Japan Today

nipponreddog comments

Posted in: Japan happy as export ban on Atlantic bluefin tuna rejected See in context

"I first supported the ban because I thought the proposal had the support of the world. Looks like only rich nation supported the proposal."

It was purely because of an excellent and clever lobbying strategy that Japan was able to overturn what was initially a virtually united stand against continued fishing of the bluefin resource.

Although some have opined that it was a case of the poorer nations like Tunesia whose substanial fishing industry would have lost access to its major export market--Japan--that sunk the moritorium proposal, in fact it was Libiya (originally in favor) which after a secret visit from Japanese Fisheries Agency head, played the role of organizing the Arab countries and others by playing on hatred of America and its bullying. It worked to Japan's great delight.

The state of the depleted bluefin tuna resource had virtually no impact on the considerations of the nations that ended up voting against the ban.

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Posted in: Do you believe in life after death? See in context

I was recently looking at a stunning picture of the Andromeda Galaxy. It has an estimated trillion17 stars as does our Milky Way Galaxy. It looks as if planets like earth are not uncommon. And the Hubble Telescope has been able to identify 80 billion galaxies in the narrow area it can view and survy.

In 2.5 billion years, Andromeda and Milky Way will collide, and then what of earth and life?

The vastness of our Universe defies human imagination. And is it the only Universe or merely a drop of water in a great ocean?

Somehow I find it difficult to conceive that a special dispensation from annihilation has been given to us. But maybe Plato is right--that there is a non-material soul that exists and goes on separate from the Universe we know.

I dunno.

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Posted in: Modest civil servant transforms into Miss Universe Japan 2010 See in context

"There were no rumors of boyfriends..."

Is it a bad thing if a 25 y/o Japanese woman happens to have a boyfriend?

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Posted in: Modest civil servant transforms into Miss Universe Japan 2010 See in context

In this photo, she really doesn't look like a viable candidate for Miss Triumph bras Japan. There must be better pictures of her that lazy JT could have posted with this article.

Many of the comments thus far, especially from the male posters, point out that she is hardly a raving beauty, in fact, that she can't even compare with many of the "hot" younger women one can observe on any sunny day shaying along Omotesando. Astonishment and wonder of why a relative "plain Jane" like this has been somehow mysteriously catapulted to the role of representing Japan as the pinnacle of Japanese beauty.

The answer is the "Becky Syndrome".

Most gaijin guys and Japanese men too, shake their heads at Becky's popularity and high-profile model role. She seems totally unsexy and unattractive to us.

But it is the JAPANESE WOMEN who define what is considered attractive, beautiful, and desirable in Japanese women, whether it be the Miss Universe Japan candidate or "Becky". And since OL's and other Japanese younger women have the purchasing power which fashion and other cultural merchents seek to tap, It is what they select, not what we males consider worthwile that wins the day.

Mystery solved...

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Posted in: Do you believe in life after death? See in context

"If there is no God, and if there is no afterlife, then nothing we do ultimately means anything. Ultimately, our existence would be meaningless no matter how much emotion may make us feel otherwise."

It seems to me that if there is nothing afterward, then what we do TODAY and how we do it is the only thing in our existence that has meaning.

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Posted in: Cherry blossoms bloom in Tokyo See in context

I really look forward to seeing the cherry blossoms along the Sumida River on the way to Asakusa.

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Posted in: Last train blues See in context

I have been asking this question since my student days in Tokyo back in 1967. Why don't they run some limited, spaced transportation all night long? And my Japanese friends and families said the same thing then: people need a "last train" in order to enforce some discipline in their lives. Women might "run wild" if they did not have a curfew/'mongen' and a "last train" to control hidden lust, etc.

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Posted in: Cop's handcuffs stolen while he's investigating adult entertainment business See in context

Japan IS ridiculous...

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Posted in: Ishihara blames Tokyo 2016 failure on behind-the-scenes deals See in context

This rightist, racist, clown of a governor was the major reason for Japan's failure on the 2016 Olympics. Also the fact that independent polls commissioned the by the IOC showed that the vast majority of Japanese citizens, including Tokyoites, opposed the Olympics bid. Only Ishihara and his real estate developer cronies were pushing this thing.

Ishihara also neglects to mention that IOC officials closely questioned him as to why foreign visitors to Tokyo would be fingerprinted and biometrically screened as potential terrorists and Japanese not, given the historical fact that all terrorism or related terrorist acts in Japan have been committed by Japanese.

