toon12 comments

Was there about a month ago and totally agree. I used to live there and when I went in 97 there were hardly any foreign tourists except for the foreign exchange students and military people from the US bases and other intrepid tourists who wanted to hike up to Mt Fuji. Went back in 2005-6 and it was still good. Everyone treated each other with respect and courtesy and even found place one time which let me hold my bags for free while I climbed. Now it is so different. I met so many foreigners that they outnumbered the locals there and it was sad because a couple of times the foreigners were rude even to me. Even on the train ride up from Tokyo to Kawaguchiko station. It was totally ridiculous to experience that much rudeness from foreigners who had no respect. An example was tourists riding the rental bicycles on the sidewalk. In Japan you do not ride your bicycles on the sidewalk when people are walking. As for the convenience store. Good for them. I saw that and I was just blown away of some many foreigners taking selfies, posing like they are models and being just plain dumb. A couple years from now they will not even know where that photo was taken or why they did that.

With all due respect to the negative posts here, BYD was invested by Warren Buffett. He sees something in that company like he sees something in Japanese stocks being a safe and secure environment. Nio is a legit company. That guy William Li has comparisons to Elon Musk and Steve Jobs. His cars I saw on videos are sweet and high quality stuff. His Battery As a Service (BAAS) is cool idea for people who cannot afford those things outright. If I could I would highly consider buying one or a LI or XPeng car compared to the American electric vehicles here in the States which are worthless other than Tesla.

They are young yes, but it is part of Internet 101 is that what is posted on the internet is there for perpetuity (forever). These young kids may get the clicks and think it is fun and cool, but in actuality it is dumb and foolish. Also, they think they can get income from this from the clicks they get from people watching their videos, but actually in the end, once they are caught, I bet all the money they received will not cover what they will have to pay to the company that was damaged, not to mention probably being blacklisted from ever entering that establishment again as well as their parents having to pay restitution to cover their sorry butts and also being blacklisted as well. Think how unsanitary that is and people who feel sorry for them should not feel sorry. What happens if you are affected by this and get sick and nowadays you do not know what sort of illnesses/diseases they carry.

i would not give the term, “micro aggression,” but it did happen before to my college friend who was Caucasian and female and spoke fluent Japanese. When I lived in in Kyoto, I met her as she was moving to Kyoto for a year stint for graduate school to stock up her apartment. I was accompanying her to an electronic store and the store clerk kept on asking me instead of her what she wanted. I finally politely explained to the clerk to ask her as I would not know what she needed. Let’s just say the clerk became offended and embarrassed.

I may be in the minority here and playing devil's advocate, but I am for it as long as the students are vaccinated, follow the local required guidelines for masks. Quick word for the people here, in Asian countries, Japan included, people wear masks even prior to the pandemic, so if you think you are the majority, think again, you will be the minority over there and may be even ostracized and refused service because of it. As for me, having used to live there, I would like to visit Japan when they allow tourists in again and I will follow whatever rules they advise me to follow rather than playing the part that because I am foreigner I can do whatever I want. Like the saying goes, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do."

I believe it will be to the benefit of the Japanese govt to open the country at least to foreign students and business as long as they follow the appropriate health protocols set forth by the govt. That is understandable. Japan is trying to look after the safety of their citizens so I understand their reluctance to just open the floodgates as much as a lot of people here want to. I for one want to go to Japan and other places in the world and travel and see friends again, but I guess I will have to wait until restrictions eases further.

There was a news report or documentary years ago that said Putin was in East Germany as part of the KGB when the Berlin Wall came down and that he was afraid he was going to get killed there. They said he may be trying to rekindle the Soviet Union in his own image. He is over 70 years old now so this may be his last hurrah so to speak, but it could be he bit off more than he could chew. It is most likely he may win, but the longer this goes on, the worst it gets for Putin. The rule of thumb in this case is that he can win all the battles yet still lose the war. As for the protesters, every little bit counts no matter where they are protesting.

Actually, read Nixon and Mao by Margaret MacMillian. An excellent analysis of what happened before Nixon met Mao and also showed the true reasonings behind the meeting. It was more multi-faceted than just economic and Vietnam. Those two really thought alike in some respects and both had great foreign policy experts, though some people may find them suspect.

