MarkX comments

A nice story to start the day off. Good for you Nao! Show them you can do anything.

We have been having real crazy weather in Aomori, with tons of snow, strong wind and high wave advisories. Also the local news reported that they all rather old, 87, 78, while another was 43. RIP.

Everyday, we the consumer/little guy are getting squeezed more and more by these behemoth corporations, and there is nobody to go to bat for us. And then people wonder why the average Joe is angrier, more stressed and less likely to to go out and socialize. How can you when the cards are stacked against you!

The woman told police she had left the front door unlocked when she went to work on Wednesday.

Who in this day and age leaves their door unlocked when they go to work? I'm not blaming her for this guys actions, but that was a really foolish thing to do.

The reason Aomori doesn't rank high for apples is that nobody buys them, they grow them themselves or are given them by friends. As for the cup noodles, yes people here live on them, but that is an unfortunate side to the economy being bad and people not having the resources to eat better.

Visited my favorite chain sushi restaurants last week, Kantaro sushi and I can tell you that the prices have risen by at least 30% since 2020. The place is usually full on weekends and holidays, but not on this day. The prices are just too high for many people! 2% my foot!

Dryden, for example, loves cream cheese and bagels. A 12-ounce tub of Kraft's Philadelphia cream cheese costs $6.69. The store brand, he noted, is just $3.19.

A 24-pack of Kraft single cheese slices is $7.69; the store label, $2.99. And a 32-ounce Heinz ketchup bottle is $6.29, while the alternative is just $1.69. Similar gaps existed with mac-and-cheese and shredded cheese products.

How is it these private brands can produce the same product for sometimes half the price if these major corporations are not gouging the consumer?

I've really started to notice shrinkflation here in Japanese supermarkets. Packing is getting much smaller while the price is staying the same or rising slightly.

How this could help relieve stress is beyond me. Does he like to see people panic and many emergency services come to help? Strange.

Operators of cram schools, afterschool clubs, babysitter services and talent agencies would not be obliged to use the system as they are not under state supervision.

Interesting that the talent agencies are not included. The people at Akimoto's agency can breathe a sigh of relief!

Tell that to the Japanese health center that always tells me "metabo" even though in another other country I would be fine! They need to stop only relying on BMI to judge people's health.

I really hope this is not an excuse not to raise wages like we keep hearing are necessary to pull the economy out of years of stagnation!

Can you bet this won't be available in Japan.

Of course we won't be able to view it. Have you ever watched Hulu Japan? It is totally different from what is offered in the US. And even if we are able the price will be triple what it will be offered in the States.

I was thinking of singing up for the NFL package as I saw an add on Facebook. I think it was $79.00 a year. Went to the sight, said Japan was out of market, but DAZN offers it. Went there and they wanted Y26,000 a year!

Just read an article about why sports tickets are so expensive, and the writer was saying teams were limiting tickets, etc. They never mentioned the extreme salaries being paid to players. And now with teams implementing "load management" you'd be crazy to go to a game as you have no idea if the star player you are paying hundreds or maybe even thousands to see might not even suit up. As far as I remember San Antonio Spurs and Greg Popovich started the practice and the NBA cracked down on them, but they'd just just report a minor injury for the reason to sit the player.

We always here about the resilient consumer in the US, they are always buying keeping the economy humming, but many of us have known for a long time it is all on credit and those chickens are coming home to roost. Yes Japan has a lot of national debt, but the individual consumer doesn't consume like their counterparts in the West. They don't have second homes, and many toys like RV's and boats etc.

Economic security minister Sanae Takaichi last month urged Kishida to push the event back, saying that ballooning building materials costs and a labor shortage stemming from the expo preparations could hamper post-disaster reconstruction efforts for the quake-hit areas.

While I absolutely despise this woman and her announcement was nothing more than a publicity stunt, I do agree with her, this was the chance to end this stupid folly of hosting this unwanted Expo, and help your fellow countryman. But no, the construction industry must get theirs, Noto peninsula be damned. I guess rebuilding towns and people's lives in not lucrative enough for them. They'd rather build something that will be torn down in a years time. Think about that!

I know I have commented on this topic before, but I will say it again. There are things the government can do, years ago, Canada decentralized many of its agencies, sending them to different parts of the country. It is a fair way of sharing those jobs and resources with local areas. With high speed internet, the shinkansen etc. there is no need for all agencies to be in Tokyo. The government can also encourage companies to move headquarters out with tax incentives. Cheaper land etc. But it takes leadership something Japan lacks greatly.

Come on Japan, this is your perfect out! Claim that you need the materials and money to help rebuild the stricken area of Noto. Nobody will blame you. Get all the construction companies to go up there to rebuild so they can still get their money. It is a win win. Nobody and I mean nobody wants this stupid Expo!

For the shame and embarrassment of being stopped and singled out by the police, I think 3.3 million is too low a number. They need to really make a message that what the police are doing is outright discrimination and needs to end.

That was the great thing about these carts, they did have a good selection of things and the prices were quite reasonable. In other countries I'm sure the prices would have been double since the customer is kind of captive, much like how airlines charge outlandish prices for their food and drinks that can be purchased.

It is so funny, people in the US are screaming about Joe Biden being 81 and too old, but here we have Aso Taro 84 head of a faction, and king maker for the LDP and nobody says he is too old for his position. He is also gaffe prone. And obstinate as well as we can see by this case not to fold his faction/policy group.

Just remember, we have the incompetent, racist former governor of Tokyo Ishihara Shintaro to thank for this problem. It was he who brought the whole issue to the forefront when he tried to buy the islands for Tokyo. They had been held by a private family, but he Ishihara wanted to stick it to China, and now we have this problem. He also pushed for the Tokyo Olympics as well. Another huge loss for Japan.

Does this number include many children who are murdered by their mother or father who then themselves commit suicide? That is most troubling to me. Also, the cases of young people killing themselves, in many cases due to bullying is tragic.

they have also functioned to formulate policy and train junior politicians.

Yes, trained them how to scam money from people, buy votes, and other illegal activities!

Why would the Ukrainians shoot down a plane with mostly their own POW's? It doesn't make sense. Save the missile for a Russian cargo plane carrying weapons or other war fighting materials.

Do you people hear yourselves?

Many people keep writing that the Japanese people are at fault for always electing the LDP, and that the opposition parties are weak and have no policies, but as we have all learned with such huge financial advantages, and most likely a lot of vote buying, how does anybody else stand a chance against the mighty LDP. Also, many media support them and hardly print, broadcast anything negative unless it is super obvious.

Of course it would be Aso who would refuse to disband his faction.

I'd of thought it would have sold for more, truth be told. While I have never been a big fan of X-Japan, Yoshiki is a pretty cool dude. Respect for him.

Good for the guy who heard the lady screaming and chased this guy down and held him until the police got there. I think in many cases people would just ignore it or maybe just dial 110 and that would be the end.

While I usually don't have a lot of sympathy for Kishida, the main culprits are the Abe faction members who really don't want anything to change and are trying to shift the blame to the accountants. It seems that Kishida is trying to find a solution even talking about getting rid of the factions, but this is threatening the Abe group and they will now try to oust Kishida for someone from their group who will keep the status quo. What a bunch! And you can be sure that if Abe was still alive none of this would have seen the light of day. Mr. Yamagami's assassination of Abe has changed this country's politics in so many ways he never even imagined!

I find it really interesting that a toy maker was part of the group making the rover. Goes to show how sophisticated toys are getting these days.