Ian Duncan comments

Posted in: In Japan, would-be sushi chefs suffer for their art See in context

Well now...bullies shouting at people whilst taking money from them. I'm not entirely convinced that's a feature unique to Japanese sushi school. I'm pretty sure it happens everywhere there are bullies and people scared to stand up to them.

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

Posted in: Abe says he will release new statement on World War II See in context

In a possible hint the statement may come in 2015

Come on - hands up anyone who expects Abe to still be in the job in 2015.

0 ( +4 / -4 )

Posted in: Chic chihuahua See in context

That is not a dog. It isn't even a snack.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Posted in: Increasing number of Japanese men opt for bachelorhood See in context

“Just looking at my married friends and how day by day they become more and more emaciated makes me think that I’m lucky to be single.” (25, Creative Arts)

Shouldn't this read, "more and more emasculated"?

4 ( +4 / -1 )

Posted in: Abe to review Fukushima crisis before deciding on restarting reactors See in context

Translation: Abe to receive cherry-picked information only, provided by TEPCO, which says everything is just peachy, and then put into action the decision to restart the reactors he made some time ago.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

Posted in: Gov't may punish 2 air traffic controllers over 10-minute lapse See in context

One of them, a man in his 60s,

Am I the only one concerned by this clause?

-5 ( +1 / -6 )

Posted in: Some interesting tidbits about Tokyo's 23 wards See in context

I thought the word was tit-bit?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Some ways of dealing with fatigue can make things worse See in context

Surely the answer lies in completing your work within what your contract specifies as a working day, then leaving your office and enjoying your life? Better than a pantomime of 14 hours a day of looking busy. If you need to work until 10pm every night of the week, you need to reexamine your working method.

10 ( +11 / -1 )

Posted in: Odor-eliminating underpants a hot seller See in context

My farts are exemplary. They are gigantic, and with no more odour than a hot biscuit.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Posted in: Obama evades jobs data time bomb See in context

What a remarkable headline. "Obama evades jobs data time bomb"?

How about "Private sector job creation continues under Obama"?

http://semanticommunity.info/AOL_Government/Private_Sector_JobsCreation-_Kudos_to_the_Bureau_of_Labor_Statistics

2 ( +5 / -3 )

Posted in: LDP chief Abe visits Yasukuni Shrine See in context

You can always rely on the LDP to produce the most predictably unimaginative yet inane stunts. And it doesn't matter to them as the more they do crap like this, the more donations come in for dress-up Tojos in the black vans.

It's just the rest of the real country that sinks a little deeper into its terminal decline. Doesn't bother Kackypants Abe - he gets his cheques one way or the other.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Posted in: British actor Peter O'Toole retires at 79 See in context

Fay - he was brought up in Leeds. Not Ireland. Fiercely proud of his Irish heritage, but much more an Englishman than a spudmuncher.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Posted in: 46 things that surprise foreigners in Japan See in context

Dear editor - please stop putting these identical articles up when you know I have plenty to say about them and will delete everything I post.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Posted in: Need a boyfriend? See in context

"Welcome aboard Boyfriend" It says there. My nose is stinging from the coffee that squirted out of it.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Posted in: Romney adamantly rejects same-sex marriage See in context

“Central to America’s rise to global leadership is our Judeo-Christian tradition, with its vision of the goodness and possibilities of every life"

A Pawnee, Arapaho, or Cheyenne might be interested in the interpretation of "Every life" there. As would people in far-off lands more recently.

Let's take a look at the First Amendment, shall we?

Congress shall make NO law respecting an establishment of religion

Ooops, Mitt. You done gone slipped up again.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Posted in: No bonuses for TEPCO employees this year See in context

OH & tepco my winter bills are UP around 40% from the past, jumped from Y9-10,000/mth to around Y14,000 & change, so come clean, rates are already up !

I'm glad somebody else noticed this. My bills are up about 40% already on last year, and that's with the house empty in daylight hours. Something's been sneaked through already, before the "official" price hike.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Water containing strontium leaks from Fukushima plant into sea See in context

Oh, this is appalling and entirely predictable at the same time. When will anybody at TEPCO be held to account?

