JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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vinnyfav
Pledging to lower reliance on nuclear power is a start, if nothing else. Assuming the world is ideal and well and good and no other megaquakes threaten another Fukushima repeat, then continuing to rely on nuclear energy is fine. However, things aren't always as sparkly and happy as that. In the long term, the wiser course of action is to invest in other kinds of power generation.
It is understandable that utilities will be against a firm stance that pledges to abandon nuclear energy in the future. It is their biggest money making machine, afterall. However, the more time goes by, the higher the possibility of another Fukushima repeat. This is not to say another quake won't happen again soon, but rather, the longer Japan waits to leave nuclear energy behind, the longer the danger of another incident will linger. Seeking non-nuclear power generation in the long-term shouldn't be a pledge, it should be a given, for the sake of the future generations.
Posted in: Japan eyes 15% of electricity needs from nuclear power
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vinnyfav
Unfortunately for Paul, there's just one big hole in this conspiracy theory of his. Japanese officals can be bribed, but asking them for money is like trying to squeeze blood out of a stone.
Everytime the SS does something to Japanese boats, the J-government bends over backwards to let them off scot-free. They don't even try to arrest them despite the ridiculously dangerous stunts the SS try to pull in the middle of the ocean. And here he is, trying to claim that the J-government is pulling strings to get him in jail.
If they wanted him in jail, they'd have arrested and charged him years ago without needing to go through another country.
Posted in: Anti-whaling leader Watson suspects Japan was behind his arrest
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vinnyfav
In all honesty, they are acting on good faith. Ensuring that the public can trust public servants is vital to a local government's efficiency.
However, the conservative ideology that criminal behavior is linked to certain kinds of behavior is simply logically unsound. Correlation does not imply causation. Certainly, the Yakuza have been using tattoos for decades, but while that may once have been the sole province of gangsters (which I doubt anyway) it is not neccesarily the case in today's more libertian society. Similarly, just because alcohol related incidents have been on the rise does not mean alcohol is the root cause of the incident - banning alcohol only tackles the problem at a surface level.
If they are truly committed to improving the image of their employees, then the standards they set must be reasonable and efficient. If they go too far to extremes, like Hashimoto's war on tattoos, then all it does is distract from the real agenda. And if they only go through the motions, like a temporary ban on alcohol, it doesn't solve the underlying reasons for violent or criminal behavior.
Posted in: The Fukuoka mayor is banning public servants from drinking alcohol for a month; the Osaka mayor has declared war on tattoos on civil servants. What do you think of all this?
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vinnyfav
This may sound cliche, but space is really the next frontier for human development. I'm not sure about aliens and all that sci-fi stuff, but competition, research, development and actual, successful launches, commercial or otherwise, should be celebrated as another step in the direction of where we should be headed in the long term future.
I'm pretty sure I won't be able to see some of the fantasies and predictions about space development come true in my lifetime, but as a human being, I'm glad there are countries out there who are still pushing the limits in that regard even while facing problems on other fronts.
Posted in: Japan launches first commercial satellite
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vinnyfav
The Vocaloid phenomenon is, at its core, more about derivative work and grass-roots creativity than the official image. Of course, the success of Vocaloids was largely due to Hatsune Miku's attractiveness to a large number of their targetted audience in the first place, but now that the phenomenon has settled down, gimmicky traits like carrying around an axe will have little impact on the popularity of the new voicebank.
The real question is whether or not Mayu will match up to grass-roots songwriters' and lyricists' expectations and requirements of versatility in range, pitch and intonation. In other words, the quality of the voicebank itself. If the quality of the voicebank does not match up to standards, it will gain at best a niche following, as has been shown in some of the few vocaloids that have recently been released but never really managed to carve a foothold into the scene that is still dominated by Miku, the twins and Luka.
On the other hand, if exit-tunes' work equals or exceeds the quality that Crypton managed to create with Miku and her expansion voicebanks, there is a very good chance we can see a new break-through in the quality of electronically produced singing. The fanbase is already established, and talented hobbyists have a clear support base from which to do their work uninterrupted. Injecting new, better technology into the scene can very well trigger a new revolution in the way songs are made at the grassroots level. Only time will tell.
Posted in: New goth-loli Vocaloid ready to take the stage
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vinnyfav
@johninnaha
The definition of marriage that you provided is the definition of marriage in many countries' (including Japan's) laws.
But that's all it is - the definition according to the law.