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Posted in: Director Roman Polanski in Swiss custody on 31-year-old U.S. arrest warrant See in context

interview Polanski gave to the novelist Martin Amis in 1979, the year after Polanski went on the run. The interview originally appeared in Tatler and is collected in Amis’s excellent book Visiting Mrs Nabokov.

Here’s a section of the first quote it contains from Polanski at a filming at the Poland National Tourism office in 1979.

Roman Polanski: 'Everyone else fancies little girls too'

“If I had killed somebody, it wouldn’t have had so much appeal to the press, you see? But… f—ing, you see, and the young girls. Judges want to f— young girls. Juries want to f— young girls. Everyone wants to f— young girls!”

http://community.livejournal.com/ohnotheydidnt/39632107.html

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Posted in: Director Roman Polanski in Swiss custody on 31-year-old U.S. arrest warrant See in context

But not all filmmakers are supporting Polanski.

Luc Besson, a prominent French film director and producer, was not on the list, though he describes himself as a Polanski friend.

“Our daughters are good friends,” Mr. Besson said in a radio interview with RTL Soir. “But there is one justice, and that should be the same for everyone.”

He added, , “I don’t have any opinion on this, but I have a daughter, 13 years old. And if she was violated, nothing would be the same, even 30 years later.”

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Posted in: Director Roman Polanski in Swiss custody on 31-year-old U.S. arrest warrant See in context

Reid Weingarten "Mr. Weingarten is expected to mount a legal effort to block Mr. Polanski’s extradition before the issue works its way through the Swiss legal system, according to people who were briefed on Mr. Weingarten’s involvement, but spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

A critical step will most likely be a move to stop the extradition before United States authorities send the required documents to Switzerland."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/30/us/30polanski.html

“Roman Polanski deliberately, in his mid-40s, set up a young 13-year-old actress to come to his home, drugged her, got her naked and raped her,” said Paul Petersen, president of A Minor Consideration, a foundation devoted to the protection of young performers. “The Hollywood community is protecting him. It makes me crazy.”

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Posted in: Director Roman Polanski in Swiss custody on 31-year-old U.S. arrest warrant See in context

M>>Maybe when the Obama justice department or a liberal judge lets the gguy off scot free, Obama should invite him over to stay at the White HHouse.< A AActually, it was reported in the Washington Post that Polanski has hired iinfluence-peddling mogul and power attorney Weingarten to represent him in seeking to get the Justice Dept. to block the provision requiring it to provide the offical government extradition request documents within the 60 period following the LA prosecutor's original extradition filing. W WWeingarten is reported to be a very close friend of Obama Administration AAttorney General Eric H. Holder.

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Posted in: Director Roman Polanski in Swiss custody on 31-year-old U.S. arrest warrant See in context

Recent credible polls demonstrate that the overwhelming number of ordinary French citizens also want Polanski to be prosected and punished for premediatively planning and then executing the drugging, raping, and sodomizing of a 13 year-old girl in LA, and then fleeing prosecution.

The victim was apparently not compensated until sometime in 2003 when she again initiated legal action. Although Polanski had agreed to a $500,000 settlement back in 1993, the terms of which required silence and non-disclosure, the terms became public record when he refused to pay the money, filing legal actions to avoid payment that stalled things for 2 years. As of 1996, public records related to the case show Polanski owing over $625,000 to the victim, including interest due.

What this demonstrates is a lack of remorse; a crass, penurious, arrogant little man of great wealth who still felt it his right to indulge his admitted taste in very young girls, whether or not they wanted his attention. Natasha Kinski, at age 15, was a subsequent Polanski "sexual experience". How many others were victims whose parents chose to accept "quiet money" or were afraid to pursue the famous, wealthy, well-connected "big man" we will probably never know.

Let Polanski be brought back to face the lawful judicial system and process he fled from 31 years ago. He will get his day in court, and have a chance to plead his innocence or ask for forgiveness and mercy for his guilt.

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Posted in: JR installs anti-suicide lighting on platforms See in context

Let's not be so judgemental about those who choose to end it all. That is the fundamental right we all have before us. From JR's point of view, the only valid consideration is the inconvenience that inconsiderate suicide may cause the general public train ridership.

