nitpickyned comments

Posted in: U.S. Navy contractor may have dumped wastewater in Japanese ports: report See in context

Laguna: Your city recently dumped millions of gallons of raw sewage in the ocean and nothing was done.

The article that YOU posted says nothing about anybody dumping raw sewage. No misconduct (intentional or otherwise) was even suggested.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: Japan's hunt for minke whales resume in coastal areas off Hokkaido See in context

@Ganbare Japan!

No-one has the right to criticize anything that another nations people choose to eat.

Ah, the cultural relativism absolutist's defense. Maybe your mind will change (into succulent morsels) when you discover that your neighbor is a cannibal.

If we were bound by your imagined non-rights, we couldn't criticize anything. Where's the fun in that?

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Posted in: Mountain hikers warned to protect themselves amid spate of strandings See in context

Admittedly speaking from a position of ignorance since I haven't been hiking for a while, but it seems to me that requiring (or at least strongly recommending) that hikers bring a small emergency distress beacon that can be rented easily and inexpensively would be a wise decision and lucrative for whichever companies were involved. Considering the expense of search and rescue operations, it might even be worth subsidizing.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Posted in: Japan-S Korea dispute puts U.S. in bad position: Trump See in context

Once again the mass-produced signs (or should I say sign) and highly choreographed protests. I wonder what rank the 'Professional Protesting Sector' holds on SK's employment index.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Posted in: Mayor of city in Saitama Pref arrested for punching female bar employee See in context

While Japanese genetically can't hold down their booze that well, they should at least control themselves

Any evidence of a genetic link there? If so, I'm curious where I can find the information. If not, please don't provide the defense with ammunition.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Posted in: At least 20 dead, 26 wounded after shooting at Walmart store in Texas See in context

'Democrats want to abolish the 2nd Amendment'. This strawman is danced out way too often. Let him rest.

Anyway, just prayed for the gun violence to end. I'll let you know how that turns out.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Posted in: Diet enacts law to compensate forced sterilization victims See in context

Considering that the numbers of people sterilized peaked in the 60's and 70's, they were probably just waiting for the majority of these potential claimants to either expire or grow senile so most wouldn't or couldn't collect. Shrewd, but heartless.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Posted in: Fountain of youth? Study finds new anti-aging compound in plant See in context

I regard this as a potentially significant scientific achievement (subject to replication and verification), and try not to conflate it with political or social issues.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Posted in: Cabinet OKs limiting health insurance coverage to Japan residents See in context

Is this a real problem? No statistics shown regarding number of fraud allegations or investigations. Will this also apply to Japanese nationals whose family members live or study abroad?... Once again, a story without requisite details.

0 ( +6 / -6 )

Posted in: Trump makes his case for Nobel Peace Prize; says Abe nominated him for it See in context

...and he calls him Ahbee.

Note to self: If someone nominates me for the Nobel Peace Prize be sure to learn how to pronounce their name.

25 ( +27 / -2 )

Posted in: 'Fear' and 'favor' chill newsroom at Japan Times after 'forced WWII laborer,' 'comfort women' changes See in context

They don't seem to be as concerned about appearing to have a pro-Japan bias as they are about a perceived anti-Japan bias.

@Laguna

お気に→大きに

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Posted in: Renault names new leaders to replace Ghosn See in context

Looks like Renault finally looked at the evidence and the French government has finally come to its senses! Bye bye Carlos!

Looks to me like both he and Renault know that he will be out of commission for quite a while and his focus will and should be directed to his legal challenges.

But what something looks like and what something actually is are often different things.

3 ( +9 / -6 )

Posted in: Japanese teacher punches high school boy in face; social media on his side See in context

I think that the schools and its administrators, as well as the general state of the educational system as regards the lack of appropriate degrees of punishment for varying degrees of infraction, are responsible for this outcome. We have seen stories like this before and it appears that there is often little remedy for teachers to deal with individuals in their classroom who require more 'specialized' attention.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Posted in: Nationwide probe launched after Tokyo Medical University scandal See in context

No matter what the situation is, women should never be discriminated against unfairly

「いかなる場合も女性が不当に差別されることはあってはならない」seems to be the quote. This begs the question of 'what is their definition of 'fair discrimination' (正当な差別)?

4 ( +7 / -3 )

Posted in: Knife rampage aboard bullet train kills 1, injures 2 See in context

@JeffLee

The security business is an indictor...and it's a boom industry in Japan right now. More Japanese are paying more money to protect themselves.

