Leigh Ivan Quintellio Wighton comments

Kids only go private if they don't get into an elite public school

I think this is true to a certain degree. I'd say this description fits a large number of private schools, but there are quite a few prestigious private schools around Japan.

Japan has a reputation ( in the west at least ) for being expensive and crowded with a very difficult language/not much English ability. Whether these are true or not, focusing on these aspects alone would probably yield a positive uptick in the number of tourists coming from western countries.

I feel sorry for the poor little buggers here in this country. Kids are railroaded into the system from pre-school, or even before that as I know there are kindergartens here with entrance exams too.

I've decided that if ever end up having kids here, I'll move back to NZ for their education. It's not perfect but there's none of this competition to get into certain universities there. Nor is there as strong a notion of "go to university after finishing school or your doomed" there.

You think you can judge the quality of scripting and the presence of 'compelling content' without understanding the language? This kind of ridiculous conceit is why Japanese TV has such a bad reputation. People who don't know what they're talking about shouting loudly all the time.

Disco, you're missing the point. I'm talking about production standards, acting quality and possibly even casting. You absolutely do not need to be fluent in Japanese to see the low standards in a lot of TV productions here. My Japanese is good enough to follow most stuff on TV here. I don't have 1Kyu, but you don't need certifications in Japanese language to recognise terrible overacting and cheaply made sets and props. I'd go on but Pidestroika said it all quite nicely.

I think a lot of the criticism directed at Japanese TV is about quality ( acting, production, scripting etc ). You don't need to be fluent in a language to notice poor quality acting, overacting, cheap production standards and a lack of compelling content.

I used to do occasional part time work as an extra in tv dramas and movies here and the so called "top shows" like Aibou and the various Taiga dramas are still poorly and cheaply made and it shows in the finished result. I couldn't stand watching the finished product and have ditched that job now. NHK's Taiga Dramas are the exception when it comes to set production and budget, but the end result is still the same. The acting is stiff and forced and the story lines are more or less the same in each of these dramas.

"Americans are very shallow. It's very easy to make friends with them, but the friendship doesn't mean very much."

Good grief! I've heard this countless times in Japan. Throw away the "manual" they give you in junior-high school would you? You know, the manual that tells you how to answer every question and quandary faced by Japanese people. "Americans are very shallow and insincere in their friendship", "Gaikoku doesn't have four seasons" etc etc. I could go on. It's pure laziness. Try living your life forming your own opinions through your own experiences and you may find that your results may vary from what society tells you.

The flu is just a bad cold, to me at least

Perhaps you've never had the flu then. Flu is not like a cold at all. I seem to get the flu once every 6-7 years. It knocks you out for at least 3 days. You're contagious for about 5. I can absolutely see how it kills the elderly and the ill. Colds suck, but you can pop some medicine and soldier on, flu however? I don't wish it on anyone.

I can't quite agree with the concept of Japanese minimalism and how it's portrayed in this article. I'm thinking her service is so popular because there is such a chronic problem with clutter in Japanese homes and workplaces. Granted, a lot of people live in tiny apartments, but sometimes the amount of clutter I've seen in people's homes and work areas is out of control. I've been invited into more Japanese homes that were completely full of stuff that you could tell wasn't necessary than homes that were neat and minimal. People's desks in their office here are on another level altogether.

Great service she's offering. It's a much needed one here.

Well, if it doesn't have tomato sauce, it is not really pizza.

Pizza Bianca? You know, any type of cheese based pizza. Quattro formaggi etc. You can't have tomato base on any of these.

I REALLY have to wonder are they any places in Tokyo or Osaka that serves pizza like the traditional style served in Italy (e.g., thin crust with just a tomato-based sauce and Mozzarella cheese on top). I don't think even Pizza-La--the best known pizza chain in Japan--makes a pizza like that.

There are plenty of authentic Italian style pizzerias in Tokyo. I know one or two which are pretty damned close to the quality you get in Italy. Of course these places are owned and operated by Italians. I'm constantly told there's a good pizzeria in naka meguro but I wonder if that's true or is it just popular because people line up to get in there?

@Bass. "Freedom of the press" is a bit of a bunk term really. I don't trust any country's mass media really. I don't know much about how the press freedom rankings are conducted. All I know is that NZ for instance ranks fairly high in it. Maybe the contrast in number of reports into the actions and decisions of politicians in nz media when compared with Japan's is evidence of such?

Agree with Lucabrasi. Way to semi-alienate more than half your audience.

Broaden the question to "Western-Media" or English speaking media. I seem to recall New Zealand and some western-European nations rating quite highly in "freedom of the press" rankings. A lot higher than the US that's for sure.

From experience I know that in NZ media you can very often find politicians and high profile business people being called out on their actions and decisions. It's almost a national pastime there. Political scandals and the like only seem to get reported when it's blindingly obvious. Even then the stories tend to get rushed in and out of the public eye.

But smartphones are only a piece in a larger puzzle. It wasn't that long ago that smartphones weren't available, but I still recall seeing people walking while glued to a book, PSP or other game device, fliphone almost every day. Even worse were people doing said things on a bicycle....at night ( no lights either ). Walking ( or even cycling )around town oblivious to your surrounds because you're fixated on a book, game or whatever is a bit of a problem in this country. Smartphones have just made this habit easier really.

