Jay comments

Kind of strange to demand an entire country change their food culture to suit the tastes of a very niche group of people with self-imposed dietary restrictions.

Since I am big into the gym, I guess it would make sense to demand every restaurant carry protein bars for my post-workout snack???

The earnings/income gap (not the wage gap) is almost entirely due to women working lesser-paid jobs and working fewer hours in general.

Women choose lower-paying professions/positions such as nursing, hair stylist, nailist, cashier, housewife, and so on. This aligns with their interests and also gives them the flexibility to take time off and take care of kids, which is not a strange thing for a woman to do.

Men choose higher paying professions/ positions such as engineering, doctors, lawyers, politicians, corporate work, and so on. Since men can't birth children, it makes more sense for them to focus on bringing home a larger income to be able to support a family. This is normal.

Higher-paid professions tend to be highly specialized and scaleable (meaning you can serve more people and gain more revenue in a shorter time).

The key is that women choose to make less money, which is alright. I am not really sure why they keep pumping out this same article multiple times a year that implies "Women earn 70 percent of what men do for the same job because the workplace is sexist!" That is not what is being measured here.

The problem is because there are too many companies and well-paying jobs in Tokyo... People move there because that is where the work is...

The solution to the problem would be to incentivize companies to move into smaller cities in areas like Nagoya, Himeji, Ibaraki, Gunma, etc.

Incentivize these companies with tax breaks and or tax penalties. People will go where there is work.... if that's the case then MOVE where the work is..

I feel bad for the kids, but the Japanese people are well-known for being unable to eat spicy foods as hot peppers were not native to Japan and not part of the local cuisine.

It is sad that most restaurants will advertise "Geki kara!" but the food is not spicy. When Japanese people come into contact with REAL spicy food, they cannot tell the difference between Japanese "Super spicy!"(not spicy) and foods that are spicy.

The wage disparity between the sexes in Japan is believed to be due to fewer women in senior positions and men tending to work longer hours than women.

Yeah... and the fact that women tend to choose lower-paying professions out of their OWN FREE WILL such as being estheticians, nailists, make-up artists, store clerks, nurses, and so on and so on, whereas men will choose higher-paying professions out of their OWN FREE WILL such as being a doctor, lawyer, programmer, IT consultant, and so on. Very rarely will you have cutesy Japanese girls saying they want to be programmers or lawyers.

The rights gap between men and women in Japan is among the world’s largest with Japan ranking 125th in a 146-nation survey by the World Economic Forum for 2023.

What a useless plug of a feminist agenda. The survey measures economy, health, education, and political participation to determine equality. Women are completely equal to men when it comes to health and education but still lag in '' economic participation '' and ''political participation''.

While I agree that more qualified women should be involved in political positions of power, ''low economic participation'' is such a strawman because women are the only ones who can give birth, and they tend to take time off work to stay home and take care of the children, so no Sh't they are going to have lower economic participation.

Not to mention that women in Japan (and around the world) often choose lower-paying jobs out of their OWN FREE WILL. Stop with the narrative that all women in Japan are beat down and oppressed.

MoskolloToday  09:40 am JST

kishida and co really are barking up the wrong tree. You have to focus on helping people AFTER they give birth, it all seems to be about before, parents need help throughout the process. How about lower tax levels for families or payments that actually can help with daily life?

¥10k per child per month is not going to pay for more than a few days. Stop focusing on those who don’t have children only..

That sounds like a plan for disaster. What you essentially want is for the taxpayer to fully subsidize a child's life from age 0-18. Just how much do you think that would cost in taxes?

I agree with 100% subsidizing the cost of childbirth, but after that, the family should be in charge of paying for the child, not the taxpayer. Having the funds to do that falls under the responsibility of the parents.

A better way would be to restructure the welfare system and lower taxes so that even single and childless people are able to save up to have enough for the family.

The problem starts with people in their early 20s getting overworked and getting paid meager wages (less than 240,000/mo). They don't have the time or the money to start a family. The problem doesn't start with a couple that has already gotten married and is ready for children.

Instead of basically giving a UBI only to mothers, there should be a UBI given out to everyone in society equally so they can use it how they see fit (Healthcare expenses, childrearing, dates, weddings, tuition fees, purchasing a home for the family, etc)

What an absolute waste of taxpayer money. Spending billions preparing for a war that will never happen. Even if such a war did happen, Japan has the option of relying on the US or ceding a few worthless rocky islands to the attacker.

IMO the government should be doing everything in its power to fund projects that lead to lower prices and sustainability so that people will want to start having kids. People need to be able to actually utilize services that their tax dollars are going towards.

