wolfshine comments

The problem with the CDP is that eventually they are going to need to find a way to galvanize the young voters. They are still a significant, yet rapidly diminishing demographic no one seems interested in capitalizing on. This untapped advantage will likely disappear within a few decades, and by then the CDP will have missed a major opportunity and won't have the infrastructure to remain relevant. Maybe this party will eventually also be eaten up by or end up as a coalition partner to the LDP, who knows. One thing is clear, and it's that this party is totally directionless.

While I am certainly not opposed to allowing foreign firms to buy out Japanese companies if some benefit can be obtained, be it more long term stability or better leadership, this one kind of seems like a no brainer.

"Couche-Tard"?

Yeh, no. The single most important retail entity in Japan's economy and a staple of people's daily life should not be owned by a corporation with a name like that. It would be like if Wal-Mart was approaches for a buyout from a company called "Biss & Jit".

US Senators now claiming Black Myth: Wukong is a national security threat.

Now that is insane. I really have to say, the omnipresence of anti-China propaganda has become annoying and nauseating.

China is seemingly starting to find its footing in the world. They are learning they can supplant Communist dogma with the soft power of popular culture that honors their own history and traditions. They are building high quality products on par with those in the West, and people are buying them. And, in due time, I think they will refine Democracy, and make it work for their society. I am legitimately happy for them.

The brainwashed sinophobes that spend every day of their life obsessing over China need to wake up. Western societies and their affiliates are in the midst of an identity crisis. We are in decline. On our end, it's time to stop coping and allowing ourselves to be easily distracted. Our leaders are parasites and our culture is decaying.

I remember arguing with a certain TSMC super-fan maybe a year ago over the distinctions between American style democracy and that of the French. I was told that the US is the land of fanatical "Christian Nationalism" whereas France is all about "Liberté, égalité, fraternité".

More and more, day by day, we are seeing what an absolute disaster France is, especially under Macron.

Alt-tech has proven to be vital in the fight against censorship from the elites. I hope for the continued survival of the Telegram platform and its leader.

I am of the opinion that in an ideal world, yeh, China should end the ban.

However, we need to be honest about the diplomatic context here. Japan cannot, on one hand, restrict chipmaking technology to China as a means of appeasing the US, whilst playing victim over the seafood ban on the other. It is the same classic hypocrisy we've seen over and over and over again from the LDP government.

Moreover, everywhere I go on Japanese social media, there is sinophobia and anti-Chinese hate. In general, recently, there has been a lot of anti-foreigner hatred in general from the Japanese. Do not expect the Chinese (or us expats, for that matter) to buy your products and give you money if you're not going to respect them. Anti-Japanese sentiment in China is something worth exploring as well, but I grow really weary of the victimhood mentality here.

Using the storm as an excuse to change policy is a classic example of people here not having the courage to admit they were wrong so they can save face.

I feel bad for the hotel owners and staffs.

I think it is generally a good idea for them to require payment by credit card at the time of booking. There are honestly so many invisible benefits you get from dropping cash as the main medium of exchange and this is one of them.

The situation has become both hilarious and sad at this point.

Hike interest rates to counter inflation, and crash your economy in the process? Or keep them where they are, and watch inflation soar?

No good options on the table. Either the Nikkei looks bad or the exchange rate looks bad.

Cult-like. As someone posted recently it could be hyper sensitive Japanese who do not post anything but do downvote anything that they think is critical about Japan.

Likely that is the case.

Sometime ago another user made me aware of a Japanese website called "Gekiyaku", in which many of their articles consist entirely of JapanToday comments. The responses are largely xenophobic and sometimes include calls to violence against foreigners.

LOL both of the Asian defense ministers just look uncomfortable and miserable.

Whatever, a dub is a dub for the American side. Neither of these countries are very good when it comes to making strategically important decisions, so in these situations it makes sense that an actual global leader has to come in and strong arm them into doing what's necessary.

Though I am not without my concerns and skepticism. With regard to S. Korea, I think it's extremely unlikely that they would intervene in the case of a Taiwan invasion - for one thing they really have nothing to gain, in fact if TSMC semiconductor production were disrupted that would actually force more buyers to depend on Samsung, the world's number two. Regarding Japan, I am still not fully convinced they are over their complete pacifism phase. Sixty five years ago the very idea that Japan might have to militarily assist America in a war ignited some of the biggest protests in their history, and this is a country that won't even do that in the face of endless corruption and corporate abuse. Whether America would even risk nuclear war with China is questionable. So, it's all posturing. Likely the right kind of posturing, but that's all I really see it as. Hopefully it works well enough as a bluff.

