scap said...

scap at 09:29 PM JST - 11th May

I bought this book and found it to be a wonderful read. This kind of thing happened in other parts of Japan, too, including here in Oita Prefecture where I live. The villagers in Takeda, Oita, rather than trying to bury the past, have errected a monument to the B-29…

Posted in Field of Spears: The Last Mission of the Jordan Crew at 09:29 PM JST - 11th May
scap at 09:19 PM JST - 8th May

Yes, that last line in the article sums it up: How do you find a trace of humanity when the Japanese Imperial Army was 95% inhumane?

I hope the movie plays in many places in Japan, but probably not. The theaters are scared to death of those right wing sound…

Posted in Nanjing massacre movie avoids propaganda, muddles story at 09:19 PM JST - 8th May
scap at 10:29 PM JST - 24th April

Aso owes his present wealth to the family businesses, including the coal mines. That, plus ordinary compassion, should be enough to allow him to make a statement of remorse. That he has tried to duck the issue for so long shows his lack of integrity. What a poor excuse for…

Posted in Australian POWs seek apology, compensation from Aso for coal mine labor at 10:29 PM JST - 24th April
scap at 10:58 PM JST - 10th February

The constant public appeals for a resolution of the problem that we get in the Japanese media won't solve anything. I am really getting tired of it--every single citizen in J. knows about and feels sorry about their plight. Who are they appealing to, anyway? NK does not watch NHK,…

Posted in The abductee problem that won't go away at 10:58 PM JST - 10th February
scap at 10:16 PM JST - 10th January

China is just too big and too close for this not to happen. The Japanese might as well get used to it, just as America has had to get used to hoards of Mexican immigrants.

Unlike the Mexicans however, the Chinese quickly learn Japanese. Overally, I think it is more…

Posted in Nippon by the numbers accentuates mostly negative news at 10:16 PM JST - 10th January
scap at 08:17 PM JST - 4th January

It's just another tightening of the screws. Then, Japan can say they are just following the U.S. when they tighten their screws--as they did with the fingerprint/photo system. However, they include permanent residents in that screening, which the U.S. doesn't.

Islamaic radicals have screwed up the world for everybody so…

Posted in U.S. to require online authorization for temporary visitors at 08:17 PM JST - 4th January
scap at 06:05 PM JST - 2nd January

The people here are just not safety conscious. I don't know how many times I have seen a mother driving with her seatbelt on while her young child is standing the front seat. Go figure.

Posted in Father, daughter, 5, thrown out of car after accident on Kyushu expressway; girl dies at 06:05 PM JST - 2nd January
scap at 09:23 PM JST - 8th December

Young Japanese men have been so spoiled by their mothers that they remain immature and can not take rejection. Many men feel like they "own" their girlfriends or wives. (Anata wa watashi no mono.) I would say the guy's response is fairly common here in Japan. In the West this…

Posted in Man stabs girlfriend over break-up; survives jump off hotel roof at 09:23 PM JST - 8th December
scap at 11:08 PM JST - 13th November

I guess Aso fears giving 12,000 yen to every Japanese will not up his low popularity enough, so they are groping at straws, hoping a visit with President-elect--with all the resulting publicity--might help. How pathetic.

Posted in Japan sounds out U.S. on Aso-Obama meeting before APEC summit in Peru at 11:08 PM JST - 13th November
scap at 10:05 PM JST - 15th August

I lost respect for Hoshino the day I saw him punch a Japanese umpire a few years back, and he has done nothing since to change my feelings toward him.

Posted in Japan baseball manager Hoshino fined $2,000 over ejection at 10:05 PM JST - 15th August