Johnnie Walker comments

I like Murakami's work, it is wacky, fun and imaginative however it can not be considered up there with the great classics.

His books are popular, both in Japan and overseas, and he was rightly considered to be a contender for the Nobel prize but he was not the favourite to win this award and so it should not have been any great surprise when another author was chosen ahead of him.

“Perhaps because Japan won science Nobels this year, we were passed over for literature.”

Some may try to turn this story into a sour grapes issue but this was not "Japan bashing", he was just beaten by a more deserving writer.

Three things immediately sprung to mind after reading this article..:

Firstly, if couples want to have children they will. Why does there need to be a ministerial position? Any plan to create incentives for women to have babies will almost certainly lead to an increase in unloved/unwanted children. Children should not be born to be servants to the older generations.

Secondly, if there has to be such a position, why choose a 59 year old man for the role? Why not a younger person who is aware of reality in modern Japan and why not a woman to do this job?

Thirdly, if Japan is desperate to stem the shrinking population, why has Abe ruled out opening the door wider to foreigners?

@Crazy Joe... I hope your comment above was an ill attempt at sarcasm and not your actual beliefs.

The countries that these "migrants" are flooding into...

In most cases they are refugees but in all cases they are People... and the term "flooding in" sounds like a quote straight from FOX News or "Daily Mail"! Really credible sources ... NOT.

have the same problems these people are escaping from.

Really? Excuse my ignorance but I didn't realise that there was an appalling civil war in Hungary or any other destination that these poor people are trying desperately to get to. I am pretty sure that families in Budapest and or any other EU cities do not spend their days worrying about their children, parents, friends etc being killed by fighting factions.

once these countries are over-run

You make this sound like an infestation of rats; they are people!

their economies and political systems destroyed, and all the food has been eaten

??? eh?

the populations of these countries will join those from other countries until we are all "migrants."

In years to come, "populations" from all parts of the world will join those from other countries and people will become a lot more accepting of each other making, in my opinion, the world a much better place.

Are we all possibly missing the point here? Migrants, refugees, call them what you like but they are all people and they are dying in their thousands desperately fleeing to find a better, safer life. In the UK the right wing parties and press try to 'warn' the people of Britain that hundreds of thousands of migrants will be turning up taking our jobs, claiming benefits and committing crimes. That's pure scaremongering!

All countries morally should do their part and help to re-home these desperate people. I often hear that "Britain is full" but I would rather see children living and playing in my home town than dead on a beach.

@Tina

I think that you are too busy defending Japanese culture from what you envisage as attacks by western imperialists and you are blind to the reasons for people's calls for this cull to be banned. It is extremely cruel and as you say only a small number of Japanese eat them. Why then do so many have to be killed in such barbaric fashion?

If the local community are worried about a loss of income from banning the event, why don't they establish the area as a dolphin spotting site and attract decent tourists to the area from all around the world. They would not need to corral the dolphins to the cove as the tourists' excitement / pleasure at just seeing one or two would be far greater than that of seeing hundreds forced into the cove or in an aquarium.

This would be far more profitable that the barbaric killings as it could be all year round.

This is a truly foul and barbaric practice and must stop. The slaughter serves no purpose other than for the locals (and the government it would appear) to claim it is traditional and for other non-caring bloodthirsty people to go to watch it.

Any new safety device is a good advancement in the wellbeing of road users (and pavements in some cases) Call me old fashioned but what's wrong the method where the driver used to look where he or she was going and apply brakes appropriately when something or someone was in their path?

A meeting between Mr Abe and President Xi Jinping can surely only be a good thing for peace and stability in this region of our planet. That is unless Abe tries to use it in an attempt to "re-educate" China on his fluffy warped view of the Japanese military 70+ years ago.

If he was a genuine man of peace and wanted some respect from others around the world he should visit Nanjing’s Massacre Memorial and express his deepest regret and sorrow for the murder and mistreatement of all those who suffered at the hands of japan's ruthless occupying forces as welll as some of the decent Japanese soldiers who had no choice but to follow the orders of the the evil war criminals of the time. Just a thought...

A truly foul and despicable organisation that have caused dread, fear and sadness to so many people around the world.

What is their goal? To be recognised as an "Islamic State".

They don't represent the vast majority of decent Muslims around the world and their barbaric behaviour doesn't merit them being recognised as a state therefore from no on perhaps we should refer to them by the derogatory term they hate... Daesh.

I know this will not help anyone who has been touched by their brutal ways but anything they hate, I like.