Monday May 28, 2012

Kabukilover's past comments

  • -1

    Kabukilover

    What this ugly incident goes to show is that Japan has not changed. Officially it is still denying truth about comfort women and their other crimes against humanity. Japan lost face thanks to what its diplomats pulled in Palisades Park, New Jersey. Tell you what the problem is at its base. Japan's imperial government was ultimately responsible. That means even though Hirohito was never tried as a war criminal, war crimes invariably besmirch the imperial system. Without this institution it is possible that the Japan government would have been more forthright. But maybe not.

    As an American I am all for Palisades Park and would like to see millions of similar memorials sprout all over my fair land.

    Posted in: New Jersey town's monument to Korean sex slaves upsetting Japanese officials

  • 1

    Kabukilover

    If these right-wing dirt bags love Japan the least they can do is respect Japan's laws. Vandalism and defamation are crimes no matter who commits them for what purpose.

    Posted in: Internet videos empowering right-wing activist group

  • -1

    Kabukilover

    The so-called grammar-translation method does not work. After 6 years of it the grammar of Japanese student is dreadful and they cannot translate.

    Posted in: Why are Japanese so bad at English?

  • 3

    Kabukilover

    This is gross. Millions of people need aid because the 3/11 triple disaster and here are stupid nationalistic hicks raising money for absolutely nothing. The islands are Japanese or not Japan's no matter if Tokyo buys those islands or not. I my view, which I believe is the international view, those islands are Japan's whether Ishihara gets Tokyo to buy them or not. What this business is doing is making Japan look idiotic in front of the whole world at the worst possible time. It is fair to ask just how seriously Japan is taking the real problems that are confronting it.

    There is only one reason to contribute to this nonsense: if you think giving Ishihara more sensational publicity is a good thing.

    Posted in: Tokyo raises Y76 mil in donations to buy disputed islands

  • 1

    Kabukilover

    This is like the scene out The Three Stooges's "Disorder in the Court." Any chance this bird can challenge Ishihara in the next election?

    Posted in: Stray parakeet tells Tokyo police where he lives

  • 0

    Kabukilover

    This is not about Japanese sovereignty over those wretched islands. That is established already. The UN acknowledges it. China does not have a historical leg to stand on. Japan has as much right to those islands as China has to Tibet. The really issue is how Ishihara has barged into a matter of national policy and has bilked a lot of dumb head Japanese nationalist to promote himself. A truly disgusting performance.

    Ishihara ought to go live on one of those islands.

    Posted in: Tokyo raises Y76 mil in donations to buy disputed islands

  • 2

    Kabukilover

    Sad that a basically nice country has that scummy red neck element. My heart goes out to the victims.

    Posted in: Chinese students beaten, robbed in Sydney

  • 0

    Kabukilover

    Or maybe Kijima made potato salads to die for. Seriously, if you are intent on getting partners for whatever purpose you will find them. The odds are in your favor. Kijima was after loot. She was driven and diabolical and found just the kind of innocent guys who could be taken in. It happens all the time but does not usually end in mass murder.

    Posted in: Young women interested in how plain-looking 'Black Widow' lured men to their doom

  • 1

    Kabukilover

    This is more questionable weekly magazine journalism. Whether there really are scads of "Kanae girls" has yet to be proven by a legitimate news source. I expect that Kijima's success came upon playing on the loneliness of the men she murdered. There are lonely men as well as lonely women in this society, and they are all potential victims of opportunists.

    Posted in: Young women interested in how plain-looking 'Black Widow' lured men to their doom

  • 1

    Kabukilover

    This the "international marriage" I'd love to read about in the weeklies.

    "This is the room where we keep oji-san and oba-san. They are over hundred years ago and we still collect their pensions for them. They don't smell any more. They are all dried up now."

    "Oh God! This is disgusting! I'm going to vomit!"

    "Don't knock Japanese customs! After all your family does things I don't understand, like saying grace before every meal."

    Posted in: Int'l marriages test ability to balance love with tolerance

  • 0

    Kabukilover

    I am skeptical of all predictions, including this one. Predictions are based on what is true at the moment. Things may change in the future in ways that we do not know. In the 80s there were predictions that Japan would be dominating the world by now. I did not buy into the the Japan as Number One hype then and I do not see Japan becoming a not rich nation in 2050, unless global warming will trash the world economy completely.

