Japan Today

Middleoftheroad comments

Posted in: Year-end jumbo lottery tickets go on sale with ¥1 bil up for grabs See in context

A guy my dad used to work with way back, won $200 million in the lotto, went from a poor mountain man to a rich mountain man, but never changed, everyone around him did, but he stayed the same. I don't think I would want to win a large amount, all the old friends and distant relatives that would all of a sudden be visiting you and asking you for something would just be a nightmare!

Good luck to you if you do buy a stack, but be careful of what you wish for, and remember not to tell anyone you won!!

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Posted in: Nearly 20% of Japan households using e-money but cash still king See in context

Maybe it is just me, but I remember when you got paid in cash, even your bonus was in cash, and there is something about holding that in your hands after being given to you that made you feel like it was all worth it, and on your way home you would pick something up for the kids and wife, and when you arrived at home everyone was glad you were home, it was like a small holiday itself. Now it is all deposited into the bank and all you see are numbers on paper, not the same feeling, and no one is waiting for your arrival on payday, it is just another day, kids have no idea where the money came from, they just know that dad and mom leave in the morning and come home at night cranky and bitter!

You will always need cash, never think you can always depend on Credit cards and such, because when you are in a pinch, Cash is King as stated before!

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Posted in: Japan ramps up spending for typhoon relief, but workers are scarce See in context

@Disillusioned

My son who is a proud member of the JGSDF, has been out there since the day of the typhoon and has been going from place to place so often that his wife, nor I have any idea where he is day to day. They can't send every member out there, they do have other jobs to do and must be ready in case disaster hits somewhere else.

@Do the hustle

There are 5 million JSDF members sitting around scratching their privates.

You have no idea as what they do, do you? Your numbers are way off by the way, nearer 250,000, and only 150,000 are JGSDF, they handle most of the disaster relief.

These men and women train, perform maintenance, stand watch, study, test, and then do it all over again everyday!

6 ( +6 / -0 )

Posted in: Influential singer-songwriter Daniel Johnston dead at 58 See in context

I like his song "I Had Lost My Mind", among others! The documentary "The Devil and Daniel Johnston" is a good watch, even if it is sometimes a little painful in an emotional way.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: U.S. records nearly 20 mass killings for the year so far See in context

There have always been mass killings by knife, ax, car, and guns. We have see an increase in the last couple of decades, I am the first to admit this, but, we also have seen an increase in children put on medication for everything and anything, here is a quote,

Children with "serious emotional problems" have these problems for a reason-—and the reason (or reasons) is/are most often in the child's family or social context. But discovering causes is a lot more difficult than counting up symptoms and medicating them away.*

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/suffer-the-children/201710/do-children-really-need-psychiatric-medication

No one seems to be able to communicate theses days, blame it on the technology, bad parenting, too many channels on the T.V, take your pick!

If all parents took the time to talk with their children and got to the root of their problems, a lot of these shooting would not happen, but in today's society it seems medicating is the easy option, but not always the right one!

Another interesting quote,

Stimulant medications may rarely increase the risk for agitation or psychotic or manic symptoms with stimulant medications use. Contact the doctor immediately if your child has sudden new or worsening behavior or sees or hears things that aren't real while taking stimulant medication.

"Rarely", but it still happens, and how many parents actually pay attention to how their children act, or actually act on any problems that may arise!

Criminals will always have a way of getting a gun, if they can't get a gun, then a car will do! Get to the root of the problem and there will be a decrease in these mass killings, until then they will find a way, gun or not, guns just happen to be the easiest option!

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Posted in: Smoke spread so fast at animation firm victims couldn't open rooftop door See in context

One other point, the vapors from the gasoline would have also risen and caused the fire to spread to levels above the ground floor! Depending on how long he waited to light the fire after he dumped the gasoline, it could have risen to the top floor very fast!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Smoke spread so fast at animation firm victims couldn't open rooftop door See in context

Smoke rises, that is why the stairwells filled with smoke, add panic and the fact that they most likely could not see due to the smoke, they only had a minute or so before they started to go unconscious.