Days of Japan's chip manufacturing is over. Japan hasn't built a new advanced fab for more than 14 years. Japan is behind the industry leaders by 7 generations, a gap too large to overcome.

It's simply a waste of money trying to re-establish Japanese chip manufacturing, the best Japan can do is subsidize TSMC's Japanese operations.

I am generally inclined to agree, it would be smarter for them to try to woo companies like Intel and Samsung, more than anything else. Although that would probably upset TSMC which more or less wants this monopoly to last forever.

I have never been a Steve Bannon fan, and I say this as someone who is not particularly anti-Trump. The dude has always looked like a total slob and has the appearance of a sad alcoholic about to suffer from liver poisoning because he just can't get sober. I really never understood the whole idea behind wearing multiple collared shirts underneath one another, either.

I get what Trump was going for. Bring this guy on to act as a counterbalance to Reince Priebus and the neocons. But optics matter and Bannon was ultimately a horrible decision. I think he did more to damage Trump's public opinion than help it.

I'll also say I'm not particularly crazy about the whole Bannon-Breitbart Coaching Tree. Milo Yiannopoulos, although mildly entertaining at points, is pretty much a total sleezeball of a person and also contributed very little in terms of political philosophy or intellectualism. That's to say nothing of Ben Shapiro, an incredibly toxic figure who's overall effect on and influence over American political discourse has been pretty negative. What these three have in common is that they are all linked to Breitbart.

I really am not well read on the various legal dilemmas Mr. Bannon has found himself in, so I will abstain from judgement on that, but I hope for his sake the guy just peacefully retires from public life. He's not leading some kind of movement, nor is he some great kingmaker or important thinker. Just enjoy a quiet existence in the woods or something.

Exactly. That's been my main point : Japanese cannot afford price hikes on restaurants, entertainment, bars etc. Foreigners can - and will largely be prepared to wear the extra costs.

No need for overreaction here - these businesses are only talking maybe a 10-20% surcharge.

They would be able to afford it if Japan allowed for more substantial wage increases over time. In my industry for example, wages have not risen in some three decades. This is unfortunately a result of both the work culture and hierarchical subservience. There is no pressure on corporate leaders or politicians to do anything because Japanese people basically don't engage in social activism or advocate for their own interests. Generally too scared to "punch up", but will never miss an opportunity to "punch down" on the ol' gaijin. Sad, really.

I have a simple solution for foreigners that don't want to be subject to dual pricing - don't buy local. Chain restaurants and bars will never charge you more for being a tourist. Likely, neither will foreigner-owned businesses. The whole idea of eating at a mom-and-pop restaurant is the appeal of electing to support their business over their corporate competitors that usually charge less anyway. But then they treat you more like you are a problem to be addressed than a guest.

Let me list some of the problems I have had at local restaurants here:

-Higher prices

-Drastically smaller portion sizes

-Always feel pressured to buy drinks instead of just asking for water

-Involuntary "service" items

-Unable to pay by credit card

Customer service in Japan is pretty bad in my opinion, if you are going local. Why should I give them my money if they don't like me from the get-go? Dual pricing is a foolish move and yet another omen for a country that continually has problems dealing with foreigners. And I don't even want to hear the excuse that other countries do this - name me ONE restaurant in the US that charges tourists more. If this idea were even floated there it would be universally condemned.

There has never been a political figure with this much aura, save for maybe Julius Caesar or Genghis Khan.

Darn shame. Renho was awesome and it's obvious from her rallies she was truly galvanizing young people. But this is not a battle that can be won. Just look at the demographics of Tokyo - people over the age of 65 made up around 1/4th of the population in 2010, and most likely that figure has only increased.

This election felt like a spiteful lashing of the youth by the elderly. Despite how poorly the LDP has run Japan and how poorly Koike has run Tokyo, the seniors still had to remind those below them of their place in society. Their insistence on continuing to enforce cultural norms this way amounts to fanaticism; they don't care what kind of country this will be after they are gone, so long as they can save face now.

Japanese children are better off exclusively grinding their English studies above all else, and trying to get into foreign schools/companies as soon as they get the chance. No one wants them to know this, but it is the truth. They have no future here, and pretty all foreigners I talk to are miserable as well.

As an American, if they want to immigrate to the states, we will welcome them with open arms. Because we recognize their strength and intelligence as individuals, not as components of some collectivist monstrosity.

