HollisBrown's past comments

  • 7

    HollisBrown

    A homeless person 'takes a nap' is rather making light of the real situation - and more accurately should read 'A homeless person is LIVING...'.

    Using the photo as part of a piece on homelessness would've been better. Simply using it as 'Picture of the Day' with a pun of a title and a quirky throw away comment is tasteless and quite unnecessary.

    Posted in: Napster

  • -4

    HollisBrown

    I agree Probie. This article made me cringe.

    By piling on the ikura in heaps the restaurant is making the fishermen risk the dangers at sea more frequently - so they can buy more ikura. How about just charging a fair price for a regular portion, and having a donation box on all the tables, and another box for loose change next to the exit?

    Everyday I see countless restaurants that serve 'quirky' oversized portions. It seems to me that they do this because the quality of the food alone isn't good enough. A large portion of ikura - served with a guilt trip, and a threat of having to pay a donation if you don't eat it all - is no more delicious than a regular portion of ikura.

    Posted in: Sapporo restaurant fines customers who don’t finish every last bite

  • 6

    HollisBrown

    Why would she think that removing a personal blog was enough to compensate for arguable criminal behaviour? Oh and that Nishikawa woman is one of the most odious talent-less people on TV. Can't stand her.

    Posted in: Jun Komori makes televised apology for lying to fans about auction sites

  • 10

    HollisBrown

    Yet obscene and explicit manga is OK? Japan has some weird standards.

    Posted in: Renowned photographer Leslie Kee arrested in Japan over obscene photos

  • 2

    HollisBrown

    The problem is that the 10,000yen note is used so frequently in everyday situations (from buying a bento at a convenience store to jewelry at high end department stores). Once a shop receives a 10,000yen note - it is redundant. They cannot use it as change because there is nothing higher in circulation. I know the same can be said about every currency, but the 10,000yen note is too 'normal'. The ATM machines need to give out 4x5,000yen notes rather than 2x10,000yen. On withdrawing 19,000yen, why should I get 1x10,000yen and 9x1,000yen? Give me some 5,000yen notes and make the 10,000yen note less commonly used. If this happened, we wouldn't necessarily need a note of higher value than 10,000 - the situation would be at least twice as good as it currently is. If the government insists on introducing a higher value note, it could be a good thing - but only if the banks don't make it standard ATM issue. A 20,000yen note would seem more sensible to me.

    Posted in: Gov't hints at issuing Y50,000 bills

  • -1

    HollisBrown

    Look at the long term effect such a policy has had on western economies.

    Posted in: It is necessary for companies to raise employee wages to help the country out of deflation. Lower wages lead to less consumption and lower prices, forcing companies to reduce wages as part of cost cuts.

  • -1

    HollisBrown

    So this story is simply: Seven-Eleven to introduce coffee vending machine?

    Posted in: Seven-Eleven to introduce self-service coffee machines in 15,000 stores

  • 0

    HollisBrown

    The statement from the TMP spokesperson is a fairly basic stock response. The AJJF head states that the head coach had admitted many of the allegations - yet he is allowed to keep his job. The JOC seem to have passed the buck somewhat - to the AJJF - and the AJJF decision is perplexing. I believe all of those bodies are worthy of a follow up.

    One way that issues of bullying, power harassment etc can be overcome is by the media keeping the pressure on. That's why I hope Japan Today will follow up on this story. I don't want a stock response to just be forgotten in a few days. I don't want coaches like this to remain in a job. He's the national judo coach for god's sake. It's bad enough that there are school sports coaches at it - but how many of them will make it into the media?

    Posted in: Japan's female Olympic judokas say coaches beat them

  • 3

    HollisBrown

    The sad thing is I'm not surprised any more.

    Posted in: Man arrested for beating 84-year-old mother to death over breakfast dispute

  • 1

    HollisBrown

    Who is to blame? Who erred? What factors explain where we are now?

    Ishihara is to blame for igniting the whole issue. The people/institutions of Tokyo that donated money to support Ishihara's plan are partly to blame for their own ignorance of the situation. The Japanese government are to blame for not dealing with Ishihara strongly enough right at the beginning - (Ishihara was holding press conferences and making up his own foreign policy at one stage). The Japanese government are to blame for taking the actions they did in purchasing the island. There were other more diplomatic solutions available. The Chinese people who rioted and vandalised Japanese companies are to blame for inciting the issue further. The Chinese government are to blame for not stopping them. The Chinese government are to blame for the way they've continued to react and further fuel the situation. The UN is to blame for not trying hard enough to solve the dispute.

