kirakira25 comments

kirakira25; Would a kiss on the cheek be obscene?

Any 58 year old stranger kissing or attempting to kiss my 8 year old daughter on the cheek or anywhere else without my knowledge and BOTH mine and my daughters permission I would construe as obscene. Sorry! Maybe I am overprotective of my daughter, and if so, I am more than happy to finance the therapy she will need in years to come. Right now my main priority and I believe responsibility is to protect her from perverts like this guy.

@michaelqtodd - you are right, a LOT goes underreported here, like the little girl I knew last year molested in a park. Her parents didnt want to report it and bring shame on the family. She was 7. They havent gotten her any help and she remains traumatised. The only reason I know is that my friend was a witness to the guy disappearing with her. Unfortunately she had her own kids to watch and by the time she realised what was going on it was too late.

"Give me a kiss?" said the 58 year old stranger to the 8-9 year old little girls.

How do we know he was intent on committing obscene acts???! This alone is obscene - as far as a mother would be concerned at least.

I would like to know how come he got them as far as the front door but they didn`t go in. Did they escape? Were they being dragged against their will?

Let`s hope now that this highly discriminatory society actually allows them the opportunity to participate in society.

If you're on a date, obviously you're single

Youre kidding, right??! I know loads of people here looking for extra-marital activities - and getting it regularly. I wouldnt assume anything on a date.

I`m not remotely surprised. In the last year I have witnessed two kids being knocked down on the street with bicycles and the riders fleeing the scene. One got her head caught in the spokes and has permanent scars, the other broke his leg. They had no idea if the kids were even alive when they fled the scene. Some people just seem to have no conscience at all.

Why is it a problem to smoke on the street? Because, Mr DeJong, when you walk your children down the crowded Tokyo street the butts are at EYE level. When the wind blows, it blows ASH in my baby`s pram (it really happened to my 3 month iold daughter), and because unless you are not actually breathing at all, if you are anywhere near a smoker you CAN smell it a mile off.

@semperfi

Thank you for your intelligent comeback (and no, I am not being sarcastic, I think what you are saying is genuinely interesting!) When you say you think he hasnt gone far enough, do you mean that you think the west IS entirely to blame for Japans problems, and if so, why exactly?

How nice to meet someone who can respectfully be at completely opposite ends of the debate from me! You make me WANT to understand your point of view!

@semperfi

OK then, let me rephrase:

Language evolves, and Japan`s use of Katakana is simple evolution, not a deeper reflection of a loss of cultural identity. Indeed, most Katakana words sound more Japanese than they do English anyway. Running around not using 14th century Japanese does not indicate a loss of cultural identity.

Japans loss of cultural identity is reflected in the malaise and general resignation of its people. It sometimes feels like the country has "given up" on itself. I dont think that has anything to do with the internationalisation of Japan, it has to do with Japans inability to develop and change to meet the challenges of a modern world.

To me, this guy seems to be nothing more that a nationalist hellbent on blaming America and anything foreign in general for all Japan`s problems.

@semperfi

This is reflected in the absurdly over-abundant use of English converted to katakana.

No, it isn`t. There are many reasons for Japans loss of cultural identity, but using Katakana is definitely NOT one of them.

@jason6: the majimekun post I was responding to has been deleted - that`s why it looks confusing. Mods: please delete my response above too.

I just want real milk in my coffee, not those horrible creamer things. I can get in in Starbucks, and Tullys, but virtually nowhere else. Excelsior have just clued into it and started allowing it, but in many places I have even offered to PAY for real milk before, and they refused and let me leave rather than making a sale AND extra profit.

Ah yes! Ban Katakana! That will solve all the economic and social issues in Japan! Why didn`t anyone think of that before??!

@majimekun - so it`s the girls fault???! SHE WAS 13!!! And already totally messed up having been repeatedly raped by men just like this guy!

I'm glad I'm not in your culture

If you believe the tripe this guy is blustering, and think based on this rubbish he deserves forgiveness, then I think most people would be glad you are not in it either.

Wish they were flying to London from Haneda :(

This pair are just pathetic.

I agree with them that the bankers and politicians are a major cause of this problem, but Europe has enjoyed an extravagancy for years that could never sustain itself in the long term. These changes are necessary and realistic, the only problem is that - again - it is the ordinary people who will be paying for it and suffering most.

Surely, surely the judge and jury aren`t going to be swayed by this obvious attempt to get leniency. If he was so sorry, why was he on the run for so long? Changing his appearance? Trying to evade capture?

