JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

Newsman's past comments

• 

  5

  NewsmanJan. 22, 2012 - 04:22PM JST

  Ah, but don't those silly outsiders understand that it's only through these interlocking cross-shareholdings that companies can rack up serious amounts of debt without being challenged in the slightest. Once you show that the emperor has no clothes -- that companies have been cooking the books while institutional shareholders looked the other way -- you will start the unraveling of Japan's financial legerdemain. And then where will it stop? Not before it reaches all the way to the government -- the selfsame government that has spent oodles of money, and paid for it with bonds that financial institutions were, um, "encouraged" to buy.

  And when they go down, they will all go down together.

  Posted in: Olympus scandal triggers Japan shareholder activism

• 

  4

  NewsmanJan. 21, 2012 - 08:26AM JST

  Basically, this means nothing. Do they expect people to believe the government keeps a separate savings account in which they deposit the extra five percent, and that withdrawals will only be made to pay off pensioners? All of the money goes into the same hopper and is doled out as they best see fit. If the consumption tax goes up five percent, but MPs then increase pork barrel spending five percent, how in the world is anything "stabilized", let alone improved?

  Posted in: Gov't says revenue from 5% consumption tax hike to be used only for social security

• 

  1

  NewsmanJan. 21, 2012 - 08:20AM JST

  You never sausage a thing!

  Posted in: Escaped pigs cause traffic jam on Hanshin expressway

• 

  2

  NewsmanJan. 20, 2012 - 08:55AM JST

  Well, we've heard what the endoscope has revealed -- but what does the Edanoscope reveal? Probably "Everything's great!"

  Posted in: Endoscope shows radiation, steam, rusty metal inside Fukushima reactor

• 

  1

  NewsmanJan. 19, 2012 - 12:52PM JST

  I asked a group of Japanese to guess my blood type. It was about evenly divided among the four groups. And you just know that, had I told them what it was (I didn't) that everyone would have said, "Yeah, I THOUGHT so!"

  Posted in: The importance of blood type in Japanese culture

• 

  0

  NewsmanJan. 19, 2012 - 12:43PM JST

  If Tokyo University commits to this change, you can bet your mochi that a lot of other schools will follow suit, both at the tertiary level (competitors) and the secondary level on down (the feeder schools.) My guess is that it will happen, unlike some of the other "plans" that get bandied about and are never acted upon. Kyushu University is already offering master's degree courses in English; no reason why Todai can't do the same.

  Posted in: University of Tokyo considering autumn start to academic year

• 

  0

  NewsmanJan. 16, 2012 - 05:23AM JST

  Japanese people may be reluctant to directly voice their opinions, but they are awfully good at voting with their feet.

  Posted in: Our judgment that radiation levels were 'non problematic,' and the way we addressed the issue immediately after the outbreak of the nuclear disaster caused anxiety among many young households who have children. Because of this, people from other cities stopped moving into Kashiwa.

• 

  -1

  NewsmanJan. 12, 2012 - 07:44PM JST

  War goals? War goals? Is there war in Iran right now? I didn't think there was, but maybe I missed it ...

  Posted in: Success for U.S. as Japan decides to cut Iranian oil imports

• 

  1

  NewsmanJan. 12, 2012 - 05:25PM JST

  Sanctions can hurt the country that applies them as much as the country to which they are applied. The Obama Administration, however, seems to be quite skillful at orchestrating diplomatic (as opposed to military) pressure. Between Iran's hyperinflation, the assassination of nuclear scientists, and now the oil squeeze, Iran's government is feeling the pressure on multiple fronts without having an obvious target upon which to vent its frustration.

  Posted in: Success for U.S. as Japan decides to cut Iranian oil imports

• 

  19

  NewsmanJan. 10, 2012 - 07:28AM JST

  Smart move on Japan's part ... somebody's learning the nuances of how to quietly solve diplomatic headaches.

  Posted in: Aussie PM criticizes antiwhaling activists after Japan decides to free them

• 

  3

  NewsmanJan. 09, 2012 - 08:33AM JST

  Another lawsuit to liven up the proceedings. I'm sure the shareholders are enjoying the spectacle of a company flailing in all directions. Circular firing squad: Ready, aim, fire!

