Posted in: Trump says Jews who vote for Democrats 'hate Israel' and their religion See in context
Trump is treading in dangerous waters. By trying to sway the Jewish vote in his favor he is highlighting their very strong political influence in the USA. As a percentage of the U.S. population they make up only 2.4%, but on a power / political influence level... probably closer to 20%. I doubt very much the powerful Jewish groups in the USA want to tie their influence to such a short sighted and potentially damning issue. Liberal's have helped get the Jewish population to where they are today.
9 ( +10 / -1 )
Posted in: More foreign students set to be eligible for Japan gov't scholarships See in context
Up to 500 to 1000 students might benefit! I guess if you're one of them it is great but that is a paltry number and as usual merely window dressing. I have yet to see the Japanese Govt. ever do anything big... everything is miniscule and mainly designed to somehow placate the voters into a false sense of benevolence.
-3 ( +5 / -8 )
Posted in: Man arrested for cutting high school girl’s skirt with scissors while on bus See in context
Typical Japan... since they have no law on the books for "cutting the skirt of a sleeping girl on a bus", the charge becomes "property destruction". Quite often when a suspected killer in Japan is arrested, they are first arrested for "leaving a dead body out in public".
-3 ( +2 / -5 )
Posted in: Man arrested for attempted bank robbery in Tokyo See in context
Y500 million to pay off debts.... it sounds to me like he might be safer in Jail depending on who he owes the money to.
5 ( +5 / -0 )
Posted in: Japan's Space One Kairos rocket explodes right after lift-off See in context
I'm sure, with enough money backing them that they will, of course, be successful, but do they have enough money? Canon, IHI and Shimizu Construction are the 3 main participants in this consortium... will they have deep enough pockets to continue on? They are up against Space X at this point. Space X has launched their Falcon 9 rocket 318 times since 2010, with just 2 failures. Last year Space X launched 96 successful missions, 8 launches a month. Space One is very late to the game... this is going to come down to dollars and cents... will stock holders continue to back this program is the question.
0 ( +0 / -0 )
Posted in: Hiroshima grapples with 'Oppenheimer' Oscars success See in context
Every country had "victims" in WWII... even the Germans. Since 1945 and the advent of the A-Bomb it may have saved millions of lives because it made WWIII and unthinkable prospect. Pointing the finger of guilt is usually a waste of time. Educating the public is the most important way to prevent the past mistakes.
20 ( +21 / -1 )
Posted in: Rocket launch by private Japanese firm Space One postponed See in context
Had Japan 40 years ago deregulated its markets and made easier for startups to prosper maybe it too would have billionaires like Musk and Bezos... but alas Corporations via extreme coziness with the Govt. legislated an environment where only they kept market share and all new competition was stifled.
-2 ( +3 / -5 )
Posted in: Sweden officially joins NATO, ending decades of post-World War II neutrality See in context
Sweden sees the Russian threat... after decades of neutrality they want in. Bottom line to the Russian lovers comments here... they invaded the Ukraine. That is indisputeable. You guys remember WWII... you read about it. For 45 years after it Russia controlled Armenia, Azerbajian, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkemenistan, Ukraine, Usbekistan and East Germany. Over 150 million people were subjugated to Russian control for 45 years. Maybe Sweden, being close to Putin's Russia does no want to take the gamble that history might be repeated.
7 ( +10 / -3 )
Posted in: Tourists banned from private alleys in Kyoto's geisha district See in context
The hypocrisy bothers me more than anything. No matter where you are in Japan... if you have many bars concentrated in one area, no matter whether it is foreigners or Japanese, you're going to have issues. If it were noisy drunk Japanese causing problems... then nothing is said, but the second a "foreigner" causes a problem, it is practically National News. Quit the blame game and pay for more security in those areas. Bars have security and bouncers in other countries for a reason.
-4 ( +12 / -16 )
Posted in: Osaka Prefecture eyes collecting fixed fee for inbound tourists from 2025 See in context
Ultimately Japan is extremely cheap right now due to the weak Yen and the Government setting the tone for corporations to keep wages low for the last 35 years. With the low wages companies are able to keep the cost of goods and services down. Let Osaka enact the tax... but how many of us actually believe the Politicians in that city can be trusted to spend the money wisely? Not me...
