Knox Harrington comments

This seems like one company that would do good disappearing from existence. Hope they lose more money and ultimately go bankrupt.

What? No hard hats? I thought those were mandatory. Even the people removing snow out in the open wear those. The whistle is a nice touch.

So if people here think that Abe is war mongering, they need to take a step back and realize that all Abe was doing was offering help and assistance...

I think Abe is a war monger. In this case, however, I can't blame him.

Nutter what...? Are we up to 200 this year already? Does Japan have any mental health institutions at all? I know it's "hands off" and all if things get "mendokudai", but these things sure do seem to happen a lot.

Japan is not as safe as it used to be.

Japan is safer than before, just like most places.

As for Yukawa, he is just an idiot and really had no business their AT ALL.

Get it?

I makes me sick to my stomach hearing people trash Yukawa as if he was some kind of idiot. Japan did the same thing back in 2004 when another guy was beheaded in Iraq. He went there (that's the correct use of that word) trying to 'find himself'. And got killed. Apparently, his family back home suffered greatly from neighbors and people in his hometown complaining and essentially bullying his family, wondering what kind of business he had there. Meiwaku at work, I suppose.

So they were naive to go there. So they didn't know what they were getting themselves into. So what? People still have the right to do that. Besides, none of us knows anything about these people. We don't know anything about their lives or their choices. As such, I feel it's ridiculous to criticize those people.

This custom of blaming family members after people are dead is very disturbing and resembles the tribal systems that exist in many places in the Middle East. It doesn't rhyme well with modern times.

It's when reading articles like this I feel the real Japan shows itself under all that glitz and shiny coat of paint. People are petty and unkind, blaming victims for their destiny and, in extension, passing that blame on to family members. Horrible behaviour in my opinion.

In the old days, their parents would have had to commit hara-kiri...

Well, we're not in the "old days", are we? I know it's hard for the increasingly old population here to look forward, but what kind if comment is this? Who says such a thing? And do they think it would be better with more people dead?

They will en up the same way as Hulu in a few years.

Let's see if they can find any classy movies to show.

How about they inaugurate these classy cinemas with "Unbreakable"? That would be classy.

Isn't the reason the Japanese don't use their "paid time off" is because they have enough legal holidays which include long new year days off? Government needs to count how many legal days off a worker has annually. I bet it's more than 12, if not 15.

Days spread out here and there probably only fool the Japanese themselves into believing that they have a generous amount of holidays. Like all things Japanese, it's only about appearance. In this case, appearance of a people with ample amount of holidays. But people need more consecutive days off from work. At times of their own choosing. Getting away from your lazy co-workers, seeing something new, truly relax takes a few days. One day at an onsen (with all the mandatory fix-ins) squeezing in there with other people in the same situation is not relaxing. I am sure many Japanese people think that's the way to go, but if so, they are just clueless.

So I guess "classiness" will come with a premium price too, right? It's OK. J-consumers will pay. They always do.

And companies will fill out the false paper work "proving" that it has been taken.

And the authorities will smile and pretend all is fine and stamp their little stamps and pat themselves on the back and shout: "Look, we did it! We are a modern and progressive nation!"

I find it comical that people don't use paid vacation days that they are entitled to. I find it tragic that somehow, people will work for free. These five days (hallelujah!) are much like some scamster selling a house plagued by mold - a fresh coat of paint on top of it all and sell it off like new.

The government wants to boost the amount of paid leave used to 70% by 2020...

They sure want to do many things by 2020. I am sure their many goals are not at all overly ambitious...

These"statutory holidays" are BS. While I think it's nice to have a few, there are too many in Japan. On paper it looks nice and all "(wow, 15??!!) but people need real, longer periods off from work. Not 2 or three days. Also, can we please stop doing everything together in Japan? I find nothing positive at all in the whole of Japan being off from work simultaneously.

He was fired for match-fixing claims? And the chance that that might affect Japan's success as a footballing nation? Give me a break...

