kaminarioyaji comments

When the beef ban was implemented, Brits were also banned from giving blood. I wonder if that ban will also be lifted sometime in the near future.

Christ, why continue with the ridiculous "for reasons of ill health" charade when everyone knows it was because you got caught out?

Let's call a spade a spade shall we?

Years ago the entire menu used to be on the overhead boards, which meant that you could browse and choose what you wanted whilst you were waiting to be served (so very little of the problem of people choosing when they reach the counter); now it's just advertising space for the set meals.

Aren't the people who make these decisions supposed to be smart people with business/marketing degrees? Why no-one ever consults the front line staff on how it has affected things is a constant surprise to me.

Another problem with the "no menu" ideas is that McD's in Japan aren't always consistent in what they serve. I sometimes go to one near a school I work at, which doesn't have Apple pies, nor 1/4 pounders; not just out of stock, they are never stocked. Used to have a sticker over them; that was bad enough...

Starbucks Japan, even whilst having overhead menus, also has the good idea of getting a member of staff to hand out menus to queueing customers at busy times.

Whether or not the flight originated in Kansai is irrelevant. What's truly shocking is this lackadaisical approach to trying to prevent potential terrorists boarding planes, whilst scrutinising anyone hoping to enjoy their travels here.

"Nakamoto said arriving passengers are checked more closely than those leaving the country."

A slow hand clap for immigration...

I have an ex-AV star who brings her kid to the Eikaiwa I work at.

Japan's taxpayers are already rebelling against small tax increases

....And the evidence of this is where?

@Bass4funk

Sorry, which Fukuoka is it you live in? Because it isn't the one in Kyushu, that's for sure. In 3 years here, using the roads pretty much everyday, I've only ever seen one police checkpoint for drivers, which of course had its red lights flashing so anyone could see them from a mile off and therefore make a convenient "detour" if they felt they could be at risk of arrest. Even during last year's Bounenkai season, nothing, nada, zip. Perhaps this is the reason why Fukuoka jostles with Osaka every year for the dubious honour of having Japan's highest rate of DUI.

Just last night, the car in front of the bus I was on had no lights on at night. A police van came from the other direction. Now, quiz time everyone - Did the police:

A) Stop the driver and check if the reason they had no lights on at night might be because they were DUI?

B) Flash the driver with their lights to let the driver know he was driving without lights?

C) Do absolutely nothing?

Policing in this country continues as it ever was; a bad joke.

On a police related note, does anyone know if you're supposed to get a crime number from police when you report something to them? I've had 3 occasions to do so, but have never received a crime number for future reference.

@Titaniumdioxide

That's possibly one of the most ridiculous things I have ever read.

This is not a surprise at all. I'm sure many of us have encountered a quack (or two) whilst in Japan. I recently went to a dermatologist, and he completely failed to diagnose me correctly, putting it down to something completely unrelated (it turned out, as I found out when I saw a proper doc). To make matters worse, the prescription he gave wasn't working (as it wasn't for my actual problem), and every week I said "Look, it's the same, the medicine has had no effect" and he just continued to say "It's fine"; no explanation as to why it was taking its time to work, no allaying my concerns, just "It's fine". I thought it was suspicious that on his brochure were 2 western qualifications from america, but he didn't seem to be able to speak English at all.

As others have said above, you've really got to be careful here. Charlatans, and old doctors who've been so arrogant as to never really update their procedures to modern ones.

It's not as though it's cheap either...

In a detailed and passionate endorsement of his former rival

They were never rivals; Hillary and Obama, yes, but not Bill.

"...many Japanese viewers actually seem to find it embarrassing that their people are so willing to jump through hoops for a measly 800 yen per hour."

Though clearly not embarrassed enough for bosses to pay, nor the the general population to campaign for, a decent wage for these people.

He's made some good films, and some so-so films, but since coming to live in Japan, I haven't watched any of his films because I simply can't reconcile him as a reasonably respected director with the clown I see on JTV.

How about putting the charge on TEPCO's tab?

If Armstrong's wrongdoing is proven, then the far bigger story is how everyone around him was willingly complicit in the deception, and for so long.

Who needs a license?

I'm quite shocked to find they actually have licenses in Japan considering how (too) many Japanese "drive".

Numbskulls.

Number 2's bang on the money. I was in a "road rage" incident the other week, and whilst remonstrating with the driver over their appallingly dangerous driving, one of his passengers suddenly, from way out left-field, chipped in with a "where are you from?". Unbelievable given the situation; "Kuuki yomenai" indeed.

Burger_king Thanks for clarifying where the translation failed.

CrazyJoe - I've yet to see a Japanese ambulance "rush" anywhere.

Firefighters rushed to the hotel and found the woman bleeding from a stab wound to the chest

Firefighters? Perhaps Paramedics would have been a better choice to have dispatched?

It's a very sad state of affairs indeed when your "finest" is riddled with criminals, and can only muster "barely competent" at their best.

Y'know, it really beats me how the Japanese seem to have no limit for how much obfuscation and general BS they are prepared to take.

Mr Kan is seemingly a diamond in the rough.

This is all, quite frankly, somewhat ridiculous.

Ahhh... The ole' "I have no memory of what happened" defense. Where & when do the Japanese learn this BS?

Japanese clothing store staff tend to follow you around the shop at a not-in-actual-fact-discreet-distance - That'd never happen in Europe! Being leapt on with suggestions for "matching" items the moment you check out the price tag on any clothing - That'd never happen in Europe! Being yelled at with the same "greeting" over, and over, and over again. That'd never happen in Europe! Every last detail of what the problem is with a faulty item being checked when you return it to the store - In most European countries, your word is good enough, especially if it's a visible defect, but strangely not in Japan; the "procedure" is mindlessly observed.

Kawakami, my parochial chum, in Europe, the above things that the Japanese do, Europeans don't do for the simple reason that culturally, they are considered quite rude. Yes, Japan has some good things, but by god it has some right shady stuff too. Best come down off of that high horse now Japan, before you fall off.

Does he honestly believe people will buy into this BS?

I think that may actually be more insulting the the average Japanese Joe than all the corruption.

One possible alternative reason why the number of bike riders in Japan has decreased - Having to contend with the increase "drivers" driving idiotically dangerously.

I ride a Yamaha SR400 (Modelled on the old BSAs) here; it rides like a dog, but it's got character.

But, every time I ride in the city, I question why I bother. I encounter someone's negligence/stupidity seemingly every few hundred metres (pulling out on you, cutting you up, moving into my lane suddenly because they haven't bothered to check their blind-spot nor used their indicators, tailgating - sometimes in the wet - unbelievable). It completely takes the joy out of riding a bike.

Fukuoka prefecture has the highest rate of Yakuza related violent crime in all Japan apparently; and now you know why. Instead of apprehending these criminals, certain members of the Fukuoka constabulary are aiding and abetting them.

A slow round of applause for Japan's finest (again).

Yet another H&R driver on these pages, today's story about our corrupt cop down in Fukuoka, Nomura and the insider trading scandal, the list goes on...

What links all these seemingly disparate stories is people being extremely deceitful.

I'm sure to get thumbs down for this, but still, it needs to be said that, for all the talk of "Japan is a polite society", and "our noble traditions", Japan has far more than its fair share of utter scumbags who will do whatever they can get away with, and if/when they do get caught, think that only a "Suimasen" is sufficient.

So a double whammy of lost man hours of productivity (due to all the meetings), and possible lost revenue?

I remain hopeful that this kind of thing does snowball, and as Yubaru says, spreads to other areas of social malaise. This is heartening to witness; the Japanese have been politically apathetic for far too long.