JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
-
- Core Developer - コアディベロッパー
- Midokura Japan K.K. - ミドクラジャパン株式会社, Tokyo
- Salary: ¥4.0M ~ ¥10.0M / Year Negotiable
-
- Translator
- ZAIHON, Inc. (日本財務翻訳株式会社), Tokyo
- Salary: ¥6.0M / Year Negotiable
-
- 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
0
mnemosyne23
This is a very weird story. Ditto what was said in an earlier comment -- the poor one-month-old is well on it's way to becoming an alcoholic if it's being breastfed by a boozy mother.
The only people I feel sorry for here are the children. They didn't get to pick their parents.
Article Unavailable
0
mnemosyne23
The poor manager! I hope they catch these guys, though my hopes are not high.
Article Unavailable
0
mnemosyne23
Chime what others have said - this guy deserves a rock to the face, too. In fact, how about two or three rocks to the face; break both cheekbones AND his nose.
Article Unavailable
0
mnemosyne23
This is so bizarre. What on earth were these loons thinking? I wonder why the poor young man didn't try to get away when they took him out to go shopping with them (which is cruel, btw, given his dehydration after his release, which would imply that he wasn't given adequate liquids and probably not enough food, either). Perhaps he was too weak? Whatever the circumstances, I hope these four sickos get punished to the fullest extent of the law!
Article Unavailable
0
mnemosyne23
Awww, why all the trash talk? Take it easy on them, folks. They're kids! And they happen to be adorable. Good for them!
Posted in: Nozomi Ohashi and Seishiro Kato to lead kids on NHK's 'Kohaku' song contest
0
mnemosyne23
I don't care what country you're from: if you don't find sexual exploitation of any kind -- especially of children -- utterly deplorable, and if you don't think that everything within the law should be done to stamp out this kind of morally deficit behavior, then I don't think I want to know you. This pervert shouldn't have been walking around on the street if he'd been arrested multiple times for similar offenses. The fact that he WAS just goes to show that Japanese law doesn't deal harshly enough with sexual deviants who get their rocks off looking at naked children. I shudder to even call the girl's mother a "mother"; there are a few choice words I'd prefer to use, but web censors won't let me.
Let's face it, folks -- sexual exploitation isn't a Japan-only phenomenon, but in the international community, Japan is synonomous with commuter train gropers and upskirt photos of schoolgirls. There needs to be SOME kind of nationwide, longitudinal campaign to change attitudes towards what is and isn't appropriate, and it needs to start NOW. Here's an idea: instead of skirts, how about Japanese schoolgirls wear PANTS? You know, like their male counterparts? Oh my GOD, what a novel idea. I'm sure plenty of the girls would whine and argue and protest, but you know what? They're the kids and we're the grown-ups; this is not a debate. Things have to change somewhere, and that's as good a place as any to make a start.
I hope this poor young girl is able to find a loving home somewhere with adults who will actually CARE for her and PROTECT her from this kind of filthy behavior.
Article Unavailable
0
mnemosyne23
Sheesh, hasn't this guy ever heard of WALKING AWAY from an argument rather than escalating it to attempted murder? Seriously, WTH. Maybe one of the required courses in Japanese junior high schools should be anger management. Sheesh.
Article Unavailable
0
mnemosyne23
Just a thought, but has anyone considered the possibility of yakuza involvement? A body in a freezer, covered with cement? Sounds like someone trying to send a message to me.
Article Unavailable
0
mnemosyne23
I imagine the same way they got a warrant to search Tsuyoshi Kusanagi's house after his drunk and disorderly arrest. The actual justification for it... well... That's a mystery.
Article Unavailable
0
mnemosyne23
Okay, once I'd be willing to wave it off as a stupid, drunken act committed by a stupid, drunken guy. But the article indicates that this happened MULTIPLE times. I mean, EWW. This guy CLEARLY needs to figure out that the way to attract a woman is NOT by peeing through her mail slot. I mean, where do you even get the idea that that's not disgusting and wrong? Eww. Just eww.
Article Unavailable
0
mnemosyne23
Oops! I meant seaforte03. Sorry!
Article Unavailable
0
mnemosyne23
Um, can someone clarify what KIND of knives were stolen? Are we talking about steak knives, butcher knives, clam knives, butter knives, what? If they weren't in a locked display I have to imagine they aren't of the slice-your-hand-off-if-used-improperly sort, and since no one SAW anyone making off with all these knives, they must have been small enough to smuggle out of the stores under someone's coat or in someone's purse without drawing attention.
seaforte43:
Agreed! If someone wants to steal a knife to do some kind of illegal activity, they'd do just that -- steal ONE knife. Probably a pretty big, sharp one, too. They wouldn't go around snitching 62 knives in total from four different stores. It's more likely someone is going to flog these at a flea market, pawn shop, or internet auction site to make some money.
Article Unavailable
0
mnemosyne23
sarcasm123: I imagine it's the same reason that U2's The Edge is called The Edge. To be edgy.
RIP, hide.
Posted in: First Buddhist memorial to be held in honor of X-Japan guitarist hide
0
mnemosyne23
griff:
That's nothing. Check out Univision if you're ever in the States. It's Spanish-language television, and the pairings are disgustingly chauvinistic. Usually there's a gorgeous, modelesque, twenty-something female co-host in an evening gown and heels, paired up with a short, dumpy, greasy guy in his forties or older. It's a source of endless amusement to me.
seggahme:
I'm glad I wasn't the only one! I saw "Sakai" in the headline and nearly fell out of my chair. I had this image of Noriko trying to co-host with the COMEDY group Fujiwara while they made endless puns at her expense. I'd feel sorry for Sakai-chan, but Fujiwara are one of the few Japanese comedy teams that I actually find funny (me and my darn Western funny bone), so I'd have checked it out anyway.
