supercub comments

It's great. People who think it doesn't look very Japanese clearly don't know a thing about Japanese design. That emblem is absolutely quintessentially Japanese in its aesthetic.

None of these seem all that peculiar to Japan.

Fraud, especially targeting the elderly, is common in other countries.

Sugar daddies exist the world over.

Illegal dumping happens everywhere.

Crimes by the elderly have been rising dramatically in the U.S. in the past decade or so. Like Japan, the U.S. and European countries are "graying." More elderly means more elderly committing crimes.

Theft of women's undergarments is also quite common in other countries. Do a simple web search and see for yourself.

This article should be titled, "Stereotypical crimes that are supposedly more common in Japan."

Why is hit-and-run so common in this country?

Hit-and-hit is common in every country. They are becoming more common in the U.S., for example.

You guys realize she was in jail for three weeks, right? That's how it seems to go in Japan. Relatively minor drug offenses result in 3-6 weeks of jail and repeated interrogation. It sucks and scares the stuffing out of people, so why then bother having the expense and bother of a trial?

Toyota must be reeling from the bad publicity, but also a little relieved to be rid of a top executive with a drug problem

According to my rough calculations, that would put deployed JDSF suicide rate at very nearly the same as Japan's overall suicide rate.

I hate these kind of headlines (there was one last week about a kid stabbing his mother over a video game). These crimes are not caused by disputes over TV or video games, they are the result of family problems and emotionally disturbed people. The disputes may be asinine, but the underlying issues are obviously quite serious and have deep and significant causes.

Plenty of people die in motorcycle accidents who are wearing helmets. It's a very important safety measure, but it is not some magical forcefield. Some people die in motorcycle accidents from head injuries while wearing a good helmet. It's an inherently dangerous activity, helmet or not. That said, I would absolutely wear a helmet to somewhat mitigate the risk.

HI does not have a helmet law and most motorcycle riders do not wear helmets. People may also ride in the beds of pick-up trucks. HI police enforce seatbelt laws and even have advertisements on TV insisting on seatbelt usage, which is a very good thing of course. It's also a bit silly considering that sitting in the bed of a truck is perfectly legal and quite common.

Family Game is a very good movie. RIP.

Not only is this hotspot not Fukushima related, but it also presented little to no safety risk. People don't spend a year or more with their faces pressed against one spot on the ground. These citizen geigermeisters need to chill with the vigilante science. It is borderline fear-mongering.

I have a special place in my heart for the 2002 Blues. Nakata, Ono, Inamoto, Nakazawa.

Agreed, nice article. Why would anyone want to spend time in such an environment? I'll take slightly inferior cocktails served by friendly people in a joyful place, thank you very much. 1500 yen for the drink, obnoxious service on the house.

Japan is an extremely safe country in terms of violent crime. It has a very low murder rate, and the majority of murders are domestic violence situations. Unfortunately, random killings by mentally unstable people happen everywhere, and Japan, a country of over 100 million people, will have them too.

65 just isn't that old. Unless she has premature dementia or something, her age is not a serious factor in this crime. Every 65 year old I know (and I know a number of 65 year olds) has perfectly adequate mental facilities to sniff out a blatant scam. Perhaps this woman is sick or idiotic, but it's kind of insulting to 65 year olds to blame her supposed advanced age.

Based on the few facts in this article, I'm just hoping he survives.

I'm no expert, but Frungy's analysis seems right to me. These are mentally ill people with known pathologies. The 'hikkomori' thing seems like a combination of mental illness and a particular ohtaku culture that attracts dysfunctional young males.

The change in the job market must be a red herring. I think more generally, Japanese society can feel oppressive and constraining, especially for people who can't really deal with everyday life, so they stay inside. Mental illness may manifest differently depending on culture and such, but people with emotional issues are a universal phenomenon.

I have only had positive experiences with Tokyo cabbies. The cabbies I've encountered have been polite, friendly, competent, and helpful. My only gripe are the high fares, but that's just the reality of the biz.

Most cabbies these days are second-careerers, often after having lost their supposed life-time employment position. Cab driving is one of the few employment possibilities for a lot of middle-aged men who get downsized. It's a very difficult job and it's hard to make a decent living at it. So maybe the author should show a little compassion.

I think the government should arrest and prosecute the whole family and bulldoze their house. Surely the prosecution should extend at least two generations back. The grandparents raised the monsters who raised the monster. The child's siblings should be detained preemptively, because they are likely to exhibit similar anti-social behavior. Does the child have friends? They need to be thoroughly investigated for potential rock throwing tendencies.

I kind of like those things called civil liberties. You know, the kind of rights that generally protect people from being tried and convicted for crimes they didn't commit. I'm happy to see bad parents charged with negligence or child abuse, but that would involve the parents, ya know, actually committing a crime.

No one has mentioned the stigma of mental health issues. Seems like a big part of the problem. There may be adequate mental health facilities, but if people are too embarrassed/ashamed to use them, then there will be sick people who resort to suicide.

Nothing is free. Someone has to pay for it.

Agree with all who are criticizing this question. It's poorly conceived. Wikileaks may have struck a small blow against state secrecy, but it is a pittance compared to the huge amount of classified information held by the U.S. government. Supposedly democratic governments increasingly choose secrecy as their standard operating procedure. Secrecy, in a democracy, ought to be used very selectively and only when absolutely necessary.

Wikileaks is hardly a meaningful threat against expectations of privacy. The U.S. government has created a massive security apparatus over the past decade that systematically collects information on American citizens and non-citizens using a variety of methods and channels. That is the real threat to privacy.

Good way to sell a couple million Arsenal shirts in Japan.

This article had a strangely jovial tone, especially considering the article references several deaths in detail. Most people find it difficult to chuckle at the death of 31-year-old from overwork.

MDMA can cause a dangerous increase in body temperature that can lead to kidney failure. MDMA can also increase heart rate, blood pressure, and heart wall stress

Los Angeles County coroner's officials said Tuesday that Sasha Rodriguez, the 15-year-old girl hospitalized after attending the Electric Daisy Carnival rave in June, died as the result of an overdose of MDMA, a drug commonly known as Ecstasy.

Yes, ecstasy can kill you.

If the country had 2nd amendment, the 2 crooks would be dead and the guy would have lived to tell the story.

If Japan had (your interpretation) of the 2nd Amendment, its murder rate would be much, much higher. Japan is very lucky to have few guns and the safety and security that comes with limited access to these weapons.

These lawsuits are often based on predatory and unethical business practices on the part of tobacco companies. For example, tobacco companies often deliberately market their products to young people, who often don't have the maturity to make a wise choice about their health, and the tobacco companies intentionally manipulate nicotine levels to maximize addiction. So, in effect they target young people who have an invincibility complex and ensure that they become addicted to the product. They also imply the relative safety of certain cigarettes when they are no less harmful to people's health. Tobacco companies are merchants of death, and I'm all for any means of punishing them.

People usually agree that inflation is a bad thing. So why is it that when prices finally move in the other direction, the only thing I seem to read is people bitching and moaning about things getting cheaper?

Because deflation discourages investment and causes the infamous "deflationary spiral." Deflation generally leads to recessions.

Anyways, she's obviously a devout Christian, so no divorce for them.

I think they'll live happily ever after. 1.8 children, PTA meetings, a mid-level managerial job at a medium-sized conglomerate, and a 40,000,000 mortgage on a 2DK mansion in Fuchu.

I remember shopping for rings. It was fun.