garypen comments

Police did not say how long Konno was in the house or how he knew where the woman kept her cash.

There's a pretty good chance he knew she had a large cache of cash. Hard to believe that he just got lucky.

According to police, Katsuhiko Ono, whose occupation is unknown...

“I’m the only one who can do this because I’m connected to God.”

Sounds like his occupation is cult leader.

sakurasuki

What is his motives?

According to NHK, police said the suspect told them, "I thought I'd find a woman and stab someone."

So, his motive was to stab someone, anyone, like so many stabbings lately. Although, in this case, he was specifically targeting women.

falseflagsteve

Sounds like a mentalist...

Does that word mean something different in your pseudo-British English? Because in actual British and American English, it does not mean a crazy person, which is how you always use it. A mentalist is a person who professes to read minds, such as a fortune teller or magician.

Blacklabel

why is it that every civilian target attacked by Ukraine gets a justifying explanation inserted by the media?

Because they're not civilian targets? Just a wild guess.

EFD

A jumper is like a sweatshirt or a hoodie. At least that is how I use the term.

albaleo

In the UK, it's the same as a sweater. It seems to have various meanings around the world.

Thanks guys. It's a bit warm for either a sweatshirt/hoodie or a sweater. Sounds like the guy may have been a little crazy.

BTW, I think the Japanese call a sweatshirt/hoodie, a "trainer". Or, at least they did at one time.

The man, who is wanted on suspicion of attempted murder, stabbed a worker in her 40s in the back and slashed the arm of another employee in his 60s at around 2:30 a.m., causing them severe injuries, police said.

Nice change from the usual "obstruction of business" nonsense they usually apply in these situations.

I wonder if one or both of the victims was acquainted with the perpetrator, and threats were made, which may be why the police are using a more serious charge. Then again, they probably would have named him, if so.

The suspect is described as being 170 to 175 centimeters tall with a shaved head. He wore a bluish jumper, black trousers, and red gloves, the police said.

Pardon my ignorance. But, what's a "jumper"? The first thing that pops into my head is a one-piece jumpsuit. But, obviously that can't be it, as he was wearing pants. Is it a type of shirt, sweater, or jacket? (I bit warm for outerwear, though.)

I just received an email from the Japan Immigration Service. So, it would seem that scammers are targeting foreigners here, as well.

There goes the theory someone posted above that only Japanese are victims and only Japanese are doing the scamming.

Wesley

Here's a tip:

Link your credit cards to a smaller account with just enough money to pay for bills, groceries, etc. This way, if anything happens, only a small amount is gone.

Keep your main savings account SEPARATE ( eg, if your employer credits your salary directly into your bank account).

Nah. Not worth the trouble to open another account just for that. Plus, a lot of people, such as my wife and I, charge more than just those basics. So, we would also be transferring money all the time based on the totals from the different cards and ETC, etc.

Credit card account holders are protected against fraudulent charges. You generally have a month or more before the card companies hit your bank account. Plenty of time to spot fraudulent charges before then.

Just set your credit card account to send you an alert whenever there is a charge. If that would be too many alerts, you can set a specific threshold, so you get an alert for transactions over a certain amount, such as ¥5,000 or ¥10,000.

Speed

garypenToday  09:01 am JST

I remember when the Shinkansen had dining cars. "

Wow, you've been here awhile! I remember them back from a long time ago too. I wasn't sure if it was just my imagination since I was just a kid.

I haven't lived here that long. That was during my first of many visits. And, the concert promoter was paying for it, which was nice, as it was probably pretty pricey like many things were at that time. I didn't move here until almost 30 years later.

I think Amtrak still has dining cars, which I love. But with Amtrak, you really need them since you'll probably be twelve hours behind schedule and starving.

Even if they're right on time, trips that only take a few hours here on the Shinkansen, or even standard Express trains, can take 12-24 hours on Amtrak with their slow trains and indirect routing.

An adult politician making up stupid, childish, insulting names for an opponent??? What an immature moron.

Can you imagine that sort of childish nonsense from the front-running opposition party candidate for President of the US??? Oh wait. Never mind.

Yamaneko

Why did he call her a pig ?

Because he's a moron.

Japan is a paradox

Curiously all of these scammers are operating in Japan since Japanese is not spoken anywhere else...

What does that tell you about the nature of scammers - an Asian-based crime?

Right? Nobody speaks the Japanese language other than Japanese people who are living Japan. Oh wait.

(Plus, that crazy little thing called Google Translate.)

I've found the JP phishing emails to be even less convincing than their Western counterparts. Truly easy to spot. Especially the SMS/Text messages with links, which one should never click. Ever.

I think one of the problems in Japan, is that many people are new to the technology. And, thus, assume everything they see on the Net is legitimate. They don't know what to look for. (TBF, the same is true for many people in the West, especially the seniors.)

They can also be too trusting. The almost unbelievable success of phone scams here is testament to that.

