holyholly comments

I have had a yahoo mail account for 15+ years and I always go to yahoo.com by default in my browser. I'm very disappointed with the articles and the continuous errors with mail. It will take time, but I will move all my family/friends to a different e-mail account and stop using yahoo. They are a disgrace and a disappointment, especially with the articles being run...mostly National Enquirer-type articles.

To Bass and anyone with family in Kyushu...our thoughts and prayers are with you! There are only tears while I watch live feeds on the TV. Most of us had experienced the earthquake from 3/11/11 and I don't think we could wish that on our worst enemy. God bless you all.

@Bob Sneider- I tend to agree with you. What's causing all this? I wonder if it occurs at such high frequency in other countries as it does here. I sure wish there was an answer, but if I were to guess, I'd have to say the support infrastructure is not in place and is not of any concern to today's government. Abe has bigger problems and this social problem doesn't get him any votes, so he'd rather not waste his time with this.

I really don't want to nitpick, but a few concerns/questions. First off, how can a paramedic confirm Yusei's death? Usually when people are obviously dead, they attach the "...in cardiac arrest while being transported to hospital."

I wonder, what smithinjapan said, if mother's actually do their research and think they will get off of murder charges considering past verdicts in such cases. The JT community is quick to give verdicts and more often than not, they are correct in the verdict. The mother saw that it was a challenge, figured she can kill her mentally disabled child with justification, and believes that she will not be charged. I don't know the answer, but am curious. It's not right whatsoever, but if I were unstable, had a mentally challenged son, weren't able to cope and knew how to (possibly) get out of it, I think I'd consider her option.

Japan is in dire need of support for said families.

Agreed. It was an accident. They SHOULD have done better but they now have to deal with their enormous mistake. I guarantee that if another child comes into their world, they will be extra cautious when driving. And it's unfortunate that they have to learn from this mistake.

@Lockke I understand how things can turn out horribly, and in this case, extremely. I have nieces and nephews and whenever I'm in the car, I roll down the window, and confirm that all the little ones are secured. If an adult isn't in the area, then I don't move the car. If there are little ones, I make sure they are visibly next to the car, inside the car with me, or being hand-held with an adult.

I think a lot of accidents are due to laziness on all parties. We've never had an accident because we make sure that all are accounted for when things are in motion. Doesn't take too much out of your day to make sure everything's in order before you start moving a vehicle.

We were taught to inspect all around our vehicles for flats/punctures/etc. before we get a driver's licence, but we don't. But when there're little ones in the area, you do! No exceptions!!!

I really don't understand all the fuss. When I first came here, I had to take a second look on a ward map and wonder what the Japanese were up to. Then, when seeing the manji across the entire map, I realized it couldn't be what I initially thought. GSI, here's a thought that won't cost a whole lot of yen...put it down as a legend, along with forks/knives for restaurants, and stick women/men for toilets. Problem solved. But you probably have a million+ yen budget to deal with this enormous calamity. So never mind.

Yoshimi Onishi...Isn't that what furigana is for? My maiden name is difficult, even for native English speakers, but when I write in the furigana of my name, it's totally read-able. Japanese have an easier time saying my maiden name than native speakers.

Put a half moon on the right side of the controversial emblem to make it look like a "D" and change the phrase to: doom, disaster, debacle.

On a trip to Taiwan 2 years back, I came across a very cheap DVD shop selling boxed sets of TV programs around the world. I told the clerk I wanted to practice my Japanese with a good drama and what she could recommend. Answer?: You should learn Korean, as those dramas are so much better. She lost a sale, but even if the clerk can't recommend something good, that doesn't make Japan look cool.

2 good friends of ours in their 80s (from Taiwan) told us that Japan rescued them from the KMT. They have their utmost respect and appreciation for what Japan did when they occupied the island and utter disrespect for Chiang Kai-shek. From stories about Chiang Kai-shek, I have to side with our friends.

My father-in-law has been working from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. most of his life. He's a doctor, but realized long ago that the older patients appreciate an early start time. He has a short lunch, usually between patients, and likes to get out the door by 3 so that he can go golfing. If regular hours are 9 to 5, Mr. Abe, then move it to 7 to 3.

@ Tessa: Exactly. Opening my eyes to a slight tickle and seeing a cockroach on my midriff made me wish I had a futon on the ceiling as well. After that, it's been western bedding. But a futon in a large tatami room at an onsen is quite relaxing.

This advancement of technology will be indispensable for the narcotics rings among pretty much every country.

Reminds me of a story Mr. Holly told me way back. In university, he studied karate (this is in N. America), orange belt, when one day as he went into a convenience store he overheard some punks loitering around outside that they were gonna kick his a**. Sure enough, when he came out of the store, one of the thugs was in his face, threatening to pulverize him. He told the goon he agreed that it wouldn't be a fair fight. He said that in 1 minute he'd by lying in a pool of blood, but what fun would that be. The thug backed down and let him go. He said his karate instincts kicked in, as a last resort, but his sensei had always taught him that being physical is always a last resort; to use your brain before your muscles. That said, I think any martial art that trains the mind, as much as the body, would be a good choice.