Examples are desalination plants, solar farms, nuclear power plants, hydroelectric plants, automation in warehouses, automated shipping services, automated grocery services, and so on and so on.

Imagine if the government put as much funding into public services that people could ACTUALLY use. Imagine if your electric and water bills were 0 yen and your grocery bills were slashed by 30% due to AI-driven supply trucks. People would actually start having babies again.

The title and wording in the article is so weird. "Teenage girlfriend"? "Late teens"? So.... she was 18 or 19, aka a university student.

Why is the writer using wording that makes it seem like a dude in his 20s is dating a 14 year old?

girl_in_tokyoToday  11:08 am JST

Jordan Peterson has gone off the rails and was fired from his cushy uni position for his extreme right-wing views that are not in line with current scientific understanding of transgenderism.

In other words, his comments are from his personal point of view and are not based on research. So let's be clear: he is, in fact, by definition, a bigot because he is speaking from personal prejudice.

That sounds lovely and inclusive on paper.. until you realize "the current scientific understanding of transgenderism" means absolutely nothing since it is a bunch of crackpots spouting nonsense that does not line up with reality.

The "current transgenderism scientists" often make claims such as "men can get pregnant, men and women are the same, men can become women and women can become men." All of these are physically impossible, so what is the point of trying to invoke the "current understanding of transgenderism"? As if THAT has any credibility.

Just tossing this out there, but one of the reasons why there is probably a decline of young guys on Japanese dating apps is because the apps charge men a lot of money while women are able to use it for free.

Pairs costs around 4,000-5,000 yen/mo for a basic membership with a likes package.

Factor that in with the costs for dates, and you have a big factor in the decline in young males wanting to date.

Jay Today  10:04 am JST

Macho macho man, I want to be a macho man

Better to be a warrior in a garden (driving a truck) than a gardener in a war ... driving an underpowered "eco" car.

What are you on about mate? Eco cars are great! the only downside is that they won't score you many points with the ladies.

Japan signs agreement to waste $2.4B in taxpayer money.

There, fixed the title for ya!

deanzaZZRDec. 23  08:49 am JST

Currency translator shows 7.95 trillion yen equals $55.8 billion up a few billion compared to a few years ago. Yippie.

No, even worse. Because 100 yen in Japan more or less spends like 1$ in America, so 7.95 trillion yen is like Japan spending 79 billion dollars ($79,500,000,000)

● Men in 20s

Currently have a girlfriend: 26.7 percent (down 12.2 percent compared to 2021)

Have never had a girlfriend: 46 percent (up 11.8 percent)

● Women in 20s

Currently have a boyfriend: 43.2 percent (up 0.2 percent)

Have never had a boyfriend: 29.8 percent (up 5.5 percent)

This is depressing. How come so many young women are turning their noses up at young men?

Money down the drain. Japan should learn from China and not waste money on foreign aid. China has done a decent good job of investing in itself and its economy. If only Japan could follow suit...

And herein lies the problem with Japanese artisanry. Fruits, something that should be cheap and easily accessible, are seen as a luxurious food item. In Japan, it is normal for fruits like strawberries to cost 1600 yen for a pack of 6-8 tiny strawberries. Absolutely ridiculous.

I am all for China and Korea adapting these Shine (not the best name for a Japanese food...) grapes and selling them for cheaper. Fruits SHOULD be cheap and not a luxury. This is something that definitely needs to change in Japanese culture.

Artisan goods are usually never successful when produced at scale. There will always be someone who will sell it for cheaper and put the artisan's business at risk..

The laws in JP don't really make sense. That is the big problem. Just to remind you, alcohol, a dangerous narcotic that kills approximately 3 million people per year, is legal in Japan. Not to mention tobacco, a poisonous stimulant/narcotic that has been proven to cause cancer, is legal in Japan.

Remind me again why cannabis is illegal?...

didouToday  08:04 am JST

Oh, I did not know it was legal to smoke

Possession, cultivation, and distribution have been illegal for some time, but there was no law against actually smoking it. I remember a Japanese YouTuber did a bit where they "found a join laying on the ground by chance" and they smoked it without physically touching it (possessing it). It was hilarious!

David BrentToday  08:09 am JST already.

Please, no. Last thing we want is Japanese cities turning into stinky, horrible places like Portland and San Francisco.

What are you talking about? Tobacco smokers are still everywhere and smell absolutely terrible. We all have to experience when a heavy smoking ojisan gets on the train and absolutely REAKS of cigarette smoke. it's terrible.

Makoto ShimizuToday  09:29 am JST

If someone contributes for 40 consecutive years, 480 months contributions of 16,520 yen, like from 20 years old up to 60 years, then it will be entitled to retire receiving 795,000 yen a year, this makes only 66,250 yen a month, that is clearly not enough to survive in Japan, that is the cruel reality that makes elderly people to work as much as they can to barely survive.

