JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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1
Why do Japanese change their attitude when they communicate with foreigners?
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Confrontation
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3
U.S. Navy investigating how parts fell off aircraft near Atsugi
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4
California court to decide if SeaWorld whales are illegal 'slaves'
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5
Kuroki reported pregnant 2 weeks after denying relationship with Akanishi
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- Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) in Kanto region
- RCS (RCSコーポレーション), Kanto
- Salary: ¥180,000 ~ ¥250,000 / Month includes performance bonus
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- Assistant Language Teacher - TOKYO - late-March start
- Interac, Tokyo
- Salary: ¥230,000 ~ ¥255,000 / Month
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- Assistant Language Teacher - Kanagawa Prefecture - late-March start
- Interac, Kanagawa
- Salary: ¥230,000 ~ ¥255,000 / Month
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USAkuma
Obama's got his game on, alright!
Time.com had some great observations about his foreign trip. He had a lot of people working and planning things out well ahead of time, people with the connections that McCain didn't bother with. Now it shows with huge crowds and meetings with all the top people in the right places.
Time said McCain's own trip to Iraq in March had only 8 advisors, and he mainly stayed on the Iraq base. After Obama met with the Iraqi government, he got their support for his timetable. After all, they don't want permanent foreign bases like there are in Japan. When Bush supported Obama's ideas, it made McCain look all the more out-of-touch with his rhetoric about losing a war to win an election.
I loved the comment about McCain going to a German restaurant in Ohio. Sorry McCain, this is as close as you will get to big crowds in Germany.
Posted in: Obama addresses 200,000 in Berlin with message of unity for world's people
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USAkuma
So he sends an email to the radio station saying something like 'give me 20 mil. or i blow up ZaZa City shopping mall.' by mistake? Who did he intend to send the mail to? Santa Claus? Normal people don't write crap like that. Hope they throw the book at him.
Posted in: Man held after demanding Y20 mil in shopping mall bomb plot in Shizuoka
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USAkuma
I would go a step further. Walter Mitty imagined himself as everything from doctor to spy, but Cosplayers fixate on one particular figure from someone ELSE's fantasy.
Even Trekkies and Ren.Fair types usually try to come up with their own names and identities. With the exception of the Ren. Fair girls who call themselves Guinevere. they made me roll my eyes when I saw them... they are probably Cos-Players now.
Posted in: Cosplayers get set for world summit
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USAkuma
As in... Do you think the International Criminal Court should be able to charge George Bush with war crimes?
In a perfect world, we wouldn't need to worry about that. In a truly peaceful world, it would be possible to take a leader to court for any misdeeds.
But the real world is neither perfect nor peaceful enough. After G.W. leaves office, he may be open, but until November, trying to sue or arrest a government's leader by anyone other than his or her own people is never going to happen.
The U.N. was created to try to solve international problems, but as we have seen, its ideals have fallen quite far. Bush ignored the U.N. condemnation of his Iraq invasion, and they haven't been able to do anything about it. I don't see that changing anytime soon.
Posted in: Do you think the International Criminal Court should be able to charge world leaders with crimes?
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USAkuma
Oh yeah, I can just see it now. You're playing Metal Gear Solid and the character, while sneaking along, must now pause (along with baddies) to admire some banner about coca-cola for 10 seconds before play can resume. Talk about annoying.
Or worse! You want to get to the final boss? well the ad on the wall in the game says that you have to purchase and send in the stickers from 10 boxes of whatnot along with a receipt (showing that you purchased them) in order to get the pass-code.
It'll be just like the really old days when people had to send in the cereal box-tops to get the secret decoder ring. Gee Whiz! Don't you just wanna run out to your local Ps3 dealer right away?
Posted in: Sony to put virtual ads in PlayStation 3 games
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USAkuma
This disgusts me! One of the reasons I came to Japan in the first place was that at least here (when I originally came) teachers were respected. Now its just like the States.
Everyone wanted Japan to be just like the States, now it is. Metabolic syndrome kids and juvenile delinquents are fighting and killing from extremely young ages. The parents would rather pay 30,000 or more on their cell phones each month but can't be bothered to pay 3,000 for their child's lunch.
