Velius comments

Posted in: Will Twitter’s rebranding result in poaching ‘X Japan’ name? Legendary musician Yoshiki weighs in See in context

@samuraivunyl

Let’s get some facts down. X JAPAN are called that because they called themselves X without checking if someone else was using the name. A group in America already was so they were forced to change their name to X JAPAN

What’s your point? He changed it, after all, and so Elon should not consider X JAPAN and/or change it to something else. Or did you think your comment would justify Elon using “X Japan”?

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Posted in: Tokyo reports 3,621 coronavirus cases; nationwide tally 23,447 See in context

Three hospitalized for severe symptoms in Tokyo. THREE. Many more for alcohol poisoning from nomikai and heatstroke. Stop the covid scare madness. No more masks and so-called anti covid measures. Look at Europe - no masks, life back g to normal. The new variants are quite weak and 90%+ of Japan is vaccinated. Wasn’t this the end goal? When will it end, if not now? Enough!!

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Posted in: Power crunch averted as record heatwave scorches Kanto area See in context

PTownsend

Too bad there are not more entrepreneurs in Japan setting up businesses and working to find ways to help individuals rely less on the grid and big government.

Yeah the guvmmunt is out to getcha innit … with their maintenance of roads and hospitals , who needs em!!

Just so glad this pathological way of thinking is pretty much confined to the US.

0 ( +4 / -4 )

Posted in: Yours sincerely: Singles charmed by Japan letter-writing scheme See in context

It’s difficult to imagine how this would work in a culture like Japan’s, where collectivist tendencies extend even to hobbies and preferences. So many people I’ve met say their favorite things are “tasty food”, “cute cafe”, and “outdoors”. How people can select partners based on that is a mystery to me. But then again, maybe they just try it out. I believe people could be in successful relationships with almost anyone if they were open minded enough - arranged marriages can be more just as successful, if not more, than traditional, for example. Perhaps that’s a strength of this letter writing approach.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Posted in: 1 in 4 singles in 30s not willing to marry: Japan gov't survey See in context

@obladi

speaking just for myself, relationship judgment in the 30s is not always the best. Better to take time and find the right person.

Sure, wait until your 40s or 50s to find the right person, then forget about kids. It’s madness.

People used to get married in their 20s and were totally fine, indeed the people I know who’ve been married since that age are consistently stable in their marriages compared to today’s couples who have “dealbreakers” up the wazoo, and will divorce on the slightest of upsets.

14 ( +31 / -17 )

Posted in: Heard takes stand, accuses Depp of violent sexual assault See in context

The jig was up as soon as it was revealed Heard suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD).

Don’t believe a thing she says when it comes to any interpersonal conflict.

Men have routinely ended up in the slammer from delusional accusations of their BPD partners induced by one of their raging fits (the BPD person is the one raging).

Men suffer from BPD too but the imbalance of accusations is way on the other side - when men accuse BPD women of abuse they’re laughed at even when it’s real, whereas when BPD women accuse men of abuse the police will book him first, ask questions later (if ever).

Men with BPD partners should either (1) stay WELL away and/or (2) obtain them services of a good lawyer well ahead of time when the stuff inevitably hits the fan. You just won’t believe how bad it will get (speaking from personal experience from a “friend”…)

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Posted in: Japan's action on Ukraine boosts G7 response, but effectiveness unclear See in context

Oops, you said already Crimea to Donbas, my mistake.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Posted in: Japan's action on Ukraine boosts G7 response, but effectiveness unclear See in context

@Mr Kipling

Within 18 months the sanctions will be gone, the south from Crimea to Dombas will be Russian, European industry will run on Russian gas and Putin will still be in power.

