powderb comments

Posted in: Finance Ministry admits altering land sale documents, removing name of Abe's wife See in context

Abe has said he would resign if either he or his wife were directly involved. These are on the record quotes.

Be a man of your word.

15 ( +16 / -1 )

Posted in: Japan is safest place to be born, UNICEF report says See in context

It’s the quality of the part between birth and death that needs improving.

3 ( +8 / -5 )

Posted in: 20-year-old student sent to prosecutors over fatal bike crash See in context

Phone in one hand? Drink in the other hand? I would love to see this on closed circuit tv.

Yes, she is responsible. Yes, it is terrible. But sending a 20 year old to jail forever (or hanged?) seems extreme for something done out of negligence, not criminal intent.

I am an avid cyclist and indeed follow road rules. I have also had multiple near accidents with elderly pedestrians crossing in the middle of the road, suddenly entering the street where I am rightly riding. Had I ever hit one of them, no doubt both of us would have been injured, perhaps gravely. This is not at all victim blaming, but pedestrians need to use caution as well.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Posted in: Showing their moves See in context

Chris Reed, born and raised in the States. Apparently doesn't speak much Japanese. His older sister has actually skated for Georgia.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/20/sports/olympics/20reeds.html

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: Freezing Tokyo sees most ambulance calls for 80 years See in context

As of Thursday night, the otherwise impressive Police Hospital (警察病院) in Nakano had literally cleared a 10cm path from the main bus stop the entrance. Around it was essentially a thick sheet of ice. It would be little surprise if the elderly, sick, and already injured were to fall. On the other hand, already close to getting help.

@dango bong: it’s “climate change,” not “global warming” and do people really need to explain the difference between climate and weather?

11 ( +15 / -4 )

Posted in: Japan to nominate ancient tombs in Osaka for World Heritage See in context

There is a Ph.D thesis here begging to be researched:

Japanese source of pride: Four Seasons and World Heritage Sites, which is the greater good.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Posted in: Seven-Eleven stores in Japan to start selling English-labeled foods See in context

@nathan brown: seriously? The food is the same. The taste is the same. The packages will also have English... and this is an outrage?

7-11 is, after all, a “convenience” store. Let it be convenient. Much easier to have simple multilingual packaging than to have non-Japanese speaking customers asking non-English speaking questions about the contents of curious looking items.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Posted in: Harassment of women can never be tolerated: Ivanka Trump See in context

R.I.P. Satire

November, 2017

Tokyo, Japan

18 ( +20 / -2 )

Posted in: Nagasaki rejoices over Ishiguro's winning Nobel Prize in literature See in context

In speaking with the Mainichi, "To me, Japan is a foreign country, but emotionally it's a special country, it's another mother land."

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Japanese companies struggle to hire, retain staff as labor shortage worsens See in context

I have nothing to add but another voice in the crowd: pay people well, give them reasonable benefits, treat them fairly, and there will be no so-called labour shortage.

The headline and article are so aligned with management and not labor that it borders on pathetic.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

Posted in: Tattooist fined for operating without medical certification See in context

@sensei258 Genuinely curious: Have you ever, in fact, been to a tattoo studio in Japan? They are not sharing needles and using the ink from ballpoint pens, as if it were a scene from a movie about life in prison.

And yes: by this logic what makes it different than getting a piercing?

Just like restaurants and supermarkets have governing departments to ensure sanitary conditions, do the same with tattoo studios. But don't infringe on the livelihoods of these artists and those who want tattoos.

I would suspect people supporting this decision merely don't like the idea of a tattoo.

6 ( +9 / -3 )

Posted in: Emperor visits shrine for ancient Korean settlers See in context

@nakanoguy01: Exactly. The idea of a royal family is not something for me to rally behind. Having said that, the Emperor himself seems like a genuinely good man with a fair sense of history. I can't possibly imagine Abe visiting a town that honors anyone of Korean heritage.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

Posted in: Trump hugs children, serves food in Houston as city fights back from flooding See in context

@burningbush: Not quite the sarcasm of, say, Monty Pyth

0 ( +7 / -7 )

Posted in: N Korea fires missile over northern Japan; Abe speaks with Trump See in context

@matthewsimon: The U.S. having a massive military presence in northeast Asia and routinely conducting military drills is not provocation?

