joyridingonthetitanic comments

I was always under the impression that in Japan, leather was considered less refined than cotton or wool as the noise it can make when you move on it could be considered rude, where as fabric seats are much more silent and dignified.

Great news, this has been long coming and now its here! Lets get this done and return Japan to the state where it can rightly and respectfully defend its self!

A constitution for Japan by Japan, not one forced on it by an occupying state!

Wasn't this settled a few years ago in 2015?

Also just because S. Korea passes a bill saying that Japan has to repay the money, doesn't make it legally binding on Japan.

I think most will see this for what it is, Sabre rattling to take attention away form the real problems in S. Korea and appealing to patriotic sentiment before an election next year.

Joshua Wong has been in the US on several occasions and has had discussion with both Congress and the CIA. For the past 4-5 years he has been groomed by the CIA and financed by NED (an instrument of the CIA). In fact, a couple of years ago Congress wanted to nominate him for the Nobel prize for peace. Do some background research into Joshua Wong and cohorts.

Say what you like, you still cant prove it, so its still a theory!

Could it be that Joshua Wong and cohorts are still been funded by the NED to continue to stir up ant-Chinese sentiment?

Now whose stirring up conspiracy theories?

Has anyone considered that this whole incident plays directly into China's hands, and may have been orchestrated that way deliberately? I wouldn't put it past them? 

Protesters turning to direct violence and attacking police with weapons (even if they are bars) escalates the situation where they can claim that by sending in the military to restore order becomes suddenly viable?

"In a bifurcated world dominated by the U.S. and China, a lot of places around the world are looking for European leadership to present an alternative," another senior official said.

Um...? Who exactly?

The EU is struggling by against its own vastly bloated infrastructure and the thinly veiled shows of unity are nothing but smoke and mirrors, hiding the reality that it is deeply dived along, geographical and political lines. North vs South and Eastern vs West.

With Brexit dominating everything and everyone, migration tearing away at the heart of the European Project and populism mounting against the very idea of a European Bloc its not surprising that the rest of the world is staying clear and questioning how long before something gives and looking for alternatives. If China is willing to dole out the cash now, and in big chunks, most are prepared to overlook the strings attached.

Stunning!

Everyone bemoaing the lack of 5G in the new iPhones should be made aware of the saying

"early bird catches the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese"

Apple are not fools and they have the technology and the means to put this in to their phones now, however i suspect what they are doing, is watching and waiting while their rivals end up with the bugs and problems that always accompany early tech rollouts. By seeing where others fail they can, in a few years, come in with proven equipment devoid of the most of the teething problems expierienced earlier on.

Apple prides itself on quality, and while in the past they have been bold and broken new ground, they have not always got it right. It seems that people have forgotten that for the most part of its early life Apple made almpst no money and tried to do too much but at the wrong time. Yes it innovates now but the first iPhone lacked 3G remember when it was launched but made billions regardless. Then a few years later when 4G came out, its iPhones took a while to catch up, but low and behold they still sold billions of dollars worth of them. To the die hard Apple fans and those tied in to the tech they offer, this wont matter a hoot, also with 5G rollouts sparadic at best and most tarrifs far to expensive to make it attractive to everyone i dont think Apple execs will loose to much sleep over it!

Hopefully this line up will pave the way for long overdue constitutional change! Well done!

Apple TV, Disney, Netfix, Amazon, HBO, BBC...etc this is getting way to crowded, the question has to be asked, is there enough content to justify all of these different streaming services.

Consumers will be tolerant and willing to pay, to a point, but... as soon as quality dips and or prices go up (which they will, Netflix this year for example) those consumers will vote with their feet and leave. This has all the signs of an early bubble, similar to the video games market of the late 70s early 80s. Too many services, not enough quality!

Simply buying more land is not going to make the problem go away, so called quick fixes, while popular in the age of buy it now are not sustainable in the long term. While it may seem logical and easy to place this waste in the next avaliable plot, the fact remains that if you do that you will destroy the land it placed upon and be unable to use it effectivley for centuries. Yes its already slightly contaminated but you can just keep dumping more radioactive watse ontop of more waste, it wont work! Not to mention the cost of such an enterprise and the long term political implications, all of which add up to a troubling state of affairs.

Yes it sucks what has to be done and those that are resonsible for the whole debacle will have to live with that for the rest of their lives but short of any other solution, what do you expect them to do! A lot of this will depend on what quantities of water they plan to dump and if that water will be treated with anything before hand to dilute it further. Im not condoning it, im simply putting forth the catch 22 situation that Japan is faced with, and in that instance you have to look at what is the lesser of 2 evils? In this case i would suggest its the sea dump as a land based storage is not practical.

 But does whaling really have a long-term future in Japan?

No, in the long term it does not, but my point is that you would be better off letting the industry die a death in manner that respects its traditions instead of forcing change upon a group of highly proud and conservative people who will such actions as a threat to their way of life!