In Christian teaching, marriage is an institution where two people come to live together and make a family. Many Christian/Catholics believe that homosexuality is excluded from this institution, due to their interpretation of the bible.
For the non-religious layman, however, marriage simply means making a family. For heterosexual people, this obviously means man-and-woman, like you described. But for homosexuals, this means someone of the same gender. For homosexuals, the definition of a marriage is to live with their loved one and make a family.
Now here's the clincher - because marriage as an institution has come to be tied to a person's legal status in society (for citizenship laws etc etc) homosexuals are disbarred from being legally recognized because their union does not fit in the legal definition that you provided. However, that doesn't make the ceremony, the act of becoming "married" any less important for homosexuals. This is especially true since the union defines a couple's status in society in reality as well as in law. Many US states allow (or turn a blind eye to) "civil partnerships" - which is basically marriage under a different name. But the actual union, whatever you may choose to call it, "civil partnership" or "marriage", is still important to the couple involved because it defines their status as a family to people around them.
This is why homosexuals are so keen on becoming legally recognized if possible. They believe they have a right (and they do, actually) to the same institution which will define their status as a family to the people around them, as well as for cases of law.
Posted in: Tokyo Disney Resort eases rules on same-sex weddings
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vinnyfav
It's not often that I agree with the majority of posters in a JT news thread, but yes, Japan needs to start getting tough. Unfortunately for humanity, the vast majority of humans are stupid and dumb as bricks. Without being told outright, they would make silly mistakes all the time - and this is the type of mistake that leads to tragedy. Democracy is all well and good, but governments also need to realize that unregulated freedom is a death sentence for many innocent people. There is no such thing as common sense - the word "common" implies that majority of the people have it. In actuality, most people don't.
People need to be free and have their innate rights protected, but campaigns and propaganda on the governmental scale can be used to minimize this kind of tragedy. Giving up a certain degree of personal liberty to make society as a whole more aware of certain silly mistakes will go a long way to making life better for everyone.
Posted in: 3-yr-old boy, left home alone, falls to death from 11th-floor balcony
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vinnyfav
Like I said before, as unfortunate and as unwise as this decision may be, it was inevitable. I didn't actually expect it to come so soon, though.
The only thing to do now is to hope that whatever impromptu improvision of safety measures at the Oi reactors are enough to fend off another repeat of the Fukushima disaster, and that the central government cleaves true to their promise of seeking renewable power generation to replace nuclear energy in the future. If luck holds, they'd be able to shut down these reactors for good in a few decades. Until then, the thousands of Japanese gods will have to go the extra mile with their protection spells.
Posted in: Oi assembly agrees to restart 2 reactors
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vinnyfav
@ smithinjapan
Actually, in this case, he wasn't running a red-light, the traffic light would have been green. At many cross-junctions, right-turning vehicles are supposed to make their turn if there are 1) no straight-going cars from the opposite direction and 2) no pedestrians on the crossing - if there are for any of the above 2 conditions, they are allowed to move into the "ready" position and stop, and then to make the turn once their way is clear. This is the standard system in many different countries as well.
In this case, the fault is really on the driver. You slow down before making a turn, and then hold a steady speed when doing the turn, and speed up after you are in your new lane - this is so that you can brake at any time if a pedestrian decides to dash out. No driver would get a liscense without knowing this. The only reason he would not have braked in time would be that he was going way too fast for a safe turn - the fact that he caused a death is pretty much empirical evidence of that.
RIP.
Posted in: 6-yr-old girl dies after car plows into schoolchildren in Osaka
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vinnyfav
Just to comment on this hilarious piece of fallacy - anyone who does not like the way anybody does anything has every right to speak out and protest. There should be no restriction on how heavy they make their criticisms. This is called freedom of speech, a libertian ideal that is held at least as sacred as animal rights. To ask others to stop their criticisms just because they are not out there attacking boats in borderline illegal activities is laughable, to say the least.
I am in full hearted agreement with the crowd that says whaling and shark-finning are despicable acts that should be stopped. But the Sea-Shephard have endangered human lives in their heavy-handed actions. They have shown a remarkable lack of regard for authorities. While trying to avoid the bureacratic red-tape to attack the problem directly is commendable, the way they do it is nothing more than terrorism: they are trying to scare individual ships and fishermen from their work, by threatening their ships with vandalism and sabotage.
