the_sheriff comments

RIP. I love his work. A lesser actor wouldn't have made Hudson such a stand-out character in "Aliens." The film was better because of him.

Having said that, one of my favorite lines from all his roles is, "She had the ass of a 10-year-old boy." Ha ha, hilarious!!

Niantic released an augmented reality game a while back called Ingress, which has a large user base in Japan. The Pokemon Go beta has been out for months. Sure, there'll be people fixated on their smartphones but hasn't this always been the case with other apps like FB, LINE, etc.? I don't see what all the whining is about. The game seems like a great way for people to get off their bums and burn some calories.

I've met numerous people stationed at Yokosuka and something they all have in common is that they're some of the nicest and most courteous people I've ever met. Never had the pleasure to meet anyone stationed in Okinawa but I can't imagine them to be any different.

Having said that, all military personnel in Japan should be cognizant of the fact that they're under constant scrutiny for the very incidents brought up in the article. They should also be aware that any screw-ups will potentially bring punishment on all of them. I know these things and I'm not even in the military or work near a US base.

So this incident happened during the 30-day period from a previous, more heinous, incident? This alcohol ban, which is really a slap on the wrist, is a good reminder that US military personnel here simply can't cause trouble.

My understanding is that you're required to tell people of that it's a 告知物件 only when selling the property right after the incident. After it has passed to a different owner, you no longer are required to tell people someone died there. So this is perfect for buying then flipping...

The couple in kimono conveniently fit into the space between branches.

Yeah, good point. There's not as much beauty in perfection. Composing the shot so that the couple was blocked by a branch a little would've fit better into the wabi-sabi aesthetic.

In fact, some experts predict that the majority of Japanese temples without income from tourism and other businesses are expected to close over the next several decades.

So to summarize, (insert new technology here) is threatening the economic future of a particular sector. This is something we've seen play out through history over and over, and the result is always the same -- those who can't adapt won't survive.

The concern I have, though, about providing religious services through the likes of Amazon is that the Minrevi service and/or monks shouldn't enjoy tax-exempt status from income they get from there.

I find it hard to believe fat kids would want fat dolls.

I've worked with two different people with the last name 神 (with the じん reading). Dunno if they were related. Addressing emails to them was amusing because you end up calling them 神様.

I saw an explanation on TV before for #7 小鳥遊 (Takanashi). The thinking is that little birds will play when no hawks (taka) are around.

I'd like to know why names #8 to #10 are ranked so high.

Losing my job to a smartphone app could happen but not in the immediate future. Given my luck, the app that would replace me will come out the day after I sign the contract to buy a house or something. :(

But there are also other concerns regarding job security. High on that list is Japan losing relevancy on the world stage...

Whenever I read articles about alleged gropers, I no longer assume they're guilty. I also don't fault him for running regardless of innocence especially since the article below on this very site recommends that course of action.

http://www.japantoday.com/smartphone/view/crime/guilty-and-never-proven-innocent-every-male-train-riders-nightmare-in-japan

For years, Nestle Japan's Kit Kat marketing team has done a brilliant job. This is a continuation of their great work.

Global warming! Dogs and cats living together! Mass hysteria!

Address: Yamaguchi-ken, Nagato-shi 山口県長門市油谷津黄498

The English and Japanese addresses seem to differ somewhat. It's like going to an udon restaurant where the Japanese menu has a wide selection while the paltry English menu only has the entry "Meat noodles 780 yen."

Heart-wrenching...

Oh Japan, you never cease to entertain.

I don't think I've cared less about the opinions of any other generation in US history.

Thanks for the heads up. Those looks really tasty and I think my girl would love them. Also, they'll be sold through White Day so they're going on the short list. I've been really bored with offerings from the major chocolatiers so this will be a good change of pace!

Kind of a ho-hum picture of snowy Tokyo. JT, in the future, consider taking a picture in Meiji Jingu. That path covered with snow flanked by snow-capped stone lanterns makes for a great pic!

I'd like to think that tourist guide books explain the various map symbols so changing the established system used here isn't necessary. I'd rather the GSI channel their resources into improving the street naming system -- specifically, giving names to major streets that don't have them and romanizing street names to make them easier read (non-German tourists would probably have a hard time parsing a street name like "Akabanenishiguchidori," for example.)

But also, if the GSI is all about making symbols and such easier to understand, they should start at home first. Why is the name of an organization called the Geospatial Information Authority abbreviated as GSI?!

My girl and I each make a list of five things we want then we trade those lists. Picking a present from that list still has an element of surprise and invokes that sense of making a Christmas list for Santa-san.

I don't know if 70 years is enough for the sting to go away for the survivors of Pearl Harbor and their families so I might be out of my depth here but...why did the choose Hawaii? I mean, there are tons of other islands in the Pacific. Scratch that -- there are tons of islands in Japan. It's a friggin archipelago!

Redskins as a name is offensive and should be changed but where's the cut-off point. Should the Kansas City Chiefs or the Cleveland Indians also have to change their team names? I'm sure you'll find people offended by those names, too, but how many people need to be offended so that a team should be made to change their name?

There are definitely different standards for men and women -- and I think this even applies to the West, although to a lesser extent. Women, for better or for worse, are able to dress more fashionably/casually then men. They're also able to accessorize more. Whether in Japan or in the West, I don't think it would be desirable for men to come to work with earrings on, for example.

We've seen robotic comedians in Japan for years and this one's no different. After a few years on the manzai circuit, it's gonna make guest appearances on variety shows, maybe host a few of its own, and then try not to laugh on New Year's specials.

Too bad Texas has such a high GDP or else the US could've sold it off to Mexico years ago.

I fear the day when aliens come and treat us the way we treat animals. As Rod Serling put it, "To Serve Man -- it's a cookbook!"

Is it common practice to accept and then eat food from taxi drivers??

Itokyuemon, the crew of "The Exorcist" called and they don't want their prop back. They said you can keep it.

That article doesn't talk about perks. I imagine that working in food services would allow starving students to eat for cheap, if not free. Even I've been tempted by help wanted signs at CocoIchi and Gyoza no Osho.

Also, if the source info came from a weekly tabloid instead of the mundane R25 magazine, we'd have a very different line up of jobs...

I definitely agree about the removal of tarps. Staking out space the night before is nothing. There are areas of Tokyo where people claim space weeks before they plan to hanami. Yeah, I'm looking at you, Tamagawa River area! :(