roylance.norton comments

She seems very nice. (Father can't be an easy man to live with). Shouldn't the IHA find a way to keep the princesses AS 'working royals' rather than sticking to outdated customs that assume a woman can't hold down a job and be a homemaker at the same time? To remain a princess in Japan you either have to remain single your whole life OR marry into the family. I wonder what would happen if she married a European prince?

I sincerely hope the correct steps were followed when Aoki was issued his gun licence. The events that occurred paint a picture of a disturbed individual.

"We don't need to see his identification. This isn't the GAIJIN we're looking for. You can go about your business."

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If it suits Japan they can find a way to allow 'dual nationality'. The strange case of Alberto Fujimori, the former President of Peru, who sought haven in Japan in 2001 and had it granted on the basis he still had Japanese citizenship.

Japan should change its academic year to match 90% of northern hemisphere countries which run September to July but this is never going to happen because nothing says Japan as much as entrance ceremony photographs with falling cherry tree blossom in the background...

On behalf of permanent foreign residents who have been patiently waiting for restriction-free travel so they could attend to family matters in their country of birth I thank the Japanese government. They 'locked the door' before in April 2020 and the PR community will never forget that we were 'thrown under the bus' at that time.

Aside from that, I believe Japan's preventative measures have worked - I believe the 'math': UK population 67m, total deaths from Covid-19 170,000. Japan population 125m, deaths from Covid-19 38,000.

In 2008 both France and Sweden had a 50%+ rate of children born 'out of wedlock', the US was 40%. Japan...2.1%. In all three countries, apart form Japan, the average age of a 'new mother' was lower than the average age their first marry - Japan's rate was 30.3 years old and 29.2 years old respectively. Those curves aren't going to flatten anytime soon.

I wonder how the pubic would react if a star in the Premier League, MLB, NFL, or NBA began to cry after hearing “You suck” from a spectator?

To be fair all those are 'team sports'. A quick word from your team-mate and you're good to go. Tennis is unusual in that the players might be on court for several hours without any interaction with their coaching staff. Female players can request to talk with their coach once per set - but that could be one hour long. I can't think of another 'fully professional' individual sport where this happens.

Eat it with a knife and fork then you get to eat it again tomorrow - it's a snack NOT a religious rite.

Like it of loathe it "Blade" was the forerunner to the entire Marvel/Sony (Spiderman) 'rollercoaster' we've been part of for the last 20 years. Maybe not everyone's cup of tea but the hundreds of thousands of people who have been gainfully employed probably raise a glass to Wesley every evening!

No Japanese Emperor has visited Yasukuni Shrine since 1975. What do the Japanese Royal Family know that the rest of the country is either ignorant of or chooses to ignore? (The 1978 enshrinement of 14 Class-A war criminals notwithstanding.)

Avoiding the ethical question (be in no doubt I find the hunt of these creatures repugnant)...just how much of my tax YEN is this going to cost me this year???

These annual hunts are massively subsidized by the Japan Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries - 5.1 billion YEN in 2019. Couldn't I get a subsidy to buy a new car instead?

I'm not ignoring the statistics but is this increase due to a sudden change in behavior OR changes in the method or scope of abuse reporting?

In one scenario, married couples will not need to think twice about having children because education and day care services for preschoolers will be free while students will be able to start paying college tuition once they build their own careers.

This, THIS, is doable. Edit out the assumption that married couples will no longer have to seriously think about having children but offering free day care is just about the money. It's not asking anyone to hurry up and get busy in the child-making department. Same with the college tuition - it's just about the money.

In 2008 the birthrate of children 'out of wedlock' in the US was 40%, France 53%, Sweden 55% in Japan the rate was 2%. Changing something like that? Good luck.

The 'road' the girl emerged from had no 'yield' sign no '止マレ' painted on the road - nothing. Surely either or both of those are required to describe a junction as an "intersection" (in road traffic parlance).

"Crossroad" or "intersection" doesn't accurately describe the location (according to this screen-grab from a Japanese news report). If the poor girl rode straight out onto the main road there would have been nothing the bus-driver could have done. I can't even see a warning sign indicating emerging traffic. https://postimg.org/image/n53a3tsyb/

Watching the television news reports the accident occurred at a 'typical' Japanese intersection where road traffic can turn left and right at the same time that pedestrians cross the street ‘on the green man”. I don’t know if the driver was turning or going straight but crossings like this don’t offer any margin for error and he clearly wasn’t paying attention. Would it inconvenience road users so much to have ‘staggered’ signals so pedestrians could cross in complete safety?

