The Original Wing comments

I've been living in the same small apartment building for 9+ years. I have always said "konnichiwa" when passing a neighbor at the door or at the mailboxes. In 9+ years, someone has responded to me twice.

One of the challenges is that abused children usually have no basis for comparison. They're born into this family, and it's the only family they've ever known. It may never even occur to them that this situation is unacceptable or irregular, or that they have options for dealing with it (such as telling a teacher).

This is why it's important for schools (and society at large) to make a point to talk to all kids about abuse. Explain what it is. Explain that it's wrong. Explain options. Repeat it every so often. The more information a child has, the more likely he is to take action.

When the topic doesn't get talked about, maybe because it's taboo, or maybe because we don't want to meddle in other people's affairs... that silence strips children of knowledge and power.

When I've said similar things, I was told that I don't understand Japanese culture.

Apparently, a million people celebrating in a public street, many of whom are drinking alcohol, close to a river, is perfectly safe.

Not all drinking situations are equal. Different demographics, different purposes, different contexts. Undoubtedly some people at the parade were drinking. But I don't think Thursday afternoon parade drinking is the same as Halloween night in Shibuya drinking.

This gentrification really needs to be stopped. What has made Tokyo so unique and interesting is the differences in character of all its little neighborhoods. There's no need to turn everything into Shinjuku. If people want what's in Shinjuku, they'll go to Shinjuku. Leave the local neighborhoods alone.

Kpop is really bad.

Jpop is worse.

This has been said plenty of times, but still... how is there not an uproar over the name "Smile-Up."? What a horrific, tone-deaf name that insults every one of the victims that it's supposed to be helping.

Very smart idea behind the concept.

I'd like to see this idea copied, to provide daily essentials for the homeless in areas where they tend to live (for example, in Ueno in Tokyo). Having bottles of water in the summer, toothbrushes and toothpaste, fresh socks, and etc. would be a huge benefit to their lives, and allow them to receive these items anonymously without having to go to shelters to receive them. Allowing them to get these items anonymously and without registering would allow them to maintain a bit of dignity.

Yes, some people might abuse the system, and some who don't need them may steal the free items for fun. But if the signs specifically explain that these are for the homeless population, I think most people would respect that, and it'd end up helping more people in need.

No ex-Johnny's singers in NHK year-end show 'Kohaku Uta Gassen' after sex scandal

That'll teach 'em!

Mentally she's always been weak

Does she have the grit, the perseverance to succeed?

...they say, about the former world #1, and winner of not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 Grand Slam titles, which is the most Slams among all active women's players in the world (assuming the Williams sisters are essentially in retirement).

If Osaka never played another match, she'd already very comfortably qualify as a Hall of Famer. The last woman inducted into the Hall of Fame was Conchita Martinez, whose career peak ranking was #2, and who won 1 Grand Slam (and was a finalist of 2 others). The woman inducted before Martinez was Li Na, who peaked at #2, and won 2 Grand Slams (and was a finalist 2 more times).

Osaka is twice as accomplished as either of them, and she's only 26 years old.

You may not like her personality, and fair enough, but questioning her ability or accomplishments reveals a very limited knowledge of the sport.

Looking forward to having her back. She's a great player and contributor to the women's tour. Will likely be rusty after a long pregnancy term, but she'll find her way back to form eventually.

December 1 is the perfect date to get out the Christmas decorations.

Then, if I were back living in the West, I'd leave them up until after New Year's. But here in Japan, there are decorations and icons of the New Year holiday, and those are quite beautiful and important, so I have no issues with the public Christmas decorations being taken down immediately after the 25th.

My biggest issue with the air travel industry in the U.S. is the attitude of the ground staff. Delays happen, sure, no way around that. But you should at least be apologetic about it, rather than being brusque and visibly annoyed that I need you to rearrange my travel itinerary because of it.

Why is there a Masters 1000 event in the same city where there's a Grand Slam? What a waste. Get rid of this tournament, and replace it with a grass-surface Masters 1000 leading into Wimbledon.

I lie too often, to be honest (err...). Especially since coming to Japan, I've found myself being increasingly dishonest in the name of "maintaining group harmony." Not about big, important things, mind you. But more and more I've been washing away my real preferences and opinions and past experiences in order to blend in with the people around me. It's understandable in some cases, but it can also wash away your own authenticity if taken too far.

Sports provide actual drama, suspense, and human interest stories. Sports fandom tends to last a lifetime, and get passed to future generations.

