rzadigi comments

Yes it does seem a bit soon to be talking about recovery. This part of Japan is lovely and I greatly enjoyed traveling around the area pre pandemic. But even then there were very few tourists and you could clearly see that its best days were decades ago. The population is aged and young people do not want to live there. Rebuilding will take years and the population will have dropped even further by the time it’s finished. I wish them all the best but a future dependent on tourism is not practical or realistic.

As long as the largest corporations continue to take in big profits and the stock market reaches new highs the interest rates won’t be changing. Clearly the govt cares more about the health of the corporations than its citizens. It’s obvious those old dinosaurs care little about the future of Japan.

My wife arrived at this same store to do some shopping right after the accident happened and as the police were investigating. Supposedly the mother had just walked out of the store when she was hit and the driver was wearing sandals that got caught on the gas pedal.

Hard to know the truth but this is what my wife was told. RIP little girl.

call me crazy but these funds could be much better spent supporting the thousands of researchers here in Japan who compete for dwindling funds while watching China and other much smaller countries overtake them.

Additionally many of Japan’s best and brightest head to the US or Europe where there is more respect and funding for research.

The difference between the Israel/Hamas war and the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is that the civilians/refugees actually had places or countries they could escape to. Millions went to bordering countries.

In Gaza there is nowhere to run, and even when they run south as instructed they may still be bombed. It is hardly a similar situation.

And this is why the yen continues to weaken. The govt keeps printing that money as if it’s the only way to solve problems.

If Russia didn’t care about UN sanctions and inventions before they attacked Ukraine they’re surely not going to care about previous agreements they made. What is surprising is that they are so desperate for munitions that they would ask North Korea for help. Hopefully that means the end is near.

So….without govt fuel subsidies the core CPI would’ve risen 3.8%, even more than the August increase.

The headline here is not accurate at all.

I can’t understand the logic of people being against a sex offender registry. Without it pedophiles will continue jumping from one job to another after arrests or convictions.

Some people are more concerned about the employment prospects of a convicted offender than they are about the lifelong suffering of a sexual abuse victim.

Every month a big box of organic free range eggs is delivered to our house. The price is higher than standard mass produced eggs but the quality is excellent. This farmer is very concerned about animal welfare and the demand is strong, with a long waiting list.

Wagyu are in most cases not humanely raised whatsoever. I’m in Miyazaki, which often receives top Wagyu rankings in the country, and there are three farms near my house. Two of the farms leave their cattle knee deep in crap year round except for inspection visits. Their cattle never see the light of day. The cattle cry and scream at all hours and the vets regularly visit to supply medication. The whole purpose of Wagyu is to make them as obese as possible, with no exercise and very little movement.

Big Motor business down 60% since these crimes were exposed.

It’s good to see the public serving their own form of justice.

Miyazaki and Kagoshima are the largest exporters of sugi in the country. A good chunk of the population here suffers yearly from the pollen. The trees are harvested and then new ones are planted. The ones that aren’t harvested will often set off landslides that, if near roads or houses, cost billions of yen to clean up and then pave with concrete.

After considering all of the expenses, subsidies and consequences of sugi monocropping it seems hard to justify supporting this industry any longer.

These policies will only serve to weaken the yen, causing more inflation and more pain for those the govt thinks it’s helping.

Interesting that the Chinese are right there in the mix. It’s the first time I’ve seen that and it may be a sign that the recent years of Japanese dominance may be ending. The Japanese skaters are known for their intense training and it’s easy to imagine the Chinese training even harder.

No question his license should be revoked and he should pay the family for the tragic loss. He should also do community service as a crossing guard at the same intersection for the rest of his life.

Or, just put him in jail. Being old is in no way a valid excuse for reckless behavior.

After Trump lost the election to Biden, Brand saw an opportunity with the flock of impressionable Trump supporters. So he left his progressive followers behind and switched teams, spouting conspiracy theories and building a massive YouTube following under the guise of ‘truth’.

