Posted in: S Korea to keep import ban on Japan seafood due to Fukushima concern See in context
The S. Korean government knows that the Japanese sea food is safe, but it is a political issue. Most people are not so much rational around the world.
2 ( +4 / -2 )
Posted in: Tokyo reports 38 new coronavirus cases; nationwide tally 322 See in context
The Washington Post also reported that no one knows exactly why covid cases in Japan keep plummeting.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/12/22/japan-covid-omicron-falling-cases/
I speculate that Japan has already reached herd immunity following India, probably mainly through infection, with help of vaccination:
https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/positive-rate-daily-smoothed?tab=chart&country=JPN~IND
If Japan needs to conduct similar antibody tests as India did a few months ago:
https://www.thequint.com/coronavirus/more-than-90-percent-have-antibodies-against-coronavirus-report-union-government
-2 ( +9 / -11 )
Posted in: Tokyo reports 5 coronavirus cases; nationwide tally 77 See in context
Now it is highly likely that Japan has already reached herd immunity following India, probably mainly through infection, with help of vaccination:
https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/positive-rate-daily-smoothed?tab=chart&country=JPN~IND
https://www.thequint.com/coronavirus/more-than-90-percent-have-antibodies-against-coronavirus-report-union-government
0 ( +7 / -7 )
Posted in: S Korea's police chief visits islets disputed with Japan: source See in context
The territorial claim of the Japanese government on Takeshima is comical. Japanese people know what 'Takeshima' literally means: bamboo island 竹島, but there is no bamboo in Takeshima.
But, there is another small island called 'bamboo island' (Jukdo 竹島 in Korean) at 2 km (1 mile) east of Ulleungdo. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jukdo_(island)
You may see those abundant bamboos there: https://wayfaringflaneur.com/2018/09/02/jukdo%EC%A3%BD%EB%8F%84-bamboo-island/
Japanese government never mentions this real bamboo island (Jukdo in Korean) when they explain their territorial claim. They intentionally omit it, or obfuscate it with Ulleungdo. For example:
https://www.mofa.go.jp/region/asia-paci/takeshima/position.html
https://www.mofa.go.jp/a_o/na/takeshima/page1we_000057.html
Long time ago, Japanese fishermen certainly recognized the existence of Jukdo 竹島 near Ulleungdo island. At that time, Takeshima did not designate the Liancourt Rocks, but Jukdo to Japanese fishermen. Both Jukdo and Ulleungdo are now Korean territories that Japan and the other countries acknowledge. Now the Japanese government claims the territorial right with a wrong name or a wrong location.
There are 7 Japanese islands called the same name Takeshima (竹島 bamboo island) along the coast of Japan, and all of them have bamboo:
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%AB%B9%E5%B3%B6_(%E6%9B%96%E6%98%A7%E3%81%95%E5%9B%9E%E9%81%BF)
But only one exception is the remotely-located Liancourt Rocks, called 'Dokdo' in Korean, which literally means a rock island. It is a consistency problem. Koreans knew that it consisted of rocks, and therefore bamboo could not grow there. The so-called bamboo island without any bamboo was just an ad hoc, imaginary island for Japan to forcefully occupy Dokdo in 1905. Now they still shout "the bamboo island without any bamboo is a Japanese territory".
-7 ( +1 / -8 )
Posted in: Get ready for more games: 'Squid Game' readies for Season 2 See in context
@Joe Blow
@Sindhoor GK
Refer to the following opinion by a Japanese write: https://diamond.jp/articles/-/287181
(in Japanese).
-3 ( +2 / -5 )
Posted in: Get ready for more games: 'Squid Game' readies for Season 2 See in context
@egads man!
You say this when Japan has the director Takashi Miike??TOP TV Shows on Netflix in 2021
Good question. Yes. I do not deny that there are some Japanese directors exploring the dark side of Japanese society, but they are generally not welcomed by Japanese viewers.
I talk about the popularity. Let me show an example. The most popular TV shows of Japanese Netflix this year: https://flixpatrol.com/top10/netflix/japan/2021/
Tokyo Revengers
Tokyo Revengers
Jujutsu Kaisen
Vincenzo
Crash Landing on You
My Hero Academia
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime
Nevertheless
Squid Game
Attack on Titan
Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha
KingdomAll are Korean dramas or Japanese animes. No exception.
-5 ( +1 / -6 )
Posted in: Get ready for more games: 'Squid Game' readies for Season 2 See in context
But, Squid Game is not so much popular in Japan compared with other Korean hit dramas such as Crash Landing on You or Itaewon Class.
