jessebaybay comments

@Howaiti "Japan is a nice place to live. But I wouldn't want to visit."

for me its the other way around :)

My Japanese isn't the best so watching this on tv this morning was confusing for a brief moment as I tried to put it all together. Talk about crazy.

Such a huge distance to cover! Gotta tip your hat to all the participants. Thats about 1900 miles.

China is trying to claim the world

Ha, why shouldnt / wouldnt they want that? Back when the British were the super power, people would of viewed America in the same way they see China now.

What Im getting at is can you blame them? No, most countries want to rule the world - all of which will do terrible things behind close doors if you give em the chance.

I see a lot of people blaming the republicans here. When are you going to realise there is no left and right any more. The healthcare giants that lobbied for obamacare have seen their stocks double and triple in the past year. Can't you see that the world runs on money? These politicians are all paid for, saying you like 1 side over the other just means you approve of the corporations that pay for what said side say and do.

Both parties are currently cutting off their noses in spite of their faces.. and yes it makes the country as a whole look bad. Pointing fingers doesn't fix anything.

@tamarama - it's important to note that it was her japanese friend (or guide) that protested at the onsen. It's also important to note that she was here on a indigenous language meeting. Im pretty confident she doesn't mean to offend japanese people or their culture. She only said "she wasn't used to being treated like that". She never said she was offended at her treatment and she never went out of her way to kick up a stink. She most likely did the interview after being asked by a news agency after they found out what happened.

Lets face it, this story is getting airtime cause of 2020. Not because it's some over the top discriminatory action OR that this lady kicked up a fuss. So you shouldn't jump to conclusions.

At the end of the day, hats off to them. They have been very tenacious and probably made a lot of dodgy deals here and there, but what super power hasn't?. I personally hope the reform agenda goes through smoothly for them. Australia relies heavily on china economically so the better they do the better we do (australia).

I cant understand why people dont want to see another economic power house. Competition is always better for the consumers.

@francis - I really think you should re read the article again. As lucabrasi pointed out it seems as though this lady was taken there either by friends or in a group. I mean, she was here on an indigenous languages meeting -_-. Do you really think she means to offend other people or their culture?

This article is more so about hosting the olympics then it is about onsens and tattoos. Japan is going to look really bad on the world stage if stories like this continue to pop up. If japan was smart it would change its tune and fast.

It was her responsibility to find out, and if she came to Japan and was refused entry to the onsen because of the rules, she shouldn't kick up a stink.

@francis - perhaps you should re-read the article, it was her japanese friend who protested (it says we, so probably on the ladies behalf - assuming she doesn't speak japanese). They left after she was refused. I don't see that as kicking up a stink. The only reason this article blew up is because of the olympics. Use some of that brain power - this story would be buried in an instance if the 2020 wasn't happening.

The article isn't just 'about not giving the yakuza an inch'. The articles about 'patrons not being able to distinguish for themselves what a traditional japanese tattoo looks like'... I understand the implications of letting a few yakuza into your establishment. Thats not the only problem here though. Ill give you 3 things that could possibly be the problem and you can tell me which one is the LEAST problematic.

people who have tattoos. 2. gangsters that give tattoos a bad name 3. societies opinion. Heres a hint its not the gangsters and its not societies opinion.

No one wants to trample on another persons culture and from reading the article this lady wasn't trying to. She was refused entry, then her japanese friend protested - they then left the establishment. I dont see any problem with that. I don't know if you read my other comment but every time I went to an onsen I asked the japanese people im going with if it will be ok. Only once was I told that I should 'sit this one out' and I respect that.

What im getting at, is that japanese people CAN think for themselves and SHOULD think for themselves. They are capable of using common sense and I see no reason why common sense in this given situation couldn't prevail. The wider problem is deep rooted thinking and the lack of awareness for other peoples cultures. The reason this article blew up is because 2020. Japan needs to get their 'stuff' together otherwise more stories like this that come out, will only hurt japan. No one wants that - I personally think there should be government run ad campaigns leading up to the games to educate people.... but sadly i don't see that happening.

jessebaybay, yes, there are a lot of onsens in Japan where tattoos are not banned.

I didn't ever use one let alone see one. Every onsen I went to clearly stated that tattoos were not allowed. However, people in the onsen could clearly see my tattoos were moari (not japanese) and that I was a foreigner. It doesn't take a genius to figure out if someone is yakuza. I even asked the japanese people that I went with if it would be ok and the all agreed it would be fine.

Common sense > illogical rules.

That's probably the dumbest thing I have ever read sourpuss -_- . It's a two way street, you cant ask Maori people to stop tattooing without asking japanese people to deal with it. Can't japanese tell the difference between their own cultral tattoos and others? ps, I'm Maori and i've got tattoos and i've had some great times in onsens. No people didn't freak out. No i wasn't told to leave. So to say that japanese people can't tolerate or use common sense would be a disservice to them. I was lucky enough to have spent my time in japan with some great (open minded) people.

Scrolled down so I could comment about how legalising the real thing is the way to go. Glad to see other people are of the same opinion.

i was under the impression the 'suspect' was incapable of talking as his windpipe was rendered useless during arrest. The FBI could of said he said anything, does it really matter. I trust the FBI about as much as I trust a ferral dog.

@SamuraiBlue

So you're saying that any americans that died in the european campaigns didn't matter either? That's basically what you're saying.

im also shocked that these sorts of stories still manage to surprise me with something new every time -_-

confined himself to his room and had not communicated with his family for many years

I just can't wrap my head around this one. Going a week without seeing / talking / even hearing their footsteps upstairs is a long stretch. Wouldn't you think to yourself after a week of not hearing / seeing someone you live with that something is probably up? Wouldn't you just go knock on their door to see if they were in?

incredible.

haha, that picture! Well considering how hard it is to get pandas to mate, congrats to the zoo on this achievement.

That's a little too scary for my liking. 2013 has had a rocky start to the year indeed. I feel a much bigger quake coming on later in the year.

Im guessing the questionar was anonymous? What I want to know is the ages of the offending teachers.

Well see if the gifts and chocolates paid of on november 14th.

haha, this was honestly an enjoyable read.

So thats about 12,000 - 13,000 dollars. A modest amount to ask for really, I'm a little surprised it's not more.

haha, well this certainly was a 'saturday' article.

It's all to do with where a person is at mentally. And if we are talking about mentality who knows what could tick off a psychopath. It could be a violent game, or it could be the sound of the kettle. That there is the real issue. Which is also why younger people (children) react more severely to violence in games. They are not mentally prepared to deal with the violence on screen. Which is why game ratings exist.

Most violence I see in society can be put down to a few factors. Alcohol, ethnicity, opposite sex, road rage.

Video games is the last of societies worries.

Insanity. Egypt has been through a lot the past year, anything will and can make her tip now.

I dont see how the movie is racist or how these dolls are racist. The movie has racism in it. It's set in colonial america, it's to be expected. The story is about how a black man does everything he can to save his wife who is enslaved from a pretty evil plantation owner. I don't see how that is racist.

If I were to watch a WW2 movie It would be unrealistic if jewish people weren't persecuted in some way or another. That doesn't mean that the movie is racist though.

Poor little pooch. Probably thinking what the hek is this around my neck.

I didn't know they had bad luck fortunes. I guess I like the idea, living with only good luck wouldn't be very fun.

No, it's not porn.

BUT that doesn't mean its not damaging to impressionable young minds. Using sex as a marketing tool is no secret and this is the outcome of decades of sex selling. I wonder where we will be in another 30 years and what will be acceptable then. The same goes for violence and drugs etc. Such is life.