    This is why I will never be a diplomat.

    Posted in: Japan ex-China envoy: Tokyo erred in buying islands

  • 1

    HollisBrown

    There would be more positives in going down to a 4-day week than going up to a 6-day week in my view.

    Posted in: Japan considers 6-day school week; teachers not enthusiastic

  • 0

    HollisBrown

    Neil McDonald

    and their Gin & Tonic uses Beefeater gin.

    They might pour you something from a Beefeater gin bottle, but...

    Posted in: Cheap is king in recession-mired Japan

  • -1

    HollisBrown

    When a Japanese company uses the term 'luxury' in it's product name or product description, it's usually a fair assumption that it is in fact a load of overpriced rubbish.

    But then again when you have a gullible market that has been trained to say everything is oiishiiii - regardless of taste and quality, and more linked to a food's high price and often its large size - then who can blame these companies for getting their share.

    Posted in: The king of pizzas? We sample Domino’s pricey new luxury pizza

  • 0

    HollisBrown

    Lightweight rucksacks: Considerably heavier when items placed inside.

    Posted in: Lightweight rucksacks

  • 0

    HollisBrown

    This Abe reign is going to end in tears. They're just going to do things for the sake of doing them.

    Posted in: Abe-nomics

  • -3

    HollisBrown

    Ahh...

    If nothing has changed in the last 3 years, then I say 'LDP OUT' as we're presumably in the exact same place we were in 2009 when the public overwhelmingly decided the LDP wasn't good enough to run the country.

    Posted in: China highly concerned over direction Japan may take

  • -3

    HollisBrown

    If nothing has changed in the last 3 years, then I say 'DPJ OUT' as we're presumably in the exact same place we were in 2009 when the public overwhelmingly decided the DPJ wasn't good enough to run the country.

    Posted in: China highly concerned over direction Japan may take

  • 5

    HollisBrown

    I'm sure a lot of this is down to the foreign firms not having the same 'links' as the Japanese companies that are winning the contracts.

    However, the following quote pretty much sums up Japanese thinking for me:

    Foreign firms simply sell their product without providing back-up services or maintenance. We cant sign a contract with a company that we cant get in touch with immediately and one that will rush to deal with any problems right away, - the executive said.

    The 'fear' of the foreign entity yet again. I just read through that quote and squirm. To use such a sweeping generalization to reach an absolute conclusion that business cant be done with foreign firms makes me irate.

    The most galling thing is I'm sure the executive who said the above would have no problem doing business with the likes of TEPCO, NEXCO, Olympus etc.

    Posted in: Foreign firms largely excluded in Fukushima clean-up

  • -1

    HollisBrown

    Approximately 80% of Japanese are anti nuclear power.

    The pro nuclear LDP won 293 of 480 seats.

    Posted in: Abe to become Japan's 7th PM in 6 years after landslide LDP win

  • 1

    HollisBrown

    @Al Stiffmeister.

    Wow. You have quite a hatred towards the British don't you. I'm not British by the way - just a cycling fan.

    Wiggins achieved more than Phelps in 2012 without a doubt. Bolt, yes I considered him as my choice as he'd be very deserving of being named 'athlete of the year 2012'. Successfully defending the 100m and 200m Olympic titles is a first I believe. The problem I have with Messi getting the award is that he is part of arguably the best footballing side in history. A large part of his achievements - whilst obviously amazing - can be attributed to the strength and dominance of his fellow teammates.

    I don't know why I'm bothering to justify my personal selection to such a rude response, but I chose Wiggins for 4 main reasons.

    1) His achievements in winning the TdF as well as the Olympic time trial required extreme physical endurance as well as speed and power.

    2) He had to be a team player (TdF) as well as an individual (time trial).

    3) His success in the 2 named events came in a relatively short period of time, requiring physical recovery, and sandwiched between them was another physically grueling event that ended in disappointment. Therefore the mental toughness to pick himself up from that and go out and destroy a world class field to take gold a few days later was quite a feat.

    It's only my opinion - which I believe I'm entitled to. I apologize for not selecting a more obvious choice.

    Posted in: Only 1 athlete of the year in 2012 - Messi

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