Solid policy proposal, but S. Korean President Yoon already has this covered. He has been very cooperative in terms of working with Japan, unlike Moon Jae-in, who was a disaster for the relationship.

To answer who is actually running the country, foreign policy is being co-managed by Anthony Blinken and Lloyd Austin, Janet Yellen handles the finances, and Kamala Harris is the actual Commander in Chief. Joe Biden reads from a teleprompter and writes his name on EOs/bills. That's his job, aside from that, I don't think he is really contemplating or reflecting policy all that much.

Oh, I'm sorry. There is one guy in the administration that does even less than Biden: Mayorkas. He ACTUALLY does nothing.

American voters relationship with the Democratic party parallels one of a parent who's child refuses to grow up and get their life together. Instead of taking ownership and working on themself, they continue blaming others.

Dems could have gone with Jim Webb eight years ago, or Bernie on two separate ocassions, and defined their political philosophy as more center-left Liberal Democracy or farther-Left Socialism respectively. They did neither. Instead they chose Biden. Biden represents nothing. There is nothing there, it's just a hollow shell. And that's come to define our entire society now. Our enemies are overjoyed.

If you hate Trump to the point you would rather vote for a chair, be my guest. But at a certain point you have to acknowledge and accept that a chair cannot make decisions on behalf of the country. What kind of message does that send to the rest of the world?

Democrats still haven't learned from their mistakes eight whole years later. They should have rebuilt their party and philosophy after Obama.

Maybe when Trump legally can no longer constitutionally serve they will be able to move on from this, but to be honest, the damage is already done. They had so many chances.

I think Democrats need to come clean and acknowledge the reality here. If you vote for Joe Biden, you really are not voting for the man so much as you are voting for a political apparatus that utilizes Biden as a figurehead while making all of the decisions for him. There is no way this man is actually running the country and it is so obvious at this point. He simply repeats what his handlers tell him to say, and without a teleprompter, he totally falls apart.

To even act like he is capable of making executive decisions is to deny basic reality. Democrats should have never allowed this guy to become the face of the party (let alone the country) and should instead have reflected on their 2016 loss and rebuilt their outfit from the ground up. Beyond embarrassing, and that this was just revealed live to a billion people around the world is not only horrifying but also tragic.

It's interesting, on X if you only read what the netouyo are posting, Renho is this massively unpopular candidate, who is SO undesirable, they will actually support Koike over her, even though they don't actually like Koike. HOWEVER, the energy at her rallies is palpable and the crowds that form in front of her campaign vans have been utterly massive. I've never seen anything like this while living here. She is speaking directly to the disenfranchised and disillusioned young people. It's a kind of populist energy, that almost feels like the polar inverse of what we witnessed in 2016 America and recently in Europe to some extent.

This Gubernatorial Election is SO important, because it is essentially a referendum on the LDP. Although Koike isn't officially an LDP candidate, she is their de facto candidate. If Renho wins, the LDP is done. It doesn't even matter who they replace Kishida with. This will be a storm they cannot weather.

Even if Renho doesn't win, it's obvious that resentment against the establishment is building, so I think there is a lot of potential for alternative players to shake up the national political scene.

Not just the LDP, apparently. Pretty sure I saw a poll somewhere his popularity was down to 11% or something like that. It's not all his fault, though. Prior PMs let in too many foreigners who increased crime rates and strained the economy.

Are you for real?

The Japanese political establishment is failing because the country has lost its status as an economic leader, just fell behind German in GDP, about to fall behind India, and in terms of GDP per capita, Japan lags behind in about the thirties. People are working absurdly hard even though they already understand the futility of it all, that they will be markedly poorer than the previous generation. Japan only has a few saving graces in terms of its economic status: more defense spending to counter the overblown China threat, more tourism, and picking up the sloppy seconds from companies like TSMC, Google, and Samsung. Other than that Japan does a lot of things but doesn't excel at any one particular thing, aside from producing popular animation, I suppose. Not a good place to be in.

To blame foreigners for the unpopularity of the LDP is just such a massive and laughable cope.

Personally, I have enjoyed my occasions drinking tall boys out in front of the combini. I don't always want to go to bars and deal with the loudness/having to yell over other people so my friends can hear me, or the cigarette smoke, or the saabisu that comes just for getting a table. I've gotten so frustrated with izakayas that I've decided to stop dealing with them altogether; not to mention, recently many of these places have begun developing a reputation for not being particularly friendly to non Japanese folk. The chains are generally fine, because they actually strictly enforce good customer service standards across the board, but a lot of these local guys act like they're the king of the castle and that because they have a clientele firmly established, they can treat perceived "outsiders" like trash. If that is their prerogative they can do so, but it becomes a stereotype and affects other businesses as well, so for me, I have a pretty negative opinion on bars in Japan unless there is a strong foreigner customer base.

