Yohan comments

A very strange case. This man needs a psychiatrist, I guess he is not normal, something is wrong within his brain.

Every city in Japan has different ways how to charge entrance fees - in the city I am living, if you are 60+ and living within the city, regardless if Japanese or foreign citizen, you can enter the city museum and the castle and some other places for free, you can also apply for a 50 % discount using the city bus - the ward office gives you a card to show it at the entrance and you can apply for a senior bus card.

Free entrance and discounts also for children/students and groups. However otherwise you pay, regardless where you are living, in the city or outside, foreigner or Japanese, no difference.

The regulation they consider for Himeji is a somehow questionable, also the price hike is too high, Japanese in general are carefully and patient and increase prices slowly - I guess to consider to charge yen 3.000,- instead of yen 1.000,- will prevent many visitors to enter the castle. It would be different if they consider to charge instead of yen 1000,- maybe yen 1.200,- or yen 1.500,-.

It has nothing to do anyway with the weak yen. Japan is still not such a cheap country for international tourists, considering fares for railway, hotel rates etc.

ZaphodSep. 5 04:38 pm JST

His small ship could never capsize any of the massive Japanese whaling (err, sorry "research") vessels, and the butylic acid is stinky but not dangerous. Some perspective, please!

Watson's ships should never be so close to the Japanese whaling ships. Up to them, but this was a costly stupid action. Some sentences from this article, link below.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jun/10/sea-shepherd-payment-japanese-whalers-breaching-injunction

Sea Shepherd agrees $2.55m payment to Japanese whalers for injunction breach

Radical environmental group does not accept it is in contempt, but agrees payout after getting involved in confrontations with whalers in 2013

A radical environmental group has agreed to pay $2.55m to Japanese whalers for breaching a US court injunction to stay clear of their vessels in the Antarctic Ocean.

The United States-based Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and former senior officials of the group last week agreed to pay the sum to resolve civil contempt charges against them in the US ninth circuit court of appeals.

The injunction prohibited Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson and any person acting with them from physically attacking the vessels operated by the Japanese entities in the Southern Ocean or acting in a manner to endanger their navigation.

The preliminary injunction, issued in late 2012, also bans the defendants from coming within 457 metres of the vessels.

JJESep. 5 10:02 am JST

Denmark is an EU member. Berlin controls the purse strings and Paris controls foreign policy; that is how the EU works. Watson is a resident of France. His lawyer is pals with Macron. On top of that, Macron and his wife are buddies with some of Watson French friends and supporters. Macron has been contacting the Danish PM directly to tell her not to extradite.

France has a big say in this story.

I don't think France has anything to say regarding Watson and his possible extradition to Japan.

Watson is holding Canadian/US citizenship only, he is not holding citizenship of France.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Watson

He was merely living in France for a while, but it is reported that he is using an US-Passport and was moving to Vermont/USA around 2014.

I am living a bit outside of a smaller city in Kansai and I fail to see any rice shortage or food shortage in general.

Of course there is also plenty of other food available, like noodles, potatoes, bread and not only rice. This article about rice shortage is rather ridiculous.

You might show up with such a strange argument, blaming hot weather, not enough water or even foreign tourists etc. only in major cities where people have no contact to any rural area in Japan.

It's more about to justify higher prices, there is no rice shortage.

EastmannToday 10:44 am JST

People come knocking on my door very often, and it's very annoying...

this have happened to me too.

when they came first time i spoke with them in english.they did not understand and left.

when they came second time with english speaking guy -i spoke with them in russian.they dd not understand and left.

when they came third time they asked me through translator in russian.I have said that I am muslim...

they left and have never returned back.

When they came to me I told them I will be happy and will always join them if they invite me.

My fees as a 'gaijin prayer' are as follows:

Silent prayer = yen 2000,- per hour

Praying aloud in a group = yen 5000,- per hour

Praying alone, sitting in front of the group as a leader, while all others are listening to me = yen 10.000,- per hour - of course exclusive taxi fare to their place and other expenses like meals, which will be billed separately.

Most of these unwanted visitors made a sad face and left without saying a single word, but I remember one who was asking me 'What? What? We invite you to visit our temple and you want money from us?'

My reply: 'Do you work for free?'

He left immediately, never seen again....

 a move that would deprive the group of its tax benefits.

No religious group should enjoy tax benefits. They all should be subject to pay income tax and keep a proper bookkeeping system, same like any other business has to do it.

Idiot, ruining his future. There is plenty of this stuff for download for free on the internet if you really need that.

A 88-year-old woman has ¥15 million yen cash in her home. Who knows about that? Must be an insider job I guess. I hope she got the money back and will now open a savings account in a bank or post office.

Good to know this man who did this was quickly identified and arrested. Introducing himself to this old person as a police officer and showed her a fake police badge. What a low-life.

This happened almost one year ago, on Sept 9, 2023 and now he is arrested?

