MasterBape comments

Serrano, I don't know how you can "stock up on bread and milk".

The milk will go sour and the bread will get mould which means you'll have to keep restocking it every week or so.

Along with water, try crisps, biscuits and chocolate. Tinned fruit is also a good idea and get the cans which don't need a can opener.

It certainly could be considered an aftershock:

The Japanese Meteorological Agency said that the earthquake(11 March) may have ruptured the fault zone from Iwate to Ibaraki with a length of 500 km (310 mi) and a width of 200 km (120 mi).

No-one else, in Japan or abroad, truly wants sole responsibility of this problem. The storage tanks and removal of fuel rods are really anyone's guess as what should be done and how things might turn out.

We end up having to put our faith in TEPCO's hands as there is no other so-called expert with a 100% clear and safe solution to all of this. And that's the scary thing.

Unstable employment is also of conceren in the UK with more and workers forced to accept "zero hour contracts" without the possibility of a permanent job.

Sad to hear about "irregular workers" in Japan, but this sort of thing seems widespread.

Some people say it's because of the economy, but others consider it exploitation by companies not employing workers full time therefore not having to give any kind of benefits such as paid holiday, insurance, bonuses, redundancy pay, etc.

Lies are coming out of frustration and a complete sense of helplessness. Yes, people say the Japanese lie and avoid confrontation by turning a blind eye, but I feel the real problem here is the lack of ideas to solve this quickly and effectively.

The water is one thing, but the telling factor is removing the fuel rods later this year. I just hope that they have some "experts" that are well-trained, not just the temporary workers. The rods have to be removed and the cost -human life- is great.

Complacency has got them into this mess by building the reactor close to the ocean which has had some huge tsunamis in the past.

I've aways held the Japanese, along with the Germans and British, in high regard as far as workmanship has gone, but there has been unbelievable stories of poor workmanship over the past 2.5 years. The situation is so far out of their hands that it can't possibly be "under control".

" Its cultural emphasis on the importance of social harmony also discourages public ridiculing of others. "

I've seen plenty of public ridiculing in this country with the relationship of senpai and kohai. I'd go on to call it extreme bullying.

@ BarryMcCokkiner,

Absolutely spot-on.

Generosity is one thing and misspending is another.

It's a lot of money, surely some could be spent on getting people out of thos temporary houses...it has been two years after all.

With no witnesses, this will be another season for the history books with all the "they did this, and we were completely innocent".

With emotions running high, SS with an eye on shutting down whaling, the whalers frustrated at another pitiful catch, confrontation was inevitable given the last few seasons.

There are no inocent parties out there, it just dependson whose side ou'r on and who can edit their video footage the best.

Saying that, all the best to Sea Shepherd and another successful campaign.

At the end of the whaling season, it will be the numbers of whales caught, not the court ruling that indicates how successful the SS has been and how the whalers have been foiled yet again.

Back to the drawing board, whalers. And another cash injection.

Still doing a stellar job, SS.

All the arguments and running around by the whalers should see this season come to a close with a pitiful catch.

No mater which side you're on, you have to question the motives of the so-called "scientific research" and its costly, time-consuming actions.

Pride on behalf of the Japanese is at stake, nothing more, nothing less. A poor case of one upmanship.

Well done, Sea Shepherd!

Nihonryu,

"Most Japanese love dolphins and whales for the majestic creatures they are but also enjoy eating them on occasion as they are considered tasty to many of us and if scientifically sustainable should not be interfered by foreign anti-whaling coalition and organizations just because they are against it from their cultural perspective"

And this is the "them versus us" which is part of the problem.

A few quick question for you:

You support whaling, so do you agree with the amount of tax and also large amount of Tohoku funds spent on whaling?

how often do you eat whale meat?

do you believe both Sea Shepherd and whalers use aggressive tactics? Or the whalers are the victims?

Takahashi was quoted by police as saying, “I was having trouble raising kids. I thought that if I killed her, my responsibility would go away.”

Unfortunately, this is a common response in Japan.

So, no kid, no responsibility...no grief? No explaining to family and friends what happened? No fear of a prison sentence?

She's clearly insane.

7 or 8 is a bit old for breeding, I would say, possibly the reason they've been dumped.

The massive dog boom in the last few years, well, poodles, chihuahua, daschund, etc., makes you wonder how many more will be abandoned on the streets over the years.

It's a faddish society. Shame for the dogs.

Safety, the main priority?

About time, Japan.

Thanks to how whaling is portrayed in the media, the poll isn't at all surprising.

How many of hose polled know:

how much tax is spent on whaling?

how money was used from Tohoku funds for whaling?

whaling is supposed to be for research, not for consumption?

both whalers and Sea Shepherd are equally aggressive, but TV coverage paints the picture that the whalers are the victims.

If the whole story was told, the poll might be different, but the large percentage that don't actually give a stuff is more favorable to opposers than supporters.

