muttinjapan comments

The Keystone Cops strike again - but this one ain't funny. Damn - when do these guys go a week without embarrassing themselves? Let him actually serve some time for once, rather than a simple "it is regrettable" comment and back to the job - if there was ever an organization in need of reform it is the NPA.

Any time anyone questions the safety of these products, they get that "anti-Japanese," "anti-Tohoku" label. It's heartbreaking for the farmers, fishermen of the area but we need to know that these are really safe and good science is badly needed. It seems everything in the region is haphazardly tested or not at all. Until we know for sure (ideally an international body doing the testing, untainted by Japanese politics) I'm not buying.

Read Brian McVeigh's books for an insider's account on Japan's dismal higher education system and the pork barrel politics involved.

At first I thought "finally!" someone has come to their senses and slashed wasteful spending for unnecessary institutions, but NO! She's reversed herself -

When will this place ever, ever reform? From the nuke industry, keystone, inept cops and the education lobby - the public just takes it all lying down. There is a glut of internationally panned Japanese universities. There is no need for more.

Of course i was wrong to think she'd stick by her guns. Shameful.

There's something fundamentally wrong with punishing two people agreeing to exchange something - money for drugs - if both are adults. Even if the drugs are harmful to the individual, it's about personal choice. Alcohol does just as much and often more damage than illicit drugs. It's been 40 year failure. Most U.S. politicians who had the guts to say as much got beaten down by the establishment and prison unions....sad.

If these guys are guilty, definitely throw the book at them, what they did is not forgivable in any country, any setting - enough said, no one can argue rape is acceptable

BUT some of the comments - 'they never learn' as if they are constantly raping is false...they refer to a rape in '95, 17 years ago.

The comedy value of Japan's police can not be matched anywhere else in the world! What an institution! Except when it's not funny and they sexually harass women, lockup innocent foreigners or let suspected murders walk away while twiddling their thumbs (Lucie Blackman and the Ishihara case)...the police ranks need to be reformed, retrained and given a thorough firing of all keystone cops who do nothing more than give directions (while wearing their bulletproof jackets!) and collect paychecks...Japan is very lucky to be such a naturally law-abiding nation.

Despite earning a good income - I've been repeatedly turned down by credit card companies - Here's an idea: make it easier for foreign residents to obtain credit cards - reduce the rejections and hassles and gain some customers!

Amen, smithinjapan -

The police in Japan (not in all cases, but generally) are INEPT. They'd rather hassle foreigners over their bikes than actually crack down on any real crime. The Yaks used to have a branch with kanji on the building not two blocks from the koban in my old city back in the 90s.

It's not surprising they are so tied to the wasted resources being spent on contstruction projects that destroy Japan's natural environment, and waste taxpayers money as well- and big money it is. Maybe this shooting indicates they are weaking/getting desperate but the follow through by the police will be lacking - if they'd get some more guts (polite) then maybe change will come - the cops will drag their feet as usual in making any real positive change. Many cops actually like the yaks nationalistic spirit.

Would be also interesting to know how deeply the victim was involved with the shooters crime family.

Man, every time I read about a large number of cops in Japan - hillarity insues. Not about the hit-and-run which is a shame in any situation and I'm sorry to hear it but the absolute keystone cops element to the police in Japan. 13 officers, dude drives off - what else is new? Remember how the 9 officers let the murderer walk away barefoot in Chiba? What a joke. Take some training lessons in U.S., Mexico, Brazil, Europe - anywhere else! - maybe the cops are too rough overseas at times but they actually prevent crime or track down criminals from time to time.

Thanks Darren Brannan for highlighting this insanity and efforts to stop it.

Those concerned should ask Japanese friends to demand that their local govt. absolutely reject this waste.

I guess if we all spread the cancer around we will have true 'gambare' spirt. This is truly insane!! Like a bad dream.

Hosono should be sacked, but the fact that the former minister actually hinted at the truth by saying 'cities of death' - HE gets the axe. What deranged government could conceive of this???

The vast majority of comments here show an awareness and understanding of the problem that the J-government does not.

There are massive amounts of contamination and radioactive materials in Fukushima - and surrounding prefectures, so the government's solution: let's take it and burn the debris in urban areas such as Chiba - this is CRIMINAL negligence - except that it's intentional.

All radioactive materials should remain in areas where no one can live for generations anyway. This is pure common sense. Now we can look forward to not only exporting the waste to more urban areas and giving more people cancer, but also a drain on resources, tax increases for development projects in areas where no one should be living anyway. This is a new low for Japanese governmental policy.

Right on tkoind2 This was a well made documentary that Japanese should be able to see - or not! - haven't we figured this out in the past 200 years, it's called free speech! If you don't like the film, don't watch it. They simply show the truth of what happens in Taiji (admittedly, the Japanese don't look very heroic in the film, but there are two local councilmen who stand up against the B.S. in Taiji and are very brave, people to celebrate) Whitewash everything from textbooks to films, that's the Japanese way! Very lame and very sad. If you read through history after WWII there was a real movement for change (not just the stupid slogan) and people were protesting and writing great stuff, making great films and questioning their soceity and the corruption, mostly in the 50s and 60s...what happened?!

At least he and his party attempted to clean up some of the ridiculous govt. spending the LDP lived off of and cut some of the even more ridiculous dam projects. That said, he made George Bush look politically saavy....the blank un-blinking stare in the cameras didn't help either...