joyridingonthetitanic comments

is there an election coming up Moon? Usually this only gets this high profile when the S. Korean election mill starts gearing up and Moon is probably keen to distract again from the dire job he's doing as PM.

Always find it interesting that China repeatedly warns other nations to stop meddling in its internal affairs and yet it has no problem poking its nose in to the Yasukuni issue over and over again!

Could you imagine if Japan was to raise concern about the issue of Mao and his tomb and how its an affront to all those that died under his leadership. The outrage that would cause!

Yes the situation is not ideal at the Shrine but, japan is hardly alone in having controversial memorials, Stalin is interned in the Kremlin Wall, and he was hardly a saint and puts what Japan did in Asia to shame with his ethnic cleansing! Yet Russia has no intention of removing him. The UK has memorials all over the place to those responsible for war crimes in Africa, yet haven't been removed, and lets not get started on the issue of memorials to those American leaders involved in the forced removals of Native Americans.

It a classic example of hypocrisy form other nations and i don't blame Japan in refusing to budge on the issue, especially as no one else has shown any intention of acting out a similar demand, to what they are asking Japan to do.

A solemn day indeed, but lets just remember that, regardless of peoples thoughts on the matter of nuclear weapons, they do exist and you cant put the genie back in the bottle. Also there is a certain argument that the threat of MAD has stopped anyone else from using one since!

Its an ambitious and righteous goal to be rid of them, but it is also frankly a naive and pointless endeavour. The sad reality is that those who possess them will unlikely ever be rid of them due to the inherent mistrust of their opposite numbers in doing the same.

A parallel can be drawn here with Smallpox, the world rid themselves of that cruel disease but when the last stocks were due to be destroyed both the US and Russia refused and kept samples, citing the precedence of the other to do the same. So be under no illusion that the same will happen with nuclear weapons.

To date the only country that has willingly disposed of it technology and armaments is South Africa, but then they never tested or operated the capability and that took years to dismantle! It will be a lot harder to convince the nuclear powers that be that this is the right way to go about it, especially with the national prestige and influence such weapons bring to the table. Look at North Korea, as soon as they had them the world took note, and regimes like that wont blink and eyelid at the though of keeping them.

Ambitious to rid yes, but doomed to failure I'm afraid.

Assuming they have only a few minutes in space, lets say 5mins, that 50K a minute! That experience would burn through peoples cash faster than it burns fuel!

Again with the statues!

OMG yes yes yes!

Congratulations Moon, you have once again managed to take the Korean peoples mind off the horrendous job you are doing as president and refocus them on to the important things in the world, in this case the facial hair of the American Envoy!

Seriously let it go! Move on!

Why is everyone surprised by this?

In reality China is not all the bothered at the moment about the so called "pressure" it is under, as it knows it has friends all over the world, who rely upon it for investment and economic support. The only way to make a bully like China take notice would be if those developing economies turned away form them and went with another. China knows its reputation with the west is shot, but it also knows its reputation in Africa and South America is much better. Essentially it really doesn't care if the US, UK, Japan or Australia moan about what's its doing when I knows full well it has ample support elsewhere.

Also Americas power in the region is dwindling and it has enough problems at home to deal with, so no one is actually taking a line here, If Japan actually wanted to it could be a proper regional power and a decent economic and military check on China's growing ambitions. But that wont happen because the Liberal bleeding hearts wont allow it to. Its easy to moan about China but its much harder to actually do something about it. Japan should be leading the way here and unless it is willing to take the drastic step to do so, it to risks being side-lined and falling trap to China and its clout.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't!

On the one hand be cautious, let people go abroad and don't impose a quarantine running the risk of the infection spreading, or take a chance and impose one to stop the potential of a second wave but upset thousands of holiday makers in the process?

Hmm? Screwed either way! But I suspect once this is all over, i suspect this will prove to be the right move.

Now is the time to formally occupy the Senkaku Islands and build up the military defenses accordingly. A show of force in these matters is sometimes needed to stand up to a bully like China. Japan should not be afraid to flex is muscles when it needs to. China needs a lesson and a taste of its own medicine! Repeal Article 9!

Love the cheerful upbeat positive thinking everyone has about anything nowadays! Heaven help us all is this trade deal actually helps both sides and eases everyone's economic misfortune!

But alas I forget, everyone on an internet forum is an expert! :)

transfer of 3 million pawns!!

Are you seriously referring to residents of Hong Kong in this way?? In this day and age?

Good god!

"recklessly irresponsible piece of sensationalist journalism".

Makes you wonder how many other cases of this type will now collapse because of this as a precedent? Gives credence to the saying "never let the truth get in the way of a good story"

Journalists used to have integrity and a sense of professionalism about things, I think now they are the ones that need to be thrown over the coals. Not everything is in the public interest and certainly not if its a blatant lie!

The Telegraph should publish a full page apology and turn in the journalist and editors responsible into to the authorities so they can face questions on professional misconduct! They are the criminal snot Mr Rush!