Actually, I don't want to call them parents, they don't do any parenting, so lets call them baby-makers. These baby makers don't want to have anything to do with raising their kids so they throw their offspring at the school and say you deal with it. and when there is the slightest inconvenience, SUE SUE SUE!!!!
I want to *#%^&$$@%^@$ them for ruining the potential educational lives of their children. they want the money for themselves not their kids.
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USAkuma
Although not defending the man, the short length of High school girls' skirts these days make looking anywhere but at one's own shoes a "peeping incident.
Just the other day, one of my female coworkers was pointing out (to another female co-worker) how one girl's attempt to hide her backside with her bag backfired as the bag apparently caught her hem and lifted it up for all to see as she climbed the stairs to the station. I had to take their word for it, and keep my eyes down but that caused me to bump into a Japanese man coming down the stairs (and looking up, most likely).
If they want to keep guys from looking up skirts, they should do either of two things: Make girls wear longer skirts, or make a special staircase for girls with skirts complete with multiple blinds so that no one can look up. the former makes more sense, the latter is more likely given that they already have women's only train cars.
Seriously, IMO, (AGAIN, NOT DEFENDING PEDOPHILES) There should be a waver that women sign when they wear a skirt so short as to barely cover their bottoms that says they are fully aware that they are inviting men to look up their skirts and they will not prosecute anyone who does look up their skirts. If they don't want to sign the waver, have them wear longer skirts, or jeans etc. The fashion world is full of alternatives. I don't buy the argument that girls HAVE to wear short skirts. It may be peer pressure driving girls to hike up their skirts, but that's the same pressure to smoke, have sex for money, etc. Just because its there doesn't mean its okay.
Again, I am NOT defending a peeping tom, but merely saying that this man could merely have been walking up the stairs and looked up at the wrong moment just as easily as he could be the alleged mass-peeper that police were looking for. We'll probably never hear any more about this case from JT to be sure.
Posted in: School teacher arrested for peeping up student's skirt in Oita
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USAkuma
It says there will be a new anime coming out soon. Wonder if it will show the same old style of buxom women wearing anti-clothing and throwing themselves at the hero like the women in those "Axe" commercials. That's what I want to know (and see).
Surprised to know he's still making the series. thought he died off long ago. Guess I'll make a trip down to the old book store...
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USAkuma
Whoa! Slow down here! Since when did this become a personal bash fest on individual readers. Why hasn't the Moderator stepped in to tell everyone to get civil?
Romulus3: Congratulations on your parenting. I wish you and your family all the best. By the way, do you know the acronym E.S.I.D.? Every situation is different. I find it fits in most parenting situations. That's all I want to say. Peace.
Damax6: I think you are reading a little too much into this story. If you have more facts about this story, please share the links with us. I understand your being irate about kids having kids. It makes me shake my head in disgust as well, but Japan Times has not given ANY details about the parents, so assuming they are "yamama" and "Yankee" parents just because this happened at a manga cafe is a little over the top for a leap of faith. If JT posts their ages, and it turns out they were as you claim, I'll join you in holy anger. But I think we should wait until we learn more.
Patrick Smash: I totally understand and agree with your posts about parenting in general. I have a little 1 year old girl. I worry about her future and any possible mistakes I might make as well. glad your son is OK.
I will be traveling with my family soon, and so in my mind I keep thinking about that family in Canada. Each parent thinking the other had their kid with them and being seated separately on the plane so they didn't realize what happened until they were already airborne. Its giving me nightmares. And so does this news story. But I can't let nightmares or anger at what other parents do or say keep me and my family from living our lives the best that we can.
Posted in: 2-yr-old boy drowns in drain while parents are in comic cafe
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USAkuma
I feel bad for the parents, and a little anger at all the negative attitude here. This story doesn't strike me as being nearly as bad as parents leaving their kids to die in a sweltering car while they played pachinko. This seems like a simple laps in attention.
Need I remind people that large numbers of children of the same age die in similar accidents while the parents were at home? And not just in Japan. How many news reports have there been of kids of around the same age dying in the family pool or on a busy street because no one realized that 2 year olds know how to open doors and gates but don't know how to avoid danger?
Show some compassion. The parents are already beating themselves and each other up over this. Just last month, a family in Canada left their 2 year old in the Vancouver airport while they flew to Winnipeg because each thought the other spouse was taking care of the tyke when they were separated. It could be the same here.
