SumoBob comments

On Thursday, a representative from Ishihara’s office released a statement to the media in which the former governor said he would be unable to attend the hearing because of his advanced age and health.

Yes, excessive blinking can be detrimental to one's health.

What a bunch of pie-in-the-sky malarkey. True, the world is changing and people (and especially governments) will need to adapt. However, the idea that every worker out there is evaluating their job on whether it will be outsourced, made redundant or given to a robot and is planning accordingly by going out to be retrained on their own dime (even if they knew what to train for!) is ridiculous.

Governments and businesses would do well to remember that without a well paid workforce of citizens paying taxes and buying the products companies make, politicians and CEOs own jobs and companies will go the way of the dodo.

I feel for these athletes, but once again the Yamato daimeshi, you must win gold at all costs for the glory of NIppon rears its head. If coaches and media realized that less pressure = more wins maybe the would have a better chance.

Or maybe there was an engine fire and she didn't get out in time. For a woman to choose suicide by fire would be very unusual.

No, actually, it's not uncommon at all. It happened in my prefecture as well, and seems to be a method of choice for some, particularly women for some reason. Dump kerosene on you and light yourself on fire. As for the exiting the vehicle part, that would be an involuntary human body reaction to the flames in an enclosed space.

Of course, the police sometimes stop people for more serious matters, including checking foreigners’ residence cards or passports to make sure they’re not illegally present in the country.

Wc626JUL said: And if they are found to be illegal, they are deported. Amazing how that concept works huh. Kudos Japan. You're a nation of laws.

Sure. A nation of laws where the police seem to think they have the ability to randomly fish for people who may be breaking the laws. "Papers! Show me your identification papers!"

For what? Niantic has done absolutely NOTHING wrong, and in fact have a disclaimer at the beginning of the game saying it is up to the player to be aware of their surroundings and that they should always be careful. A Pokemon character on the grounds of a nuclear site, around a train station, or in a park of all places does not constitute any kind of illegality. Any accidents that ensue on the part of the player is their fault alone.

Sorry to all the Nintendo fans out there, but this is a huge, FAIL, FAIL, FAIL for the Japanese company. Domestic game designers who don't have one iota of critical thinking skills to imagine that their game should have had "off limit" locations identified WAY before they game was ever launched. Arlington National cemetery? The Hiroshima Peace Park? Auschwitz? The mind boggles at the sheer stupidity of the designers.

@ CrazyJoe & Burning Bush

What if... Ergodan faked it in order to justify a purge and increased security measures. The whole thing seems a little contrived.

The coup started with military wide coordination but then fizzled with a few thousands soldiers and a handful of officers holding the bag.And Erdogan emerges as the people's hero draped in a flag on national TV amidst the crowd. Staged. Erdogan was never in any real danger and he knew it.

Are you guys serious? The coup was faked? 161 people killed and 1,440 wounded overnight in one the US's most important NATO member allies?

No way any president would allow 2,000 people killed or wounded for a false flag operation to boost their prestige.

Yep. GOod on him. One has to think that this was a kind of "shot across the bow" as it were to the Nippon Kaigi and the Abe government, as a warning not to start with their laundry list of bringing back Japan to the Edo period.

July 10, 2016 — the day the music died for Japan's 70 year experiment with democratic freedoms.

I've said it twice before and I'll say it again. If Abe and his cronies get their super majority, it will be the end of the Japan as we have known it. Their constitution-changing goals are right there on the LDP webpage.

The short list includes:

Changing Article 97 (fundamental human rights guaranteed by the Constitution are for all time inviolate) to an imposed set of "duties" (The people must respect the national flag, national anthem, and this Constitution.).

Eliminating a constitutional provision forbidding the appropriation of public funds "for the use, benefit or maintenance of any religious institution or association."

Freedom of speech would be curtailed: "engaging in activities with the purpose of damaging public interest or public order, or associating with others for such purposes, shall not be recognized."

Allow the prime minister's cabinet to enact law without the Diet: "The Cabinet may enact cabinet orders having the same effect as laws," and all persons must comply with the directives of national or other public institutions.")

