rosujin comments

Man, this hits me hard. Back when I was in college (in 2001) , I was prepping for summer study abroad at Waseda. Back then, there weren’t many live cameras, but there was a cameras on top of Shinjuku station pointed at Shinjuku Alta. If you logged on you could control it remotely for about a minute. It was my only view of Tokyo ahead of my trip and I probably logged on hundreds of times wondering what Tokyo would be like when I got there.

When I finally got to Japan that summer, my Japanese friends asked me where I wanted to go first, and I said “Shinjuku Alta!” One of the first pictures I took in Japan was in front of Alta and it felt like a dream come to life.

Since finishing study abroad, I lived and worked in Japan for 3 years, became fluent, passed JLPT level 2 and have been going back and forth for at least once a year for 20 years. Whenever I’m in Shinjuku, I make it a point to pass by Alta and it brings me back to that time in my life. Gonna miss this place.

I remember the first time I saw this while strolling through Shibuya, several years ago. Two things surprised me. The first was obviously the people dressed up like Mario Cart characters driving though Tokyo on go-carts. The second was the fact that nobody else on the street even looked the least bit surprised or interested to see it. I was like, “am I the only person who sees this crazy thing happening right now?” I found out later it was a thing that had began sometime in the 2-3 years since the last time I visited Japan.

I think it is clear that Warner Bros (and everyone else involved) misjudged the sensitivity associated with this post. It was obviously not meant for Japanese consumption. But still hurtful and insulting.

If we’re going to throw stones, has anyone realized how easy it is find TV segments with Japanese people in blackface? Very insulting to many people outside of Japan. Every time it happens someone realizes it was a misjudgment. But it is not meant for US consumption.

That looks just like the island from the game Myst.

My memory of the old days is a little hazy, but I recall (pre-iPhone) NTT DoCoMo had end-to-end control of devices, services and apps (i-Mode) for more than half of the market. I don’t recall the government stepping in back then. Now that a couple of American companies are in the game, it’s a big deal.

First the JR Pass and now this. At least they’re not trying to hide their intentions.

Over the past 2 years Japan got used to living life without the nuisance of foreigners. Now that they’re back, Japan is trying to make it too expensive to cover too much ground in the country.

Anyone my age who grew up in the states knows that the best thing about staying home “sick” from school was watching Jerry Springer! He made his mark.

My school landed on #20. Other rankings have us higher, but that’s an argument for another day. U-C-L-A Fight Fight Fight!!!!!

Lol! Interesting timing for me to see this article now. I literally just passed through customs in Haneda airport and am waiting on my connecting flight to Itami.

I used to live in Higashiosaka (near Fuse station), back when I was an ALT at a public HS. The city’s claims to fame were: being the “rugby city of Japan” and manufacturing bolts for NASA projects.

There was some kind of small factory behind my apartment that would operate all night. I’m not sure what they did, but I could smell burning metal and hear them dropping things all night! The people I met in that city were all great, so it pains me to read the article.

My wife and I are traveling from the States back to Higashiosaka in a couple of weeks to visit her family. I look forward to seeing things for myself.

Awesome. I eat Eggslut all the time here in LA. The Fairfax is my favorite.

Visiting Japan in Sept when my wife goes back home. This is officially on the list!

@SyaoranDC,

Thanks for the heads up. I think I might be able to fit into the special visa exception category of “Spouse of a Japanese National.” I’ll have to look at some flights!

Are they treating foreigners any worse than usual these days?

My wife is visiting her family in Osaka for a few weeks in September. I was seriously thinking of rolling the dice and booking a ticket too in anticipation of the “tour group only” rule going away by then. This article gives me second thoughts. I have a koseki in Japan but haven’t gone through the trouble of getting a spouse visa. I’ve been “randomly” stopped and questioned by the cops in Japan before, so I bet it will be even worse now that they have special rules for tourists.

I hope this answers the question, “why would Japan give the foreigners disposable furniture?”

This reminds me of my first day as an ALT at a high school in Osaka. Back then, my Japanese was still intermediate-level.

During a school assembly I heard the principal saying something about “school rules” and something about “hair.” Then every homeroom teacher pulled a hair sample out of their pocket and compared it to each student standing in line. Anyone who didn’t match this jet-black sample was sent to the counselor’s office for a citation.

Wow. How did they hide all of the homeless people living in tents made out of blue tarps?

