HollisBrown comments

Posted in: Diamond Princess quarantine critic says Tokyo Olympics should be halted See in context

Of course it should be cancelled. The sooner the better too - so time, focus, and resources can be spent on the more serious problem at hand.

It's becoming clearer to me that the Japanese government and the IOC are just waiting to see who blinks first. I would guess that whoever makes the decision to cancel or postpone will become liable for all the associated costs that taking such an action will incur.

To me, that is the only logical conclusion as to why the Japanese government is continuing to spout 'business as usual', when actually holding the Olympics this summer would be absolute insanity.

All plans have started to be rolled out for our local leg of the torch relay next week. Notices of road closures set up, big posters and banners advertising the event. Nothing saying 'please stay at home and refrain from a mass public gathering' in sight - or for that matter on the local city office website.

10 ( +11 / -1 )

Posted in: Pompeo assails China for rights abuses See in context

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday that a cache of leaked documents proves that Chinese authorities are engaged in massive and systemic repression of Muslims and other minorities in western China...

A cache of documents and multiple testimonies from career civil servants and diplomats in HIS OWN country prove that senior White House officials (possibly including himself) are engaged in massive and systemic abuses of power, including cover ups, bribery, collusion, and financial irregularities.

While it is important to hold China accountable for any rights abuses it conducts, Pompeo is a hypocrite for not speaking up about the corruption that is currently taking place in his own government.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Posted in: Abe's approval rating wilts amid accusations of party funding See in context

Don't worry, his approval rating will no doubt rise closer to a more important time i.e. an election.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: Japan speculates over identity of final Olympic torchbearer See in context

I'd be astounded if the committee of oyajis charged with making this decision selects a famous young person (under 40!), or a famous female.

In the tradition of largely avoiding making decisions in an attempt to not offend those not chosen, I'd imagine they'd select a non-human such as Mario, or a non-famous person such as a teenage boy and girl from Fukushima.

How about having the recently retired Emperor pass the torch to a young teenage boy and girl from Fukushima who then go on to light the Olympic flame?

2 ( +6 / -4 )

Posted in: Australian man arrested for spraying graffiti on Tokyo subway cars See in context

JT - I'm not sure that embedding a video of these people committing crimes is a great idea.

You do realize that the more views videos get, the more money these people earn?

Your decision increases the number of people accessing this group's YouTube videos and channel, and is contributing to their financial gain.

15 ( +16 / -1 )

Posted in: Odd translations found on English websites for tourists in Japan See in context

@Schopenhauer

I recently checked the website of a certain city in Japan. They are, of course, written in Japanese but also provided English version for foreign residents. However, that was "google translation button" which we cannot expect accurate translation. They are doing this to save money, maybe. This trend is increasing, I am afraid.

If you were checking the English then I hope your work was of a higher standard than your posts here. The above example is far from accurate.

4 ( +7 / -3 )

Posted in: Yakuza population hits record low in 2018: police See in context

@ daito_hak - you nailed it

Japan’s organized crimes groups are not vanishing — they’re transforming.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Posted in: Vending machines used to charge smartphones See in context

Will DyDo Drinko Inco. categorically state that it will not be accessing / downloading / reading etc. any data from devices plugged in to its vending machines - either for its own benefit, or for the benefit of a third party?

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

Posted in: Why don't societies leave justice in the hands of crime victims (or their relatives and friends)? See in context

Because everyone would become a victim and things would be out of control.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: Should it be illegal for employers to underpay their workers? See in context

Depends what you mean by 'underpay'...

a) Pay less than the worker should be valued based on his/her skills.

b) Pay less than the contract stipulates.

c) Pay less than the minimum wage.

(b) and (c) are obviously illegal.

(a) is just a rubbish company.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Posted in: Teenager ashamed of given name 'Prince' adopts traditional one See in context

Good on him.

Why on earth couldn’t his parent foresee the problems with naming him ‘Oji’? It just boggles the mind.

11 ( +13 / -2 )

Posted in: Take ham and cheese to the next level by making a slider See in context

Who is this targeted at?

I guess most readers here understand the concept and structure of a ham cheese sandwich.

Use butter knife to spread mustard evenly over insides of rolls.

Seriously?! I’m glad this was explained otherwise I’d have probably used the cheese to spread mustard over the plate.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

Posted in: Surveillance proposed by defense team likely helped Ghosn secure bail See in context

Why couldn’t the judge have simply set the conditions for bail in the first place rather than waiting for a proposal from prosecutors that was acceptable?

13 ( +23 / -10 )

Posted in: Ghosn's new lawyer says he is pursuing different strategy to previous legal team See in context

The only argument that should be necessary at this stage is simply:

'The court works on the basis of innocent until proven guilty and at the present time Mr. Ghosn's guilt has yet to be proven. As such he should be released from custody immediately.'

Bail is used to deter people from fleeing before attending court. The bail system exists in Japan. Therefore bail should be set at a level reflecting Mr. Ghosn's alleged crimes as well as his likeliness to abscond.

That all seems pretty straightforward to me. The fact it isn't happening is a disgrace.

10 ( +11 / -1 )

Posted in: BBC and ITV to launch BritBox television streaming See in context

Available in Japan?

I thought this was just for the US and Canada?

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Posted in: The reasons why Abenomics is sputtering can be summed up with two words: public relations. More than six years on, it’s still more PR than clear product. See in context

The reasons why Abenomics is sputtering can be summed up with two words:

'Shinzo' + 'Abe' ?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: LDP adopts concise plan on constitutional revision at convention See in context

Is this the LDP's new idol group?

