Japan Today

Michael Werker comments

Posted in: Researcher finds 'kill switch' for cyberattack ransomeware See in context

If you make regular backups of your most important data this won't affect you.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Body of woman in underwear found in apartment building parking lot See in context

fondofji, very good question. Right now I think I'd rather inform a Japanese acquaintance to make the call for me. Or if that's not possible, make an anonymous call from a pay phone alerting the police of the situation. I don't feel comfortable ignoring it but at the same time I don't want to deal with the police.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Posted in: Remote control: Companies blur lines over who owns devices See in context

This is why you should buy a rootable android phone, get it rooted and install a custom software without internal manufacturer apps. Sure, you'll be missing some features but did you really need them? Only then will your phone truly be yours and free from remote controlling.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: Hitler's 'Mein Kampf' becomes German bestseller See in context

I don't see a problem with this. People have studied other opinions for a long time without all becoming indoctrinated. Sure, there will be a few Neo Nazis or whatever who buy this and use it as a their bible, but what does that really change? I think the debate and the approach scholars can take on this are much more valuable than giving in to the fear of a simple book. I am sure there are far more dangerous books circulating that nobody talks about. Most Germans I know have a healthy attitude towards the past.

Burning Bush:

Interesting, is that just your assessment or is there an actual source backing this up? Not trying to annoy you but honestly curious about this since I never gave it a second thought.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Posted in: Driver arrested after his car hits 3 boys crossing street See in context

Disillusioned: I can only agree. I live near a school street and I see drivers going too fast and not stopping for children or others all the time. Sometimes they go so fast they go over red because they would have to hit the brakes like crazy. This is not rare around where I live. The number of reckless drivers is concerning.

8 ( +8 / -0 )

Posted in: Man arrested for abusing 3-month-old daughter in Fukuoka See in context

What he did was not okay but many people lose their nerves when hearing their infants cry for a prolonged time. I never hurt my daughter but I gotta admit it still really irritated me when she was very young, until I got used to her. I think this isn't a problem of one or two nutjobs but a wider issue that needs highlighting before the child is born. Like, sometimes women go to seminars about having babies right? Can you not do that for Father's too? Educate them about baby cries and what to do when you get agitated because of the cries. Getting irritated is human but I think we need to teach the tools to deal with it and calm yourself down. Hurting your child is not okay and I think preventive measures might help.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Posted in: Germany bans 190 sites of Islamic group, bans organization See in context

Outrider, did you not read the article?

They had proven links to terrorism. They are going against radicals who recruit terrorists. Hardly racist.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Posted in: 8-year-old girl on bike killed after being hit by minibus See in context

If he drives anything like the bus and truck drivers in my town then he was probably way over the speed limit and had no chance to brake in time.

The article doesn't say so I can't be sure, but I see trucks and buses go way too fast all the time. They can't even stop for the signal change because they're too fast to stop in time, so they go over red. Have seen this many times, and on a school Road no less.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Posted in: How do you think Tokyo Gov Yuriko Koike is doing so far? See in context

I think she is doing good things now. But the views she expressed in the past still make me wary of her. I support her for now but that might change.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Posted in: Truck driver arrested over hit-and-run death of 7-year-old girl See in context

Considering I see trucks and other cars going over red, because they can't break in time, because they're already way over the speed limit, at least once a week, I am not surprised. And not to mention the place where I see this is a school road.

Drivers in Japan are surprisingly reckless, and many don't follow the rules at all. Until the police steps up their game with speed traps and cameras at traffic lights, I fear that this poor girl is just one victim in a line of many caused by ignorance of the traffic laws.

14 ( +14 / -0 )

Posted in: Poll shows most disabled people in Japan dislike 'inspirational' documentaries about disability See in context

I remember a variety show where they read a poll about whether viewers thought the little reaction bubble with peoples faces in it were annoying or not. I don't remember the exact numbers but a surprisingly high percentage said it's annoying. The comment by the media person: Yes, but this is how we do things, so...