Posted in: 2-yr-old boy drowns in drain while parents are in comic cafe
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USAkuma
I feel that "incompetent" might be a little strong, but I think most readers came from countries with higher crime rates and were used to seeing police doing more actively to solve those crimes. Thus, in comparison, Japan's passive methods will appear much more like incompetence.
In the Hawker case, many, including myself, felt furious that one man would be able to escape from 11 officers. Are those 11 incompetent for having allowed a person to run away? At the time, they claimed he wasn't a suspect yet,but if so, why have 11 officers around the building? If he was a suspect, then their actions are negligent at the very least, and bordering incompetence.
The Japanese police have had a long time of peace, and now that crime is increasing and increasingly being reported in the news, their failure to capture criminals are all the more apparent. they are finding themselves looking worse and worse in the media spot light, and their passive methods are no longer considered good enough.
I will note that the recent case involving the young woman who disappeared from her apartment showed some active investigation. The cops investigated every apartment, and eventually found the killer.
As a resident of Japan, I hope that the Japanese police will continue to update their investigation methods and become more active in enforcing the law for the sake of everyone.
Posted in: Are Japanese police really as incompetent as readers on Japan Today make them out to be?
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USAkuma
Body shapes my left foot! School-girls in skirts are a major source of income for all the anime, comics, and porno industry. Those 3 along with all the old men looking up skirts will make sure slacks never see popularity.
The girls themselves will keep with skirts as long as they are stylish. Blame the likes of Kumi Koda for her "Ero-Kakui/sexy-cool" fads on fashion. heck blame any number of girl groups in the "musical-idol" industry for encouraging young girls to wear skirts, and to make them ever shorter.
Posted in: I doubt whether there will be an increase in people wearing them, though. Body shapes determine the people who'll wear slacks, and I think those who like wearing skirts will strongly resist them.
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USAkuma
The officer should be strung up by the short hairs! He used a passenger's suitcase without consent, then lost it. If that victim had gone on to another country where the dogs are better, then that person would be in an interrogation cell trying to explain how it happened. Which he wouldn't be able to do because he never knew it was there.
The news update from late last night said that a male foreigner found the box and returned it to the police. If I was him, and I knew of this story, I would take it to the media and sue the heck out of the Japanese TSA.
As you can tell, this story shook me up a lot because its bad enough to know that some TSA is going to be rifling through my shorts and socks to find a bomb, but to know that they could be intentionally planting drugs in my suitcase makes me lose all confidence in security.
What happens if next time, the security guy tries the same thing but using a live grenade or C-4 in the suitcase. Sure, C-4 won't go off without a detonator, but if they lose it, and the passenger goes on to somewhere like LAX... it'll be a one-way trip to Guantanamo without the benefit of a lawyer or due process.
There should be more of an outcry at the Narita TSA!
Posted in: Unsuspecting passenger returns cannabis after sniffer dog test botched at Narita
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USAkuma
I feel for Ms. Golden, but one thing that seems unclear here is her ability to use the Japanese language or her access to people who do. My wife found an abundance of help in as lowly and powdunk place as Shizuoka, and when we came to Saitama, the local government went so far as to pay us to have our child.
During her pregnancy, my wife received tons of offers for classes and support groups. But yes, they were all in Japanese, so it may be true that everything would be less than perfect if we couldn't speak the local tango, or had friends who did.
About the trains.
I agree with Yasukuni to an extent. Its a sorry state of society that young men and women take the priority seats without consideration of other people who need it, but that doesn't make vigilantism acceptable. In the example case above, were there no other priority seats available on the train? or were they all filled with young punks. If so, maybe you are on the wrong train. In Tokyo/Saitama area, there are women-only cars, I think it would be more possible to find a seat there than in the middle.
But that's just me and my wife...
Posted in: Giving birth in Japan
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USAkuma
Its intriguing to see how much effort went into trying to make this seem as normal as wearing uniforms to high school.
Yes, its true that here in Japan, anything is acceptable to some extent and I'm jaded enough to get over my shock at the "anatomically correct in every way" dolls being used by those in the article. But the Petite series... this seems to be something for pedophiles.
