himawari comments

Strange to foreigners but in Japan you have to take responsibility if you are connected.

That's pretty much the gist of it. It's just as strange to them that a parent wouldn't take responsibility for their children's wrongdoings in the West.

If you actually look at the comments on the Yahoo Japan article about this, you'll find that the majority of them are saying the same things as everyone else on here: that it is ridiculous and absurd that she is apologizing for the actions of her adult son. http://news.yahoo.co.jp/pickup/6212323

If anybody watched Sukkiri on channel 4 this morning, you would have seen this article come to life - they took a look at the huge numbers of Chinese tourists, took a quick look at what they were buying, and then boom - the rest of the piece is devoted to the troublesome behavior/"困った行動" of the Chinese tourists, without offering any constructive solutions. Really frustrating to see.

Only ever been "accosted by beggars", out of that list. Maybe next time the fam could meet you in Solvang.

Sorry, I was just excited to see my tiny hometown mentioned :D

Breaking Bad has actually made its way to Japan - the series has been broadcast on Fuji TV Next (a premium cable channel) up to Season 4, and Seasons 1 and 2 are out on DVD. That might not help us much, but just thought I'd throw that out there!

I love the internet. I was watching it just an hour after the airing ended in the US.

I will greatly miss this amazing show!

The general election for AKB48 is the largest annual event in Japanese music and entertainment.

This quote made me sad.

To modern Japanese, the overseas world is their oyster. Most know it as well as they know their own domestic back yard.

Um, what?

English - Napoleon Dynamite, Japanese - Bus man (hardly peaks one's curiosity).

Are you familiar with the movie/TV show Densha Otoko/Train Man? The title of Bus man is a play on this since the main characters of Napoleon Dynamite/Densha Otoko are weird, antisocial otaku types. (The similarities pretty much end there, though...)

The part at the end about the confession/room delivery course makes it sound like a one of those love-sim video games.

The board chairman of the proposed Sapporo medical school told reporters, “This will be a huge relief to the students."

I feel dumb for asking, but can anyone explain why it would be a huge relief to the students? Tuition issues?

I can see the reasoning behind most of these to an extent, but... a motivational message? Too much "drive and enthusiasm"? I think a lot of people could use more of that. Pretty ridiculous.

I can honestly say that I have only spent time with 2 NON-FAMILY females that I enjoyed spending time with where I didn't feel a sexual attraction...

...I did end up having sex with one of them when she plopped down in my lap after a night of drink.

Wait... what?

You see ads in magazines like Metropolis and such for similar services all the time... is this one considered a first because it caters exclusively to foreigners?

Lilic - I was thinking the same thing. What do they tell the passengers in this situation?

Maybe just because they're in the news a lot? Almost every UNIQLO story I see on here is one that I saw on the news the same morning. They spent a ton of time covering every aspect of this new store on TV today.l

But she's been part of the campaign for awhile already...?

Jeff, it was never picked up by the Japanese mainstream media, but the demonstrations have taken place multiple times outside the Fuji TV building in Odaiba. Searches for it will bring up several articles and pictures from personal sites and blogs (even a lengthy Wikipedia article).

Hmm, the report I saw may have been mistaken (or my understanding of it). It does appear that she left the girl in the car while she shopped - they say it was for five minutes.

Something's missing here. The news on TV was saying that the mother left the girl in the car when she went to go return the shopping cart (I assume this is after the shopping was done). They emphasized that it she was away for a couple minutes, at most. I don't remember hearing anything about her leaving the girl in the car WHILE she shopped.

I like this place but one that was closest to me in Tameike Sanno closed down sometime last year. :/