Okikibi comments

Raise salaries period. You want economic growth and population growth just raise salaries. People at the age of reproducing can't make enough to move out of their mother and father's house let alone start their own family. An added benefit to the government is that when salaries go up so does the amount of tax revenues.

The stadium in Arlington, Texas built for the Dallas Cowboys has a retractable roof and seats 85,000 expandable to 105,000. Cost $1.3 billion. Why in the world is this monstrosity in Tokyo going to cost almost $15 billion to build? I say follow the money on this one.

China's victory over Japan? Ummmm talk about re-writing history.

The fourth outfielder? On the Marlins? That's the best he could get? Money wise he could have gotten a lot more back here in Japan. So it must be about the game. I wonder how he will feel when he realizes Miami is not a baseball town and he now works for the worst owner and GM in baseball. Seeing less than 15,000 people in the seats for a game is going to come as a real shock.

There are suspects that run from police all the time. Why don't we see more police in Japan pulling their weapon and shooting them? Because it's against their training and policy. This is just another example of the system protecting their own.

Although I hate to say it Smith is probably right on this one. This is what Japanese sports organizations usually do. The JBA is an old boys network trying to protect their money. They have done nothing to move basketball forward in Japan and have fought tooth and nail to keep a true professional league out of any national basketball decisions. Quite sad actually. I would love to see FIBA recognize another organization in spite of the JBA.

Hahaha One man's "aid" is another's bribe.

So far this does nothing for me. I'm happy with my white plan. I use almost all of my 7 GB and the only reason I don't use more is because of the 1 GB every 3 days limit. I can't use my video subscriptions at all on the phone even though you can get the app. Softbank explained to me that is when I should use wifi. If I have wifi I'm not using my phone, I'll use my macbook.

Almost certainly?

I don't like the choice because he's bad at re-interpreting an already established role. He absolutely butchered the Jack Ryan character previously played by Alec Baldwin and Harrison Ford. It was so bad that Hollywood has now given 10 years to let people forget in order to bring the character back.

The quote from the judge concerns me. These guys got "severe" punishment because the community was angered. Why were they angered? Not because it was rape but because it was foreign servicemen that did it. While I agree with most that 10 years is no where near long enough for rape, Japanese Judoka Masato Uchishiba only got five years. Where was the community anger then?

People don't consume because they think things will be cheaper soon? So let's print money and cause inflation. Companies will raise prices on goods but salaries won't go up to match making it impossible for people to afford to buy anything. Stupid.

The prices of goods and services haven't decreased in Japan. The price of land has and because all the banks have the majority of their assets tied up in property the numbers tell us Japan is suffering from deflation. If anything this long deflation period is a long drawn out correction of Japan's mega bubble.

Male, female, Harvard grad or not, it doesn't matter. We have a female, Harvard grad as mayor here in Kurashiki. She is just as worthless as the man that held the post before her.

All for it when it comes to tobacco. It's a product that when used directly hurts others near the smoker. Alcohol doesn't.

Seriously....She's a model?

I work in a junior high school. Today's menu is whale. Maybe one or two kids in each class will even try it. It is pride that is making japan fight this. But with taxes about to go up i find it deplorable that japan buys votes with aid packages worth billions of yen.

Japan has the same problem with soccer that it has with every sport it tries to play internationally. The governing bodies for every sport are waaaaay behind the times. They are run by old men who plyed the game 40 or 50 years ago and have no idea the training and tactics that need to be used to succeed outside of Japan. Nothing will change until free thinkers take control.

Jojima’s contract gave him the right to end it by Nov. 15 for the purpose of finishing his career in Japan. Hahaha. Rubbish. He had a standard option that allowed him to leave for any reason. The facts are the Mariners have a young stud coming up on a team that is still rebuilding. He was limited this year do to injury and had a good possibility of being an $8,000,000 back up next year. That price tag made it likely that he would probably be traded to a team looking to make money from stupid Japanese tourists next summer. He did the right thing. Come home. I predict yomiuri signs him just so no one else can. Welcome him home as a hero then bench him for stupid reasons. It's the Yomiuri way.