If it's the typical Japanese family in which the woman is not employed, I see little problem with the housework issue. If the husband works the typical Japanese working hours of approximately 10 hours or more a day, then him doing 46 minutes of housework a day is 46 minutes too much in my opinion. Child raising? I'd like to see men not expected to put in so many hours at work so they can spend more time with their kids. Child rearing is certainly a 50/50 responsibilty in my books.

This is the end of manhood in Japan.

One of the problems of the sales tax increase was retailers using the sales tax increase to bump up their prices 1-2%. Did anyone else notice shops showing the pre-tax price and the new tax-included price and that the pre-tax prices was higher than it was before April? A lot of prices went up by about 5% overnight.

Pride. After several years in school "studying" English, it hurts to admit that your proficiency in English is actually pretty dismal. I've taught many students who have said, "Please don't teach us grammar. We know lots of grammar ( from school )" when their written and spoken composition strongly suggest otherwise. Pride together with fear of making mistakes is another such reason why Engrish exists.

Then there's the fear of losing cultural identity. I'm sure there are people in Japan who don't care about this, but I'd say the majority of people in Japan slightly fear foreign culture and see English in particular as a threat to their cultural identity. In others I'd say it's stronger. These are the types who say things like, "This is Japan!" "I am Japanese." when asked about using English. There are a lot of countries that have embraced bilingualism and the professional and economic opportunities it brings without necessarily losing their cultural identity. I feel as if Japan is too hung up on this though. I don't see English proficiency and usage increasing dramatically anytime soon in Japan.

The difference is that the WWE still tries to promote itself as a sport,

Not really. They keep bandying the vague term "Sports Entertainment" around. They've actually tried very hard in recent times to not even use terms that describe wrestling moves and such. I suspect it's to blur the lines when it comes to legal issues. Not being a "sport" may bring certain advantages. While the results may be scripted, the bumps and hits they take in the business are very real. Over time many pro-wrestlers become banged up messes. Guys like the Rock are smart in that they got out of the in-ring business fairly early and thus saving his body somewhat.

NHK have been particularly active in my neighborhood of late. I wonder if this is a sign of a new "NHK drive?" I still won't let them in anyway.

A few years ago someone in our mansion let the NHK guy in so he did the rounds in the building. I didn't own a TV at the time but he did start asking about my PC, my phone etc. I'll bet they're gonna start chasing fees for internet capable devices a lot more often.

A sense of frustration when trying to fold them into a convenient size, pages falling out, ink stained thumbs and fingers and of course an actual monetary cost. Give me digital everytime.

Buy a house in a soulless suburb that will be worthless in a generation? Raise your kids to be obedient clones with irrelevant, dream-draining, education? And not rock the boat at the office, do exactly what has been proven to work already, in the hope that seniority will eventually bring you up a pay level?

Exactly. I've often talked with friends about not having kids, or at the very least waiting until you're completely ready for it. Not having kids eliminates a lot of what this article talks and hints at. Namely, not being tied down to supporting children, an oftentimes parasitic spouse, a family sized box in the suburbs miles away from anywhere you really need or want to be, and servitude to a job you hate that is necessary to finance all of these things.

I'm not suggesting never having kids, but I'm advocating people live for themselves first. Once you're happy with your own lot, maybe then you can have kids if you want and can afford to. Certainly better than burdening yourself at an early age to please society.

Lastly, Japanese people are supposed to write a resume out by hand because that’s just the way it’s done.

Sums up work culture in Japan really. Efficiency is far down on the list of priorities.

Overhead power lines maybe easier to fix after a big quake, but I was always taught in school about the fire risk they pose if they come down in a big one. I'm particularly worried about this in a city like Tokyo where the buildings are so close together. It has happened before, hopefully the current power lines hanging all over the place don't cause it again.

In my early days here I once asked a student at the Eikaiwa about this and she said they were above ground because of earthquakes????? I replied that I also come from an earthquake prone country and we tend to put them underground for that very reason.

I agree with many others. Cost cutting. After 3/11 do you really think the likes of TEPCO want to spend money on safety?

This is a common misconception. See . . . http://www.nzflag.com/silverfern.cfm

I'm aware of the silver fern's origins and uses, but let's face it, the silver fern on a black background is largely synonymous with the All Blacks. I just think it would be a lack of creativity to use it as the flag.

Surely we can come up with something better than what is basically a rugby symbol.

Big props to this guy. A selfless task indeed.

As someone else mentioned though, what Japan is really yearning for is a place or channels for these people to seek help in the first place. That and better education of the topic. To get the suicide problem under control, people really need to made aware that suicide is not a viable option at all. Sadly there are some here who think that it's an honorable thing to do. Then there's the copycat suicides that happen also. All in all, these attitudes need to be addressed in Japan if they're really gonna get the problem under control. What's the number now? Something like 30 odd thousand a year? Too many!

I remember seeing a really funny, but interesting video about circumcision in America fairly recently. Basically it was saying that the reason you were circumcised is because your dad was, his dad was, his dad was and then in the early part of the 20th century puritanical rhetoric was "in" and the reason for circumcision was to prevent masturbation. It hasn't worked very well.

circumcisions. has proven medical bennifits , mostly the reduction of urine tract infections, if youve still got a hood then its best to wash under it properly each night.

The majority of humanity's males have done just fine without circumcision since time began. If it aint broke, don't fix it. Overall, I find this story of guys here paying to be mutilated bizarrely amusing.

The whole HIV prevention argument for circumcision is pretty tenuous. Even if it were true, a slightly reduced chance of contracting HIV is hardly enough to sway me.