    This is, it is interesting to note that the Japan supposed virtues in the 1980s are seen as liabilities today. The rigid schooling system, the oppressive company life, and the nation's supposed ethnic purity were hailed by conservatives and crypto racists. Anyone looking at these things not can only see a nation choking itself. The system will produce few (if any) Steve Jobs or even Bill Gates. The schools product students who can think who become corporate minions who can only follow orders. And Japanese racism only means there will be not enough Japanese in the future.

    I might all change. But how I do not know. Japan might end up as a quaint little country with a few major industries and a lot dead ones.

    Posted in: Japan 'no longer a rich country' by 2050: think tank

  • -1

    Kabukilover

    Agree that Kobe University Hospital is first rate. Smart doctors and they work fast in my experience.

    I've generally had good experiences and not good experiences. At a certain city hospital I've dealt with excellent doctors and and a few idiots (they could not detect a life threatening situation that should have been obvious). In all I am grateful to Japan's socialized medicine. It saved my bacon on a number of occasions at a reasonable price.

    A few suggestions. Don't live alone. A significant other will be much better in taking charge if you are in dire health. Find a good clinic or hospital before you get sick. They can refer you to good hospitals. Have regular check-ups. If you have a condition start treating it. If you feel sick, get to the doctor before you get sicker. (Americans especially avoid doctors until they are at death's door--hey medical care is generally cheap here.) Get all the insurance you can afford. There is cancer insurance, for instance. And oh yes, avoid fad diets.

    Finally, thank you Richard Solomon for a damn fine article/

    Posted in: Medical care: Are you prepared?

  • 0

    Kabukilover

    Three cheers and three beers for Mr. Woodford. For us gaijin this is a moment in Japanese history to savor. Mr. Woodford was "rotated out" (as they say in Japan) from Olympus for blowing the whistle on their dirty doings and has come back in triumph. Three more cheers and three more beers for Mr. Woodford.

    To those who choose to put down Mr. Woodford, please consider the following. Mr. Woodford could have been a good company man and looked the other way while collecting his handsome salary. But he put ethics before all else and dared to question Olympus's crooked bosses about the funny finances that he found.

    I'll tell you it is not good to be fired. You not only lose your job but you also become the loneliest person in the universe. Supposed friends shun you and no one wants to hear your story.

    This is a rate happy ending. It was not preordained. Mr. Woodford took the chance of his life. That he won is a minor miracle given the corruption and prejudice against foreigners in this country.

    So three more cheers and three more beers for the man.

    As an Olympus user I'm glad Olympus got its deserved kick in the rear when it did. Eventually the truth would have come out. But maybe too late to save the company.

    Posted in: Woodford demands to know why he was fired as Olympus CEO

  • 3

    Kabukilover

    True to form, this is crap weekly magazine journalism. Foreigners are bizarre. Blah, blah, blah. Except perhaps the Japanese wife who turned on the vac to drown out her fake erotic screams to satisfy her porno loving American husband.

    In fact so-called international marriages are not all that different for same nationality marriages if the people involved come from the same social and educational backgrounds. And generally speaking, Leo Tolstoy was right: "All happy marriages are the same. Unhappy marriages are unhappy in their own ways."

    There is a Peeping Tom aspect to the low brow Japanese media obsession with "international marriages." When they discover there really is not much to report that is different from Japanese marriages they have to look for or invent weird twists.

    My own marriage happens to be extremely happy. Nothing to do with being "international." Everything to do with enjoying each other's company 24/7.

    Posted in: Int'l marriages test ability to balance love with tolerance

  • 0

    Kabukilover

    Even the title of this article is bogus. Japanese-Brazilians are going home primarily because they are not wanted here.

    Posted in: Japanese-Brazilians go 'home' to tap economic boom

  • 0

    Kabukilover

    "The humiliating failure of North Korea’s much-publicized rocket launch on Friday may push the hermit state into testing a nuclear bomb in an attempt to save face, analysts say," says this article. But even if "analysts" say it, it is speculation. They may or they may not. Since this is the second North Korean failure to send a satellite into orbit it is more plausible that they will try to launch a satellite a third time before they do anything else.

    There is no question that North Korea is a totalitarian and poorly run family business. But the hysterical fear that the Western powers have generated over its last missile launch and what it might do in the future is stupid. This is a poor, politically weak and technologically backward country. It cannot even successful launch a satellite. It is not even at the 1950s Sputnik level yet.

    If North Korea poses any danger it is local and limited--border incidents for example. This realistic way of dealing with North Korea is rational diplomacy that will let North Korea come out of the cold. This probably will not bring democracy to the North Korea people but it will give the rest of us peace of mind.