He is sorry he got caught - nothing more, and I cant believe he would continue to put the Hawkers through this torment. Glad they can see it for what it is. This may wash in Japanese culture but it aint gonna mean a damn thing in ours.

To add: lets not forget that right now people are thinking about their Shogatsu trips.

Am I being overly cynical here or do you think the Japan Tourism Ministry has something to do with this? After all, it`s very cheap to go to Europe right now and blow all your yen away in another economy....

...and we all know what will happen if the J government issue a travel advisory. My God, I had students cancel their holidays in Hawaii when the US went into Iraq!

I dabbled in the modelling industry a lo time ago when I was abut 20/21. I got out pretty damned quick. My hide wasn`t nearly thick enough to deal with it. I was not so desperate to call myself a "model" that I would let people speak to me like that, treat me like that, and make me feel like that. No pay check is worth that much.

There are many girls that come into the industry starry-eyed at being "discovered", and before you know it they are being manipulated, pressured, morphed into whatever the current trend says they should be. You have to have balls of steel to get through it unscathed, and most of them dont. Theyre not even old enough to know how to deal with it, and suddenly being whisked away from their families to strange exotic destinations with alcohol, drugs and sex readily available. They are the unknowns, the "fresh meat" desperately wanting to make it and become a "name" in the most competitive industry in the world.

No thank you.

If we are looking at the Med in Summer then club 18-30 Brits without a doubt. I am ashamed to be British when I see drunk girls doing it on car bonnets, puking guts up in the street, peeing where they stand (male and female).

I saw Americans whining in Narita airport McD`s because they only had one flavour of ice-cream! WTF??!

Ooooh! Lubly jubly! Nothing like a little eye-candy to get a girl up and about in the mornings.....

Excellent!

My daughter was born 7 weeks ago. The total cost to us - 13000 yen.

Congratulations on the birth of your daughter? But did she not receive any clinic checks? Blood tests? My appointments were anywhere between 5k and 10k a time, plus tests, plus the costs of delivery.

I think the only people that ever cause a problem in divorce cases are the husband and the wife. Why is it so hard to be mature, sit down and work out a solution that may or may not include divorce in the interests of the children?

My friend had the lowest of the low done to her - her husband was cheating on her while she was pregnant and alone in a foreign country (and no, she was not denying him any conjugal rights) - she had every right and every reason to leave. But 7 years on they are still together because they SAT DOWN AND WORKED THINGS OUT. Equally, if it had ended in divorce, they would have sat down and worked things out because there is a bigger issue at stake here - a child. They were mature enough to put their own feelings of hurt and anger way below the needs of their new daughter.

When divorces here go bad it is invariably because of the selfishness of one parent, and my heart goes out to anyone having to deal with that.

I agree the mother is despicable, but I would also like to know what the scumbag who bought these images is going to get.

Ive lived in the US and the UK, and I find the Japanese system is an excellent "happy medium" between the two. HOWEVER - I think it would be MUCH cheaper for the government and ultimately the tax payers themselves if the doctors didnt have the power they currenly have to screw the system so obviously and so badly without anyone monitoring them.

I and everyone I know have had a shocking number of completely unnecessary tests (an MRI for suspected appendicitis???! A Gastroscopy for mild indigestion??! A CT scan on a 3 year old for an enlarged lymph node??!) and I am pretty sure everyone will agree the amount of drugs that get pushed on you every time you visit the doctor is insane.

I love that I can pretty much request and get any test I want, but I don`t see how this system is going to be able to continue in its current form that much longer.

I also have a Japanese female friend who has lived in HK for several years, working in a Japanese publishing company. I just don't see her returning.

I have a similar story with a Japanese female friend who lived in Indonesia and worked in banking. She rose up into management, did really well and had first class management and customer service skills. Summoned home by her family, she doesnt work at all here now - the banks wont employ her because she is a woman and can`t therefore break into management. Their loss.

The biggest issue right now may be that any salary Japanese earn in foreign currencies amounts to very little in yen. So, those hoping to return to Japan with lots of savings really don't have much to look forward to.

Unless they are being paid in yen in the first place. Then however they don`t want to return home because they are having a consumer blast in their overseas posting!

If indeed there actually is ginger honey and lemon IN it, not just artifical flavours. I think it says fruit juice 1% on the tin - not enough to make any difference to your cold! And the Vitamin C advertised on so many drinks here makes me laugh - when you look at the ingredients it is only 30mg or so.

Sorry to be so cynical!