warnerbro comments

Posted in: Report warns of Asian arms race if Trump withdraws U.S. forces See in context

Note to Americans: Station troops in Japan and Japan pays part of the cost. Station troops in America and Americans pay all of the cost. You do the maths.

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Posted in: Hanks braves the fires of critical censure in 'Inferno' See in context

Bonfire Of The Vanities was based on a novel by Tom Wolfe.

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Posted in: Japan protests to Russia over man detained on disputed island See in context

Concealing and not declaring four million yen in cash would get him detained in many other countries, including Japan.

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Posted in: Ichiro gets 4,257th career hit, surpassing Pete Rose's total See in context

I have no direct knowledge of Ichiro's ulcer, but I might add that they can also be caused by excessive ingestion of NSAIDs, which may make professional athletes vulnerable.

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Posted in: Trump and Sanders are both right: 'Free trade' is killing U.S. See in context

"If trained doctors and dentists from abroad were allowed to practice in the United States, he estimates savings of about $90 billion a year, or roughly $300 a person annually." Yes, but the same could be said for importing electricians, plumbers, auto mechanics, construction workers, etc. I thought the point was to save jobs for Americans. And, in fact, many doctors trained abroad are practising in the States or coming to the US as students and staying to practise after attaining their credentials. Check the roster at any US hospital.

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Posted in: 5 cultural tips for taking photos in Japan See in context

It is a reverse peace sign that is considered a rude insult in the UK.

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Posted in: Okinawa governor lobbies U.N. body over U.S. base move See in context

Most territory used by the US Marines in Okinawa is for jungle training. They are not deployed there to protect Japan or Okinawa, but to train, which they could do in Hawaii or Guam, were there the political will to do so. Henoko is utterly unnecessary. The functions of Futenma could easily fit into Kadena or be transferred to Iwakuni, perhaps, were there the political will to do so. The civilian population around Misawa is much more amenable to the US military presence, so the Marine planes could go there. The Marines would not be needed to defend the Senkakus. Air Force and Naval power could reduce an invader on those small rocks to the point that Japan's incipient Marine force or GSDF could retake them, were any invaders even to survive.

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Posted in: Emperor's remarks on WWII 'remorse' a prod to Abe, says journalist See in context

The Japanese constitution makes it clear that the emperor is not the head of state, therefore he cannot be the nominal ("in name only") head of state. He is, however, treated by other national governments as the de facto head of state.

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Posted in: Cabinet OKs bill to give equal authority over SDF to military, bureaucrats See in context

What could possibly go amiss under this change? [Well, perhaps the 1928 Zhang Zoulin murder, 1931 Manchurian Incident, 1937 Marco Polo Bridge Incident...] One thing we should keep in mind is that these generals and admirals, who don't know squat (if knowing squat means knowing nothing, as Wc626 seems to imply, the negation should mean the reverse. But I'm not clear on what I assume is American English) have never been to war. Save for a small handful of Japan's Coast Guardsmen, they've neither fired on an enemy nor been fired upon. They have never implemented military tactics in the field of battle nor seen the results thereof. We would be wise not to assume they are in a significantly more knowledgeable circumstance than the civilian bureaucrats to decide when and upon whom to fire.

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Posted in: Japanese companies doing more firing than hiring: OECD report See in context

“A significant fraction of Japanese workers are laid off each year and then face long periods of joblessness before finding work, often at much lower wages,” This is true throughout the Anglophone world as well, particularly in the "flexible" workforce of the United States. The NY Times just ran a piece recently about America's middle age unemployment problem.

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Posted in: Talent gap: The distance grows between jobs and applicants See in context

"the accompanying slowdown is likely to relieve wage pressure."? The government aims for the opposite, urging firms profiting handsomely from Abenomics to increase wages, to no effect. Abe belatedly realised that lowering people's real incomes would not induce them to spend more.

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Posted in: Abe cuts short Middle East trip to deal with hostage crisis See in context

I fear Mr. Abe is out of his depth. He initially said the aid was to counter ISIS and then changed the focus to humanitarian purposes as soon as the threats against the Japanese hostages were issued. Normally Japan would pay some ransom but he's just jumped into the deep end and can't extricate himself. He has no intelligence or military assets there and even if he did, the Americans, with infinitely more advanced capacity, weren't able to save their hostages. I hope these blokes will make it out somehow, but that is sadly unlikely. Mr. Abe is likely to use this as a pretence to send the ill-prepared, inexperienced SDF out on American adventures and intensifying existing police surveillance on Muslims in Japan.

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Posted in: Gov't trying to confirm report 9 Japanese have joined Islamic State See in context

"Nine Japanese nationals have joined Islamic State, Japan’s former Air Self-Defense Force chief Toshio Tamogami quoted a senior Israeli government official as saying, but the government’s top spokesman said on Friday it had not confirmed the information. Tamogami, now a senior official of a tiny new political party, said on his blog that Nissim Ben Shitrit, the director-general of Israel’s foreign ministry, told him this month that nine Japanese had joined Islamic State."

Tamogami says the Israeli official told him that, but the article cites no confirmation from Nissim Ben Shitrit or the Israeli government. The Japanese government says it can't verify it, and I assume Israel's government has the phone number of its counterparts in Japan, and vice versa. We cannot say that the information comes from an Israeli official, only that Tamogami says he got such word from an Israeli official. Therefore, comments on Tamogami's credibility are appropriate.

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Posted in: Sun shines as first drugs case hits Asian Games See in context

"his shock 200m loss" That would be "shocking 200m loss," unless he misplaced his "shock 200m," whatever that might be.

