Uehara comments

Who takes a bath at 02:40AM?!.

Someone who works until very late night.

Or someone on his 20s who has to follow his ossan alcoholic superior around on his drinking sprees because you're the kouhai and can't say no...

Taxpayer's money being very well invested I see... (Sigh)

Obviously I can't complain because the taxes are so low and the salary has been increasing so much I'm the past few decades we barely feel the so-slightly almost unnoticeable rise in the price of essential core food items.

Japan's agricultural and manufacturing industries, which are among the worst impacted by the labor shortage

Yet, they're the ones who tend to step on human rights when given the opportunity to make any cheap profit. What an odd situation.

I guess every foreigner or someone with foreigner acquaintances have heard a couple stories about women giving birth at the factory for hiding their pregnancies, babies found in public toilets or even trash bins.

It is just too chaotic to even fsthom that this same country is struggling with low birth rates and labor shortage.

If I had the power to judge people, I'd subtract the years in life they stole from the victim (about 50~60 years considering average life expectancy) and make it their sentence.

Plus, all the money she would earn on her lifetime (average) and make it as a fine they'd obligatorily would have to pay the victim's family through working in prison.

In my humble opinion, the only thing that really threatens humanity is humanity itself, because oddly enough, it lacks humanity.

Just a wild guess..

Postpartum depression at it's finest.

OFC, there are a million ways she could've handled better this situation, but, let's be honest..

Since the article doesn't mention a father I'm guessing she's a single mother that is unemployed and past her prime days, almost at her 40s... Her head was probably way out of where it should be.

The fact that she wrapped the baby in a blanket instead of just throwing it away shows that she had at least a bit of concern. And since she called the cops herself, either she had a wild change of heart or she wanted to go to jail herself and have her child to be taken care by some child care institute..

Not the best for both by far.. but in her desperate head it probably was a better option than just trying to make do inside the Japanese society where sex, unwanted pregnancies and abortions are taboos.

If they argue that "It's for their own safety, health and protection", it's kinda odd, since last month they eased the mask usage.

Which wasn't being reinforced anyways. So I don't think the helmet is going to be enforced and as it is, is just another silly law to make people believe they actually care about something.

Because when we check the numbers, about 13000 accidents versus some hundreds of thousands of infected. Sure, let's wear helmets and discard masks.

Oh yeah!

I'll get paternity leave every time my wife has a children. Which means basically I'll have days off to spend... at home, waiting for a call or at the hospital, doing nothing but bonding with the coffee hanbaiki.

Sounds like fun!

The price for those couple days off? Some millions paid in a few years, which means you'll have to stay late even more, work even more days off or do even more part times when you have time to..

What a good deal

Who knows...

Perhaps not a accidental lab leak.. But a completely intentional one, for reasons whatever.

We common folk won't ever understand the mind of power hungry warmongering mad men.

Your comment came across as sarcastic. If it was a sarcastic comment, do you think he should have been imprisoned for life, or how long?

If I had any say in this, I'd ask the victim, for how long are you going to suffer because of the attacker's actions.

And those years he stole, should suffice as a punishment.

This is a Pen

As a foreigner, the biggest part of my life in Japan was part time jobs, contractors and such.

It's kinda hard to live on 100.000/month while paying around 15.000 a month for a couple years for your flight ticket (which you've been ripped off, since it was a "pack" with the contractor/factory shoukai, so your Visa attempt has a higher chance of success) and around 45.000 for a room you share with other 5 to 10 other workers, unable to quit because of debt, since they're illegally holding your passport the whole time, which they claim (we are just taking a copy please wait patiently), if you go to any authority.

So I understand the 50.000 is probably gonna help a LOT of people out there who are in a very fragile situation. The issue is when people attack other people, thinking it's their fault for being at a fragile situation, that lack of empathy is actually more disturbing than the inflation itself.

Religion isn't illegal, scamming their followers also isn't, unfortunately.

Just to give an example, in Brazil the country I've grew in. There's this big religious group/church, even here in Japan they have some branches.

And they'd sell land, houses, apartments or even condos... That's ok, but the issue is, these properties were all.. in "Heaven". And people would buy it and receive a document, clearly A4 cheapily inkjet printed as a proof of their new property...

I guess taking profit of the mental fragility of people who are going through a rough phase or are looking for a sense of belonging isn't illegal, just immoral or even inhumane. Which isn't a crime per se, unfortunately.

Well that many times until he was arrested..

I think I'm hopeless then. My neighbor keep calling the cops to my house because saying my TV is too loud.

I don't have a TV and my work shift coincidentally hits with the times he reported. The cops come and do a "search" in my apartment about 3-5 times a month, sometimes in the same day, the same cops and the same story...

Because it's just too hard to register the gift cards to be used only when activated online, like most of the convenience store ones.

Which would require registration and some identification at least.

The lack or repulsion to technology by the Big Shots in this country is astounding.

Well, i do love japanese rice, all of them. Really, however, its really expensive when you have a big family or when you eat a LOT.

That's the reason i went for foreigner rice (Thai, Brazilian, Philippine or wherever), it doesn't taste the same and the texture is really different, but, it's half of the price or even less, therefore, you can buy twice the amount.

And in times like these, when taxes are abundant and always on the raise, salaries low and raises are scarce. You have to adapt yourself to the new conditions every day.

Just like the typhoon alert we had a day ago. I’ve saw some srilanka people walking through the rain casually, while the city hall speakers were broadcasting alerts for people to seek shelter.

