Posted in: Amazon Japan makes payment policy change See in context
For how backwards some things are in Japan the last thing I would think they'd do is get rid of a cash option.
-3 ( +1 / -4 )
Posted in: Swarmed with tourists, town blocks off popular Mount Fuji viewing spot See in context
Just hire an actual guard to shoo off tourists. That barrier just makes the area more ugly.
20 ( +27 / -7 )
Posted in: Dream job: The Japanese man who gets paid to do nothing See in context
I'd be a no sex escort. That's pretty much his work. He's basically an on location host.
0 ( +0 / -0 )
Posted in: Dream job: The Japanese man who gets paid to do nothing See in context
@Jonathan Prin
His job involves to go to a place and come back home.
Yeah that is definitely a job. Good for you that you get to work from home I guess?
0 ( +0 / -0 )
Posted in: Kishida, wife maintain closeness despite long distance See in context
Access time between downtown and airports at both sides should also be taken into account. Hiroshima-Haneda: 4.5 hours; Hiroshima-Narita: 5 hours. 4 hour trip by Shinkansen is safe, accurate and convenient. Meanwhile fare prices remain competitive. Hiroshima is located where airplane and train services fiercely compete over price and travel time.
Difference is we're not the Prime Minister. I'm sure the guy bypasses traffic, airport lines, wait times and has his own private plane and everything covered by the government.
0 ( +0 / -0 )
Posted in: Japan starts checking COVID vaccination status of overseas arrivals See in context
Matej: And you can choose to take the vaccine or don't come into the country. It's as simple as is.
It's no burden on Japan whether you come or not. There's still plenty of vaccinated people willing to invest their money into the country. I have feeling most people not vaccinated would probably not have traveled to Japan to begin with.
4 ( +4 / -0 )
Posted in: Man arrested after refusing to pay hotel bill for 15-night stay See in context
I honestly want to know which hotel this was that charges that much for a 2-week stay.
6 ( +6 / -0 )
Posted in: Health officials find 164 dogs crammed into tiny house See in context
Damned unfair of everyone to start blaming the public health officials.
Typical armchair warrior reactions from ignorant readers who have no clue how the real world works.
How do you expect them to act when they are given no powers to force entry and inspection?
How do you expect them to escalate to police when there are no concrete laws on suspected animal cruelty by private owners which the police can act on?
Blame the system. Blame the typical unenforceable 'guidelines'. Don't blame the poor sod trying to do his job without any powers to do so.
SEVEN years without doing anything.
5 ( +5 / -0 )
Posted in: Shinkansen, express train users drop 95% during Golden Week holidays See in context
Do you think a ramen shop that had ten tables to suit 20 customers is going to make it with only 5 tables because of some stupid "social distancing" rule?
You bet your butt they're going to change if people change their attitudes about social distancing. What's a restaurant with 20 seats when nobody wants to sit close to eat other? Great that you don't mind sitting in a crowd but after this Coronavirus you bet some people will have a difference of mind on how they want to eat at restaurants.
-2 ( +2 / -4 )
Posted in: Japanese artists in New York sing 'Sukiyaki' together in heartwarming video See in context
me too I am tired of this JOKE. Sing far from my sight!
They are singing far from you. You just happen to keep seeing them.
I am not trying to take away from what these guys are doing, but it doesn't need to be rebroadcasted over and over again on the news. If people are interested in this stuff, they can go on youtube and watch it until their eyes bleed. But I think one story on the news would have been sufficient.
Can't blame these guys for wanting to lighten the mood up. Blame the news media promoting it.
3 ( +5 / -2 )
Posted in: Barbers, 'izakaya,' dept stores, DIY shops to be off Tokyo's closure request list See in context
Look at Botswana going into strict lockdown after they went from 6 cases to 13....
Not defending Japan or anything but I'm sure if Botswana was an economic power like Japan it would probably be doing the same as Japan.
1 ( +4 / -3 )
Posted in: Japanese rock legend Hyde rips into those not practicing social distancing and hitting up pubs during pandemic See in context
In other words, people have to wait until being told by Mother. I'd like to think that educated adults can think for themselves and make sensible choices, just by reading the news both here and around the world.
You are naive.
1 ( +1 / -0 )
Posted in: Japanese rock legend Hyde rips into those not practicing social distancing and hitting up pubs during pandemic See in context
He's right, but he's also got to start at the top and point out how poorly the government is handling this. A lockdown would go a LONG way in giving the people the chance to social distance. Sure, we can avoid crowded pubs on weekends, or karaoke, or whatever, but pres tel what's the point if the Jiro who hits the pub after riding the crowded train home still has to ride the crowded train to get home anyway?
And be potentially blacklisted in the entertainment industry? He's not gonna risk that.
0 ( +0 / -0 )
Posted in: Renovated Shibuya subway station with M-shaped roof begins service See in context
One thing Japanese can do right is trains, if only American lived trains as much as Japanese.
Maybe if America was just the size of California, sure. Imagine if Japan was the size of the US.
0 ( +0 / -0 )
Posted in: Seven-Eleven to end contract with franchisee who cut opening hours See in context
Time to make these stores autonomous. Self-working store. Everything's kept behind lockers that unlock after you pay.
Or go with the honor system. Keep that register open and customers can grab and pay themselves.
The owner can take time off as much as he wants and just come in to stock up the shelves.
... It's a joke by the way.
