socrateos comments

He understands that people neither like nor respect him. This is why he constantly tells himself how great, successful, and perfect he is. Any other opinions, he convinces himself, are fake. Accepting failure is not an option for him. Delusion is the olny way for him to avoid self-destruction. As a result, though he may speak on many topics, the underlying message is always the same: "Please love me!" When he says he hates Taylor Swift, what he truly means is, "Please love me!"

A poor man. A sick man. A very very sick man.

Trump's immigration policy has nothing to do with border issues; it's all about racism. His immigration rhetoric is simply a cover for his contempt toward people of color. His obsession with the false rumor about immigrants eating dogs and cats clearly shows this.

I approve the decision. Let the people come to Japan and become Japanese citizens. Welcome!

Anybody but the megalomaniac dictator!

According to the regional coast guard headquarters overseeing waters around Okinawa Prefecture, a patrol boat found the man waving them down on Uotsuri Island on Friday afternoon. He was rescued by a helicopter and taken to a hospital on Ishigaki Island.

That is a bad news for China. It is obvious that the disputed islands are, after all, under Japanese controls.

GuruMick:

Childish behaviour from both sides.

I would like to see something like this rather than exchanging deadly fire powers.

Hong Kong is dead. No democracy, no hope,

Gene Hennigh:

Prosecution is not a deterrent no matter the crime. Yes, 11 years seems too short of a time, but all across the world even the death sentence has never stopped the crimes.

It is a punishment for a crime committed against society. It is a justified form of retribution that restores a sense of equilibrium lost due to the crime. Justice is essentially 'an eye for an eye.'"

Regarding deterrence, punishments such as imprisonment and death serve as effective deterrents because it is challenging for a prisoner to commit crimes while incarcerated, and an executed criminal cannot repeat offenses.

commit crimes.

The worst and most dishonest lawyer I have ever encountered in my life.

Abe234:

*Let’s remember the Nikkei, s&p500, wall street is not the person on the street. It’s just the company. All those new heights, soaring dividends, now how does that translate to Joe blogs, Jane doe, or Mr Honda’s shopping basket? *

What's new about the Japanese economy today—and one of the reasons why the Nikkei is going up—is that Japanese people have finally awakened to the existence of such a market. Investment is no longer just about companies.

Here are some examples:

Investment amounts in Nippon Individual Savings Accounts (NISA) in Japan since 2019:

2019: 17 trillion yen

2021: 25 trillion yen

2023: 35 trillion yen

Furthermore, a new NISA was introduced in January 2024, with changes to the system including making it permanent, making the tax-free holding period indefinite, and increasing both the annual investment limit and the tax-free holding limit. For this reason, NISA accounts (individuals like Jane Doe and Mr. Honda) will significantly increase in 2024.

Another example is the GPIF. The biggest Japanese investor is the Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF), the largest pool of retirement savings in the world. Since April 2020, the GPIF has invested in a mix of roughly 50% stocks and 50% bonds, subdivided into 25% domestic equities, 25% international equities, 25% domestic bonds, and 25% international bonds. In August 2023, the GPIF reported a record quarterly profit of ¥18.98 trillion ($133.2 billion). This means that all Japanese people, including Jane Doe and Mr. Honda, who receive pensions after retirement, will benefit from this investment.

umbrella:

The stock market is nothing but a gambling center...

Making money in business and gambling differs.

Business is basically the exchange of values, normally products and money, in a marketplace, thereby benefiting both sides. In contrast, gambling involves moving money from one person to another; one side must lose money for the other to gain money.

The labor market is a place where companies and workers exchange wages and labor, benefiting both sides.

The stock market is a meeting place where people who have money but not technology and people who have technology but not money meet, benefiting both sides just like other marketplaces. The stock market is not gambling.

Mat:

Stocks are up, yeah great, but the yen is down even more.

Precisely due to cheaper yen (which is good for Japanese business), stocks are up.

He deserves the death penalty.

A great news, though expected one.

