Posted in: Record number of Japan ramen eateries went bankrupt in 2024 See in context
Japan suffers from wage stagnation but it is nowhere as bad as countries like Australia. The salaries in Australia sound good on paper but after taking out the colossal expenses there is hardly anything left.
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Posted in: Suspect arrested in teen stabbings at McDonald's in Kitakyushu See in context
This is good news!
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Posted in: Japan consumers' Christmas budgets down 27% amid rising living costs See in context
Christmas is a Christian holiday and I'm glad Japanese like to celebrate it. They celebrate it in various ways such as buying a Christmas cake for their loved ones. As with everything they've just got to spend less if money is tight.
4 ( +5 / -1 )
Posted in: Japanese survivor of atomic bomb recalls its horrors in Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech See in context
the atomic bombings were a terrible thing
Agreed. If the bomb was not dropped they would have kept on fighting. The Japanese did horrible things during the war. That needs to be acknowledged by the Japanese.
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Posted in: Japan's weekly COVID-19 cases rise for 1st time in 3 months See in context
Japan should be worrying about their economy than this.
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Posted in: Tip of 4-year-old girl’s finger bitten off by horse during feeding experience at riding club See in context
She was trying to feed the horses
Is it just me thinking a 4 year old doing this kind of thing is dangerous? I know Japanese parents give their children a lot more freedom to do things compared to parents in western countries but sometimes I think they do not really think of the risk of a potential accident.
4 ( +4 / -0 )
Posted in: Foreign tourist angers locals for doing pull-ups on torii gate at shrine in Japan See in context
Climbing Uluru was banned in 2019. It was viewed as deeply disrespectful but doing pull-ups and handstands is much worse.
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Posted in: Kyoto temple suffering from littering tourists claiming not to understand Japanese verbal warning See in context
There are lots of vending machines. Usually there is a bin to throw your bottles in. When you buy things you need to throw them somewhere. So you need bins! It is a basic things which citizens and tourists should have access to.
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Posted in: Japan travel industry calls for offering free passports to 18-year-olds See in context
Takahashi said he believes gifting new adults a five-year passport will encourage overseas travel
Currently around 24 percent of the Japanese population have passports with just 16 percent who use it for travel. There are various reasons why Japanese don't travel. Some are listed below.
Many have no interest in other countries or cultures. They are happy just being in Japan.
Some have a fear of the unknown and don't want to experience another culture. They are reluctant to get
out of their comfort zone.
Some are not confident English speakers and see it as a big problem.
Many can't afford to travel abroad.1 ( +3 / -2 )
Posted in: Aging Japan struggling with slow adoption of cashless payments See in context
I was very old school before and always used cash. After that I started paying things with my iPhone, debit cards and credit cards. In rural Japan it is very conservative. Some shops it is only cash. I tried to use my credit card once at a supermarket once and the checkout lady said cash only. Sometimes the young checkout girls look at me strangely when I opt to pay with credit or debit card. Even PayPay. I hope society does not go to the extreme of going totally cashless. People should always be given the choice. The other thing is many Japanese do not like using cards online to pay for purchases. They prefer to use gift vouchers and other various vouchers to pay for things on the Internet. You see tons of these vouchers being sold at the convenience store. They see using cards online as risky.
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Posted in: Japan slow to cater for vegetarians despite growing demand See in context
I am guessing it is not easy being a vegetarian in Japan because Japanese people do not embrace vegetarianism to the extent Western countries do. Fish has always been a long part of their food history so going without it would be difficult.
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Posted in: Video of man kicking, slapping deer in Nara Park causes outrage See in context
The young man has broken the law!
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Posted in: Surge in inbound tourists pushes Japan to explore dual pricing See in context
I've only heard of this practice happening in developing countries.
5 ( +8 / -3 )
Posted in: Man arrested for cutting high school girl’s skirt with scissors while on bus See in context
He obviously likes high school girls so much so he had the audacity to cutting a piece of the girl's skirt.
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Posted in: Convenience store manager arrested for filming up skirt of customer See in context
OMG, like I always say, why not try ASKING the girl OUT ?!
I think some Japanese men have a lot of problems communicating with the opposite sex. They just watch porn movies rather than working on their social skills. If they stopped watching so much porn and go out and try to socialize with females we'll probably see less of these incidents occurring.
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Posted in: Abductee's mother pins hopes on fresh Japan-N Korea dialogue See in context
I hope it gets resolved soon. She's perservered so much. Deserves to know what happpened.
-1 ( +0 / -1 )
Posted in: Woman, baby daughter die after being hit by train in apparent murder-suicide See in context
Terrible! I don't know how tough it is to rear a child in Japan. It's probably hard for many from what I heard but what she did is not the solution. All in all a tragedy!