What many Japanese don't seem to realize is that the constitution was written for them, the regular people by transforming the country from a militaristic, theocratic autocracy where the average Japanese had little to no say over their lot in life into a (somewhat) democratic system of equality and individual rights. And for those who lost power (ie. the samurai families, royalty and business oligarchs) have been quietly seething ever since, for they truly don't believe in individual rights and liberties. They want to bring back the old days, when the people knew their place and did what they were told. And if the people of Japan aren't more proactive about it, the old boys may soon get their wish.

Suzuki moved within one hit of equaling Pete Rose’s total of 4,256 — the big league record. The 42-year-old outfielder has 2,977 hits in the majors after compiling 1,278 during his nine seasons in Japan.

To that end, managers from every MLB team have now told their pitchers that they will be fined $50,000 if they don't intentionally hit Ichiro at each at bat for the remainder of the season. Oh wait.... it's America, where excellence is rewarded regardless. I was thinking of Randy Bass and Tuffy Rhodes in Japan.

"Please buy more Japanese things so my Abenomics 'plan' doesn't look like a complete failure.", says "Dishonest" Abe

Obviously the most effective way is to kindly ask the Japanese to cut their consumption by putting in place a domestic ban on the sale of the fish for the next 30 years.

Of course, there is less than a snowball's chance in hell of this happening, so we're going to have to go with the "extinction" option. And that is a shameful moniker the Japanese will have over their heads for and next few generations.

Police are currently investigating how the deceased driver ended up in the wrong lane.

This isn't hard to figure out. The police allowed a 90 year old man to have a drivers license.

What a ridiculous article. What's clear is that emergency food has been organized and delivered quickly: full stop. As a survivor of the 2011 earthquake, I can speak first hand about what food is available in those rural communities until power and supplies are re-established. Kanpan being "hard as a rock?" Of course, they are nutritious dry biscuits intended to provide vital nutrition without expiring in the can for five years or more. That's why they exist, to survive the first few days of disaster. And 'cold' onigiri? Sounds like a typical salaryman's lunch. Again, I know first hand, these are not terrible conditions, so need to stop blaming officials by suggesting that they're not doing enough.

Japan has been at the leading edge in robotics for a long time now, but Google's Boston Dynamics lab is about to leave Asimo the ball-kicking toy in the dust with their Atlas robot.

As a parent, I think this is something that has been sorely needed for a long time. Video rental shops have a separate area closed off for those looking for adult videos. It should be the same for magazine racks as well. But since space is an issue the slip-on covers are the appropriate choice.

I'm surprised they passed up the chance to malign the "nanking mame" (ie. peanuts) from China during setsubun that children usually eat. A far more popular legume in Japanese households during this event.

New headline:

"The world tells U.N. it has found no evidence of Japan being able to act like a responsible country"

For the love of god, English media in Japan, stop calling the dish "beef bowl." It's completely nonsensical to use the literal translation. "A bowl made of beef?", tourists will say. Gyudon is gyudon in English, as is sushi, miso, onigiri, tsunami, karaoke and countless other dishes. They are perfectly logical Japanese gairaigo.

Tax more, but designate the funds to be used exclusively for weaning people off tobacco.

Smoking is a habit that I hope some day may come to an end. But unlike other things (fatty foods, alcohol consumption) that may harm the body, smoke from cigarettes directly affects other people's health with negative consequences. To quote someone a while back, "No one ever died from a second-hand pat of butter.", and that, is the difference.

This design makes a lot of sensu.

Suspicion among Abe’s critics that the proposed legislation to ease limits on the military is a step toward gutting not only the charter’s pacifist Article 9, but basic principles such as respect for human rights.

This is a laugh. There is no "suspicion". The fact that the LDP wants to gut the constitution is right on their homepage.

Among the most egregious revisions:

Changing Article 97 (fundamental human rights guaranteed by the Constitution are for all time inviolate) to an imposed set of "duties" (The people must respect the national flag, national anthem, and this Constitution.).

Eliminating a constitutional provision forbidding the appropriation of public funds "for the use, benefit or maintenance of any religious institution or association."

Freedom of speech would be curtailed: "engaging in activities with the purpose of damaging public interest or public order, or associating with others for such purposes, shall not be recognized."

Allow the prime minister's cabinet to inact law without the Diet: "The Cabinet may enact cabinet orders having the same effect as laws," and all persons must comply with the directives of national or other public institutions.")

