JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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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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thundercat
Japan has a ZERO TOLERANCE law. As far as drunk driving is concerned here one drink is over the limit. Anyone arguing that we can't 'know exactly how drunk someone is' had better think long and hard about what zero tolerance actually means.
In countries where there are varying legal limits of intoxication I would argue 'no' to both questions... but assuming we are talking about Japan I stick with 'yes' to both.
Posted in: Should bar owners who serve alcohol to customers knowing they are driving be liable for prosecution if the customer is involved in a traffic accident? Should passengers in cars driven by drunk drivers be also liable for prosecution?
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thundercat
I also don't think anything will change. At least Japan will have to admit that leathal whaling is no longer necessary. They might even get to telling the truth about their program one day and then do away with that abnoxious Institute of Cetacean Research! Wouldn't that be lovely!!
Posted in: Australia invests in whale research to challenge Japan
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thundercat
Q 1) Yes
Q 2) Yes
I can easily see how these people would be considered accessories to a crime... I always find it interesting that some people will argue that point.
Posted in: Should bar owners who serve alcohol to customers knowing they are driving be liable for prosecution if the customer is involved in a traffic accident? Should passengers in cars driven by drunk drivers be also liable for prosecution?
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thundercat
Sadly, I think that had Sugiura not been drinking he wouldn't be found guilty of negligence causing death. Having consumed alcohol beforehand however will certainly bring a jail sentence as it is a crime. I hope for his sake the penalty is not too harsh but that he never drives again. I really don't like the idea of having to share the road with someone who thinks that drinking and driving is not a problem.
Posted in: Woman in wheelchair dies after being hit by drunk driver in Gifu
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thundercat
In my opinion, sports that already have international tournaments (ie, football has world cup, baseball has world baseball classic etc) should not be included in the olympics. Teams sports, for the most part, have no place in the olympics, especially if the top players in the sport cannot attend because of professional commitments.
Posted in: 7 sports make case for 2016 Olympic place
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thundercat
So I guess that 'clinging to guns and religion' comment Pres. Elect Obama made wasn't very far off the mark. I'm sure the next article we read will be about scared folk flocking to their churches to take shelter from the Obama administration...
Posted in: Fears of a Democrat crackdown lead to boom in gun sales
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thundercat
I'd say that only half of the 108 plants are in that picture. While is does look like a pretty sad harvest I suspect these guys were using the 'sea of green' method whereby you cluster the plants in a small group forcing them to grow up rather than out. Each plant develops a cluster of potent bud at the top but not much develops anywhere else on the plant. Usually this method greatly reduces the amount of time and energy it takes to harvest a plant. Unfortunately for the grower, the yield is also greatly reduced. Judging by the picture I'd say that these plants are quite a long way from being harvested... I guess the cops are calculating the weight of the plant by including the pot and the soil. No way that could be worth 180 million yen even at the ridiculously high prices in Japan.
Posted in: Two men arrested for possessing 108 cannabis plants in Fukuoka
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thundercat
This guy should be put through the ringer as running from the scene of an accident is not justified in any situation. As well, there seems to be a mis-guided notion that 'the rules are simply designed to make driver's feel totally responsible' which somehow translates into criminally responsible and therefore all drivers who kill someone with their car will face long jail sentences which is not necessarily the truth. From an insurance stand point the driver is 100% responsible but that doesn't even mean that there will be so much as a fine from the stand point of the police. We often hear about drivers being arrested after unavoidable accidents (a la drunk guy sleeping on the street) but almost never hear about these people going to jail because once the facts of the case a revealed many people are exonerated.
When you run away however the facts of the case can no longer be established and we should assume the worst of the driver (ie, he was dead drunk and fled to avoid detection). I do think that the harsh penalties (25 years in prison IF intoxicated) are a reason for the number of hit and runs we see these days. But the way I see it is that these drivers are already taking a chance driving drunk and taking another chance at running is just a natural reaction (we all know how lies can easily snowball). These kinds of people tend to make bad decisions all the time and eventually it catches up with them.
I would argue that the majority of hit and runs involve drunk drivers and that sober drivers tend to call the police or offer their assistance. It seems to me that almost every hit and run I've read about happens late at night... its not hard to imagine that this is because alcohol plays a factor.
Posted in: Man killed in hit-and-run in Saga
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thundercat
I have previously stated that I thought the harsh punishments are what cause many of these hit and runs. Rest assured I take no glee what-so-ever in someone being made an example because that doesn't seem to work here as drunk driving accidents continue to happen.
And the simplest thing that you don't seem to understand is that being drunk impairs the drivers reaction time. This is a well documented fact and is precisely the reason that drinking and driving is illegal. DUI is not illegal to ruin anyones good time, it is illegal to protect people. A sober driver may very well have been able to avoid the accident, but as I stated earlier, that is something that will never be determined because the driver was infact DRUNK! Drunk at 6am on a Sunday morning... maybe you want to believe he had a wee cheeky one at breakfast before work but any reasonable person knows this clown was up all night drinking.