When the Soviet Union attempted to put nuclear missiles in Cuba the American reaction brought the world to the brink of war. Imagine if China, or North Korea, or Russia, had an equivalent military buildup near the American coast and frequently flew bombers within sight of the coast.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Posted in: N Korea fires missile over northern Japan; Abe speaks with Trump See in context

@thepersoniamnow: LDP are not elated because this is a distraction. But this does, indeed, serve their interests as it allows them to push for increased military spending and scrapping a pacifist constitution.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Posted in: Ex-head of scandal-hit school operator, wife arrested over subsidy fraud See in context

The moral of the story: it's better to give than to receive.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Renho resigns as main opposition Democratic Party leader See in context

It's sad that yahoo news refers to the "国籍問題" as something worthy of concern. It's only a problem because the xenophobic crowd made it so.

ebisen: being number two and being sensible is an entirely good position to take.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

Posted in: LDP lawmaker to quit party over alleged abuse of secretary See in context

If anyone (preferably foreign born) wishes to conduct a social experiment: try doing this with a random taxi driver and see how it plays out. You might have to resign from your local fitness center, language club, cooking circle, and will likely need to bow past 45 degrees whilst apologizing, but do rest assured you will not be questioned by the police, nor interrogated, and most certainly will not be deported. Please do wait for six months to pass, at which time you will be reinstated to your previous groups, albeit with different titles.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Posted in: 14-year-old shogi star Fujii drawing a new generation to the game See in context

"Never has to go to school..."

My apologies if I am missing something but where does it say he does not go to school?

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Posted in: LDP gives gov't plan to protect public from N Korean missiles See in context

Multiple missiles launched upon Japan would give nearly no time to react.

The fact that that they are discussing this does not at all mean it has become serious. It means the LDP knows how to scare the populous enough to remain in power and have people accept whatever proposals they want. Manufactured fear and control.

7 ( +10 / -3 )

Posted in: Panel proposes easing teachers' workload as part of education reform See in context

Nothing. Will. Ever. Change.

7 ( +9 / -2 )

Posted in: Abe delays goal of no waiting list for daycare centers by 3 years See in context

Time saving version of every policy article: Nothing. Will. Ever. Change.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Posted in: No. of children in Japan falls for 36th year to new record low See in context

@zichi Exactly

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Posted in: No. of children in Japan falls for 36th year to new record low See in context

My wife and I love being a couple, first and foremost, so we have chosen to remain childless. Having said that, sending children through the rigors of Japanese schooling and then a workplace with ever decreasing rewards seems a sad way to live life. We are, by choice, contributing to Japan's population decline.

5 ( +9 / -4 )

Posted in: Tokyo Metro changes rule on reaction to N Korean missile launch See in context

Two reactions: underground would indeed seem to be the safest space.

Halting the trains serves a larger purpose: inconvenience and scare people just enough so they will begin to support whatever military and constitutional changes the government proposes.

16 ( +17 / -1 )

Posted in: At least 47,000 evacuees still in temporary housing 1 year after Kumamoto quakes See in context

Evacuees blah blah blah.... how about some updates on the Beautiful and Glorious Olympic Village?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Decluttering guru Kondo now has an app for tidying up See in context

I have never, ever, once, been in a Japanese home that has not been cluttered. Two decades plus, and many homes visited.

The idea of the single flower adorning the temple wall is something that seems to exist in fantasy, and people buy into that. Literally.

8 ( +9 / -1 )

Posted in: Koike to launch comfortable commute movement this summer See in context

Indeed, start by moving the clocks ahead in summer, if for no other reason than to not be woken up just after four when the sunlight pours through the windows. Even with the most tightly sealed sun-blocking curtains, I'm awake far earlier than I need be.

I go to be the same time year round, sleeping comfortably until seven in winter, and quite literally two or three hours less in summer. I'll speak the language of those in power and say it's simply a loss of productivity. And surely we can all enjoy our Premium Fridays even more so if it were still light well into the evening.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Posted in: New Zealand snowboarder killed by avalanche in Hokkaido See in context

To the "no sympathy" camp: what's wrong with you?

It's difficult to tell from this article alone if they were truly in an off-limits area. The very nature of backcountry skiing is, by definition, skiing out of bounds. There are plenty of places in Japan (and worldwide) where skiing out bounds is, in fact, allowed, but it means there will be no patrol to sweep the area at the end of the day. To ski there is to do so at one's own risk. This is what people pay to experience. From the way this is written one might assume they were breaking the law; this should not be assumed. Entering restricted areas means you assume a certain amount of risk and are forgoing the option of resort search and rescue.

This man died, presumably, doing what he loved. I can certainly extend sympathy to the people who loved him. My condolences.

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

Posted in: TEPCO says it will make plan this summer to clean up Fukushima plant See in context

In a separate account, unverified: Tepco will hold informal gatherings to vote on the need for hearings, at which time a meeting will be arranged to organize a conference to unveil a convention, during which, counter measures will be proposed and steps will be suggested. Voting has a preliminary date for spring of 2032, when Premium Fridays will be expanded to Mellow Mondays, at which time employees may wear sneakers and will be enouraged to whistle in an effort to boost morale, provided they compensate for lost production by working Sundays.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Recent Comments

Popular

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites


©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.