luilui comments

Kazuaki ShimazakiToday  11:26 am JST

If I remember correctly, Fichot was able to submit some actual proof the woman was lying. Still, that is his version of the story, and we don't know how both sides pitched their cases to the court.

the court did not recognize that abuse occurred

In the absence of the above information, on general principles, that the court did not recognize that abuse occurred does not mean as much as some people think. Continental Law courts tend to have high standards before recognizing particular findings. If a common law court finds for something at 50% probability, a continental law court will be more like 85% probability. So all we can tell is that the court found Fichot had anywhere between 0 and 84 percent chance of having inflicted domestic violence.

I admire your ability to string sentences together, but in the absence of a law degree or common sense you should probably stick to commenting on the weather or browse dating sites because people who pretend to know the law and spew nonsense need re-education, or perhaps accept God in your life. I hope you have 0 to 84 percent of an awesome day.

MeiyouwentiToday  07:41 am JST

Let’s look at the case objectively. The woman and her children ran away from the wife-beating husband and would like to continue to live together in peace. At least the court granted the Frenchman the right to see his children. He needs to learn to be a good loser.

I think u need to invest in a dictionary. But because humans like you are flawed, allow me to enlighten you..

Objectivity..

the quality or character of being objective : lack of favoritism toward one side or another : freedom from bias.

Do have an objectively awesome day.

Rigged from the start. Japanese family court is a farce, esp if foreigners are involved. Marrying a Japanese national should come with warnings at every embassy. Those that kidnap kids are scum. Have a nice day.

You mean the selfish people that go into pharmacies and supermarkets and bulk buy all the baby formula and bulk send them back to China, so many local Aussies can't get their hands on baby formula? Yes, please - stay away. Chinese visitors that do this tarnish the image of good Aussie-Chinese residents in Australia.

Too bad "an eye for an eye" no longer exists. Poor child. Why is the mother not being held accountable for child neglect?

 If she doesn't give consent, she can always wear pants, can't she?

Shame on you. I hope you never have a daughter, sister or female dear to you have this happen to them.

Filming up a lady's skirt is creepy and just wrong. If it was "ok", why was he arrested?

Women need more respect (especially in Japan), not being told what to wear in order to prevent any form of harassment, groping, invasion of privacy, etc.

I thought criminals weren’t allowed into ‘strict’ Japan. Oh wait, a president openly killing people in the Philippines doesn’t count.

Meeting with the emperor? Why?

This is heartbreaking and disappointing. That apartment block is not too far from me and every time I drive past, I think of those two little girls. I hope this lady is tortured with thoughts of her girls every waking moment and in her dreams at night for the rest of her life.

This is silly! This is not exclusive to Japanese wives. ANY wife around the world would not be happy if some of these things occurred at home. Husbands too! Husbands can be equally annoyed at the wife for particular things. A bit stereotypical, no? Many Japanese wives I know around me work a full time or part time job, then come home to cook/clean for their families. If their hubby doesn't pull their weight around the house, of course they'd be annoyed. Helping around the house is key to a happy (happier?) marriage imo. :-)

If I was in a position of power.. the money forked out to pretty up the city and streets in a bid to win the Olympics, I would rather see the funds go to those poor people who are still without their own house and shacked up in temporary housing right next to thousands of others in the same boat.. but that's just my own lame idea.. Perhaps fix up your own back yard (Fukushima/TEPCO) first before inviting the world over?

My students often say "mansion" when referring to their apartment or flat. When I first heard it, I thought I was teaching wealthy students! :-)

does anyone believe TEPCO? sorry, but I don't.

sorry, but i found this article quite funny :-)

"reach your dream!" message on the wall? do people do that?

"..being terrified by pieces of fake eyelashes that at first look like some hairy insect" - too funny!

i think princess masako has a kind face, and a nice genuine smile. i do feel for her tho, but i am sure she would not want pity from us. actually, i applaud her bravery. imagine what she has to put up with on a daily basis: little or no privacy, rumours about her mental capacity, scrutiny about everything she does or does not do, trying to raise a daugther with people criticising her parental skills, what she wears, what she says.. and all in front of the nation and the world. any 'normal' person would go mad! yet, she can still crack a smile for the cameras. like her or not, i think she's doing the best she can and should be praised for her efforts, no matter how big or small.

i'm sure by accepting naruhito's marriage, she could guess what life would be like, but how would she really know until she actually experienced being married to him.