Unfortunately they think doing this silly little group clenched-fist pump / chant somehow gives more credence to what has just been said.

It's like when the terrible teacher always gives the students candy at the end of class in the hope that the students leave with a positive and totally overlook how little they've just learned in class.

9 ( +11 / -2 )

Posted in: Japanese city to use AI to predict seriousness of school bullying See in context

Taro: “Sensei please help me. I’m being bullied and my life is a living hell. I can’t deal with it any more.

Sensei: “Just a minute...tap tap tap... Well the system is telling me that your case is only 70% serious at the moment. I can’t do anything until I get a reading of over 80%. So maybe if you could just go back to class and suck it up for another couple of weeks and then get back to me...

8 ( +8 / -0 )

Posted in: Ex-policeman gets 22-year prison term for fatally shooting boss See in context

The ex-policeman, whose name is being withheld because he was a minor at the time of the crime

This sentence just boggles the mind.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Posted in: Japan household spending rises slightly in December See in context

@Cleo - That’s why I made a point of saying the ‘increasing embrace of Christmas’. It’s not surprising that spending is up slightly compared to last Dec. I predict that next year will show a similar increase.

The article does make a point saying that

Japan’s household spending rose slightly in December from a year earlier to mark the first increase in four months

Again it’s not a surprise that spending in December is higher than in the previous 3-4 months.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Posted in: Japan household spending rises slightly in December See in context

How much of this can be put down to bonuses, spending for New Year, and the increasing embrace of Christmas?

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Posted in: Abe cabinet rate support rises to 45.6% despite data scandal See in context

Oh and by the way, how many times did they run this poll until they got a result they liked?

This poll was conducted over the weekend. Was there one done last weekend? Midweek?

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Posted in: Abe cabinet rate support rises to 45.6% despite data scandal See in context

Absolute nonsense.

‘Smartest people in the world’ obviously refers to the people who dream up these polling methods as well as the people who manage to spin the results out to the public.

In a country of approximately 125m, 1,949 people were contacted by telephone. Of those 1,949 people, only 1,027 actually responded. This means approximately 450 people showed ‘support’.

As I said, it’s absolute nonsense that these figures get used in an official capacity to try and fool people that 45.6% of Japan supports Abe and his scandal infested government.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Posted in: Balance of intelligence factors makes Japan the world’s smartest country, according to this list See in context

So if, according to Vouchercloud, Japan is the smartest country in the world, how do they account for the gender inequality and regular government and business scandals?

It would seem to me that the smartest people in the world wouldn’t allow for such exploitative sexism and the constant re-election of the same incompetent bureaucrats.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Posted in: Tennis fans in Japan, Abe hail Naomi Osaka See in context

Naomi is the real deal and will dominate ladies tennis for the next 10 years.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Posted in: Sponsor of Naomi Osaka retracts ad videos over skin color dispute See in context

@Kenji

Thats not the point. The female character in the Nissin ad is supposed to be Naomi Osaka, not a fictional character. Naomi Osaka is mixed race, and the depiction of her completely misses this blindingly obvious feature.

You only need to ask yourself one question. If Nissin had used Usain Bolt in an ad, would he have been drawn with the exact same skin tone as Nishikori and Osaka?

4 ( +7 / -3 )

Posted in: Sponsor of Naomi Osaka retracts ad videos over skin color dispute See in context

@alwaysspeakingwisdom

I’ve read the quotes and pondered the issue. It’s nothing to do with artistic freedom or a minority being offended by something that isn’t offensive. It’s just wrong!

Naomi Osaka doesn’t look like that - not even as a characature.

She has been ‘whitewashed’ in order to appear more Japanese than foreign. The truth is she falls right in the middle of those two labels - and that isn’t a bad thing. It is who she is, but for some reason Nissin and the artist didn’t want to show her in that way.

It is ignorant, and it is offensive - not only to Naomi Osaka, but also to everyone else in Japan like Naomi Osaka.

Imagine if a US company had done an ad of Muhammad Ali with very light skin.

6 ( +9 / -3 )

Posted in: Gov't cuts subsidies to Tokyo Medical University over unfair entrance exams See in context

The universities listed above have all admitted to committing fraud as well as discriminating against people based on their sex.

Why is a 25-35% cut in state funding for two years anywhere close to an appropriate sanction?

Also, why haven’t any individuals been prosecuted regarding the admitted fraud and sexual discrimination?

13 ( +14 / -1 )

Posted in: Japan eyes e-money salary payments See in context

@Cleo - “Why would I want someone else deciding how much of my money goes where? Why would I welcome my money being straitjacketed in such a way?”

You wouldn’t. I wouldn’t. But this is Japan, and the more control government and authority has over people the better. They want to reduce the freedoms of their citizens rather than improve them.

This ‘change to a cashless society’ is a larger plan to reduce the national debt. As someone else said above, it becomes easier to knock a few zeros off bank accounts and force people into a new system.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: Convenience stores to stop selling adult magazines by end of August See in context

I think they will probably lose out on sales by removing them.

It'll be interesting to see if they put them back after the Olympics finish, or whether they are actually using this and the RWC as an excuse to stop stocking / change the way they sell them (but haven't been able to find the way to tell the publishers + suppliers - who may or may not be difficult people to negotiate with).

1 ( +3 / -2 )

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