The main reason is the Japanese stereotype of K-dramas and K-pops is that the main characters should look beautiful and the contents should be romantic and fantastic. Squid game is simply too realistic with ordinary-looking Korean actors and actresses. This also explains why Gangnam Style in 2012 was exceptionally unpopular in Japan, generating the conspiracy theory of F5 key. Japanese people and their government tend to hate exposing or watching something too dark and realistic, but instead, love anime and manga of fantasy.
-8 ( +4 / -12 )
Posted in: Japan reluctant to accept proposal to declare Korean War over See in context
@OssanAmericaNov. 8 02:53 pm JST
Nobody has ever feared, or will ever fear, a Korea unified or not.
Ordinary Japanese may think like you, but your leaders and scholars are serious about it.
https://asiatimes.com/2010/02/the-last-frontier-of-the-cold-war/
https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/yamaji2004.pdf
https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/The-Big-Story/Imagining-a-unified-Korea
-4 ( +2 / -6 )
Posted in: Japan reluctant to accept proposal to declare Korean War over See in context
Simply, the Japanese government fears a unified Korea.
-10 ( +9 / -19 )
Posted in: Japanese snow crab fetches ¥800,000 at auction See in context
The article does not mention the weight of the crab, but in S. Korea, the price of big (1 kg in weight) snow crabs (Chionoecetes opilio) at the local market is about USD 100. http://illdung.com/product/%EB%B0%95%EB%8B%AC%EB%8C%80%EA%B2%8C-%EC%98%81%EB%8D%95-%EC%A0%95%ED%92%88-1k%EA%B8%89-%EB%A7%88%EB%A6%AC%EB%8B%B9-115000%EC%9B%90/71/
Live snow crabs imported from Russia are even cheaper.
-1 ( +4 / -5 )
Posted in: S Korean cultural exchange group gives award to Japanese researcher See in context
S. Koreans do not hate Japanese people. Simply the majority of them oppose some policies of the Japanese government. They clearly tell between the government and the people. I have never heard that any hate crime happened against Japanese people in S. Korea.
-10 ( +1 / -11 )
Posted in: Tokyo reports 23 coronavirus cases; nationwide tally 287 See in context
I speculate that Japan has reached herd immunity following India, probably mainly through infection, with help of vaccination:
https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/positive-rate-daily-smoothed?tab=chart&country=JPN~IND
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/6th-delhi-sero-survey-shows-97-prevalence-101635443569509.html
0 ( +2 / -2 )
Posted in: 'Squid Game' characters drawn from director's life See in context
In Japanese: https://gendai.ismedia.jp/articles/-/88425
-5 ( +1 / -6 )
Posted in: 'Squid Game' characters drawn from director's life See in context
He still have yet to tell he is influenced by Japanese series and anime but he will never.
Typical Japanese reactions to Squid Game, which become a target of worldwide derision, but they still do grasp what happens outside of Japan. For example: https://www.facebook.com/229023931411/posts/10160462911686412/
-7 ( +0 / -7 )
Posted in: 'Squid Game' characters drawn from director's life See in context
@In_japan
Only the blood splattering part is little too much.
I am not quite sure, but it is probably related to the unique, violent and tragic modern Korean history, which most aged Koreans still remember. Many innocent civilians, including children, were arbitrarily selected and then massacred without any trial. Some notable examples:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeju_uprising
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geochang_massacre
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwangju_Uprising
https://img.khan.co.kr/news/2010/05/09/20100510.01300104000001.02L.webp
-5 ( +1 / -6 )
Posted in: 'Squid Game' characters drawn from director's life See in context
@Joe Blow
As if Koreans never do the same to foreigners.
He added "I think I was someone like Ali back then", admitting it also happens in Korea. He is straightforward and honest.
-4 ( +5 / -9 )
Posted in: 'Squid Game' characters drawn from director's life See in context
But, most Japanese people are not interested in Squid Game at all.
For Japanese, K-dramas and K-pops should look fanciful, featuring extremely beautiful performers. Squid game is simply too realistic with ordinary-looking Korean actors and actresses. This also explains why Gangnam style in 2012 was exceptionally unpopular in Japan, generating the conspiracy theory of F5 key. Japanese people and their government tend to hate exposing or watching something too realistic, but love anime and manga of fantasy. Chinese people also traditionally love fantasy (e.g., Classic of Mountains and Seas (山海经) and My Love from the Star (來自星星的你)).
-6 ( +5 / -11 )
Posted in: New Hong Kong law to censor old movies for security breaches See in context
At least, Japan seems a little better than HK in that the government does not directly intervene in the contents.
3 ( +3 / -0 )
Posted in: Japan, S Korea leaders look to deepen ties, despite strains See in context
Both talk to their domestic audience, not each other.