You seem to imply in your posts that an appropriate punishment for jay-walking is death. You are so sure that the pedestrian was breaking the rules but isn't it just as likely that he was walking down the side of the road. Or is not using a sidewalk also a mistake worthy of death? And yet, we can be damn sure the driver as breaking the law...
If the driver had been sober I would be entirely sympathetic in this case. But he wasn't, and since I can't conclude that alcohol didn't play a factor in this accident I have absolutely no sympathy at all. He committed an act which he know was illegal, he knew the consequences of his actions would lead to harsh penalties and yet he engaged in illegal behaviour anyway. You can't go around knowingly committing crimes and then argue that the punishments are too harsh afterwards. Don't want the punishment, don't do the crime. This guy made a bad choice but he knew what he was getting involved in the moment he put the keys in the ignition. Remember, this driver is 21 years old. For his entire driving experience, very harsh penalties for drinking and driving have existed. He knew better Caveman, and yet he did it anyway, admit it.
Posted in: Man held over fatal hit-and-run in Chiba
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thundercat
Caveman, you are clutching at straws.
The law is designed to eliminate alcohol as a possibility. Every driver is aware of this fact before getting behind the wheel. If you choose to deliberately break the law other factors are not important because you can never answer the question 'Had he not been drunk, could the accident have been avoided?' Whether this is fair or not is beside the point. The driver knew he was breaking the law but figured he could get away with it. Drunk driving + kill a pedestrian = significant jail time. Case closed!
You want to be sure that alcohol was not a factor? The only way is to not drink and drive, pretty simple stuff.
Posted in: Man held over fatal hit-and-run in Chiba
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thundercat
Caveman, You are too funny. Ok, so you think because the old man was 'crossing' the road where there was no 'crosswalk' it is his fault that he was hit. Considering there are no sidewalk how can we even be sure that he was trying to cross the street. You want to pretend that alcohol in no way contributed to this accident than I think nothing the old man did contributed to this accident. No one is responsible. Now we can do away with the entire judicial system and hopefully you at the same time (as if you are really a lawyer!)
As I said before, don't want alcohol to be considered a factor in a road accident, don't drink and drive! The driver is criminally negligent anyway you look at it. Case closed!
Posted in: Man held over fatal hit-and-run in Chiba
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thundercat
Thanks for the link Rogue5
Caveman,
Often pedestrians and drivers have to share the same stretch of road. Drivers are always responsible for the safety of pedestrians, not the other way around, for obvious reasons. Pedestrians often do make bone headed moves but that in no way lets the driver off the hook, the bottom line is that they have to be prepared to take whatever action is necessary to avoid an accident with a person. When a driver cannot see clearly it is their responsibility to slow down or even pull off the road until conditions have improved. Add to the fact that the driver was drunk and i'd say it's a slam dunk case of vehicular manslaughter, or in Japan, professional negligance causing death. Judging by the condition of the car after the accident I would say that he was probably flying down the road.
You always pull the 'sober drivers doing the same...blah blah blah' but the fact is that this guy was drunk and you can never rule that out as a contributing factor in the accident. The only way to rule it out is to not be drunk. BTW, this accident happened at 6am which leads me to believe that the driver had been drinking all night.
Posted in: Man held over fatal hit-and-run in Chiba
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thundercat
heda, womb is often overcrowded...
go the next time richy hawtin is in town and see how much breathing room there is...
Posted in: Glitterball
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thundercat
I really feel bad for McCain. I have a lot of respect for the man and think that he has the countries best interests at heart. His time was 8 years ago when Bush lied, cheated and stole his way into the presidency. Now, McCain is guilty by association. He should have stood up to Bush in 2000 after all the disrespect... instead he towed the line and he ends up employing the same people who smeared him years ago. It's a shame because he would have made a much better president than Bush and the country would be in a lot better shape had he been in power for the last 8 years. Any repubs feeling sore about losing the presidency should look to Bush and his infamy for leaving them in such a sorry state.
Posted in: Economy reeling, Obama, McCain seek final votes
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thundercat
100 more years...
Posted in: Iraq wants all U.S. troops gone by end of 2011
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thundercat
A 70 year old man! Shameful...
Posted in: 2 inmates hanged; number of executions most per year since 1999
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thundercat
Borders are pourous. The Syrian foreign minister is correct about that. There wouldn't be illegal immigrants in America otherwise. Another hypocritical 'do as we say, not as we do' American military attack. The end does not justify this means in this case. Any civilized person would understand that.
Posted in: U.S. calls Syria raid 'successful' as Damascus fumes
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thundercat
poor muffin... time for a lil r and r
Posted in: Iranian president suffering from exhaustion
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thundercat
caveman, thats more like 2500$. what kind of 'blind date' was this? how many times does this kind of robbery go unreported for fear of causing embarrassment? internet dating obviously has its perils.
Posted in: Policeman run over, robbed while on blind date in Fukuoka
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thundercat
Hold on a minute! Where are all the people from only a few days ago rationalizing hit and runs... C'mon Spidey, CavemanLawyer et al. don't you want to defend this guy too?
I wish there was an easy answer to this problem... laws definately need to be reworked and police need a campaign or something... don't you think?
Posted in: Man dies in Osaka hit-and-run after being dragged for 3 kms