No debate, Japan should at once seek to strengthen its stance against China, Now is the time to revoke Article 9, and build up its military strength, starting with those 2 Izumo class carriers being upgraded to full aircraft potential. China can ignore diplomatic pressure, but it will hate having a military power on its doorstep and as bully only responds to strength, japan should not be afraid to do so!

Just goes to show how far removed form reality these people are!

China will take this is as a threat to its national coherence, and will not see it lightly. Unlike the UK offer to help those in HK gain UK citizenship, and is thousands of miles away, Taiwan has the unenviable position of being just off the coast of the Chinese Mainland. Done wrong, it could be disastrous for them. While the rest of the worlds heads are turned inwards to sorting out their own problems with COVID19, China could take this opportunity to resolve the Taiwan issue once and for all.

If HK continues to protest Beijing may launch a full scale takeover as a precursor or rehearsal to a take over of Taiwan, to test the water so to speak. See who would react and if anyone would take action. None of this should surprise anyone as lets be honest it wants to do this and now would be the prime time to do it!

Worrying times!

About time! The drop off of plastic bag waste in the UK was something like 90%, this is long over due and welcome!

Don't worry we can still have Uncle Bens rice's and sauces with its logo and historical connotations!

Trust me the way the worlds going it wont be long!

The world has gone woke crazy and not for the better!

 If there are two conflicting claimants to a find, it must be brought to a court for legal judgement, that is, the International Court of Justice.

Good in theory, but only if both sides agree to respect the verdict, and as is usual in these cases whoever brings the case, the other side will almost inevitably refuse to acknowledge the court or outcome! Its happened before, most recently with the UK and the Chagos islands. The UN said that the expulsion of the population was illegal and the territory should be handed back, but the UK denounced the findings. Result -Stalemate and the whole circus begins again.

If Japan beings this to court, China will refuse to cooperate and vice versa. Best compromise would be joint sovereignty on a rotational basis, but that unlikely to find support on either side. Or the islands are administered under UN control but again, unlikely to pass as China could veto it.

This is not going to be resolved easily nor quickly! Japan will probably have a peace treaty with Russia before it settles things on the Senkaku Islands.

One wonders how much longer Beijing will tolerate Carrie Lam and continue to support her. She may have their backing now if the situation continues to get worse then I can see her reign being cut short quite quickly.

He will not take the weeks off consecutively and said he expected to work remotely or have shortened days during the leave period -- which will be spread over three months from his child's birth.

Not sure this really counts as Paternity Leave when spread out like this. Seems like a fudge to me. He'd be better off just taking normal leave!

Will be good to welcome them to the UK! I suspect a few awards will be bestowed, as if often the case from both sides.

Will be nice to have a state visit that wont include mass demonstartions about the visitor operations in the middle east!

That’s an example of how to kill that industry.

How do you figure that?

Surely the fact that a industry such as this appeals to those outside of Japan is a good thing. Just producing things for a domestic market has limited potential for growth. Selling this to those from outside Japan is great as it stymies creativity and encourages new ideas to take forth!

Yes they are important, but you cant save everything. The city itself serves as a very powerful anti war symbol, so its not like they are the only reminders of the bombing.

I'm not against them being saved, and if they are, then great! 

I'm just saying that, you cant keep something just because it was there at the time. And if its unsafe, is it a suitable use of public funds? Especially as there are other more stable buildings in the area that also survived!

JimizoDec. 13 05:25 pm JSTI was brought up in a devastated Liverpool during the Thatcher years and saw what Tories do with majorities

Tories will never be welcome again in our home city of Liverpool. We don't forget so easily

Umm... didn't Liverpool once elect a Labour council associated to the Militant wing of the party, who passed an illegal budget, spent more than they should have, bankrupt the council and then went about handing out redundancy notices by taxi to council and community wokers just before Christmas?

1983 under Derrek Hatton?

@u_s__reamer The cheap game plan of bamboozling an intellectually- challenged electorate

Always amazes me that when the Left Wing loose it is everyone else's fault but their own!

All ready the excuses are coming thick and thin!

The weather was bad!

The date was wrong!

People aren't clever enough to understand what we were trying to do!

We were cheated!

The media were to blame!

Its all a conspiracy!

The right wing, elite, funded by murky backers of the new world order want to destroy the world and our illusion of a socialist/communist paradise! :)

All of this reeks of desperation! In fact its slightly insulting! Maybe if you faced facts and realised that the reason you lost was because it was all over hyped nonsense that could never have been delivered or paid for, headed by a man whose qualities as a leader were questionable at best! Take head and learn something and stop blaming everyone and everything for the loss!

But fitting with the pathetic organisation of this RWC.... And cancelling games.

I presume your referring to the Typhoon that ripped through Japan and killed people! That's exactly the kind of comment that would come from someone who would in all likelihood complain had they not cancelled the games and players, fans and spectators live would have been in danger.

I think the fine was donated to charity, although it seems petty, considering that the New Zealand players themselves seem to think it was appropriate and has no issue with it?