Jay comments

The chains are quicker, and I can charge my phone at the same time, so chains get my vote. I'm not really picky about coffee either.

In fact, I'm in a Dotour right now! :D

Great game, very exciting to watch. For me the man of the match was actually the Japan team's goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda. Incredible, crucial saves!

Really tragic news. Only 15 years old..

While suicide numbers in Japan don't place it in the top 10 of countries, according to World Population Review, "Suicide is the leading cause of death in men between the ages of 20-44 and women between the ages of 15-34". That's serious cause for concern, by any metric.

High alert... lol. Must be rough being a kid in Japan. Yeah it's not Halloween like you see in other countries but that doesn't matter at all. Let 'em have fun

What? The child carries the dna of this person, so they are undeniably one of the biological parents. How can this not be legally recognized, when it's a hard fact? Crazy.

Like Kuruki mentioned, he has an enormous following on Youtube, especially among younger audiences. I'm sure he'll start creating a lot of Japan-related content which will bring a lot of attention towards the country. I wouldn't be surprised if he alone gives tourism here a huge boost... once tourism becomes possible, of course.

The situation sucks. I've been told by a number of my favourite food trucks, obento sellers and other small business they have to raise their prices. I love those guys but I can't afford to continue supporting them as much as I've tried to do during the pandemic. With inflation and no salary raise your salary is not even staying stagnant, it's basically going down.

'Good' man.. by who's definition? These two people clearly just had mismatched values, and due the fact so many people in Japan based on her research do not think the same way as her (including other women), what's 'good' and 'bad' is obviously subjective.

I don't necessarily agree it's okay to sleep with other people while in a committed relationship - but hey, that's for each couple to discuss and decide their terms for themselves. After all, the whole point of dating is to actively find how well your ideals and worldviews align, rather than just assuming and hoping for the best. Especially important when dating within a different culture. Both she and her partner failed to do this, but instead of being introspective she's resorted to shaming and misandry after the fact. That's not helpful for anyone, least of which herself.

Spotify are (Necessary) Evil now? Man, the hyperbole surrounding this issue has really gotten out of hand

Now if you have a “disability” you can test instead?

what’s the science behind this one? Wouidnt a negative test also show that non disabled are free of infection?

while vaccinated people (who can be infected) have no test at all?

It's not science, it's spite.

As another black man I also think he should stay white. Rather than it being progressive I find it kinda lazy and honestly a little patronising to just turn him into a black guy instead of taking the time to build an interesting and equally cool character from scratch. Would love to see Idris Elba in a role like that, his Luther TV series proves he's more than capable. It's a fantastic show

I'm kinda surprised by these comments. I thought authoritarian-esque behaviours exhibited by governments were usually condemned by people around here.

I've been vaccinated myself but I'm definitely not cool with anyone being forced to inject something into their bodies against their will.

Test them, and test them often. It's the only way to really know if anyone is carrying the virus anyway, since it's known that vaccinated people can in some cases also catch and spread it. And perhaps the inconvenience of being constantly tested might encourage people still on the fence to get the vaccine.

I'm not an English teacher but as a Brit living here, whenever I speak English here it's more of a generalised 'international' English in terms of word choice, slang etc. Definitely not the same English I speak back in London. A good tip I've discovered is to listen out for the words that the non-native speaker is already using and use those same words back to keep the conversation going smoothly

It's probably the least attention-seeking, intrusive, or offensive way to make their point, that I can think of at least. I can't see any problem with it.

緊急事態宣言 / state of emergency... what do these words even mean when a huge, completely not essential global event such as the Olympics is allowed to go ahead, meanwhile my local Dotour coffee shop is deemed a danger and forced to close at 8pm. Sigh.

Dotour and Cafe de Crie have the smoothest coffee for my taste.

And Sarutahiko Coffee is great too. Tully's is a little too bitter for me. Same with St Marc Cafe

Crazy idea, but I wonder if vaccination priority have gone to younger people... 20s 30s and 40s receive the highest infection numbers every day, these are the people having to get on the train every day, heading to a crowded office space every day, (maybe also) hanging out with coworkers after work, anywhere they can find.

"Some people in government are concerned that the public won't accept them being given special treatment"

True. For what reason should they be allowed to attend over the public, who are the ones actually footing the bill for this event?

This hypocrisy is reaching a whole new level. 

Meanwhile we're being told please watch the games on TV, definitely don't hang out and drink in wide open-air spaces like parks. Heck we just got done being banned from a single glass of wine with a meal at a family restaurant. No wonder even the usually reserved and overly-tolerant Japanese public are noticeably losing patience

Recently I noticed the small park in my local area is full of salarymen and women drinking combini-bought beer and chu-hi after 8/9pm. So the bars and pubs closing isn't even sending people home early.