Posted in: Australian Open 2025: There really isn't much time off in the offseason for tennis players See in context
The current calendar is insane for players. They have practically no ability to maintain a family life, a romantic life, or any kind of life outside of constantly and rapidly traveling the world from place to place, nonstop. It makes me wonder if we'll start to see more players cutting their careers short sooner, after they've earned enough money to comfortable live on. And that would be a tragedy for the sport.
Personally, as a big fan, my interest in the sport drops every year after the US Open in September. It feels like the end of the relevant portion of the season. Shanghai Masters? Paris indoor Masters? I couldn't care less, despite those tournaments being just as valuable to the players as the exciting Masters earlier in the season. Unfortunately, our Japan Open falls into that category as well.
I'd be in favor of getting through the US Open, wrapping up Davis Cup and the Tour Finals, and then letting the players have a few months off. It won't happen, but it would be good for the players and prolong their careers.
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Posted in: What advice would you give to someone who may be feeling depressed or lonely during the Christmas-New Year period? See in context
Like several other holidays (e.g. New Year's and Valentine's Day, for Westerners), Christmas can come with a feeling that you need to make it a really, really special, amazing experience. And that can lead to feelings of disappointment or even depression when reality doesn't live up to expectations.
For people who are lonely during this time, my advice is to do something completely new. Go to a place you've never been. Try an activity you've never tried - it doesn't need to be elaborate. Thinking about people who may be lonely because they're new to Japan, this could be your chance to try out an onsen, stay at a capsule hotel or a ryokan, ride the shinkansen or an overnight bus, try that little restaurant you've walked past a dozen times but were too shy to go in, catch a kabuki performance, go to a new museum, go stand in the cold and watch the first sunrise of the new year, and so on. Not only will you feel good about having had a new experience, but it'll take your mind off all the things you're missing while being away from your friends and family. And also, hopefully it'll make you feel more at home and more connected in your new country.
Hope everyone has a great holiday season.
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Posted in: Osaka paints well-known prostitution street bright yellow See in context
Of course, the prostitution business will just shift to another place.
But this move seems to somewhat resemble the "broken windows theory" that New York City adopted in the 1990s. The concept is that, in order to reduce serious crime (e.g. violence, robberies), police should aggressively target minor crime (e.g. jumping the ticket gate to ride the subway, loitering) and the city should keep the area physically clean (fix broken windows of empty buildings, clean litter). The theory is that fixing these minor issues is cheaper, and most importantly, creates an environment in the neighborhood that discourages serious crime. Violent crime DID drop significantly in NYC during that era, but some are skeptical as to whether the "broken windows theory" was the cause or not.
Painting the Osaka street may be in that same line of thought.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broken_windows_theory
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Posted in: At a time when a growing number of workers leave their jobs after a short time, comfortable company dormitories will help in retaining younger employees. See in context
I've had a few clients who lived in their company's dormitory. They liked it for two reasons:
They enjoyed the camaraderie with fellow coworkers. They said it was easy to make friends this way, since their companies were very large and they didn't have much chance to meet people from other departments
They didn't have to take care of anything. If anything got broken, the company took care of it. No need to cook or go grocery shopping - there was a cafeteria. It made life simple for a single guy who would rather spend his time in ways other than home maintenance.3 ( +3 / -0 )
Posted in: Japan 'zombie' train spooks passengers ahead of Halloween See in context
How dare they have innocent fun???
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Posted in: Abolishing death penalty 'inappropriate,' says justice minister See in context
I once tried to bring up the subject to a group of Japanese acquaintances - do they feel the death penalty is OK, or should it be abolished? They were all very puzzled about my question - they weren't sure why I thought it might be an issue. One of them said, "We're taught in school that the death penalty is fair and correct, so I think everyone in Japan feels this way."
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Posted in: Japan's overwhelmingly male cabinet underlines gender gap, again See in context
Japan's overwhelmingly male cabinet underlines gender gap, again
I won't pretend to be informed about the qualifications/skills of the wide range of politicians across the highest levels of the government.
But I don't think that the Cabinet ought to be the measuring stick of gender equality. We ought to be looking at the LOWEST levels of government in order to properly assess whether any progress is happening.
