LiveInTokyo's past comments

  • -2

    LiveInTokyo

    While the war criminals are enshrined there, most of the world won't agree with you Mr. Abe. If the war criminals were removed then no one would care or mind is my bet. No one wants to see the military men who died in their countries service the respect they deserve, it's just when convicted war criminals are also given that respect that many people get offended.

    Posted in: Abe defends right to visit Yasukuni Shrine

  • 10

    LiveInTokyo

    I believe Hashimoto has three daughters. It would be difficult to believe he would approve of his daughters being forced to work in such a military establshment in the 21st century. Whether or not any man uses prostitutes or not, I doubt any of them would want their daughters to work in those establishments. I honestly believe the man to be a hypocrite.

    Posted in: Okinawan women demand apology from Hashimoto

  • 2

    LiveInTokyo

    No matter what, we'll never allow terrorists to break into the plant

    Pure bravado. If terrorists really want to get in, there is nothing that can stop then.

    Posted in: No matter what, we'll never allow terrorists to break into the plant.

  • -2

    LiveInTokyo

    Wait, do any American cars actually fit down the back alleys in the walled village streets of Japan?!

    Generally speaking that's true, but certain brands have done well here in their niche, such as Hummer. They're pretty big.

    But with growth in Korea and China, why would America come here with the way they're treated in this country. It must be more productive for them to concentrate on those countries than Japan.

    Posted in: Big three U.S. automakers to skip Tokyo Motor Show

  • 1

    LiveInTokyo

    My wife carries plastic bags when she takes the dog out for a walk. Training problem I know, but she can't get the dog to use the place she made inside the house. A carryover from her late mother who spoiled the dog shamelessly, much to my annoyance.

    But I'm not surprised that the poop patrol isn't having much luck. Some a little similar ... In Tokyo smoking on the street is banned in some wards, so they have a similar group handing out on the spot fines. From my experience they don't hand out many tickets as they avoid the spots where most smokers are. Why do they do that? From what I've seen a lot of smokers just literally blow up and give the guys an earful, which leads to no tickets being handed out and the smokers just continuing on his/her merry way ... puff puff puff. I expect the same with the poop patrol.

    Posted in: City's poop patrol making slow progress against negligent dog owners

  • 3

    LiveInTokyo

    Don’t drown your sushi in loads of soy sauce

    But what if a person likes lots of soy sauce?

    Don’t wear a strong smelling fragrance if you plan to sit at the counter

    Isnt that common sense anyway? And Ive seen err ... smelt a lot of Japanese girls who obviously don`t know this rule when out with their boyfriends.

    Don’t show off half-hearted sushi knowledge. Show some humility to the chef and he’s sure to treat you in kind

    Once again it seems an author who thinks every, "gajin", is some kind of ignoramus. I wish the authors of some of these articles would show some humility and avoid automatically making these types of assumptions.

    Posted in: How to behave at a sushi restaurant

  • 10

    LiveInTokyo

    Dont know about everyone else, but Im very comfortable with this approach. And if the international community had taken the same approach many years ago, North Korea would never have gotten its hands on nuclear weapons. I do realise that aid cutbacks will probably have an effect on the general population over there, but unless someone takes firm action nothing will ever change.

    Posted in: Japan says no aid for N Korea until it resolves abduction issue

  • -5

    LiveInTokyo

    I think it is cultural. That is how the society has run for ages. Just my opinion but the Tokugawa period didnt finish all that long ago, around 1860? That is only 150 years ago, which means peoples great-grandparents were around then. So the influence of those great-grandparents, what they thought was normal in daily life, would have been passed onto our grandparents who passed that onto our parents (depends on your age of course). So the values those older generations held dear were passed down to the younger. Some stuff might get watered down a bit on the way, but basically they`re the same.

    Unlike fashion or industry, societies don`t change their daily rules and mores at the flip of a switch, it takes quite a long time to change some things. So the bosses still hold the upper hand, but I expect that to change more as time goes by. I think we need a few more generations to pass by in Japan until the average worker gets a fairer deal from their bosses.

    Posted in: Why do Japanese work such long hours?

  • 17

    LiveInTokyo

    At first I started reading and wondered what the article was about. Now, I've finished the article and wondering why they published it.

    Posted in: Five things I like about expat guys

  • -1

    LiveInTokyo

    100 kg is below average weight for cops in many nations I visited.

