vanityofvanities comments

People who live close to the border lines have to worry about investigations and cannot have a good sleep. Ghosn was a president but he was not the owner of Nissan. He behaved as if Nissan was his private company.

Do not brag about democracy in your countries and stop bitching about the Justice system of Japan. Are your sure your countries are more democratic and fairer than Japan and people are living peacefully without worrying about crimes and prejudices? So long as people observe the law and remain good citizens, we can live peacefully here without worries of investigations.

Is the purpose of the democrats impeaching Trump for the purpose of enforcing justice or to pull down Trump and win in the next presidential election?

Someday, U.S. Forces will withdraw from Japan. It might have come. Japan has to change its peace constitution and build up a full fledged military to defend the country by themselves. However, it may not be a good move for U.S. from their world strategic policy.

South Korea is not a wealthy country. Their economy is now in trouble. The export oriented country has a population of 50 million. Their domestic consumption is limited. The exports dropped sharply recently due to the dwindling world economy, tariff war beween China and U.S. and by the trouble with Japan. It seems Moon does not care about U.S. Forces there. His mind is inclined to the unification of South and North Korea.

I am sick and tired of "quid pro quo" scandal pushed by the democrats. Is there any good candidate for the president of U.S.A. to replace Trump? If America loses Trump, China and Russia will be happy and there will be deteriorating America in the stage of world politics. America needs a strong leader. Trump is once in 100 years president. We already know what kind of person he is and the telephone conversation may be true and strictly speaking violatiing the constitution but for him, it is his style of doing "deals" and did not think it very seriously. Losing Trump over such a small thing is a very big loss for America.

Christians in Japan (always 1% of Japanese) sued or protested the government from the point of view of separation of politics and religions while Komeito which is backed by Soka Gakkai buddhist group joined the celebrations of enthronment of new emperor. It is strange. However, until the Meiji era, Shintoism and buddhism collectively existed. You find Asakusa (shinto) Shrine located side by side to Sensoji Temple in Asakusa. Asakusa Shrine is under the administration of Sensoji Temple.

With this rite, Naruhito formally became a "demi god." I agree with Akishino. The private mythological ritual should not be funded by tax money. Existence of royal families abroad are not based on mythologies. It is still dangerous many Japanese people become "brain dead" when it refers to the emperor. Reason Japan cannot summarize their prewar history of militarism is because they have to impeach the responsibility of the emperor.

Japanese, in case if they had a "comfort woman" or a pan-pan (prostitutes for GIs) in their families, they hide it. Because it is embarassing for them. They would not sue even if they get some compensation money. They are so much afraid people get to know about it. It becomes a family secret. In that context, I do not understand the mentality of South Koreans.

Goodness we have emperor is so long as we keep the system, there will not be serious ethnical and religious divisions in Japan.

It is difficult to find a natural disaster that does not happen in Japan.

I am not worried it ignites anti-base acitivities over there. Misawa City in Aomori is known friendly to U.S. Air Force Base there. Both parties are constantly making efforts in promoting friendship between them. People there know the city has grown bigger owing to the base. If the same thing happens in Okinawa, anti-base movement will easily flare up.

Koike, cancel to hold the Olympic 2020 in Tokyo. I do not care who runs or swim a second faster than others and acrobatic gymnastics that should be played at circuses.

Doors of cars come to not to open by water pressures.

Statistically, recent traffic accidents which were overtly reported ascribing to aged people are inaccurate. Accidents by aged folks are not particularly high compared with other age groups. What is necessary is on the side of car makers. It is necessary for them to improve safety of cars using censors and computers.  In local areas, returning drivers' licenses cause a lot of inconveniences for aged people.

I live at a city near Tokyo in Chiba Prefecture. Rain yesterday was what I did not experience living 50 years in the metropolitan area. Torrential rain continued from morning toward the evening. I realized heavy rain is as dangerous as strong winds. Better build a house not closer to rivers and mountains.

The government in principle do not take responsibilities for the damages of natural disasters. I rent and live in a danchi house. I am free from expenses to any damages occurring to the buildings. Lucky!

