tairitsuiken comments

@BertieWooster

Wrong. If it's promoted, ie someone screaming into a megaphone: "Osusume, osusume, ichiban ninki nanbaa wan!!!", japanese customers will line up for it like the good customers they are.

When bizniz comes first, before comcern for the health of people, this is what you'll get. Some people, like @Brainiac, actually swallow these lies with the ever present "support the people of Fukushima". Good for them. People who can do critical thinking, realize that it seems a bit early to stand and smile in a supermarket and promote produce from an area that just one year ago was heavily affected by radiation. I am all for the supporting, but not at the cost of my kids and my own health.

Seeing the news on NHK yesterday, there were many old people there doing the supporting something that doesn't surprise me all that much - they somehow still seem to have confidence in whatever any official voice tells them.

Seeing as many truths and reassurances have been revised, my impression of Japan as a somewhat trustworthy nation has really changed.

@proxy

Sounds a whole lot to me that you have given into, and are accepting, a flawed system. One should not have to be required to "join the local festivals..." to not have your kid bullied. The PTA might have the power, as you say, but to just sit back and say "that's just the way it is here." is not the way to act. As a part of society, you have the right to a safe and educative time in school for your kids.

Does this country have anything resembling a long time, political strategy?

Ah, the tradgedy that is Japan.

These people keep working to feel they are needed. And what for. Just proves the point that Japanese have difficulties knowing how to enjoy themselves. I feel that these old people are. Way to indoctrinated by former politicians, asking them to "do their best for their country". When all these people are gone, and they will be soon, Japan is going to change drastically.

@basroil

But then you do not understand murder. You got your concepts wrong, buddy boy. Murder is not the same thing as manslaughter. That is why they are treated differently in the eyes of the law.

@KariHaruka

But this article was about Japan, no? Not about Rio, LA or London. I'm definitely with Disillusioned here: nowhere in the world do there seems to be so many people just suddenly losing it. I don't blame manga (I suppose that was said jokingly), I blame the problems many Japanese have to ventilate and to express their feeling in a meaningful way, always shying away from whatever argument might occur. Japan has much more pent up stress than most countries.

One of the things that make Tokyo a great and interesting city to live in is the diversity between Ku's.

Having lived in Meguro, it will always be the most attractive place for me; close enough to the very center of Tokyo but far enough away to feel, kinda like a separate place. Meguro has a great relaxed vibe that no Tokyo ku can match.

For a good time his christmas album is worth a listen.

@AKBfan

Damn, you beat me to it!

Seems same thing goes on where I work. Foreign company, getting more Japanese by the day as the gaijin give up and the Yes-men take over... We have time cards so it ought to be a simple task knowing exactly how long people work. But, of course, if you have staff punching out at five while they stay at work till ten, then you really can't control it. Personally I think it's a mix of enormous insecurity, sempai/kohai mentality (don't ever question your boss) and wanting to be perceived as a hard worker because as a previous poster said, this seems to the norm in Japan.

They didn't do any comparisons at the time

@smith

Apparently, they did have some evidence in form of some hair and saliva that didn't match that of Govinda's but that was withheld. Seems you, as a prosecutor, can actually do that and expect no punishment for it. At least, that is what Wikipedia says.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Yasuko_Watanabe

All these "rules" are just a wish of keeping something that people think is traditional and Japanese and therefore great. Why can't you eat on a train? Why? Because of the smell? Well, then Oyaji with the worst BO ever or obaachan that has a breath like a wet dog, please exit the train. And why is Shinkansen ok but the Metro not. BS, arbitrary rules, I say. That being said, whipping out the hashi and the bento might not be the easiest thing to do in a train but that's another story.

As long as you don't actually disturb anyone by spilling on them, anything goes in my book.

Eeh, Japanese people kiss? At all?

Seriously, though, I have once seen a couple doing some real kissing. It was in Shibuya station a late Friday night and they really went at it. Made me smile to see that kind of unshamed show of emotions.

@ So what you're advocating here is not the rule of law but rather "guilty until proven innocent"?

Do this 10 hours a day for 21 days...

I applaud your ethics, Sir.

The US did this all the time back before Miranda rights were upheld.

So that Japan couldn't care less about human rights (yeah, that is ultimately what it is about) makes it a better place how exactly?

Internet banking is great.

Pay your bills, transfer money, check your cards. Nowadays, when we all have smartphones, it has gotten even better and more mobile.

Japan still has not taken advantage of the full potential of it, though. I suppose it has something to do with the fact that many older (over 50 in this country) people can't imagine doing things digitally. Hence them still using an old fashioned bank book.

@zichi

There is always a better model arond the corner.

@flammenwerfer Highly scientific method you got going there: "Google it..."

Well, I don't think I will.