Imagine my disappointment when I saw that they meant MASAAKI Sakai and NORIKA Fujiwara. Tossed all my little hypotheses right out the window!
Posted in: Sakai, Fujiwara to host Japan Record Awards
0
mnemosyne23
PS - Good grief, I'm a long-winded one, aren't I? Please forgive me! Depression is an issue that's near to my heart, so I tend to blab more than I usually do (which is saying something!).
Posted in: Man attempts suicide on Ginza subway line
0
mnemosyne23
It's terribly sad that train-jumpers are so common in Japan that it becomes standard practice to include the length of time and number of passengers inconvenienced by their attempts at suicide. Honestly, that breaks my heart.
I don't know what drove this man to try to commit suicide, just as I can't be sure of the motivations of any of the attempted or completed suicides that crop up all too frequently here at JT. Clinical depression is a medically diagnosed condition that is caused -- at least in part -- by chemical imbalances in the brain. These imbalances can be treated with therapy and drugs, if necessary. Unfortunately, many anti-depressants that are common in other countries are not available in Japan, and there's no guarantee that those suffering depression would seek out the medical diagnosis necessary to be prescribed such medications. However I highly doubt that the massive number of suicides in Japan are caused solely by undiagnosed clinical depression. If that's the case then it's time to start looking at what's in the food and water to see what could be causing such drastic chemical imbalances in so much of the population!
Everyone goes through dark periods in life where they feel hopeless: After the death of a loved one; being diagnosed with a serious medical condition; falling into debt; losing a job; a broken marriage. Unlike clinical depression, however, these dark phases can be overcome through positive reinforcement, social interaction, and interpersonal communication. It's not easy and it's not necessarily a fast process, but when people have access to a support network -- even if it's just a friend to talk to, a family member to lean on, or a co-worker to commisserate with -- they can recover and reintegrate themselves into productive society.
The problem is the stigma attached to any kind of mental illness. This is hardly a Japan-only issue; you'll find stigma against the mentally ill is a problem all over the globe. But in Japan, where so much is focused on working hard, not complaining, and not standing out from the crowd, it's difficult verging on impossible to step forward and say, "Please help me."
I have to imagine that the initial anxiety is compounded by the fact that insurance is nationalized, which means that someone in some government office has a file, and in that file is the note that, "So-and-so was diagnosed with depression and was prescribed such-and-such." If that information got into the hands of an employer, what would be the fallout? Why would a company hire the "suicidal loony" over the seemingly "normal" applicant? Those records are supposed to be private, but so are credit card numbers and bank PIN codes. That doesn't stop security breaches and identity theft from happening just about every day. When you've got a bored file clerk with loose lips handling secure medical records it's only a matter of time until privileged information gets shared somewhere it shouldn't.
Not to mention the government's vested interest in keeping costs down by not introducing a stress-laden population to a slew of expensive psychiatric drugs. It would be like a bank run during the Great Depression: people might get trampled in the stampede and coffers would quickly run dry.
What needs to happen is education, education, education. Not just in schools, but everywhere. Billboards, subway posters, pamphlets, leaflets, community centers, government offices -- there needs to be education EVERYWHERE. Not just the typical, "Gambatte!" kind of message, but actual facts and figures about mental illness in general, depression in particular, and available treatments thereof. People need to understand that depression is not something to be ashamed of, but something that needs treatment. Maybe that will just involve talk therapy, or maybe medication will be necessary, but whatever the root cause of the problem there IS an answer other than suicide. It's a paradigm shift that will need years to take effect, but it has to start somewhere or it will never get anywhere.
Posted in: Man attempts suicide on Ginza subway line
0
mnemosyne23
sharky1:
Best. Comment. Ever.
It certainly seems that way, doesn't it? Between police, commuters (train and car), parents, and the unemployed, I don't know which single group is reported as behaving badly more often here at JT. I bet it would be an interesting tally, though.
Article Unavailable
0
mnemosyne23
plasticmonkey:
I laughed so hard at that, I nearly snorted milk through my nose. :-D
Article Unavailable
0
mnemosyne23
Since the article doesn't go into detail about a potential motive for this tragic event, we can't really speculate on what caused it. Perhaps the mother suffered from severe clinical or post-partum depression, both of which are diagnosable medical conditions. Perhaps she was struggling to support her children in the poor economy and didn't see a bright future for herself or them. Perhaps she discovered the husband was having an affair (since no reason is given for why the husband was living separately from his wife and children). Any of these situations, and likewise dozens more, could have driven this mother to the edge. And while I can understand the hollow, sucking urge to surrender to your worst instincts, I still could never condone the killing of a child, especially not by the parent who is supposed to love and nurture them. I hope they all rest in peace, but it breaks my heart that no one was around to prevent this tragedy in the first place.
Article Unavailable
0
mnemosyne23
Just for the sake of argument, is it possible he might have suffered a heart attack, then received the head and neck injuries when he fell as a result of the infarction? This particular article doesn't go into detail about the nature and extent of the injuries, just that he'd sustained some. I know the neighbor said she'd heard him apologizing to someone, but we don't know exactly what he said. He might have been apologizing to God for past transgressions because he knew his final moments were at hand. I'll be interested to learn the details of the autopsy.
RIP, ojii-san.
Article Unavailable