Regarding the Cabinet, the Prime Minister ought to be choosing the most qualified people for those important positions, period. These are extremely important roles that should not be given out casually in order to make a public statement about gender equality. Women are severely underrepresented across all levels of the government, so it makes sense that the CURRENT most qualified candidates for Cabinet positions today are mostly men. It's just a numbers game, and a result of past gender inequality.
The proper way forward isn't to force unqualified women into current Cabinet positions. It's to develop and promote effective female politicians at the lowest levels of government, and then over time they will make their way up the ranks, and become FUTURE Cabinet members.
It's a process that will require time. Unfortunately, patience doesn't make good headlines.
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Posted in: Is smartphone addiction here to stay? See in context
Many people lament smartphone addiction. But I see very few people actively trying to resist it.
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Posted in: Do you think adopting a four-day workweek could help boost Japan’s falling birthrate? See in context
I think it would help, yes.
As others said, I'm not going to hold my breath on Japan implementing a 4-day work week anytime soon.
But long working time 100% affects your personality, mood, outlook on life, and energy levels. My former job had looong, intense hours, and when the weekend came, I was dead and spent Saturday facedown in bed, and then on Sunday I forced myself to go out and be social with friends, but found I had little mental/physical energy to put into conversations and activities with them. I imagine that the same situation for a married person would certainly deteriorate their relationship with their spouse - conversationally, emotionally, and physically.
Having an extra day off per week would help that, I think. It'd let the exhausted worker recover, and allow them to participate more in their relationship, and be a better version of themselves for their partner.
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Posted in: Thousands in France protest 'rape culture' See in context
(I'm not making any point here, just doing research out of curiosity)
According to this, France had the 3rd highest rate of reported sexual violence among European countries in 2022, behind Sweden and Iceland.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1268551/sexual-violence-rate-europe-country/
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Posted in: Former world No. 1 Osaka announces split with coach See in context
Since her return from maternity leave, her match results have been mixed. It's obviously true that she hasn't advanced deep in important tournaments, but she has scored more than a few impressive wins over top-tier players. But it still hasn't resulted in tournament titles.
Watching her is a similar mixed bag. Some days, she's utterly fantastic. Powerful, faster, able to dictate points, looks "back to normal." Other days, the forehand totally fails her, and the unforced errors pile up way too much.
I expected her to struggle for a while after making her comeback (as is normal for someone leaving the game for so long, having a child, having a new lifestyle), but the inconsistencies have extended much longer than I had guessed. It's kind of hard to guess what's wrong, specifically. (Although it has nothing to do with the "She's not mentally strong enough!" refrain that is common among some JT posters who don't quite know what they're talking about)
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Posted in: What to stream this weekend: Childish Gambino, 'Love Lies Bleeding,' 'Cobra Kai' and 'Skywalkers' See in context
Cobra Kai is great. I've been looking forward to this new season for a long time. If anyone has nostalgia for the original Karate Kid movies, you'll love this series.
They also have a common enemy in John Cleese's Martin Kove.
The writer switched the actor's name and character's name
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Posted in: What is your definition of a true sports superstar? See in context
their name is becoming known even to those who don't know the sport
someone who is a household name
I disagree with this, but I think it's necessary to define the term first. The JT question is about a "superstar." To me, "superstar" is only talking about performance in someone's sport. When we start talking about fame and transcendent name recognition, I'd use a word like "icon."
So, if we're talking about "icon," then I think the players midwicket named above are all great choices. My mother knows nothing about sports, but she knows who those people are.
But if we're talking about a "superstar" in terms of sport performance, then I think it's a much larger group. I think at any given time, there could be maybe 3-4 active superstars in a particular sport (depending on the talent of a given era). I think they're players with certain longevity, and players who can single-handedly influence and control the flow of a game. I think a superstar is someone who is a force even in difficult situations, like if they're struggling with an injury, or they're on a bad team, or they're playing in bad weather, or they're currently behind, and they still find a way to impose their will.
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Posted in: Tokyo nursery teacher arrested for assault after strongly pulling child’s hair See in context
I wonder, are all these stories about dinosaur teachers…
Geeter Mckluskie: Police in Tokyo have arrested a 26 year old woman
A lot of people (myself included, sometimes) think "This is how it was when I was young, so this is how it needs to be for the next generation, too."
