Japan Today

ZALD comments

Posted in: Do you tend to eat and drink too much this time of year? See in context

I used to eat and drink a lot during new-year holidays more than regular days. However, I realized that the habit of such lives prevents me from being back to the ordinal days. Therefore, I've recently spent the days of the holidays having a regular lifestyle with little more snacks and juice or alcohol. Even such a small twist makes me happy.

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Posted in: If you work for a company, do you get Obon holidays? See in context

Thanks to the good combination of three-days holiday and regular ones, I'm able to get nine days off from work. Through I not doing anything special for the season.

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Posted in: If you live in Japan, do you know where you need to evacuate to in the event of flooding or an earthquake? See in context

I know where to evacuate in critical situation. However, I'm sure that I'll be able to decide to get out from where I am to the specific shelter. Since I do not have an opportunity to get involved in emergency drills, I cannot say I'm totally prepared for the evacuation when necessary.

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Posted in: Alpinist Ken Noguchi said tighter restrictions are needed to protect Mount Fuji from overtourism, including a much higher mandatory fee of 10,000 yen to climb the mountain. What do you think? See in context

People who are abundant with financial budget will pay a fee no matter expensive it may be. Therefore, raising entry fee does not solve the problem.

Instead of raising fee, giving serious responsibility to climbers can reach a solution. According to the news reports, people who climb the mountains without the necessary gears or who try the bullet climbing. When such climbers fall into a trouble, nobody has to rescue them since they do not follow the advice for safe climbing.

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Posted in: What did you think of the Paris Olympic opening ceremony? See in context

The ideas are very progressing and fantastic. However, due to the performance stages being spread in the city and lots of performances are held at the same time, camera works look so busy. Therefore, we could not get the flow of the ceremony coherently.

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Posted in: How often do you use self check-outs at supermarkets and convenience stores? Do you prefer them over human checkout counters? See in context

I often use self check-outs at any stores since flow of customers wanting to pay is much faster than those who wait in line at human check-out counter. Also self check-outs counter requires me to register all merchandise on the machine. This task reminds me of how much money I spend in the shopping. However, I think human check-out counters are need for those who are elderlies or require physical assistance.

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Posted in: What health risks to your skin do you need to know before getting a tattoo? See in context

I've never thought applying tattoo has some risks on the skin. Swelling on the skin is the only thing to be considered, if any. I'm thinking of getting tattoos in the future, so this topic is a good opportunity to search what causes the problem to the skin health.

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Posted in: Are you financially better off now than you were this time last year? See in context

A little better off compared to the financial condition last year. Since the local government have been trying to increase the rate of bonus, public employees could get the benefit from it in terms of total wage.

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Posted in: What do you think were the biggest international and domestic (Japan, if you live here) news stories of the year? See in context

One of the biggest news for me is that the illegal drug abuse brought about in a football club at Nihon Univ. I came to feel that the risk of drug abusing is reaching youths generation due to the convenience of the SNS.

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Posted in: Are EVs (electric vehicles) good for the environment? See in context

In terms of gas emission, EVs will us reduce the amount of carbon dioxides. However, I cannot make sure that building such cars itself is good for the environment as how production can affect it has not been discussed so much.

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Posted in: Do you think mega-sports events such as the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup are good for the host country's economy and infrastructure in the long run? See in context

I do not think that holding large-sized international sports events is not profitable, given the recent economic conditions and international affiars. Also, I wonder if such manmade heritages really work for people's practical lives.

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Posted in: Is the intense summer heat in Japan negatively affecting your motivation to do your job? See in context

Not for doing job, but for going to the workplace. In the office, airconditing systems are working so I can do my job comfortably as usual. However, commuting is under the different condition. The outside soon gets more than 30 degrees in the morning, the inside of my car is warmed up, and driving to my workplace makes me sweat until the inside gets cooler.

I really hope the autum weather comes soon.

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Posted in: If you haven't already retired, at what age do you hope to, or would like to retire? See in context

If I won't marry someone, I will continue working beyond the age limit, which is 65 years old as of today. Since I'm not so outgoing to others, I might be isolated or have less and less communication with neighbors in my community if I quit my job soon after the retirement age. Instead, being as a worker requires person to person communication, which is important source for not being dementia.

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Posted in: Scientists say human-caused global warming is exacerbating natural disasters such as fires and floods around the world, making them both more likely and more deadly. Do you agree? See in context

Little efforts for reducing the risk of natural disasters are overwhelmed by our demand for modernization and convenience for everyday lives.

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Posted in: Have you ever knowingly bought food products from Fukushima Prefecture since the 2011 disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant? See in context

I do not care buying foods and beverages from the area. I often buy fruits and vegetables. Especially, the quality of fruits such as peach is as delicious as the ones in Yamanashi, which is famous for fruits produce.

If the foods and beverages had some problems affecting to our health, it would be possible that we had already had some negative symptoms.

Also, any foods have passed strict sanitation check before their shipping to the markets, so nothing need to be concerned.

