ProbablyWrong comments

There seems to be a lot of confusion over this. I was in the Yokohama drivers license office today and noticed a sign saying that from now on those wishing to exchange a foreign license for a Japanese one must have both the new resident card and a gakokujin torokusho.

What terrible writing.

Editors of the world, unite against the thighs!

What a childish and incredibly ill-informed article. Do they really think that Japan is the only place where tap water is potable? Is it the only country with multi-storey car parks? Is there no other place in the world with small drinks or tea without sugar? What really surprises me about Japan is this sort of claptrap.

Considering his experiences, I'd imagine he wants to get out of this country as soon as possible.

I am slowly using the "eco-points" from when I bought my fridge and television to change all of the lights in my house to LEDs. I'm about half way there now and am really happy with them. They come on instantly, provide a soft, clear light and have lowered my power consumption. Their price is really coming down now, so the first ones I bought were a little too expensive. Oh well.

The children should certainly be removed.

I think they misunderstand the Chinatown phenomenon. Most Chinatowns were not set up as a ploy to sell products. They are living, working communities of people who established themselves abroad a long time ago.

Mary, he'll probably come out of this with more money than you could possibly earn in a lifetime. And I'm sure he'll find a very good job elsewhere.

So, Takahiro, it would have been better for him to keep his mouth shut and take part in the corruption? If that's your idea of ethical behavior, we do indeed have a culture gap.

A great one is better.

Lilith, there's a big difference between going to the toilet or phone and leaving a 3 year old alone in the house when you go out shopping. The fact is that small children are left alone far too often in this country, often with tragic consequences. Do you think that's admirable?

Nigelboy, Japan has had its share of failed launches as well.

Yes, JeefLee, that's exactly what many, many Japanese seem to believe. It's not only with rice; one of my neighbours once remarked that I must be happy to live in Japan where I can buy such fresh, high quality vegetables. I looked down at the bag of anemic, plastic wrapped produce in my shopping bag and politely agreed.

So foreign women marry Japanese men only for economic reasons, and Japanese men who marry foreign women are desperate? Nice article.

"Comments elicited by Shukan Shincho at the Juku launch suggest the fervor animating those rallying to Hashimoto’s standard."

If those comments are supposed to represent fervour, Japan is in more trouble than I thought.

"We have judged that it is difficult to immediately abolish the death penalty,considering the current situation where the number of violent crimes does not fall and crimes continue"

So, he wants to keep the death penalty because it isn't working? I'm not sure I follow his logic.

This Nihonjinron nonsense is so outdated. It's nothing more than a way for the Japanese to reaffirm tired,simplistic stereotypes. You'd think that someone with experience in so many countries would have more sophisticated views.

Perhaps Japan is the third most desirable destination, but that doesn't translate into tourist numbers. Even in 2010 Japan had only around 8 million arrivals, which puts it well down the list.

This reminds me of the comment years ago by a Chinese university student to the effect that there was no racism in China because there were no black people there.

There was a scene in Marathon Man that made me think about becoming a dentist.