Although I don't care for Texas' tone, I don't think he understands that the body acclimates to weather over time. Mr. Holly and I were in Denver a few years back during a scorching heat wave...same thing. Many people were passing out and rushed to hospitals in ambulances, while we were enjoying the beautiful "dry" heat. Everywhere people were complaining of the heat, but for us, without the humidity, it was paradise. Texas, come over here in July/August and re-read your comments once more.

@ Sensei - I got a chuckle from your ramen shop story, but rarely click on thumbs (up or down). I decided to log in and vote after your second comment. You're always gonna peeve someone off, and please others. Just remember next time you see a down-thumb on your comment, that others may have enjoyed it but couldn't be bothered to login/sign-up.

@Sensato: Thank you for the information. Good to know.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you have to be 20 in order to drive/ride a motor vehicle? I sure hope the woman recovers completely and can be with her family soon.

Absolutely sure they knew what they were doing, as they were trying to get out of the country after said vandalism. Although the sentence seems harsh to western standards, the sentence is (should be) understood in Singapore. Do the crime, and face the punishment.

@ Jalapeno I travel to Singapore twice a year, and Singapore Airlines used to be good. They are absolute shyte now. I refuse to travel with them anymore. Plus, they only allow 1 check-in bag now, as opposed to other airlines still allowing 2 check-in bags.

Why is it Germany's victims have moved on with the rest of the world, yet Korea can't, even after 70+ years.

I don't know if links are allowed, but from wikipedia, Japanese DID compensate Korea. I wonder if the regular Korean citizen knows this.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan%E2%80%93Korea_disputes#Japanese_compensation_to_Korea_for_the_reign_of_Japan

On a trip to Korea a few years back, we spoke to a 45 year old Korean man about Japanese-Korean relations. He told us how angry he was that Japan hasn't given a cent (yen/won) to Korea after the war.

This common knowledge must be a state secret and Korea will not let if go until the government releases the redacted version of the compensation.

It would have made everyone happier had the teacher got some parental permission slip.

The teacher should have said there's going to be some graphic content and those with queasy stomachs are welcome to go to the cafeteria.

I watched a PBS Frontline documentary on ISIS the other week. It was extremely disturbing and I had a difficult time going to sleep the next few nights.

It's one thing to read a newspaper headline stating "22 Christians beheaded", a statistic to us readers. Seeing 22 Christians beheaded becomes a tragedy to the viewer. We cannot put our heads in the sand. We must educate ourselves as well as our young.

I'm absolutely loving your monster neighbour stories. Makes me giggle! Eons ago, Mr. Holly and I lived in a walk up apt. in Tokyo. The first floor was a small, denki-ya san, with an extremely nosy wife. On garbage day, we'd come down from our place and put our garbage out on the street on garbage day. By the time we got home, the obaasan would run to catch up with us going up the stairs while carrying a smaller bag with plastics we mistakenly threw in with the regular garbage. On a weekly basis, she rummaged through all our regular garbage and would take out the plastic and tell us we couldn't throw out "said" garbage on such and such a day. But we are talking minute plastic...a rubber band here, the plastic around batteries there, even a piece of floss. We started mixing our garbage with our cat litter...took time to prepare but she finally got off our backs.

@fondofj From your explanation, yes, I imagine it would be easy, but they haven't made any arrests since the law began, or at least we haven't heard of it. So then why, if it's illegal, the police don't crack down on the illegal d/l-ers.

@veejay First of all, downloading via torrents is illegal. I'm not sure how the police will catch you, but you shouldn't. If eztv is streaming, then by all means, as streaming (including illegal content) is not under the new law that was implemented a year or so ago.

No TY, Netflix Japan. Hulu Japan gouges users for terrible content. In addition, look at how iTunes Japan robs us silly for music that is almost 2 times what you pay in the U.S. We have a netflix subscription, (using a U.S. credit card) for 8 USD. I wouldn't be surprised if Netflix Japan charges a minimum of 1,500 JPY for users here...plus 8% on top of that.

Can't believe that civilization can do this in this day and age. Absolutely horrific! Unfortunately, they turn me to my uncivilized state, wishing utter destruction of the ISIS.

I find "hit and run" a little hard to believe as well, as he did return to the scene. If it were 460 meters, there could be quite some distance between lights, so it wouldn't be hard to travel 460 meters. Plus, once the driver found it safe to exit his truck to see what the thump-thump* sound was coming from his front wheel, he went back to the scene to report or to see what he hit. my understanding of "hit and run" usually consists of a final line in such articles, such as, "police are looking for a large, dark brown dump truck with damage to its front bumper."

That'll show the cop who's BOSS!

Oh yes, totally agree that nothing will be reduced on "essentials". More likely than not, like marcelito said, is the preferred path for the government. And why would the government try and lower the sales tax for some items? That would just create confusion for the public, wouldn't it? Give me a break!!