minello7 comments

Surely the scientific comunity should have come up with a solution by now to neutralize the contaminated water so that it can be released into the Pacific without causing a potential catastrophic political division with its close neighbors.

Is this another CIA attempt to cause another world problem, why the US , Hong Kong was a British protectorate before the handover to the Chinese, so if Hong Kong citizens have a problem it should seek the help of the British, after all they were the ones who put the stipulations in the hand over agreement regarding Hong Kongs citizens rights and the role of the Hong Kong government . China is eventually going to take over Hong Kong ending the ‘one country, two systems’ guarantee when that expires in 2047.

Politics and inept politicians are ruining relations worldwide, either citing historical misdemeanours or bloating their own political ego's. Most are rightwing old men with no clue about reality, they only dream of war and conflicts. The business communities and business individuals on the other hand are progressives and are being held back by these inept fools.

History is a Time Machine , it can take you back as far as you wish, unfortunately wars and conflicts do have consequences , you take land and you lose land, some wars you win some you lose. Regarding Japans claim, when they were colonizing countries prior to the WW ll that was ok, when war broke out and those colonized countries got back their lands, that was deemed just, but coming towards the end of WW ll and Russia claimed its spoils , that was not ok. Hypocrisy is a strange word , depending on who is using it.

So are we to believe that all Japans overseas loans and assistance is free, a gift from Japan?

The US wants to bring its soldiers home from Afghanistan, what 20,000 US and UN forces remain, compared to Japan hosting approx 50,000 and South Korea approx 29000, how about bringing them home too, Nah! the US whats to remain in the Pacific for strategic reasons, they really couldn't care less about Afghanistan or the suffering that might occur if they just pull out without concrete assurances from the Taliban, because eventually the Taliban will govern Afghanistan whether the West like it or not. The Russians couldn't exact change and neither have the Americans after all these years and so much loss of life. Afghanistan is a tribal country, always was, Russia and the US underestimated the Taliban. Naturally I hope that aid will continue, not just to eliminate the suffering but also to rebuild the country ravaged by war.

Cars and parts, a national security threat, ?? someone please explain to me. Does the mean right wingers will only use Japanese cars while causing domestic terrorism.

Another gimmick to make the 3rd quarter domestic spend higher, more false economy. Lets wait to see the final quarter after the tax hike

Deep remorse, a truly empathetic acknowledgement echoed again by this Emperor and his father before him. Lets not forget those that perish in wars, not only the military personnel , they knew the risks when they enlisted or were conscripted, but the millions of innocent civilians that get caught up in those conflicts, through no fault of their own. Lets not forget either those who starts those wars and conflicts, the very politicians that get elected to serve and protect, they never show either remorse or empathy to the loss of life, even refuse to admit the historical facts for who was to blame. War or conflicts solve nothing, but only appease the ego of those whose create them.

"The long-anticipated rule, pushed by Trump's leading aide on immigration, Stephen Miller," here we go again, Stephen Miller, words can not describe this individual, as a jew has he forgotten his history, has he forgotten the persecution of his relations, his uncle was right to criticize him. So now he is doing to poor immigrants to what happened to all jews in Europe prior and during WW ll. These words on the Statue of Liberty that reads "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." were what made America the destination of all those immigrants who wanted a better life, I wonder what drove them to leave their own countries for a life in the unknown. I only hope that this rule never gets passed and that all decent Americans fight to get it quashed.

This is what it's all about, money, Olympics, football tennis, golf, any major sporting event that has a committee, that is all that matters, how much money can we make. from sponsors, TV and advertising rights. All these committee's have been exposed showing major corruption, but the circus keeps revolving. They don't care if the host country or city makes a loss, not their problem. At the end of the day any losses are footed by the tax payer.

Your right about politicians not caring about the people, and the banks and currency manipulators don't care either as long as they make huge profits on the currency market. I am a fan of neither politicians or bank and currency manipulators. I receive a meagre pension from the UK which is converted into Yen, so far since Brexit I have lost over 25% of my pension, and add to that, living in Japan doesn't entitle me to the yearly increases that all UK pension recipient receive wherever they may live in the world. Greed, and inept politicians are ruining the world we live in.

