Japan Today

Michael Morris comments

Posted in: Tokyo court orders car owner to pay NHK fee See in context

Hmm... I purposefully avoid anything related to NHK because their a disgraceful organization, but do they provide all of their services with an English option? Maybe someone should sue NHK for forcefully charging them for services that cannot be understood by non Japanese speakers. But then again, your not Japanese so you'll probably loose the case before the filing even takes place. I friend of mine just told me that there are family ties between NHK and the govt. Not sure if that's legitimate but as far as Japanese corruption goes, that makes complete sense.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Posted in: Tokyo court orders car owner to pay NHK fee See in context

Francisco Araújo :

Most people forget the HD format (back in the 80's) and Ultra-HD (both 4K and 8K) was researched and developed by NHK.

Wait... what? Who the hell told you these ridiculous lies?! Dude, stop listening the the NHK reps. Just run away.. And for the love of God, educate yourself. Both 4k and 8k were developed the combined minds of many University reasearch teams around the world. But, common sense should have told you this. NHK is not a scientific reasearch center that makes scientific breakthroughs. Instead they're a leech on society that has coerced authorities into supporting their outlandish claims. Probably by paying for them in regular installments. The courts in Japan are "ignorant puppets laying claims through their teeth, from a house made of straw".

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Posted in: Ghosn's wife leaves Japan to appeal to French gov't; prosecutors want her questioned See in context

Doing chores this morning, my mind keeps wandering back to Carole Ghosn’s passport seizure. Wish I’d been a fly on the wall. How exactly did it play out? Did they just take the only passport (Lebanese) they happened to find and somehow in their search overlooked the American one? Or did they ask her to produce her passport/s and she deceitfully proffered only the Lebanese one? In any case, it looks like she didn’t volunteer any information about the American passport. I realize some think that’s very clever of her but to me (especially combined with her refusal to submit to questioning) it just makes her look sneaky and wanting to hide something. As for whether questioning would be trying to get her to testify against her husband, it seems to me there’s quite a lot to question her about regarding her own involvement.

Maybe a few more chores and a little longer thinking might not hurt. I get your point, definitely. But what your starting is the view point if an individual who's constantly subjected to a "criminal justice system" or a righteous system devised on the foundation of convicting individuals AFTER guilt has been proven. An "innocent until proven guilty" ideology. And in that situation I agree with you, her actions would appear to be shady and underhanded. However, the example of justice that Japan is presenting to the world based on their actions, reason, and attitude, is not of that form of justice system. For example, if detainment is the punishment that befits a convicted criminal, what makes it correct to provide the same detainment to an individual where no undeniable evidence has been provided determining their guilt? We have already identified the prosecution to be heartless, deceitful, dishonorable, and disrespectful to righteousness of justice. Based on these undeniable facts that have been put on display across the world, any normal human being would first think of their safety and wellbeing. Don't be conned by the use of "voluntary interrogation". Like most things in Japan, this is a public display to avoid their suspcion of their intentions. You may laugh, but I've lived her more than 10 years, I can attest from experience. In most cases, lawyers are not allowed to be present at this interrogation, this is on purpose. Questioning in Japan is not like that of other countries. Here it is raw, aggressive, vulgar and with very meager limitations. Criminal records show that 8 out 10 people who undergo voluntary questioning are detained on suspicion, 7 if which a prosecuted for a crime. Keep in mind Japan does not have "Probably Cause". Just feeling like someone is suspicious is all that is required to legally detain an individual and incarcerate them. Carole is either very intelligent or taking advise from Ghosn's legal party. She knows that if she hadn't left, she would be detained and silenced as well. The prosecution knows that they do not have enough solid evidence to prosecute without question. Their worry is likely that the Ghosn party will cut them off and provide information to the public or to the court that will diminish their favor. This is the reason for the incredibly unusual "re-arrest" that recently took place immediately following his announcement to release details that the prosecution has withheld. In Japan, this is an astonishing and hard to justify action. Not to mention a VERY rare occurrence. At this point, they simply cannot afford to go back. The shame will be impossible to recover and in Japan it's a serious matter. The individual in charge of the case will likely be forced to resign and will never be rehired to represent law. People often even kill themselves over similar issues of shame. It's good for her that she left and has a chance to fight for her husband. If the prosecution has enough evidence to place her involvement then it's no trouble at all to request extradition. The problem is that they have nothing substantial and are unable to sustain a verifiable suspicion of guilt. If either of them a guilty, then I hope they are caught and prosecuted, but until someone can produce more than rumor, or prove that they are not rumors, then he deserves to be treated as an innocent person and his human rights should not be violated simply because he is suspected. The biggest issue is that everyone is intentionally preventing him from telling his side of the story. This is a very big sign that some or all of the accusations may not hold ground. If he's truly guilty, then the evidence will prove it and his version of the events will only solidify his guilt. The prosecution should already understand this. And that even further makes the case curious.