    Posted in: After rocket fiasco, N Korea may test bomb: analysts

  • 5

    Kabukilover

    The primary danger of nuclear power in Japan is not generation per se but the threat of natural disasters. Fukushima was a calamity waiting to happen. All the warnings were there. But when it happened there was this babyish surprise from the government and the power industry. If it happened in Kanto it can happen in Kansai. As someone pointed, the Oi reactors have the potential of pollution Lake Biwa.

    Largely thanks to US pressure Japan became a nuclear junkie. It is time for this country to go cold turkey. Keep the reactors off line. There are alternative energy sources that have not been exploited because of the dominance of nuclear power. They won't be unless there is an incentive to find an alternative to nuclear power generation.

    This summer, whether or not there will indeed be a power shortage, all be a great time to work on energy conservation. Again, incentive is the key.

    Posted in: Criticism mounts over plan to restart nuclear reactors

  • 2

    Kabukilover

    What this article does not talk about is the amazing stupidity and inhumanity of the Japanese government, business and society with regard to Japan-Brazilians.

    There was a time when Japan needed more workers. In the ethnocentric official mind set Japanese-Brazilians would be a perfect fit here in Japan because the had Japanese blood. Blood is everything, right? Wrong. Most of these poor souls knew no Japanese and many were unskilled or under-skilled. On top of that they didn't act like Japanese. They acted like Brazilians. Surprise, surprise. So what was open to most were insecure temporary jobs and an outcast status. Ayako Takagi writes in the about-linked article: "And what is even worse, it is the situation that many Japanese-Brazilian children cannot receive education in Japan. It is said that over the half number of Japanese-Brazilian children doesn’t receive education in Japan."

    The bursting of the bubble economy and the Great Recession only magnified the problems Japanese-Brazilians faced.

    The Japanese government saw that they had created a social problem. What to do? What to do? Get rid of the Japanese-Brazilians. Offer then a token cash settlement and a one-way ticket back to Brazil with no chance to return.

    Even though they have and are being thrown out to a country whose economy is booming now does not mean that Japanese-Brazilians face a happy future there. For many, perhaps most, connections from Brazil have grown weaker. They cannot expect jobs when they return. Many will bring children who were born and raised in Japan and so live in a twilight zone between Japanese and Brazilian cultures. Let me underscore that though Brazil is booming economically a large part of the population is poor. How many Japanese-Brazilians will join or have joined the ranks of the poverty stricken? Probably many. Perhaps most. How their children raised in Japan will fare remains to be seen.

    One thing is certain. The Japanese system does not care about Japan-Brazilians, blood or no blood. And it will sugarcoat the truth with articles like the one published here.

    Posted in: Japanese-Brazilians go 'home' to tap economic boom

  • 3

    Kabukilover

    Agree with those critical of this article. It glosses over the discrimination and other hardships Brazilian-Japanese suffered here. Here is an article from Japan Sociology that gives a more honest view: http://japansociology.com/2011/12/16/the-situation-of-japanese-brazilians-in-japan/

    It would be interesting to learn the percentage of Japanese-Brazilians who made enough money to buy houses and open medical practices back in Brazil. I would venture damn few did.

    Posted in: Japanese-Brazilians go 'home' to tap economic boom

  • 4

    Kabukilover

    Here we go: "Edano told Nishikawa that the reactors have been judged safe and that they need to be restarted in order to avert a power shortage. He promised that an uncompromising level of safety will be maintained, NHK reported." Unsupported generalities and a threat. That used to do the trick before 3/11. What Edano and his crew had better know is that this no longer works. People are not that easily cowed any more.

    What is this "uncompromising level of safety" all about? There can be no way that nuclear plants could have been made safer against natural disasters in the year since 3/11, I believe. If I am in error, let's see the facts. No just promises but facts.

    And the threat of the summer power shortages is not a fact but blackmail. There are plenty of ways to conserve energy without starting up those reactors. Limit the time vending machines operate. That's save a lot of energy. Limit the time that nonessential lights can be used in cities. That will save more energy. Give schools longer holidays. Even a few weeks longer will save considerable energy. This is just off the top of my head. People in fields related to energy conservation can come up with more ideas.

    The government could have used this last year to find ways of conserving energy but they have not. It is easier to simply start up dangerous old nuclear reactors than to think outside the box.

    Edano's promises tells us nothing except that he and people like him are in the pockets of power companies.

    Posted in: Edano tries to convince Fukui that it is safe to restart nuclear reactors

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