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Posted in: Girl escapes injury as train passes over her See in context

The kid saw the train coming and got down? This kid could be smarter than the average youth these days. I think she is gifted<

It is even more amazing than that. Had she not put her head down into the gap off the crossing, she would still have been killed. The train conductor should be commended for his quick reaction.

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Posted in: A world first: Vaccine helps prevent HIV infection See in context

What if the wife is already HIV positive from a bad blood transfusion? Condoms are not 100% effective protection. So no sex FOR LIFE is your reasonable alternative for the husband? How realistic is that?

Once again they neglect to mention the method that gives a 100% guarantee that there will be no infection - ABSTINENCE...and then you and your spouse having sex only with each other for life.

It's "old fashioned", many people say, but it works.<

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Posted in: Star of Taiji dolphin-hunt film wants to win over Japan See in context

Meanwhile, Greenpeace, Sea Sheperd, and the ocean full of "save the...(insert cause" organizations rake in millions. Look at the Red Cross chief pulling down $300,000 + Meanwhile, O'Barry eats riceballs...

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Posted in: Star of Taiji dolphin-hunt film wants to win over Japan See in context

O'Barry makes nothing from doing this Taiji campaign. Zero, nada, nothing. He will end up back home in Coconut Grove with a pillowcase of out-of-pocket expense receipts that never get reimbursed. It is the story of his life.

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Posted in: Univ student arrested after trying to blackmail two 11-year-old girls See in context

..in which two young girls were groped. < saying he wanted to pull a prank on some girls<

So for "Junior" 20 year-old Japanboy, a "prank" comes down to sexula molestation of 11 year-old minor girls? Oh, how funny. Ha, ha. What a fine prank! Great sense of humor.

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Posted in: Women's poverty often an overlooked issue in Japan See in context

As Shukan Kinyobi points out, dismissal on grounds of requiring childbirth or child care leave is illegal..< And it is. However if Mrs. Kinoyobi's husband is currently employed, I don't see why her layoff should plunge her into immediate poverty.

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Posted in: Norika Fujiwara to play saucy singer in musical 'Cabaret' See in context

Sorry to say, but Norika Fujiwara is over the hill, and has been so for at least a decade.

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Posted in: Bullying blamed after two 13-yr-old girls jump to their deaths See in context

There must be some way to either stop this senseless bullying.

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Posted in: Truck driver arrested for taking photos up skirts of school girls See in context

Who the hell says that it's okay for those little tramps to dress up like that? Why not ticket and tow their little whoring tart arses into court and say that they are part of the problem<

Good point. After all, it takes two to tango.

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Posted in: Miyuki Hatoyama claims her soul traveled to Venus on UFO See in context

She comes come great wealth on her family's side. And she is 4-5 years older than her husband. Two strikes already.

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Posted in: WWII vets mark Japan's surrender aboard battleship See in context

If you visit the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Survivors Hospital, you will realize that, for some people, the War is hardly over...

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Posted in: Musician arrested for flashing high school student in Saitama See in context

Was alcohol involved? The article doesn't say. But most likely it was. This sax player was probably stoned out of his mind on booze. He won't even remember the incident. Certainly traumatic for the girl (or maybe not so), but if you read the autobiography of Eric Clapton, this would be "normal" stoned musician behavior...

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Posted in: Star of Taiji dolphin-hunt film wants to win over Japan See in context

I don't think the film will find a distributor in Japan< No it will not. The Cove has no commercial viability in Japan. It is akin to the Sea Shepard which appears in the film. This "documentary" is not at all what O'Barry originally hoped for, that is, something that would appeal to the Japanese general public. Instead, what he got was a Hollywood-scripted macho-man "eco-thriller", by first time film-maker Louie Psyhoyos and his fatcat billionare Texas pal, Jim Clark, who BTW, hates Japan.

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Posted in: Mr James See in context

Mr James is an abomination. He represents the epitomy of all Japanese stereotypes of gaijin roled into one. That the Big Mac meat factory farming giant could come up with this racist insult is not surprising at all. Why? Because, like it or not, Mr James will be very popular and will increase the sales of Big Macs.

I will register my protest with the manager of my local neighborhood's McDonald's and then draw a magic marker mustache and $ and yen signs on his dorky shirt.

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Posted in: Marie gives the lowdown on being 'half' See in context

Marie wouldn't even earn a lookback if she lived in Europe. She is such a "plain Jane".

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