[men and women who marry military servicemen/women know full what they are getting into as well, but they still go ahead and marry their partners.. and when they sadly lose their loved ones in the line of duty, it doesn't hurt any less.]

for me, i feel like princess masako is fighting a 'war' of her own.. she against the kunaicho and the harsh public/media.

you go girl!

this is embarrassing! but what do i know. i found my date the boring way - by being me. ;-)

barbaric monsters! just plain and simple murder! agree with thunderbird2.. so ironic that these 'terrorists' want to be acknowledged/respected, then they go and do these horrific acts in the name of religion/politics or whatever stupid reason they claim. hate crimes will only cause more hate. makes me so angry and sad that innocent lives have to die for their cause, even killing their own people? just awful!

why does a doctor live in an apartment??

some apartments are quite luxurious and expensive, and some doctors don't make that much money. i don't think his choice of abode has much to do with the accident tho. mechanical parking garages are in many places.

very tragic news for all involved.

having lived in an aparto with a three-level mechanical parking gargage, i can tell you they are quite dangerous.

for those that do not already know, those mechanical garages usually require all passengers to alight the car (after parking it) before it can be buzzed back into its parking position. there is usually a gate that closes shut before the car is repositioned back into his usual spot (whether ground level or higher). this is controlled from the control pad, which means while the driver is punching numbers or commands into the control pad, his or her eyes will be diverted (from watching little ones, if they are not already holding hands). im not sure about all mechanical garages, but the one at my previous aparto had an emergency stop button. it was a big red button below the control pad. i wonder if there was one available on this machine.

fault or no fault, i am sure the mother blames herself anyway and is in a place of torment that what we say will not make a difference.

rip little one.

Apparently Japanese kids can't stop walking face-first into door handles because Japanese department store chain Tokyu Hands has begun selling a polystyrene safety grip that slides over your door handle to protect children from such collisions.

shouldn't the "because" be "so", or "therefore".. ? a bit of editing would have eliminated confusion, but i guess we get the drift of it.

put sponge onto door handle, so kids would still walk into door handles, but not as painful.. this may cost alot as im sure there are many doors in each house/aparto..

won't dumping in the sea in effect mean that we will be eating radioactive seafood? umm hasn't one of the plants already leaked water into the sea anyway? fail!

very hard working and dedicated.

correct me if i'm wrong, but i thought these statues also represented stillborn babies and/or those that died from illnesses as infants. my neighbour told me that they represent all babies that died, regardless of how.

aww no picture?

Note to self: check the toilets and walls for odd objects before using a public toilet! (Hidden cameras are hard to find tho, hence its name). Solution: don't use a public toilet if you can help it.

an eye for an eye, I say..

horrible news.

i wonder what was in the package. the knife?

eat, do some shopping, and buy some omiyage (perhaps from Casio or Nikon).

that is funny :-)

Don't go! Don't go!

I believe the best punishment for this man is to remove the child from his care. A grandparent or other family member perhaps? Is the girlfriend the mother? If so, time to rethink keeping this man. Baby must be in pain, poor thing. What a cruel thing to do.

Very interesting topic. I believe politeness (or lack of it) is a universal thing. Culture plays a big part though, as we tend to judge others in comparison to what we know from our own "culture" and upbringing. It's very easy to group or stereotype people from a certain country. We all do it, myself included. Politeness is also perceived differently with each country. So is the reaction to such politenes (like holding the door open for someone - a big thanks, or silent shock). It's hard not to judge. There are too many variables (sex, age, religion, upbringing, education, economic situation, etc.) to offer such a succint or 'correct answer'. There isn't one. That's why we all have different things to say about this topic and interpretations of Makoto's opinion.

Love her or hate her, I think Makoto is quite brave to write such a public blog. As she mentions, they are her own observations. In addition, she writes her experiences in English. Although we may not agree with some of the things she says, she does offer insight to what she perceives about her own people (Japanese) and that of Americans in America.

As a foreigner in Japan, I would say that I am surrounded by pretty kind people. But having said that, I have also had my fair share of "nasty" incidents. I never once thought that it was a "Japanese thing" when it happened though. For me, it was a "bad person" thing. Despite this, I am enjoying my life in Japan. :-)