Ok, I guess I'm gonna have to tackle this problem all by myself. It'll be for the good of the country. You're welcome.

On my last business trip back to Japan, we passed by this place on the way back to the train station. There was some super loud music shouting "robot cafe" over and over. I felt embarrassed just standing there. I don't think I could ever go inside.

She needs to squash whatever beef she has with her former coach and get him back ASAP. He’s the one who got her there and it was foolish for her to think that she didn’t need him because he was “being mean” to her. Coaches are tough because they care.

I don’t want to minimize whatever trauma she experienced under him, but the fact is that he was a necessary part of the winning formula. If she wants to be a winner, she really needs to make an adult decision, eat crow and get him back. Otherwise, she may fade into obscurity as quickly as she emerged from it.

I love Naomi and want to see her keep winnng. Being an adult is all about doing things that you don’t want to do and working with people that you may not like. This isn’t a hobby anymore, it’s her career.

My favorite part of this picture is the guy pointing at the writing on the tusk with his middle finger. Every time I mention that Japanese people tend to point at things with their middle finger they strongly deny it. This is another example.

@JJ Jetplane

ANA and NISSIN are leaders in their respective categories in Japan, but are not global leaders. It goes without saying that ANA does not compare to American, Delta, or United. NISSIN pioneered instant noodles, but are currently a distant #2 to Maruchan in the US and Mexico. NISSIN recently showed that they have a long way to go with their global marketing strategy when they released a failed anime commercial with a character depicting her as having extra pale skin: https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/01/24/japanese-company-acknowledges-whitewashing-naomi-osaka-ads/

My point regarding acceptance as Japanese relates to how she went from “Haitian-Japanese” to “Japanese” right around the time that she won the US Open. Her Wikipedia page was also edited to align with the current status as “Japanese.” During interviews, she has corrected reporters on multiple occasions that she is not just the first Japanese to become #1, she’s also the first Haitian #1 player

Regarding her grandparents, there are reports that her parents’ marriage was not approved. Admittedly, it does look like this may not have extended to her: https://www.thedailybeast.com/japan-needs-foreigner-blood-like-naomi-osakas?ref=scroll

The population of the US vs Japan is not the only reason why her earning potential is higher in the US. I can count all of the internationally famous Japanese athletes on one hand. They are mostly baseball players who are currently playing for US teams. There are countless internationally famous athletes in the US.

Her citizenship issue will be interesting. I think Japan needs her more than she needs Japan. She wasn’t fully accepted as Japanese by the country (or her Japanese grandparents) until she became a tennis star.

Last year, she became the biggest female athlete in JAPAN. This year, she’s the biggest female athlete in the WORLD. She can easily trade in the NISSIN and ANA sponsorships for McDonalds and Coke which are global brands. Also, with the olympics coming up, she could represnt USA and have her face broadcast around the world. Representing Japan would limit her promotion to Japan. With Serena Williams’ career winding down, this is her chance to take over.

@Will Goode, do a search for New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI). It was a factory in Fremont, California that was jointly operated by Toyota and GM. I believe GM ran into financial issues and pulled out about 10 years ago. Toyota was left all alone with the plant, but the problem was that it was the only Toyota plant in the US that was non-union. In other parts of then country, plant workers would protest in front of Toyota dealerships to complain about “unfairly” hiring non-union factory labor. It became too big of a liability for Toyota, so they sold it to Tesla Motors a few years ago. Now, it is where Teslas are made.

He must have used the “hey look over there” trick. The cops in Japan never had a chance against such a pro.

I have an executive order

I have a pen

Uhhh!

Tyranny!

if someone had told me this photo was taken in 1984, I would have believed it. Are they buying clothes and furniture from the thrift store?

Literally tearing up as I read this article. Heart-wrenching.

Does anybody know why this company is Japan-based in the first place? I can't wrap my head around it. How did that come to be?

Mt. Gox was started by an American as an online trading site for Magic: The Gathering trading cards. Thus the name Mt. Gox = Magic The Gathering Online eXchange. I believe he was in Japan at the time. Then, it was sold off to Mark Karpeles a few years ago.

Is marrying ippanjin foreigners a new trend for j-celebrities? First Hamasaki Ayumi married an American med student from UCLA (my alma mater) Now, Utada Hikaru marries an Italian bar tender. Somebody please pass my info along to Kitagawa Keiko!

Is this a correct quote? Shouldn't he have said, "increase?"