Brexit was a con, the British people were conned and lied to with the facts, leaving the EU , rich boys folly, Johnson and Farage, a huge egotistical trip of their own making. They don't give a damn about the British people or the effects it will have. The possibility of Scottish independence looms even closer, there are the people in Ireland who are dreading a border and a return to the troubles of the past, and there are the forgotten expats pensioners who have seen their pensions dwindle 25-30 percent since the Brexit result, me being one of them. With the added insult that by living in Japan, doesn't entitle me to the annual inflation or wage growth increase, so also seeing a seven year loss of increases. Staying in the EU would have been a better option, at least the UK, had, as a major member a better chance of enacting law and rule changes. Now looking a the UK from afar, I don't have much hope for a successful end to johnson and Farage's folly, only a disaster for the people the UK.

Corporate world as usual, price of a commodity either drops or slows down, suspend selling until market price improves . No different to what has been going on for years from oil to cocoa beans etc: profits rule for these big corporations, sadly, the worst hit are the farmers and then comes the consumers. What did Trump say, trade wars are good, and America will win, there are no winners in a trade war only losers.

Having been issued with a letter from the DOJ to stick only to the report, on which he did through out the whole first hearing. The attacks from the Republicans were no different from what was expected , to protect Trump at all costs, and to discredit Mueller and the report, without referencing Russian interference into the 2016 election and the ongoing Russian interference as quoted by director Ray at an earlier hearing. The conclusion reached after the first hearing was not as Trump continually tweeted completely exonerating him, but quite the opposite. Mueller and the special councils hands were tied regarding prosecuting a sitting president, when all along Trump knew that the DOJ's directive that a sitting president can not be charged only emboldened him into his ongoing rants on Twitter.

Unfortunately so many politicians live in a historical time warp, the war ended over 70 years ago, many acts against humanity were committed on all sides , and are still happening in conflicts today, and for some thats all that keeps their political careers going. Politicians face more urgent needs today, and thats were they should focus, instead of banging the conflicts drum. All countries do it, by dragging conflicts on and on, it takes away the the true domestic problems that each country faces, and as usual those citizens are not getting the major decisions needed for those problems

No party should decide who will be PM, this task lies solely on the electorate. If , like May , you step down, then that should automatically force a general election. That would make rebels of the party in office think twice about challenging and forcing a PM to stand down, just because they can't reach a consensus or solution on policy disagreements. Politicians are there to negotiate across party lines, not force through their own agenda. They all forget , that they are only a public servant and not the messiah.

Does my memory fail me , or didn't America once belong to the brown people (one of the colors Trump hates) before white people came and stole America from them. Then, didn't they steal the black people from their countries of origin to help those slave owners become so rich and powerful, then lets not forget the yellow people that built the railroads across America for the rich railroad barons , rather ironic that history seems to fail most Americans, especially those white supremacists. So please explain why so called white Americans think America is theirs. Except when they want to recruit for the military, do those jobs so called white Americans won't do, then color doesn't seem to be an issue. Trump is a disgrace to all Americans, use the 25th amendment to remove Trump from office for this type of rhetoric, . All across America people are working to solve the racial problems and yet Trump is stoking the fire and the white nationalists. All Americans should be ashamed today for having a racist as a president.

This article follows the article a few days ago reporting on the salaries of politicians, it would have been beneficial if the two articles were part of comparison article, showing how the Japanese citizens are being laughed at by those elite politicians. But not to worry , there will be another consumption tax increase of 2% coming shortly. I find reading the Japanese news daily interesting , in one week we have seen , consumer spending up, salaries down, politicians salaries exposed , a neighbor spat between Japanese and South Korean politicians that has been running since WWII , no consideration for the economic damage to businesses and the people who work for those businesses, how much the Japanese politicians have allocated in the budget to support a dying industry that supports less than 300 people, which happens to be Abe's district. The Japanese news, just like the news from the US and the UK and Europe is like a comedy of errors, some hilarious, some downright scary and some embarrassing. Thank goodness we have so many inept politicians, that allows reporters worldwide to give us our daily dose of truth, of how we, the public are being taken for a ride

This is really going to p##s China off, but what are the true motifs for the US military sale, installing personal to maintain equipment , another guise for another US involvement in an other country. "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_military_bases, " The US with no history what so ever , trying to meddle in a region that has thousands of years. In all my years on this wonderful planet I have never been able to understand the US's foreign policies or their objective. Each time there seems to be an expansion of US forces worldwide, the excuse has always been , for "national security", and how often do we see that phrase in the news lately, from Trump and his war hawks. America has always seemed a country obsessed with the dollar, its all about money.