They must have known many months ago, before signing him, that he was suspected of this, but they probably thought (hoped) that the toothless Japanese press wouldn't pick up in this (which they didn't). Too bad many other countries have journos worth their salt. Journos that ask questions, dig, ask some more and find their answers.

I suspect we'll see the moving toward Sakoku 2.0 with the hiring of a "safe" choice - a Japanese coach. Doesn't really matter as the team doesn't hold up, but it'll be more comfortable for the Blazer Boys in JFA top positions.

Maybe they should have a coach whose name they can pronounce correctly.

Tell me about it. They could have easily chosen to call him アギッレ (as would be most similar to his name, Aguirre) in stilted katakana, but somehow, he was officially known as アギーレ (Aguiire). Why? Probably says something about ignorance and non-understanding in leadership...

Some of the popular ones invite celebrities and sumo wrestlers who throw soybeans from the stage and the crowds go wild trying to catch and eat them.

Watched some clip if that this morning. Looks like a scene from bygone times, the Rulers throw breacrumbs to the Plebs and they all obey and fight over what they are given. Pathetic and outdated.

The behavior may start with exhibitionism, but may progress to child molestation.

Wild speculstion from you. As per usual. If we deal with this article, from where do you draw your conclusions?

As much as I dislike Abe, I can't really blame him for what happened here. I blame the daesh. Only.

However, if Abe didn't like to boast and to pretend he was the man so much, perhaps taking a slightly more cautious approach (while still spending money) would have been better in this case. Especially since he knew Yukawa and Goto were being held...

I suspect many countries contribute to the fight against the daesh, but do so without screaming out to the world that they do so. Diplomacy and all that...

Sense,

I find the sudden respect and glorifying of Goto in combination with the damnation of Yukawa troubling. They both did what they wanted to do. Goto did what he believed in, which always commends respect, but I think Yukawa was a troubled soul and didn't really see any solution but to escape and pretend to start over somewhere far away. I could be wrong, though, I didin't know the men, much like everyone else now speaking of one as a fantastic, great guy, and another as a loon.

None of these guys, no matter their intentions, deserved to die.

SenseNotSoCommon here's a lesson for you: never speak ill of the dead, no matter what their intentions were.

There are plenty of dead people, very worthy of speaking bad about. No matter their intentions.

Now, I don't find Goto (or Yukawa for that matter) to be among those worthy of ill speak, but there are many others. Just because a person is dead doesn't automatically make it necessary for everybody to respect them.

The JGSDF SOF, the Tokushu Sakusen Gun or Special Forces Group, they train with the US SOF annually for the last 10 years...

So they have trained once a year with the yanks. For ten years? A total of ten times? Thay must have picked up a lot.

They merged with the 1st Airborne Brigade, the 1st Helicopter Brigade and the 101st NBC Protection Unit to create the Central Readiness Force in 2007.They train CQB tactics and they are all airborne qualified.

So they can use helicopters and are "airborne"? Good. How does this apply to a rescue operation, going largely undiscovered by hostile forces, gathering intelligence beforehand?

They can operate with the JASDF utilizing the C-2 for transport and can be dropped into the enemy lines via HALO jump and can be picked up by helicopters from US bases stationed in that region

So they can jump out of flying vehicles, use a parachute even. And where will they be picked up in daesh land? Where does the US have bases there? Sorry Blue, I just don't find any of your mentioned information having any practical application to what would be a small, well-trained, covert rescue mission.

America is also made up of various kinds of people of every race who speak every language.

Excellent, excellent point, sir.

The Japanese would be spotted miles away as they enter any foreign areas with their ubiquitous white hard hats, glowing red light sticks and yellow reflective vests.

No, seriously, for the Japanese to be able to work covertly, abroad, you'd need different kinds of people that would appear to belong there not all Japanese can pass themselves off as journos, businessmen or aid workers, right. Blending in is just one of the many problems, and, as others mention, I don't believe for a second that any Japanese force is trained well enough to be able to pull off a quick, well-executed rescue mission in a foreign country with all what that entails. Not without years of actual training.