In situations such as this, it is sometimes better to deal with it in a slow respectful way instead of hammer blow of change with out thinking through the repercussions. Its hard to swallow but, the practice of Whaling, is in decline, the evidence is there and demand is at practically zero for the meat. But, in the long term it is probably better for it to die gradually and gracefully than stop it at once and risk unregulated whaling taking its place as a form of protest. If you want to spend money on anything, target the next generation and provide funding for education programmes there, but in a balanced way that says 'yes this was a part of our history and it did happen, but also reflects the changed attitudes towards it and the modern thinking behind why it has changed. This way a balance is maintained and will not infuriate one side or the other.

But lets be honest, in this day an age, a balanced view of the world is about as rare as a forum post going "hey you know what, I was wrong you are right!"

@pacificwest

You are forgetting one thing in this utopian vision of yours, whether those involved in the industry want to move into these new industries you are talking about. Many of these men are deeply traditional and will not simply want to abandon their roots to take part in the very services that destroyed their way of life. Its all very well saying on a place like this about what is the "right thing to do" and taking the moral high ground from a position or complete detachment form those working on those ships, but unless those individuals and crews are willing to move, your plan is a non starter! Sorry!

Better that money was spent in re-training workers in sustainable, profitable industries.

Yes because Japan is renowned for its ability to retrain and allow workers to seamlessly move from one industry to another!

A lot of these whalers are 3rd or 4th generation and have grown up around the industry all their lives, with the vast majority having done the basics at school and left to work on the fleets. The idea that they can simply be "retrained" and moved into another industry is a fanciful pipedream!

Companies engaged in the sustainability industry tend to hire skilled and pre trained workers with university level qualifications, the cost involved in taking someone with no qualifications and getting them to the level needed in time would be too large for any company to bear, let alone a Japanese one!

This is about the same as most networks. I can see the dilemma, as people travel more and take more with them, suitcases have grown from medium sized, to, in some cases enormous trunks on wheels. The railway companies in Japan have probably realised that one of these cases is surmountable to a full sized person essentially riding for free and taking up space that could be used for a fare paying passenger.  

I know how annoyed I get when your trying to find a seat on a train and all the spare ones are filled up with luggage, its a nightmare. I see no problem with this if is frees up seats. Also they did say It was going to be free so I cant see the harm!

Also a plus that they don't need to be converted from right to left hand drive!

Um...? I don't see any Sailor Moon related clothing items in that picture? Weird!

Good luck to them, but I think the target of mass adoption by the 2030's is a little optimistic, if not far fetched.

Considering all the problems around regulating drones I doubt that we will se anything of this type under mass production or adoption before 2060 at the earliest. Also I doubt the price will be suitable for the everyday person on the street. At best this will be a toy for the rich and a novelty for the tourist looking to zip around Tokyo in a different fashion.

A minor distraction that shouldn't distract Abe too much from the goal at hand!

Possibly acquired from China.

Which banks were those, and did they say that before or after the EU referendum? Recently, I hear more about banks moving their assets from the UK to mainland Europe.

Clydesdale Bank, RBS and TSB are all major banks that have said they would relocate if the result returned was for Independence!

Scotland would gain little as its economy is in the wrong position, especially as its based soley on the volitile oil markets! Also the SNP cant decide on a currency in the event of them leaving. The people of Scotland dont want to join the Euro and the UK has said it wont be able to use the Pound if it goes it own way. The idea of a transitional "Scottish Pound" was rubbished by many as the losses incured to the population would be huge!

Lets hope the next era is at least as peaceful, yet hopefully more prosperous for all!

Solem and respectful! A very dignigied moment there!

Good and about time!

It seems even Ecuador finally had enough of this fool! 

This has been an expensive and pointless 7 years for all involved. Innocent people don't run!

I hope he finally can answer for his behaviour that has put peoples lives at risk!

Lets get on with this, its about time Japan had a constitution that was fit for the 21st century and that takes into account the world it finds its self in. It crazy that a country that is surrounded by openly hostile neighbours is unable to officially have or recognise a military force!

Japan needs a constitution written by Japan for Japan! Not an imposed one that was written by a vindictive occupying force almost 80 years ago!

Lets just hope they get a new batch that wont fall out the sky over populated areas!

This is hardly surprising! Where do people think these batteries come from? Raw materials come fro the ground, you have to dig and mine, which by its essence is a dirty polluting industry.

The biggest problem still remains that if you charge you electric vehicle from a charging point that is powered by a coal, gas or nuclear plant then the green credentials of your electric car go out the window. There simply is not enough green or renewable power to charge and run all these new electric cars. China for instance wants to lead the way on electric cars but most of tis power comes from coal power stations. Its counter productive and in the long run could do more damage than good.

In the rush to appease our green hopes, as usual we have rushed forward with out thinking it through properly coming up with short term solutions and kicking the repercussions down the road.

Everyone who laments the delays in this programme, wouldnt you rather they got it right before they allowed fare paying pasengers on board? Also the amount subsidised to Mitisbushi for this is probably a drop in the ocean compared to what Airbus and Boeing both recieve from their governments. Also China and Russia are practically singlehandedly supporting their own aircraft industries for designs that are far behind what the MRJ is providing. 

I just hope they can sell them beyond Japan!

Seems like a continuation of a tradition that dates back to the 19th Century!