I have fought fires aboard ship, and it gets very dark, very hot and smokey, and very frighting, very fast, and that is with training! With gasoline as the accelerant most things will burn or at least melt and put off toxic fumes.

Every company should have an escape plan and a drill every moth or so!

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Posted in: Japanese entertainment mogul Johnny Kitagawa dies at age 87 See in context

Back in the 80's I used to hate Hikaru GENJI and Shonentai, and that was followed by just about everybody else that came out of Johnny's! I never understood what was so appealing about them! I got rid of my TV about 15 years ago because I was so tired of seeing a Johnny's representative on just about every show!

8 ( +10 / -2 )

Posted in: 7-Eleven mobile payment users lose ¥55 million by unauthorized access See in context

Seems going cashless may leave you moneyless! I will just stick to using cash!

11 ( +11 / -0 )

Posted in: 7-Eleven stores struggling in face of labor shortage See in context

My youngest has worked at a Family Mart since he was in high school, he started out at 880 yen an hour, but now 9 years later he is pulling in 300,000 a month and has insurance and nenkin through the company! You can make good money at any job if you stick with it long enough, in fact makes more monthly than his oldest sister who went to college and has been a Kindergarten teacher for 10 years,but it is about even after her bonus.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Posted in: Report reveals alleged labor issues at 2020 Tokyo Olympic building sites See in context

@RiskyMosaic

True, but the type of jobs we are talking about don't really have contracts, and I will admit I have had jobs where I needed to give a 2 week or more notice, but all you have to do is threaten to go to the authorities and they will almost always let you go on the spot.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Posted in: Report reveals alleged labor issues at 2020 Tokyo Olympic building sites See in context

I worked many a hard job in Japan, worked over a 160 hours overtime in a month, 30 odd days with out a day off, was cheated out of pay, and hurt my back beyond repair. I blamed everyone and everything for all of that, but in the end I finally figured out that I was 100% at fault. No one says you can not quit, because you can! You may say it is not that easy, yes it is! You walk in, say I quit, and go home and look for another job, things may be tough for a while, but you will survive! Stop being a victim of your own choices and blaming others! Start the thumbs down.....now!

7 ( +8 / -1 )

Posted in: Police knew woman had problems with U.S. serviceman before their deaths See in context

I blame the Military for this, they knew he was a problem and even told the Japanese Police that much, but they did not think to send him back State-side where he would not be a danger to her!

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Posted in: Convenience stores to stop selling adult magazines by end of August See in context

@starpunk

I agree that it is just porn. I don't know what was going through the minds of the people who made, sold and purchased those magazines. It is good to know that someone finally got around to closing that loophole though!

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Posted in: Convenience stores to stop selling adult magazines by end of August See in context

I remember back in the early 80's when I walked into a Family Mart and was just browsing and picked up a little magazine and opened it up to see naked little girls, I asked my wife " Why are they allowed to sell this". She explained to me that since there is no pubic hair it is OK to be sold as art, talk about a loop hold. Glad they made that illegal!

2 ( +5 / -3 )

Posted in: For those of you with young children, how are you dealing with their requests to have cell phones? See in context

I had to deal with this many years ago, just tell them no! I will admit that this was before smart phones, they were just simple cell phones, but I told my children that they could have a phone when they could pay for it all by themselves. Parents need to stop trying to be their children's friends and start being their parents, there is no room for negotiating with children! Give them everything, and they will like you, but they will not respect you, and you most likely won't like what they grow up to be!

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Posted in: JR East encouraging commuters to stop walking on escalators See in context

@nandakandamanda

Weight distribution should always be the same, two people standing next to each other or one person in the middle when by themselves, standing on one side one day and the other side the next still causes parts to wear faster. Some stations have single person escalators, that seems to be the best way to go, but, only if they have elevators for the people who can't use escalators. In any place you go in the world, old habits are hard to break!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: JR East encouraging commuters to stop walking on escalators See in context

I worked for a company about 20 years back and we installed and repaired Elevators/Escalators, the thing is, when everyone stands to one side and a few people go up or down the other, the side that everyone stands on gets extra wear and tear, and leads to breakdowns and sometimes accidents!

