vistula comments

Posted in: Japan to set up panel to tighten drinking rules after pilot scandals See in context

Just do it and stop wasting time and money!

Well, this is Japan, as expected. Devising a solution without doing a complicated bureaucracy headed by "expert" panel is impossibru.

9 ( +9 / -0 )

Posted in: Passengers to be banned from carrying knives onto all trains in Japan from April See in context

I'd hate to see the boarding process turn into the mess we're going through at airports.

Agree, one of the reason many people prefer riding Shinkansen is to avoid the hassle of airport security. Adding security check seems to defeat the purpose altogether.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Posted in: Police investigate speeding case after driver posts footage online See in context

And, here's another one with a failed argument. Yeah, different countries have different speed limits. Therefore, why are vehicles not limited to the maximum speed limit in each country?

Domestic vehicles are to get from A to B. They are not a racing car or a show pony for someone to brag about how much money they have or fast they can drive on public roads (extremely dangerously).

Well because they can? Even small domestic kei cars with little 660 cc engines are capable of reaching 140 kph, well over 110 kph, the max speed limit in Japan, on Tomei Expwy.

Simply it's because the technology have advanced so much since the first car produced in 1885 by Benz, so that even 660 cc engines are capable of doing high speed.

So is the solution to reduce the engine then? Nope, smaller engine will make the car cannot accelerate since it must support the heavy car body. So you have to incorporate an engine that is capable to move the car body, but that engine will simply enable that car to travel more than 110 kph. You can't separate the two.

And that's only kei car. Want to carry 8 people? The engine should be 1500 cc at minimum, but that will only enable the car to do higher speed. That is an unintended consequence. I can't explain more since this will turn into a mechanical engineering lecture.

So, the solution is to add a speed limiter at 110 kph then?

Well the Japanese government only require to limit up to 180 kph. As long as there is no law that require to limit the car to the max speed limit in the country, carmakers will continue to make cars that are capable of doing higher speed. Why? Because they can. And there is no law to restrict them. This already answers your original question:

"My mind is still boggled as to why car manufacturers spend so much time and money producing domestic cars that will do these speeds when speed limits in most countries are 100-120kph."

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Posted in: Police investigate speeding case after driver posts footage online See in context

First: A car can have adequate acceleration without having a stupid top speed.

Second: 180kph is still at least 60kph over national speed limits.

Therefore, your arguments are severely flawed!

Because car makers are selling the cars on many different countries, which has higher speed limits (140 in Poland), or even no speed limits on certain parts (Germany) and its not up to the makers to impose a speed limiter. Why do car makers still produce these fast cars? Because the market is there, and the place where you could max the speed of your car legally such as racetracks exists, and those are often open to public. 

So the responsibility lies on the government, not the makers. Actually there was a time in Japan (1970's) when it was mandated that cars should beep audible warning incessantly non-stop when it exceeded 105 kph, but the public hated that so it was removed. And why 180 kph? Then you should ask the Japanese government.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Posted in: Police investigate speeding case after driver posts footage online See in context

"My mind is still boggled as to why car manufacturers spend so much time and money producing domestic cars that will do these speeds when speed limits in most countries are 100-120kph."

What people seek on fast cars are mainly the acceleration and the joy of driving, so for example, even if you're sticking to the 100 kph limit, when you're entering a highway from a ramp, accelerating to that speed on a fast car will be a more fun experience than in a kei car (also arguably safer too since kei cars are not stable on high speeds)

Second, I saw this incident on TV that there is actually a speed limiter on Japanese cars up to 180 kph and it was removed on the car the person was driving.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Posted in: TEPCO offers English virtual tour inside crippled Fukushima plant See in context

I saw that Netflix show where the guy went on a group tour of the high radiation areas. No thanks for me but highly informative about government lies.

Yeah I saw it too, they went to the area that was deemed "safe" by the government, but when the group measured the radiation level themselves, it was still way above the safe thresold.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Police investigate speeding case after driver posts footage online See in context

Shouldn't it be CENTRAL-Japan.

Well, because it is. It's in Kansai region, where the -sai kanji means West. Central Japan is around Nagoya area.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Posted in: Japan, U.S. plan military response to Chinese threat to Senkakus See in context

 A war over a few rocks in the sea.