I think this is too optimistic. With the current military cost Russia has incurred and considering the territory they’ve already taken, it’s doubtful they will settle for anything less than the Donbas, Mariupol, and enough of eastern Ukraine outside the Donbas to create essentially a hefty land bridge to Crimea.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Posted in: Fire out at Ukraine's key nuclear plant as Russian invasion advances See in context

if Russia is targeting the plant it’s undoubtedly to pressure Ukraine to surrender. Worst case, if it blows, they can claim (again) that Ukrainian soldiers fired on it by accident or sabotage, basically maximum denial and obfuscation as is their tactic. At least the Russian and Chinese public will buy it, the only part of the world that matters to Putin now.

About the comment of why are Ukrainian soldiers there - of course if Russia seized the plant without a fight they can shut down electrical generation which would be really bad for Ukraine’s resistance.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

Posted in: China urges Japan to uphold non-nuclear principles See in context

China is massively expanding the number of launcher silos it has as we speak, there were satellite photos of the new construction a couple of months ago.

This is hypocrisy on the grandest scale.

13 ( +13 / -0 )

Posted in: Tokyo reports 17,331 new coronavirus cases; nationwide tally 91,051 See in context

Only 81 hospitalizations?? Can we stop this madness? This is not a real public health threat! When will the scaremongers be satisfied? Zero hospitalizations? Sorry that’s just not possible for any virus!

The media should also report normal influenza infection rates and hospitalizations. They might even be higher! Or are the covid PCR tests also catching influenza patients? It’s like the regular flu magically ceased to exist.

It’s just ridiculous. There is no endgame, apparently.

-2 ( +11 / -13 )

Posted in: Djokovic admits 'errors' in urgent fight to avoid deportation See in context

None of this has any bearing on the issue he’s facing in Australia, which is just discrimination. He can’t be judged a public threat, there’s a big difference between actions in one’s home country and how he acts on foreign soil, knowing he might get deported (the foremost thought of all immigrants and nationals of non-Anglo-Saxon/Germanic peoples when traveling abroad).

Why even dig up this past event? It was just an attempt by the government lawyers to shamefully try to blame Djokovic for this mess when it was their own mismanagement of his case (either approve his visa and let him in full stop, or deny it and prevent him from even boarding the flight!)

Yet more shame on the Australian government. Sadly this farce is not finished, this is just the warmup and the tournament will be a mess. Basically this will be the only thing people will talk about. The jeers on Djokovic will be tremendous. I highly doubt he will win under this pressure. If he does, I think his status as GOAT will he iron-clad. No way Federer or Nadal could ever hold up to this kind of negativity, when they’ve been treated with kid gloves all their lives and cheered whether they win or lose (especially the Swiss).

-18 ( +3 / -21 )

Posted in: Djokovic denied entry to Australia; has visa canceled See in context

Novak’s treatment by the Australian government is the equivalent of the ruthless and utterly disrespectful booing he gets at Wimbledon despite being a top star.

Before you say “but he didn’t get a vaccine/etc”, yes I agree it’s a mistake to not get vaccinated. It’s harmless and a great move for public health and I’m at a loss for words why Novak’s team allowed him to not get vaccinated.

This is not the point. The point is he is being singled out, publicly, in a political farce, when even my Morrison’s admission more than TWO DOZEN other tournament players and/or team members also entered on the SAME medical exemption. The fact that perhaps Novak applied for the wrong type of visa for this is honestly not grounds for this kind of treatment.

Do you think a 1% rich person who made this kind of mistake (statistically they must!) would ever be denied entry? Of course not, with a wave of a hand and cheque all kinds of exemptions and expedited processing can be made. Heck you can even obtain an instant visa to enter countries like Vietnam if you pay enough money at the airport (I know, it happened to me as I didn’t know I needed a visa as a Canadian citizen, but I did, and I paid, and was allowed on the flight, no problem).

Do you think that Federer, the darling of Anglo-Saxon/Germanic dominant western culture (as opposed to Djokovic, who is a mere Slav), would EVER be allowed to be dragged through this public debacle? Hardly! In a similar situation, he’d be waved in by Morrison himself.

