Japan Today

yobi00 comments

Posted in: Aso says Japan needs to raise sales tax next year See in context

Largest budget expenditures are(years 2011-2013): 23~24% of the budget is used to pay the cost coming from national debt (interests etc.). 29~ 31% of the budget is used to pay for social security, this will rise as there are more and more older people.

About half (46~49%) of budget revenue comes from government bonds, i.e. debt.

So, the government would have to stop all other services besides social security just to break even. Cutting spending sure sounds great, but even DPJ with its popular 'shiwake' didn't manage to make a dent, you'd have to reduce all expenditures to one third to break even... not going to happen.

Half of the revenue coming from government bods is used to service the current debt... the debt will only grow this way, eventually collapsing.

I have next to no knowledge about economics, but there really seems no way out short of drastically increasing revenue through heavy taxation, unless the economy starts growing at double digit rates.

The question is when to increase the sales tax, not if.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Posted in: The importance of social etiquette in urban Japan See in context

Similarly, Tokyo Metro's "Ie de Yar" (Do it at home) poster campaign goes some way ...

Is yar pirate speak? Should probably be "Ie de Yarou".

Osaka people have very bad manners, and it's a source of great stress for me.

I don't know, i found that more people apologize when they bump into me in Osaka than in Tokyo, so maybe simply a difference in mentality.

In my limited experience, nobody has ever willingly taken the seat I offered. Either was flatly refused or had to almost argue with the person and finally persuade them to take the damn seat. I guess this is a form of politeness, but it is a real pain. Next time I'll just get up and walk away.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Posted in: LDP wins landslide victory in Tokyo elections See in context

All of the 59 LDP candidates won, which is highest number ever. Even this doesn't give then a majority, so a coalition with New Komeito party, as always.

New Komeito party won 23 seats (all candidates won), exactly the same amount it had before. So there are people voting for it no matter what... You can use these numbers to roughly evaluate the number of Soka Gakkai members living in Tokyo... Sigh, by not voting people are effectively giving more power to this party.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: Korean campaigns for removal of Japanese flag from French stores See in context

@Qamar: Here's the original article in J-cast, you can see a small picture there.

http://www.j-cast.com/2013/06/18177522.html

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Posted in: Scientists seek permission for experiments with animal-human embryos See in context

It did make me cringe a bit at first, but hope this research succeeds, as it could save lives, including mine, at some time in the future.

I can only guess, but one of the reasons for using animals and not test tubes, is that it's probably difficult to grow a correctly functioning organ without putting it under a load preforming it's original functions. Even if you manage to grow an organ in a tube, it might be too weak to do any good once transplanted.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: KFC offering free trips to Osaka for free all-you-can-eat fried chicken See in context

Ok, first things first. There's no Onobaru (how do you even write that in Japanese?) KFC in Japan. It's Onohara KFC. http://pshop.kfc.co.jp/b/kfc/info/0225

Is the KFC any different in Osaka?

I'm not sure about now, but it used to be the only all-you-can-eat KFC in Japan. Don't really know how that happened though.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Police questioning hundreds over voter fraud See in context

Here's the Japanese version of the article

http://sankei.jp.msn.com/affairs/news/121216/crm12121609350002-n1.htm

Here's a video.

http://news.tv-asahi.co.jp/ann/news/web/html/221216003.html

There were 9 people arrested because of things like obstructing speeches. At previous lower house elections there were 20 people arrested. Number of warnings issued this time was 2645, this is less by about 500 than last time. On the other hand, there were 30 warnings issued concerning activities on the internet, an increase from 8 warnings last election.

I don't think this election was particularly unusual. It seems that this kind of thing always happens to some extent. No reason to make something more of this than it actually is.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Posted in: Social media space dominated by conservative candidates See in context

Tsuda estimates only 1 in 20 Japanese used Twitter during the 2009 election for Japan’s powerful lower house. Now it is more like 1 in 2 or 1 in 3, he said.