2 ( +2 / -0 )
Posted in: Japan's January jobless rate improves to 2.4% amid labor shortage See in context
Maybe the government is approaching the labor shortages the wrong way. Instead of bringing in more people they should use people more efficiently. Getting rid of the Hanko would probably save ten million hours of work yearly.
11 ( +11 / -0 )
Posted in: Joy, envy in Japan as baseball star Ohtani speaks more about marriage See in context
"I'm a guy and I'm jealous of his partner"... really? He's not gonna take you out drinking and your butt might be a bit sore in the morning!
8 ( +12 / -4 )
Posted in: Hungary's parliament ratifies Sweden's NATO bid See in context
Hungary was the last major hurdle vote wise to get Swedish NATO inclusion... so they took advantage of the situation to squeeze money and favors.
-2 ( +0 / -2 )
Posted in: Takarazuka Revue director to quit post after death of actress See in context
Weak... damn, do you have any clue how difficult it is to become an actor / actress in Japan? The power to hire and fire is all at the Top and if you step out of line just a bit your career is over. This Top down power platform permeates througout many organizations in Japan but recently due to the Johnny's sex scandal women are able to speak out more. Of course... this isn't just a Japan problem, Hollywood and Bollywood have, for years, had their problems too. But that said, Japan might be even worse due to its culture of keeping quiet and not causing a stir. This is a sad story... not one of a "weak" woman.
0 ( +7 / -7 )
Posted in: More Japanese women buying Valentine's Day chocolates for themselves See in context
My wife won't have to...
1 ( +2 / -1 )
Posted in: Data rigging scandals threaten to undermine Toyota's growth See in context
Suppliers say; "They can't say they won't be able to meet production"... OK, but where else can Toyota go? Every company in Japan is facing the same problem, not enough workers and engineers. But yet... but yet wages stay the same. How can you entice college students into engineering programs if the starting wage is crap. Engineers should be starting at a Y7 mil wage versus the average of Y4.3 mil. The average U.S. starting salary is $70,000 a year out of college.
0 ( +0 / -0 )
Posted in: Overall, is a weak yen good for Japan’s economy? See in context
Any that voted "No" is shortsighted in my book. The weak Yen is giving Japan the shot in the arm it needs in order to revive this economy and slowly help many of Japan's rural areas. This country is prime for an increase in tourism and the weak Yen is helping to boost sales of domestically produced goods. If the Japanese govt. can get off of its ass and figure ways to attract foreign workers then it would even help more.
0 ( +0 / -0 )
Posted in: Starlink helps communications in quake-hit central Japan See in context
First off... Thank you Mr. Musk! Sure this might be an opportunity to showcase the technology but it is also badly needed and is helping thousands of people.
2 ( +5 / -3 )
Posted in: Valentine's Day sales start See in context
These Valentine's Day traditions in Japan are just idiocy. It basically means nothing... just going through the motions without any real heartfelt emotions that would evoke any semblance of romance. Valentine's Day is about Romance and showing true appreciation... not giri style gifts for co-workers that leave everyone feeling awkward and stressed out because they now have to give back something.
-3 ( +1 / -4 )
Posted in: Comedian Matsumoto to go on hiatus amid sex scandal report See in context
I kinda think that no other Geionojin over the age of around 50, would step up and take Matsumoto's place as a 2025 Expo Ambassador.
-1 ( +0 / -1 )
Posted in: Are you optimistic about Japan's economy this year? See in context
Yes I am optimistic... because tourism is on the upswing and I even bought a beautiful plastic, high quality microwave approved, bowl yesterday that was actually Made in Japan.
1 ( +7 / -6 )
Posted in: Tokyo gov't, state ordered to compensate company execs for illegal investigation See in context
You read a lot of articles in Japan about criminals and quite often they give the reason why they committed the crime; so I'm curious as to why the Tokyo Police went after this company so fervently? To the point were one of the defendant's died in Jail and was not allowed bail. I get the feeling that this was personal somehow. That somehow someone at the Tokyo Police Dept. had it in for this company and these 3 individuals. And if that was the case then someone at the Police Dept. might need some jail time too.
