shugotokumaru comments

I am starting to think that no one should be executed.

They should instead be forced to perform useful labor, so they can be of some benefit to society, rather than a burden or eliminated.

Of course this is old news, but that estimated economic impact, even if it's actually only half that, is astounding.

Will the kawaii culture save all the regions? Get Ozawa and Aso on the horn...

And I thank their poor English for putting food on my table.

Man, if he finds funky gym drawers attractive, I'm freaking Vanna White.

I like how hard Japan tries to be prepared for disasters. It's genuine, effective (notice how not that many people die in earthquakes here compared to similar situations?), and plain admirable.

I have to say, though, the Cold War-raised child in me wants to see some missiles on trailers and a weird guy clapping slowly from Takashimaya in approval.

This rescue brought to you by Aquarius.

Women here are forced to give up their seats? "Honored with marriage"?

Dude, you obviously don't know a damn thing about Japan.

I think they replaced Kim with a silly Waseda professor.

I agree, mugi-cha goes incredibly well with a Japanese summer, though I can't say exactly why.

The Hundred Acre Wood has really gone downhill. I heard Christopher Robin is living in a boarded-up crack house, and Piglet shot Tigger over a pair of old shoes. Just sad.

One bizarre thing Liddel misses is the phenomenon of insane foreigners flocking here. That includes me, mind you.

Japan's Ramen is Chinese the same way Domino's Pizza is Italian, if not even further removed. It's clearly been transformed to the point of being a different food.

Ramen Banzai!

Ramen Banzai!

Ramen Banzai!

I like Ippudo enough, but I would like to see a Kyushu Jangara somewhere in the States.

What a weak Chad Vader rip-off.

What an absolutely stupid concept cheerleading is.

I would live at a murder scene if it were cheap. If humans avoided ever living where someone had died, we'd run out of space pretty quickly. Plus, if they really do decide to haunt me, I might learn something interesting. Hell, I might learn some new Japanese.

I imagine the artist/vandal who did this couldn't be happier that they actually delayed the train because of the graffiti. If they had just run the train and painted it over when they had a chance, only people in the stations where it stopped would have known, but now here we are discussing it. I can't imagine the paint posed any safety issue, unless it was on the windshield.

The greatest thing that can happen to a tagger is for the general public to take notice. Mission accomplished.

I have had food with soy sauce and eaten with chopsticks at Chinese restaurants everywhere.

I wonder, then, when Japan graciously introduced those items to China...

When thinking of these names, there needs to be a common sense ombudsman from the genereal population. That way, when a stupid name like "Big Egg" comes up, they can simply say "No, that sounds stupid". The problems come from bland, consensus-seeking naming by committee.

Even Americans can simply go through the "gaimen kirikae" process and get a full-fledged Japanese license. They have to take a very easy test on a computer, followed by a moderately easy driving test. I don't see much reason to go to an exorbitantly-priced driving school, unless of course you actually need to learn how to drive.

I don't see the government recognizing him, at least not the part of it that owns a majority share in JT.

I don't dispute that the way men act in any society probably has something to do with their mothers, BUT...

What a load of crap! This idiot took every stereotype he could find, dutifully applied it to all Japanese people, and voila! A steaming pile of an article by another in a long line of people who have neither the time nor the willingness to accept that everyone is different, even in Japan.

Mr. Liddell, I salute you for living in Japan without allowing your delusions to be interfered with by reality.

Where did this photo come from? It looks like something from a Himeji promotional package or something.

It looks nice, though. I wouldn't mind seeing Himeji Castle sometime.

I think this case, while sad, illustrates very well the harm that Japanese handling of auto-pedestrian accidents does. By that, I mean that currently, 100% of the fault is assigned to the auto driver in most cases (according to my friend in the insurance industry). This leads to people hitting and running, because they know they will be blamed. The fact is, though, that pedestrians can be hit by cars if they take certain actions, regardless of a driver's vigilance. In light of this, I don't think the current way of handling these accidents is fair or effective.

The morals of this story: 1) Don't drink so much you might end up sleeping in a place where giant machines will kill you. 2) Whether it's right or not, people will disregard or flee laws and practices that are not inherently logical or fair.

Anyone familiar with comments by Foreign Minister Komura and others knows that the idea is only proposed to increase stays for those who have ability, but not affect those who don't.

Beelzebub, I doubt your Japanese scares them as much as your baffling scolding. You are assuming that your language skill causes the reaction, but I would assert that anyone in any country who parades about chastising people for their "thoughtless, self-absorbed behavior" is rightfully looked upon as a vigilant, insecure psycho, regardless of their nationality or language skill.

I see no problem with the government incentivizing the immigration of the people it deems most useful to its economy and society, especially if there are no barriers to people who don't have language skills.

What a fine lobbying performace by the same people who bring you the crap music on Japanese TV and radio.

Bravo. If I could buy even less music than zero from Japanese record companies, I would.

[Mental note: I will only get 100,000 yen or less if I rob a convenience store.]

I'm endlessly amused by the thought that someone is out there trying to rent "Point Break" at all.

I agree that subtitles are often heavily (or just poorly) digested when they appear in Japanese, and I think it's a shame. I would rather see more direct translations, even if they seem awkward. That way, people could get a feel for the native language. This goes for ENG to JPN and vice versa. I enjoy Hemingway's translations of uttered Spanish, French, or Italian in his books, because they tend to be very direct and unfiltered into English.

I love how if you read the katakana, this product is pronounced "McCrap".