Asiaman7 comments

The Japan Times article on this case included these two extra bits of information …

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“Fukuhara faxed and emailed messages in an attempt to terminate Thursday’s news conference but did not comment on handing over the son.”

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“In 2021, there were nearly 16,500 marriages in Japan involving a foreign spouse, according to government data. In the same year, there were about 8,300 divorces involving such couples.”

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https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/07/27/japan/crime-legal/ai-fukuhara-alleged-child-abduction/

We bought an apartment when we first got married. I filled out several loan applications with different banks and we eventually got finance approved. It wasn't until she kicked me out that I found out my name wasn't anywhere on the housing contract and her father had guarantored the loan for her only. Be careful guys!

Property acquired during the course of the marriage in Japan is common property. This is regardless of whether the registration has only one person’s name on it. Assets acquired before the marriage, or through inheritance, are not common property. Common property includes bonds, cash, deposits, houses, land, shares of stock, etc. and is generally split 50/50 in divorce unless one of the parties agrees not to split 50/50. This is where parties should be very cautious. Prepare carefully before any likely divorce and record evidence of all your spouse’s assets.

On this topic, many years ago, the Japan Times published an incredible series detailing the tremendous challenge a non-Japanese father faced in one of these cases. There were some successes (he got his daughter back when she reached out to him for help), but his sons were lost.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2010/09/21/issues/battling-a-broken-system/

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2010/09/28/issues/behind-the-facade-of-family-law/

Unfortunately, a Japan Times subscription is needed, but it is a passionate read.

(I think that there are five or six installments to this story. The first two are linked above. A simple search should pull up the others.)

This is a clear violation of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, which obliges signatories to promptly return abducted children to their country of habitual residence (Taiwan in this case).

Japan approved ratification to the convention in 2013 and it entered into force in 2014. Taiwan is not a signatory.

Japan unfortunately has a very bad history in this area.

Time Magazine: “How Did Japan Become a Haven for Child Abductions?” (March 2011, https://www.international-divorce.com/2011/03/how-did-japan-become-haven-for-child.html)

A few additional survey numbers that caught my attention:

Foreign residents in Tokyo: 581,112

Tokyo’s total population growth (Japanese & foreign nationals; year-on-year): 46,732

Tokyo’s total population growth (only foreign nationals; year-on-year): 63,231

Foreign resident increase in urban areas (year-on-year): 267,685 people

Foreign resident increase in small towns and villages (year-on-year): 21,813 people

59.03% of Japanese are of working age (15-64 years old)

84.64% of foreign residents are of working age (15-64 years old)

Average # of people per household (Japanese and multinational households): 2.09 people

Average # of people per household (Foreign resident households): 1.69 people

https://www.soumu.go.jp/menu_news/s-news/01gyosei02_02000289.html

I wish the press would provide additional trivial reports on Crown Princess Kiko’s health throughout the year. Or perhaps I don’t. It’s rather unnecessary, isn’t it?

The collected tax goes toward tourism-related costs, including for maintaining free public Wi-Fi and operating tourism information centers.

With the recent return of international tourists, the total is expected to recover in fiscal 2023 to about 1.7 billion yen, it said. But that figure falls well short of covering the capital's outlay on tourism promotion in the same year, which is forecast to total around 26.4 billion yen.

Do we really need to overspend by nearly 25 billion yen every year for tourism information centers? — particularly when so much information is freely available on the internet these days.

@Strangerland

You logic above was that because there was a three way tie for 3rd, it should be counted as 5th. Nowhere does that.

My logic: Four countries ranked higher than Japan. Japan is fifth, not third.

And are we still trying to pretend you weren't just trying to hate on Japan?

I love Japan! But I don’t allow my love for the country to cloud my views, or my ability to count.

You proved my point - they were tied for the higher score - 14th, not the lower score, 15th. You logic above was that because there was a three way tie for 3rd, it should be counted as 5th. Nowhere does that.

So which of us doesn't know about much hmm?

No, I proved my point. After two companies tie at 14, the next ranking spot would be 16, not 15 as you claim.

This might help. The World University Rankings.

Cambridge and Stanford tied for third. MIT is next in fifth place, not fourth.

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2023/world-ranking

@Strangerland

I have never seen any ranking anywhere, where a tie is given the bottom possible score. Are we supposed to pretend you're not just hating on Japan here and not point it out?

Well, I guess you don’t know much about much.

Here’s a FTSE ranking of Women on Boards and in Leadership. Notice that two companies are tied for 14th. The next company is ranked 16th.

https://ftsewomenleaders.com/company-rankings/

Ever watch the Olympics? If two athletes tie for Gold, the next athlete receives Bronze. If two athletes tie for Silver, a Bronze is not awarded.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ties_for_medals_at_the_Olympics

Education is paramount!

During university, I worked as a lifeguard throughout the year at all types of venues, and I rescued so many people of all age groups and backgrounds who simply could not swim.

Afterward, I would always think, ‘What were they thinking? Why did they jump in?” For some, I suspect that peer pressure played a role in the decision. But we really need to emphasize the dire consequences of these seemingly playful decisions.

Japan passport strength falls to 3rd place

More like tied for fifth place since there are four countries (Singapore, Germany, Italy, and Spain) ahead of Japan.

Japan's core consumer prices rise 3.3% in June on year

While real wages (wages adjusted for inflation) regrettably continue to fall. Frustrating.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/Inflation/Japan-s-real-wages-dropped-for-13th-straight-month-in-April

Hands up who said tourist won't return. Because of masks.

Once the masks came off, the tourists returned. (See any masks on anyone in the photo above?)

June's 2.07 million arrival tally was up from 1.9 million in May, though still down 28% from the level in June 2019.

I doubt 28% more people can fit in the Asakusa photo above.

