Mu Staff comments

The Pride of Petaluma has arrived! Loved it when he played for Oakland. Gomes is one of the nicest in the professional game, Here's hoping he will have a monster season and carry Rakuten to the title.

The arsonist was probably drunk and doesn't remember doing it.

Might require some common sense and actual work by the local keystones, so I wouldn't count on this, unless the smelters who would profit from it come forward, happening.

Tochigi's finest will absolutely catch the culprits behind this crime. Very few crimes in Japan go unsolved.

Question for the writer of the article: Since when is a "woman in her 30s" (or a man) considered to be "middle-aged"?

@Strangerland Or are you now saying that releasing the information that he was the bureau chief is not the same as releasing his name?

You're overthinking this.

@Strangerland I'm questioning the logic of that decision.

@Strangerland Then why do you need his name?

That's exactly my point.

@San_Diegan: I'm impressed (actually dismayed) at how they don't name him. I did a quick google and all reporting (so called journalistic sites) don't name him.

This database entry from 2011 gives the name of the TV Asahi Bangkok bureau chief at that time, but there's no telling if the person named is the current bureau chief.

http://infobizthailand.net/company/index.php?name=tv_asahi_bangkok_bureau

A spokesman for the channel said the unnamed employee had been removed from the job

I don't understand why Asahi TV won't give the employee's name. The network has already identified him as the Bangkok bureau chief, which is basically the same as identifying him by name.

Has the government announced whether they will contact those whose personal information was leaked? I'm currently away from the country, but would like to get on top of this if my info was among that which was breached.

Q: What did Matthew McConaughey say when his movie was booed at Cannes?

A: "Alright, alright, alright."

JeffLee

You missed out on a great shopping experience. The service at Otsuka is excellent. They don't just try to sell you something; they really try to understand what their customers are looking for.

We've bought some beautiful pieces from them over the years.

This proposal has me shaken, not stirred.

Thank you, @zubrach, for clarifying what MacArthur actually said.

Several earlier stories have reported that FIVE people (the victim, the three suspects, and "another boy") were seen walking toward place the boy was murdered. From yesterday's report, for example:

The three suspects were identified through street surveillance camera footage that showed them and another boy walking with Uemura toward the spot where he was murdered.

Has there been any clarification on who the "another boy" is, and why he hasn't been arrested as well?

For all those wondering why the First Lady is referred simply by her surname on subsequent references:

I'm guessing it's because Japan Today (probably) follows the Associated Press Stylebook, which does not require courtesy titles before surnames. Many English-language news media outlets adhere to AP Style, though others (including the New York Times) follow other style guides.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AP_Stylebook

Can't decide if I love or hate that sign's mustard yellow background. Better hate it now before having a mundane opinion becomes anathema.

From a design standpoint, I agree — it's an odd color choice and not very appealing. However, I'll bet it is supposed to remind us of the "yellow card" used in football/soccer.

@koiwaicoffee Not all made-in-Japan clothing need cost you an arm and a leg, either. The denim brand Edwin makes most of its unisex jeans in Japan, and they can be found for as little as 4,000 yen a pair when on sale; Gunze undershirts and underpants are usually priced at 800 yen to 1,000 yen (though you should check the labels, since not all are made in Japan); fashionable mens' shirts from Beams are often reasonably priced (6,000 yen to 8,000 yen); and socks made in Japan can be found at most discount clothing stores for less than 800 yen a pair.

For me, the real challenge has been to find reasonably priced everyday athletic/walking shoes that are made in Japan. Thus, I've been sticking with the handful of New Balance models that are still made in the USA. Yes, they cost three times as much as a pair of New Balance sneakers made in China, but they also last three times as long.

The news from Saitama just gets stranger and stranger....zombie apocalypse indeed.... Hardly a "strange" story, and a crime that certainly is not exclusive to Saitama Prefecture.

Every year, Major League Baseball sends a delegation of players to Japan for a series of games against a team of Japanese all-stars.

This story has zero credibility. In fact, the very first sentence is flat-out incorrect. The MLB-Japan series are not annual events. This series was the first of its kind since 2006.

Unfortunately, it's cases like this one that reinforce the ignorant stereotype that Saitama is a particularly strange and dangerous place, when in fact this sort of thing happens throughout the world. I have little doubt the authorities in both Saitama and Tochigi will eventually bring the culprits to justice.

Sure, we all get sick and tired of inconsiderate people, but always assume positive intent.

The thought has crossed my mind as well. Even though I am among those who in general detest the cellphone zombies (as I posted above), I do now and then think to myself, "Maybe they are reading a text update on a loved-one's condition" or "They're just confirming their child has made it home safely."

And when I do think that way, my anger often melts away.

Just as bad are the idiots who have their faces buried in their smartphones as they walk up or down the concrete staircases in train stations.

From the Sun Challenge website, here's a graphical representation of the company's philosophy and buzzwords: "Original," "Happiness" and "Voice."

http://www.kuishinbo.jp/kodawari/index.html

Ironic, considering the manager was denied both "happiness" and a "voice" in his job.

Agreed. Japanese single malts are fantastic when served neat.

Yes in Kanto area Saitama is the biggest prefecture therefore its going to have the biggest amount of crime.

Except that Saitama doesn't have the highest crime rate in the region. Not by a long shot. Tokyo holds that dubious honor.

I'm sure a dozens people were walking down the street when it happened — and all of them had their heads buried in their smartphones, forever oblivious to the what was happening around them.

Too bad none of them bothered to look up, switch the smartphone into video mode and actually record some of the explosions.

Hopefully it will capture the market and show other providers that their monopoly is BROKEN!

There's no "monopoly" in the Japanese cell phone industry. There are three major carriers — NTT, Softbank and KDDI — competing with one another.

And the MVNO's are, in essence, controlled by the three major carriers. They piggyback on the networks of the Big Three, and pay handsomely for the privilege.

With MVNO's, you get what you pay for. The monthly rates are low, and the contract terms fairly reasonable (in general, you cancel the service without penalty after four months). But the data-transmission speeds are pathetic. The best I've seen on b-mobile is 300 kbps, intentionally crippled by NTT. I doubt Rakuten will fare much better.

According to the story, the incident took place four months ago, on June 11. Quite some time has passed since then. It would be great to know whether the innkeeper was formally charged, or if (hopefully) he was exonerated.

@Raymond, you couldn't be more correct. Powell's is wonderful — not only to customers, but also to authors and publishers. Two others for the industry to look up to are City Lights Books in San Francisco and Moe's Books in Berkeley.