Rhino comments

Please go away kokoronai Abe!

Let someone run the country who wants to help all people in Japan and not just the ones who slip envelopes full of money to you under the table!

Here is an interesting article about where we are heading:

http://seekingalpha.com/article/2625475-the-experiment-that-will-blow-up-the-world

I cannot say whether Japan only takes and doesn't give back. I read a lot about where and how Japan takes and not much about giving, that is true.

Now, that is a behaviour you would find in just about any country. Somehow it's always at the expense of animals. That can be said about some countries skinning dogs alive, about the American fast food industry's way of keeping their live stock, etc etc.

But I have to say, it seems that Japan is particularly stubborn in regards to taking from the oceans. It's unfortunately not only the whales. As someone pointed out above, maybe there are enough minkies in the world oceans to make the small number that Japan catches these days acceptable.

What should concern us all much more is the depletion of Tuna in world oceans, and again, it is Japan that seems to be the greediest. See below articles. I was particularly surprised to read several times meanwhile that Japan not only ate a great part of the Pacific Tuna. They also import about !!! 80% !!!! of Atlantic Bluefin. Now, the reason why this kind of got my attention is the fact that we are talking about ONE COUNTRY eating all that fish.

I understand that there is a tradition in Japan of eating fish, but does it really have to be that much??? Doesn't the rest of the world have a right to question that??? After all, when Tuna is gone, all countries will suffer the consequences. Nobody is going to bring them back, once they are gone!

http://www.vox.com/2014/4/23/5637044/overfishing-has-driven-pacific-bluefin-tuna-numbers-down-96-percent

http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2013/11/15/geography-in-the-news-bluefin-tuna-decline/

Everyone's ocean, not just Japan's!

Whatever.

Brave New World.

@sengoku38:

It is good for the environment to raise rates to match the true cost to our planet of producing electricity, which have increased since Japan has left cleaner nuclear power.

That would be correct if the extra money was used to replace old and dirty energy sources with new, alternative ones. But that's not the case here. The money really either goes to the investors of power companies, or they are used to pay the victims of Fukushima (which indirectly, of course, is again helping the investors of Tepco, since they should really shoulder the costs). P.S.: When I talk of "alternative" energy, I do not refer to nuclear power. As we all know by now, nuclear power is one of the dirtiest energy forms of all.

" They live in a society that can't be changed."

Sounds a bit like Japan.

@Zenpun

I have seen a documentary on Japanese TV showing Japanese farmers successfully competing in and exporting to overseas markets - rice, that is. But they admitted that they had to change their ways.

Again, I think food independence is an important issue in any country, but I think the farmers have had it a bit too easy in the past. Every other industry has to innovate due to competition, why not Japanese rice farmers???

As much as I understand that a country tries to preserve food independence, one has to be a little realistic. Nearly 800% import tax on a staple food product is a joke, full stop.

Also, Japan, think about it. Dont you think the American car industry would also prefer protection from cheap (and admittedly better) cars from Japan and Korea. You cant have it both ways if you want to be in this club.

I have to agree with what was said above: the Japanese public (consumer) makes up 100% of the population and they should be the government`s first responsibility. Pharma, for instance: why am I paying 7 euros for a deodorant stick, more than 3 times what it costs in Europe??? (And is that why a lot of people here seem to have a BO problem in summer?)

You produce dirt cheap in China, then you wanna sell it for a lot of money without any tariffs to other countries, but charge other countries 800% import tax? Get real!

Good night and good luck!

If the polling results are anything to go by:

Good night and good luck!

And more to the point of the article:

Yes Mr. Noda, you are right there and your party also started off well looking into wasteful spending. Then the Tsunami came and you completely lost the plot. If you had got back to what you originally set out to do, Japan would be better off now. Anyone who seriously wants to fix the ills of this country, needs to start with curbing the bureaucrats.

many graduates who are unable to find jobs

The graduates cant find work? You might want to investigate what kind of skills they have to offer their potential employers and whether something went wrong during their time in school? You have to start teaching them about independent thinking and innovation. Thats what Japanese companies, like everyone in a globalized world, will need to survive.

What I would like to know is why they have robots playing the violin or riding a bike, but none that could be sent into an NPP to clean up?

The good news is that it seems politicians and power companies (i.e. the nuclear village) don`t get away with murder anymore.

The two big questions:

How could a nuclear power plant end up on top of an active fault line in the first place??? What will it be like regarding nuclear power and their safety once the LDP is back in the driver`s seat again???

Do you have to hit them all over the head with a baseball bat before they wake up? What is wrong with these people??? Do they never look at how things are done in other countries?

