Tando comments

Posted in: Australian leader Albanese plus 3 former PMs to attend Abe funeral See in context

Cheap trip to Japan with 5 star special treatment while others have trouble to get into the country. And taxpayers have to pay for it.

3 ( +9 / -6 )

Posted in: Takeshi gets lifetime achievement award at Italy film festival See in context

Whenever I see him on TV I switch the channel.

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

Posted in: Japan’s most popular beers, according to 70 million customers See in context

The reason for super dry being No 1 is marketing certainly not taste. Restaurants have a bigger margin of profit with it.

7 ( +8 / -1 )

Posted in: Germany honors survivor of Nazi concentration camps, 96, killed in Ukraine See in context

Never understood people conflating those two, the only reason anyone survived Hitler was because of Stalin. People act like communists and fascists weren't on opposing sides of the war.

Mao and Stalin killed many more people than Hitler did. Funny thing is that they became idolised during the student movement.

5 ( +9 / -4 )

Posted in: What are some differences in food eating habits or preferences between the Kanto and Kansai regions in Japan? See in context

For one thing Kanto food has a stronger flavour. When I once ate Tempura and noted that the accompanying tentsuyu broth had a too strong flavour, I was told that this was Kanto style.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Posted in: Why some women are traveling to South Korea to find boyfriends See in context

This is so hilarious, there is hardly any other country as chauvinistic as Korea.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Posted in: Japan's Shinto religion is going global and attracting online followers See in context

How do you practice Shinto? Shinto outside Japan doesn't make much sense.

9 ( +9 / -0 )

Posted in: Do you think it is a good idea to include patriotism in school curricula? See in context

Where do you draw the line between patriotism and nationalism. Do you think that the Nazis or Japanese imperialists in the 1930s did call their brand of ultranationalism anything else but patriotism. The insurrection on the capitol was invoked in the name of patriotism. One of the main reasons for Brexit was British nationalism. There plenty of other examples around the world. Patriotism and nationalism lead to self centered, irrational and destructive behaviour. Why do human beings need such a crutch, we should be beyond this tribal stage.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Posted in: Ministers Kishi, Nishimura visit Yasukuni Shrine See in context

What is wrong with Yasukuni

In order to answer this question first of all one has to understand what Yasukuni stands for!

In the middle of the 19th century power in Japan shifted from the Shogun to the Emperor who became the ruler, father and god of a nation that was modelled according to the traditional concept of an "Ie" or extended family. Yasukuni was established in 1866 in honour of all those warriors who gave their live for this concept of family nation with the emperor at its center, called “Kokutai Shugi”(remember Prime Minister Mori?!). So the first souls, that were enshrined there and became guardian spirits of the nation (just as the ancestors in a regular family), had fought against their fellow Japanese who defended the Shogunat. "Kokutai Shugi" eventually became the core of an ultra nationalist ideology under which freedom was suppressed at home and war spread to many neighbouring countries, namely Korea and China. While it could be said that most of the over 2 Million souls enshrined at Yasukuni were victims of a religiously trimmed nationalism themselves, it should also be remembered that on their way to “sainthood” they caused the untimely and cruel death of more than ten times as many of their Asian neighbours.

Just make a few cosmetic adjustments to the historical facts and Yasukuni goes as a culturally embedded memorial for the war dead. Japan has had a long history of reinventing its own tradition during the Tokugawa and Meiji Period. The Problem in a democracy is not that these reinterpretation of history exist, but that hardly anybody questions them and the education system doesn’t encourage Japanese students to do so. Imagine that Germany would have a memorial of the core of its nazi ideology.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Posted in: China, Russia slam Japanese ministers' visits to Yasukuni Shrine See in context

What is wrong with Yasukuni

In order to answer this question first of all one has to understand what Yasukuni stands for!