7 ( +8 / -1 )

Posted in: 'I have names' - Ghosn vows to clear his name in trial See in context

Has he appeared before a judge yet? I believe that if arrested in Japan, a person mustt appear before a judge within 48 hours.

Let's all see what the judge does.

Whatever Nissan wants, obviously.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: 'I have names' - Ghosn vows to clear his name in trial See in context

The state reigns supreme in Japan, is authoritarian and unaccountable.

Japan seems to be stateless. I would say that bureaucracy reigns supreme in Japan, and as the commenter quote rightly says, is authoritarian and unaccountable.

Well, it's Japan. No one will offer to take any acountability of wrong doing. That requires true honor, which sadly, has begun to dwindle here. Nowadays, the rule is to point at the person beside you or call out everyone else to divert attention from yourself.

Those of you that have lived and worked here as long as I have, but are originally from somewhere else will know exactly what I'm talking about. Those of you that aren't, please dont feel upset, but you might not know of the difference that I'm referring to if you have not ever experienced it. And that's ok, it's one of those things; it's and obnoxious argument when spoken, but holds truth when experienced.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: 'I have names' - Ghosn vows to clear his name in trial See in context

CEOs and corporate boards have been working together to rip off shareholders since the dawn of corporations. It's nothing new. However, it seems like many corporate officers wrongly assume that as long as boards sanction their conduct, then they aren't doing anything criminal. The law obviously takes a different view, as Carlos is now discovering.

For all the flaws in the Japanese system, I applaud prosecutors for pursuing this case. You would never see this happen in the US or Europe despite similar laws on the books. It's unfortunate that prosecutors across the world are extremely reluctant to prosecute these sorts of corporate malfeasance cases unless there's been a massive bankruptcy or scandal. The main reason seems to be that the victims (shareholders) will often be left far worse off financially by any investigation, since the stock price will usually plummet (as we've seen with Nissan). It's a strange situation which allows many high flying CEOs and boards to act with impunity as shareholders suffer in silence. Hopefully this case will improve corporate governance across the board.

Oops. You posted on the wrong story. This one is about the Japanese In-justice system and their unjustified detainment and persecution of an individual, at the demand of a private entity without any valid and proven evidence of any illegal action identified in a court of law. And who's prosecution department is operated by ignorant and sly individuals that have been manipulated by the first set of snakes hiding behind a company who's arguments up till this point, since no factual evidence has ever been openly presented, have been entirely based on speculation or hearsay accusations. Basically they almost make North Korean courts appear proper.

But I absolutely hear you. There is so much corruption in this world it's completely disgusting and some decent people should really come forward and start cleaning things out. Oh! You know... they should start with the Japanese justice system!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Kamakura passes ordinance against eating on the go See in context

Look, I'm appalled that my tax dollars are being wasted for such idiocy, when the bigger problem in Japan is mental health. And it remains unchecked because we're so concerned about how tourists enjoy their vacation. So, I'm just gonna have to lay it all out.

a growing number of complaints from residents about "getting their clothes stained with ice cream or dumpling syrup when brushing past tourists

Easy solution : stop rubbing up against tourists like a cat!