This is not squarely on Novak’s shoulders. If he did not have the correct visa, he should have been stopped from boarding the flight, period! It’s laughable that Morrison puts on a face of law and order, saying it’s a decision made according to rules and regulations, and “no one is above the rules”, yet fails to address the real issue, which is, why was Novak allowed on the flight in the first place? This was a terrible lapse in enforcement of these same rules, and that to a world class tennis player going to the very tournament that he is famous for and was the expected forerunner to win! It’s an utter disgrace for Morrison and Australia, no matter what anyone says and attempts to distract by bringing up Nobak’s dad or wife or whatever - itself a disgraceful thing to say… can you imagine anyone dragging up Federer’s family to criticize him on something? Unbelievable that this is permitted to remain on a forum.

In the last analysis, only one thing is 100% clear. Without the leading star of the Australian Open, it’s a huge, HUGE blow to both the tournament and to its reputation, as well as Australia’s reputation as a reliable sporting center. Let’s be clear, this denial of Djokovic was as much a political decision as anything else (Morrison falling over himself to emphasize it’s a purely border rule itself shows that it’s not …).

In the eyes of many, the Australian Open has just lost its prestigious status as a grand slam worthy tournament, whether this is officially seen or no.

-6 ( +8 / -14 )

Posted in: Gov't says it won't retighten virus restrictions despite Omicron spread See in context

Yet foreigners who have obtained jobs, gotten student grants, etc, are still firmly blocked from entering the country to pursue their work/studies. And this regardless of vaccination and PCR status.

The blatant double standard shows how thinly veiled this xenophobia is.

20 ( +34 / -14 )

Posted in: JR East conducts mock attack following violent incidents on trains See in context

@voxbovi

The law applies to both Japanese and foreigners alike. 

In theory, yes. In practice? Not so much. JT is replete with stories in the comments over the years of foreigners describing this kind of unequal treatment.

The one that sticks out the most for me was the foreigner teacher who tried to apprehend a Japanese man who was molesting one of his female students on a train while they were on their way for a trip. The molester yelled and made a big commotion, both were apprehended by police, the molester was released after 5 minutes but the foreigner was apprehended for hours while the police made the rounds calling his wife, his employer, etc to verify his trustworthiness.

After they realized the foreigner wasn’t, in fact, the instigator, they released him with the warning (in broken English): “Don’t mess with Japan business.”

I think all foreigners living here know not to get involved in potentially legally sticky situations. If it’s bad enough in the US that you could be sued/blamed if you try to be a Good Samaritan for a stranger, how much worse is it in Japan.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Posted in: Train attacker says he targeted Tokyo in hopes of increasing kill count See in context

“Tokyo police referred Hattori to prosecutors Tuesday on suspicion of attempted murder.”

On suspicion of attempted murder?? Two days after being caught on the scene? Not sure if this is really reflecting dense police work in Japan or simply a poorly written article.

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

Posted in: Japan to ease quarantine rule to 3 days for business travelers See in context

It does seem to apply to residents.

”The eased quarantine rules will apply to short-term business travelers upon their entry into or RETURN to the country…”

business trips only though… time to find some “business” to do back home while visiting the folks..

10 ( +13 / -3 )

Posted in: Tokyo reports 21 coronavirus cases; nationwide tally 274 See in context

All the optimistic posts downvoted to oblivion.

Most JT’ers seem to WANT the pandemic to continue on and on.

Even if the number of cases were brought to literally zero, they’d say “not yet!!”

The problem there is nothing to do with viruses or healthcare, it’s entirely another kind of sickness.

The fact is that we need a line to be drawn for when we say “it’s finished”. It was supposed to be when enough people got vaccines. That’s the medically logical point and we see the effects now. 21 positive in a city of millions. To say “not yet” now, is just…

0 ( +11 / -11 )

Posted in: Tensions grow as U.S., allies deepen Indo-Pacific involvement See in context

One of the scariest aspects of china’s long-term ambitions is how cleverly they conceal them. Just one example can illustrate this clearly. China keeps insisting for all countries to only mind their own internal affairs, and likewise China will only mind its internal affairs. They will never seek to bully or invade others etc etc as Xi and other CCP mouthpieces constantly parrot.

