John Shiomi comments

About 5 years ago, I was caught for speeding and had an expired IDP at the time. Also, I had been in Japan since 1997. At that time, we could renew it as many times as we want. For many years I wasn't aware of the law change. Anyhow, they didn't arrest me or anything. They just had me come into the police station and show my passport. I just had to pay the speeding ticket. Eventually I got a Japanese drivers license but it took me 8 times before I passed the drive test. They were very strict about every little detail of the drive test. Now I have gold card!

There are things I agree with and don't agree with in this article. I am curious how his children turned out and how his relationship is with them. Given that I'd make my decision to raise my children as he did.

Even if it really was her grandson, she shouldn't be paying off his debt. He needs to take responsibility for his own finances.

I think that the problem between communication between men and women in Japan may begin at school. In elementary school boys and girls are often separated by sex... when they line up and where they sit. I think they become ultra sensitive about their sex and feel strong separation by it. Also, kids in school are rarely given the chance to talk about how they feel openly in class. They are rarely given the chance to really express how they feel. Some school have students express their thoughts and feelings in diaries given by the school but this may be hurting their ability to express themselves orally. I cant quite fully understand it by there is something about the Japanese culture that seems to be preventing people from opening up to each other and connecting with other people - especially of the opposite sex.

There just seems to be a lot of unnecessary paper work and everyone checking each other obsessively that is creating all of this unnecessary work. The system needs to change. But the problem is that the system is created from the values rooted deep in people in Japanese culture. Group, group, group. People need to be given more freedom. People need to be trusted to do work on their own. People need to be given a sense of accountability and responsibility so they feel trusted and begin working from their hearts rather than because someone is looking over their shoulders checking on them. People in Japan seem to value work too much. They get lost in it so much that it becomes their identity. When people have free time they dont know what to do with themselves so they eventually get back into work and stress themselves out. It's a sad cycle.

I think President Obama is a person of great character and I respect him highly but giving him the Nobel Peace Prize at this point just doesnt seem right. In fact, it's just down right odd... as may of his staff also think. President Obama was surprised too! If no one deserves the Nobel Peace Prize it shouldnt be handed out to anyone. In my mind the "value" of the Nobel Peace Prize seems to have gone down quite a bit in my book. I honestly think that President Obama has enough character and motivation to make the US and the world a better place without getting the Nobel Peace Prize. I think the nobel committee needs to rethink their selection process in the future. I was surprised to hear the Gandhi never got the Nobel Peace Prize!! Now that's bizarre!

I got divorced from my ex-wife when my daughter was about 3 years old. We never had to go to court or any mess like that to settle things. Our divorce was emotional but we remained friends. We talked like rational people and I got to see my daughter every weekend. She eventually got remarried and moved to Canada. Recently, she wrote me an email saying that she has been thinking about the past a lot and that she really appreciates me for keeping a friendship with her and loving our daughter. It nearly brought me to tears. She had never said anything like that to me. I think the problems that these fathers have with their wives and being able to see their children ultimately come from something inside of them. They are driven by hatred and anger. Instead of seeing their children as a possession and their ex-wives as the enemy, they need to be build some kind of friendship with their wives for the sake of their children.

Every time I dropped off my daughter at her mother's house I would say "I love you. I had a really nice time today with you." For over a year I said that to her with no reply from her. Before she left for Canada, we spent our last weekend together and as usual I told her "I love you and I had a really nice time today with you." For the first time she said "I love you too daddy." Ultimately, it's about who you have decided to become that matters most. Your behavior should not depend on how other people treat you.

I grew up watching the Twilight Zone and love them. As a kid, i love them because of it's shocking, weird, strange, amazing stories. As an adult, i can see the deeper morals and life lessons told in them. Although 50 years old, these lessons never get old. It's funny how these mega expensive hollywood movies have such cool special effects and computer graphics but often lack any substance in content. The 50 year old original TZs blow most of them away even though they are in black and white and very little flash. Having a good story is foundational.

Nuclear weapons will never be fully banish from this planet until fear is.

I love sony products! I am glad to see that they are doing a little better in sales recently. I hope that they can continue doing well with sales in all of their other products as well. Go Sony!

Many Japanese people I know dont wear seatbelts when they sit in the back. They think that only the driver and person in shotgun should have to wear seatbelts. Gees, i hope this kind of thinking isnt the norm in Japan. There's a reason why we have seltbelts in the back... use them!! Recently, I went to get my japanese license renewed and had to sit through a 2-hour lecture/video about safe driving. In the video they showed how the driver got sandwiched to death between the steering wheel and the passenger not wearing a seat belt behind him. Ouch! I often see kids sitting in front on their moms laps without seat belts. Some of them even have their faces up against the windshield. People need a good dose of Newton's Laws. Natural laws dont care about the law or whether you get caught or not... they are always in effect.

Failure to wear seat belts is a ticking bomb waiting to explode.

I think we are just so used to going from point A to point B in a car and dont realize just how dangerous driving on the road is. A huge number of people die everyday in traffic accidents. Seat belts give us a better chance of survival.

It is the moral responsibility for all people to realize their own weaknesses, take responsibility, and correct them. Failure to do so will cause problems to themselves and others.

According to Abraham Maslow, the eminent psychologist much like food, water, and sleep, sex is a human physiological need. When we have poor social skills (weakness) we fail to have romantic relationships and fail to have physical intimacy. This human need for sex comes out in uglier ways: groping on trains, watching/buying pornography, sex friends, prostitution, etc. All of which long-term are psychologically and morally damaging.