I don't expect any change on tear and circle jerking Japanese TV just because it would be reasonable when looking at polls. Japanese TV is very disconnected from reality.

10 ( +12 / -2 )

Posted in: A reader moving to Japan asks how much a month it would cost to live here comfortably. How much does it cost you? See in context

Depends on where you live. Tokyo will cost you probably between 100.000 and 200.000 more if you want to live comfortably. But since many people mean Tokyo when they say Japan, it's not quite clear. In the countryside under normal conditions you can live just fine by yourself for around 200.000 - 250.000. Even if you have a family you should be fine under 300.000 even though this would question the comfortable part. You might want to inform yourself about "hidden" costs. There are some taxes and some fees you have to pay in Japan that aren't immediately obvious to most newcomers. Also expect things to be generally more expensive than you're used to but that can also depend on where you are from. If you lived in Europe, Japan will feel like the most expensive country in the world. (which it probably is or at least close to the top)

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Posted in: Driver, playing Pokemon Go, hits and kills pedestrian, injures another See in context

I'm glad some of you guys are not in any position of power to rule in this case. Did he make a horrible mistake? Yes! Should he be punished and do jail time? Yes! He will live with what he has done for the rest of his life. But he certainly does not deserve to die for this. Do not put this man on the same level as people who purposefully murder people. He broke the law and he should have known an accident could happen but if we start killing people for driving while using the phone you might as well kill more than 10% of drivers in Japan. Just because they didn't cause accidents doesn't mean what they are doing us better than what he did. I see distracted drivers on their phones every day during my 10 minute wait at the bus stop. I even see men shaving while driving. This man shouldn't be made an example of but Japanese drivers have a deeply rooted problem with letting themselves get distracted on the road. But since the police rarely control anything I'm am not surprised. Here where I live people just do what they want. Park in the middle of the road, go over red, etc. The problems start here.

18 ( +21 / -3 )

Posted in: 'Ghostbusters' backlash brings out Internet trolls See in context

I am fine with them being women. Unfortunately some people will always be against major changes in well known franchises.

I think it's okay, but unfortunately the trailer really sucked. They dont deserve the hatred for the cast but they deserve 900000 dislikes anyway for that underwhelming trailer.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Posted in: Microsoft readies Windows 10 update, answers critics See in context

I tried Windows 10 for almost a month, I really wanted to like it, but it was so full of small bugs and compatibility issues that even with the maximum amount of patience I could possibly scrape together I wasn't able to keep using it in good conscience. Went back a day before revert would have been deactivated. Disappointing, even for free.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

Posted in: In view of the shooting at the Florida nightclub, what is your stance on gun control? See in context

People have no business owning guns. Or any other weapons for that matter.

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Posted in: Woman gets 3-4 years for suffocating 16-day-old daughter in garbage bag See in context

Wow... 3-4 years? Thats hardly enough. How about life? A life was taken from a child. I don't believe for a second they didn't know the child would die. It's just common sense! Maybe they don't want to admit it to themselves but it was murder and on purpose on top. Anybody who murders their own child (or anybody elses) should never see the outside of a prison again.

9 ( +11 / -2 )

Posted in: Association loses faith in users following non-return of 1,100 free loan umbrellas See in context

They probably shouldn't have put the logo on the umbrellas. It seems to me that collecting things is a huge pastime of people around here.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Abandoned boy reflects Japan's attitude on discipline, abuse See in context

I agree with commanteer. I bathe with my children and thats none of anybodies business.

8 ( +11 / -3 )

Posted in: Trash cans removed from Tokyo subway stations in preparation for G-7 summit See in context

Yeah right. Because trash cans are the only place where terrorists could hide bombs and other harmful objects. I bet that they'll sit back and relax after, seeing as they removed all the officially designated terrorist bomb hiding places.

This isn't gonna stop a person with a plan, you're just making it inconvenient for everybody else.

But then again, even in my coastal town where only students and old people ride the bus there are terror warnings in every bus. While I agree that people gotta have a healthy amount of preparation for a possible attack, I guess paranoia plays a major role here...