So, dinosaur ideas can exist among younger adults, too.
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Posted in: Tokyo nursery teacher arrested for assault after strongly pulling child’s hair See in context
These stories of physical and verbal abuse toward students persist.
So I wonder - are all these stories about isolated cases of dinosaur teachers who can't evolve toward modern thinking about treatment of students? Or is there a wider culture in schools that allows it?
A friend recently worked as an ALT in a more rural prefecture, and he said that the teaching staff was quite strict about the rules for themselves, and very much had attitudes of what you can and can't do/say to students in line with Western countries' attitudes. And yet...
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Posted in: What are the pros and cons of working in the same office as your spouse or partner? See in context
There are pros? Seems like a terrible idea all around.
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Posted in: Gender gap fuels disputes as Japan gets joint custody law See in context
...that Japan allow joint custody "when it is in the child's best interests"
This absolutely needs to be the case. However, I worry that the "child's best interests" will be determined by members of a society that widely values a mother's care as a child's best interest, generally speaking.
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Posted in: Kishida vows to focus on issues that cannot be postponed See in context
...are the press really still doing social distancing?
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Posted in: Daiso to change Japanese closing-time music because foreign tourists aren’t taking the hint See in context
“They should play the fast ‘time’s almost up’ music from Super Mario. Everyone in the world can understand that.”
Ha! This is hilarious.
Ah, those subtleties of Japan that the rest of the world just can't seem to get. It always smells of humble brag somehow.
There might be a hint of this. But I'm guessing it has more to do with the fact that the Daiso staff want to go home at the correct time, and not sit around for an additional 15 minutes waiting for clueless tourists to wrap up their shopping.
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Posted in: What are some travel scams that you have heard of, either in Japan or abroad, that travelers should always be on the lookout for? See in context
Reserving flights, hotels or cars through low priced intermediaries
I feel victim to this once. I searched for a flight through Kayak.com, which gives results across a wide variety of other sites, most legit and (apparently) some less so. I booked my flight through one of the low-priced intermediaries, and then paid an extra fee for the ability to change my booking dates later. When my schedule changed and I needed to change my booking, it said the only way to do so was via phone call to their office located in Florida, USA. A friend in the States called for me, but the line was busy. He called over 200 times over the next 2 days, and the line was busy every time. Never spoke to a person. I sent emails, and none were ever replied to.
I contacted my credit card and reported it, and luckily they cancelled the payment (although the sketchy company did try to dispute it).
The flight bookings themselves were valid, but the rest was pretty messy.
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Posted in: 46% in Japan have issues interacting with foreign co-workers: survey See in context
I genuinely wonder how many of the reported problems are pure linguistic issues, and how many are cultural points that got written off as "communication issues." I think for many people (from any country) the concept of "communication" also encompasses things like being able to read between the lines of what was said, being able to read the atmosphere of the room, being able to understand unspoken assumptions, etc. The inability to do those things also causes problems in an office setting, and can cause frustration toward people who can't follow along. And learning to do those things in Japan takes time and experience, beyond what you can learn in a language classroom.
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Posted in: Nadal loses in first round of French Open See in context
Rafa played yesterday with a great and admirable spirit, as he always does. But he struggled with the court conditions. With the roof closed, the court looked like it was playing very, very heavy. Rafa's ground strokes weren't doing anything. He should've come to net more, in my opinion.
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Posted in: Musk confirms Twitter has become X.com See in context
I know of no people from English-speaking countries who refer to it as "X." Every single one of them says "Twitter" still.
Among Japanese people I know, I'd say 25% of them say "X" while the rest still say "Twitter."
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Posted in: What are some of the best free places to visit in Japan? See in context
The observatory on the 45th floor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building is free, and offers great views of the city.
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Posted in: Top tennis players say they're playing too much because the tournaments are too long See in context
I don't know about whether it's causing more injuries or not, but as a fan, I really dislike the 2-week Masters 1000 events. For one, it cheapens the Grand Slams a bit. And two, it makes me lose interest in these Masters events. They just drag on too long, and the stakes aren't high enough for me to be paying closer attention, so I get bored with them and pay even less attention.
