At Liberty

It looks like she’s reading over his shoulder.

Are we supposed to find some pathos or social commentary in this most amateurish snapshot?

The American Woman likes manga too.

^ Statue of liberty is French.

To be more precise, it's a French Statue of Libertas a Roman goddess.

He is free to read.

Lady Libderty would not be appreciated as we, Americans, do in Japan. It is just a meaningless statue among Japanese..

So, what's the point? Amateurish it is, so the publisher's to blame. But more to blame would be the idiots that put the fake there in the first place. Take it from someone who's stood in the crown and looked down and out, up and beyond, the experience can't be replicated. That sorry copy of a world-renown expression of freedom should be sent back to the scrap heap of cheap imitations. Back to the picture - what's the point of printing an amateur photo of an uncleaned statue in bad lighting with an unimportant close-up focal point that has no purpose related to the background?

She's saying " I read my manga on a tablet."

Rhyming Gaijin did a cool music video by the statue of liberty in Odaiba http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLdEzBPM90o&feature=plcp

It actually looks better than the real statue which is kind of short and dumpy in real life.

She's saying " I read my manga on a tablet."

Okay, maybe not.

This photograph is underexposed with pretty shoddy white balance. The framing leaves you wanting to go more to the left, but not enough void space is left. The towering statue implies dominance, but the man is not only oblivious, but completely disinterested in his surroundings. This is not a photograph, rather simply a snapshot.

I can see why it's the picture of the day and not the photograph of the day.

Say hey ... this statue is along my walking course at Odaiba. In case you haven't been here yet, it is right next to the waterfront, along which you can walk quite a distance while admiring Shinagawa across the Sumida ...

Nice walking/jogging course ...

Is he disturbing the Statue of Liberty by reading his magazine or is it a crime to sit below the statue...

I forgot to say ... if you get tired of walking or shopping in the nearby malls, you can always stroll over to this statue, sit down ... and read a book or something while relaxing ...

LOL Afro-American Lady Liberty!

After the Patriot Act, can you still call it the statue of Liberty?

Hey don't get so worked up about using the symbol of freedom. It's not meant to be as such in Japan. People use the image of pyramids for hotels in Las Vegas, and there's an exact replica of Stonehenge in Australia, so what - it's for making money. You want to see how it's used for a different symbol - check this... http://www.flickr.com/photos/butterforfilm/4039425136/ With conquering limbs astride.................wow baby

Since the statue raised hand is cut off from the photo...........May be it is the intention of the photograher to let the viewers' imagination run wild. She could be holding a scimitar or a katana( since it's in Japan ) about to behead the old dude........................

Again, if it was poor cropping/editing from JT staff, then never mind...............

oberstJun. 24, 2012 - 08:32PM JST

Since the statue raised hand is cut off from the photo...........May be it is the intention of the photograher to let the viewers' imagination run wild. She could be holding a scimitar or a katana( since it's in Japan ) about to behead the old dude........................

Again, if it was poor cropping/editing from JT staff, then never mind...............

At a very strange 578x734 ratio (somewhere between 3x4 and 4x5), it was certainly cropped from the original 2x3 aspect ratio. I cannot tell you if it's AP or JT that did that, but either way, it is a horrible, horrible snapshot that was probably the cheapest photo they could find. This is not a photo, rather a snapshot, and as a newspaper photo editor for two years and photojournalist for four, I know a thing or two about bad photographs.