mikemiro comments

hopefully, Japan will then get out of its dinosaur manufacturing businesses (which are being taken over by China & India now anyway) & get involved in ecologically-friendly alternative energy production so we can all live in a healthier & safer environment. I guess all we have to do now is to wait for all these 80 year old Japanese business owners to start innovating...

I just got back from an izakaya where I was choked with tobacco & let my emotions get the better of me after seeing this pic. But it still peevs me that the govt here owns 51% of Japan Tobacco & thus does nothing to protect the majority here who do not smoke - because they are likely chain-smokers themselves with no interest in looking out for anyone but themselves. So perhaps I should say that I wish those gentlemen running things here would... ahem ... not carry on for much longer.

What a joke. He says this, as he tries to restart the nuclear generators nationwide, without properly scrutinizing how well-prepared the nuclear reactors are to another disaster, nor providing any transparency whatsoever as to how the govt will measure and analyze plant readiness in the event of another crisis - whether man-made or natural. I hope the Japanese see the hypocrisy in their leadership...

So if oil & gas is used to supply electric power, the cars are more eco-friendly? I'm dead-set against restarting the nuke plants & Japan needs to invest in alternative energy sources but its a bit of a weak argument to me... saying that the car company or owners are not being green. I mean, what are their options?. To me, the fault lies with the Japanese govt for not finding a better solution to the country's energy needs...

The whole nuclear industry has already come under fire from energy watchdog groups for their lack of transparency and sub-par safety regulation - not just in Japan but globally This is like the tobacco industry telling us that smoking is not bad for your health and that there is no proof cigarettes are addictive and cause cancer. I would not believe any nuke sponsored spokesperson's comments about nuclear energy's benefits.

I agree with the policy but I feel for the driver too, as he is probably on his shift for 12 hours at a go and if he can't even bring a mobile to work, then good luck trying to have a marriage, or friends, or any semblance of a social life...

don't know if anyone else in Tokyo has noticed this, but the shopping area in west Shinjuku called, "Mylord" - and ostensibly pronounced "Me road-oh" by the locals... amusing.

ages ago, on an old ANA airline poster: "Have a nice fright". Brilliant.

unless the perp is overcome with guilt at his misdeed & gives himself up, I highly doubt the police in Chiba will EVER find this guy.

seriously. I wonder how much the maruzas target politically-connected, aristocratic, corporate leaders in Japan. After seeing how corporations like Olympus go on for years working hand-in-hand with their (global top-tier) audit firms to hide their income (or debt) , you realize that these govt-run peon auditors will never even get close to uncovering the endemic corruption and graft that is at the root of the tax evasion and concealment in Japan.

@Lazzaris Alberto - great link man! it just sounded off when the next quake off of Fukushima hit - felt it rocking in my apt in Tokyo just as it finished counting down to the expected quake

Too bad. A very intelligent man. Unlike many wealthy Japanese business leaders, Mori had a keen interest in helping the city, not just himself, prosper, while at the same time making it beautiful and distinctive.

I hope they're gonna bring back the vinyl upholstered bench seats and heavy-duty white-wall tires too...

Scary... Wen is now stating that growth will drop to 7.5% - yet economists have stated in the past that below 8%, the Chinese economy will be difficult to sustain. With a GDP below 8%, it will be very difficult to find jobs for young people in China (as McKinsey economist David Li noted: http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Is_China_recession_proof_2366)

Many economists in China have said the same thing & 8% is an enormously high GDP for any economy to sustain for a prolonged time period. The problem with China is that, with a population with too many males, the only option to prevent internal rebellion is to start a war. So IMO, China may be building up its military in order to give its angry, young, unemployed male population something (or someone) to vent their anger upon in the not so distant future. I think that, as a result of these unrealistic growth expectations that still exist in China and the resulting lack of employment, social unrest will start to take place which will leave the govt in China no option but to begin an external conflict in order to prevent an internal revolution. That may explain why Japan is developing weapons with Great Britain and bolstering its own defeneces.

I'm sure literary agents everywhere are now hunting for it to secure a script deal for the "Free Pengy" Disney movie that'll be coming to a theater near you...

