Zen student comments

Canon: ditch the chairs and computers

Sounds a bit extreme, doesn't it? Mind you, sometimes I would prefer standing to the kiddies chairs I have to sit on at work. Seriously, they are so low they give you a sore back.

If you can find something nutritious and filling enough at that price, why not? I often think we eat too much, myself included. As long as it's not a case of housewives telling their husbands 'here's your 1000 yen for the week (or 250 yen for the day)' and then she goes out an buys a 50,000 yen brand-name handbag.

raids on 17 establishments in Tokyo

Who wants to bet that this is just the tip of the iceberg?

an onerous energy bill that helped push the country into a record trade deficit in 2012.

The key word here folks is "helped". If you looked closely at the books I think you might find that an even bigger reason for why Japan was pushed into a record trade deficity is all the unnecessary spending that continues to go on, especially into construction. We don't need any more paved concrete around rivers thanks. Cut down on unnecessary expenses including whaling and put into reconstruction and constructing geothermal or alternative energy.

What a nightmare.

This goes to show that the 'war on terror' is much trickier than it looks. Sick, twisted ideologies like those of Al-Qaeda are hard to eradicate completely. You can't kill an idea like islamofascism overnight, unfortunately. It's going to be a long drawn-out process.

I have always said and will continue to say that if you want to stop terrorism, improve the level of education in these countries for a start. Countries rife with illiteracy and lack of education are breeding grounds for terrorism.

Imagine a kid in the Middle East, let's just call him Mohammed for the sake of argument, sees his beloved mum and dad blown away by American soldiers or incinerated in a drone attack blamed on the US. At that young and impressionable age, he then runs to a mosque (or even worse, a 'madrassa' for spiritual guidance and support and here is where it begins. If the mullah he talks to happens to be a fundamentalist nut (and a persuasive conman type one), then the kid is going to be brainwashed. The mullah becomes his mentor and his teacher. And remember once upon a time when you thought your parents were always right? Well, there you have it.

You want to solve terrorism? Stop the grievances which lead to kids becoming terrorists when they grow up. Of course, not all whacko terrorist fit this profile but I bet you that quite a few do. Just my two cents.

All non Japanese including Asians etc = gaijin anyhow @anglootaku

Well yes.....and no. You are right, that's how it SHOULD be.

I asked a Japanese friend about this some time ago and he said he even found it weird how Japanese are more likely to call Chinese people 'chugokujin' first and not 'gaikokujin' and same with South Koreans being called 'Kankokujin' and not 'gaikokujin'. It usually refers to Caucasians, but not always.

The move is based on a provision in Japanese law that allows its law enforcement authorities to investigate offenses committed by foreigners abroad which affect Japanese citizens.

This sentence cracked me up. It's funny how Japanese never perceive themselves as the 'foreigners' when THEY are abroad. Everything is relative to the fatherland I guess. :)p

HonestDictator - exactly. I couldn't agree more with what you said. How can Mr. Aso-hooru say this to people who have worked hard ALL their lives looking forward to enjoying themselves a bit during their retirement or what Japanese often refer to as their 'second life'. Why did people vote these guys back in again? I mean, what were they THINKING? Someone needs to taser this guy quick.

What?

Animals.

@ Mike Critchley.

No, animals behave much better than terrorists, much better than humans in general for that matter.

@FightingViking and Patric Spohn

6,000 (subcontractor work pay) - 4500/4,750 (after food/lodgin) = 1500/1,250 then + 10,000 (compulsory govt. "danger pay" that must be paid out) = 11, 500/11,250 or thereabouts. I admit, the way the article is worded though makes it confusing.

Still criminal and sick but like others have pointed out, not all that surprising really. These guys are fixing up Japan for us and THIS is how we reward them? These sub-contractors are real low-lives.

It's soft porn. All the middle-aged guys who go to watch AKB48 go to eye up as much flesh as these young girls are told or allowed to show - obviously not there for the music.

@FPSRussia.

My God, what did this country DO to you?

A lot of what you said is true, but only if the guy is a 'sucker' and allows himself to fall into those traps. There are many spineless J guys out there who are suckers for punishment and so they only have themselves to blame for getting into that mess in the first place. My advice to guys out there is: REALLY make sure you know your woman well, before you decide to tie the knot. Make sure you excavate all those ugly sides/traits and decide whether you can put up with them first before proposing.

The pressures of conforming to Japanese society are very strong but many of the problems you just mentioned can be avoided if you take your wife out of Japan and back to your home country. Problem solved.

There are some of you who claim success, but you can't tell me that

That's a pretty bold statement. Do you really think your sad story automatically applies to everyone else?

The invisible person in your home is Japan's family laws.

I agree with this to some extent. Then again, it is still up to you. People are often under the illusion that they 'don't have a choice'. Well, let me tell you - you always have a choice.

I'm also talking from experience. I was once married, miserably married. But decided I was not going to put up with this bad deal for the rest of my life. So, some decisive action. Divorce. Then some time later, I met the ideal woman for me and we are extremely happy now.

I remember when I was living in Provence back in 1996 and practically every week there was a story in the newspaper about atrocities in Algeria. The Islamist rebels were like guerrillas in the mountains and committed some horrible atrocities on Algerian citizens. So, even though I have to condemn this sloppy operation in which many hostages were killed, I do agree with the Algerian gubb'ment's stance on NO NEGOTIATION. You cannot negotiate with Islamic psychos like these guys. You gotta take them out, but not guns blazing like this. Why didn't they use some special forces snipers or something?