In the middle of the 19th century power in Japan shifted from the Shogun to the Emperor who became the ruler, father and god of a nation that was modelled according to the traditional concept of an "Ie" or extended family. Yasukuni was established in 1866 in honour of all those warriors who gave their live for this concept of family nation with the emperor at its center, called “Kokutai Shugi”. So the first souls, that were enshrined there and became guardian spirits of the nation (just as the ancestors in a regular family), had fought against their fellow Japanese who defended the Shogunat. "Kokutai Shugi" eventually became the core of an ultra nationalist ideology under which freedom was suppressed at home and war spread to many neighbouring countries, namely Korea and China. While it could be said that most of the over 2 Million souls enshrined at Yasukuni were victims of a religiously trimmed nationalism themselves, it should also be remembered that on their way to “sainthood” they caused the untimely and cruel death of more than ten times as many of their Asian neighbours.

Just make a few cosmetic adjustments to the historical facts and Yasukuni goes as a culturally embedded memorial for the war dead. Japan has had a long history of reinventing its own tradition during the Tokugawa and Meiji Period. The Problem in a democracy is not that these reinterpretation of history exist, but that hardly anybody questions them and the education system doesn’t encourage Japanese students to do so.

9 ( +13 / -4 )

Posted in: Female monarchs to be debated as Japan looks to secure imperial line See in context

2600 year old dynasty?! The author of this article seems to believe in myths. Yes there is a kenkoku no hi or nation foundation memorial day which took place more than 2600 years ago when the descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu descended to the holy islands of Japan. This has nothing to do with reality. The imperial dynasty started more than 1000 years later.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Posted in: Restaurant chain operator sues Tokyo gov't over COVID opening hour restrictions See in context

Many comments here are absurd. Look to the US and its death rate to judge what unlimited freedom means right now. Japan's society was almost functioning normally during the state of emergency. Nothing in comparison to the lockdown in other countries.

-7 ( +6 / -13 )

Posted in: Barring fans from abroad for Tokyo Olympics creates many questions See in context

"Olympig" might not be politically correct but this kind of attention is what this tarento is thriving on.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Posted in: The lie of the land: How topography made Tokyo the city it is today See in context

Tokyo was also built as a castle town, which means that it's layout was like a labyrinth, so that an attacking enemy got lost during his attempt to get to the central castle.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Posted in: Do a temple stay at the headquarters of Soto Zen Buddhism See in context

Japan has lost its spirituality just as the western world has. I came to Japan and entered a Soto Buddhist monastery, but life in Japan has certainly nothing to do with that.i

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Do a temple stay at the headquarters of Soto Zen Buddhism See in context

Don't expect any spirituality there. It is just a training center for a quick license to run a temple.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Suga wants to cut cell phone charges in Japan by around 40% See in context

I am paying 1800 Yen a month with DM mobile.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Death knell sounds for some of Japan's oldest department stores See in context

As a tour guide I often took my customers to the food section of department stores, to show them how nice everything was arranged but also kind of a strange world where 100 grams of beef cost 2000 Yen or a melon 10.000 Yen.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: Koike says postponed Olympics should be held 'by all means' See in context

More than Covit 19 the heat is of concern. If you have the same temperatures as this year this is going to be hell for many athletes.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Posted in: Japan's male smoking rate drops below 30% for 1st time See in context

I don't like people smoking around me myself, but the Japanese have the longest life expectancy in the world. Maybe all those people complaining about the smoking habits in Japan should have a closer look on their own eating habits and maybe those of the countries they come from. Obesness is at least as problematic as smoking.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Posted in: Yasukuni Shrine a symbol of haunting wartime legacy See in context

It seems that many here do not understand the historical meaning of Yasukuni. It was at the center of the Kokka Shinto (State Shinto), which was again an important element of Japanese ultra-nationalism. With this religion people were indoctrinated, you could say brainwashed. In this respect, this religion can be compared to radical Islam because it promised the fighters to die as martyrs. Japanese ultra-nationalism can be compared to that of Nazi Germany maybe even more radical. The Nazis first had to create the Germanic myth; in Japan they simply used the indigenous religion. This indoctrination led to the cruel behavior of the Japanese soldiers in Asia. What would people say if there was still a symbol of Nazi indoctrination in Germany?

5 ( +7 / -2 )

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