kringis comments

Posted in: Car stolen with two young children in back seat See in context

A Japanese friend of mine used to get a real kick out of getting into cars left running and moving them a few parking spaces along in a car park. Was always funny seeing the reaction of the person coming out of the store, if they noticed, considering some didn't even notice.

The guy wasn't a typical Japanese person by any means, but he was married to a foreign woman, so go figure.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Tokyo rated No. 1 city in the world in Trip Advisor survey See in context

Tokyo is a great place to visit once, but once is enough.

Once you venture out into some of the other great cities/towns of Japan, you soon realise that Tokyo pales in comparison to what others have to offer.

But sure, Tokyo has wow factor for the first timers, and offers an easy/accessible holiday destination that will keep you busy (with a few side trips here and there) for 7-10 days.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

Posted in: Ministry says it's OK for 'baby cars' to hog space on public transport See in context

Won't be an issue in 30 years time, since there will be virtually no babies in Japan by then, other than the big ones.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Posted in: World's longest-serving death row inmate freed in Japan See in context

Eye for an eye right? In that case, anyone involved in a wrongful conviction, holding and execution of an innocent person should be executed for murder. I am sure as a prison officer you have had some involvement somewhere. What would you like for your last meal?

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Posted in: Are Japan’s efforts at internationalization succeeding or not? See in context

No one really cares about "internationalization" or "globalization" at the moment because we live in a world where sovereign states are still viable. Until that changes, the status quo is fine.

I also see comments about these things washing down the culture of other countries. No, that's just not the case. What is washing down the culture of those countries is a youth entranced by whatever fad is currently on TV, and the fact that there is a difference between culture and tradition and a lack of understanding around how culture works -> culture changes and tradition always becomes extinct.

Anyway, there will come a time when as a planet we will HAVE to live together - but for the moment, we don't need to, therefore I would expect a country like Japan with a strong sense of tradition to continue to resist change until there comes a time when they WILL need to change.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Posted in: JAL Dreamliner makes emergency landing in Honolulu See in context

Indeed, I'd rather bury my head in the sand and not care about anything in the world other than myself.

-5 ( +1 / -6 )

Posted in: Malaysia bans Ultraman book over use of Allah See in context

They should be proud of largely relegating religion to tradition, not something which is taken seriously enough be a cause of public violence.

Yeah, just a shame they replace religious bigotry with other things.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Posted in: British cabinet to meet in Scotland amid independence fears See in context

A number of the key advantages of independence that Salmond is laying down have already been debunked.

Scotland can keep the pound - nope. Scotland will be a member of the EU - nope, it will need to get in line behind the other nations already waiting to get in. Scotland will be able to continue to charge English students massive student fees and give everyone else free University education - nope, not if they want to be in the EU; it's called discrimination Scotland will have low unemployment - not when the Scottish army/naval/airforce regiments are all disbanded by the British army, and jobs are lost in cross border industry as London/England based companies bring jobs back into England

If Scotland wants to be independent, lots of other countries have done it very successfully. At the moment, the SNP is lying through their teeth to get a positive vote and hoping to the almighty God himself (William Wallace apparently) that everything works out.

I'd love to hear some real policies/strategy, not just the lies of a fat racist git.

0 ( +4 / -4 )

Posted in: Angry Koreans demand review of judges' scores in figure skating after Kim's silver finish See in context

Who cares if it's Korea, Japan, China, France, Russia, Germany, Canada...

Sore losers and sore losers. Seen enough of them in my time to know them. At least Asada had some dignity in her failure, unlike the American skater who also moaned. There's no place in sport for people like that.

0 ( +4 / -4 )

Posted in: Angry Koreans demand review of judges' scores in figure skating after Kim's silver finish See in context

Two footing is different to falling and only results in a minor reduction. Kim clearly didn't have enough meat in her routine to score the points necessary. Just because I can walk in a straight line with perfect poise doesn't mean I'll beat someone over the same distance who runs imperfectly. Kim's routine was flawless because it was safe, too safe clearly.