Japan needs YOUNG nationalism

@xuanzhang

Really? Don't you remember what happened last time Japan got nationalistic?→WWII.　 No more Pearl Harbors or Hiroshimas please.

Sounds like a job for Jack Bauer.

Human traffic sign = hidden unemployment (more or less).

But really, none of these services bother me. In fact, that's what's great about Japan and how 'odd' it is.

As for the NHK guy, I don't watch TV so refuse to pay it everytime. HOWEVER! when I showed the NHK guy who came to my door that I clearly had no TV (just a PC), he then pointed at my mobile phone (!) and said "well that has a TV on it so you have to pay for it". I just told him, "don't use that either. YouTube is far more interesting than shoddy, extremely boring J TV programs". And shut the door in hsi face as kindly as possible.

Forward thinking huh? Hmmmm. Could have fooled me. I wonder how many other cities around the world Mr. Takeda has visited to be qualified to make this statement.

@all4faj

You made a good point about my comment. I should have been more specific. The "rotten to the core" ones I was referring to were the "2.5% (who) admitted to having had affairs with an unbelievable 6-10 partners!".

What I was trying to say, but didn't put it well all4faj was that everybody makes mistakes (I have only ever cheated once and regretted it every day because I have a conscience) but somebody who cheats 6-10 times (or more) is obviously going to have trouble being faithful to anyone.

Anyways for people who like to cheat and have multiple partners. Please don't get married. Stay single and enjoy your life ok.

@southsakai - you took the words right out of my mouth. Precisely. Marriage should be for people who are serious about making a commitment. If you can't make the commitment, stay single or get a divorce.

I really love women and feel like the luckiest guy to have met my beautiful wife. And, I would never cheat on her in a million years. That's what true love and real commitment is all about and I know many of you guys out there will roll your eyes and say 'whatever' but it's true. I used to be a cheater many years ago....and paid the price. And felt like a worthless piece of c$%&.

These type of women are either rotten to the core or too afraid to get a divorce which would take them out of their 'comfort zone'.

RIP poor kid. What is it going to take for Japan to get serious about putting a stop to bullying? As I was bullied a little at school, if I ever see a kid being bullied, I definitely will not just stand around and do nothing.

I think the best way to try and stop bullying is to teach kids to be pro-active in stopping it when they see it. This might be hard for some to do by themselves but as we all know, the Japanese can achieve great things when they work together as a team.

It will always be a problem but maybe we can help reduce it in little ways.

Oh my God, I used to live in Sakuranomiya - my first serious 'home' in Japan.

It's about bloody time. That country is one serious mess.

If these women want to never get married and never have kids, that's fine. As JT readers, we all know how many horror stories about bad mothers and fathers are out there so some people are just not cut out for parenting, let alone marriage.

What dose concern me though is how plastic, superficial and materialistic Japanese society is.

The Martin Luther King quote above is a good one and very true and I often find it sad how many Japanese are not interested in helping others and 'seeing the bigger picture' of life but I blame this on all the advertising propaganda which ENCOURAGES people to focus on their beauty/looks or have the latest whizz-bang gadget or car etc. To some extent we are all victims of this and women wanting to stay beautiful forever is no different.

There is nothing wrong with trying to look after yourself and make yourself look beautiful but for some women it's an absolute obsession which does not allow much time for anything more FULFILLING in their lives. But that's modern life unfortunately and it's not just Japan either.

Echoing many of the above comments from other reviewers, reading this article really made me feel quite sick. Wake up j-media. He doesn't feel remorse!!!! Not one damn shred of it!!! He doesn't need your sympathy. He is a con-artist playing you around his little finger! If you want to sympathize with someone, started with the 30,000 + people who top themselves every year not someone who rapes and murders someone in cold blood!

We can translate his feeling 'sorry' as his feeling 'scared' and 'desperate' about being locked up for life. But that's what he deserves. Don't give him the death penalty I say. If you really wants to atone for what he did, give him jobs like cleaning sewers for the rest of his life.

Yep she's a hottie alright. I remember Jayro was asked which J-chick he thought was hot and he said "Yumiko Shaku" which was a good call.

Ayase Haruka and Kitahara Kyoko are even hotter IMO.

Ouch, a broken ankle. That's got to be vexing.

What a horrible thing to read about in the New Year. The amount of selfishness these days is just mind-boggling.

I really don't understand people like this - people who decided to bring children into this (yes admittedly scary and messed up) world but then they decide they want to 'quit' halfway through. With marriage, you can always get a divorce if you can't stand living with someone else any more. But when you have kids, it is your responsibility UNTIL DEATH to try and do your best for them. That's the responsibility that you sign up for when you agree to have them and it sounds like common sense (right?) but there seem to be so many deadhead parents out there who just don't get it.

The woman was either pathologically selfish or mental or both.

This is so tragic and makes me sad. Now i'm hoping JT is going to post something amusing or uplifting to make my day better........

I saw Skyfall on NYE and it was much better than I expected. Plus it had the perfect baddie - the same baddie from No Country for Old Men. I agree with Ranger_Miffy2, it was a very enjoyable movie, perhaps Craig's best to date. Although, unfortunately, it may have been his last - there are rumours that he is not going to do anymore - hope that's not true though.

I still think Sean Connery is the best Bond but Craig is definitely my second favourite.

Oh, how sweet. Let's hope he finds a real woman one day who will guide him back to the land of reality.

Looks like 'kizuna' is out and 'kin' is in.