JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

borscht's past comments

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  borschtFeb. 15, 2012 - 10:35AM JST

  Good idea. But... Off the coast of Fukushima? Isn't quite a bit of the coast within the exclusion zone?

  Ewan,

  Wind power is, at present, more efficient than wave power.

  Posted in: Firms plan to build floating wind farm off Fukushima coast

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  borschtFeb. 15, 2012 - 10:03AM JST

  I wonder what he thought after Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. Can't happen here? I agree with sillygirl and JapanGal: it's greedy politicians and management at fault (so to speak), not engineers.

  Posted in: The thing I'd come to believe was good and useful to society turned out to be useless and caused everybody trouble. I feel a deep sense of remorse.

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  borschtFeb. 12, 2012 - 08:47PM JST

  Smith,

  From the article:

  American Caroline Zhang was third

  Posted in: Wagner edges Asada to win Four Continents Figure Skating title

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  borschtFeb. 12, 2012 - 08:20PM JST

  Munya

  Actually several thousand people (21,000 in the UK alone) who have had this operation have lived long, fruitful, and 'normal' lives - the longest-lived had this surgery in 1976.

  Cleo,

  I think Naruhito should take up more of the emperor's duties, like Akihito did when Hirohito was aging. But I don't think he needs to resign. There's no pressing need if Naruhito does more.

  Good luck to the emperor on his rapid recovery.

  Posted in: Emperor to have heart bypass surgery next Saturday

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  -5

  borschtFeb. 12, 2012 - 10:20AM JST

  Excellent overview of the government-initiated suicide prevention program.

  It seems the over-50 age group comprises over half of the suicides (men and elderly over 60). Are the men employed or recently laid off? If laid off, perhaps they are burdened with a sense of failure - failure as a breadwinner, as an employee. This might lead to being isolated. And Isolation in this island country might be a problem - isolated from the group, isolated from society, from family.

  Question:

  Just to put things in perspective - 32 billion yen is about equal to the current Japanese trade deficit. It also represents the Japanese government's current post 3/11 reconstruction approved disaster relief budget. According to one U.N. study, it is even enough money to eradicate all the hunger in the world.

  This paragraph states that 32 billion yen can eradicate all the hunger in the world. Really? Bill Gates can stop hunger with his pocket change? The previous paragraph mentions 2.7 trillion, but that is in the previous paragraph. All the "it" in this paragraph refers to 32 billion.

  Maybe if the government were to look at suicide as a financial problem - money out of a politician's pocket via kickbacks, er, donations - they would start doing something seriously about the number of suicides (more than car accidents - about 5,000; bicycle accidents - about 300; and marijuana drug overdoses - maybe 0; combined).

  And, as much as the editors don't like comparing Japan to other countries, it would be interesting to see how Finland is addressing their suicide rate (down 30% since 1990 - their prevention program started in 1987).

  Editors - Typos

  began toe even

  Drop an 'e', preferably in 'toe'.

  slogan "You too are the GTB47!"

  I believe we are the GKB47, not the GTB47, which, I believe, was a great little MG.

  collected10,000

  A space would be nice - maybe between the 'd' and the one?

  Posted in: GKB47 and suicide

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  -1

  borschtFeb. 10, 2012 - 06:21PM JST

  People who use marijuana before driving are nearly twice as likely to cause a car crash as those not under the influence of alcohol or drugs,

  How about comparing it with people who drink before driving? Are drunks five times as likely or less or more to cause a car crash as those who use marijuana? How fast were those pot heads going, anyway? Five, ten miles an hour?

  And, while marijuana might be the most widely used illegal drug in the world, it isn't illegal in some places: Sarah Palin's Alaska, for one, and South Australia for two. (I think.)

  Finally, love Hunter S. Thompson.

  Posted in: Marijuana users twice as likely to cause car crash, studies show

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  2

  borschtFeb. 10, 2012 - 07:35AM JST

  If this goes through, I suspect that rather than helping part-time workers get onto the health insurance and pension programs, it will result in many more part-time workers having their hours cut from 30 (or more) to 19 and their incomes drop to 649,000 because employers have to contribute to their workers' health and pension plans. Or is this provision not applicable under this new "guideline"?

