OneHapa comments

In my humble view Japan has every reason to be cautious. Trump's approach on all his policies is to jam it through as fast as possible, talk a big game...just don't look at the details. A high risk that Trump wants to push through a "bilateral" deal that has more unilateral benefit for the US.

A lot of negative attitudes and comments, which I fully understand where they're coming from. But would you rather there be no attempts to support entrepreneurship and innovation? The comments imply as much.

This isn't about changing the whole country. It's about establishing one hub to support entrepreneurs and helping to gain some successes. It can then expand from there. A lot of challenges to be sure but I hope this goes well.

A couple comments...

I also cringe at the term 'Cool Japan' but at the time it had its purpose. The country was trying to expand its appeal beyond the old traditional, i.e. Kyoto etc, that maybe felt a little staid. Things have evolved since then and in my view the term should be put to pasture.

In contrast to some of the early posters, I fully agree with Paul Christie that Japan is elegant and it's a selling point. I lived in Japan for 10 years and recently moved to the US. Compared to the crassness that often exists in America, there is refinement, graciousness and elegance that is uniquely Japanese.

Skin tone is definitely Japanese but her features appear more SE Asian to me. Also agree with Daniel Neagari, all these beauty contestants have a rubber stamp look about them. And also agree she is good looking!

Is it my imagination or have the truly awkward and sometimes inappropriate Engrish declined markedly over the last 5-10 years? Most I see these days are mildly amusing but understandable mistakes, while in the past they were picture worthy.

"no all of them were soldier with poor equipment no civilian were there , Stop distorting history , Glory to those brave fighter"

@DDJapan453 - tell that to my mother, her sisters, my grandparents, and the brother/son they lost.

If Shiomura plays her cards right, she can turn this into a positive, rallying men and women alike behind her cause to improve conditions for working women.

@sangetsu03 (and many of the other posters here)

You lack any understanding or sympathy of how Okinawa and its people were treated by the Japanese military at that time. Okinawans were considered second class citizens (by Japanese generally) and were forced into giving up their homes to the military and their sons leading up to the battle of Okinawa.

Then came the battle where 1 out of every 4 people, as many as 150,000, were killed over a 2-month period. The innocent Okinawan people got it from both sides, Japanese and Allied. Then the island was occupied by the US military (who they preferred over the Japanese military) for three decades and they still give up 20% of their island to them.

This is the source of their burden.

Always curious to me why Norway and Iceland aren't included in these efforts. I'm not condoning Japan's practices but seems all the vitriol and press are targeted just at Japan.

Surprised no one has said Japanese toilet seats! I heard several university students admit to this upon their return to Japan. They missed the food and warm cleaning toilet seats the most...in that order. Haha.

Utrack beat me to the punch to publish the NYT article. While the efforts in the US seem like overkill to many, at least they are free to conduct studies and have a fair degree of transparency in releasing the findings.

Closer to home, the Japanese government is clearly trying to make Fukushima yesterday's news and keep the public uninformed. The government lacks any sense of transparency and it is the people of Fukushima who will end up paying the price. I can't believe they are allowing people (including children) to move back and to start farming within the restricted zone. The lack of public information and formal studies is what allows them to make these type of decisions.

All the focus by the Abe administration on public works projects. Why isn't support of the tsunami survivors being considered as part of this spending? Yes, infrastructure needs to be rebuilt, but direct a sliver of the effort to help the people affected.

Clearly the AKB brand is waning. Most of the originals have graduated and they are struggling to stay relevant. Onto the next ultra-cutsie "singing" sensation.

Kudos to these students. Great to see their initiative and it will be good for international relations at a personal level.

The other day I saw an onee-san walking her dog. Kid you not, the dog had a mask on.

Actually favor the Segafredo cappucino, but the smokers keep me mostly away. At least in my neighborhood Segafredo the smoking section is upfront so your clothes and lungs breathe in the foulness while you're waiting for your espresso. Ugh!

The pictures with this article and the people in them are fascinating. Makes you wonder how they react during the game. Also how often that basketball stadium and big Jumbo-tron are actually used.

Interesting that this is an article from the Associated Press. As I unfortunately can't read Japanese newspapers, can anyone tell me if similar articles have appeared in the Japanese press? I'm curious to know how this issue is portrayed and covered in the Japanese media. Thanks.

The economy is not out of the woods yet, and the verdict is still out on Abenomics, but this news is better than the alternative.

Odd that they don't list his annual salary amount. He is in public office, isn't it publicly disclosed? I'm guessing it's a lot less than 50 million yen.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe last week pledged deeper public involvement into the clean-up of the Fukushima plant.

The reasons there has not been greater govt involvement and a third party watchdog from the very beginning is beyond me. After TEPCO's bungling of the initial days of the disaster, how could anyone expect they could manage the long-term crisis effectively on their own.

Well, it would have helped if the opposition parties could come up with at least one alternative idea to stand behind. All they said is "no nukes" or "no TPP"...just no to this, no to that. They offered absolutely no alternative ideas about improving the country and therefore, the Japanese people had little choice. The LDP was the only party to take a position on the issues IMHO.

@OGMGS1 - I agree with your comments with one exception, Abe himself. If he would focus the Article 9 efforts on the present and future, I think most would agree with Japan building up its defensive stance. However, the dolt continues to focus on the past, always framing his comments around WWII. Sheesh, why does he continue to do this? It only hurts the very objectives he is trying to achieve!

Ironic that Japan is making this type of economic advice when there is a very real possibility our country will isolate itself from the other Asia-Pacific countries by messing up the TPP discussions. All due to the self interest of the farmers that make up a fraction of the economy.

Japan's politicians and bureaucrats should heed their own advice.

Rants about the LDP, rants about Abe...but consider what was offered as an alternative. With the exception of the Restoration Party, which was more about Hashimoto's gaffes, the other parties were essentially silent. Even the former ruling party, the DPJ had nothing to offer.

You gotta come up with some ideas if you want to overtake the current ruling regime.

"suicides drops below 30,000 for first time in 15 years"

That's nearly half a million people. Tragic and pretty significant considering the decline in population.

This is truly outrageous. Serious question, is there an avenue to allow dissenting voices to be heard? For all the sound reasons already noted by others above, this should not be allowed to happen. It undermines the trust in the entire food system. This is supposedly a democratic society and the majority needs to be heard. Where and how can I have my opinion noted?