Did not watch it live, but when I saw her get on the rink, the look in her eyes told me all I needed to know that she was not built for that sort of pressure. There is competition pressure which athletes are used to and then there is the pressure where the person knows that it is totally not in their control and is a whole lot bigger than scoring points. She knew she was not going to stand on the stand and not receive the medal there pending an investigation and that her name was going to have an asterisk if she won. At that point everything she trained for became worthless. It did not help that the people around her failed her. I do not think she will ever compete again.

Great performance by Nathan Chen. I liked the last part of it where he just let loose and swagged it (if that is even a word). Kagiyama gave a great performance and I think he has a very strong possibility on the next Olympics (18 years old). Soma is good, but I do not think he will ever win gold unless if he improves. Hanyu is/was the GOAT and his artistry is still magnificent, but times have changed and he is 27 years old (the old man in the room), so I think he is still good, but can no longer medal and it may be time for him to leave while still at the top of his game. Take a look at Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, and Buster Posey (MLB catcher for my SF Giants).

Below is Eileen's response to critics of her. Not sure, but I say ditto to it. There is also a op ed piece I read somewhere that the people that really call these people traitors and money grabbers, etc are really angry not at the athletes, but at themselves, their own society, and they really need to look at themselves in the mirror and reflect why they are angry. As I say each country has their issues and I am the first to admit that China has some, but the U.S. is no angel either.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/chinese-skiing-gold-medallist-eileen-200612112.html

I say she chose who she wants to represent (ie Naomi Osaka). It is a pity that she got a lot of abuse online which was not warranted. She rebounded perfectly after that fall on her next event. She may not medal, but she is at a better place physically and mentally now. Also, she is young enough to try again on the next Olympics. Remember Nathan Chen in the 2018 Olympics. Sometimes adversity makes the person stronger and more driven. As for the country she chooses, frankly that is her decision and where her heart desires to be. I know a lot of Americans who live in Japan who wishes to be a different nationality or who does not want to be associated with America because of all the junk that is going on right now and it has nothing to do with money. I say more power to her and I am sure she has a wider lens of the world than a lot of people who says she is a traitor, etc. Frankly I am disappointed at the vitriol nowadays and shows just how childish some people are.

Did not watch Hanyu's skate or for that matter the other skaters last night, but watched a repeat of Nathan's skate and it looked fluid and medal worthy. Hopefully, he will get the gold what he dreams of. As for Hanyu's I believe he is reaching the age where it becomes harder to win. I believe he is 27 years old and in figure skating that is getting up there. Also, from what I heard he arrives at least 48 hours prior to an event, I do not think it worked to his advantage given the age of Covid and the requirements China has on athletes to enter their country. That just adds more stress. I believe the athletes who arrive earlier have an advantage to adjust, get a feel of their surroundings, etc. Saying the ice do not like you or something like that is an excuse that does not hold water. Hopefully Hanyu rebounds and puts on a show that will wow us, but I think at this point I will be cheering on Nathan and the other two Japanese skaters who may have a better chance of winning

As a former expat who lived in Japan, I feel the pain for foreigners who want to study or work, though I understand why the government is doing this. It was my life's dream to study, live and work in Japan that came true and even through the good and bad, I did not regret it at all. Also made lifelong friends in the process. However, I can understand the government's feeling. Japan is a rule abiding country that asks everyone to wear a mask, get vaccinated, follow proper sanitary guidelines, etc during this time. I am not sure if some of these foreigners would be willing to go with these guidelines. There is freedom, but not freedom to say I will not wear a mask or not get vaccinated. I think that is probably what they may fear the most and have it explode across their country. Just take a look at what happened to other countries (ie: US, Europe, India).

Makes sense and since the cat is out of the bag so to speak no sense imposing the S o E. I would rather have the govt lift the entry for foreign visitors and students as long as they are vaccinated, boosted, and masked up and if necessary go through a 3 day quarantine.

In my eyes he was unimpressive and the Donald Trump of his time while governor of Tokyo. He even ticked off the French in an incident that made news a long time ago. Definitely, was not helpful for the immigrant community while he was governor.

