Mocheake comments

Victim-blaming time - you get out of your car to confront someone so better have your dukes up and stay out of the car's path. Stupid move.

I don't even know what this Yu-Gi-Oh happens to be but I do know Japan extremely well and I am totally shocked as this is so out of character for this country. NOT!

Like a lot of new music, straight trash.

Some people blaming the U.S. as usual but the problem lies with the government so lay the blame there. Their unsuccessful economic stimulants have stagnated the economy . Even so, Japan is a very rich country and the vast majority are well off comparatively. Billions of others around the world would love to have this problem so they should give thanks that they are able to complain over having a household income of "only" 6 or 7 million yen. I do.

Fans need to get a life and give the people back their lives. This is one of the reasons the birthrates in these countries is in the tank; people live a fantasy life through these stars. I know one woman who is totally obsessed with a guy in a J-pop group. She spends almost all of her disposable income on anything he does and travels to his concerts all over the country. She's a sucker but doesn't think so nor care.

He was so good in "An Officer and a Gentleman" and "Roots." I vividly remember the bit of an uproar when he was cast as Anwar Sadat. People were saying he was too dark. Please! RIP, my fellow New Yorker.

odorikoMar. 29 06:07 pm JST

Would a bookmaker extend millions of dollars of credit to someone?

> Yes. Once they know they've got a sucker they will keep on extending credit, as long as they keep getting partial payments. Because there is little risk to the bookie - the odds are on their side. Even if the borrower makes a big win, they will immediately double down and bet it all.

> It's not like normal lending where the lender first hands over

No, a bookmaker extends millions of dollars of credit to someone he knows is good for it. None of these guys extend 10x your income to anyone. That would be foolish and you might rub the guy out but you'd still be out a huge bundle. Once you lose a certain amount, they will want to collect all of it. There is a great risk if the guy cannot pay you back, it's not about odds. He must have said the bets were Ohtani's as no bookie in his right mind would give a guy making 300 grand a credit line up to 3 million.

Going on almost 15 years cancer-free for me. I was just like Herve; never once thought about dying. It may return but I'm no spring chicken anyway. Tomorrow or even 5 minutes from now is promised to no one but I promise to go down fighting.

“From Hiroshima’s standpoint, the horror of nuclear weapons was not sufficiently depicted,” he was quoted as saying by Japanese media. “The film was made in a way to validate the conclusion that the atomic bomb was used to save the lives of Americans

The guy they interviewed understood perfectly. This guy doesn't understand at all. War is about winning, and at the least possible harm to yourself. The bombings DID save American lives and that was one of the primary objectives. Some people never get it.

The 80s bubble economy gave many a false sense that Japan could not be stopped on its way to the top. This generation has no such illusions. The country has changed but at a snail's pace and China was the so-called "Sick Man of Asia" then but now they have surged past and even South Korea is on the rise. Those big bonuses have all but dried up and wages are stagnant. The birthrate is in the tank because the men are awkward and don't know how to talk to women. The women go on dates with each other, buying chocolates for themselves, the yen is historically weak, there's a 'labor shortage' and the list goes on and on. Sure, some progress has been made on the diversity and inclusiveness fronts but Japan still can't get over what I call its gaijin complex, and is too stubborn as a whole to make the real changes necessary to get the country back on its feet. That TV show may be popular but it's just satire. Reality is staring the country in its face. Sign me: Never was and still ain't a Charisma Man.

The official also acknowledged the theater company's negligence in adequately educating its actresses to keep up with modern standards.

Haha. Modern standards of what? Hiding your bullying tactics? You finally fessed up, now revamp the entire system and put in a no-tolerance policy on any form of hazing, harassment or bullying AND enforce it.

"Male passengers are not required to cover up their t-shirts with a shirt or a jacket," she said. "They also do not have to wear a bra to board or remain on a plane and women should not have to wear one either.

Stupid comparison. Men don't have breasts like women and that is only if they have excess fat; thave pectoral muscles there. Women have breasts that hold milk so they can lactate and feed babies. The anatomies are totally different and while I agree with this woman in principle, men are attracted to women's breasts so don't get bent out of shape if your nipples are protruding and men start staring. It's going to happen.

Great news! Now I can just let the logs go on my long commute and not worry about soiling my Brooks Brothers suit. Hope they come with free soft tp as a bonus.

therougouToday 08:52 pm JST

Here is what the bookie's lawyer had to say, for those still doubting Mizuhara was the one in debt.