Wait, are you telling me that about third to half of the nation is using twitter? That's a bit hard to believe, not least because of my personal experience. Then again, searching the net gave me an estimate that there are 50.6 million users of social media in Japan... that's almost half of the population, so it ether must be true or the statistics are shoddy.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Marijuana goes legal in Washington state See in context

Many here hold different views, but legalizing yet another drug in addition to alcohol and cigarettes appears as decline in society to me. I guess that with the current illegal consumption of various drugs it was inevitable, so the real failure was allowing drug use and acceptability spread to such levels.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Posted in: Baptism by fire See in context

They have three children: Reo, 15, is a member of the high school kendo team and marked as the next chief priest of Jodo Shinshu temple; Renni, 13 is the "spare" heir, and daughter Sahara, 9, is at the village school.

Wonder if there's any deep meaning in her boy's names, i.e. very foreign sounding and even containing an L at the start, while the daughter's name is purely Japanese.

Nonetheless, services held by her should be quite an interesting sight to see.

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

Posted in: Mobile phone running low on battery? Charge up with water See in context

"It could be sea water, fresh water. You need to carry water with you to survive anyway and the PowerTrekk needs just one spoonful," he told AFP.

How about, ahem, bodily fluids?

Joking aside, it would be pretty awesome if something powered entirely on water existed, almost seems like a perpetual motion engine... Alas you do need more than water as indicated in the article and comments in

http://mashable.com/2012/01/08/powertrekk-offers-unlimited-water-based-gadget-power/

With the widespread of high-spec smartphones, the battery market is only going to grow. Maybe a chance for Japan, although they seem to have been overtaken in lithium-Ion batteries by South Korea recently...

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Supreme Court rules making teachers sing 'Kimigayo' is constitutional See in context

While I see that my opinion is in the minority here, but I still can's see why the teachers can't just sing the song at graduation ceremonies without making some kind of a farce out of it.

Hard to comprehend how singing one song once a year can be seriously taken as a breach of freedom. They are receiving their salaries from the government, so might as well do their job and at least pretend to be singing.

Here's an idea, how about not attending the graduation ceremony at all? Everybody wins!

3 ( +5 / -2 )

Posted in: File-sharing site shut down; 7 indicted in U.S. See in context

charged with racketeering conspiracy, various copyright infringement counts and conspiring to commit money laundering.

Copyright infringement I understand, but racketeering and money laundering... wow, sounds like some kind of a crime syndicate. Would me nice to hear more details on this.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Posted in: Novelists, manga artists to file lawsuit against ebook vendors See in context

Wow, what a horrible article full of selective reporting.

I can not speak for Atago, but if you just take a look at Scan X Bank, you'll understand that users have to send their OWN copy of the book to be scanned before they get an ebook back. In other words, the books are already paid for. This was a great service for people who wanted to have their books digitalized, but didn't have the equipment or time.

So the suing side are either trying to stop potential profit for a service they themselves failed to provide or simply trying to cut off the amount of ebooks as much as possible to prevent illegal sharing.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: K computer No. 1 in four benchmarks at HPC Challenge Awards See in context

@wtfJapan

Also the K uses intel & nvidia processors which make the K not exactly a 100% Japanese super computer No?

While there's nothing wrong with using intel and nvidia (might even bee more cost efficient for all I know), K uses SPARC processors developed by Fujitsu, the architecture being originally created by Sun. It's the only SPARC based supercomputer among the top 100.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: Cyberattacks hit Fujitsu system used by 200 local governments See in context

Now, I'm not against windows bashing by any stretch, but there's nothing in the article saying that the system uses windows. Sure, it is probably accessed and used by windows machines, but the underlying system is probably linux or maybe even solaris, as Fujitsu is one of the few who still make SPARC computers.

And while I'm no expert on hacking and stuff, is there really any difference when facing a DoS attack? Always thought that it is only the raw processing power and bandwidth that decide how much it takes to take a system down.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: New justice minister won't OK executions in near future See in context

In my book, there's nothing right or wrong about death penalty and boils down to what is more beneficial. It's cheaper to execute them, than to keep feeding and clothing them for several decades, although if you prove otherwise, I'm ready to change my mind. Also works as a detergent and lastly it gives some closure to the ones affected, although this shouldn't be the decisive point. Benefits of abolishing the death penalty would be the warm and fuzzy feeling inside that we are a highly civilized society, right there with the Mexicans and Russians among others.