  Posted in: More part-timers to become eligible for health insurance, pension programs

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  -1

  borschtFeb. 09, 2012 - 11:29PM JST

  Humm, suicide?

  Posted in: Two elderly people dead after car plows into supermarket

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  borschtFeb. 08, 2012 - 09:22AM JST

  I have the exact same right to smoke indoors as you do to NOT smoke outdoors.

  You can smoke indoors all you want. If the indoors is limited to your room or in a room with no non-smokers. As for my "right" to not smoke? How is not killing myself a "right?" I'm confused by this statement.

  Posted in: Japan’s 'polite' tobacco war rages on

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  -1

  borschtFeb. 04, 2012 - 01:37PM JST

  I hope the two employees who are yelling are yelling the same information rather than conflicting. Also, I like the guy on the right who is checking is keitai, as if that would be possible in a real earthquake.

  Posted in: Earthquake drill

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  -1

  borschtFeb. 02, 2012 - 10:16AM JST

  their houses would be collapsed by heavy snow

  Construction methods, then, should have been improved centuries ago. Here are a few pictures of bridges made out of toothpicks that can hold up to 250 kg. Toothpicks and engineering, my friends.

  http://homepage2.nifty.com/SUBAL/BCPrE.htm

  Posted in: Hard work

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  -1

  borschtJan. 30, 2012 - 05:03PM JST

  warnerbro,

  Bringing it to Tokyo will increase

  Who said anything about Tokyo? You know that's where most government bureaucrats, their political cronies, and TEPCO officers live, right? So 'outside of Tohoku' to the government means "not Tokyo."

  Posted in: Should prefectures outside the Tohoku area accept tsunami rubble for incineration or disposal?

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  borschtJan. 30, 2012 - 04:58PM JST

  Since the government has been saying since day one that there are no short-term health problems, I suspect that these government researchers will find 'no short-term effects' and 'the area is safe.'

  Posted in: Scientists studying effects of radiation on flora, fauna in Fukushima

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  -1

  borschtJan. 30, 2012 - 09:51AM JST

  How many houses in Japan collapse from snow on the roof every year?

  Good question. Can anyone or JapanToday investigate this and give us a figure?

  Posted in: Heavy snow continues in northern Japan

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  3

  borschtJan. 30, 2012 - 09:47AM JST

  I don't think Washington, Oregon, and California are going to ship the tsunami debris back to Tohoku. They'll probably test it for radiation and burn it onsite. Much like Japan should.

  Posted in: Should prefectures outside the Tohoku area accept tsunami rubble for incineration or disposal?

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  borschtJan. 29, 2012 - 08:59AM JST

  Koreans shunned the usually popular Japan trips in their droves.

  This is the first time I've seen 'their' in front of 'droves.' Is this a new usage?

  As others have said, it wasn't the earthquake, it was the nuclear explosion, radiation, and strong yen. 'No short-term health problems' works in Japan but not in the rest of the world.

  Posted in: Quake drives tourist numbers to rock bottom

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  -2

  borschtJan. 25, 2012 - 06:54PM JST

  So could we say Murray got Nishikori's scalp?

  Posted in: Murray ends Nishikori's dream run at Australian Open

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  borschtJan. 24, 2012 - 01:19PM JST

  Utrack

  Keiji Tobe If you'd killed your Mom there would be no more pension money for you.

  Only if he reported her death. If he kept silent about it, in 90 years she could be one of those 150-year-old pensioners we've heard about.

  Plus, not knowing why he doesn't have a job - perhaps a mental or physical problem - but he really should have a job doing something.

  Posted in: Man held for attempted murder after stabbing mother in back

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  borschtJan. 22, 2012 - 07:39AM JST

  Sounds like Asayama was trying to start his own little cult ala Aum Shinrikyo. I hope JT keeps us abreast of further developments.

  Posted in: Couple held over murder in Tokyo linked to arson murders in Yamagata

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  3

  borschtJan. 21, 2012 - 10:41PM JST

  It's Me

  I see a physical teachers being replaced by electronic means

  As was said about the computer in education:

  Any teacher that can be replaced by an iPad, should be.

  Posted in: Apple unveils digital textbooks app for iPad

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