Shosenkyo in Yamanashi is a nice one, and doable as a day trip from Tokyo. At the end, keep on walking (or take a bus) to the Arakawa Dam and walk around the lake there. Very beautiful with the fall colors.

Endo is accused of killing Seiji Inoue and his wife at their home on Oct 12

I wonder if the wife had a name or not

Japanese players are much better technically and better behaved than their foreigner counterparts.

Well that's painting with broad strokes, now isn't it?

More than 40 percent of young Japanese today do not fully grasp the implications of sexual consent, according to a survey by a nongovernmental organization.

This is such a frighteningly large number that I think (and hope) it must be misleading somehow. I wonder how "fully grasp" is defined and measured.

Even if the number is somewhat inflated, it's still a societal disaster. Changes are needed immediately to education.

Why haven't the 11 elected indigenous members of parliament been able to advise the government - surely they know what's needed?

@Jay - Great facts and points in this most. Was unaware of most of these. Cheers for the added perspective

What's with all the one-sided articles on this issue? As a non-Aussie, it's such an interesting debate and topic, but every time an article pops up about it, all they do is describe in great detail the reasons to vote "Yes" and offer a one-sentence explanation about "No." All this article explains about "No" is:

The "no" campaign has thrived on concern about the powers the "Voice" body would wield

And that's it. Shouldn't those concerns be spelled out as clearly as the description of the "Yes" side's opinions and worries? It's a more nuanced position that seems to always get described as just "racism."

A more balanced media is needed.

Recently, an (American, I'm guessing) woman in front of me in line at Starbucks couldn't speak a word of Japanese, made zero effort to speak slow or simple English, and had a very long list of customization demands for her drink order (including "I want it extra hot" - ???). The poor barista gathered two other baristas to come over to help, the whole thing took up 10 minutes of everyone's time, and at the end the woman made a show of being visibly irritated that her drink wasn't made exactly the way she wanted it.

I suspect it's things like this which contribute to Japanese establishments wanting to ban people from overseas. I'm not saying it's OK, but it's at least a bit understandable. It blows my mind how someone who doesn't speak the language of the place they're in is unwilling to go with the flow. And many Western countries are big on customization - vegan, gluten free, substitute A for B, extra, on the side... it's not the Japanese way, and it makes it difficult for staff to deal with such demands (especially if those demands are coming through in fast and complex English).

Beyonce is the most overrated singer of this generation. Her actual singing ability is great, but her songs are just so uninspired. Boring. Ho hum. I've never heard a Beyonce song that made me think "Let me hear that again!"

I've had both very good and very bad experiences with doctors in Japan.

My primary doctor (who was trained in the US) made a big point to discourage patients from scheduling medical checks unless there was a purpose for them. He argued that when doctors are searching for a problem, they will invariably find one (as the article here says: there's no such thing as a perfectly healthy body), which leads to unnecessary treatment, unnecessary referrals, unnecessary cost (for the patient), and unnecessary clogging of the doctor's schedule.

I recently took a trip to Australia and took in a performance at the Sydney Opera House. Before the concert started, a speaker came out to welcome the audience, and announced that the group behind the performance is strongly in support of the "Yes" side. A very, very long ovation from the audience followed.

That kind of fervor often leads to ugly fighting, and it appears that's what's happening here. I wish they (and everyone elsewhere in the world that is experiencing similarly ugly in-fighting) would find their way back to civil discourse.

Yes he's probably the best of all time. But definitely not the most popular.

I'd gladly take that tradeoff

you must be truly upset you bet all your marbles on Nishikori. How's he doing these days

Just came up this weekend: https://japantoday.com/category/features/opinions/is-it-game-set-and-match-for-kei-nishikori

I wish media would stop diminishing the great women’s records by comparing them with the men’s

I couldn't agree with you any more, fxgai. This is a very recent development, and I really hate it. Men's tennis is not women's tennis, and vice versa. They're completely separate organizations, with different histories and different rules.

raze and rebuild a historic rugby venue and an adjoining baseball stadium where Babe Ruth played.

This is written poorly. Jingu is also a historic stadium - second oldest in the country. The Babe Ruth thing is a fun detail, but not the reason why it shouldn't be torn down. New stadiums are shiny but lack character. Save Jingu.

a third had glued his feet to the cement floor

Due to this, security had to bring in medical personnel to pry the guy free, and it ended up halting the whole match for a half hour. There was a lot of criticism of US Open security for taking so long to resolve the issue, but just ripping the guy's glued feet off the floor would've left them open to a lawsuit, so they had no other choice.