Absolutely! Real manners would be respecting the personal space of those around you, paying more attention to where you walking than your phone, and having enough courtesy to say excuse me when you need to pass someone blocking your path, instead of "brushing" (they left out 'aggressively') past tourists. By the way, why are we only brushing pasts tourists, anyway? Trying to get your foriegn feel on? Locals just don't feel the same when brushed, what? I bet those tourists also have their own complaints about Japanese citizens slamming into them and ruining their food and clothes...

I've lived here for more than 10 years, and I've never seen foreigners litter the way locals do. You can just rule that bs out immediately.

To the whiners in Kamakura: Your raking water uphill. First, accidents are a byproduct of being human, you can't avoid them all. Second, if you actually use your own manner system and say excuse me, foreigners will politely smile, say sorry and move out of your way promptly. Thirdly, your a grown up. For your own mental health, stop crying about things you can't control and focus on things you can. If you know there's too many foreigners on 'that one road' and you don't like it, take another. This is Japan, there's more roads in a single city than tunnels in an ant hill. If you cant find one, you have a bigger problem. Lastly, the rest of the planet already knows that Japan's neverending list of obnoxious rules and policies are atrocious. Plus, almost no foreigners will even known, nor care about this new policy, because it sounds like a joke. So, unless your going to start handing out the Kamakura's Street Policies pamphlet at the airport, things will still be the same tomorrow.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

Posted in: Man sentenced to death for killing 3 people, although 2 bodies still not found See in context

"Well, you see. We haven't found the minimum required evidence to convict a person of committing a crime of murder, but 'person A' said that it was true, so... basically, we're just going to go with that..."

3 ( +5 / -2 )

Posted in: Nissan asking shareholders to vote to oust Ghosn as director See in context

since your not a prosecutor then your argument is just plain speculation. If prosecutors had mountains of concrete evidence to assure a guilty verdict in court why the need to detain Ghson for 108 days to try and force a confession which they never got. Irrefutable evidence = no confession required.

You are absolutely correct. In my experience working law in Japan, the vast majority of prosecutors lack the modern understanding of "investigation", and defense attorneys fail to pressure courts to require indisputable evidence in a reasonable time frame. These are key aspects that define the term "justice". However, in Japan the concept of evidence being undeniable is far reaching and unless it's a painfully obvious 'red-handed circumstance, hard to come by. This has created the mainstream process of obtaining a confession in place of the lacking evidence. The legitimacy of the confession is never questioned. Because who would fake a confession under extreme stress, right?

Let me just be clear about one thing before its brought up again, you can be held prisoner in a palace with all the lavishings and still have a breach of mental fortitude. The reason I'm state this is because I noticed that everyone is concerned with his living conditions while in detainment. I want to make sure it's clear that the processes of the investigation can be significantly more stressing and torturous than living in a dirty room deprived of food and water. The process is what brings about the confession. Japanese prosecutors and investigators have mastered the technique of squeezing a confession. But unfortunately it really only works best on someone who thinks in a more 'Japanese' manner. For a tenacious foreigner, not as much. Unfortunately, for my own protection I won't delve much more into this. However, I will finish by station that, in Japan, honesty and justice do not often go hand-in-hand. It's more of a battle witts to prove innocence of find guilt. Please keep in mind that the Japanese government was originally built on a system of corruption and dishonesty, and since change/difference is frowned upon in Japan, nothing really has.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Posted in: Man arrested for sexually molesting woman on her way home See in context

Hmm. I wonder. I hope he really is the culprit. But... well, now that we know how shady the criminal "justice" system is in Japan, I can't honestly say that I trust them anymore. I mean, this happened a year ago and he's confessing now? Where's the rest of that story? Is this another "Ghosn" type of investigation? They even admit that they ID'd him from CCTV, with his face partially covered. It would have to be a VERY slight covering to still make a positive identification. Has anyone else seen how low the CCTV quality is in Japan? My late 90's flip phone camera has better quality... It's like they're trying to say they can ID a fingerprint in a snow storm form 30 feet away. There's too many holes in this story and not enough "proof". This stinks of 'wrong place, wrong time', and Japan trying to satisfy the public with a conviction. Yep, I'm gonna play it safe. I'll still continue to consider that the culprit is still out there. It's just too risky to put that much faith in Japanese law enforcement at the present time.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: Half of Japan's regional banks to join hands in cashless payment See in context

I expect there is ripoff somewhere.