But…. China is on a relentless path of expanding its business, economic, and debt trap ambitions via the Belt & Road initiative and more. Slowly, bit by bit, whether building ports and rail in Africa, or buying off prime farming land in Australia, China is inevitably increasing the size of the sphere of what constitutes its “internal affairs”.

One day, they can and WILL claim “internal affairs” to justify more overt grabs of land, power, and influence in countries far away from China and even on the other side of the world. And with increasing ability to project their armed forces (their navy command has openly voiced their long-term wish to push the US military presence back to at least Hawaii… obviously implying total neutralization of the US forces presence in Japan, Korea, Guam, etc), China is increasingly becoming able to be in a position where they can exert more direct grabs of land and influence across the globe.

China’s wish to become the new hegemon (the “Ba”) is reflected in all the things the US does today. Until they catch up and surpass everything the US enjoys today, they will not succeed in their minds to be the new “Ba”. And yes, this means having total global Chinese military dominance, with red army soldiers stationed in dozens or hundreds of bases across the world.

Everything they do now is clearly in pursuit of that long-term goal, and based on how things are progressing now (largest economy in the world, largest navy in the world, soon “largest” in everything), it’s clear that they are likely to achieve this nightmare goal of theirs. I fear for future generations, truly.

13 ( +14 / -1 )

Posted in: Japan halts use of 1.63 mil Moderna vaccine doses over contamination See in context

Never heard of “contaminated vaccines” in any other country that has used these. Do they just not test them? (Highly doubtful) Did Japan just get incredibly unlucky with a bad batch? (Also unlikely)

Indeed, it’s highly convenient/unfortunate (depending on where you stand) for such a vaccine-averse country to find these “contaminated” vaccines. This will only serve to kill any remaining willingness in the anti-scientifically informed public in taking any further shots.

How convenient. It’s still unclear who stands to benefit most from this, but mark my words someone will be benefitting. We’ll have to wait and see to sniff out where the money & benefits flow in the end.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Posted in: Not just COVID: Earthquakes, typhoons pose threat at Tokyo Olympics See in context

Is this somehow supposed to make us normalize the pandemic?

To make us equate uncontrollable natural disasters with ones that are if not man-made, then at least greatly exacerbated by government ineptitude?

As if we should think “oh right, COVID, typhoons, it’s all しょうがない”

20 ( +25 / -5 )

Posted in: Hokkaido man in his 80s gets four doses of COVID-19 vaccine See in context

Mr Kipling, personal anecdotes cut both ways. I’ve had two friends who had moderate side effects for 1-2 days after getting their shots. I booked both of mine on fridays in case I’m out for the weekend.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Posted in: Global-Dining restaurant operator defies Tokyo government’s early closure request See in context

@rainyday

I was under the impression that most healthcare workers in Japan were getting sick and tired of desperately trying to take care of thousands of people sick or dying from Covid 19 in overstretched hospitals. 

Interesting to note that your main concern in this regard is the inconvenience of having to order dinner out before 7PM.

A person can be concerned about both, you know? And why would you want to deny someone a proper meal? Even in healthcare people take turns, it’s called “shifts”, ever heard of that? Just because there are sick people to take care of 24/7, doesn’t mean that any given worker has to work 24/7. Think a little before you post.

9 ( +12 / -3 )

Posted in: Man donates ¥60 mil in cash to city in Kanagawa See in context

First order of business will be to decide how big of a cut the mayor and other city officials will get as a “bonus”.

One wad per person sounds like a “reasonable” start.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Posted in: In message to China, Biden to meet online with leaders of Australia, India, Japan See in context

@Desert Tortoise

Sure, let’s indulge in our favorite past time of “whataboutism” (“Modi is as bad as Xi!!”) and ignore the threat, as stated in the article, of China “unilaterally changing the status quo” of the entire region. I.e., imperialist expansions.

