on and on - good for him! It is sad that it takes such vitriol for change to occur, but maybe this will lead to a more sensitive and caring police force? And maybe victims' rights in change will also improve? On can only hope!

Give credit where credit is due; Yu did a great job! That is a tough line up, the Yankees have, and it didn't seem to faze him at all. Cool! ERA is down, but pitch count is still up. Hope he stays healthy the whole season!

Just saw this story on the news here and it is so heartbreaking! All over Japan kids and other pedestrians are on these little shoulders on the side of roads with cars, trucks, and whatnot whizzing by at oftentimes dangerous speeds. The road in front of my home is much the same and while many drivers are very safe, there are those jerks who just fly down the road not giving a damn about anyone. TBH, I am kind of surprised this doesn't happen daily in Japan. :-(

RIP Matsumura-san and Mao-chan.

Only 58%?! Without a doubt Hashimoto Ryutaro's (and the LDP) bumping up of the consumption tax killed the brief improvement in the economy we were experiencing back in the day. And Japan Inc. hasn't really recovered since.

If the people knew their taxes were gonna be used for social services, I doubt this would be a problem. But few here (very few!) believe that this will be the case and that the geezers in charge will just waste this money on more bridges that aren't needed, repavement of roads that were fine the way they were, and concrete in general. God I wish I had a concrete company in Japan - that is where all the money is!!

What's next? Water that is too wet?

Have looked into making an app for the iPad, but I am stymied by the fact that the iPad isn't as popular here in Japan (especially among certain professions) as the iPhone. Why not? People in Japan don't seem to want a "big" and "heavy" iPad. I don't feel it is either, but then being 187 cm and 100 kg makes a difference. So if Apple isn't gonna do it, then I definitely see a market waiting for someone to take advantage of as many people want a 7-inch tablet like the iPad.

I only wish more people in the world were like your husband, Makoto-san. Reminds me of something a smart man once said, "Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind."

If only more in the world were able to look past the differences and more to what binds us as being equally human, I am fairly certain the world would be a better place.