Ultimately, there were 9 judges, and the marks of the other 7 would have outweighed the allegedly corrupt two. This is just bitterness, and you don't hear Kim complaining. Why? Because she's a sportsperson, and a sportsperson acts with dignity when they lose, unlike these "fans."

3 ( +5 / -2 )

Posted in: Angry Koreans demand review of judges' scores in figure skating after Kim's silver finish See in context

but the Russian skater fell during her routine

She didn't fall! That was the other Russian. Geez!

6 ( +7 / -1 )

Posted in: Angry Koreans demand review of judges' scores in figure skating after Kim's silver finish See in context

The performance was not flawless.

The commentators on the stream I was watching (both of which were Olympic medal winners when they competed), both pointed out mistakes with her jumps and step sequences. I'm no expert, but these commentators had no reason to not be impartial. In fact, during the live performance one of them even said it was a Gold medal winning performance, but when he saw slowed down replays said he didn't notice the mistakes in real-time.

I am no Korean basher, but seriously, this reaction is pretty pathetic and cries of "sore-loser."

6 ( +8 / -2 )

Posted in: Triple axel backfires for Asada See in context

It was good to see her do a decent free skate program, but even had her short been better, she would have had to score over 80 in the short to have a chance at gold and over 70 to even get a bronze. The standard is so high, it's unbelievable really. Adelina Sotnikova was amazing.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Female Osaka school clerk's pay docked over tattoos See in context

Whether you realise it or not, you have just illustrated my point perfectly, by applying your Western Perspective filter to a Japanese cultural attitude, and judged it as being non-sensical.

Not really. And I don't get how you got that from what I said to be honest. Also, I'm not from a "Western" country, so I don't have a "Western Perspective filter."

What I have is a common sense filter, that has an opportunity to exist everywhere, and does exist in Japan. They just choose to ignore it out of arrogance, much like you are choosing to do so now. Which ironically, makes you the one with this "Western Perspective filter." You're using your freedom of choice/personality/thought to act Japanese (which is of course, in itself, an act).

-6 ( +1 / -7 )

Posted in: Female Osaka school clerk's pay docked over tattoos See in context

Where I am from (Australia), immigrants and foreigners are often criticised for being unable to 'fit in' to the Australian way of life, and that they must 'adopt our ways' if they are to be accepted.

This isn't about East vs West or Individual vs Group, this is about common sense, which there appears to be a serious lack of world-wide apparently.

There's plenty of egocentric, individualistic people in Japan anyway. Most people fit this category, and only use the group mentality when it suites them (ie, they want to escape repercussions for their failures). But don't get me wrong, it's the same in the "West" too. Individual when it suites you, group when it suites you.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

Posted in: Female Osaka school clerk's pay docked over tattoos See in context

In 2014, it's truly astounding that so many people feel others shouldn't have a right to do what they want with their body, and make snap judgements about a person's personality/ethics based on what they look like. It's no different to thinking a ginger person is evil or a person wearing glasses is intelligent. It's a shame so many bigots still exist in this day and age.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Posted in: Female Osaka school clerk's pay docked over tattoos See in context

Yep, tattoos are bad, but a pregnant girl getting crapped on by a dog is fine.

Go Japan!

1 ( +6 / -5 )

Posted in: Bread identified as source of food poisoning at Hamamatsu schools See in context

Not sure why I get the thumbs down. I for one am glad I live in a country with proper food safety regulations, in both the mass production industry and at all stores/restaurants/etc that sell/make ANY food. Never had food poisoning in my life when at home.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

Posted in: Bread identified as source of food poisoning at Hamamatsu schools See in context

It disgusts me that in an "advanced" country, industrial sized food manufacturers are not baking in a cleanroom environment.

-4 ( +4 / -8 )

Posted in: Retired cop kills moviegoer for texting in Florida theater See in context

Anyone that argues that guns have a place in society to protect themselves or to prevent crime, is deep down someone who wants to use that gun to go into a forest and shoot squirrels. Not to kill, but to see them suffer.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Posted in: No. of foreign visitors to Japan in 2013 exceeds 10 mil target See in context

I have always been a proponent of learning some of the language before you visit a foreign country, even as a tourist. But there is a big difference between visiting a country like Japan, and visiting a country with a latin based alphabet if one of those is your native tongue.