A booming security business is an indicator of... a feeling of insecurity (warranted or not) combined with special pricing/advertising. It is not a valid answer to @Strangerland's request for relevant statistical data regarding real crime numbers.

10 ( +13 / -3 )

Posted in: Gov't OKs bill to lower age of adulthood from 20 to 18 See in context

What I find most notable is the argument that 'Because other countries do it, we should do it too.' as opposed to the usual default reasoning of: 'Just because it is popular in other countries doesn't make it right for us. This is Japan, after all.'.

There is no real outside pressure for them to do this. It seems that they just like to pick and choose when they will use 'foreign standards' to justify doing/not doing what they have already decided to do/not do.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Speedskater Takagi surges to mass start gold See in context

Gloat much?

What's with all the jumping on the podium?

-16 ( +9 / -25 )

Posted in: Man arrested for burying body on Ishikawa beach asked acquaintances to dig hole See in context

What an odd story. Why did two acquaintances go back and dig again at the exact same spot?

I don't think that they did. It just sounds like they did due to the imprecise writing of the article. They likely only dug once, a few days after the job had been requested.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Okinawa demands suspension of U.S. military flights over schools See in context

America wants bases in Japan. Japan wants American bases in Japan (with the bulk of troops in Okinawa). Okinawans don't want to host that number of troops, if any. 

It's like two older boys holding down a younger boy and forcing him to overeat. The younger boy's older brother is making the other boy continue feeding, while that other boy is asking 'Hasn't he had enough?'. Who should you be most upset with: The kid's older brother or the other boy? 

In my view, Okinawa is not so much a colony of the U.S. as it is a colony of Japan. Until the Okinawan people wake up and realize that they can't count on the central government to respect them as equal citizens and give them a voice this issue is going to continue going in circles.

Maybe an overly simplistic view, but this is how I see it.

You reap what you sew..

No, actually you reap what you SOW.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: Sumo champions get pay cuts over assault scandal See in context

One would assume that their are laws regarding both the person who perpetrated the assault and and possibly the bystanders who took no steps to discourage it. Does the Sumo Association outrank the legal system? As it seems, nobody is disputing the events as they have been reported. Why has Harumafuji not been charged with a crime yet?

I am not saying that there is not a culture of violence and iron-fisted maintenance of a hierarchical system. These could be used as mitigating factors at an sentencing hearing maybe, but not as an excuse to get away with it by paying a small fine. I must admit that his behavior since has shown contrition and remorse. That being said, anybody else (pleb that is) would likely have been incarcerated or at least brought up on formal charges.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Posted in: Emperor eyes simple abdication ceremony with no foreign guests See in context

I have a feeling that he would like a couple friends of the 'foreign persuasion' to attend. He just doesn't want to risk certain foreign dignitaries crashing the party.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: Children with African parents protest remark by lawmaker Yamamoto See in context

Nice copy & paste article. As many of your readers would be interested in knowing what was actually said: 「何であんな黒いのが好きなんだ」or words to that effect.

Despite any protestation he might make as to how he was 'misunderstood', I think we have caught a true glimpse of his true feelings.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Posted in: Backlash grows on 'Star Wars' video game 'loot boxes' See in context

Why does this article not mention the fact that this company (EA) has already become notorious and hated by many due to this practice. They might also mention that they won the Consumerist 'Worst Company in America' award twice in a row (2012 & 2013). A little background might be nice.

Some will say that every company does it now, but that is simply not true. At least, not to the extent that EA does it.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Man arrested for stealing garbage truck See in context

Have to say that a lot of drivers leave their engines running whilst doing other things-it's an invitation isn't it?

An invitation to enjoy living in a country that feels secure and safe enough not to have to worry so much about having their vehicle stolen.

Keep in mind that this is an aberration and blaming the victim does not help.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Posted in: Anti-Korean stickers posted at several points along Shikoku pilgrimage route See in context

I'm surprised that nobody has commented on the wording of the signs. Chosen-jin (朝鮮人) is used instead of Kankoku-jin (韓国人). This would only be done by someone who is either quite ignorant of the negative perception of the word among Koreans or by someone who intentionally wanted to cause offence.

Additionally, no official group would call upon people to remove signs themselves, but to report it to a relevant authoritative body. Nor would they use the unsophisticated and derogatory term 'Kimochi-warui' (気持ち悪い)to describe something, even if they did find it unpleasant.

Whether the Korean guide actually had official permission or not or whether one perceives the signage to be in bad taste is a separate matter.

From all indications the Japanese sign was created (likely by a single person) to appear official (albeit crudely), while conveying their own negative opinions about Koreans.

4 ( +7 / -3 )

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