Ms. Alexander comments

Being called ハーフ has never bothered me. Like someone else said, it's just a word. My kids are half too and it doesn't bother them at all either.

What bothers me is when people ask, "なに人？ハーフ？" (Nani jin? Half?) Since when is ハーフ a race?! SMH

The value of life in the Japanese justice system is just mind boggling.

Season 6 has been excellent so far! Homeland is just an awesome show!

A boy that small couldn't have travelled too far in 5 minutes. As others have said, I don't think this is where the parents abandoned him. The police need to question the older sister and find out if the brother was really with them that day like the parents said.

Did you know that if you are an American citizen and wish to create a Japanese bank account, you have to provide the local bank here with your social security number? Just another way Uncle Sam is trying to track US citizens living abroad...

File your taxes, whether you owe or not, and everything should be good!

The media should definitely be grilling the dude and not Becky.

However......he had told Becky in November that he was married and she still chose to spend Xmas eve with him and New Year's with his family. She's in show business - she should have known better. She took the risk of being accused of hanging out with a married man.

While I do think that the media is overreacting, the sponsors wanting to drop her is shoganai IMO.

I'm okay with school uniforms but I think it's absolutely absurd that boys in private elementary school have to wear shorts year round. Ridiculous.

Sad news and, unfortunately will probably one of many we will read about as the summer approaches.

I think it's more than just knowing how to swim. Swimming in trunks and swimming with full clothes on is completely different. And if panic sets in, it probably makes swimming much more difficult.

I always tell my kids that they better not play in the river or go anywhere near one without either myself or my husband. Period.

My condolence to the family.

I'm disgusted by the publishing company. Why in the world would they take on such a horrific story? My goodness, why should the parents of the victims relive their loss???? The parents should sue the publishing company and the author too!

They should be tried as adults. They knew exactly what they were doing.

I find it interesting that these kids are referred to as "suspects" even though the ringleader has already confessed to killing the victim.

It's quite depressing to continue to read these headlines. I am lucky I never suffered from PND but I know it's real. I wonder if this mother (or women who suffer from PND) showed signs of extreme anxiety while they were pregnant. OBs should be more involved to include monitoring mental and emotional state.

A lot of people who are depressed don't even know they are depressed. Sure there are hotlines available but it's a easier said than done situation. If it were that easy, the number of suicides wouldn't be so high.

Speechless...

The officer reported that he fired in self-defense after the suspect he pulled over Saturday for a broken brake light grabbed his stun gun.

Little did this cop know that someone was recording the whole thing...SMH

He did murder but will he be found guilty is a different story. This video looks like solid evidence to find him guilty though. And I hope he gets life without parole!!

I watched this video and what I found crazy was that the victim wasn't even running fast!! The cop could've chased him if he really felt the need to arrest him.

Glad he was found safe!

Unbelievable!! This is the price they put on human life in Japan! And the light sentence is why murders, especially by "minors" continue to happen!!!!!

What an absurd case. It's the school's fault for setting the goal post there. Unless the kid purposely aimed for the scooter, I don't see how the kid or his parents should be held liable. It was an accident.

AND...this caused the 80-year old's dementia? How can they prove that? I mean, don't a lot of 80-year olds go through dementia at that age?

I remember this case. This case is what brought bullying into the limelight instead of hiding it in the background.

Good on the family for suing the city and winning. The school, definitely, should be held responsible too. I'm not sure if the family will win the other case but I hope they do.

What a crazy accident. RIP.

It's crazy that they are still getting debris 4 years later.

Suspiria (Italian movie) gave me many nights of nightmares as a child. Exorcist was scary too.

I can't read these stories without crying. No words can describe what these families are going through.

Speed, you are correct. Instead of spending millions on building Olympics facilities, they need to be helping the Tohoku families! Priorities are just so wrong.

Millions of dollars donated to Japan...How can there still be 228,863 people in temporary shelters?! That is insane!!!!!

And where does the gov't propose to move the stuff after 30 years?

Wow, if she was lying, she should do time. At least 5 years for ruining his life!!!

Haven't heard any updates on this news. I hope poor Teita is alright....

Definitely is a step in the right direction. As with any big change, this might take a while but I'm glad it's even getting considered.

And, as someone else said, Japan should do this because it's the right thing to do. Not because America is doing it. And not because of the upcoming Olympics.

Joeintokyo. I completely agree!!

My heart aches for Ryota kun. He, somehow, got caught up with the wrong crowd :(

I blame the adults around him for this. The school knew something was wrong and the teacher did call and visit his house numerous times but nothing came out of it because the teacher couldn't get a hold of anyone. Why didn't the teacher pursue it more? If the teacher knew the mother worked at night at the hospital, why didn't the teacher call her at work?

The local news said the police actually went to the 18-year old's house after Ryota kun got beat up. (And this was the reason why the 18-year old killed him - for snitching.) Police knew and did what? Verbally warn him to stay away? Not good enough.

Ryota kun reached out saying he was afraid for his life. But no one acted fast enough.

Such a terrible story. What's even more terrible is the judicial system. Since the suspects are under 20, they will do little time.

Abe needs to revamp the judicial system. Seriously.

Sad indeed. My deepest condolence to the families.

@Jeff Huffman, there are a lot of kids (and adults) who don't know how to swim. And even if they did know how, if panic interfered with their swimming abilities, they probably would have drowned regardless.