As foolish as it may sounds, those rocks are important to mark the country's border on the seas, hence the interest lies on what is under the sea, e.g. for fisheries or gas field or etc.

20 ( +20 / -0 )

Posted in: Trump warns that migrants who throw stones at U.S. military may be shot See in context

Unarmed poor people vs fully armed US military? David vs Goliath scenario all over again...

0 ( +7 / -7 )

Posted in: Doctors recommend Tokyo 2020 Olympic marathon start at 5:30 a.m. See in context

It’s actually the same time everywhere all of the time.

No, it isn't, and it's ridiculous to compare Tokyo with Finland, which is located in entirely different latitude. Tokyo's latitude is similar to Raleigh, NC, USA, so let's compare the sunrise and sunset times on July 1st:

Tokyo. Sunrise: 4.28; Sunset: 19.01

Raleigh. Sunrise: 6.02; Sunset: 20.34

Since the standard time of work is roughly the same, from 9 AM to 5 PM, which one is better do you think?

The notion of a time zone is a human construction. If we all used a standard time like UTC, what time should the marathon start?

Yes, time zone is a human construction, but suggesting Tokyo to use UTC misses the point entirely. I think Tokyo is better on UTC +10, not +9.

https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/japan/tokyo?month=7&year=2018

https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/usa/raleigh?month=7&year=2018

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Posted in: 10,000 or 1,0000? Japanese schools are starting to move commas on big numbers, but why? See in context

Just use normal commas as the rest of the world. I also got an idea, how about using English terms like million (ミリオン) and billion (ビリオン) rather using man 万 or oku 億?  So, instead of saying 1,000,000 as hyaku man (百万), you can say it as ichi million (一ミリオン). And also ichi billion (一ビリオン) instead of saying 1,000,000,000 as jyu oku (十億). I work in a Japanese engineering company and one thing that surprises me is that even Japanese themselves are using this term, especially when doing international projects that involves lots of money, since it makes calculation much easier. Although this is not common yet in everyday life.

8 ( +9 / -1 )

Posted in: Fukushima wind turbine, symbol of disaster recovery, to be removed See in context

Incredible that a nation as advanced as Japan cannot successfully operate a windfarm.

This. When I visited Germany, I could see many wind turbines as far as eye can see along the Autobahn. Sure there is some too in Japan, but they seem inadequate.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Posted in: Indonesia Lion Air flight with 189 on board crashes into sea See in context

Reminder that flying is not totally safe. 

Sure, but you can say the same for driving; actually driving or highway related accidents happen more frequently than flying. Statistically speaking, flying is one of the safest modes of transportation.

But I can understand that aircraft incidents sound scarier and will make many people fear flying.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Posted in: Indonesia Lion Air flight with 189 on board crashes into sea See in context

So sad, RIP to those perished. Although aircraft crashing into sea often results in no survivors, I just hope there is a miracle that leads to some survivors...

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Posted in: Another Japanese firm admits falsifying data for quake shock absorbers See in context

Why am I not surprised anymore...

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Posted in: 8 Japanese firms in best global brand report; Apple stays top See in context

Seeing as all the american heavyweights were listed, maybe it would be nice to know these too?

It's Samsung, Hyundai, Kia for the Korean and Huawei for the Chinese company.

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181003005944/en/Interbrand-Releases-2018-Global-Brands-Report

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Posted in: Spring already? Cherry blossoms make unexpected appearance See in context

Could use a photo, JT!

12 ( +12 / -0 )

Posted in: Built for young families, minicars attract a huge following among elderly drivers See in context

Nissan Micra? Or Honda Jazz? For First time learner for Young Woman?

Both of them are not even kei cars...

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Built for young families, minicars attract a huge following among elderly drivers See in context

Yubaru: No thrills? Author has no idea what they are talking about.

Totally AGREE with this. Kei cars are anything but no-frills, especially the newest ones. I come from a third-world country in Southeast Asia and when I drove a kei car in Japan for the first time, I was amazed at all the features offered; one of them is Adaptive Cruise Control, which would control the speed of the car automatically, something that folks in my country could only dream of.