-7 ( +9 / -16 )
Posted in: 2 Canadians face charges over smuggling of record stimulant amount at Haneda See in context
What were these guys thinking, 31kg... like almost 70 pounds of drugs? Dumb knoweth no border.
15 ( +15 / -0 )
Posted in: Facilities for disabled face serious labor shortages in Japan: survey See in context
My wife works at one of these facilities and "Larr Flint" is correct. Wages are crap. But we all know, or maybe it is just me, that wages in Japan are somewhat of a double edged sword. The minute you raise them across the board, well, that is when you could start the ball of inflation rolling heavily. But by keeping them low you keep the harmony and inflation slowly works its way through the economy. As usual... there is no real good answer, Japan has so many "hard rocks" and so many "hard places" it is sitting in between.
2 ( +7 / -5 )
Posted in: Tokyo’s Shibuya district bans public drinking on New Year’s Eve, cancels countdown celebration See in context
I think a statement needs to be made... young people, heck, all people need to stop totally going to Shibuya for say 3 months. Stop shopping and stop eating and drinking there. If the govt. there wants a nice quiet small town feel... give them one but be careful of "what you wish for".
0 ( +3 / -3 )
Posted in: More than 40% of consumers in Japan have fallen prey to 'dark pattern' sites: survey See in context
Me thinks, Consent Inc... the web design company bringing these numbers to light, may have hired some of the people behind these "dark pattern" sites. These sites are found in every language all around the world... I'd be interested in seeing numbers for each country. Basically which country falls for this crap the most? I'll bet the Japanese rank up there pretty high. A trusting population that does not mind frivolous time consuming work.
8 ( +8 / -0 )
Posted in: Ohtani agrees to record $700 million 10-year contract with Dodgers See in context
I hope very much he realizes every penny of his contract and more because that would mean we'd get to see him perform for the next 10 years. He is an extremely special talent and one that I hope even gets better with age. I play baseball in an over sixty league in Tokyo and I think because of hit talent we're starting to see more and more older Japanese players getting back into ball in their retirement years. Ohtani has been an inspiration to so many... and in Japan he has helped so much to revive the game.
3 ( +4 / -1 )
Posted in: Japanese associate professor 1 of 3 killed in U.S. college shooting See in context
Anyone who believes "people kill not guns"... is ignorant! Why 'ignorant' you ask? Because when you live in a society with guns all around and you see and hear of people being killed with them all the time what is your first thought if you're crazy enough to want to kill someone. And remember, just the thought of killing someone is crazy, but it is happening all around you... so it is normal to want to kill someone... I mean if you're a bit crazy it might become normal. That is the thing... you're surrounded by it. So with all the guns and the violent American mindset... added to mad and crazy, guess what... Bang Bang! Sure a couple of European countries have lots of guns but they are taught to respect them and they properly store them. In the USA any idiot can get one quite easily. If you take away 99% of guns... a whole lot of senseless killings would stop.
3 ( +4 / -1 )
Posted in: Nintendo cancels its Live 2024 Tokyo event after persistent threats to workers and customers See in context
Nintendo ain't go balls! Hire some real security... a little contract with the Yakuza for some protection and the event would have run without a glitch.
-3 ( +5 / -8 )
Posted in: Top gov't spokesman allegedly received ¥10 mil in kickbacks: source See in context
This is such a joke and it is being played on us. Why, because no where in the article does it mention that Japan's Zeimusho / IRS is investigating this guy. All it says are that there are "allegations". This guy is some sort of a political press sacrifice or target of another party. Always remember people, when someone goes down for something, and that person is a Politician, it mainly means he or she pissed someone off and is being sacrificed as media fodder. Also... when is the last time real investigative reporters found something and went after someone... it is rare. Most of the crap we read is the machinations of the various parties playing chess with each move released to the media as "allegations" for us idiots to read and think that the govt. is actually properly policing itself. Yeah... I'm a cynic.
3 ( +3 / -0 )
Posted in: An expanding NATO uses its diversity as strength
Amazing BoJ taking risk to ship it's short term rate from -0.1 / 0% range to 0 /0.1%. It is…
Posted in: Bank of Japan ends negative interest rate policy, opting for its first hike in 17 years
The US has the most advanced military in the world.
Posted in: An expanding NATO uses its diversity as strength