Watched it on NBC and it totally sucked. Showed everything about America this and America that. Biles, Noah Wiley, Beach Volleyball. The American media kept on saying we have the most medals whereas the rest of the world was counting by the most Gold medals. Granted that Japan is going through the pandemic like everyone else, but the Opening and Closing ceremonies was not well developed, did not make sense, and had no flow, especially the jazz and modern dance routine. I could have seen these things on the street in Japan. Not sure where that fit in and in my eyes did not really tell a story. Overall, glad Japan won gold more than before, but could have seen less of the U.S. and more of other sports that was not U.S. centric here. I remembered I was in China during parts of the Olympics in 08 and each tv channel I watched showed every sport of the Olympics live. Even though I did not understand the language it was exciting to see.

This was a rough night for America. To people who support Republicans, I am sorry your party is no longer the party of Abraham Lincoln as much as some want to believe. For Democrats and people on the sidelines overseas and at home, the path is clear, Trump is hoping to disrupt the elections and void as much votes as possible with this performance even at the cost of America democracy. Therefore, vote like your life depends on it. If it was a Democrat doing what Trump did, I would vote Republican so it is a matter if you want to be a jerk and blowhard or be respected in society and the world.

There is a lot of hurt and angry people out there. It does not help having a President with no empathy and stirring the pot who thinks this is a reality show and hides behind his tweets.

Makes me wish for Nixon. at least he had the guts to go in front of protesters during the Vietnam War and try to explain, reason, and listen to them even though his advisers also said that was a bad idea.

Agreed with rlperez. This is not a pro democracy, authoritariarn debate now. This is a matter of chaos versus rule of law. People will say this is about democracy. Watch all the videos in their entirety instead of just watching your favorite news program that you listen to because it justifies your belief and spewing stuff that fit your belief.

Contrary to what some people will write against me, I agreed with the protesters in the beginning to withdraw the extradition bill and the government to hold debate on how to improve things, but now they have overreached and may be doing themselves more harm than good now. I probably would consider this generation lost now in Hong Kong. They have not learned to pick and choose their battles.

In matter of the kid that got shot. I feel for him and hope he recovers soon, but honestly, what is someone supposed to do. Imagine you are on the frontlines of this and someone is going to go at you with a metal pole and you are about to get hit. Natural reaction is to protect yourself with whatever you have no matter if it is a gun, baton, pepper spray or your hands. In this case the police had his weapon and it was the quickest way to de escalate the situation. People will definitely say the police instigated this. Again the police is outnumbered, and I am sure they are reaching their end of patience, which I consider admirable, considering they have been at it for 18 straight weeks now with these protesters. Over here, they would already declare curfew and martial law here in the States and call in the National Guard.

Tokyo is going to be a zoo and at this point anyone will be lucky to get a room in Tokyo metro now. Recommendation is to go find a room outside of Tokyo metro area (ie: Gunma, Saitama, Nagano, or even in the Chubu-Nagoya area). It will take time to get to Tokyo (thank god for the Shinkansen), but at least it will be cheaper at this point. Otherwise watch from home and glad to not in that conundrum.

When I lived in Japan between 2000 and 2008 I was stopped twice.

One in Shinjuku. The policeman was a class act. I was just enjoying my weekend and walking around shopping and the policeman politely asked for my alien registration card. I showed it to him and he told me why he was checking. I told him I understand his job and thanked him for his service. He then astonished me by saluting me which I found admirable and commendable and wish there was more policemen like that. It would make for a better place in the world.

The second time was when I was at a train station and trying to catch my train back to my apartment outside of Tokyo. It was getting late and I did not want to miss the train. I was carrying some bags back from Kyoto where I was on vacation for a couple of days, and all of the sudden I was surrounded by cops that were not that nice. They roughly told me to come to the station and started searching my bags without explanation or niceties and I knew they were intending to keep me there or the police station. I then had enough and produced my US passport and alien registration card on the counter of the station and said in Japanese loudly, but calmly, you have an issue with me just trying to head back home after a vacation, then you must then allow me to call my embassy and per the U.S.-Japanese legal agreement I am allowed an attorney and US embassy representative now if you wish to detain me further for no charges. Let's just say, they were quite intimidated and hopped too and let me go really fast and even put my possessions back in my bags. I guess they did not want me to create an international incident where they would get highly embarrassed.

Moral of the story. Know your rights yet respect their laws and regulations.