Not until TEPCO stop making huge political donations out of the money we taxpayers are subsidising them with, it appears.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Posted in: Massive storm leaves four dead in Japan See in context

Sadly, old people deciding to climb up on the roof during a high wind is bizarrely predictable in this country. Every year, every typhoon we seem to get the same news. I wonder why they do it?

6 ( +6 / -0 )

Posted in: How do you feel about being a ‘gaijin’ in Japan? See in context

I like it.

-2 ( +4 / -6 )

Posted in: BBC and Hulu tie up See in context

Hulu is just like the Black Ships landing in Japan.

What?

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Posted in: Marijuana users twice as likely to cause car crash, studies show See in context

Twice as likely to cause a car crash as one of our venerable elders not being able to spot the difference between a brake and an accelerator? Not according to recent other news.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: How foreigners’ daily lives change when they live in Japan See in context

One of the most wonderful ways in which my life has changed is I now no longer feel embarrassed when I'm stuck in a boring conversation with someone I don't really have anything to say to.

I tell him/her something entirely humdrum, such as "I think I'm going to have some wine with my dinner", but as I'm doing it I smile a bit too widely, nod, and make a kind of inhaling noise three times in the rhythm of laughter.

Hey presto! I'm transformed into a master raconteur. What a wonderful place.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Posted in: Meteorological Agency says pollen will come later than normal See in context

Anyone else remember our great leader Ishihara's campaign a few years ago to rid us of this blight? There were posters all over the subways of him standing, fist aloft, pledging to eradicate the problem. I bet there was a big budget for this campaign, but it seems nothing ever came of it once the money was, erm, "spent".

It's nice to know some things remain constant in this uncertain world.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Posted in: 'Kizuna' takes many forms in post-disaster Japan, including marriage and infidelity See in context

It seems to me that a lot of the "evidence" of a deep-rooted commitment to family originates from a compulsion to be seen to be performing the expected rituals.

When I take my daughter to the park, the kids are playing with each other, but the parents all stand around awkwardly, as far from each other as geometrically possible, avoiding any form of social interaction. On New Year's Day I had to grab somebody else's toddler, who'd run into the road. His mother was too busy playing with her telephone to take the time to watch her child.

Similarly, I didn't notice an awful lot of unifying bonds last Autumn when a man on my train started having an epileptic fit. As he lay on the floor of the train, banging his head with each convulsion, his fellow Japanese passengers went to extraordinary lengths to avoid looking at him. It was down to the barbarian to assist him. They wouldn't even get out of the courtesy seat for me to put him into the recovery position there until I started bellowing orders at them.

It seems to me that this Kizuna is just another vacant totem which Japanese people will all nod sagely about, without it having the slightest connection to reality, and indulge their delusion that basic civility is uniquely Japanese.

4 ( +7 / -3 )

Posted in: Japanese New Year survival manual See in context

Rule number 1: Never, never turn on the TV an New Year. Or in fact, any other time.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Posted in: Who is the mystery person on poster for American movie 'In Time?' See in context

Oginome:

You sure about that? http://akb48-blog.blogspot.com/2011/02/mariko-shinoda.html

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Posted in: Spiritual reminders See in context

My imaginary friend is better than your imaginary friend...ner ner ne ner ner...

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Posted in: McDonald's tries to usurp KFC as Japan's Christmas chicken king See in context

Anyone who eats fast food on Christmas day does not deserve Christmas at all.

-3 ( +8 / -9 )

Posted in: Kumi Koda announces pregnancy to fans during performance See in context

She's not getting a penny out of me until I see the DNA results.

6 ( +8 / -2 )

Posted in: Britain hits back at 'unacceptable' French comments See in context

I would also extend my policy to whomever it was gave me the thumbs down. To your thumbs down, sirrah, behold my two fingers up. And broad, bared buttocks.

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

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