The reason is, I, unlike you understand that things break. Even after warranty runs out. Much like a car, I have zero interest in opening an electronic device up and messing around in there. I don't have nor the time or the interest to fix these things myself. What I care about is my things to work well while not broken. As I see it, Apple has a few things going for them:

Smoothness. Scrolling/swiping is still about a million times better on an iOS device than anything else. Why is that? To me, that this works is much more important than wether or not the connector is soldered to the case or not. Build quality. I like gadgets. I like to use them and do so every chance I get. That's why living in Japan is great. Whenever I pick up one of these Galaxy products or Docomo branded smart devices I just get dissapointed. The build quality is nothing like what Apple manages to make. Why is that.

One non-Apple device that felt very well built was a Toshiba tablet I found in Yodobashi. Unfortunately, it ran Android...

@Dutchduck

Dude, you're just great at reading things that aren't written, aren't you... Why must she think it's magic? What do you base that on? Your assumptions? Not good enough.

Did you actually feel an iPad mini yet? Bet you didn't...

Wonder if train otaku act this way too? "Argh, I can't believe the sheep, saying the Fukutoshinsen is the way to ride. It's clearly inferior to JR. Plus, JR has more standing space in the mornings, more handrails to hold on to and even foldable seats! Fukutoshinsen doesn't even have the options JR has to be able to watch different commercials in the same car."

It's humorous to me that some of you doods here can get so upset over this. I don't get upset that when I see someone using a non-Apple product. I just say like Mister T.:

"I pity the fool!"

@bas Damn boy, you really got it in for Apple, don't you? Did they do something bad to you in anyway? (Oh, if you care about anyone being able to read the multitude of links you drop here - learn how to link properly. There's a button for that, you know. Or does that not work on your superior non-Apple device?)

@flammenwerfer Give me a break. The sutainability no good? You don't know what you're talking about, do you? How many people do you think are interested in "home repairing" their iPad? I sure wouldn't be. Just because a few tinkerers want to carry around multiple batteries (good to have when in the wilderness!) doesn't mean the average tablet user cares. Oh, noo, is the connector soldered to the device. Can't use it now, can we.

@Dutchduck You're the one with the magic abilities, reading things not written in the article. Where does the girl mention "magic".

I checked this iPad minimout today. Very light, well built. Apple still leads the way.

@China

You have it wrong here. A person has died, thus police needs to be involved. Nothing strange, this would be done in any country.

Now this is an opportunity if I ever saw one: Panasonic, Sony, Sharp, they all have lost their way and need to invest in Japan. They can hopefully convince stock holders that buying a city name is a brilliant idea, something that needs ti be done asap...

Finally.

80 years old. This is so indicative of this country - the best thing they can scare up is an old writer. A very old one. He ought to be asked to leave politics but instead is one of the top honchos around. See what happens when "respect your elders" is taken too far... What a joke. Do Japan have any new ideas at all? Really?

So it wasn't a Japanese elevator maker and this the brand gets mentioned in the title. As if it was typical of Schindler elevators as opposed to say all the Toshiba, Hitachi or Mitsubishi elevators. Give me a break.

Isn't this whole society based on not speaking your mind and keeping things to yourself - do some gaman? Japan is a nation filled with yes-men that will never ever speak up (unless they are intoxicated).

I believe that these teachers and school officials know very well what's going on but they see it as a big hassle to act on it. Giving kids "questionnaires" is a shame, personal contact and attention is what is needed.

I would argue that the law is irrelevant if there is a freely agreed contract between two private parties.

Then you would, thankfully, argue wrong. At no point does any law become "irrelevant". I think we can all appreciate this as your so called "freely agreed contracts" might not always be so "freely" just because some names are scribbled down on a pice of paper.

@Resurfaced I believe this humongous sum they are willing to offer has something to do with volland said in the post below yours. Garbage companies get contracts, dealed out to them by your local, thin-haired oyaji politician at the nearest kabakura... As you say, something like 50-100000 would be more than enough to clean out a dirty house, no? Maybe they should offer a mil to clean up Japanese politics instead...?

@volland Yep, Japan might be progressive when it comes to producing inanimate objects but in the human department they have a long way to go.

We'll see about that...

This reads almost like a self-fulfilling prophecy: "Look at the pendant. Look at it. Loook... You will not need to use heating this winter, everything will be much warmer this year."

Personally, I find it cold already and will of course turn on whatever heating device I feel I need to use, whenever I feel like.

@basroil

Dude, take it easy. No need to shout out your opinions.

What you still seem to fail to understand in all your spec hunting and mentioning of movie formats, is that the iPad is not, has never been and probably never will be intended for only one use. Such as watching movies. It is a device intended for a multitude of things, and as such seem to do fine with a 4:3 aspect ratio.

Regarding your claim that "BLURAY DISKS" [sic] mostly uses the 2.39:1 format: it has nothing to do with the release but with the intention the filmmakers had when making the film. Sometimes 2.39:1 works best. Sometimes another format works better. As an example, take a look at "Avengers", a fairly new release. Definitely not a super wide movie.

Finally, you would do well to understand that the expression "right tool for the job" applies to to technology as well.