Now of course his followers wouldn’t enjoy these allegations of rape, but they are nothing they haven’t seen and accepted before.

Brand is a spineless opportunist so it wouldn’t be surprising if the allegations are true but let’s see how it all plays out. Thanks for the entertainment Russell!

Thankfully the BBC did it’s documentary and gave international exposure to these horrific crimes. Without that Johnny’s would’ve continued to ignore the exploitation and sexual abuse that the business is built upon.

Japanese media, corporations, politicians and police are also guilty of covering up these crimes and allowing them to continue.

As others have said, the entire company should be liquidated and all proceeds given to the victims. Otherwise, Johnny’s will attempt to pay each victim a pittance and continue on as usual. Sexual abuse trauma lasts a lifetime and the victims should be paid large sums that show the severity and seriousness of the crimes.

The only way that the yen will strengthen again is if the US economy enters another recession. In the meantime living in Japan will continue to become more and more expensive as food, gas, and consumer staples rise in price.

Thankfully down here in Miyazaki we had the coolest summer in years, with most days being cloudy and around 30 degrees. But the humidity was still stifling.

In my world summer ends when the humidity drops and days become comfortable. This usually happens around the beginning of September. Autumn is a long and lovely season with warm days and cool nights that ends when it gets cold in December.

I would imagine that each part of Japan and also the world has seasons that correlate to their geographic location and not necessarily the calendar.

Net profits doubled in just one quarter and Japanese workers see their biggest salary bump in years of a paltry two percent.

It is quite unfortunate that many successful businesses will shut down unnecessarily. I’ve got a friend in Shibuya whose father owns a very successful tofu packaging machine business but neither him or his older brother want to take it over.

Many of these are profitable businesses with a bright future that are actively looking for new owners or other ways to survive. The BATONZ website mentioned above has thousands of businesses listed all over Japan with very simple purchasing terms. I already found a few in my area with definite potential.

I wonder why they didn’t use DNA evidence after the first rape. It would have probably prevented the second rape.

@sven asai

the point is that modern man is altering the earth in ways that are harmful and irreversible. This new Anthropocene era could very well be the end of all eras.

Unfortunately science can provide no examples great enough to disrupt the faith that climate change deniers worship.

Not too surprised about this. Spacey hit on my friend many years ago at a bar in LA. But at least my friend has the integrity not to sue just to make a buck.

interesting….., so NOW they worried about critical thinking and creativity

The problem here is that the other man didn’t have a gun. As well as the other people in the movie theater.

All gun owners know that the solution to gun violence is more guns. It’s just common sense.

Hahahahahah

So several Ukrainian soldiers will be accepted and the government may not even pay the costs.

Offering medical care is a great idea but considering these circumstances it hardly seems worthy of a news story. It seems more like a public relations campaign by a country that realizes its contributions have been minor.

Another source said he had been in the hospital and had taken some meds for depression prior to his flight. He apologized and said he was ashamed and would cancel all appearances and enter a mental treatment facility

Interesting how various media outlets can write such different stories.

As Is evident from the comments here, foreigners living in Japan see things quite differently than the Japanese. Especially the young Japanese, which is really what this article is about.

The average young Japanese person has no interest in outdoor activities, no desire to have a garden or maintain a house with a yard, no wish to own a car and explore surrounding areas, and definitely doesn’t want to join a neighborhood association where self sacrifice is required to live in harmony as a group.

And I say all of this as someone who loves living in the Japanese countryside but understands that all of the young Japanese I know will move from here as soon as they can. Most of them spend their free time indoors with some form of digital entertainment. Their desires are sadly limited so they will be quite happy living in Tokyo in a small room with few responsibilities and plenty of entertainment options nearby. This may not be a rosy picture but it is the reality.

This is long overdue but welcome news. The majority of Japan’s fish stocks have been overfished for years due to unsustainable practices.