But well, I’ve seen so many guys saying “it’s their problem, we are in Japan, they should learn japanese instead”, so I just gave up on trying to hit the “multilingual support” card.

when officials were checking how to activate the warning system

perhaps the panel was in English lol.

This just reminds me of how hard it is to cancel the subscription, when you work mon-sat 8:00~17:00.

Ive got my subscription almost a decade ago, I didn’t knew Japanese, just knew some random guy barged through my door and kept yelling something “Dame” “NG” and “Komakai”, till I signed, I never had a television while in Japan btw.

So I just abandoned my bank account, seems the only way to deal with it.

Who would've guessed that a totalitarian regimen would allow civilians to carrry guns around and even leave the country with them.

Suicide is always a serious business and also a long term option. No one just wakes up one day and thinks "Oh well, my life sucks, gonna kill myself." and does it.

Instead of discussing the "inconvenience" caused they should go after the reasons of the act.

IMO, the people around are the main cause of suicide. We see many people on a daily basis that doesn't give two shts about life, specially in Japan.

We see people that prioritize their career to the point they sacrifice their time/life to work so much that the individual life has no meaning and work is everything, and when work fails you (because in the vast majority of times it will).. Well, there's nothing left to keep you waking up the next day.

We see people that doesn't care about other persons, because that is a tendency on the world. Family doesn't really mean much today. So many people who barely talk to their relatives or each other, even when living under the same roof, because well, "I'm too busy".

And we see tons of lives being simplified as "taxpayers" or just "profitable worker".

Nowadays it seems that life/time (since they both are basically the same) is a really cheap currency. And cash, status or a brand new car/purse, are the only way to go.

Hopefully everyone in the world will learn Japanese until the Olympics huh.

Companies are taking various steps to address a shortage of labor.

As a matter of fact I agree. They are doing many things.

1 - Hiring subcontractors, and the subcontractors hire subcontractors that hire subcontractors, and so on, each one paying less than the one before.

2 - Inserting machinery and destroying jobs. Since a subservient robot who can work 24/7 is way better than a lousy human who can do **only** 18/6.

3 - They are trying to create an ambient where the full-time worker has motivation to do his job and enough time and money improve himself, as for the temp they really are trying to adapt the environment so the temp-worker has the respect and equality of treatment LEAST as a person, when compared to the full-time worker. Oh no! It seems that this one is not a good idea at all, too much headache, they don't plan on doing it and probably never will.

employed by a subcontractor that bore responsibility for work conditions, including hours worked, but which he declined to identify.

Not surprised at all.

And now what?

Well, the subcontractor will just hire another guy for about 950¥/hour promising a salary over 300.000/month.

Instead of killing them on sight with pesticide they should "follow" least one of them in order to find the nest since the solenopsis invicta aka "Fire Ant" is adept to polygyny, which means they can have loads of queens in a single nest.

I believe that not a single plea ever avoided a crime from happening.

Cool. it's really easy to preview and edit.

But that caps lock is a downside, along with the removal of the autocomplete (iphone 7+ here, not sure if it is a phone related issue).

I'm fat, and tall, my fingers hit usually lots of keys, therefore autocorrect is almost a MUST.

OH! A "reply" button would be so nice as well. Almost every comment i make gets tons of downvotes, it'd be really fun to read the mean replies.

She: I wont marry anyone who earn less than 5 million / year, and i wont work because the guy is going to be my gold pot. Has some study, but, not a single experience with work.

He: I won't work my butt off just to marry a girl who'll use my money and give me 30.000 as allowance. Lives a life of mediocrity.

Them: I will bet everything on my career! Everything will be better when i make tons of cash.

Then: 20-40 years later on the same company working 80-100 hours a week, still, not promoted to the status you want to achieve in order to marry.

Or: You overwork yourself to almost death, and then, you get sick and fired when you miss a couple days of work.

So many other cases out there, so many harsh truths, yet, nothing "new" as "news".

Now, the sad part is that we all know that, be it 15, 100, 200 or 2500 hours a month, it's all talk and no action whatsoever.

Nothing but a little candy to keep the hopes up and avert eyes from any scandal.

Why do i think so? Well, I've been hearing the talk about this miraculous overtime reform for as long i am in Japan, since Hashimoto, and, nothing ever left the paper.

Perhaps they should create the "Miraculous Santa Klaus Reform", which Santa would bring billions of dollars as donations for the corporations, so they spare their footmen for a few hours of a the month. That would work as well, pretty sure.

Japan, as "high-end tech" country as it is, still has an old and outdated and in some ways, highly inefficient educational system for the current global situation.

Kids learning to obey and to serve as the only option in life for a career full of brightness, luxury and glory!

But then, at the age of 20~30 when they finally achieved their "Dreamjob", well, 80~120 hours a week of work, plus, licking the boots of some old geezer to earn little breaks and a little handout over their bonuses (if they manage to get one). Oh! And the best part! Their children (if, again, they manage to get one) will have the same luxurious, bright and glorious future.

OFC, there's always that guy who will shout at the top of his lungs:

"Japan has one of best educations in the galaxy!"

Yup, clearly, since education in almost everywhere means memorizing. Not to think, to create, to solve or to understand. Therefore, yes, Japan has an outstanding level of "memorizers".

It's good for those who want high-unique-skilled workers who aren't able to think about anything else but to work, but, overall, I don't think it's good for humanity itself and its potential. Waste of good potential.

But again, this is not a problem unique to Japan.

Tons of places in the world suffer from that same evil. Caused by the same clowns.