What this country needs is a "coalition of grown-ups"!!!!!!!

@smithinjapan: I hate to say it but I am afraid you are right.

This really hurts me because their ideas are the better ones and if the opposition was acting more in the interest of the people of Japan, they wouldn`t say no to everything.

It also has to be said in the DPJ`s defense that they had to deal with a disaster (brought about by the LDP) which, sort of, had to distract them a little from what they initially set out to do.

Does anyone know how the universal healthcare system of Japan would be affected by joining TPP?

One thing is for sure, I dont want the kind of system the US had for so long, or even what they have now. Japans healthcare system is indeed something to be proud of and worth protecting. If this means we have to pay a few cents more, I am happy to do that.

Proper healthcare is humanity pure.

Surely they must be able to figure out where the dogs came from. 27 dogs can hardly go unnoticed, even if kept in someone`s residence.

I am surprised to see this kind of logic coming from the business side. A little ray of light in all the darkness.

Well, considering that any government elected in any country is the responsibility of the voters/citizens of that country, I guess Japan has been in the process of committing collective suicide for the past 30 - 40 years.

Just more of the same old...

Why not try something new? Sell weed in pharmacies and slap 80% tax on it. (That will also get people off these nasty toxic air fresheners.)

Other than that, there is obviously still the option of structural reforms. Don`t know about that though.

Much better question: If Abe is sworn in on December 17th, will he still be prime minister by New Year?

@ ubikwit:

Compromise would mean both sides have to give a little.

Can`t see that yet.

@ herefornow

Not sure where I went wrong. Maybe you wanna read my comment again.

Yes, I did criticize China, but I also criticized Japan. In fact, I fully agree with you.

What it has to do with Japans balance of payments? Well, from what I understand, Japan has imported more than exported (exports of cars plunging 82%). This is partly due to the Chinese boycotting Japanese products (beside the Europeans consuming less). And the Chinese consume less because of the row China has with Japan over these islands, which in turn wouldnt have to be so bad, had Japanese politicians, for instance, not gone to that "war heroes memorial site" every year, which has been inflaming China and South Korea again and again.

Ishihara and Hashimoto in charge in a country that has nothing learned nor shown any regret for the past.

Nuclear weapons in the hands of the kids I watch being taught in Japanese schools right now?

Oh, my god.

@ minello7: Government officials are not only the representatives of a country, they also are a "representation" of the people they represent.

About this trade deficit, I guess one could see this coming. The world was so preoccupied with living it up and kicking the can down the road that nobody really cared about what situation we are getting ourselves into by shifting production to China and making ourselves entirely dependent on their consumption.

Apart from that, to quote Obamas famous priest, "the chicken seem to be coming home to roost". For years now Japan has ignored the feelings of those in South Korea and China about past wars. Out of a position of strength was born a sense of ignorance and arrogance, but life doesnt forgive this on the long run. Of course, this row about the Senkaku Islands is mainly about the resources that lie underneath, but the dialogue could be had in an entirely different manner, had the Japanese ever tried to make any amends regarding their past.

Of course, the fact that people in China have been brainwashed by the system to hate Japan doesn`t help either. China, in fact, is committing very similar crimes (as Japan) right now - against ITS OWN PEOPLE and against TIBET.

Great!

So, by Christmas we are back to what we had for 50+ years:

Transparency: 0% Greed: 100%

And Tepco, Hepco, Jepco etc. are probably already warming up their nuclear power plants. "The new government says they are safe, and what the new old government says is always right!"

mikihouse: I think you might have had a bit too much air freshener yourself?

Let's hope that the voters are smarter than their politicians.

The LDP led this country into the bubble and didn't do anything afterwards to make things better. Hatoyama was a loser. Kan could have made a difference, had the Nuclear Village not gotten the better of him. Noda is a straight shooter and could have achieved something in the interest of the people, but hey, ....

Hopeless.

The arrogance and thickheadedness of these two countries makes me sick.

The Japanese should have a good, honest look at their history and admit where they went wrong.

China should finally give Tibet its freedom back and start behaving like a responsible member of the global community.

And the WTO should make sure that the safety of direct foreign investment of its member states in China is guaranteed.

Well, just in case there was an earthquake and a subsequent meltdown in that power plant and we have to relocate anyone, there is a lot of uninhabited land up in Tohoku. In Fukushima there are even empty houses that can be acquired at very reasonable prices.

(Sorry to the people in Fukushima! I am not very fond of cynisism but I can`t help it when I read the above article.)