Before the war, the emperor could have second, third or more wives to get male successors. Empress Meiji was barren and Emperor Taisho was born to one of his subbordinate wives. There are many who claims today they are descendents of Emperor Meiji such as Takeda.

All in all, it was a mistake Japan invited the Olympics. It was out of the blue when it was decided. "Why" was the feelings of most of the Japanese people. More surprisingly it was announced they were holding it in sweltering summer in Tokyo. That is the season people avoid going out to avoid heat. Some said there was no other choice but summer to hold the Olympics due to pressures from pro sports in America. Then, hold the summer Olympics in the southern hemisphere of the earth where the season is the other way around. A lot of tax money has been spent to prepare for the event. Mori as a top of the advocators and other politicians must take responsibilities. I also want to criticize the Japanese medias that did not raise questions about holding the summer Olympics in Tokyo. They lack professionalism.

We discussed here a lot about the heat problem of the Tokyo Olympics in summer while Japanese medias and politicians did not take up the issue seriously by now and it is becoming an issue leaving less than one year until the event. This is so foolish and ridiculous. A big embarassment for the people concerned.

When JDP was in power, they criticized harshly LDP for spending a lot of money in building unimportant (according to them) Yanba Dam. Now, people who live along the downriver are thanking for the dam very much. They say the dam protected them from the disaster. Also, in the fashionable city Futako Tamagawa in Tokyo near the Tamagawa River where the super levee was not built by the oppositions of the residents for the reason that the levee harms the scenes of the city are regretting a lot. They are inundated and those who live in high towers are without electricity. They cannot use elevators.

Japanese people want to live in more spacious houses and want to drive their cars on wider roads. Also they want to live and work summer more comfortably. Like Germany, they have to disperse offices and industries in wider areas of the country. I recommend they move to Tohoku where summer is cool and land is spacious. This also helps people from natural disasters. In Kanto and in Kansai where natural disasters attack them every year as a result they have to live closer to rivers and mountains due to lack of spaces.

Japan-China relationship improved after China-U.S. relationship got soured. China is a very realistic and opportunistic country. Japan has to play very carefully standing in between the two big countries. Japan must have to change the peace constitution and has to build own full fledged military to have her own diplomacy in this difficult time. Abe is right.

South Korea's prosecutors do not lack materials they need to arrest their politicians and business people. Their two presidents are still in jail. There is one thing common in South Korea and in Japan. That is the tradition of "gifts"  and nepotism. It seems the tendency is a lot stronger in South Korea than in Japan. I think this has something to do confucianism  which teaching is unindividualistic.

Before, CIA had the role of playing dirty games undertaking the intentions of the president and the government. Now, the president is directly playing the games by himself.  This may be as a result he lost friends in CIA. Trump takes part in everything too much.

I express heartful sympathy to everybody who suffered by the typhoon.

Tokyo is very vulnerable to heavy rains and floods. During the Edo period, the imeperial place was close at hand to the Tokyo bay. Chiyoda-ku, Edogawa-ku, Koto-ku, Katsushika-ku, Chiyoda-ku and part of Ota-ku, Minato-ku and Shinagawa-ku were built on reclaimed lands of Tokyo Bay. They are called "zero meter areas" above the sea level.

Yubaru

Okinawa is not affected by the typhoon this time. It is far from the mainland Japan where the typhoon is hitting directly. I know the tug of war at Kokusai Street in Okinawa by pictures. It is a wonderful festival. Okinawa's another big festival "Eisa" is held every year in July in Shinjuku, Tokyo too. I saw it and It was very exciting and the event gathers many people every year. Okinawa is hit by typhoons often every year and I see houses there are mostly built by stones in preparation for the strong winds while in mainland Japan, they are in many wooden houses. We must learn from Okinawa.

It is relatively lucky for salaried men and corporations the typhoon is coming on the weekend while all festivals are cancelled and tourists are disappointed.

Nature is stronger than living creatures. Someday we will not be on earth.