Well, this IS Japan... I mean, substantial cash flow and a self-centered, self-serving, individualist society?

Yes. Corruption, of course.

Right now, one hasn't been found but once it's been discovered, we'll all acknowledge that we're being cheated, then follow Japanese tradition and pretend it doesn't exist by staring at the ground or into our iPhones.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Anti-Valentine’s Day protest march held in Tokyo by Revolutionary Alliance of Unpopular Men See in context

Ha ha ha. Wow... these guys are just too much. #crymuch #youmadbro #wutapuss #emomonster #highschoolregrets

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Prince's remarks become hot topic in Japan See in context

You know, the island of Japan is roughly 15,000,000 years old. It's incredible. But that's not the most astounding thing. In those 15 million years, Japanese civilization still has not learned that difference in opinion should be embraced and not chastized. Now that the younger generation is becoming more cultured and educated about the workings of the world, I hope for the benefit of Japanese citizens, that this falicy of individualism corrects itself in time. While it may not be everyone, there are just too many people in Japan that are unhappy in life simply because they cannot be who they really are and just have to follow the crowd and "be like water". I feel for those individuals that struggle.

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

Posted in: Kansas stops issuing license plates with offensive term for Japanese See in context

It could be worse. There's also these options from the DMV it seems...

https://www.reddit.com/r/Wellthatsucks/comments/8psbbx/nothing_but_trouble/

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Kansas stops issuing license plates with offensive term for Japanese See in context

Ok, I'm back! Been about an hour since my last comment, did I miss anything?

Are J, A and P still allowed in the alphabet?

Man... I hope they calm down. How the hell am I supposed to order jalapenos for my Whataburger if they keep this up?!

By the way, I know it's not quite as crazy as these licence plates issues, but did anyone hear that someone is hanging nooses in trees around the capital building in Mississippi? Now THAT is a real racial issue. An actual symbol of of hate.

"J-A-P" ...is really just bad English grammar from a time of lower education. If someone called me J-A-P, I would just give them a hug and flash cards.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

Posted in: Kansas stops issuing license plates with offensive term for Japanese See in context

This is dumb anyway. The people that really want it are gonna start using iAP on their plates anyway. What's Kansas really gonna do? Change to glyphs?

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Posted in: Kansas stops issuing license plates with offensive term for Japanese See in context

But seriously though... are we really trying to shut down "word plays"? You have a better chance of tripping over a million bucks.

You can't even let teenagers get a hold of the words "to" and "it's". They're gonna generate some completely unrelated context like "toits" and then say some rediculiosness like that's when an Asian treefrog mates with and African bever and start using that to describe someone with with "Dark Asian Fever". Trust me, I here crazy stuff like this every day. You simply can't win this. The best you can do is stop making a big deal about it, and then people won't treat it as such.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Posted in: Kansas stops issuing license plates with offensive term for Japanese See in context

I am not sure that this is always obvious. If my name were Clare Ursula Morgan, I would think twice about putting my initials on my numberplate.

Well of course, that's because you didn't proudly graduate Magna Cum Laude. Not everyone spends their day searching for derogatory plates. The JACL has obviously already resolved allllllll the other important Asian minority issues in the US and has nothing else left to do.

And dont get me start that J in JACL is for Japanese and not Asian citizens. If your only in it to help Japanese American Persons (...see what I did there?) then your no different than the problem your complaining about.

5 ( +8 / -3 )

Posted in: Kansas stops issuing license plates with offensive term for Japanese See in context

"There is still much work to be done in eradicating the use of slurs from our language,"

Yeah, I can see the English dictionary of 2050 now... 3 whole pages of approved 5 letter words with no constructive potential.

What a shame. The original Americans fought for freedom. The ones born to that freedom just want to give it back no matter what.

2 ( +6 / -4 )

Recent Comments

Popular

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites


©2025 GPlusMedia Inc.