Maybe more limitations on public drinking will cause me to drink less and end up being a good thing overall. To be honest, I would personally just prefer if I could do cannabis as an alternative instead, the scientifically and statistically proven superior intoxicant; but alas, this is not be, for the Japanese government actually does want you to be an alcoholic, so long as the money you're spending helps supplement the oyaji Yakitori shop owner who's not getting the pension he was promised. It's all so tiresome.

Honestly, she should just open a "Ukrainian" shop and sell the same products, seeing as how the bulk of all Ukrainian culture derives from Russian culture, until a little over thirty years ago, that is. I guarantee you the average Japanese person would not notice a difference either.

Koike has been a total disaster for the people of Tokyo. We've seen her full body of work and it's clear her interests lie in benefiting the cronies. She's like the Japan equivalent of Richard Daley.

Go Renho! I may not fully agree with all of her positions, but she is the direction the country should be heading in.

Look, I am absolutely not afraid of giving Japan fair criticism where criticism is due. This country has a lot of problems that it will need to address in the coming years and I certainly don't think we should shy away from calling them out when needed.

However, the World Economic Forum, perhaps once perceived as a reputable institution long ago, has lost its credibility in recent years and has rightfully come under fire for its rather dubious intentions and also the extent of their political influence.

I looked at the report. I immediately noticed that ranked above Japan there are several countries notorious for having serious problems with sexual violence. In theory, analyzing discrepancies related to partcipation in business or politics makes sense, but in practice it ends up being this mess of obviously cherry picked data intended to produce a specific type of outcome.

You cannot convince me Kazakhstan, Romania, Zimbabwe, and Serbia are treating women better than Japan is. Maybe among urban elites they have more political and economic participation rates, but how do you even measure what is going on outside of what those country's governments are willing to show you? I imagine in the rural parts of those countries equality has not advanced very much since their ages of industrialization, if at all.

Reports like this are counter productive and actually do more to cover for gender inequality than anything else. WEF is trash and no one should trust or support them.

Single murders like this rarely get reported in super-dangerous places like America.

You are wrong and it would be better if you stopped opining on matters you have no actual knowledge or experience in.

Single murders absolutely get reported on in the United States. They get reported on in the local news, just not national news, because the national news not only covers major nationwide stories and big events but also international affairs. Moreover the US is three times the population of and several times the size of Japan, also with several ethnic demographics. If someone gets murdered in Chicago, that may not exactly be relevant information for someone in suburban Florida which geographically may as well be a separate country. However, in Japan, somebody getting murdered in the second biggest city in the biggest metropolitan area in front of the fourth or fifth busiest train station in the world, yeh, that actually is relevant news for them.

Let's stop acting like Japanese people are so high and mighty and better than everyone else. It is so tiresome and cliche.

It's just funny to me the way this is being treated.

Well akchyhually, the Japanese economy only shrank 1.8% as opposed to 2%.

Like, hello? Japan should be absolutely BOOMING post-Covid and with tourism pumping a lot of fresh money into the economy.

It's true that most countries in general are not exactly experiencing economic miracles right.

But for Japan this is just sad and pathetic. You basically have stagflation. Low wages, zero innovation, recession, and inflation. Disastrous. The government needs to deregulate the economy asap. Nobody can come here to do business due to insane barriers to entry, high taxes, ineffecient regulatory framework/nanny state, as well as corporate welfare for domestic entities.

Japan is going to collapse if the oyajis are not kicked out of power. Deal with the problem now before it gets worse.

It makes sense that Japanese feel lonely in countries where they are not in the majority. All throughout life they are brought up being led to believe that the most important thing in this world is cooperating with others and that individualism is generally selfish. It explains a big part of the reason why so many Japanese people end up frustrated with foreigners in Japan. So when they become the foreigners, they probably have to reconcile with the fact that a lot of their belief systems since childhood don't really mean much in the real world.

I know people like to endlessly regurgitate "When in Rome do as the Romans do" but life isn't that simple. I as an expat in Japan have fully accepted than I will never be able to fully assimilate. No one can. And that's fine. People should value themselves first as individuals, not as a cog in some collective.