JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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Shumatsu_Samurai
I see you were there, were you smith?
The article says nothing about the conditions, whether a vehicle plate number was taken or whether a pursue attempt was made. And it's difficult to read a plate at speed, especially if you're not expecting to have to read it suddenly. Maybe you have a photographic memory but most people don't!
Posted in: Three policemen injured in hit-and-run
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Shumatsu_Samurai
That's actually the right response. The worse thing you can do is get drawn into an argument with these sorts of people. It would just encourage them more and give propaganda to their supporters that they were being "harrassed" by nogoodnicks.
It's the approach we take in the UK to racists and Islamists. It only kicks off when people try to shout the nutters down. They're harmless if they're left talking to themselves.
Posted in: Big anti-TPP rally held in Tokyo as deadline for decision looms
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Shumatsu_Samurai
A higher sales tax would help counter deflation, at least in the short term. That would be good for Japan.
Posted in: Japan to double consumption tax to 10%, G20 action plan says
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Shumatsu_Samurai
Guys, seriously - stop complaining. There is a legal EU minimum of 15% sales tax. In the UK it is 20%. 10% is nothing, unless you're an American that doesn't understand the concept of a national sales tax at all.
And for the poor, it's possible to protect them by having a reduced or zero rate on essential things like food.
Posted in: Japan to double consumption tax to 10%, G20 action plan says
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Shumatsu_Samurai
Somehow I doubt that was the issue. They were dead for over 6 months before the landlord tried to get the property back. I doubt that an aggressive or nasty landlord would have waited up to a year before trying to repossess his property!
Posted in: 'Family' of skeletons found in Sendai house
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Shumatsu_Samurai
Rubbish.
I have no idea what's going on with the house next to mine. I was aware of some people living there when I moved in a few months ago, but now there doesn't seem to be anyone there. For all I know there could be a dead family there too. It's not because I'm a bad neighbour, it's because I didn't get a chance to know the family there before they "disappeared".
You don't know the area these people lived in. There could have been a vacant property on one side (or both sides) and a new resident on the other.
Posted in: 'Family' of skeletons found in Sendai house
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Shumatsu_Samurai
With all due respect, they've got their own budget coming their way. I don't see why a disaster, even a great one like what happened there, means that not a single yen can be spent overseas. People in Tohoku are trying to rebuild their lives, but in other parts of the world they're simply trying to survive or build a working country to live in.
Posted in: Do you agree with Japan's decision to provide financial and other aid to Libya and South Sudan?
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Shumatsu_Samurai
Willem
They chose the side of the civilians that Gaddafi was trying to murder. Far fewer people died at the hand of NATO weapons than would have been slaughtered if the Free Libyan forces had been defeated. Gaddafi promised to turn Cyrenaica into a bloodbath and incited his own supporters to murder anyone they suspected of being against the regime.
What the UK and other NATO countries that took part was courageous. It would have been much easier to wring their hands and click their tongues at the murder of civilians but do nothing. They took a gamble that an air campaign could help because doing nothing was worse. It paid off. So, if anything, those countries that didn't help defend Libyan civilians should pay for reconstruction because the NATO participants in the air campaign have already spent large amounts of money.
And why on earth shouldn't Japan help countries in need of help anyway?
Posted in: Do you agree with Japan's decision to provide financial and other aid to Libya and South Sudan?
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Shumatsu_Samurai
The irony is that Sarkozy is shorter than Napoleon, who was about average height for his time.
But, yes, it's Sarkozy that needs to shut up. He and France have done nothing to resolve this crisis. The UK and other EU countries need to be involved because this crisis affects everyone. The Eurozone had numerous chances to resolve this alone, but choked every time.
Posted in: British PM cancels Japan visit as tempers fray over eurozone debt
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Shumatsu_Samurai
There is actually a part of me that is sickened by some of the responses to his death. It's not because he was a bad man, but because I'm not sure what he did for the world. He was a businessman and an inventor. He made some great things, but he didn't come up with a cure for cancer or the internet. He made luxuries for people that they don't need.
At the end of the day, Jobs was a charismatic guy and made cool stuff that people think they now need as a basic minimum. He was essentially a techno-celebrity, and there's no real substance to people sobbing over his death, bar those who actually knew the man.
Posted in: In memory
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Shumatsu_Samurai
sojherde, you'd be surprised. I can't say how I have had experience of this, but I have come across a large number of people in the UK who get scammed by means that wouldn't fool truly switched on individuals. We're talking about people who have degrees and even doctorates, who are still working and are middle aged. But they still fall for it. Some are greedy and think they're slyly making money through something that might be a bit of a grey area, but others are just too trusting.
And 65 is not old or decrepid, especially for Japanese people. My grandfather continued to complete the (hard) Times crossword into his early 80s.
Posted in: Elderly woman transfers Y29 million to man posing as son in trouble
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Shumatsu_Samurai
You mean one German did it decades ago. I have never seen a German prostrate themselves anywhere. And let's not forget what Erika Steinbach had to say about Poland last year.
Posted in: Japan marks 66th anniversary of World War II surrender
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Shumatsu_Samurai
"Not real apology.... lies.... don't believe it... Yasukuni is still standing... textbooks... Japan can only apologise by paying 1000000000000000000000000000000000 yen to other countries....."
Did I get the usual response from some people right?
Posted in: Japan marks 66th anniversary of World War II surrender
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Shumatsu_Samurai
smithinjapan, you talk about swastikas. A Japanese uniform is not a swastika, it's the equivalent of a WWII German uniform.
You can whine about Yasukini having class A war criminals in there, but that was a decision of a few people. It wasn't done by popular vote. And I don't see why you can't go to a shrine and only honour certain people. War memorials everywhere commemorate THE DEAD not the law-abiding dead.
Let these gents get on with it.
Posted in: Paying their respects
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Shumatsu_Samurai
No, he was forced to resign because he accepted a donation from a South Korean woman who is a permanent resident in Japan. As the Economist suggested, all this showed was how Koreans are poorly treated in Japan, even if Japan is their home.
If Maehara doesn't want to throw his hat into the ring that's fine, but I think he should be allowed the chance to do so.
Posted in: DPJ, LDP agree on passage of bills, paving way for Kan to step down
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Shumatsu_Samurai
I'm sure some militant atheists will have objected to this.
Nice picture, it's good to see people sparing a thought for the dead.
Posted in: Praying man
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Shumatsu_Samurai
I take "should" to mean he should have been allowed if it was legal, not "if I had been in charge I would have made sure the law didn't allow it".
Keeping this in mind, assuming it was legal, I'm not sure I could disagree with anyone illegally censoring him. As sarahsuz said, there is (apparently) a system to censor some of what the books says in any case.
Posted in: Do you think Tatsuya Ichihashi, the suspect in the killing of British teacher Lindsay Ann Hawker, should have been allowed to write a book for publication before his trial?
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Shumatsu_Samurai
Eh? How do you know that just from this picture? Maybe the guy did his prep early on and is relaxing. The woman could be doing all her work at the last minute - or over-preparing.
Posted in: Job-hunting
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Shumatsu_Samurai
Because in most countries people don't care that much about politics, except at election time. Even when they have the power to remove bad politicians they usually just go "meh".
Posted in: Kan prods Ozawa to resign, calls for tax reform
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Shumatsu_Samurai
Not a bad idea, given that a lot of foreign tourists may speak some English but probably no Japanese.
Posted in: Welcome Aboard