Poor fellow. Likely poorly educated, making poor choices.

From Slate …

For instance, a 2016 study found that when faced with negative emotion, 18- to 21-year-olds had brain activity in the prefrontal cortices that looked more like that of younger teenagers than that of people over 21. Alexandra Cohen, the lead author of that study and now a neuroscientist at Emory University, said the scientific consensus is that brain development continues into people’s 20s.

https://slate.com/technology/2022/11/brain-development-25-year-old-mature-myth.html

The very online showdown between “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” all started with a date: July 21.

— Japan release dates

Barbie: August 11

Oppenheimer: No date set amid likely inaccurate social media reports that the film has been banned in Japan

I find it sad that film distribution companies here in Japan continue to restrict public access based on feared attacks over the release of such emotionally stimulating films. Just 13 years ago, we saw it with the release of “The Cove” (Academy Award, Best Documentary, 2010).

Sad to see this continuing.

“Japan’s Far Right Blocks Screenings of ‘The Cove’,” https://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/19/world/asia/19dolphins.html

@girl_in_tokyo

You eagerly jump to respond to other commenters, but avoid my simple question, repeated below.

Your comment: All this does is pave the way to allowing people to use the correct bathroom for their gender. 

My question: I’m curious. In your opinion, should this also pave the way to allowing people to use the correct onsen for their gender?

@girl_in_tokyo

All this does is pave the way to allowing people to use the correct bathroom for their gender.

I’m curious. In your opinion, should this also pave the way to allowing people to use the correct onsen for their gender?

“Julian the Jerk”

While here in Japan, we wait. The drug is currently undergoing priority review by Japan’s Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency, which means it won’t be approved in Japan until this fall at the earliest.

According to an article in the Japan Times, “even if the drug is approved in Japan, a number of hurdles would need to be cleared before it reaches patients, such as increasing the number of specialist doctors and establishing a patient screening and follow-up system. Financial concerns are also an issue for both patients and the government.”

Additionally, the drug is only mildly effective. According to that Japan Times article:

The drug’s efficacy was shown in an international clinical trial that involved 1,795 participants with early-stage Alzheimer’s, with the results published last November. Lecanemab slowed cognitive decline by 27% after 18 months of treatment compared with those given a placebo.

This translates to a delay in the progress of the disease by five to 7½ months within 18 to 24 months after the start of treatment, according to the researchers. Another study simulates that it could delay the progression from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to mild Alzheimer’s by 2½ years and to moderate Alzheimer’s by 3.1 years.

If the below new report can be trusted, this is a much stranger story than it initially appeared …

*According to the prefectural police, at the end of June, they received information** that a person who had swallowed drugs and entered the country had died of poisoning in a hotel room in Narita City, and they began searching hotels in the city one by one. On the 2nd of this month, they found a naked man lying down in the room of a guest who was scheduled to check out. He is believed to have been dead for less than a week. Late teens to early 30s, looks like an Asian. There were no conspicuous injuries. The white object was about 5 centimeters long and about 1 centimeter in diameter.*

https://www.zakzak.co.jp/article/20230705-7SF2C3ZYF5KBHFWR4KAVTVKQV4/

He could be judged or interrogated by videoconference if the Lebanon authorities had the will to make some efforts and not protect him.

No, no, no.

French prosecutors did visit Lebanon twice in 2021 and 2022 to question witnesses and Ghosn.

But Ghosn would need to travel to France to be formally indicted and to gain access to the details of the charges made against him.

The warrant was issued when Ghosn did not [travel from Lebanon to France] to be charged

As Ghosn’s lawyers emphasized, “He cannot leave Lebanon because of the Japanese prosecution. He therefore cannot respond [in person] to the summons to be charged in France.”

Makes sense.

Have they figured out how to properly insulate a building yet?

Will they have random pipes in the exterior of the building?

I have lived in poorly insulated apartments and houses inside Tokyo, several of which I owned. I have also lived in modern, well-insulated high-end “tower mansions” like this building inside Tokyo. And I have lived in modern, well-insulated high-end mansions outside Tokyo, but within Japan.

Surprisingly, I enjoyed the “tower mansion” life inside Tokyo the most. I did not expect to like it before trying it though. We were next to a giant park, and everything was walkable or a short commute. I loved exploring the city, constantly finding something new, meeting new people. However, housing costs are considerably greater.

Under the pilot scheme, officers will gather information on individuals deemed particularly dangerous during … investigative activities.

Worrisome. Do we really want “security officials” making arrests based on “predicted crime”? Perhaps a bit too similar to “Minority Report.”

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Minority Report is a 2002 American science fiction action film loosely based on the 1956 novella "The Minority Report" by Philip K. Dick. The film is set in the year 2054, where Precrime, a specialized police department, apprehends criminals by use of “foreknowledge.”

Perhaps human composting will be next. It’s already legal in the U.S. states of California, Colorado, New York, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington.

https://www.webmd.com/balance/what-is-human-composting

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/human-composting-the-rising-interest-in-natural-burial/

And after marriage, Japan has the “wakaresaseya” break-up services. (https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200731-the-saboteurs-you-can-hire-to-end-your-relationship)

I guess pre-marital “relationship-leaving agents” are next, if they don’t already exist.

From WebMD:

Most processed foods contain at least some propylene glycol. While it is a low-toxicity substance, you may develop health complications if you eat foods that have it in large quantities. The best way to protect yourself is to avoid products that contain the substance. Instead, eat more fresh whole foods.

https://www.webmd.com/diet/what-to-know-about-propylene-glycol-in-foods

Societies will likely progress to welcome “planned departures” for members over a certain age and in certain health conditions. It’s so sad to see people being criminally prosecuted in today’s society for exercising “My Body, My Choice” freedoms.