0 ( +0 / -0 )
Posted in: Japan loses last public holiday of the year, even though it’s still on the calendar See in context
I really thought that since it was a holiday for 30 years and people had become accustomed to it, they would keep it and rename the day.
I don't think they want to keep adding an extra holiday to the calendar every 30 years or so.
1 ( +1 / -0 )
Posted in: AKB48’s final original member, who had to shave her head, is leaving the group See in context
“who had to shave her head“
I don’t believe it’s true that she “had” to shave her head. Who forced her, how did they force her? The article should tell us. What I remember is that she did it of her own volition.
Sure, perhaps no one forced her to do it but I'd imagine had she not her career would probably be 6 feet under. The Japanese entertainment industry has no problem blacklisting people they deem non-compliant.
7 ( +8 / -1 )
Posted in: Actress Sawajiri indicted on drug possession charges See in context
Erika doesn't give a damn, man. She's been pretty rebellious for years. I'm sure the apology is more so people will stop bothering her than to repair her pretty stagnate acting career.
-1 ( +0 / -1 )
Posted in: Sellers ask antitrust body to probe Rakuten's free shipping policy See in context
This is what Japanese consumers expect to see.
Of course that is what they expect when they don't have choices. I'm betting these same consumers would switch over to more simplified websites if given the option.
4 ( +4 / -0 )
Posted in: Japan to decide on Aug 2 to remove S Korea from preferential treatment list See in context
@Heckleberry
The only sheep here seems to be you. It's 2019, not 1940. Most of the Japanese from that era are dead. How much of an apology does a nation have to give about something that happened over half a century ago? It's great that you support South Korea but get off their nuts.
19 ( +22 / -3 )
Posted in: Idol singer leaves show business, opens ramen restaurant in Tokyo See in context
She seems pretty happy and successful. At 22 years old being able to have four restaurants in your book is more than exceptional. Unless you're one of the bigger idols there's hardly anything profound you can do after the idol life. A lot of these girls end up opening your typical crappy girls bars.
4 ( +4 / -0 )
Posted in: 7-Eleven stores struggling in face of labor shortage See in context
Robots.
Or mandatory work for rich youth.
-3 ( +0 / -3 )
Posted in: Ailing woman dies at home while son spends month in internet cafes See in context
What wonderful family values. “Thanks mum, now die.” After many years of teaching in Japan I have lost count of how many middle-aged people have told me that are just waiting for their parents to die. Even my ex-wife said the sane thing about her parents. One more time, “There is no love in Japan!” Families are duty in Japan. Ask a teenager how old their parents are and when their birthday is. Most will not be able to tell you. Then, ask them how old their grandparents are and when their birthdays are. 99% will have no answer. There is no live in Japanese families.
I barely remember my dad's birthday every year because I already hang out with him all the time. We don't celebrate birthdays. It's not important. Birthdays and age are just numbers and events. If that is so important to you then maybe you should rethink what actual values are.
3 ( +5 / -2 )
Posted in: 'Terrace House' comedian Ryota Yamasato marries actress Yu Aoi See in context
More people talking about Terrace House than the actual couple. For people that dislike TH you guys sure do talk a lot about it in the comments.
2 ( +7 / -5 )
Posted in: Clever alarm system invented by Japanese railway company will wake even the deepest of sleepers See in context
That's too slow. You need one that shoots out like an airbag during a car crash to wake me up.
1 ( +1 / -0 )
Posted in: Automated train travels in wrong direction, injuring 20 in Yokohama See in context
Yes. We should. That's the whole point of them. Or, at least that's how it's marketed.
But, most of us can see through the BS, and know that the whole point of automated trains, and driverless cars, etc are to cut costs for corporations who don't want to pay people because they view people as an expense rather than the asset they really are.
More like most people are paranoid of anything new and innovating. You know why we continue to see these types of accidents? Naysayers like you who would rather go backwards than forwards keeping things from becoming something better.
2 ( +5 / -3 )
Posted in: Former KAT-TUN singer admits to marijuana use See in context
He's a celebrity, he's going to get a suspended sentence. If it were me, I'd be jailed until my trial and then deported.
Might as well be the same as jail time when you're a Japanese celebrity. That fall from grace will never recover. Blacklisted, probably chastised from society. Forever be known as the KAT-TUN member who was arrested for drugs.
9 ( +9 / -0 )
Posted in: Teacher’s verbal abuse, threats blamed for 15-year-old girl’s suicide See in context
What's the point of these questionnaires they give the students when nothing comes out of it? I remember reading another article where the father was being abusive to his daughter and she was basically crying for help in one of these questionnaires and what happens? The school tells her dad about it because they were intimidated by him. She ended up dying too.
20 ( +20 / -0 )
Posted in: Idol group that covered up singer’s attack by fans at home dismantles team system for 'relaunch' See in context
Just stop with the whole idol group BS. Why are we still catering to these groups to virgin manchildren?
10 ( +11 / -1 )
Posted in: Amazon Japan raises Prime membership fee for first time in 11 years See in context
I only wish Amazon Prime fees were that low in the US. You're getting two years worth of Prime in Japan for one year's worth in America.
1 ( +1 / -0 )
Only the best for trump and so many win. Is the US great yet or do we need to wait…
Posted in: Trump administration tries to bring back fired nuclear weapons workers in DOGE reversal
Posted in: Tourism boom sends prices soaring at Niseko ski resort
Posted in: Trump administration tries to bring back fired nuclear weapons workers in DOGE reversal