The people activists should be concentrating on are the corporate MNCs who perpetuate the false demand for whale meat and shark fins. The people activists should be concentrating on are the corporate MNCs who utilize underhanded and inhumane methods of harvesting these meats to meet demand. The people activists should be concentrating on are the masses who continue to believe the advertisements and false information about the tastiness or health benefits of eating such exotic meats.
Yet the Sea-Shephard drums up drama and controversy to line their own pockets with honest donations from concerned citizens, all the while distracting from the real problem. This is the part of their activities that sit least well with me. They act like they are out for the well-being of animals, who have every right to their freedoms and to be hunted without inhumane torture and suffering. But in reality, in effect, they are nothing more than swindlers riding on the sympathy of the masses to endanger the lives of others. Paul Watson belongs in the slammer.
And for those who want me to shut up because I'm not doing anything, here's a protip: I'm actually an active member of the local environmental protection group. We do not accept donations, but we do urge lobbyists to press for legislation changes to curb inhumane treatment of animals.
Posted in: Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson arrested in Germany
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vinnyfav
Pedestrian crossings mean nothing everywhere. There are bad drivers in every country, not least of all Japan.
Checking should always be done before crossing any road, under any circumstance, whether it be a traffic light controlled crossing, a plain zebra-line crossing or a jay-walk. This isn't a rule, this isn't about right of way. This is about safety.
All vehicles should stop or slow down when approaching designated pedestrian crossings or traffic lights. Even if it says green for cars, you should brake to a reasonable speed and then hit the accelerator only after you've cleared the junction. This isn't a rule, this isn't about right of way. This is about safety.
Yet where in the world can you find a road where every single vehicle and every single pedestrian performs these safety tasks? No where. Wherever you go, there will be people who are in a rush, people who don't care, people who feel the road should be theirs, or people who have performed these tasks every time except that one single time when they think "Oh, it'll be fine."
A tragedy is a tragedy, and the death cannot be undone. As a reader of this tragic news, I am saddened. Condolences to the family. Condolences to the driver, who's life is almost certainly going to be ruined. Whether or not he deserves this is up to debate, but the loss of a life and the ruination of another is pretty much set in stone. I can only hope a handful more people reading this will be motivated to perform such safety checks for every single time they use their own roadways from now on. Good day to the rest of you.
Posted in: 8-year-old girl killed by bus; driver arrested
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vinnyfav
Hahaha, this is so amusing. Both the article and the comments, perfect match.
Posted in: Korean idol enrages Japanese netizens by eating instant noodles from the pot
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vinnyfav
South Korea's safety standards are probably more trustworthy than what the Japanese public have of their own government's. It is also slightly less prone to earthquakes than Japan. Even then, however, public distrust of nuclear power is quite understandable. One can only hope that the economic benefits and efficiency afforded by nuclear power is worth the risk for S.Korea. I wish them all the best.
Posted in: S Korea starts building 2 new nuclear reactors
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vinnyfav
Going renewable is inevitable unless Japan's safety regulations suddenly make a miraculous hike in standards and reliability, which is really not possible given the lows to which public trust in the government has fallen. Without unimpeachable integrity on the safety of nuclear plants, the Japanese public will not support nuclear power as the mainstay, and no government will last if they act otherwise. The fukushima crisis has made it difficult for nuclear power to have a long term future in Japan.
The problems plaguing a complete switchover to renewable energy listed in this article may be somewhat exaggerated, but the gist of it is still true. Even as a world leader in renewable energy technology, Japan faces huge obstacles to a full changeover, from utility opposition to the premium of usable land for renewable resource power generation, to the costs etc. Not the least of all, making a full switch of nuclear power to renewable power will require decades of building even if they start now.
In the mean time, coal and oil will have to make up the deficit, causing heavy strain on an already ailing economy. In the short term, there really is not much option save to restart the nuclear power plants. But in the long term, a switch to renewable energy must be pursued - nuclear energy is simply not sustainable due to the opposition from the people after the trauma of the fukushima crisis.
Posted in: Crisis-hit Japan debates shift to renewable energy
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vinnyfav
I'm no dog expert, but it is not impossible to properly train a dog, whatever its breed. Certainly many breeds, like pitbulls, tosa etc are naturally more vicious and aggressive than other breeds, but to those poster above comparing them to lions, tigers and kodiak bears, you are making a logical fallacy.
There is a reason why such breeds as pitbulls, tosas etc are allowed to be sold by licensed pet sellers. It is because they are animals that can be successfully domesticated. Unlike wolves and other wild canines like the aforementioned lions and tigers etc, these dogs just need the right kind of training to be properly domesticated.