  Posted in: Olympus sues 19 current, ex-board members for Y16.54 bil in damages

• 

  1

  NewsmanJan. 07, 2012 - 11:20AM JST

  Cleo, when I was 18 I had all the confidence in the world in my judgment, but looking back now there are many things I said and did I wish I could take back. My feeling is, let's cut the young mother some slack here. Obviously, she has been praised by millions of people who have never met and will never meet her, and one would have to be a robot not to let some of that go to one's head. If she has let loose with a few regrettable words, let it pass -- she didn't start this whole affair. Whatever ill-chosen words she has uttered, her actions are unimpeachable, I believe.

  Posted in: Oklahoma woman asks 911 operator for permission to shoot intruder

• 

  2

  NewsmanJan. 07, 2012 - 10:31AM JST

  I have the feeling this plan will go the same way as the plan to give away 10,000 air tickets to foreigners. Odds are the ministry floated this plan into the media just to make it look like they're doing something.

  Posted in: Japan plans futuristic farm with robot workers in disaster zone

• 

  1

  NewsmanJan. 07, 2012 - 09:29AM JST

  Reminds me of JFK's response to Bertrand Russell's criticism of his handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis: "I think your attention might well be directed to the burglars rather than to those who caught the burglars."

  The only person I might be inclined to criticize in this instance -- apart from the two intruders -- is the person in charge of training the 911 dispatcher. There should be instruction covering every situation, and apparently the dispatcher did not have a list of do's and don'ts handy with which to guide Ms. McKinley. For everyone else -- and that includes the 911 dispatcher herself, the late-arriving police, and above all Ms. McKinley -- I think they did The Best They Could Under the Circumstances. Had Mr. Martin not decided to plan to break into the home of a recently widowed mother with an infant child (going so far as to take the time to recruit an accomplice and choosing to bring along a weapon), none of this would have happened. The loss of life is regrettable, but the fault lies with Mr. Martin, in my opinion.

  Two more comments: 1) For the people who have suggested to she should have shot to injure, not kill: Do you even know what a shotgun is? The reason that it is the weapon of choice for many is that you just have to aim it in the general direction and it will be extremely effective. (That is also why it is a terrible offensive weapon; over distance its effectiveness diminishes very quickly.) 2) Yes, police response times can be unavoidably long in the sticks. Do you remember Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11, which detailed the pitiful number of Oregon State Troopers available statewide at any given time? If someone lives in a city or township, there will be officers available within that jurisdiction, but if someone lives in an unincorporated area it falls to either the county or state to respond. Counties may have just one dispatch point, and the state may not even have a dispatch point in every county. And many counties take much more than 25 minutes to drive across. If you think the time was too long, what would you say is an acceptable wait time? One minute? Should police boxes be built within one minute of every residence?

  Posted in: Oklahoma woman asks 911 operator for permission to shoot intruder

• 

  0

  NewsmanJan. 05, 2012 - 07:24AM JST

  "If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine."

  Posted in: 'Star Wars' saber-master dies aged 89

• 

  0

  NewsmanJan. 05, 2012 - 07:16AM JST

  However belated it may be, justice only comes when brave individuals defy the accepted order of things ...

  Posted in: Japanese-American who fought WWII internment camps dies

• 

  2

  NewsmanJan. 04, 2012 - 11:31AM JST

  "A time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance."

  Posted in: Post-tsunami weddings bring some cheer

• 

  0

  NewsmanJan. 01, 2012 - 04:42PM JST

  Hopefully he'll be able to give the police some leads as to the whereabouts of the other two!

  Posted in: Aum fugitive turns himself in after 17 years on the run

• 

  0

  NewsmanJan. 01, 2012 - 09:10AM JST

  @ Nicaraguan: You will undoubtedly get a lot of answers to your question. My answer is this: The after effects of a feudalistic, hierarchical society (such as Japan was during the Edo Period) have instilled the belief that one can serve only one superior at a time. A divorced couple means the parents are now two different families, with two different family registers and responsibilities, and perhaps different family businesses and religions and so on. How can one child be expected to satisfy the demands of two different competing claims from two different family lines? Better for the child, and everyone else, not to worry about those issues. One family line makes it easier for the child to fit into the social hierarchy.

  I don't agree with the thinking, but I believe that is a fair summation of what people believe.

  Posted in: Girl reunited with father in U.S. 4 years after being taken to Japan by mother

• 

  5

  NewsmanJan. 01, 2012 - 07:38AM JST

  Good for them!

  Posted in: Web-savvy activist moms emerge after March 11 disaster

Follow us