tripbeetle comments

A line has to be drawn between the (understandable but not necessarily very rational) feelings of survivors and the reality of spending time, money and effort (better spent on improving life materially for the living) on a hunt for things with an infinitesimal chance of being found.

Tatsuya Ichihashi all over again. I thought the police might have learned something from that time.

Methinks some of the (spluttering, outraged) males on this thread do protest way too much!

smithinjapan wrote: "This is the kind of accident that happens and that isn't really anyone's fault" Disagree. As soon as anyone starts driving as if driving is a routine activity, they should quit. Drivers must be constantly and acutely aware of everything and everyone around them - and awake to worst possible scenarios - especially when driving through places like carparks.

Here's what this article is about, in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0aVy9ARQlE

The thing about Asians not being able to metabolize alcohol is nonsense. In fact, they metabolize it more efficiently than most non-Asians. Look up "Alcohol Flush Reaction" in Wikipedia, then "Causes"

Comics are brain candy. Kids should be encouraged to get more solid intellectual nutrition from well-written books, too.

dcog9065 wrote "Just ask any of the victims, they'd agree [that they'd prefer living in a country that treats murderers and rapists inhumanely]."

You're assuming an awful lot there. Some people, even if victimized, are wiser and more humane than you obviously are. The reason most murderers and rapists did what they did is because they were treated inhumanely to begin with. Intensifying the vicious circle doesn't fix anything - and shouldn't satisfy anyone.

Flashinthejapan wrote "Drivers in Fukuoka are notorious for being generally awful."

Having driven in Fukuoka once (just once was enough!), I can vouch for that. Is it something to do with Fukuoka's being so close to the Asian mainland, where driving habits tend to be more reckless? There must be some influence there.

Europe got its act together after World War II, to the point that war between the formerly violently quarreling states is now almost unimaginable. Asia has to do the same - and it's even more in Japan's interest now than it was in any one European country's interest then, because China is so disproportionately huge. Better to make allies now while the playing field's somewhat even than enemies later when China has come to dominate.

@ihope2eatwhales "I do not think Australian case is really serious. Australia Prime Minister just decided it for election in Australia."

If the Australian PM has decided it for the election in Australia, that means it's an issue that the Australian public has a lot of interest in. That sounds like a serious issue to me.

(BTW, why "I hope" to eat whales? You can eat them NOW if you want to!)

edbardoe wrote: "12,000 people who identify themselves by their sexual practices. Should have been some afterparty."

By that childish and flawed line of reasoning, any organization that excludes gay members (think Southern Baptists) must be a non-stop man-on-woman sexfest. Gay people identify themselves by way more than their sexual practices.

JoeBigs wrote: "I've been there [i.e. Yasukuni Shrine] and found it to be a great."

Sure, it's pretty and everything, but Yasukuni Shrine is the virtual HQ of right-wing goons: I go past it every day, and on several occasions have seen the flag-covered loudspeaker vans parked in there and leaving from there to do their rounds.

If this is going to be used as a legal precedent, then a lot of mothers out there better start saving - hard!

Y-a-a-w-n...

hereforever: I know he may not have been homeless, but I was just responding to Kimokekahuna Hawaii's blinkered and complacent view of who and what causes problems in society.

Kimokekahuna Hawaii: the best way to "clean up" anywhere of homeless people is to make everyone in our communities feel wanted and useful. We're all part of the problem.