-3 ( +4 / -7 )
Posted in: 'Squid Game' becomes Netflix's biggest-ever launch hit See in context
It was good, but the Americans playing the VIPs were hideously bad actors with laughably stilted dialogue.
It has been the same for the Asians appearing in Hollywood movies.
-4 ( +0 / -4 )
Posted in: 'Squid Game' becomes Netflix's biggest-ever launch hit See in context
Japan is like China in regarding cinema as a national propaganda tool. S. Korea was once the same under the military regimes before 1988. This is the same for freedom of the press.
Governmental interventions always curb the creativity of movie makers. Now the Korean government supports developing the infrastructure of the art and entertainment industry, but never intervenes in the contents. An exception was the black list of artists compiled by the former, mindless president Park who was later impeached.
It is not surprising that Hirokazu Kore-eda went to Korea where he was welcomed.
https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/art/2021/07/689_295078.html
The governmental "Cool Japan" strategy will eventually undermine the image of the country. Being honest is always a virtue in movie-making.
-4 ( +2 / -6 )
Posted in: 'Squid Game' becomes Netflix's biggest-ever launch hit See in context
Some Japanese say the show, Squid game, is a rip-off of many Original Japanese films, which are also copies of others and so on. The big difference is that those death-game films focus on games, but Squid Games explores human nature. It bluntly exposes every dirty side of contemporary Korean society to the world.
A Japanese critic summarized it well as follows: https://realsound.jp/movie/2021/10/post-878490_2.html
目指すものは、あくまで社会の歪んだ姿を明らかにすることであり、そこで生きる人間の存在を描くことだ。
Under the current regime, Japan never can produce global megahit films like Squid Game. Korean filmmakers do not hesitate to expose any ugly aspect of Korean society, but the Japanese can not. For example, no Japanese politician welcomed the 2018 Palme d'Or-awarded film during Cannes, Shoplifters (万引き家族) by Hirokazu Kore-eda, because they do not like showing the darker side of their society. They fear facing the truth.
-3 ( +5 / -8 )
Posted in: 'Squid Game': South Korea's latest cultural phenomenon See in context
@BackpackingNepal Oct. 10 03:26 pm JST
And these are the Originals, All Japanese.
(2000) Battle Royale
(2007) Kaiji
(2014) As the Gods Will
(2020) Alice in Borderland
@kennyG
It's not a secret the director of the work officially stated, the motif(s) are based on Japanese Manga/movies as he’s been a big fan of those.
Kaiji.
Battle Royal
Liars Game
20 century boy
and more...
Have you ever watched any episode of Squid Game?
Those are all about games, but Squid Game is about humans.
-5 ( +1 / -6 )
Posted in: Japan has lowest share of women studying science: OECD report See in context
More surprising is this still can be a news headline. Everybody already knows it.
-1 ( +3 / -4 )
Posted in: 'Squid Game': South Korea's latest cultural phenomenon See in context
Everybody is talking about it, and I binged to grasp what the fuss is about.
Just one comment. The show is far closer to reality in S. Korea than you surmise. Massacres and fratricidal killings were widespread, especially just before and during the Korean war. Here I still can see traces of old villages deserted by massacres more than 70 years ago.
-1 ( +12 / -13 )
Posted in: TikTok says it has over 1 billion users See in context
Coincidentally, I subscribed it today. But I am unfamiliar to it.
-1 ( +0 / -1 )
Posted in: North Korea fires suspected ballistic missile into sea See in context
More surprising is that North Korean missile tests still become a headline in Japanese media.
-7 ( +0 / -7 )
Posted in: Japan's explanation of Korean wartime forced labor insufficient: UNESCO See in context
@ Kazuaki Shimazaki @kennyG
All the crap about forced labor and comfort women only surfaced in the 80s onwards.
I am wondering whether you can explain why Japanese Mitsbish apologized to the US, but not to Korea as mentioned in the following news footage:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLdr4imdXwI&t=529s
-6 ( +2 / -8 )
Posted in: Japan's explanation of Korean wartime forced labor insufficient: UNESCO See in context
Readers' comments in Yahoo! Japan are amazingly homogeneous and chauvinistic on the same article. They seem to have been well indoctrinated by the revisionists and Japanese government: https://news.yahoo.co.jp/pickup/6399454
I think the Japanese government has better withdraw the UNESCO site rather than go against those massive and patriotic Japanese. The current S. Korean government seldom defies the people.
-13 ( +7 / -20 )
Posted in: Woman who served in SDF sues gov't, assailants over sexual harassment
Posted in: Ukraine has a mixed record of treating its citizens fairly
Posted in: Toyota CEO taps younger successor amid paradigm shift in industry
Posted in: Woman who served in SDF sues gov't, assailants over sexual harassment