> https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/03/23/shohei-ohtani-bookie-bowyer/

> Mizuhara told ESPN that his losses were at least $4.5 million, but Bass would not confirm that amount. She said his proximity to Ohtani is what made Bowyer willing to keep floating Mizuhara as the debts reached into the millions. “Because he was his best friend,” Bass said when asked why Bowyer would extend that sort of credit to a professional interpreter, whose salary was reportedly less than six figures.

No one extends millions in credit to someone because he has a close friend who is a multimillionaire so this would mean that Bowyer was taking Mizuhara's word - maybe he was telling a lie - that Ohtani would pay him back. As a bookie, would you take that from someone's mouth without hearing it directly from the source? You'd be a fool. Frankie Baby would have to be standing there vouching for you. "Mr. Sinatra personally vouched for him." Casinos, and big bookies extend credit directly to people they know are able to personally pay it back. They'd be on the hook for millions unless they knew for sure they would get their money. Either Mizuhara stole the money outright without Ohtani's knowledge or made bets and incurred losses and had Ohtani's help in paying the money back or was making bets by proxy in (his and) Ohtani's name but covering for Ohtani. Either of the last two would likely mean some kind of a ban, possibly a lifetime one.

Who writes this stuff? 1. The scandal looms over him and possibly the Dodgers. The other teams and their fans don't care as much as you might want to think. The game is much bigger than one man or one scandal or one team. 2. The Dodgers didn't win any race to sign him. Most teams knew they were out of the picture money wise and we all knew he was going to a West Coast team. 3. The Dodgers were already poised to make a serious run. He just increases their chances, albeit tremendously. 4. It's good they've circled the wagons. They should. He IS innocent until proven guilty but his word cannot be the final determiner of what happened. The investigation will tell us the truth. One a different note, good to see them include Babe Ruth in this article. I am sometimes guilty of recency bias too, but the Babe's career stats cannot be ignored. His career stat line is almost impossible to believe and just using one stat line, hitters barely hit .342 in one season, much less over a career as he did. Ohtani is great but he is not Babe Ruth great. It IS the truth.

Mostly West Coast teams and teams that Japanese have heard of so it won't have much effect on about 75 percent of the clubs.

Most Japanese don't know that a lot of foreign travelers don't speak English well or at all. It seems this book has that same problem. That, coupled with the way many people here misspeak the little bit of English they know, will not help really matters. This is one of the few places worldwide that I have been to where people are just dying to find something to whine about, too. Just like in other places, tourists make mistakes and they are sometimes rude. I have seen rude Japanese tourists in Guam and in the U.S. Also, first try finding out if someone is a tourist. People here are always trying to "help" me but I don't need it as I am not a tourist. Sometimes, people walk up and go "Oi"or do some hard to understand gesture. Some just start talking as if we've been friends since childhood and other will just hover around you. The first thing you need to say is, "Excuse me," and then ask "Do you need help?" Courtesy and politeness go BOTH ways.

The man 'rarely' - more than likely never - goes to church and could probably not quote one verse from the bible. If you're easily led by the nose, as pretty much all of his followers are, this will seem like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Let 'em go ahead. A fool and his (or her) money are soon parted and The Donald will be more than happy to do his part and collect from fools.

Just read Pete Rose's take on this in the New York Post. Not much there, mainly sour grapes but it seems he, like many people, are not sold on the interpreter-hands-in-the-bank-account story and he might very well have company on the banned list here in due time. If MLB was the only one doing an investigation I'd smell a rat as their own greed would lead them to sweep any bit of culpability on Ohtani's part under the rug versus potentially losing a such a huge cash cow. The IRS and the feds are a whole different ballgame, pun intended, and love taking down anyone foolish enough to be in bed with bookies and dumb or naive enough to believe the law doesn't apply to them. As every American and many others are fully aware, the IRS always gets their man. Get your popcorn ready!

If I'm doing the caring, and there is no will, I make the decisions based on what's best first for the elderly parent(s), and then when they are gone, for me. The people who live far away and did not help have no claim. End of story.

Your skin color is the only thing that matters to many people over there and they have no problem in showing their true colors because they feel the majority feels just like they do. They might be right. There's hundreds of years of history there so it would not surprise me in the least.