7 ( +9 / -2 )

Posted in: U.S. Marines ID dead crew member in Japan warplanes crash See in context

One person is a pilot, and the other is a Marine Corps NFO (Naval Flight Officer).

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: 'Zero' doubt Saudi crown prince directed Khashoggi murder: GOP senators See in context

It would not matter who was President, it has all to do with the petrodollar and how it keeps the dollar as the world's dominant currency!

Also, @u_s__reamer, how about you stop with racist, classist remarks, I have been called a "peckerwood" and take offence to the word!

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Posted in: Cafe opens with robot waiters remotely controlled by disabled people See in context

I think this may have more to do with the new law that says any company with over 100 employees must hire at least 1 disabled person, not sure if it is a local thing or national, but even preschools must hire them, not such a great idea when it comes to preschools and care facilities.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Posted in: Japan considers transforming helicopter destroyer into aircraft carrier See in context

@wanderlust

 The F-35B is a short take-off and vertical-landing aircraft, no catapults, arresting gear, or angled flight deck needed.

20 ( +20 / -0 )

Posted in: 87-year-old man dies in fall from mountain in Yamanashi See in context

87 years old and was still being able to climb mountains, amazing. rip

The old lady who lives above me is 90 and I think she is half mountain goat, she is always cutting weeds on steep high embankments and climbing to the top of a very tall ladder. I asked her son who is 70 if he could stop her before she gets hurt, he said there was no stopping her. She says once you hit her age if you stop moving, you die, but in this old guys case I guess it got the best of him!

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Posted in: Woman arrested over fatal stabbing of U.S. military airman See in context

This is the guy. Airman Nicholas Vollweiler

https://wnep.com/2018/11/09/monroe-county-airman-murdered-in-japan/

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: U.S. federal agencies clash on cell phone cancer risk See in context

Since they rarely use them for phone calls, I figure anyone under the age of 30 is probably safe from this hazard if it exists.

I know many people who sleep with their phones beside their head or on their chest, and since smartphones are constantly connected to cell phone towers nearby to maintain the connection, they are giving off EMF radiation . Even though it is not as much radiation as when you are talking on a phone, it is still radiation!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: Crazy rich on film, proud to be Asian See in context

"Proud to be Asian"

I never understood this pride thing, I have never been proud of being straight, male, American, or any other thing I had no choice over, or had to put in any effort in to achieve! I am proud of my children and grandchildren when they do good, but other than that, I have no pride, it gets you into trouble more than anything else in my book!

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Posted in: Aum executions open door for more debate on death penalty See in context

They had twenty some odd years to get the whole story, if you can't get it in that amount of time, you ain't getting it!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: Kirin unveils new vending machines with built-in security camera See in context

Remember when they used to say "Big Brother is watching you" as a joke? Well, seems it is no longer a joke!

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Posted in: 11 suspected cancer cases neglected; 1 dead at Yokohama hospital See in context

I have nearly 20 years of X-rays, MRI, and CT scans in my house from over 10 different hospitals, whenever I ask for a copy for a new opinion they give them to me, I show them to the new doctor and he gives them back. I have never had any hospital refuse me!

I don't think money is the problem, it is the amount of people they need to see in one day. My doctor is over 70 yrs old and he is mean and awnry, but he was determined to make my diabetes go away, and after 6 months of yelling at me about my diet I was to a level below normal, all this with no meds, and only a monthly blood test. So I know he was not chasing money! That is why I stick with smaller clinics!

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Posted in: McDonald’s Japan to K.O. you with new spicy McNuggets See in context

@kawabegawa198

I am neither cool nor sophisticated, but can't stand McDonald's food, the smell is what lures me near, but, not into a shop!

@Madden

Japanese people do not like spicy foods

Then you have never seen my family eat, everything is spicy or extra hot in our house, even things that should not be! Myself on the other hand, can't handle spicy foods!

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

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