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Posted in: Taylor Swift's tour arrives to shake up Europe See in context
@Strangerland
I understand what you're saying, but I disagree. For me, it comes back to your earlier comment:
All other qualifiers are subjective
And I'll repeat my own response:
Skill is something that can't be measured? Ever?
With due respect, I think "everything is subjective" is an argument that (1.) makes it pointless for any layperson to ever express an opinion, and (2.) discredits the high-level, technical knowledge of experts (for music, that would be accomplished musicians, music theorists, credible music critics, etc.) who can understand and evaluate things along scales that normal people have no knowledge of.
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Posted in: Taylor Swift's tour arrives to shake up Europe See in context
The only objective qualifications to whether or not an artist creates good music or not are the number of fans
You're confusing "popular" with "good." There are plenty of "bad" things in the world that we still enjoy, from junk food to B-movies to celebrity gossip magazines. Myself included. Quality and popularity are separate things.
All other qualifiers are subjective.
Skill is something that can't be measured? Ever? We can't compare a professional painter to a high schooler doodling on a sketch pad, because it's all just subjective?
So whether anyone else could have done it is irrelevant, because she's the one who did.
It's not irrelevant at all. She's the one who did it, so she has certainly earned her mansions, no argument there. But we're talking about an evaluation of an artist, a maker of creative content. How could you say originality is irrelevant?
there is no argument as to whether or not she creates good music
That's clearly not the case. The fact that an argument exists is the reason why we're having this discussion.
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Posted in: Taylor Swift's tour arrives to shake up Europe See in context
I don’t get the bitterness about this from some
I'll try:
The bitterness from some people is certainly over the top, and making a pop singer the target of such hostility is odd.
But, for me at least, the dislike of her stems from the imbalance of love/worship/attention from fans and media vs. the actual quality of what she's producing. Her music is pretty run-of-the-mill fare. Some of the lyrics are interesting, but lots of them are bland and uninspired and even a bit immature. Her music could have been written or performed by dozens of other musicians of the recent generation. Judging purely from a musical perspective, she's fine, but not outstanding in any particular way.
And yet, here we have a news article announcing that her tour has arrived at Europe(!). What an odd bit of "news" (sorry, JT). There's no news here - it's just an excuse to put her name in the headlines, because it sells. Her actual music doesn't deserve that attention. Obsessive fans treat her as if she's some sort of prodigy, and go on the warpath against anyone who disagrees - professional music critics have had to post negative reviews of her music anonymously due to fear of being personally attacked by her fans. It's perfectly fine to love your favorite singers (regardless of who they are), but the discourse about her place in the music world is totally unjustified.
In terms of being a pop cultural icon - she certainly is, of the likes we haven't seen since Michael Jackson and Madonna did it decades ago. But Taylor Swift comes nowhere near MJ or Madonna in terms of the creativity, quality, or importance of her music.
So, I believe the bitterness comes from that - the imbalance of attention/worship with the average-ness of the music she produces.
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Posted in: Japan's declining attractiveness from the perspective of foreign talent is starting to become reality. Companies must improve salaries and other benefits. See in context
As far as workplace culture is concerned, it's a two-way street.
Yes, many Japanese companies are fixated on doing things the traditional Japanese way, and strongly reject any ideas or proposals otherwise, even if they're good ones. That's a problem when it comes to attracting (and retaining) foreign workers. I've known companies that have failed at this.
On the other hand, foreign workers need to resist feeling entitled about getting their own way. They are entering a foreign country and need to be open-minded about accepting the rules and expectations of that country's society and lifestyle, even if it clashes with their own. I've known foreign workers who have failed at this, also.
The point is, in order to successfully work together, both sides need to show more flexibility.
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Posted in: What do you think is the best plot twist in movie history? See in context
Fight Club
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Posted in: Europe will not be part of Ukraine peace talks, U.S. envoy says
Posted in: TEPCO takes on challenge of making space for Fukushima nuclear debris
Posted in: Germany's Scholz rebukes Vance; defends Europe's stance on hate speech and far right
Posted in: Europe will not be part of Ukraine peace talks, U.S. envoy says