    Don't see how this comment is relevant to the conversation. Just another nigelboy comment mocking other countries as he is prone to do. So many of his nasty comments are allowed to escape moderation.

    Posted in: Woman dies after heavy-set police officer sits on her

  • 3

    LiveInTokyo

    I found the article a bit confusing. Really, it only used a couple of examples. In the end did the article really prove anything?

    Posted in: Are Tokyo University students cleverer than other people?

  • 1

    LiveInTokyo

    I think serious gamers would be very sad if the PC were to vanish. The ability to upgrade a PC makes it a great gaming platform.

    Posted in: Global PC units in the first quarter fell by 14%. Will PCs soon be obsolete?

  • -2

    LiveInTokyo

    No mention of them having a moment`s silence for the tragedy that happened in Boston, just the usual, "We were able to hold ours safely", comment.

    Posted in: Nagano Marathon ends without incident

  • 0

    LiveInTokyo

    How many of them know Nintendo?

    I think the majority of the people in advanced countries (and probably even some in third world countries) would know it. But you can`t call a game platform a unique part of Japanese culture.

    Posted in: Pop culture subcommittee formed to show world ‘Cool Japan’

  • 5

    LiveInTokyo

    Is this real? Whenever I go back to my home country I never see any of this stuff. Whenever I talk to friends who live in the US, they tell me they don't see it either. I went to the Animation Fair at Big Sight last month and talked to several developers there who told me the same thing, that's it's only the "geek" types who are interested in Cool Japan.

    With these comments I honestly believe the minister is just trying to prop up an ailing initiative, or more probably an initiative that doesn't really exist.

    Posted in: Pop culture subcommittee formed to show world ‘Cool Japan’

  • 0

    LiveInTokyo

    Whether its new ingredients or old, Mr.Donuts just don't taste like donuts to me. Can live without it. Also, it would be nice to have fruit filled donuts once in awhile instead of everything chocolate or custard!

    Have to agree with you bass4. I find Mr. Donutsdonuts to be rather chewy. Theyre kind of nice, but I could never call them real donuts.

    Posted in: Mister Donut Japan to change product ingredients for first time in 42 years

  • -1

    LiveInTokyo

    Not the first time either, wasn't there another one 2 or 3 years ago?

    I think there was, but that guy got quite aggressive if I remember correctly. I`d love to get over that moat and into the palace compound myself to see what is in there, but as you would get arrested there is no chance of me ever copying them. If you are ever near the palace just look into the trees, they have a lot of security cameras in them.

    Posted in: 2 British men arrested for trespassing in imperial compound

  • 2

    LiveInTokyo

    As if only English speakers do it. In many cases you`ll find that the non-native speaker who speaks grammatically incorrect English is simply being copied by the native speaker who thinks it is helpful by copying them.

    And if you look at imbedded questions like, "Do you know if that shop is open till late?", for example, they often confuse the non-native speaker. Therefore by breaking the sentence down it can be helpful. Plus if I`m on holiday the last thing I want to do is spend all my time on giving every non-native an English lesson.

    Posted in: Why do some native English speakers use broken or grammatically incorrect English, when trying to communicate with someone who isn't a native English speaker, but who may understand some English? Do they think that somehow broken English is easier to understand?

  • -2

    LiveInTokyo

    Pretty damning question isn't it. Rather than everyone on the, "level playing-field" and working everything out in economic competition, the exchange rate has to be placed at a point to, "...benefit the Japanese economy". What about other countries in the world? I think everyone deserves to be treated equally. To place the exchange rate at some specific point for the benefit of one party would imply manipulation and selfishness, wouldn't it? Kind of like a petulant child kid saying, "Gimme what I want! Gimme what I want!".

    Posted in: What do you think the yen-dollar exchange rate should be in order to benefit the Japanese economy?

  • -3

    LiveInTokyo

    Why bother with it anyway? It's not like everyone needs to speak English. And even though Japan has a pretty bad reputation for its level of English-speaking ability, the situation isn't that dire in my opinion. If you go out into the real workplace in Japan you'll find there are a great many competent speakers (of English). They exist and they are where they need to be. More than half the people who live in this country will never need it. To become a competent speaker of any language it takes time and effort, which most people don't have. Trying to teach the entire student population is a waste of effort.

    Posted in: What do you think about Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's proposal that universities must adopt the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) for entrance exams. Abe says it is aimed at reforming the English teaching system in schools by shifting emphasis to verbal communications skills.

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