I've noticed that banks and e-tailers are sending out lots of emails lately warning about these scams, and how to avoid falling victim. So, that should at least help a little.

Lindsay

What’s the bet she wouldn’t give this unemployed bum any money to go and play pachinko.

Nowadays, for a 30-year-old Japanese male, it would quite possibly be for money to buy credits for some online game nonsense.

Mark

Instead of moving cart how about a snack shop or a coffee shop onboard the train, easy to staff, clean, stock, and more entertaining.

I'm sure riders would love that. However, it probably would not be any easier to staff and stock than the current cart system, and would definitely be less easy to clean than a staff-only storeroom.

Mr Kipling

"Rodney...

Japan has millions of stray cats, but no stray dogs."

That's because the dogs get rounded up and gassed.

Partially correct. Yes, in most prefectures, the dogs are gassed at the prefectural/municipal shelters. However, there just aren't as many feral dogs as there are cats to begin with, as people here don't view dogs and cats the same way.

Many people feed stray cats, and view them as their own. They just think of them as "outdoor" cats that roam freely. Dogs, even the ones callously kept outside because the owners are cold-hearted idiots, are fenced in or chained to keep from wandering away.

njca4

Some people really hate cats ..

Yet, they don't cut of their heads. Psychopaths do.

falseflagsteve

What next? Fight in the arena to the death Roman Gladiator style. 

You say that like it's a bad thing.

Express sister

Musk: oh no I just remembered I have to have surgery maybe I might not be able to make it oh what a shame

Next will be a note from his doctor claiming "bone spurs".

kurisupisu

JR has become penny pinching and focuses less on the customer than it does on yen pinching

They raised the cost of the Rail Pass a ridiculous amount to where it no longer offers any value.

Their standard Shinkansen and Express fares are very high.

JR East stopped selling Suica cards because they can't get chips. (Even though JR West has no problem with their Icoca cards)

I'd say the biggest problem with the JR companies is poor management, not a labor shortage. They, especially JR Central, needs to take a good hard look at themselves, and make the needed changes at the top and middle, not the bottom. But, that'll never happen without gov't intervention, which will also never happen.

I remember when the Shinkansen had dining cars. I had a very nice steak dinner during one trip. I was disappointed when they got rid of those. But, I got used to the carts, and looked forward to the friendly women with their carts full of goodies coming down the aisle.

This is a major disappointment for many who ride the shinkansen. But, a lot of people get to their train just in time to board - no time to stop at the conbini or ekiben shop. For them, it's more than an inconvenience. Those carts were a lifesaver. I hope they at least install some vending machines, so riders can at least get a cold drink or some ice cream in Summer, and hot drinks in the Winter.

This "labor shortage" whining reminds me of the "nobody wants to work anymore" BS back in the US. Everybody wants to work. They just don't want to be exploited. Pay these ladies a decent wage, and there'll be no shortage. Also, why not open the job up for men, too? Why is it restricted to just ladies? What year is this?

This makes me so angry and sad.

I would love to find an English-fluent, high quality dentist in the Kansai area. (Specifically, north Osaka/South Kyoto) That would be so great.

Gaijinjland

I guess the biggest draw is a lot these people will take international insurance.

No. The biggest draw would be the English fluency.

Roy Sophveason

You need to read the comments in the voice and demeanour of Little Britain's Emily Howard.

Paustovsky

lol. I always read his comments in the voice of Johnny Depp's weak English accent.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed that!

It always felt to me like what a non-British person thinks a British person says.

"I took the lift to my flat, and had crumpets for tea. It was jolly good."

falseflagsteve

Nothing for me I’m afraid. Been watching my old Steptoe DVD’s today, what a laugh they are, eh! Harooooold!

Are you like 100 years old? I thought you had a young son?

Asiaman7

Does this article apply to us in Japan? — particularly when the programming on Netflix and Prime differs from that offered in the U.S. and most people might not have access to CBS and NBC.

Unfortunately, Hulu Japan is totally independent from Hulu US, unlike Netflix, Apple+, or Disney+, where you can have a US account, but log in from Japan, or vice versa.

However, almost all of the most popular Hulu US programming, especially the originals, is available here on Disney+ (Disney owns a majority stake in Hulu US.)

As I have both Hulu US and Disney+ accounts, I use Disney+ logging in from here without a VPN to watch programming available on both services, rather than Hulu US using a VPN, as the bandwidth is better without it. Also, Hulu US is very picky about VPN usage, the strictest of the services, I've found.

They predict Kyushu is next. They, too, got hit with crazy rains earlier this summer. I'm sure they're not too happy about the prospect of more flooding and landslides, this time combined with high winds.

At least the path seems to have changed since yesterday, and they're predicting it'll miss Honshu now. So, at least a little bit of good news for the main island.

Big Wheel can't keep on turnin'? Oh no!

Has anybody checked to see if Proud Mary keep on burnin'?