I don't care if a department store in Tokyo is offering a prayer room. I am not religious, living in Japan but not in Tokyo and I will never use it anyway.

How can you be scared if you are a karate expert and visit a 'ghost house', it's just fun. He paid an entrance fee and he should know what is inside. Of course no ghost, but mostly some coffins with a skeleton inside or horrible looking clowns and yes, sometimes it might be an employee of the theme park.

Just take it easy and laugh if the witch is coming after you with the broom. Some people really have no sense for humour at all.

Crazy behavior of an idiot totally out of self-control.

Enjoy your stay in a cell.

The only right way to deal with an ex-wife if you have any dispute is to stay away from her,

definitively no personal contact face to face. Look out for a new start with entirely new people.

We will see how Danmark will decide.

The case against him is not really about whaling.

It is about dangerous behavior while on the high sea.

For safety reason, ships have to keep a distance from each other.

To ram deliberately other ships - especially a fuel supply ship in the stern - on the high seas in icy waters are very dangerous actions, by Maritime Law this is a serious crime tantamount to piracy.

We will see how Danmark will decide.

It is not really directly about whaling, it is about his very dangerous actions while on the high seas.

There is no legal problem about to chase away whales but a safety distance has to be respected from the whaling fleet under any circumstances, the minimum distance is 100 yard I think.

To ram deliberately other ships, especially a fuel supply ship in the stern, on the high seas in icy waters are very dangerous actions, by Maritime Law this is a serious crime tantamount to piracy.

toraToday 06:15 pm JST

The reason Japan has a high level of safety is because of this.

With that kind of logic, can you explain why most states in the US that have the death penalty have higher rates of murder?

Or can you explain why Venezuela has a high murder rate? Or SA? Both have no death penalty.

It is difficult to compare Japan with Venezuela, South Africa and USA.

I think it makes more sense to compare Japan with other Asian countries nearby, like China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore etc. - Many of them have the death penalty in their laws for various crimes, including drug abuse.

wallaceToday 12:05 pm JST

112 countries no longer execute people, including 18 American States.

This is the worst scenario of justice. Depending where you live in your own country, you might be executed or not for identical crimes. With such a legal system like in the States, can you imagine if you live in Kanto area, no death penalty, and in Kansai you can be hanged. It should be either - or. Same laws should apply to all citizens regardless where they are living within the same country.

GuruMickToday 08:54 am JST

...And the death sentence is not a deterrent ....many studies have shown that.

You can say exactly the same about every prison sentence, there are a lot of repeat offenders.

Many studies, to use your own words, have shown that prison is not a deterrent for hardened criminals. After their release they commit serious crimes again and again.

So what to do? To close all prisons and to release all inmates? Even those who are sentenced to life instead of facing a death sentence?

The point is about that ordinary honest citizens have a right to feel safe, who cares about the victims of crimes?

The issue is less about the death penalty, but about dangerous criminals who are sentenced to life and released and commit very serious crimes again.

If you abolish the death penalty, you have to insist that life must be life. No parole possible.

WoodyLeeToday 01:14 am JST

I hope he goes after the two ladies for false accusations, and I hope that this will be a good lesson for the gold diggers roaming around the rich and famous.

I don't think such lawsuits might be successful. It is better to think already in advance how to avoid such a situation from the very beginning on. The best and only way I can think about it is to ignore such women entirely and if they show up approaching you not even willing to try, do not invite them for dinner with you.

Never visit them in their hotel room, always stay in the public area, like hotel lobby or restaurant for your own safety.

Mr KiplingAug. 12 06:30 pm JST

... I hope he learned a lesson.

I think this is a good sentence, worth to talk about it. What should men really learn or do to avoid such an unpleasant situation when in contact with women?

Unfortunately there is very little advice for men.

Maybe in this case soccer player Junya Ito should have refused to enter their hotel room even if invited to join them? To refuse any private contact with a woman in case she is drinking some alcohol with him because in case of any sexual contact she might regret later she can accuse him she did not consent, she was drunk?

Or plainly to refuse to socialize with women even for dinner, if you are a politician, celebrity, rich businessman etc. as anything what might happen, even some private talk, can be used against you as a man often weeks or months later?

What about to refuse any private talk with a female at your workplace?

There are already complaints from women who understand that the dating scene is broken, very risky - men are mistrusting and totally ignoring them, never approaching them - but is it not better for men to be safe than sorry?

"Even if he were guilty, it is clear that there has never been an extradition on the basis of such minor offenses," Essemlali said.

To ram deliberately other ships on the high seas in antarctic icy waters are very dangerous actions, this is a serious crime tantamount to piracy.

No way to call it 'such minor offenses'.

Hotels and Ryokans are often fully booked and usually I make a reservation in advance. Check-in procedures and payment are not the same in every hotel/ryokan. Every hotel is doing it somehow differently.

There should be a clear guideline from their hotel/ryokan association how to deal with guests when checking in.

