Posted in: Parents of chronically absent kids turn to support spaces to vent See in context
Many of these kids likely have undiagnosed developmental disabilities or learning disorders. They deserve to be educated in environments in which their sensitivities and learning needs are accommodated.
1 ( +3 / -2 )
Posted in: Japan reaches its lowest-ever ranking on Education First’s 2024 English Proficiency Index See in context
The fictional dialogues and stories in Japanese English textbooks usually revolve around the Japanese characters speaking English in order to accommodate foreigners in Japan. This reinforces the view that English is not useful or relevant for the success of Japanese students themselves.
4 ( +4 / -0 )
Posted in: Japan enacts law to restrict sex offenders from child-related work See in context
This is a no-brainer.
17 ( +19 / -2 )
Posted in: 'Mount Fuji convenience store' issues apology for bad tourist manners, adds multilingual signs See in context
Over on YouTube, some Japanese commenters are saying that the country has no choice but to blow up Mt. Fuji.
-4 ( +2 / -6 )
Posted in: Man arrested for groping teen on train claims he’s done similar acts at least 50 times See in context
I was groped near a junior high school while walking down the street in a rural area, in broad daylight. The perv was so fast that I had literally no time to react. All of a sudden I was in pain, and the next moment this scrawny little man was racing away from me on his bicycle. It definitely seemed to me that he'd had his approach (from behind), attack, and escape (down a side alley) planned out beforehand, and like he'd already done that kind of thing countless times before. I was disturbed by the thought that he'd probably done it to students.
Sometimes I fantasize about running after him with super speed and kicking his bicycle over with him on it. Pervs are the scum of the earth.
6 ( +6 / -0 )
Posted in: Baseball fans leap into river as 'Curse of the Colonel' lifted See in context
Seeing a game at Koshien years back was like no other sporting event I'd ever experienced. In the stands all around me, it was nonstop coordinated chanting and singing and cheering straight from beginning to end. Three hours without a break. Tigers fans are cut from a different cloth, for sure.
11 ( +12 / -1 )
Posted in: 170 cats abandoned in house in Gunma after owner falls ill See in context
The man needs compassionate mental health treatment. He shouldn't be allowed to own any pets until he gets well.
3 ( +3 / -0 )
Posted in: Shionogi may apply for oral COVID pill approval next week in Japan See in context
KetoCoffee:
How many vaccines require more than one shot?
Lots of routine childhood vaccinations require two, three, or even four shots. You just don't remember because you were a wee tot for most of them. Many adult vaccines have multiple doses too - like hep a and b and rabies.
Multiple doses of a vaccine is routine and common. Don't just take my word for it. Ask your GP. Or look at your own childhood vaccination record. Or look at your Japanese spouse's or friend's boshi teccho.
Whether you get vaccinated for covid-19 or not, I hope you will be safe and healthy.
1 ( +2 / -1 )
Posted in: Study offers reassurance on COVID shots, women's periods See in context
Like it or not, every person alive right now is a test subject of some kind-- either for the vaccines, or for the virus, or both. It sucks, but that's how it is. Anti-vaxxers worried about the newness of RNA technology surprisingly seem untroubled by the fact that covid-19 is almost just as new as the vaccines, and that it may not have had a totally natural origin. Even stranger, in the U.S. at least it seems to be the anti-vaxxers who are most certain that covid originated in a lab. And yet they refuse to get vaccinated because the vaccines are new, untested, unnatural...
We do not know the long-term effects of covid infection, either.
3 ( +4 / -1 )
Posted in: Japan confirms 8 more cases of Omicron variant infection See in context
Omicron has now completely replaced Delta in South Africa, and so far it seems much milder than Delta. Vaccinated people who catch it are reporting aches and pains, headache, slight sore throat, then back to normal within three days.
Fingers crossed.
4 ( +5 / -1 )
Posted in: Kishida reads letter from family of detained Sri Lankan woman who died See in context
33-year-olds don't just randomly die. Wishma complained of a stomachache before her death. Did she die of a ruptured appendix? Why does the public not yet know the cause of her death? Was an autopsy even performed?
There are way too many mysteries here. This shouldn't be. The media is not doing its job.
4 ( +6 / -2 )
Posted in: Dementia sufferers gain purpose from return to Japan's workforce See in context
I have no doubt that this is beneficial, but for pete's sake pay them minimum wage at least.
5 ( +8 / -3 )
Posted in: Thousands flock to walk-in youth vaccination site in Tokyo See in context
Good God. It shouldn't have to be this hard.
12 ( +17 / -5 )
Posted in: U.S. to recommend COVID vaccine boosters at 8 months See in context
Didn't these same experts say that two would be "fully vaccinated"
Yes, that was before the far more contagious Delta variant became dominant.
Science changes to accommodate new information.
2 ( +8 / -6 )
Posted in: Tokyo reports 2,962 coronavirus cases; nationwide tally 14,854 See in context
This has been going on for nearly 2 years and you don't know anyone who has had the virus and definitely don't know anyone who has died from this so why are you so worried?