BTW according to NPA monthly statistics another ten people were killed in RTAs across Japan on the same day.

I have purely selfish reasons to want the 'Chuo Shinkansen' to proceed. One of the stations along the line will be located 5 minutes from my house. I'm hoping it will help improve this 'one-horse' city - redefining it as a 'one-horse, a dog, a cat and 2 goats' city . That aside, I perfectly understand the skepticism surrounding this project (but pretty please let it go ahead?!)

One of my earliest memories in Japan was watching Nomo's first Dodgers game live on NHK.

Excellent Robert Whiting article about Nomo from the Japan Times in 2010 http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2010/10/03/baseball/japanese-baseball/nomo-blazed-trail-helped-mend-fences-with-move/#.Vr1xefl96Uk

And even without the bonus points Scotland would've still progressed based on better goal difference.

In the event of a points tie Scotland's victory over Japan would have seen them progress before 'goal difference' was considered.

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Very well done Japan! its only the British team that should fall on there swords! can someone explain to me how on earth can Japan win 3 out of 4 matches but still go home? shurley they had enough points/goals to qualify? Beating Samoa by 25/5 points is worth a medal by its self!

Not quite right there squire... The 'England' rugby team are indeed wringing their hands as the first host country to exit in the group stages. The two other 'British' sides - Wales and Scotland progress (though I don't recommend using the 'B' word in either country on match-day.)

Japan's exit, while sad, was a question of maths and a four-day turnaround before facing a fresh Scottish team.

I'm pleased by Japan's success, but concerned that without it AND without the Olympic stadium crisis the Japanese general public still wouldn't have any idea they were hosting a major sporting event in FOUR years.

I had no idea that fake police IDs were such a problem in Japan. Whatever, a routine stop and question escalates into attempted murder. Hope the suspect doesn't have any pressing engagements for the next 5-8 years.

Could someone from the USA explain how you guys (is it just men?) still have to register for 'the draft" and what are the consequences if you fail to do so? I've heard it can disadvantage you when applying for public sector jobs or even house loans.

From March 9th, 2015

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, referring to Germany’s own experience, reminded Japan on Monday of the need to squarely confront its wartime past but also signaled that neighboring countries must do their part to achieve reconciliation.

Is today's statement from China "their part to" achieving "reconciliation? It does seem like a opportunity for Abe to extricate himself from a 'revisionist' position. Can he deny his obvious need to absolve his grandfather?

Intersections should have staggered lights so when pedestrians are crossing ALL road traffic is stationary – and vice-versa. There’s a new-style set of lights like that outside my local elementary school. In theory it’s safer but 6 or 7 times, when I’ve been waiting there on a red light and the pedestrian light has changed to green, I’ve seen cars not just ‘jump’ the lights but drive right through a full red! The drivers only pay attention to the pedestrian lights and not the traffic signals.

I have to say it: If the US elections are cartoonish, how do you describe Japanese elections?

While I agree in principle, Japanese elections do have one major advantage - they are short!

I know in the past the courts made mistakes, but it happens in other counntries as well.

What happens in other countries is irrelevant. It seems clear that the suspect in this case has failed to confess to the crime but the public prosecutors feel confident they can achieve a conviction based on physical evidence and eye-witness statements alone. This is unusual in Japan and places a greater burden on the jury. Japan is not used to anyone being acquitted of a crime once the case is brought to court.

I often see in Japanese crime reports that the suspect 'speaks to police but refuses to discuss the case'. What on earth do they talk about?

Suspects are allowed to be interrogated for up to 23 days before charges have to be filed. The Japanese legal system relies on confessions to guarantee convictions. Add those two together and you'll get a pretty good idea what they've been discussing for the past three weeks.

Good, sensible decision. But I wonder how many regular people will be expected to ‘do their best’ and come to work as normal on Tuesday morning?

Who cares about earthquakes and the cost. One of the stations is going to be a 10 minute walk from my house. A night out in Tokyo then back home before work in the morning! Although 2027? Better make that back home before playing mallet golf in the morning.