Often elderly Japanese people do not even have any ID or keep them in their home.

I never had any problem checking into a hotel in Japan, but I have my creditcard and also resident card ready all time and I see no reason why I should not pay in advance. Some hotels in rural areas not accustomed to foreigners were asking me for ID but preferred my Japanese driving licence as I arrived anyway by car driving myself - they did not really understand what a resident card is about for.

What these foreigners did is really bad, but this ryokan has to improve its policy about check-in and payment.

I would say, if somebody shows up for check-in, cannot or is refusing to identify himself, has no creditcard as guarantee for payment- regardless if foreigner or Japanese - in such a case the hotel should firmly insist in payment in advance of at least the full room rate for the first night. No money = no room key.

What this ryokan considers to do in future is the wrong way to go. All Japanese and ALL foreigners regardless living in Japan or elsewhere should be handled in exactly the same way during check-in procedure.

https://news.goo.ne.jp/article/fnn/nation/fnn-741469.html#google_vignette

*今後は、同様のトラブルを防ぐため、外国人客にはチェックイン時の精算を求めていくとともに、旅館側の考えも伝えていきたいとしている。*

*In the future, in order to prevent similar troubles, the hotel will ask foreign guests to pay at the time of check-in, and will also communicate the inn's thoughts.*

This man is an idiot, drunk or not, you cannot do something like that. You cannot touch unknown women in a train sitting next to you.

Generally said, Japanese people are not very communicative and unfortunately, the dating scene in Japan is already broken and there are millions of male hikikomori and millions of other young men who never had any private contact with a female.

Situation is especially bad for young men who have no siblings or relatives and friends who might be helpful and introducing them to other people, young men with low income doing only part time jobs or living in smaller cities and rural areas with little population and almost no young females around.

I guess such incidents like this one - groping, touching women in trains and elsewehere - will increase in Japan.

WasabiToday 10:13 am JST

What is a woman in her 50's doing with a 33 years old kid???...

> 33yrs is NOT a kid.

And what is your problem with the age difference?

True, if he is 50 and she is 33 nobody will say a word about it.

Maybe it is also against 'ethical standards' to report the age difference of the offender and the victim?

33 yrs is NOT a kid, regardless if this person is a man or a woman.

BeerDeliveryGuyToday 08:17 am JST

Yes, I've asked before and even sent an email asking JT about this practice, but we have to remember this is Japan after all

Japan is a bit slow in keeping up with the ethical standards of journalistic practice. 

Give them time, just like everything else, they'll get there in their own time. All we can do is jeep the pressure on

> Very well. So you agree that if a crime is committed by US military or JSDF personnel, police officers or politicians, the details of their background should not be mentioned?

This is a very good argument - I don't see any reason why foreigners should be differently treated from Japanese offenders AND their victims whose name and area where they are living are frequently mentioned in the Japanese press. Why should every crime committed by an US military serviceman be kept as a secret, solely because he or she are holding US-citizenship?

About this Swedish man, maybe Japanese press could report him as 'from Scandinavia' or EU citizen? Or is this also against ethical standards which are close to censorship?

An unemployed Vietnamese man - he should be immediately deported back home and banned from entry into Japan for life.

Asiaman7July 30 12:26 pm JST

A U.S. woman trekking in April 2023 also went missing.

This case, and I think still not solved too, happened in Wakayama-ken, hiking trail near Koya.

https://japantoday.com/category/national/connecticut-woman-missing-since-april-10-after-going-on-hiking-pilgrimage-in-japan-1?

What is so strange with these two cases is that these two persons were hiking around during daytime in an area, which is not remote located at all, but frequently used by many people.

Gene HennighJuly 30 10:26 am JST

This one stumps me. A foreign national disappears in Japan and nothing much is done. It's hard for me to understand why the police didn't try everything,

What should police really do? They can only ask around among locals if somebody knows something...or found anything etc.

There is a summary about her case...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Tiphaine_Véron

Nothing was found, just nothing, despite her last position was known because of her cellphone which suddenly stopped to response to Google Map around 11:40 AM.

CCTV footage caught her heading to her hotel in Nikkō, the Turtle Inn Nikko, from the train station that day.

On 29 July, five witnesses saw Tiphaine eating breakfast at the hotel. She then left to go sightsee, as she had planned to do. Tiphaine never returned to her hotel, and the owner filed a missing person report the following day.

From 7 to 17 May 2019, a search was carried out by mountain rescue experts but yielded no results.

In August 2019, a new search, consisting of five volunteers and seven dogs from Japan Rescue Dog was organized, but that too was fruitless.

>

sakurasukiJuly 30 07:33 am JST

After 6 years, why suddenly they take action now?

It is likely the final step for the Japanese police to admit 'we tried all what we could, but we don't know where she is, we don't know what happened to her' and move all and everything what is known about her so far into archives - case will remain unsolved.