midwicket comments

Posted in: Low-tech Japan challenged in working from home amid pandemic See in context

Japan is the perfect blend of the 1950s and the 2050s.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Posted in: England to return to Japan for two-test rugby tour in 2020 See in context

Japan are considered part of the Southern Hemisphere in the rugby world so the European teams go to the Australia etc or Japan in the July window. Unfortunately July isn't the best rugby weather in Japan but it's good that England are coming.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Posted in: Gov't to start using 'family name first' order from Jan 1 See in context

Fair enough. What I would like to know is, are they going to use the proper name for Chinese nationals or the Japanese reading?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Which country's national anthems do you find the most stirring? Do you know the words to your country's? See in context

albaleo

 lot of Scottish people find it embarrassing, including myself

Really? I didn't know that. Why is that? It always seems to be sung with a lot of passion.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Which country's national anthems do you find the most stirring? Do you know the words to your country's? See in context

It has to be the French one. Other good ones are the Scottish one that they use for rugby and football (soccer). (Does Scotland count?) I like the Sri Lankan one for some reason. Also, the South African one is pretty good because of the history behind it. I think they sing in five or six languages which truly shows that it is the rainbow nation.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Posted in: Folau launches court action over Rugby Australia dismissal See in context

I don't have a problem with religion. People have a choice to follow a religion or to believe in a particular god. I have no problem with that. People also have a choice to have a drink. They have a choice to cheat on their spouse. They have a choice to have sex outside of marriage. They have a choice to steal. However a person does not have a choice of his or her sexuality. Whether he deserved to lose his job is another debate altogether. As a rugby union fan I would like to see him play at the World Cup but I don't want to be judged over something that I have no control over.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Posted in: 2 Koreas to meet in 2022 World Cup qualifiers; Japan faces Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Myanmar, Mongolia See in context

North Korea v Turkmenistan. That sounds like an interesting match.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: Big plastic user Japan fights waste ahead of G20 summit See in context

The charging for a plastic bag is an interesting one. I know that if I'm not prepared (with my own bag) that I wouldn't have a problem buying a plastic bag for 5 yen or 10 yen or what have you. Whereas some people steadfastly refuse to even pay 1 yen for a plastic bag. They believe it should be part of the purchase. For people like me maybe 5 or 10 yen is too little. Maybe they might think about increasing it to some stupid amount to really get the message across, then again the consumers will go elsewhere if they are charging 1000 yen for a plastic bag. I think some people above have said it already that plastic bags at convenience stores are only a part of the problem. I'm sitting here writing this with a 2 litre PET bottle on my desk. Am I going to reuse it? Probably not.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Posted in: Kono to ask foreign media to switch order of Japanese names See in context

And while you are at it, why don't you ask your fellow countrymen to call people from that rather large country to the west their actual names and not by the local reading of the character? It is not Cho, it is Zhang. It is not Oh, it is Wang and isn't it Xi not Shu?

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Posted in: Japan's 'Miracle' Suzuki takes darts world by storm See in context

In the PDC World Championships at the end of 2018, 2 women qualified for the tournament both losing in the first round. Also, from memory, in the Darts World Cup a couple of years ago one of the Chinese team was a woman. If they are good enough in the PDC then that can play. The BDO is separated though as shown in this article.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Ichiro walks off into history in 'sayonara' at Tokyo Dome See in context

I'm not a baseball fan per se but I do like sport and I recognise Ichiro as a great athlete not just in baseball but in international sport. I admire the way that he has worked hard to stay in the game for so long but unfortunately Father Time had the final say. All due respect to the Seattle Mariners to allow him to have the send off he deserved in the last couple of days. I think also due to Ichiro and players like Hideki Matsui's success in Major League Baseball that has help change Nippon Professional Baseball as well. In the past there had been all of those shenanigans about foreign players beating home run records and the like but thanks to Ichiro, and I think back to 2004 when he beat the hits records the fans in the MLB were all behind him to beat it. That showed the fans in Japan that it doesn't matter where you were born, it is a good idea to applaud sporting excellence.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: Liam Neeson says there is 'witch hunt' in Hollywood over sex allegations See in context

This is a difficult one. People like Weinstein and Cosby have abused their position and taken advantage of many woman. That's terrible. I have no sympathy for them whatsoever. I think what Liam Neeson is talking about is times when you might compliment your female colleague's hairstyle for example. Depending on how she thinks about you, they might say thank you and carry on with their life or it might be considered harassment. Apparently, technically, it is harassment according to a human resources expert I was talking to recently.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Posted in: Japan likely to tolerate smoking at restaurants after LDP's resistance See in context

I remember in New Zealand when they brought in no smoking laws, they did it really well. Rather than target restaurants or bars, they said no smoking in work places . Of course there are some people who work in restaurants and bars so you couldn't (and still can't) smoke in those establishments and because of that the bars didn't really have a chance to complain.

13 ( +13 / -0 )

Posted in: South Africa beats Japan to qualify for Olympic hockey See in context

The South Africans had already qualified for the Olympics through the continental route but the South African Olympic Committee had said that the competition wasn't strong enough so they had to qualify again. Talk about doing it the hard way. It was good to see a full ground in Gifu.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: It’s time to get rid of sound trucks See in context

The recycle guys driving around with their loud speakers is very much like cold-calling. It can be annoying but on occasions it will cause the customer to take action. I know that I have given them a few pieces of furniture over the years just because they happened to drive past. I wouldn't have done anything about if they didn't. I do agree that 8am on a Sunday is a little bit too much.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Charlize Theron among star-studded cast at World Cup draw See in context

I would like to see England, Australia, Japan and New Zealand. Many kiwis would like to see that. I think Japan and New Zealand will be in the same pot so maybe not.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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