By just wringing our hands over and over about petty distractions, we won’t know it’s too late until it’s checkmate.

13 ( +15 / -2 )

Posted in: U.N. congress on crime prevention opens in Kyoto See in context

Would have been interesting to see which countries aren’t attending. Probably those that do not want to conform to international rules of law. China, among others I’m sure.

-6 ( +8 / -14 )

Posted in: Japan to extend state of emergency for 2 weeks in Tokyo area See in context

How about focus on getting the vaccine out there rather than endlessly delaying reopening the city.

Or do they think this halfway approach works, where they don’t really implement the vaccine properly and also don’t really properly handle shutdowns, leaving Tokyo closed yet everywhere else in Japan open for business in a display of “serious consideration”.

We’ll just get a repeat of early Go To travel where all of Japan flocked to Tokyo Disneyland and stayed in hotels just outside Tokyo. Smh

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Posted in: Biden says decision on Tokyo Olympics has to be based on science See in context

I suspect a large part of Biden’s stance is to make an “anti-Trump” statement. A giveaway was his:

We are a science-driven administration, I think the rest of the world's there too.

As someone else pointed out, if these matters were really science based then the Super Bowl wouldn’t have been held, for instance.

-10 ( +5 / -15 )

Posted in: Japan should brace for 'leaderless era' as U.S. turns inward, PM adviser says See in context

@Desert Tortoise

I think you may be fooling yourself. Mr. Biden calls Xi Jinping a "thug". There is no love. The pivot to the Pacific, meaning the movement of forces from the Atlantic to the Pacific to counter China, was begun during Mr. Obama's second term of office. A lot of new weapons now coming on line entered development ten or twelve years ago as part of that pivot to the Pacific.

It’s indeed a worrying aspect of a Biden presidency. As much as Trump was disastrous on many fronts, perhaps one of his best qualities was that he had NO taste for starting any wars. People might not remember, but during the 2016 campaign there were some scuffles in Syria and Clinton vowed to immediately enforce a no fly zone (i.e., to shoot down Russian airplanes). If Clinton had won back then, there’s a chance we would have had WWIII already.

I dread further US military involvement in the Pacific and enforcing of its increasingly absurd claims of influence there.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Posted in: Suga says Japan not looking to form 'Asian NATO' to contain any specific country See in context

@Fighto!

Well said Suga. QUAD is not an "Asian NATO". It is a group of nations that, at its core, believes in Rule of Law, freedom and democracy

These lofty terms are increasingly meaningless in a world where the supposed foremost champion of them (the US) descends into lawless anti-democratic authoritarian rules, and increasingly breaks international law and increments (Paris accord, Iran agreement, NATO responsibilities, strategic nuclear disarmament, the list goes on).

The faster the world finds and switches to a new framework of prototypical national governance, the better - one not subject to the whims of gerrymandered voter districts, voter suppression, an uneducated public, indoctrinating television that claims to not be news (so as to not break broadcasting laws) yet is still allowed to keep the word “news” in its name (guess who), thus making a wide swathe of the population firmly entrenched in deeply extremist and unhinged right-wing views that have no basis in reality, and finally that is not subject to disinformation campaigns online by hostile nations.

And, sadly, so far the leader in this game of a succeeding world order is frankly China - with its effective governance (might not agree with the methods, but no one can deny their effectiveness), wildly successful strategic soft power (belt and road initiative etc), and efficient use of “bootstrapping” to upgrade its technology and military capabilities (stealing/adopting advanced nations’ technology and adapting it rather than building from scratch).

As much as one would like Japan to play a significant role here, the fact that it’s still under the sway of the US means not only that its influence will be ineffective but also that its fate, for good or ill, is largely intertwined with that of its supposed protector and guarantor.

-3 ( +14 / -17 )

Recent Comments

Popular

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites


©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.