Kariharuka, I see you mentioned "railway tragedies" , so that should include rail crossings and suicides, so the numbers would be interesting to see how other countries compare to Japan in that regards.

As much as this story is a shame, it's hard to point the finger at anyone.

I've seen, in Tokyo, countless numbers of elderly people struggling to control unruly and playful kids out shopping.

For whatever reason, this is an example of how the elderly might not be fit to cope with babysitting.

That was to blackbagger...predictive text.

Black bagged, then you should look into the Pentax K-30.

It has the two dials.

There is good and bad in every culture.

Whilst the post ,entionssome good points, like eating Mochica on New Year, some of them, like taking a bath, are a. Bit silly and I don't believe they reflect the culture that can't be found in other countries.

The mass gathering for cherry blossom season is one Japanese obsession.

Another might be the good (but possibly over the top) customer service, but that can be found in other countries.

There are bad points, however.

The ability to turn a blind eye and avoid any kind of responsibility - pretending to be asleep on the train to avoid giving up your seat for the elderly, pregnant, disabled is one that comes to mind. It's becoming more and more common.

Also, although it might be only in Tokyo, the way people push themselves, backwards to avoid looking you in the face, when boarding a packed train.

The crime rate is so low in Japan because of a few reasons, one of them being the way police handle things by detaining the accused, who they think is guilty, until he confesses to a crime he/she may or may not have done.

The court also has an extremely high rate of convictions.

This alone puts the sh!ts up you and, should you become involved, in one way or another, there's no-one to help.

It's this fear that police rely on, so don't think it will change anytime soon.

In Japan one is guilty until proven innocent, and proving to be innocent is hard with that attitude.

Amnesty International has been monitoring this for a while, but expect nothing to be done with the tired old "this is Japan; this is how we do things" excuse, and then probably complaints of culture and foreigners wanting to interfere...etc.

There's a lot to this story, as always with Japantoday, that is missing.

Maybe she was abused; maybe she as a runaway.

I don't believ the "she didn't notice" theory. She would have called the doctor or ambulance at some point, surely.

Then again, it has all the characteristics of thousands of people in Japan suffering in silence, nobody to turn to.

A sad part of this "unique" culture.

My post above:

"Those claiming injuries and violence only towards the whalers are blind."

I meant:

Those claiming injuries and violence only towards Sea Shepherd are blind.

Evidently there are several posters who only see the violentactions of the Sea Shepherd as the Japanese media plays the victim card for the whalers...it is not the case.

Both sides are aggressive, and the whalers have used military grade weapons to try to bring down a helicopter. The whalers have also fired water cannons at the helicopter and rammed a vessel.

Both sides have used aggression, but clearly the whalers actions is more life-threatening.

It should be a successful campaign by Sea Shepherd.

Those claiming injuries and violence only towards the whalers are blind.

Both sides have been aggressive, but no-one has been injured, and I don't expect them to be.

The only injury is butt hurt pride...on the side of the Japanese Govt. and whalers.

As you can see from the responses of "no surprise", it's exactly how the Japanese public thinks.

It is, and probably has been for some time, at the point where it is considered standard practise, and that is why nothing whatsoever is done about it.

Well, that and the shoganai attitude.

Japan: a country with a problem on a grand scale.

It's the second most viewed because of hype.

I'm sure there are many who have checked it out to see what all the fuss is about and then switched off after less than a minute when they realise how rubbish it actually is.

All hype.

Active or inactive, the mindset to build a nuclear reactor on a fault line is absurd.

Giving the green light to restart it is also absurd.

Then we have the Govt. spouting nonsense about needing energy for the winter after raging about needing energy for the summer. And yet, only this week, reports were out that it will be a generally mild winter.

But in the mindset of the Japanese, as soon as the mercury is below 20 degrees C. people act like theyre in the midst of a bitter winter, so the Govt. can easily fool the public with the winter energy story.

Still, the story here is the reactors and continuing saga of how this country operates run by such a misfit outfit which is apparently the Government, which bullies and lies to its people.

The reactors won't be switched off whatever the report.

Ah, well, the fact is, something needs to be done about why over 30,000 people a year are killing themselves.

While the gates may reduce the suicides at stations, it won't deter these people and they will find another way to top themselves.

Start with why workers are obliged to stay at the office and try and reduce the working hours and let the leave early to enjoy their lives.

The gates will be put in place to reduce inconvenience to passengers and loss of profit to JR. The real problem of what is driving people to kill themselves will not be solved.

The style is immature and people, but then again, a big part of Harajuku attracts teens, so this so-called fashion fits in well with all the over-the-top kawaii nonsense.

Each to their own.

"The Big One" concerning Tokyo, at least, is predicted in Tokyo Bay.

This article mixes up a few different predictions, all of different locations.

Wish they would make it clearer.

Scary stuff though.