You want the real no-frills car? Come to my country, where even the basic safety features such as airbags or even ABS are stripped off and sold with a higher price tag than cars in Japan. Most Japanese car companies in developing countries are ripping people off with schemes like this (I'm looking at you Toyota!)

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Posted in: Built for young families, minicars attract a huge following among elderly drivers See in context

A Honda Fit (non-hybrid) will net you better gas mileage than that

I doubt that, I have driven a Fit and the average is only 15 km/L; probably could reach 20 km/L but that's strictly on highway. Although I agree about the boot space, Fit is small but amazingly spacious.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: What do you think of the quality of waiters in Japanese restaurants? See in context

RecklessSep. 30 05:44 pm JSTNot many complaints. Sometimes I ask for example "does this dish have shrimp in it?", because I have a food allergy, and usually they do not know the answer and have to take a few minutes to find out.

I agree with this; although the service is top-notch, any out of the box request would often be met with blank stare.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Posted in: Go hands-free with the wearable umbrella See in context

Judging from the picture above, especially the one operating a smartphone, I guess this will be popular and beneficial for those countless aruki-sumaho people during rain!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: Over half of survey participants unfamiliar with katakana words used by government See in context

インバウンド is a good example of what I hate about loan words

True, even I don't understand the meaning at first, although I am fluent in English.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Posted in: Nintendo wins court battle over Mario go-karting See in context

It’s a bend of trademark regulations. As stated above, “MariCar” is a colloquialism and not a trademarked name. Wearing Mario character costumes is not a breech of copyright. If it was, half of the participants in the Shibuya Halloween festivities would be breaking the same law. Even if the company was renting the suits to the drivers it is still not a breech. If this were so, nearly every costume rental company in japan would be in breech of this copyright. I fail to see how Nintendo can sue for damages when the breech of copyright and trademarks is so vague.

Plus, looking at the photos on the website, not all of the costumes are actually related to Nintendo; the other ones are mainly Minions (Universal) or Pooh, Goofy, etc (Disney)., or others. Although I agree that the kart themselves are nuisance for cars or pedestrians.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Super typhoon See in context

I hope it won't shut down Kansai airport again...

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Posted in: Meet Ren and G See in context

Nothing says "Rugby" like two cute fluffy mascots!

Cute?? I dunno, there is something sinister about both of them; might be from the grin, or the red eyelashes that resemble devil's horn. Or probably I'm just too old to care about mascots anyway...

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Posted in: Kono says Japan will accept more foreign workers See in context

@lesenfant:

Good luck on the N1 too! Thats great!

Thanks! Even though I had some complaints living here, I still love Japanese language.

but the bank I have been using from the beginning has rejected my credit card application multiple times.

Have you tried Rakuten Card? My fellow gaijin friend all got accepted with a reasonable credit limit. Probably because Rakuten is one of a few Japanese companies that is gaijin friendly; even they use English as the main working language!

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Posted in: Kono says Japan will accept more foreign workers See in context

I think everyone shall be welcome in Japan if they are willing to assimilate into Japanese society

And it should also go both ways. If the attitude of Japanese people towards foreigners stays the same, I doubt change will happen. I consider myself a good citizen, paying my taxes and fees (even NHK fee), following all rules, learning and practising Japanese everyday and will take my N1 exam this year. But after living here for several years, I don't know, I just feel that something is missing. Is it because whenever I go to a restaurant with my East Asian looking friend who barely speak any Japanese, the waiter seems to talk only to him, even though I speak fluent Japanese? (I'm a brown skinned Southeast Asian) Or is it because I was refused by many apartment landlords only because I'm a foreigner? Or is it because it seems so hard to make friends with Japanese people?

Don't get me wrong, I love Japan, it's culture, food, safety environment, but I'm thinking twice whether I should continue to live long term here. And I'm saying this as a well-paid skilled engineer; I wonder what it is like for many blue-collar foreign workers struggling to live here because of the low pay and their basic Japanese proficiency. Japan is a great country, but unless things change, it's gonna be hard for future foreigners who will come here and it's just not sustainable.

18 ( +18 / -0 )

Posted in: Apple iPhones get bigger and pricier; Watch turns to health See in context

Good point. It is because many people actually do buy them.

I think the key is China. Even though there are countless of good local brands, Apple product is still sought after by many.

-6 ( +1 / -7 )

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