Exactly, which is why the pension system is flawed from the beginning. People should be keeping that money during their working years so they can invest it for their future how they see fit.

On the sidelines of the U.N. climate meeting, Kishida also met with the president of Egypt and pledged assistance of up to $230 million to support the country, which has been affected by the fallout of Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza.

During talks with the king of Jordan, Kishida also committed $100 million in aid to the country, which also shares a border with Israel.

Dude, what the fuuuuuuuuuuuuuu?? Where is all this tax money coming from? Japan should be spending all this extra money funding pensions and healthcare while simultaneously lowering taxes for young workers.

Exactly how is this aid money going to help the citizens of Japan? I am tired of old ossan and jijii running this country into the ground.

Really sad that this happened, but as other users have commented, I am surprised this doesn't happen more often with how dangerously cyclists ride in Japan. This is probably one of those cases where the bicyclist had the right how way on the crosswalk, but maybe she was coasting at a high speed downa hill and then tried to cross without stopping. In this case, you really can't blame the driver for being blindsided by the incident. It is really dangerous when people go as fast as cars on the pedestrian crosswalk. Drivers don't expect that kind of speed.

Imagine for a moment that you are poor Kuroki, in your little sedan, parked nose in between a highace and an elgrande, that weren't there when you parked up. You start reversing out slowly and you hear/feel a slight bump.

Imagine for a bit longer that you are a mum walking through the carpark, bub strapped to your front thereby creating a minor blindspot as you crane your head to talk to your precious cargo. The next thing you know, your knees has been taken out and you collapse on the ground on top of baby...

There was no malicious intent and you could easily transpose someone from any gender or age into this position. Unfortunate all round. RIP little one.

Sure, there was no malicious intent from both parties, but that does absolve the driver from responsibility. Yeah, there are times when morons driving humungous vans box you in and make it hard to see. That is why you should roll down your windows to hear better, and reverse at a snail's pace. Old Japanese folks drive negligently all of the time, and in this case, the result of that negligence was death. He should be held responsible.

I could be wrong but I think pedestrians have the right of way in a parking lot so the onus is more on drivers. Perhaps for this reason, some pedestrians let their guard down. I also often see reverse lights come on but they're reversing almost immediately which means that they might not even be looking or if they did, it was the perfunctory glance.

Pedestrians DO have the right of way in parking lots. Even still both pedestrians and drivers should be alert and slow down or stop when they see each other.

What a bunch of morons. Every last one of them. At the very least, they could have built this in Kobe or Himeji. Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo don't need to be any bigger and more crowded than they already are.

How are you going to pay for the tax cuts?

-Cut military spending

-Cut foreign aid

-Reduce healthcare spending (people over the age of 50 should have to pay 50 percent of the healthcare bill instead of 30. The amount of healthcare provided by the government should be capped to a certain figure per year.)

-Reduce the number of politicians. Have you seen what the Japanese Congress looks like? Tons of people sitting around doing nothing and getting paid the big bucks to do so.

-Reduce welfare benefits and redistribute that to EVERYONE in the form of low taxes. No reason I should be subsidizing someone else's child when I am unable to save up to have one of my own.

-Raise corporate taxes for companies that hoard profits and don't offer employees raises.

-Raise greater taxes on that have CEOs that have large discrepancies between their salaries and their employee's salaries.

The list is endless, but actually requires some out-of-the-box thinking. Sucking up valuable money from people in their 20s and 30s through taxes is what will ruin this country.

I am all for banning dangerous substances after proper research and not through knee-jerk reactions.

I see some people here saying "Ban ALL narcotics and drugs!"... I wonder if people realize that alcohol is a drug and a narcotic, or if sheeple are too blind to think for themselves.

Not to mention nicotine, the desirable substance in tobacco, is also a narcotic AND a stimulant.

It is actually pretty funny when you draw a comparison because just like in this HHCH incident, a few people got a "tummyache", and had to go to the hospital because they ate way more than the recommended dose. However, thousands of people a year get hospitalized for alcohol-related "tummy aches", overdoses, addictions, and injuries.

Hmmm...

Ahh also we can't forget day drinking or having alcohol in public!

Oh geez,

My top three would have to be:

Bowing (ojigi) when I want someone to move out of the way, or when I want to show thanks.

Being more passive and quietly waiting for someone to notice me and then moving out of the way instead of just walking in front of them when I am shopping.

Being apologetic when I accidentally get in someone's way.

Wait, are Japanese people generally well-behaved, and Americans are just kinda rude? Hmm...