" U.S. President Donald Trump said he wants to pull U.S. troops out of Afghanistan but was concerned that without a U.S. military presence, it could be used as a base for terrorist attacks on the United States." was Trump referring to mainland US or one of the many US bases in the region. 41 years this conflict has been going on, and it's complicated if you include Pakistan into the equation. So who gains and who loses if the US pulls out, or will the conflict continue under the guise of tribal conflict.

"Barely 300 people are directly involved with whaling around Japan, and though the government maintains whale meat is an important part of food culture, the amount consumed annually has fallen to only 0.1 percent of total meat consumption" and yet " About 5.1 billion yen ($47.31 million) was budgeted for whaling in 2019. Even Japanese economists must be scratching their heads at this budget figure, even 1st grade junior high students would find this absurd. If the resources of those 300 involved in the slaughter of wales was transferred to the tourist industry , just think what a boost that would give tourism.

One would only hope that an outside agency either from the EU or UN will monitor such a vast movement of labour, to make sure that those Ethiopians are treated fairly, ie: living and working conditions and a decently constructed wage structure. The middle east has got a bad reputation for treating immigrants unfairly, with little recourse for any infringements caused to the immigrants. So many horrendous stories have emerged over the past several years, companies making the laborers work long hours, low pay and unsanitary living conditions. In some cases, especially in domestic service there have been many cases of abuse, beatings and even the loss of life, middle eastern governments don't care when these problems arrive, for them life is cheap. For the Ethiopian government, it eliminates the unemployment problem and also allows for remits to be sent to families which in turn supports the Ethiopian economy, so they also don't care about the well-being of their fellow country men and women. The philippine government addressed the problem by withdrawing many of their citizens, after many cases of domestic worker abuse. Indian and Pakistani construction workers were also effected, especially in Qatar in the preparations for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Unfortunately many immigrants worldwide do not get the respect they deserve, while trying to improve theirs and the families lives.

Abe and the LDP will win, if all the Japanese main stream media and keeps telling the Japanese population prior to the election later this month that that will be the outcome , then thats how the Japanese people will vote. They are already being informed that there will be no change so either vote or not vote, the outcome has already been decided. Is this is how democracy works ??

Cashless payments ? by the way, what's a credit card?

I admire Fast Retailing for their actions , but charging for the paper bags. Aren't wrappings or items carriers built into the price of an item. Everything you buy in a supermarket, comes in some form of a wrapper or container, which is included in the price. This seems like an almighty rip off from Fast Retailing, already they provide boxes to take all old Fast Retailing items for recycling or charitable endeavors. So come on Fast Retailing play the game , your profits are huge enough without price gouging your valued customers.

Whale roast beef ?? somebody is messing with english here

Our "national security interests" now where have I heard that before, I think Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga has been watching to many Trump movies. Trumpism finally reaches Japanese shores, the only thing wrong with this, is the same experience the US has "there are growing concerns that Japanese exporters will also take a hit."

Trump has to be front and center everyday, wether it be newspapers, twitter, tv news, social media, his ego knows no bounds, as long as he sees his name up in lights , he should be on broadway, but then again who wants to promote a flop.

This article is a bit late . here is a link with an agreement made so Iran can navigate the illegal US sanctions and keep the Iran deal going.https://financialtribune.com/articles/business-and-markets/98681/eu-says-instex-operational. So now Trump and the US's foreign policy in disarray . Oil price started falling on the EU-China-Iran agreement, so that will hurt Trumps majestic art of the deal. Now hopefully we will see Venezuela reach a similar deal so venezuela and Iran can breach US sanctions and start releasing their oil on to the market, and bring the price of oil down and some sanity to Trumps sanctions policies .