What many Japanese realize is that the constitution was written for them, the regular people by transforming the country from a militaristic, theocratic autocracy where the average Japanese had little to no say over their lot in life into a (somewhat) democratic system of equality and individual rights. And for those who lost power (ie. the samurai families, royalty and business oligarchs) have been quietly seething ever since, for they truly don't believe in individual rights and liberties. They want to bring back the old days, when the people knew their place and did what they were told. And if the people of Japan aren't more proactive about it, the old boys may just get their wish.

Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam all have strong economic growth potential, and are promising destinations for Japanese exporters of railway systems.

Said without the slightest hint of irony. Eric Lomax must be rolling over in his grave.

Kagemusha wrote: In a perfect world this would be great, but in the real world it would be telling a person that they should never lock their doors, leave all their windows open, not have a security system, or any security measures whatsoever...without their neighbors doing the same. It's just silly. Even having the JSDF as it is in in opposition to this clause and this clause is likely the clause that people are jumping on now as well.

You've got the right idea, but your comparison is a bit off. The Japanese constitution has never banned defense of the country, only the right to wage aggression and war on other countries.

So your analogy should be along the lines of:

In the real world article 9 would be telling a person that they should never take their gun out of their home, never enter another's yard without permission nor with offensive weapons of any kind ,nor spy on one's neighbors in an effort to ascertain their wealth and worldly goods lest one begin to covet what isn't yours.

Sounds like a world I'd like to live in. It's also something that was attempted in 1928 (and signed by a great many countries at the time) with the Kellogg–Briand Pact. The UN charter also has a provision banning countries from the threat or use of force.

This latest ore ore scam is going to the a ore mine.

Disillusioned wrote: Nessy, the results show that, populations have returned to around 50-60% of what they were 200 years ago. Some species are more and some are less. However, there is no proof that the populations could be sustained if commercial whaling was resumed and resumed for which countries. Why should one country have sole rights of exploitation for profit over whales when many other countries are against the slaughter of them and use whale-watching as a lucrative alternative to slaughtering them? Furthermore, if you want to talk data, there is proof that there is no market for the meat of large scale slaughter of the whales.

This.

The question about resuming commercial whaling is:

A) who gets to benefit if it's allowed again? Because for sure all former whaling nations can't take up the practice again and keep whales sustainable, and

B) Where is the demand for whale products coming from? Don't need whale blubber for oil anymore. For cosmetics? For a smattering of oyaji who still remember and enjoy the taste of whale meat during the post-war lean years?

Those are tough sells to the international community to allowed to slaughter large, intelligent mammals indiscriminately.

The bottom line for commercial whaling is, there just isn't any demand to justify it anymore. Full stop.

A ministry spokesperson said the data only highlights the urgency that the government must deal with the very real issue of the population decline.

Ha. Just love these Minister types spouting obvious government platitudes. Must deal with this situation urgently? Since the mid-1990s everyone with any kind of expertise including the United Nations has been screaming at the government to deal with this situation urgently. But as we all know now it's too late to deal with the situation and have any hope of reversing what will be a long, destructive decline of this country's wealth and prestige. It's not that the population is dropping by 240,000 as much as the population is now aging at a rate that will mean 40 percent of the population will be over the age of 65 within the next 25 years. That is the crisis the country faces.

As for the issue of overcrowding in Japan,that is a completely man-made issue. Japan Inc., very purposely to consolidate power made business and industry focused on the Tokyo area, such that more than one quarter of the population now lives there. Get out of Tokyo and you'll see land as far as the eye can see. Where I live the population density is 17 people per square kilometer. If the government would share the wealth by spreading out business and industry centers throughout the country you'd see the problem go away.

What a great way to fix the pension crisis! The system is 'hacked' (still using Winny are we, public servants?) which leads to, "We're sorry, it seems someone else has already claimed your pension." for millions of retirees.

Hear, hear, smithinjapan and HongoTAFEinmate.

Japan can cry me a river for it's whiny complaints about being subject to exactly the same non-tariff trade barriers they've subjected the world to for decades. Except in this case, the concerns are actually deserved (Japan Inc. having incompetently blown up a nuclear reactor, poisoning half a prefecture and a good chunk of the ocean). You'll just have to expect the world has no reason to trust Japan's word on safety over this matter.