She is one of the greatest governors of Tokyo. If she had two bodies, I would like to have her as both the Tokyo Governor and the Japanese Prime Minister.

I approve this idea.

UAfan:

USD today TTB 160.47 should we be happy? or...what?

Definitely yes. When you compare the long-term trends of the Nikkei index and the USD/JPY exchange rate, you will clearly see a pattern showing that when the JPY goes down, the Nikkei goes up.

geronimo2006:

But...but...didn't wages rise by 5%. Obviously not!

It has to become a regular expectation, not just a short-term incident, before the wage hike results in spending. Otherwise, Japanese people will rather save it.

The number of dementia sufferers or those suspected to have the disease who were reported missing in Japan reached a record 19,039 in 2023.... 18,221 were found alive, of whom 17,988 were located within three days of filing...

Better than what I have first thought.

I still see many software programs that use the floppy disk icon as the 'Save' button, including most current Microsoft Office applications!

Koike!

Hope she wins.

He was viewed as a vocal critic of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (within LDP)...

That's good enough for me to like him.

Trump's lack of support for Ukraine is unacceptable.

Mr Kipling

How can something not real be "life size"? It is just a big model of children's anime character.

One of the earliest models, the RX-78-2, had the following specifications:

Height: 18.0 m

Weight: 43.4 t

Weight when fully equipped with arms: 60.0 t

Yes, even in the manga, Gundam had specific height and weight depending on which version you are talking about.

sakurasuki

Let's forget all Japan problem, failing economy, labor shortage, low population growth and enjoy projection mapping. For how long those problem can be forgotten?

Humans are more than economic animals. Never underestimate the arts.

BigP

It’s all very unnatural.

Nature contains things that, for some people, look 'unnatural,' and that is natural.

TokyoLiving:

Lady Koike will win for sure..

I certainly don't have any problem with that.

Koike was elected governor with a pledge to halve the governor’s salary, and she continues to fulfill this promise even in her second term. As a result, Governor Koike’s salary is not only the lowest among all governors in Japan, but it is also less than the average salary of Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly members. Despite this, she is dedicated to her work, working so hard that it’s almost overwhelming.

Koike’s administration has surprisingly many achievements. She resolved the Toyosu relocation issue, which was a problem inherited from the Ishihara administration. She established the Tokyo Metropolitan Public Document Management Ordinance, the Tokyo Passive Smoking Prevention Ordinance, and the Tokyo Child Abuse Prevention Ordinance. She pushed for the digitalization of Tokyo’s administration (paperless, hanko-less, cashless systems). She introduced a self-reform system within the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and enhanced transparency through an information disclosure portal. She also introduced Green Bonds.

Under Koike’s administration, Tokyo’s economy has expanded (Tokyo's GDP increased from 104 trillion yen to 115 trillion yen, a growth of 11 trillion yen over four years).

The number of crimes has halved under Koike’s administration.

What's not to like?

It's all dependent on what Cairo University says. Everything else is just speculation since the university is the only authority that can ultimately determine who is, or is not, a graduate.

Shadows of the Rising Sun:

Why, then, has the NIKKEI been doing poor in the last few months?

You should look at the Nikkei Index in the long term, not just a few months, if you want to see the relationship between USD/JPY and stock values.

When the Japanese yen gets devalued, the Nikkei Index grows, and vice versa.

USD/JPY Trend (Select Max Period):

https://www.google.com/finance/quote/USD-JPY?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiE55mD1_v6AhVfkIkEHVrwBt8QmY0JegQICBAb&window=MAX

Nikkei 255 Index Trend (Select Max Period):

https://www.google.com/search?q=nikkei+225&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS1044US1044&oq=nikkei&aqs=chrome.3.69i60j69i57j0i4i512j69i59j0i4i512j69i65j69i60l2.4998j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Michael Hooper

I'm surprised it lasted so long. It should have been boycotted the day Russia invaded Ukraine!

'I wanted to bridge Japan and Russia through food,' she says. That's how we, as humankind, build peace among different countries. You must separate politics from the lives of ordinary people.