The new justice minister probably also knows that by dragging his feet for about a year, he will be home free without the need to dirty his hands.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Posted in: Sharp unveils ultra-thin TVs See in context

Well, according to the data sheet on Sharp's site, this one has an external adapter. But for some reason I couldn't find any specific sizes or even pictures, only pictures of how slim and elegant the display itself is... Not saying that it's huge, but still...

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Sharp unveils ultra-thin TVs See in context

Too bad you can't get power by wireless too. As slim as these TVs might get, they still need a bulky AC adapter that ruins the whole picture. Care to notice how the human models have something tucked away in their big pockets?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Kan says he will resign 'soon' See in context

I never liked Kan, but this high speed rotation of PMs has to stop somewhere. "The polls drop, the opposition starts to throw fits- time for a PM change" sort of mentality really has to go.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: TEPCO says it has lost contact with 143 nuclear plant workers See in context

Seems that NHK has picked it up and there's going to be an a half hour special on Friday at 22:55~23:25 on NHK general. Here's a link.

http://www.nhk.or.jp/tsuiseki/

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Posted in: iPads trump oil: Apple is most valuable U.S. company See in context

While I don't really care for any of the Apple iGadgets, can't help but admire how they've turned the company around. Once thought that Apple would be over as soon the iPod fad died down, but it followed with the iPhone and the iPad. Can't help but wonder what's next. How about iPark, the revolutionary Apple car navigation system?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Hulu to launch subscription video service in Japan See in context

As I understand, you can actually watch this on Linux. A very welcome addition. Sadly most of the similar video sites in Japan only work on Windows and maybe OS X if you're lucky.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Japan ignored own radiation forecasts from very beginning See in context

Wow, I mean seriously. This is beyond frightening. I'm sure they were in chaos at that time, but this is unacceptable. A perfectly working technology meant to save innocent people rendered useless by utterly incompetent people. They actually took part in training drills and still failed on such a high level. I really hope some heads fly over this. Dogeza on hot coal is the absolute minimum starting acceptable apology.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Posted in: Vitesse selects Internix as exclusive distributor in Japan See in context

What this article doesn't mention is that, according to Internix press release, Internix used to distribute Vitesse products before, but was designated as an exclusive distributor after Vitesse closed its offices in Japan.

Other than this, I have really no idea who Vitesse and Internix are and of what significance this is. Not awfully much, I guess...

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Panasonic, Samsung, Sony, XPAND join forces on 3-D glasses initiative See in context

Ugh, hasn't the 3D thing died down yet...

Still, guess standardization is a good thing, and since Samsung is joining it's definitely a winner

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Japan to consider backup capital city for emergencies See in context

I wonder what Tokyo Governor Ishihara thinks about this idea.

Could't find an article in detail about it, but his comment after an undisclosed discussion with Gov. Hashimoto was in the lines of :

"Well OK, as long as it's only a backup"

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Posted in: U.N. chief tells Fukushima radiation evacuees 'to hang in there' See in context

OK, here's a link with a video of what the guy actually said:

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20110808/t10014785141000.html

Just in case the link doesn't work, it went as below, all in fairly comprehensible Japanese (sorry, can't post kanji for some bizarre reason):

chikara wo awasete ganbatte kudasai

kokuren mo sekai mo ouen shiteimasu

Also, while visiting Fukushima Minami High School and after listening to some of the children, he made the following comment, which, while doesn't help anyone, I found quite nice none the less:

Your voice is much stronger than prime ministers or any politicians, that's your voices I'm carrying back to the United Nations

Lastly, while it's not contained in the above link, here's what Mr. Ban had to say about Kans nuclear free vision:

(nuclear energy policy?) ... and this is all what national governments should determine (by themselves?).

... that nuclear energy is still regarded as one of the viable options for energy sources, particularly in fighting against climate change and also providing universal access to many affordable...

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Posted in: New robot promises brighter future for Japan's elderly See in context

Well I'd like to think the idea is to use the robot to assist human personnel and save them from the literally back breaking manual task of lifting people up and down, as shown by the video.

And for once, a robot that seems to be actually useful and usable. Could see this caching on. And who knows, it might even become a valuable export product in some years!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Judge suspends purchase of Brazil brewer by Kirin See in context

Well, this is not going smoothly... Wish best of luck to Kirin. Make the world bend under your mighty beverage empire.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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