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Posted in: TEPCO having trouble with 'ice wall' at Fukushima plant See in context

"It needs to be at 5 degrees, the ideal temperature to form the barrier." I believe I see the problem here. In the reality-based world, water freezes at 0 degrees. As Mike notes, maybe understanding what is actually being done would help people, particularly those who work for TEPCO, understand the engineering.

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Posted in: Demonstrators rally against restarting nuclear plants See in context

There was a broadcast media blackout on this demonstration.

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Posted in: Gov't downgrades view of economy as Abe promises reform See in context

So raising prices by increasing taxes and devaluing the yen doesn't entice consumers to spend more of their incomes (that are not rising as fast in real terms)? Gasp!

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Posted in: Are women Japan’s saviours? See in context

"I am happy that I kept my wife at home with the kids to properly raise them"

You "kept" your wife at home? How very wise of you! My wife, being an adult human of at least average intelligence, was capable of deciding whether or not to stay at home with our children. I had neither means nor need to keep her at home or elsewhere.

"Their companies work stupid long hours." Perhaps you mean "stupidly long"? Hours are units of time and have no mental capacity.

"Instead, they will just live with their parents or the government." I would be interested in living with the government. Where does the government live? To whom might I apply?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: Japan PM tells Brazil 'Abenomics' working, time to do more business See in context

With Japan growing again? "Think tanks forecast 7.4% drop in April-June GDP" http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/08/02/business/economy-business/think-tanks-forecast-7-4-drop-in-april-june-gdp/#.U95J2BzoYeo

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Posted in: Aso says BOJ's aggressive stimulus should be appreciated See in context

Well, mate, if the BOJ's aggressive stimulus was working, I'm quite sure it would be appreciated.

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Posted in: Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten halts whale meat sales See in context

"There were no listings for dolphin meat." Dolphin meat can be legally labelled whale in Japan.

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Posted in: Abe threatens Moscow with more sanctions over Crimea See in context

"suspending negotiations with Russia on easing visa requirements and would not be starting talks on a new investment accord." "additional action would include restricting visas and freezing assets.

What bold moves! If that won't get Crimea back to Ukraine, nothing will. What happened to the Abe who met Putin five times, who established a relationship based on trust? Why doesn't he call his mate and set the bloke straight?

What's this YuriOtani? "So Abe will you look after Japan's best interests or be an apple polisher for America?" But Abe wants to be a man with an army and patriotic citizens. Remember his proactive pacifism? He wants to be in charge of a nation that has a meaningful voice in the world, not just someone who decides which bully to kiss up to. What you're suggesting is that Abe choose to kiss Putin's hind quarters rather than Obama's. If that's what he wants to do, fine by me. But if Abe does so, rather than get a few insignificant islands returned (which Abe claims were taken in a similar manner to Crimea. Who does Abe fancy to populate those islands with, I wonder?), he will be lucky if he gets to keep Hokkaido.

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Posted in: Japan gives final approval to child abduction treaty See in context

The Japanese judicial system when looking at divorce cases blithely overlooks frequency with which Japanese mothers inflict violence on their children.

http://www.japantoday.com/category/crime/view/oita-woman-arrested-over-death-of-7-year-old-son http://www.japantoday.com/category/crime/view/woman-charged-with-strangling-her-8-year-old-daughte

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Posted in: Suspected norovirus outbreak sickens over 300 students in Hiroshima See in context

This sounds like a case of contamination at the source. However, most schools have children ladle out food for the lunch meal with very minimal to no supervision. They are instructed to wash their hands, but there is no hot water which may be one reason this kind of virus is spreading so readily in winter. People, especially children, are loathe to wash sufficiently in cold water. There is often nothing with which to dry hands so children use the same moist handkerchief several times a day.

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Posted in: Apple says it had no role in NSA's alleged iPhone hack See in context

These disclosures have not rattled the NSA. They've rattled everyone else.

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Posted in: Abe says it is time to revise pacifist constitution See in context

Good one, Abe. Try to build your army on Japan's increasing legions of decrepit elderly. At least he wants to teach the dwindling numbers of youth better English, so some of them perhaps might escape abroad before his inferiority complex is soothed by somebody's blood.

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Posted in: Abe battles doctors' lobby over 'third arrow' reform See in context

Japan could easily afford to continue existing coverage and expand access to new treatments if it had or were willing to import young people. The problem is the declining and ageing population. Aso's hurry up and die remarks basically express the government's stance. They want to lure wealthy Asians to Japan for advanced treatment, and make it available to plutocrats like Abe and Aso, whilst leaving the great mass of people to place their fate in the hands of ill-trained internists who cannot even diagnose an ear infection or to witch doctors and acupuncturists.

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Posted in: Aso compares Senkakus dispute to Falklands See in context

I doubt the Americans will send their sons to die for a few obscure rocks. They were NATO allies of us but did not deploy any men with us in the Falklands, did they? And remember that China can muster more than ten young men for every one of Japan's and still have plenty to spare. I do not wish to see Japan lose the Senkakus but a military solution is not advisable.

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Posted in: Japan could be 'main player' if Asia conflicts break out: defense minister See in context

I would hope that armed conflict may be avoided. China can lose ten soldiers for every one of Japan's and still prevail handily. Japan's population is ageing and declining rapidly. China has nuclear weapons that would take Japan years to make and the population is less densely distributed, making it less vulnerable to nuclear attack than Japan. Compared to today, Japan was much stronger militarily than China in 1937. How, pray tell, did Japan's role as a main player work out for it then? Learn from the past and survive, Japan.

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Posted in: Japan should stop sending 'confusing messages' on Fukushima: IAEA See in context

“This would avoid sending confusing messages to the media and the public on a possibly long series of INES-rated events at the lower levels of the scale, for the duration of the entire recovery operation”,

Yes, that is precisely what it would do. IAEA wants to avoid the truth at all costs.

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