Fredrik comments

Sweden and Turkey ironed out their differences in eleventh-hour talks.

Indeed, Sweden gave in for all demands of this dictator. We even changed the laws, as Erdogan had demanded:

https://www.regeringen.se/contentassets/4074740fc0d240b6b5080ecb24c4c5d0/viktigare-lagar-och-forordningar-infor-halvarsskiftet-2023.pdf

Since when did Northerners bend their knees to Turkish dictators?

Thw guy is dead for goodness sake!

Yes, but this is not just any guy, but at the time, the most powerful man in Japan.

I wouldn't be surprised if the assassination of former Prime Minister Abe was influenced by China or South Korea.

Who had the most to gain from the assassination? I am not going to state the obvious (hint: look at the headline). And, I am not going to ask the obvious question of who (or what nation) gains the most from having Kishida in power. These are too sensitive questions to discuss in public...

people who commit crimes without links to known groups

Well, the Abe attacker did have links to several known groups: JMSDF and the Unification Church, to name some. While the Unification Church link has been grinded to death in media, any mentions of the SMSDF link are instantly censored.

The usual suspects who hate Israel and her inhabitants once again showing a comic book understanding of the incident.

We are open to opinions from both sides, so please share your expert insights.

An officer said the man appeared alright when he asked for water at around 12:30 a.m.

First of all, the only evidence available is what the officers are saying. They didn't take any photos?

So, asked for water at 12:30. Did he get the water? How long did the officer bringing the water stay? Dead at 1a.m. He had thirty minutes to drink his water, wait for the officer to leave, take off his pants, and somehow manage to hang himself in a prison cell, built to make that impossible, and at 1a.m. he was found dead. Needless to say, I don't buy this story!

The US will not initiate a nuclear attack.

Well, they say they would, which is why they refuse the no-first-use policy.

I guess this is not the same glycol used for engine coolers in cars. That is deadly poisounous. Killed our dog.

Oh, I got fever…. Does that mean I’ve got COVID ?????

Assumably, everyone got infected by the virus onece or twice. So it is a good question to ask what defines "got COVID". I'd say, if you have to ask the question, you did not "get COVID". It is a pretty severe disease, so you'd know if you really got it.

Too bad the march on Moscow was cancelled, and it was not Putin that was ousted. Would have been cheerful news to read...

Japan on Friday denied U.S. President Joe Biden's claim that he convinced Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to boost Tokyo's defense spending

This is hilarious! Biden should not speak open about it, and at least Japan has the sense to deny it.

Police officers then surrounded Osugi and Momoi and forced them to move to the back of the crowd. Momoi was then followed by a police officer for an extended time.

Forced them in what way? They were surrounded and followed. The Japanese police can do that to anyone without any particular reason, as long as they don't use force.

Well, Japan is not alone. Sweden was the first country to open a State Institute for Racial Biology.

Xi was very embarrassed when a Chinese balloon was blown off course over the United States

And Biden was not embarrassed of all news about U.S. spying on allies. So, being embarrassed is a bad thing?

Even if Ghosn was guilty, the custom here in Japan is to make a public apology, and go free. So, why was he held in detention for so long?

While the suspect is believed to have targeted Kikumatsu, he has neither mentioned any bitterness toward the senior instructor nor any dissatisfaction with the GSDF, the sources said.

In other words, no personal motives. And as usual, they are not even going to consider the possibility that someone else had motives, and he was acting on their behalf?

as inflation eats away at consumer gains

A more accurate title: "*as inflation eats away consumer savings"*

It means nothing if Biden decides to ban all US companies in certain industries from doing business with China.

Even better, Biden should force every one to only do business with U.S. That might help the U.S. economy a little.

an exclusively defense-oriented policy under its alliance with the United States

As others in this thread have mentioned, a U.S. tax in other words.

But a double punch one. We are not only paying for this from our incomes through taxes. We are also paying from our savings. Any increased government spending will water down the yen. And and any spending in USD will weaken the yen further.

At the same time, Kishida is worrying about how we can support the 70:s baby boomers when they enter retirement. They sure won't be able to support themselves, as the increased taxes will prevent them from adding to their savings, and the weakened yen will suck up the saving they have worked for all their lives.

But on the bright side, the aging population can feel safe from the "threats" of the neighbors. This is the right policy for Japan, go all in and build up a military to protect the elderly. The only question is, where will we find soldiers?

The whataboutism in this comment is pathetic.

A lot of comments from a of people. How many here have close relatives that experienced bad treatment and severe malnutrition in prisoner camps? These Russian camps are no different from the Japanese or Nazi camps.

Silly me to think that Japan was a democracy.

Democracy was born in 508 BC. A very different time, but with the limited means available then, they did their best to give the citizens the power of decision making. There is not much left of "democracy" today. Even with todays modern technology that could make true democracy possible, it is becoming a bad joke.

A bomb threat posted on some random FB page? Could even have been AI generated...

Maybe they should go through discipline training before given access to deadly weapons...

Why not compare with welfare countries, where people live in happiness and prosperity? Here are these numbers, rounded to millions:

Sweden: 10 million

Switzerland: 8 million

Finland: 6 million

Norway: 5 million

So, between 5 and 10 million seems more like it.

So Japan is going to be the "asian hub". Sounds like a good thing for Japan. Should be able to capitalize on this. Nope! Instead we are going to become the central hub for fishing money from taxpayers. We need someone more clever to rule this country!

So we need more younger people to support 70:s baby boomers when they enter retirement age. And next time we will need even more people to support even more retired people? Just leave the system alone, and let it stabilize by itself!

tax increase to fund extra defense spending

So, we are supposed to pay for the weapons purchased from US? And doing so, weakening the yen, making our savings worthless? Do we have any say on this?

a haircut and a shave

Is the shave also illegal? Do we need a license to shave? Where can I get one? Or should I grow a beard?

It been over a year, and still exercising? Why not use these resources where they are needed, and stop the war already?

Yamagami is facing multiple charges, including allegedly making guns and gunpowder without authorization and testing the firearms.

What about the actual assassination, i.e. using the firearms?

Big fuzz about a box of paper. One might almost think this is on purpose to make a media even of it, so that everyone will now how popular this guy is...

rise 4% to record high

4% as measured in what unit? How much was the inflation last year? Could it be that it was actually record low in inflation adjusted numbers?