JohnBecker said...

JohnBecker at 12:49 AM JST - 6th August

Nuclear proliferation has been getting plenty of attention the last couple of years. Not to belittle the Danes, but this strikes me as a "thanks for the news flash" type of statement from someone who holds little or no sway on the international (or Japanese) stage.

Good one, Sarge. :-)

Posted in Danish ambassador to protest against nuclear proliferation from Mt Fuji at 12:49 AM JST - 6th August
JohnBecker at 12:48 AM JST - 5th August

These kinds of schools are great investments for any community. You can spend a little bit on these kids now, or you can spend a lot later on conviction and incarceration.

A change of scenery and the easing of social pressures can turn a kid's life around. And that's worth…

Posted in Truants struggling to seek new ways of life at free schools at 12:48 AM JST - 5th August
JohnBecker at 09:35 PM JST - 2nd August

The suicide rate in Japan reflects not so much on the government, but on the society as a whole.

Posted in The soaring suicide rate reflects the government's inability to provide necessary assistance to those needing help. at 09:35 PM JST - 2nd August
JohnBecker at 09:34 PM JST - 2nd August

I seem to recall a law passed not long ago to get smoke detectors into houses... Does anyone recall when that takes effect? If people really do get them, I expect we'll hear far fewer of these stories.

Posted in Mother, 2 sons die in residential fire in Nagasaki Prefecture at 09:34 PM JST - 2nd August
JohnBecker at 01:15 AM JST - 2nd August

These things aren't supposed to replace a concert grand piano, or even an upright. But they're much more likely to fit into a buyer's home, and they're perfectly fine for most forms of amplified music.

Posted in Digital piano at 01:15 AM JST - 2nd August
JohnBecker at 12:36 AM JST - 2nd August

Amaki's wasn't a "nutter opinion". He opposed the Iraq war. And he's not opposing freedom of speech, he's merely saying it would be better if Tamogami didn't do his speech at the particular time and place he has chosen.

Tamogami is no idiot - like the Ku Klux Klan, he…

Posted in Critic raps Tamogami's planned speech in Hiroshima as 'act of malice' at 12:36 AM JST - 2nd August
JohnBecker at 01:55 AM JST - 31st July

Why any ship would travel through the Mallaca Straits unescorted and unarmed is beyond me. That area has been a hotbed of piracy for years.

Posted in Japanese cargo ship robbed by pirates in South China Sea at 01:55 AM JST - 31st July
JohnBecker at 03:03 AM JST - 30th July

I've visited Japan twice as a tourist, for two weeks the first time and three weeks the second. I've stayed at inexpensive business hotels in Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto and Hiroshima with no problems at all. (And I've never paid more than 8,500 yen per night.) I've always been able to…

Posted in No. of foreign tourists visiting Japan plunges 29% in Jan-June at 03:03 AM JST - 30th July
JohnBecker at 02:20 AM JST - 30th July

The DPJ is going after the youth vote, the liberal vote. Aso seems to be courting the dead vote.

No disrespect intended to the victims. People in nursing homes are supposed to die of old age. RIP.

Posted in Aso offers flowers for 7 mudslide victims at Yamaguchi nursing home at 02:20 AM JST - 30th July
JohnBecker at 10:25 PM JST - 25th July

This mirrors Sony's move back in the '80s when they started selling VHS machines. Some people in Toshiba's marketing department will be making some deep bows in front of the bosses!

Posted in Toshiba likely to embrace one-time rival Blu-ray at 10:25 PM JST - 25th July