10 ( +12 / -2 )

Posted in: Man run over by car believed to be victim of earlier hit-and-run See in context

@Disillusioned

Any number of factors can lead to a body not being seen by the driver. First of all you don't even know if his whole body was on the street or if he was half off the street, what condition was the body in, it was night so a body on the street might be visible too late to do anything, depending on speed. Maybe it was after a curve, after a bump, maybe incoming lights or other traffic signs distracted from the road directly ahead. Also nowhere is it said it was literally "the middle" of the road.

So there isn't really anything that is not believable here. There are almost no details given.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Posted in: Tourism board wants foreign visitors to avoid 'public flatulence' See in context

Haha, yeah, right, then why am I, the foreigner, the only one shocked when my local government coworkers belch at every nomikai I ever had to attend in my job.

8 ( +9 / -1 )

Posted in: Tell us about any encounters, either good or bad, you have had with Japanese police. See in context

Was stopped and questioned after coming out of a convenience store where I just bought some coffee.

I saw the cop car driving past the convenience store and saw the driver looking at me. I was headed in the opposite direction but they didn't waste any time to turn their car around and come after me, get out of their car and follow me until i finally took out my earphones.

They asked me all kinds of questions but couldn't give me a reason why they stopped me besides that there had been an accident the day before buy they didn't even ask me any questions about that. They even wrote down my details. I was on the way to the hospital to visit my newborn and my wife and had to run to the bus stop. Afterwards both me and my wife called the police station to complain about this obvious discriminatory behaviour.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

Posted in: Abe says Japan cannot do without nuclear power See in context

With Volcanoes, Earthquakes, Typhoons and Tsunami, I think this island should not have nuclear power in the first place.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Posted in: SDF officer arrested for sending threatening emails to high school student See in context

Guys, seriously, lolicon? That girl is 18 years old! There is nothing lolicon about it. Could you just hold your horses, please?

Yes, he is over 50, but last I checked 18 is not an illegal age to be dating.

The real problem is that when he caught her stealing he thought he could blackmail her about it. She probably didn't want anyone to know she stole so she went along with it until he started to freak her out.

What he did was surely illegal, but certainly not because of her age.

-6 ( +0 / -6 )

Posted in: Suspect in 6-year-old Kobe girl's murder says he did not plan to molest her See in context

@Disillusioned

You can't say that porn is unhealthy to watch just because one person watched porn before committing a crime.

Last time I checked usually porn does not involve murder and dismemberment.

He might as well have been watching the news.

4 ( +7 / -3 )

Posted in: What do you think of taxis in Japan? See in context

Compared to my own country? Taxis in Japan are horrible. Not only are most of the cars old and uncomfortable, but they are also way too expensive.

Once I was trying to call a taxi to get my wife to the hospital because there was no ambulance available. The first company told us it was out of their area (10km away) and to call another one, where even after several minutes I could not get through to anyone.

When I asked for a taxi in the morning and told them I was with my baby daughter they told me it was okay, but when they arrived there was no child seat and I was asked to hold my daughter instead.

I have never had a single good experience with taxis in my four years here. I won't use them if I can possibly avoid it.

-12 ( +11 / -23 )

Posted in: 10 reasons why Kuroneko Yamato is probably the best delivery service in the world See in context

They also sometimes stop their truck right in front of an intersection, making me yell at them to get out of the way.

:)

-17 ( +6 / -23 )

Posted in: Are you sick and tired of hearing about the new 'Star Wars' movie? See in context

No. I'm sick and tired about Trump, Gun Violence, Xenophobia, Terrorists, Eating shows on TV etc etc. The Star Wars movie is very low on my list of concerns.

You would think that a movie that already made a billion dollars is a topic worthy of discussion.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

Posted in: 2 killed after car crashes into traffic light pole in Iwate See in context

I was in the area when it happened and the city broadcast said the car had been on fire. I wonder if they made a mistake.

Also, there have been accidents with injuries around that location in the past, maybe the intersection in itself is more dangerous than it looks.

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