Well this sure is a relief, as I'm certain the information released relating to radioactivity of debris tested will be done in the same transparent, honest and open manner that the Fukushima nuclear plant meltdown was reported by TEPCO and the govt following the events of March 11th last year. I feel secure knowing that our forthright & candid Tokyo govt has the best interests of its people in mind as it starts incinerating & releasing the fumes into our local atmosphere...

I went for a run this morning & on my way home as I was going up a hill I saw an old lady who'd tripped & fallen in the snow. I helped her up & walked her down to level ground but it made me think of how difficult it is for old people here - the roads & sidewalks are so treacherous around this city & there are A LOT of old folks here & less & less young people left to help them out. Tokyo... a bad place to retire.

I read these stories of the hardships and struggles that people in Tohoku face and how it seems the whole country perpetually dreams of a better future. Yet most, like the old woman in Otsuchi, are determined to bear with the hardships and submit to their unfortunate circumstances rather than fighting an immense uphill battle to try to change or improve their situations. Everyone dreams of a better life, but I think most are conditioned to accept their lot and feel their ambitions can not be achieved. To quote Will Ferguson, "Japan is a nation powered largely by sighs".

interesting that Prof Morinaga used an established economics journal like Weekly Playboy to publish his fact-based, data-driven financial outlook. I'm sure his article was placed alongside the AV Idol centerspread to capture the intellectual, business-savvy target readers who, I'm sure, are the principle subscribers to this credible & highly reputable publication.

I'm surprised they didn't put a picture of Shintaro Ishihara up on the site & asked that question...

As most in this thread have stated, I too think that Ishihara is a belligerent, insensitive, xenophobic old misanthrope. And I am not surprised that he made these comments (he has towed this line for decades - an avowed China hater) However, I think I understand why people in Tokyo keep putting this moron in power. He stands out amongst the typical dull, incompetent, tight-lipped, mainstream Japanese politicians, and his antipathy toward China reflects the general sentiment among people in Tokyo toward the Chinese. Obviously I'm not defending this moron, but I think I know why people here keep voting for this bellicose right-wing fool - because most here secretly share his viewpoint.

@NeoJamal: independent big 4 audit firm, eh? oh... do you mean like Chuo Aoyama Pricewaterhousecoopers? A Big 4 audit firm that got suspended & ultimately dissolved because of audit fraud at Kanebo (its Japanese client) back in 2006? Do you mean that sort of Big 4 Japanese audit firm? Oh no... obviously the Olympus scandal must just be some sort of misunderstanding... there is no way that a Japanese-managed Big 4 audit firm could be intimately involved with complying with its Japanese client to commit fraud.

@NeoJamal - Kawamura's father was a Corporal - a non-commissioned officer - in mainland China. He was in Brigade Command, 101st Infantry Division of the Imperial Japanese Army. He was in the city of Nanjing immediately after the war in1945 and returned in 1946. Those are FACTS .It is also a fact that his family were samurai magistrates in the Tokugawa dynasty. They are not in the peerage but are still an established & distinguished Samurai family. So, his father was an officer - albeit a low ranking, non-commissioned one & he DOES come from a Samurai family that once served the Tokugawa clan. My facts were not wrong. And that is why he makes insensitive comments - because he is an elitist from an upper class background that supported the ruling class.

And I did NOT say that Japanese war criminals were not tried & hanged (i.e. Hideki Tojo). What I AM saying is that the ruling class structure that was in place - since the Edo period and throughout the war - has NOT changed today. I also didn't say that Mayor Kawamura was a peer - but having graduated from Hitotsubashi university (an elite politically-connected school) he comes from a Tokugawa Shogunate-connected family & he is DEFINITELY part of the same hierarchy. So he is an elite school politician with a dad who had upper class Samurai connections dating back to the Edo period. I am not worried about posting facts - but I think you need to more carefully look at yours friend-oh.