Certainly, the comments that insist people should only get dogs that they can handle are right. In fact, that is the root of the problem. While pet sellers are regulated by licenses and kept an eye on, owners need no such requirement. This results in enthusiasts who take on more dogs than they have the attention to properly train, amateurs who simply don't know how to train them, and other permutations of stupidity or incompetence that ends up in tragedies like this.
Posted in: 90-year-old woman dies after being attacked by dog in Yamanashi
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vinnyfav
Deepwater Horizon was an oil spill, where an oil-drilling rig had an accident.
This is a research probe.
While there certainly are risks of a different type when digging so deep, a repeat of Deepwater Horizon won't happen unless there was a miraculous deposit of oil down there that no one ever found. As for those other types of risks, I personally don't know any, but there is always the chance of something going wrong. Hopefully, the research data gotten from the probe will be worth the other kinds of risks involved in digging so deep.
Posted in: Japan deep-sea drilling probe sets world record
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vinnyfav
This scam is very interesting, especially given the Japanese linguistic features of multiple words for pronouns. Or maybe because of that. By common sense, you would think it would be easier to identify your own family members from strangers over a phone because there are so many more ways to say "I" in Japan (Ore, Boku, Watashi etc) and some people even use their own names (ie. speaking in third-person) when talking to close members of their family.
Yet somehow, the statistics show that such scams are easily pulled off in Japan, despite wide-spread media coverage. In almost every culture, people tend to panic and lose their sense of reason when there is the possibility of their family members being in grave trouble. Yet somehow, such scams have not seen as much widespread success overseas. At least, so far as I know. It has to be something to do with the way the Japanese language works in identifying oneself to others via pronouns - the very fundamental of the scam is based on the "ore" pronoun in most cases.
Posted in: 'It's me, send money' scam creator tells his story in new book
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vinnyfav
Safety first is the bare minimum that certainly must be implemented before the nuclear reactors come back online. It's highly inprobable another disaster on the scale of last year's quake would happen in the near future, but highly inprobable is not enough.
I don't doubt that the reactors will come online again eventually, either from businesses pushing for it or from the government caving in to the country's electricity needs. In the short term, the feasibility of abandoning nuclear power immediately is probably non-existent.
What matters is the safety standards that are being reviewed and enforced before the reactors come back online. What was in place was not enough, that much is certain. The government's priority is to make sure the new standards ARE enough, and then to make sure that the standards are adhered to.
Posted in: Japanese firms want 'safety first' on nuclear restarts: poll
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vinnyfav
Animals subjected to stress, like humans, often suffer from stress related illnesses and debilitations. Unlike humans, however, they don't actually have cat-psychiatrists they can pay to sit down and talk to. They don't have human cafes where they can go to scratch humans to de-stress from their day's (or evening's) work in the cat cafes. As domestic pets, they are subject to their owners' whims. I have not yet heard of a cat cafe that gave its cats annual leave quotas, health welfare, or monthly bonuses.
Of course, the above comparison I just made is utterly ridiculous. How can you expect to compare cats to humans? That is an extrapolation, however, of all the posters above who are directly comparing the stress cats have to undergo in that environment with the stress humans undergo during work. That argument is just so laughably irrational I couldn't resist.
As owners of domesticated animals, we humans have the OBLIGATION to ensure they are treated in a way that befits their dignity. This doesn't mean we need to give them the corporate welfare benefits I listed above, but instead, that we need to care for their health and make sure they are not subjected to unneccesary stress. In short: we need to curb those owners who would neglect to care for their pets. Whether or not cat cafes are guilty of said neglect is not fully clear - animal rights activists are claiming the cats are being put into situations that would give them constant stress and thus affect their health, but cat cafe owners are claiming their practices allow the cats sufficient rest. This is what the article is about. Leave your whining about the life you chose to lead out of the debate.
Posted in: Uncertain future for Japan's cat cafes
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vinnyfav
Just a random side track, as a matter of fact, AKB48 has a significant presence in other asian countries as well (one of the franchise's more recent expansions include, of all places, Singapore.) and while I am not an American, my impression is that AKB48 are today what Morning Musume was to jpop watchers a decade ago.
It's probably only a matter of time before their popularity starts to dwindle and the jpop industry churns out another group to take on the face they show to the rest of the world, but at the moment, AKB48 is probably the most famous aspect of Japanese pop culture to the casual foreigner.
Posted in: AKB48 candy ad criticized for encouraging homosexuality