If I was to take a trip to somewhere like France, I could spend a few hours on the plane learning some basic French, which would be very useful, but ultimately it would be pretty easy to get around because everything is written in the latin alphabet. If I want to go "Paris Street," the sign is going to say something like "Rue Paris."

When you go to Japan however, if you go anywhere off the beaten track of tourist traps, you're faced with a wall of Kanji. I take this for granted because I can speak and read the language, but for anyone that doesn't, it's not easy. You can't expect someone going on a 2 week holiday to learn hiragana, katakana and enough kanji to get around.

I would expect someone going to Japan to yes, learn some basic phrases, be able to say please and thank you, ask where some basic things are, and so on. But signage really needs to improve. If Japan could make more of the interesting places it has more accessible through improved signage, these figures would be much higher, and tourists would see more of the real Japan, rather than just Tokyo, Kyoto and Mount Fuji.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Posted in: Monju power plant facility PC infected with virus See in context

Why bother creating viruses for a platform that only 7.5% of PC users use, and very few businesses use? The lack of viruses affecting OSX is a sign of its lack of popularity, not how great it is. The same can be said about any other OS. When I had a Blackberry I never got any viruses, but why would I when less than 3% of smartphones are powered by Blackberry OS?

I'm sure if OSX ever becomes a larger competitor in the market, and makes serious steps into the business industry, it will have plenty of virus problems.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Posted in: Japan's envoy to UK hits back at China over Voldemort comparison See in context

China, Japan, DPRK and SK and all idiots when it comes to diplomacy and international relations. Anyone that can't see that all 4 countries are to blame for the current state of East Asia need to get themselves de-brainwashed.

6 ( +11 / -5 )

Posted in: Ecuador gov't offers $200,000 reward for killers of Japanese honeymooner See in context

Basically, always follow embassy advice. While it's very sad what happened - and I have no desire to comment on the safety of Ecuador as I know little about the country - if these two had followed travel advice stating not to hail taxis off the street, this may not have happened. Unfortunately, with the world a smaller place than ever due to easier/quicker transportation, more people seem to think that what is applicable in their own country is the same in others. I personally, when traveling through the middle-east and north Africa, was horrified by the amount of contextually stupid things I saw some other "travelers" doing. People need to do more research before they travel, and not treat the rest of the world like their own backyard or expect they can behave in the same manner.

While I have my own strong views about other cultures and people, including Japan and the Japanese, I would never expect someone in their own country to treat me differently just because I'm a dumb foreign tourist. In this case, these gangsters saw an easy mark and took it.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Abe says it is time to revise pacifist constitution See in context

Changed by 2020, so they can round up all the Chinese and Korean athletes and execute them? Signaling the start of WW3? Don't bet against it.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

Posted in: Germany urges Japan to deal honestly with WWII past See in context

Some people just don't get it.

Japan, like Germany for the holocaust, Britain for its imperial expansion, America for its treatment of slaves, and so on, must NEVER stop apologising for what they have done. The acts carried out by these nations are nothing short of horrendous, and as long as there are humans on this planet the apologies must NEVER stop.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Posted in: China says Abe not welcome after Yasukuni shrine visit See in context

With China's recent actions, Abe had the opportunity to take the high road, but he didn't take it. The end result is that Japan is doing a pretty good job of smearing itself without needing anybody elses help.

0 ( +7 / -7 )

Posted in: Five NFL coaches fired after failing to reach playoffs See in context

RG3 will ruin his own career. Unfortunately the kid is a one trick pony who got found out this year

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Posted in: Girl rejected by boy she never actually met takes revenge See in context

Group mentality.

This girl should be sentenced to jail, be banned from using electronic devices and probably be neutered.

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

Posted in: Japanese college students struggle to answer basic astronomy questions See in context

Unless something needs to be learned for an exam, your average Japanese person won't know it. That's why there's a serious lack of creativity, general knowledge and common sense in Japan.

19 ( +27 / -8 )

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