@pattycake - seeing as my quote is the one being referred to by you and others, the article explicitly states

Kawamura, whose father was in Nanjing in 1945 at the end of the Japanese occupation of China, denied that mass murders and rapes happened.

so does this mean his father was responsible for the crimes? Absolutely not. But, if you search in Japanese in Jan Jan press, a news article from 2007 states that his father was an officer in Nanking (Nanjing) at the end of the occupation. And Kawamura, being a career politician, and his father being an Imperial army officer, to me indicates that he is part of the same autocracy that has ruled this country since the Edo period.

My point is that the autocracy that was ultimately responsible for war crimes committed, were never made to pay for their crimes. Rather they were shifted into new posts so that society in Japan postwar would not fall into Communist China's hands. And the result is that, the mentality that existed prior to and during the war has never changed - because they were never taken to task for the crimes they committed. And that's why this weekend, you'll see loads of black trucks blaring Imperialist war music cruising the streets of Tokyo - because unlike the Germans who were forced to show responsibility for atrocities and were executed for their crimes, the Japanese elite maintain an attitude of inculpability & guiltlessness in regard to the horrid crimes they committed.

As I'd mentioned previously, the Japanese ruling elite never changed postwar - it was kept in place by the American commanders postwar and stayed on as the next generation of leaders in order to prevent communism from taking hold in Japan. The US made a huge mistake not killing off the Keiretsu/Zaibatsu leaders (the Mitsubishi, Mitsui & Sumitomo elite) and the Emperor. Had the US wiped out these oppressive & intolerant autocrats, Japan might be more aware of the suffering they caused in the past (instead of retaining a myopic view of their own suffering) & the mayor of Nagoya would not be making insensitive comments about the people his relatives brutally oppressed.

sunhawk: China is Japan's biggest trading partner & being an export driven-economy, Japan would be shooting themselves in the head if they adopted protectionist trade measures against China. Japan should start shifting production away from industries that compete with countries where cheap labor is abundant & move into sectors such as green technology & renewable energy systems that will wean them & others away from nuclear & fossil fuels.

I'm not surprised really - in terms of impartial evidence collection, the judge was probably right right to throw out their depositions. The problem lies with the coercive & incompetent evidence collection techniques employed by prosecutors & police in Japan. If western police & prosecutors collected evidence & testimony the same way they do in Japan, there would be civil chaos. Ozawa will go free, not because he's innocent, but because the authorities here are so inept that unless the accused admits to the crime, there can never be a conviction.

Having just returned from Australia (I'm a Canadian), I was reminded that all cultures have their peculiarities and particular ways of looking at and doing things. Of course we all know that Japan's homogeneity & "Japan is an island" mentality tend to limit people's exposure to other cultures & other ways of thinking, but in general there are strange customs & individuals no matter what foreign culture you choose to live in. At least here I don't feel threatened or have to worry about walking the streets at night, so there are a lot of positives about Japan - regardless of how local people here view others.

@Spettatori - MD players were being pushed in Japan when mp3 players were already adopted widely by consumers in the US & elsewhere - at the same time, Sony & Panasonic were flogging MD players abroad (circa 1998/1999) - with no success. My point was, folks here don't adopt foreign-produced technology until it is manufactured in Japan - hence why people here still play CD's. Not because the sound quality is better (check FLAC & OGG about lossless digital audio formats that match CD quality) but because people here have blinders on about what is available unless it is being flogged by local mfrs. And cell phones? What planet are you on? Top Smart phone mfrs were Apple (American), Samsung (Korean), Nokia (Finland) & HTC (Taiwan) in 2Q 2011 - not one Japanese mfr anywhere. Check your stats before you post egregious comments mate. unfortunately, you seem to suffer from tunnel vision & appear unable to see beyond your blinders, like your friends here, mate

typical. That's why print newspapers are still in business in this country. The Japanese are so unbelievably slow to adopt new technology - especially stuff that does not come from within Japan. It took 3 years before people started using mp3 players here - and then it was all iPods. People outside Japan still think people here are technologically superior, but nothing could be further from the truth. This is now such an archaic, analog & out-of-date society, THAT's why they are still buying CD's here... I mean, Tower Records is STILL in business here. pathetic.