Wicked ride! One of my all- time favorites. I've been on this thing at least 5 times and the first 3 seconds are mind-blowing! I have seen people step off at the conclusion and fall down or be completely disoriented due to the g-force and it took them a a minute or so to return back to earth. The injuries may mean it needs some kind of head or back harness. Sad to see it go.

Most major airlines make tons of money and those that don't can usually get the benefit of government subsidies which come from our taxes. Overbooking is strictly about greed and causes severe inconveniences for passengers. It should be against international law. Once the seats are fully paid for, reservations on that flight should not be taken. If a seat has been paid for, that seat belongs to that person and the airline should honor that, just like at concert halls, ball parks, on bullet trains and on tour buses. A no-show is just that, it's not really an empty seat; the price has been paid. The airlines are just being greedy.

Gene HennighToday 07:24 am JST

This seems to vindicate Mr. Ohtani. Those of us who believed him believe him now. There is no reason for a man who has a contract of his size to risk it all on betting or abetting a person, even a friend, in any illegality. He spends his time on his work, he has a new wife, and his plate is full. He is, it appears, to be what he seems to be, like him or not.

C'mon! Look, from your posts I know you are deeply in love with everything Japanese, especially Ohtani. That's fine, but first off, one's contract has nothing to do with one's character or integrity. You know nothing about him except for what the press tells you and anything else is pure speculation. People do risky and foolish things all the time and when you are adored by millions, have enormous sums of money at your disposal, hardly ever and quite possibly never get told no, you can easily start to be deluded into thinking that you are above the law. Also, people have been known at times to make mistakes. Ohtani is first and foremost human, which makes him fallible, just like the rest of us. Why did it take him 5 full days to address the public? He did the press conference in his native language and he's a grown man so surely he could have addressed it right away without having to wait so long and read from a prepared document. How did Mizutani get his hands on all that money over two years? Any time there is suspicious activity from my account, I get contacted by the bank. Just how was he able to get into Ohtani's account, take millions from it for years and Ohtani not notice it? Why didn't Ohtani take any questions at the press conference? I'm skeptical of everyone, moreso people who are made up by the press to be greater than human. There are quite few glaring red flags there whether you want to see them or not.

Completely devoid of ideas, we lure the gullible new masses in with CG and BS, the 21st century version of smoke and mirrors. The original Ghostbusters wasn't that good but probably infinitely better than the 50 sequels that have followed. However, that isn't saying much either. Where have you gone, originality? We miss you so.

Well, bosozoku get away with doing all the stuff in the article and they do a lot more than just that. I've only seen these go-karts a few times and what they were doing never affected me in the least so I don't particularly care.

Well, they've had a few days now to get their story as straight as possible as to who was doing what and when. This ought to be interesting but not as interesting as the real opening day coming up.

WesleyMar. 23  09:42 pm JST

I wonder if this investigation was initiated by anti-Japanese forces? Anything to tarnish Japan.

We already know many of the US lawmakers are in the ccp's pocketWesleyMar. 23  09:42 pm

We already know Charisma men love Japan and are led by the nose. America is WAY WAY WAY more transparent than Japan has ever been so I have no problem telling you that you need to stop. When your man takes that fall you can commit seppuku if you want but no one here there or anywhere will give a damn.

Another creepy copper. The place is just crawling with them.

Ohtani is baseball's bigger star, an unprecedented two-way player who has excelled at the plate and on the mound. He was a two-time AL MVP with the Los Angeles Angels before leaving as a free agent to sign a record $700 million, 10-year contract with the Dodgers in December.

Unprecedented? Bull. Ronald Blum needs to go to Cooperstown, N.Y. and look for a the display honoring a larger than life figure named George Herman Ruth, commonly known as Babe Ruth. He has more pitching victories and better offensive stats in every category. Learn the history of the game instead of kissing up.

ESPN said Mizuhara told the outlet Tuesday that Ohtani had paid his gambling debts — which totaled well over $1 million — at Mizuhara’s request. After the statement from Ohtani’s attorneys saying the player was a victim of theft, ESPN says Mizuhara changed his story Wednesday and claimed Ohtani had no knowledge of the gambling debts and had not transferred any money to bookmakers.

Smells like a bumbled cover-up to me. Story changes but the bookmaker got his money? How did that happen? Mizuhara must have a printing press in his apartment.