Wow mate, sounds like your circle of acquaintances is rather small. My sister, her husband, and her son all had it (they recovered at home), my cousin in her 40's had it (and was hospitalized). A friend of mine lost three family members to it, and another friend has been dealing with the joys of long Covid for over a year now.
5 ( +8 / -3 )
Posted in: Japan starts giving COVID-19 shots to citizens temporarily returning See in context
This piece is PR meant to convince the outside world that the J government is doing well with its vaccine roll out.
Those who live in Japan, Japanese and non-Japanese, know otherwise.
6 ( +8 / -2 )
Posted in: Tokyo's drinkers drown frustrations over virus restrictions, Olympics See in context
I don't see the problem with drinking with your friends outside, as long as you don't share food or drinks and keep a certain distance apart.
This time last year, the media and government tried getting us to believe that nightlife workers were fueling the spread of covid. Now, the scapegoat is drinking. None of it based on science or logic.
10 ( +12 / -2 )
Posted in: Bach urges Japanese to support Olympics See in context
@Joseph
You do know that access to vaccines and PCR tests in Japan is still very limited, don't you? You sound completely unaware of the reality on the ground here.
2 ( +3 / -1 )
Posted in: Bach urges Japanese to support Olympics See in context
No, I'm sorry, I cannot.
Elite athletes aren't the only people who have dreams worth realizing. So many peoples' livelihoods and mental health have been shattered by this pandemic, and this event threatens to prolong their suffering.
I have a very modest dream of being able to visit my family, whom I haven't seen in two years.
35 ( +36 / -1 )
Posted in: Yes. Tokyo Olympics are still on, despite opposition, pandemic See in context
Pound disgusts me. The "armageddon" he speaks of will come after the IOC packs up and goes home, leaving Japan to deal with its biggest wave yet and the total collapse of its medical system.
5 ( +6 / -1 )
Posted in: Japan opens mass vaccination centers in Tokyo, Osaka See in context
I'd like the media here to begin reporting on the number of people vaccinated daily nationwide, total percentage of the population that are fully vaccinated, and percentage who have had at least one dose. It would help keep the government accountable.
Better yet, put a graphic with that data next to a countdown showing the number of days, hours, and seconds left until the Olympics begin.
5 ( +6 / -1 )
Posted in: Japan opens mass vaccination centers in Tokyo, Osaka See in context
I want to be cautiously optimistic. This story is a good development. Now, what we need is more of this. At least one mass vaccination site in every ward of every town, and portable sites heading for the more remote areas in the countryside.
4 ( +4 / -0 )
Posted in: 28 local Japanese governments considering mass vaccination sites See in context
Sad to say, but I think the Japanese government honestly believed, and still believes, that the nation was going to overcome the pandemic with superior "mindo" alone. The vaccines are just an afterthought.
9 ( +9 / -0 )
Posted in: IOC offers medical help for Tokyo Olympics See in context
Japan has has attributed more than 11,500 deaths to COVID-19, good by some standards
This comparison with other countries is insulting and needs to stop. 11,500 people asphyxiating to death while completely isolated from their loved ones, or sedated senseless, proned, and hooked up to ventilators, is not "good" by any standards.
4 ( +4 / -0 )
Posted in: Paralympics chief tries to calm 'anger' over Games See in context
Parsons' comments are tone deaf. The Japanese have been betrayed by their government for the sake of big business, and they are angry. After a year of "states of emergency" designed to keep companies afloat as workers and small businesses suffer, the Japanese public now get to watch the rest of the developed world return to normalcy just as Japan enters its darkest hour and our medical system starts to collapse. Yes, of course we are suspicious that the IOC is putting profit above public health. No, we are not in the mood for a celebration here.
10 ( +10 / -0 )
Posted in: Petition to cancel Tokyo Olympics submitted to Koike See in context
I'm proud to have signed it.
8 ( +9 / -1 )
Posted in: GOP purges Cheney for 'unity,' but Trump bent on retribution See in context
“If a thief robs a jewelry store of all of its diamonds (the 2020 Presidential Election), the diamonds must be returned,” he said in a statement this week.
Great analogy, Einstein.
I can't understand why anyone still supports this insufferable half-wit.
8 ( +8 / -0 )
Posted in: Japan to vaccinate Olympic athletes: reports See in context
This may be an unpopular opinion, but at this point I'm just happy to hear that vaccines are going into arms. Any arms.
-3 ( +3 / -6 )
Posted in: Japan's coronavirus vaccine booking system crashes after Salesforce outage See in context
I thought one consequence of Japan rolling out its vaccination program more slowly is that it would have learned from the mistakes other countries made. Apparently not.
23 ( +23 / -0 )
Posted in: Naomi Osaka conflicted over holding Tokyo Olympics See in context
Sorry, athletes, but your dreams are not more important than people's lives.
2 ( +5 / -3 )
Yeah, but you're wrong. Stay away from those who appear troubled. That's most people.
Posted in: Mother, son fall to their deaths from 14-story apartment in apparent murder-suicide
Posted in: Mother, son fall to their deaths from 14-story apartment in apparent murder-suicide
Posted in: Mother, son fall to their deaths from 14-story apartment in apparent murder-suicide
Posted in: Man found collapsed, bleeding from head wound, on Nagoya sidewalk