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Posted in: What are some of the best museums in Japan? See in context

The Railway Museum, which I've never visited though, is one of the most famous museums in Japan. It is located in Saitama Pref. You can get there in a few minutes by train from Omiya station. There are variety of attractions that anyone can enjoy regardless of ages. First, 42 real mock-up trains including Shinkansen and Steam Locomotives, are exhibited at the site. Second, you can experience the field of railway company through simulator and workshop. Third, you can learn the history of how Japanese railway system have developed from many points of views such as science. Not only adults but also children can enjoy through a day. When you are tired walking around in the museum, you can rest at the cafes and restaurants. At the restaurant, ekiben(a special lunch box that can only available at the station) can be bought.

Highly recommend.

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Posted in: What's your favorite city to visit in Japan and why? See in context

Kinugawa(Tochigi pref.) and Chichibu(Saitama pref.) are my favorite. Both of them are near Tokyo area, apporximately within 90 to 120 minutes by train, so we are able to get there anytime easily compared to some resort areas. We can be relaxed in the cooler temperature there. At Kinugawa area, there are lots of hot springs to try. At Chichibu area, we can enjoy many kinds of nature activities such as keiryu-kudari(rafting). Moreover, the city is famous for its gourmet like waraji-katsu(pork cutlet which is the same size as regular sandal) and kakigoori(shaved ice, with a variety of flavors).

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Posted in: What do you think about Japan's pension system? See in context

Very afraid of not being able to get paid in the future, though I have been paying a portion of salary to the Pension Service.

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Posted in: How useful do you find customer reviews on shopping sites such as Amazon and Rakuten? See in context

They are useful in a broad sense. I often see negative reviews on the product I want to buy. I think customers writing negative reviews seem to be telling a truth. On the other hand, those writing positive reviews appear to be posting fake reviews, though most of them are telling a truth. Also negative reviews show specifications in detail. Therefore such information can be a good source of my decison on the product.

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Posted in: Do you think summers are hotter now than when you were younger? See in context

Absolutely it is hotter than it was decade ago. I did not imagine such a scorching heat. I would say that getting more than 30 degrees Celsius was an abnormal weather. However, we often say that 30 degrees can be bearable condition nowadays.

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Posted in: Should governments regulate AI? See in context

I think each and every person should regulate how to use AI.

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Posted in: Do you like tofu? If yes, how do you like to eat it? See in context

I like it. I often eat tofu after cooling it off in the refrigerator. I add a small amount of soy sauce on tofu, making it great match of the taste of tofu. Also, tofu is used as many forms, such as 麻婆豆腐. Tofu goes well with lots of cuisine.

Furthermore, tofu can be changed into sweets. Recently, we see many kinds of tofu sweets, such as ma-cha taste and chocolate taste. At first, it might look weird to you. However, once you taste it, you can be obsessed with the unique taste and texture of tofu.

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Posted in: What do you think of the artistic manhole covers in Japan? See in context

I've never thought of them, which is somewhat shame for me as a Japanese citizen. Manholes are naturally blend in our everyday life, but I need to rethink of it's importance.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: Do you think the just-concluded G7 summit in Hiroshima achieved anything substantial? See in context

I don't think they had a substantial conclusion for the meeting since Japanese and international media have not pick up the topic about the results of the summit so much.

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Posted in: Surveys of airline passengers say excess carry-on baggage not only causes delays in getting seated but can also impact both the punctuality of flights and inflight comfort. How can this issue be addressed, especially with so many passengers doing self-check-in at airports? See in context

I think one of the easiest way to solve this problem is that the company require extra fee for passengers' belongings based on the numbers of them. Or providing distribution service for the second baggages.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Are you worried about losing your job to a robot or artificial intelligence? See in context

The quality of AI's and robots' performance has been improved rapidly compared with that decades ago. However, AI and robot are just the tool to push effectiveness of our job or lifestyle. We are the user of advantages of them, so I'm not afraid of being our job take place by AI and robots.

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Posted in: What are the advantages of leaders of countries meeting in person rather than just holding meetings online? See in context

Face to face conversation requires making eye contacts, which are very important element of building up good or deep relationship. Also, tone of voice and pause between conversation are real. However, online talks lack them, giving less impression each other. When people want to show their seriousness or sincerity, having person-to-person communication is more effective than doing it through the Internet.

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Posted in: Do you think starting/ending a romantic relationship with someone was easier before there was social media? See in context

From my standpoint, it's easier and faster to make relationship with people through the social media. It is much easier to judge whether or not someone matches my needs before meeting each other. If the person matches my personality, I will start to send messages without hesitation. If it were not for social sites, starting and ending romantic relationship would be more difficult than before.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Posted in: Do you use ChatGPT in your daily life? If yes, what for? See in context

I've never used it, but I want to. Such AI tools are still used as a database now, so they are not able to have a conversation based on their self-conscious. However, if they are improved to have conscious and sense of reaction as human, I will use them.

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Posted in: What are the pros and cons of a 4-day work week which is being talked about in some countries? See in context

One of the pros is that employees will be more relaxed enjoying their time on each day off. According to some research, no differences in productivity can be found between workers who took two days off and those who took three. The cons, on the other hand, will be an increase in energy consumption.

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