whyRUasking comments

Considering how many of these items are now widely available in Japan, 20 years on, I'm surprised they've managed to maintain a robust business.

Have you ever seen a catalog shirokuma? They got stuff in there that is impossible to find, particularly for those of us not living in Tokyo or Osaka.

A bit pricey however.

Been here, seen this. I think it's one of the underrated places to view cherry blossoms. My wifes brother lives in Fujiyoshida and it's just a spectacular place to go.

Kudos for Miki Ando. She's been my fave for years. After choking in the clutch so many times before, it was great to see her win the worlds.

I don't think Kim is crying for losing, btw.

Well, I guess it's better than those formaldehyde drenched clap traps that FEMA put up after Katrina.

In the Huffy post, it also mentions a travel agency assisted the wife.

I would assume that it falls under the jurisdiction of the customs/Homeland security personnel to determine whether or not somebody can legally leave the country.

If Japan airlines actually smuggled them on board without following protocol, then this could be a major legal battle. JAL might lose more than just money in this case. If true, then heads will roll.

I won't be seeing this movie or reading the book from which it was spawned.

And the world kept spinning and nobody really cares, Sarge.

Great book. Real eye opener. Should be interesting. I wonder what other aspects of the book will be explored?

@my2sense- what an idiot! since when do water filters take out cesium and iodine? why don't I just pee into it and drink it up? it can filter everything, right brainiac?

A slap across their sullen faces or a swift kick in the ass would be my remedy. Maybe drop them off with a bottle of water and a days worth of food in say... Myanmar or North Korea, or maybe the poverty stricken mountains of Appalachia might be another way to motivate these bums.

Sure. A baseball bat, a wad of cash, a couple of lighters and survival instinct. Along with the grocery store down the street, no problem, they got windows.

Why is it every 3-5 years does JT have to put up some other foreigners whining account of how bad the taxi service is in Tokyo? Long-term residents or newly arrived, JT can always find some sap willing to write a story about their "terrible" experience with a cabby who couldn't find some (more than likely, but never truthfully reported) obscure Tokyo address.

I'll say it here and now, in 8 years, I've never had a bad experience in a cab, in Japan. (Knock on wood and keeping fingers crossed.)

Check out "Staightjacket Society" for an insiders look at the absolute uselessness of the J-bureaucracy.

I wonder if a Native American group will get their noses pushed out of shape for her get up?

@ caldina- Don't worry, he will be.

@gaijin.... (I can't bring myself to say the rest, LOL)- Did you just get off the boat? The owner of the team is Nippon Ham (you do know what ham is, I'm assuming). Their nickname is... well you get the point.

It's so sad in this country how the press go absolutely bananas each year and focus attention on 1 single player. Let'em be. Go chase down a real story.

For those of you complaining about the rule for not using a cell phone on a train: Have you ever been to South Korea? They have no such rule. And if you think a few people talking among themselves is the equivalent, you are oh so mistaken. Try a car full of people all trying to talk over the noise of the train and fellow passengers. It is more than simply annoying. I always like telling people off when they use their damned phones. And at my size, I pity the fool that takes exception to my big mouth.

Yes Virginia, J-pop REALLY SUCKS.

It happened at 4:20? You've got to be kidding me!

whoops...

should read: unless drastic changes that the xenophobic, misogynistic, minority keep thwarting are finally undertaken with a sense of urgency? Or at least before Japan falls out of the G8.

Well, at least he reads the newspaper...

Thanks for pointing out the complete obvious. Now quit acting like all your predecessors, and DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!!

I mean, is it finally dawning on the politicos that the country has been, is, and will continue to wallow in do-do unless drastic changes that the xenophobic, misogynistic, minority keep thwarting?

Got my windfall. Just ordered about US$2000 dollars worth of goods over Amazon & others. Saved around %20 when converted to yen. Then went to various Japanese sites: Amazon, Rakuten, etc... and saw how the savings really piled up.

Yo, Japan! Wake up! Stop getting the short end of the stick. Get a clue.

oops, "big" cities, not bug

Of what I know from a relative who lived here in the 1960's, there were many more benches in the bug cities, but after the student protests of said period, the government removed them as a way of discouraging young people from gathering. Don't know if this is the whole truth, but that's the way he saw it.

Yawn... doesn't Israel have a big enough PR machine? Why do we have to be subjected to such trifles? Is this really as 'stevecpfc' says? Yawn...

in most vehicle, there will be no rollover.

And just where did you come by that info? A van is a top heavy vehicle with a high center of gravity and you better believe they roll. (Just ask Suzuki Motor Company and their infamous "Samurai.")

Regardless of your opinion on this, other questions need to be addressed: was this guy licensed to drive a multi-passenger vehicle? I don't know about Utah, etc... but I'm pretty sure in California you need a special license to operate such a vehicle. Also, as he was crossing state lines while transporting passengers, did the tour company have all the proper permits to operate said vehicle?

It's only appeared on Japanese website news, nothing on the tube, according to my wife.

I surely hope this will get aired in Japan. But I am not holding my breath. I also hope the Italian media runs with this one. They can place it side-by-side with the vandalism story from a few years back. Exaggerate to all ends and make Italy an uncomfortable choice for J-tourists. Nah, it'll never happen. Too much dough to be made from J-tourism.

Couldn't agree more "Pukey2." Isn't this just a burn that the shoe is now on the other foot? Japanese nationals supplying the evil to kill innocent youth.

Woo hoo...yeah, couldn't say it any better "gdeshazo." Making sense, in the 'anywhere outside Japan' sense, is a plateau which will never be reached in this country until more than 50% of the population is foreign. Should happen around when? 2050? 2075? 2100?

Japanese students need to have a broader view of life

Yes, beyond cellphones, manga, and anime characters that seem to be a national obsession with most 20-somethings.

shouldn’t limit themselves to the domestic market when hunting for jobs

Good luck with that idea. First an appreciation of foreign culture, beyond food, has to be cultivated. Then the language ability, and finally, the wherewithal to actually apply themselves.

LOL. I hope they did, then they can bring them back to Japan.

an expert on family sociology

An expert in backwater sociology. This quack actually has a degree? Where'd he get it from, "Dummas U.?"

It's imbeciles like this that make Japan the laughing stock of the 21st century world. This advice flies in the face of everything I've read and learned. Granted, he MIGHT be talking about a teenager, but...