1 ( +1 / -0 )
Posted in: Salty foods are making people sick − in part by poisoning their microbiomes See in context
Doctors often say reduce your salt intake. What they really should be saying is stop eating processed food. If you look around in the shopping trolleys at the supermarket many people have processed foods in there. Many people eat processed foods on a regular basis and don't realise the amount of salt in them. Unfortunately real food, vegetables, fruits can be pricy so people opt for cheaper processed foods. I do think salt is overrated as far as high blood pressure is concerned. I suspect it has more to do with insulin spikes from eating processed and sugary foods. My blood pressure went back to normal after going low carb and eating salty things like bacon. I think it was the rice, bread pasta mixed with fatty foods that caused problems.
1 ( +5 / -4 )
Posted in: 45-year-old man arrested for arson after argument with mother over breakfast See in context
Looks like he is not all there so needs some help. There's plenty of work out there apparently so not being able to find a job doesn't hold water.
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Posted in: City in Saitama Prefecture to require multilingual trash rules posted for foreigners See in context
What I don't like is paying for all those bags and paying to dispose of certain items.
It's probably a bit of revenue for the local government. Having 2 big bins as you said is a better method and environmentally friendly. All those different kinds of plastic bags you have to buy is bad for the enviroment. The funny part is at supermarkets they're trying to encourage the reduction of plastic bags and charging if you need one while for rubbish disposal you need to buy a variety of bags to throw out thing such as metal items.
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Posted in: Driver says she took her eyes off road to pick up smartphone when she fatally hit 87-year-old man See in context
There is the other issue of these roads with no sidewalks and the ignorant drivers who speed on these small roads.
Glad someone mentioned this. I see a lot of drivers speeding on such narrow roads. The police do nothing. They are more interested in checking if bicycles at the train station are locked.
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Posted in: New York Times essay speculating over Swift's sexuality sparks backlash See in context
Can someone tell me why she is so popular?
I have always wondered why she is extremely popular. Not a fan of her. Music now is no way as near as good as the 80s and 90s. Maybe there is not much competition now and it is much easier for one singer to stand out and get a huge fanbase. She's very successful. Ed Sheeran is the other one who is very popular but I don't understand why.
-3 ( +3 / -6 )
Posted in: Man arrested for pushing woman off station platform in Tokyo See in context
What's sad in Japan is they're attacking innocent people to vent their frustrations or problems in life. I know this does happen in other countries but it seems to happen a lot more in Japan.
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Posted in: Coming-of-Age Day ceremonies held across Japan See in context
The irony going to what is essentially a children's attraction to celebrate becoming an adult.
I noticed a lot of Japanese women like to do childish things.
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Posted in: Japan bad train manners survey reminds us of three things to watch out for while riding the rails See in context
Even in rural areas I witness bad train manners. Less people but I see bad manners. When I arrive the person boarding should wait 2 seconds for me to get off. Instead they approach the entrance once the train stops. I don't like having to dodge and weave all the time. Even during covid some people didn't care about social distance. Then you have the dead tired sleepers who think it is a capsule hotel. They fall and encroach the space that belongs to the space of the other passenger.
2 ( +2 / -0 )
Posted in: Japanese women fall prey to host clubs See in context
This is a part of Japan I've never understood. Establishments for young women entertaining older men and men entertaining women. It is very sad what happens to some people who decided to visit these places.
5 ( +8 / -3 )
Posted in: SDF member arrested over murder of 82-year-old man in Kyoto See in context
I didn’t care who I killed.
Angry at the world, angry at life, but to take an innocent victim is the most selfish thing one can ever do.
2 ( +2 / -0 )
Posted in: Woman using smartphone falls to her death from bridge in Shizuoka Prefecture See in context
70-cm-high railing
Gee, can't be much of railing if it's only 70 cm high! RIP to the young women.
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Posted in: School's out forever in parts of aging Japan See in context
Wny is Japan's population declining at such an alarming rate?
It's unaffordable for many to get married and raise a family. Current wages just doesn't cut it.
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Posted in: Man arrested for assaulting taxi driver and fleeing scene without paying fare See in context
Lol that sad the man could not afford 3000 yen what a loser
That's what I was thinking. I'm not wealthy but 3000 yen is peanuts in this day and age. Hope he gets a suitable punishment for his crime.
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How is Robert Kennedy Jr., the son of Robert Kennedy, not part of the elites, exactly?!
Posted in: Trump unleashes a supercharged MAGA agenda and Republicans come aboard
Posted in: Year begins with warmest January despite shift toward cooling La Nina
Posted in: Trump unleashes a supercharged MAGA agenda and Republicans come aboard
*Ukraine gets 30% of its weapons from the US, but it makes 40% of its own weapons.
Posted in: Moscow says its troops have repelled Ukraine offensive in Russia's Kursk region