nokogiri comments

Excellent use of tax payers' money: incentivizing everyone to put more carbon into the atmosphere. Meanwhile the feed-in tariff for solar keeps getting cut, now down to 15 Yen/kwh.

Clearly this makes for good politics for the DPP. But some facts may be helpful.

This isn't about the tax rate low earners actually pay. It is about the tax deduction the parents of low earners can claim, and that matters only when they actually earn a lot. So why should we care?

Someone earning below 1m still pays 5% income tax and 10% residence tax. It's usually withheld and paid by the employer. There is no proposal to change the threshhold or rates.

Meanwhile their rich parent may save 200,000-300,000 Yen in taxes, and pocket these gains. And this is now supposed to become 300,000-400,000.

Go figure... Just DPP politics, fooling the poor to gain the rich.

Indeed why mention the hapless traveller was a foreigner…

In any case, this is not a parakeet/budgie but a love bird: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lovebird

Yumoto Onsen is far outside Niseko and not even in the same district. Niseko is just an ugly and expensive ski town. Best to avoid it if you don't need to stay and visit for skiing!

Correction: TWENTY TIMES more likely

@Bad Haircut, no need to bring in EVs, which have nothing to do with the battery plant in question. In fact, EV batteries are extremely safe and gasoline cars are TEN TIMES MORE LIKELY to burn than an EV: https://www.greencarstocks.com/statistics-show-ice-vehicle-fires-20-time-more-likely-than-ev-fires/

He must have felt he can now put his life on the line in a different way...

If you come from a developed country, you will be surprised that Japanese still largely wash with cold water. The result is that clothes get smelly very quickly and need to be washed early. Japanese love to wash almost every day - for some this is a real vocation. And a huge waste of water.

Too bad that basically all hydrogen in Japan is produced from coal in Australia and shipped in heavy fuel tankers to Japan. Japan gets zero emissions and can claim to have reduced CO2 output, but the world as a whole doesn't get any reduction.

Also to all those who somehow think that fuel cell cars are like ICE cars and electric cars must be much worse, test drive both and judge for yourself. Fuel cell cars are as awkward as these hybrids that use their fuel for a generator that creates elecricity - like a diesel locomotive. Nothing as smooth and powerful as a real electric car!

Shinkansens use 25,000 V which is so high that shortening it by the life wire touching the ground or someone on the ground would release enormous power.

BTW, most streets in Japan have 6,600V running through them - these are the one, two or three cables on the top of poles. Unlike the overhead cables of trains, they are insulated, but still not exactly safe in case the poles fall...

The description doesn't seem quite accurate. The main route to the peak is totally safe and easy, and there is no such ridge.

I presume they took a detour via Byobuiwayama to avoid returning just the same way they came. I don't know this trail but the hiking maps indicate it as not recommended and there are several dangerous spots.

The problem with group hikes is that individuals feel safe in a group, don't study the maps and prepare for dangerous zones, and feel compelled to continue even when they need a break, should take the easier route etc.

The article makes no mention of Japan, so let me provide here what WeWork Japan had to say this morning:

Dear WeWork Kamiyacho Trsut Tower members, It has been announced that WeWork Inc. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. We understand that you may be concerned about the impact this filing will have on our company, WeWork Japan GK. WeWork Inc.’s filing concerns the United States and Canada, and does not include Japan. This application has no impact on WeWork Japan’s members, business partners, or real estate partners. The 40 locations we currently operate in Japan are operating as usual. Our locations in Japan have a high occupancy rate, and we plan to continue operating without change. There are no plans to close locations in Japan at this time. Our company is a joint venture company, jointly invested by WeWork Inc., SoftBank Corp., and others, and is managed independently as a separate corporation. The procedural effects of this application do not directly affect our company, and there will be no direct financial or operational impact. Regarding details, we are currently confirming the facts with WeWork Inc. Pursuant to the above, we have summarized the answers to frequently asked questions below: Will the Chapter 11 filing or process cause the closure of any locations in Japan, or any changes in services? Members can continue to use our locations in Japan and overseas, including in the United States and Canada, and there are no plans to change our service content. All other transactions will continue as usual. There are no plans to close any of the 40 locations operated by WeWork Japan. Although we do periodically optimize our location portfolio, we currently have no plans to close WeWork Kamiyacho Trsut Tower. If it is decided to close the location that we use, is it possible to guarantee the contract period, or to refund our service retainer? WeWork Inc.’s filing under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code is an effort to restructure WeWork Inc.’s debt, and does not change the terms of WeWork Japan’s contracts with our members. All contract terms, including provisions related to cancellation and service retainer, will continue. If a location is closed, we will introduce members to another location. Service retainers will be refunded based on the terms in your membership agreement. If you have any other questions or concerns, please contact your local Community team at each location. WeWork Japan will continue to provide the highest quality product and services to our valued members. Thank you, WeWork Japan GK

Not surprising. The annual slaughter of dolphin happens quite close to Fukui. Dolphins are clever, and they have learnt who their enemies in this region are. If Japan would only stop this madness…

I know this unpopular route. Not advisable to take it until autumn and the hiking map also says so. You need to cross huge snow tunnels early on in the hike which may collapse into the river any time. I would think this is what happened to them.

P.S.: Another piece of advice to hikers: carry at least one GPS with pre-loaded maps, ideally including Open Streetmaps which actually shows most hiking trails in Japan, including this particular one. Sign posting in the mountains can be poor/non-existant, and I have got lost myself temporarily, though always found back to the right trail thanks to my GPSs (I always carry two). Also a good idea to get the printed Japanese hiking maps, even if your Japanese may be poor, but at least they are visual, show almost all trails and giving walking times. Absolutely essential for myself.

The issue about the mobile phone may be one that is lost in translation. The cell phone coverage maps of the three operators show only weak coverage for the immediate area around the ryokan where she stayed last and none for the mountains around it. I myself have been in the area and can confirm that there is no coverage almost anywhere. It's quite different from mountainous areas, say, in Nagano where you may not have reception inside a valley but almost always higher up.

So my reading is that the operators may have searched for her number in their logs, but found nothing, and then in typical Japanese fashion blame it on her number being foreign, rather than just admitting that there is no coverage in the area. It is also conceivable that she didn't switch on her phone or left it in airplane mode because hiking for a long day without any coverage makes the phone constantly search and drain the battery needlessly.

I do recommend carrying an emergency beacon, bought in the US, when hiking in remote areas in Japan. All it needs is satelite reception. Of course it rests on the assumption that the person in distress is still able to activate it.

Indeed it is the animal unfriendly way of keeping these chicken that is the problem, and those eating their eggs don’t deserve any better than getting soaring prices. Free-range egg prices are not affected so far, at least in the various places I buy them.

Happens fairly frequently to me all over Japan. I always educate them about the law while writing down my address in kanji. That always solves the matter.

So much for nuclear power being a cheap infinite source of energy…

What the articles doesn’t say is that the start of the trail is very hard to reach. Chubu Denryoku who operates the dam blocks any traffic into the area. Not even bicycles are allowed. Only taxis - the local mafia. You can walk but from the parking space at Nanakuma it’s a 15km walk to the start of the trail. The trail itself is also very long and has a strong elevation gain. So it’s not exactly accessible.