HowardStern comments

Lotte chose safety of hotel property and guests before profit.

This event has already been paid for by the Japanese Embassy. What makes you think Lotte is losing profit by cancelling?

one persons squalor is anothers castle. that bus looks big enough for a 19/20 year old backpacker. im sorry to hear this fire has cost them a nice deal.

Not a peep of this story on the 7 oclock NHK news. Go figure.

Japan and Ukraine called Tuesday for the rule of law to prevail in international disputes

If you have never seen war then these words espousing "rule of law" may actually make sense to you.

I just dont think this cleaning up the stadium thing is so spectacular and so deserving of such accolades. It is unnecessary in this particular circumstance as they have paid workers whose job it is to clean the stadium. Is it far fetched to suggest that these fans are taking work away form the cleaning staff? This has less to do with manners and more to do with creating an image.

Wouldn’t it be great it every fan – regardless of whether their team wins or loses – took the time to clean up after themselves when the game is over?

This is what cleaning staff are paid to do. What is so great about fans picking garbage up off the floor that is about to cleaned by cleaners?

Chimpira are expendable. On the other hand having a connection in the Honolulu pen could be beneficial. I doubt he gets any support from his "company"

Wow. I honestly thought it looked like a foul. At the risk of sounding facetious, I guess I really dont know football/soccer after all. I agree that the Croats looked deflated after the play.

Without knowing any of this "news story", I have spent the entire day telling people I thought he made the correct call. The Brazilian player was in mid-wind up to take a shot towards the goal when the Croatian clearly grabbed his shoulder and clasped his hand. The amount of assistance the Brazilian player added to his fall on the play seems irrelevant. The Croatian most definitely impeded the play by grabbing the shoulder of the Brazilian. I applaud Nishimura for having the intestinal fortitude to make the call.

I would be happy to see him officiate the final game.

Really.

The sooner Japan realizes that it was the aggressor and not the victim the sooner relationships with the rest of Asia can begin to harmonize. It's not just Chinese who dislike Japanese because of their colonial atrocities.

Homosexuality has been around since the as long as humanity (and even before that!), and we're still going pretty strong despite such news threads distressing you.

You cant say this with certainty, that's the problem. You mean bi-sexuality?

Oh my. Bababooey!

But police were not able to establish a case against him.

When has this ever stopped them before? And given the info they had on the suspect at the time, who is the genius who closed the file on him?

before i had kids of my own i would hate seeing the yokotas doing there thing on tv news - waste of taxes etc.

nowadays i understand their plight a little more and wish them nothing but goodwill

Hagel said that while the United States does not take sides on rival claims, we firmly oppose any nations use of intimidation, coercion, or the threat of force to assert these claims.

So coercion and threats of force are out, but moving an oil rig into a disputed area or reclaiming land and erecting a military post there or sinking a fishing vessel is OK? Statements like these and the current moves by China in the EC sea dont give the Japanese much assurance should China move closer to the Senkakus.

Despite tough words for Chinas behavior in disputed Asian waters, Hagel also cited efforts to forge a new model of relations between Beijing and Washington, including military cooperation.

How can Hagel's words be described as "tough"?

and signs that the economy has weathered last months sales tax increase

I must be one of those with my "head in the sand". My savings storm isnt being "weathered" at all.

16 years for murder? Clearly the punishment does not fit the crime.

The operation to resolve the obstruction was successful

He had an operation? In Japan? Really? Wonder who the lucky doctor was?

Government has just siphoned another 3% in tax revenues from the people. Of course they are ready to spend more.

TOP story of the day here folks.... WOW!!

The writer tries way to hard to be clever with anecdotes and humor. This review only had to be a few paragraphs long, if that. Annoying reading

Fed lots of unnatural ingredients (for cows)

Ive worked on wagyu farms in Japan. Nothing unnatural about what they are fed at all in my experience. What are you talking about? Corn and grass are unnatural for cows? Seriously? Wagyu is way superior in quality and taste. The closest i have come to it in terms of quality and taste is usda prime grade A.

Are you sure you are not confusing real wagyu with the fake "wagyu" they produce in Canada and the USA? The N.American market is flooded with home Canada/USA grown "Kobe beef" and "wagyu" etc.

but the fact is, there is just no more room for storage and must be released.

Please open your mind beyond the politically motivated news stories you are clearly engulfed in. Your government and in turn your media are deceiving you.

Honey, you may be correct in that i am naive with respect to Japanese farmers and the source of the seeds they buy (87% of all seeds planted in Japan come from foreign countries). There is a fine line between hybrid seeds and GMO seeds. GMO products do enter Japan now, however they have to be labelled so. TPP will likely cause this labeling to disappear.

However "no wash rice" has nothing to do with genetic modification and all to do with curing and polishing process.

Youre fighting the wrong battle here Knox. Perhaps unique was not the best word for me to use even though it does fit the description. Nevertheless I totally get what youre saying and feel the same way with regards to "ware ware nihonjin" type comments.

However if you dont think Japanese rice is different in terms of taste and texture from the rest of the world's rice then with all due respect you have either never tried it, have silent taste buds or are trolling. You really dont think Japanese rice tastes different (in a better sense of the word) than the rice from other countries?

Why cant people accept that Japanese have mastered the technique of producing some foods that taste better than the same product of another country (specifically the countries in the TPP) . Fruits, meats (specifically beef) and rice are all better in Japan.

I dont want GMOs in Japan and if that means tank the TPP then Im fine with scrapping it. However with regards to competing agriculturally with the countries of the TPP - specifically with rice, dairy, sugar, beef and pork - I am confident Japan can compete because I think their beef as well as their rice superior in taste.

Competing with the world is nothing to do with the quantity of production and everytihng to do with quality and selling out your stock at a price that fetches a profit. Who cares if the americans are producing XX% more product. Who is buying it? Are they selling it all? Are they making a profit?

Japan's rice is unique in that the taste has not been duplicated in other countries. Have you ever tried the junk they grow in California? Japanese style rice is a niche market. As is wagyu. Japan's wagyu is also a superior product or at worst on par with usda premium grade A. Japan should strive to achieve UN label status for Japanese wagyu (Kobe, Matsuzaka, Omi etc) much like champagne has done in from France. Again, it is niche market. Comparing Aussie beef and Japanese wagyu is apples and oranges.

Japan is allegedly GMO free and should sell itself as such. This issue worries more than the thought of farmers not surviving. People will pay a little more for a superior, healthier, better tasting product. They already do now.

Success on the world stage doesnt mean producing tons of poor quality food and flooding the market with it. Of course Japan can compete.

The sad fact here is that Japan could totally compete with the other nations in this category.

The Japanese naysayers of farming and TPP lack the confidence (and education) to understand that their product as well as their techniques are superior in so many ways.

Based on the final paragraph it appears as if both yen and dollar are falling because market players are selling them both off. Question is, what are they buying instead?

I just don’t understand why so many Japanese are against Japan re-arm themselves as self-defence.

What evidence do you have that "so many" Japanese are against re-arming as self defense?

http://search.rakuten.co.jp/search/mall/gokurei/-/?grp=product