Would these dolls encourage pedophilia or is it a way to keep a pedophile off the streets and in the closet?
In the end, though, I feel that this is yet another excuse to stave off social training. No one plays with each other or learns social rules anymore, they hide in their rooms with games and dolls. This country needs serious psychological assistance, not more dolls to play with.
Posted in: Plastic fantastic: Japan's doll industry booming
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USAkuma
Marriage is and always be what you make of it, just like everything else. Put effort into the marriage, and it will glow and be great. Put nothing into it, then you'll get nothing from it.
The problem these days is that people only see marriage as something they should get something from, not something they have to work at.
As Cleo said;
Marriage isn't always work, but its a life just like a child. nurture it, and it grows and loves you back and it becomes something more. abuse it, and it dies or it'll kill you.
I might sometimes feel wistful about single life, but I would never trade my current married happiness for even the best day as a single man.
Posted in: What advantages does married life offer in an era of increasing divorce rates?
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USAkuma
Even more ho hum from the Hollywood photocopy machine. No one can come up with an original idea, so they have to remake hokey 60's cartoons.
So they are going to show it on a giant screen. That isn't going to make the bad acting or weak storyline any better. All you need do is go back and look at Transformers the movie. Spielberg directing. It proved that no matter how much money or famous people you put in front or behind a camera, a weak story is still a weak story.
And personally, I agree with lipscombe; high-def will only create distraction and confusion if the audience is watching both fore and background with equal attention.
Does anyone remember 360 degree movies? It was supposed to be the next big thing for movies. Make you feel like you are right there in the movie watching things on all sides, but instead of being a big hit, it was a big bust as people got dizzy and whip-lash from looking around.
High-def is just a scheme to make people buy TV sets and special DVDs of the same products they already have.
Posted in: 'Speed Racer' premiere to be held on world's largest screen at Tokyo Dome
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USAkuma
I've seen it all before, and its gonna happen again. Two Dem. contenders that will fight each other all the way to the polls, splitting the Dem. party vote.
McCain doesn't have to work at getting the vote, he merely has to sit back and allow Hillary and Barrack to keep bickering. Each will get half of the Dem. Vote in November (because whoever loses in the June primary will NOT give up the fight) and McCain will get most of the Republican vote so he'll win without lifting a finger.
Posted in: Obama, Clinton hit each other with attack ads on eve of debate
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USAkuma
Ahh Anything-to-Win strategies. Gotta love them.
Of course its not surprising that Hillary would try to steal away Pledged delegates. After all, enough of the ones she counted on in her pocket have left her to go to Obama, so its obvious she would try to get some others back.
the problem for the delegates is; if they allow Hillary to woo them in contrast to the popular vote results in their constituencies, then they will face harsh reprisals when it comes to their reelections. And at that time, I doubt Hillary will remember their names, let alone support them.
And we can see that the Media (especially in the U.S.) is starting to smell blood on Hillary. she is getting caught up in or tripping over her own lies more often. the Bosnia lie is pretty huge, and that is probably the only reason why the lie about the comment to the NM Gov. was even put on the airwaves. If she hadn't messed up about Bosnia, no one would care what she said to who. But the media sharks have blood and until she can get her facts right, she's only going to keep drawing more attention to herself, in a negative way.
Notice how her double-digit lead has dropped. now, even if she wins PA, it won't be enough to upset Obama, because he will get half the vote and continue to lead her by the same amounts.
Unfortunately, its looking more and more like she's shoring up a leaky dike (the wall kind) with her finger. She isn't fixing it, and each time a new problem crops up, she finds it harder and harder to cover all the bases.
I won't say its a lost cause, because she has a way of pulling out nasty rabbits just before elections. But it certainly doesn't look good.
Posted in: Clinton denies questioning Obama's electability to Richardson
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USAkuma
Yeah. One would think such an important difference would be easily and quickly rectified by a moderator or an Editor...
The guy is still showing up on just about every Softbank commercial along with the white dog.
Wonder what he will be doing on the kids show? Hopefully he won't have to wear a bright orange monster outfit with stupid cones sticking out of it like Konishiki did for his term on an NHK kids show.
Posted in: “Yoso Guy” to be regular member for Fuji's kids program