People need to realize that they have problems opening up with their feelings and find ways of connecting with other people and engage in healthy romantic relationships. As one leaves self and begins thinking about others, happiness ensues almost like a natural by-product. We live in an interdependent world where we need human connection/love for lasting fulfillment and peace of mind. This is just the way the world is.

According to the psychologist Abraham Maslow know for his "Hierarchy of Needs" sex is a physiological need much like food, water, and sleep. I think if the two brought some love back in their lives physical intimacy will naturally follow. It's not a matter of having enough time, it's matter of having enough love.

fascinating. lots to be learned about how our upbringing effects our adult life.

maybe in the future they will have cell phones that cant be broken. they'll have to find something else to break... each other's hearts?

It's funny because in my town here in japan the same thing happened to a chicken farm. All the birds were toasted. Sad...

The mind creates everything.

Better just to stick to eating veggies, fruit, and other natural foods i think.

I used to play mah jong a lot. I totally agree with the Japanese rules being really great! Thinking defensively and offensively at the same time is awesome... much like chess. What I didnt like about the game was that it is so addicting. You cant stop playing. You play all day and night and wonder what happened to the day. I could have been out with friends talking and doing something I often thought. Also, the competition really got to me - I went through serious emotional peaks - so happy when I won and so sad when I lost. I felt so selfish and consumed when I played. Mah jong once a year is good. Nice article.

The father needed to let go of his anger and just respect his daughter for the choice she made in choosing her husband. All of that pent up anger surely made his illness worse and ultimately killed him in the end at a young age. Its so sad that he couldnt see the light and just end his self-created suffering.

whether we are rich or poor, whether we have a lot of things or few things it's important us to appreciate the things we have (I am not just talking about materialistic things). with this abundant mentality we will always be wealthy whether we have money or not. as a result being very poor is no better than being very rich. it's not what's outside of you, it's what's going on inside of you.

Wish some aliens would come to earth and eliminate all alcohol, drugs, gambling, and other quick fix diversions (long term destruction) we use to try to escape from reality. People need to take some responsibility for their lives!! Get healthy, get a job you really like, learn to be a good friend/spouse/co-worker/etc. Find some purpose and meaning in your life so you wont have to depend on alcohol, drugs, and gambling to feeling something in your lives.

Not the outer appearance, but rather the inner lack of self-esteem is what really needs to be altered. Until this is changed nothing is really solved.

There is no objective reality. Reality is subjective. Based on a person's beliefs, experiences, upbringing, values, etc we perceive (filter) a particular reality. Two people can be looking at the same thing and see two completely different things. Who is right? Both people are right within their own respective realities. Everyone commenting here is trying to prove their reality to be THE one true objective reality... but it doesn't exist. When people say "Most Japanese people are narrow minded". What people are saying is "Of the 50 Japanese people I've met in life most of them I've found to be narrow minded." We see the world as we are, not as it is. This is the cause of conflict... a lack of understanding of this principle. When we truly understand this principle we take the time to listen and understand a person as best we can from their reality.

The real problem with pachinko and all gambling in fact is that it is a quick fix... immediate self-gratification that really has no long term value. in fact, long term it is very damaging. For one, being a smoke filled, noisy environment is devastating to one's health long term. But the biggest damage come from the belief that there is a quick fix to wealth. Instead of going to the pachinko parlor people should go home and start thinking about starting a business where they can truly help other people in some way... provide a genuinely valuable service to others. (the complete opposite of the selfishness of pachinko). Some much comes back to you when you start thinking about other people and just get off thinking about yourself (getting money in the case of pachinko). In fact, I believe all suffering comes from thinking about one's self. Joy and happiness comes when you think about others. In fact, I think that's what love is... forgetting yourself and thinking about others. Study Buddhism. Lots of great stuff in there.

I think what Nobuyasu Morigami said at the end of the article is sooo true and what is truly important. I hope that more children and parents can keep their eye on the big picture. Not all kids can get into their first choice but that in no way devalues them as people. Think about the worlds most successful people like Bill Gates who dropped out of college or people who never even went to college and went on to have very successful lives. Besides, it's the strong that makes us better people - that causes us to grow. A child failing to get into a college is the test of unconditional love for all parents.

Hmmm... makes me think... in America we use race as "an excuse" to categorize someone and judge them. race is such an obvious feature. however, with japanese people everyone generally looks the same so perhaps this is japanese peoples people's way of categorizing and judging someone. for some reason people find the need to do this (which can be good and bad i suppose). my guess is that people find some sense of security when they can categorize someone... it takes them out of the "unknown" category. the problem with all of this is "the self-fulfilling" prophecy i think... once we had categorized and judge someone we tend to see them that way and treat them in that way so they stay that way.

i think the best way to meet potential boyfriends/girlfriends is through friends. your friends tend to be on the same level as you with values, interests, etc ... that's why you are friends with them. their friends also are on this level so the chance of you hitting it off with them are much better. people on dating sites maybe too desperate or hiding things, etc. best to meet on the basis of a friendship and go from their. good luck Anne.

Financial security doesnt come from your job. It comes from your skills. Work on your skills and you will always have a place in the work force... a way to contribute to society. I know it sounds over simplified but when you really think about it, it's true!

We don't have to go through all of that to reach "enlightenment". In fact, the Buddha realized that after all the hell he went through. I think simple regular meditation and appreciate for who we are and what we have and the people we love and are loved by is all people really need. We don't have to go through "hell" to realize that "heaven" is already inside of us.