...adding preparations would be a deterrent against terrorist acts.

No.

Only a person with an insular mind can utter such sentences. I don't believe these crazies would be "deterred" by an preparations made by Japan to send troops abroad. What would happen is only more mayhem, and if there are any level-headed people left in Japan, they'll stop crazy ideas like this from being brought to reality. Problem is, I am not sure with the current people in power. Japan seem to flirt more and more with the idea of militarizing and going more proactive (militarily) allthewile they (and the Americans, mind you) miss the fact that they don't fight countries with armies anymore. As someone so brilliantly put it in another thread, they fight ideas and concepts.

I keep thinking of that old kids story about the sun and the wind, fighting over who could get the coat off the man...

http://www.bartleby.com/17/1/60.html

wowyz,

Brilliant, thanks for that link! I have searched for a term for "Taijin Kyofusho" for a looong time. Now I am enlightened. That "illness" is so common in Japan

Crazy #139 of the year.

Good to know there are many like this loon around. Mental illness stigma, anyone?

Suckers. I would have liked it if they told this joker off, politely refusing his 'food' offers. That would have been nice.

BTW, if this food is so heavenly good and all that, why don't the government do its part and mandate that all ministers have to eat Fukushima produce while working? Instead they play on ignorant and weak peoples ridiculous feeling for furusato or other ideas and try to squeeze this sh*t out to the masses. Well, it might work. Good thing it only does so in Japan.

"Unseasonable"? First time I come across that word. I like it. Will use it frequently from now on...

Mentally unstable person of the year #138! Irrrrassshai!

It's funny to me that many acts like this, usually performed by youngsters who doesn't know any better or havent yet found their place in life in other countries, in Japan are performed by oldies. That a 67-year old goes around like this and want to retaliat tells me there is something not quite right up there.

(Da)Saitama...

So what, he is just one of the many Saitama/Chiba people without sense of style. Probably wore his LV wallet sticking out of his right back pocket (as per inaka regulations) too. Crocs on days off. Perhaps those Adidas jump suits with gold stripes on them. No big deal.

Sounds like a person not fit to be a police officer. What business does a guy like this have wearing a watch that requires repair costs for ¥700'000? Much less while on the job? And Rolex? Not only is he lacking in good judgement, he also lacks in style. That ought to be an offense, no? Mmm, the HR department in the NPA hire some fine people...

One problem is that the Japanese government doesn’t use much foreign expertise to promote tourism. Most of the tourism staff are Japanese who are not good at communicating on a global level. We have to value the foreign perspective rather than doing promotions by ourselves, just using big Japanese advertising agencies.

This.

Many times, I wonder if there are any foreigners or people with outside experience working in JNTO or the tourism industry at large at all. Japan has a boatload to offer foreign tourists, but many times I feel the locals just don't have any clue as to what those things might be. Me, for example, I like to travel alone, without tour guides or fixed schedules. I think many other people would enjoy this as well. I don't care about the official 'omotenashi' (dog, how I hate that word!) sticker being plastered on some shop window, telling me how they're officially sanctioned and promoted by clueless official. I can feel if I receive hospitality.

I have always said that just below the surface is a Japan that could turn on a dime & go straight back to blind allegiance.............damn this is scary.

I have to say I believe the same thing. This society is scary because so many people actually seem to choose ignorance and narrowmindedness over informing themselves of what has happened (and what might happen). They don't vote, they don't speak English, they accept what they're being told (by daytime TV) without so much as a hint if critical thinking. People like that exist in other nations as well, but there is always opposing forces, keeping these deniers and apologists at heel. Not so in Japan.

Unlike many other "bad" nations from WW2, Japan seems to be one of the few that actually tries to forget by denying. That is not the way of a modern, progressive nation wanting to be a part of the global community.

It always makes feel feel bad when I hear Japanese people blame kidnapping victims for their situation. When I hear people mention tax money and when these clowns utter their unempathetic opinions I get a clearer uderstanding of how Japanese people are. It's quite pathetic. But it says alot about this place.