Tadow Pladow comments

With salaries stagnant for going on 30 years, the BOJ is powerless.

Unfortunately, this is what happens when government policies push the prices of produce so high that normal families can't afford them.

Can someone please get this idiot off of the world stage? Statements that lack substance are one thing; but, statements like this that make it sound like a video game are... downright embarrassing.

Forget the faked flavor. Where can I get real maple-smoked bacon in Japan?

In a country where the job/company comes before family and personal health, a four-day work week would never catch on. Sadly, the idea of working smarter, not longer is a foreign concept, and--as evidenced by other's posts--viewed as lazy. So behind the times, in typical fashion.

Unfortunately, in typical Japanese style, the tariff on beef will be cut from 38.5% to 9% over a whopping 15 years. Some cheeses will have no tariffs, but others will be limited to quotas. At the end of the day, I fear this agreement will make the several layers middlemen much richer, while leaving consumers paying probably about the same as we're paying now.

US also has used food supply as a weapon to start a war, bad resume.

(1) I did not mention rice. (2) The statement above illustrates a severely distorted view of history. Which war with Japan did America start?

It is always US who is making demands.

These are legitimate, and long overdue demands.

Japan produces cars. The US produces, among other things, agriculture, energy, and defense equipment. Japan can sell its cars in the US without tariffs. Yet, the US cannot sell much of its agriculture to Japan without facing ridiculous tariffs. How is that fair?

As a comparison point, in July, China (currently in a trade war with the US) stuck back by placing a 37% retaliatory tariff on US beef. Yet, this is still lower than the 38.5%-50% tariff that Japan places on US beef.

Abe knows this is unfair, which is why he agreed to buy more energy and defense equipment from the US. But, agriculture is largely off-limits due to need for the JA vote for the LDP to remain in power.

Someone needs to educate Trump on the realities of driving in Japan. It's not just Americans cars, but any cars that are not compact and/or do not have a tiny engine are not really popular in Japan due to:

(1) super narrow, poorly designed and/or historically dictated windy roads that are shared with bicycles, mopeds, and electric poles;

(2) expensive gas prices at 3x - 4x the price in the US;

(3) expensive car taxes (based on size), the world's most expensive highway fees, and even the expense/time to get a driver's license in the first place (thus, many don't get one until their 30's). As a rough example, owning a $10k car over the course of 10 years will end up costing $20k (due to $10k in taxes).

Japan is basically a factory for cars, just like Vietnam and Bangladesh are factories for shoes/clothes. This does not mean that these countries consume these items. In fact, I see more large/powerful Japanese cars (Lexus, Toyota SUVs, etc.) in America, Europe, and China than I do in Japan. Trump can forget selling cars here.

Japan's social system is comparable with those from countries heavily taxing their citizens (have you ever looked into how much anyone in Scandinavia pays in taxes?)

No, school in Scandinavia is largely free, even college. Car and highway taxes are not through the roof. Wages and work/life balance are decent. Energy costs are cheap. There is no comparison.

Actually raising taxes is a good measure in today's Japan, but you need to be a trained economist to recognize the need

You mean like all of the trained economists who have guided Japan's economy to its stagnant status (now going on 30 years)?

The solution is to obey the law and use the passing lane only for passing. When I am in the passing lane, of course I will move over upon the first safe opportunity for drivers that want to go faster. It is simply common courtesy. Drivers in many parts of Europe obey this rule very strictly, especially truckers. In the US, it's generally obeyed, though not quite as good as France and Germany, in my experience.

In Japan, especially on weekends, you will get a driver using the passing lane as a regular driving lane, going super slow and causing an unnecessary traffic jam. It's not just the clueless drivers, but even buses and sometimes trucks do this as well.

Tailgaters are dangerous, but I rarely see tailgating in the non-passing lanes. If you are not passing someone, why not just move over?

The unfortunate side-effect of sashimi becoming popular around the world. Soon, it will become too expensive for the average Japanese person to afford.

Goodlucktoyou: Just hire one person, create a webpage in English and Chinese. JR has an English information webpage which I used during the last typhoon. Not so hard to do for Osaka city.

This is way too logical for the Japanese system.

Instead, they first have to spend a year looking for a native English and Chinese speaker (no accent in either language, even though it's all written work), who is also fluent in Japanese and fully understands the sacred Japanese culture.

Then, that person must hand-write everything in both English/Chinese and Japanese, several times, the same thing on several different forms.

Then, another person must enter that information into a single cell in Excel, no less.

Then, someone needs to fax a print-out of the Excel form to the J bosses.

Then, after numerous meetings, those bosses collectively butcher the English/Chinese to make Japan look more "cool," thus rendering the text unintelligible, except to those fluent in Katakana English/Chinese.

I wonder how quickly Abe is going to give in to every single US demand.

Unfortunately, all Abe will agree to is to buy more unneeded weapons, natural gas, or dirty coal. Or perhaps agree to move more J Inc. production to the U.S. Abe would never risk opening the highly protected agricultural markets here, despite the ever-decreasing/aging number of Japanese farmers. Maybe when rice hits $10/kg will the Japanese consumers finally realize that--as wtfjapan mentioned--the quality and price point can be met by other countries. Most likely they'll just say しょうがない.

Because dealing with a moron (trump) ends up making one a moron.

Agreed. However, this article makes it sound like they are willing to invest more in the U.S., just not in a way that could benefit the J consumer, only J Inc. It seems beyond stupid.

Oh, wait, I missed it in the article: "an FTA would boost pressure to open sensitive markets such as agriculture."

Around 1/4 of those comments are racist imo.

OK, so he is racist for 25% of the time. LMAO.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racial_views_of_Donald_Trump

LeBron James opens a free school for the disadvantaged.

Trump opens a fake university to swindle and take advantage.

Now Trump is pouting.

What a sad day in America.

Why is Japan so against a bilateral free trade agreement with the US?

I think most Trump supporters want him to hit these loons harder and I'm all for it as well.

Yes, move the bar even lower.

The left doesn't have the moral ground on this.

Who mentioned the left?

Lol and the left does? 

Again, who mentioned the left?

That was in 2016, hope you know they made up since then.

It doesn't matter if they made up or not. What matters is what Cruz and the rest of America truly think of this crack in the White House. Even his brainwashed followers know this, but don't care.

You mean like rhinos like Kristol and Will or Ruben. Yes, the old wishy washy conservative that can't win anything can stay silent, even after the storm passes.

Don't know who these people are.

What I’m interested in is exposing him to the world, and exposing his base and the Republican Party overall as corrupt, spineless traitors.

Yes, this exactly. Just when you thought the bar couldn't get any lower. The Trump party is showing--by example from Trump, and echoed in the comments here--just how low one is willing to stoop. Who cares if it's legal; who cares if it's wrong; as long as you can get away with it.

But, don't take my word for it...

"This man is a pathological liar. He doesn't know the difference between truth and lies.. He lies — practically every word that comes out of his mouth... morality doesn't exist" for him. --Senator Ted Cruz in 2016. This, coming from Cruz, speaks tons.

Many true Republicans are staying silent, waiting for this storm to pass.

More lies from the snake-oil salesman. All the Trump supporters are probably regretting they missed the chance to attend Trump University. What a pitiful crowd.

Trump University = fake university.

Trump rally = trash reminiscent of the Jerry Springer show.