isabelle comments

the cremated remains would be scattered as their graves could have been deified.

I wonder who built his grave at Zoshigaya then, and why?

https://tokyo-in-pics.com/the-grave-of-hideki-tojo-at-zoshigaya-cemetery/

Tojo was executed at Sugamo Prison (now Ikebukuro Sunshine), which is very close to Zoshigaya, so having the grave there would make sense, but this article says the body was transported to Yokohama before cremation. So, if the point was to avoid having a place where people could gather, and if this grave is completely empty, why have the grave?

GBR48Today 09:02 am JST

And thankfully, we now have Kdrama, which is blissfully good.

I assume that's sarcasm? It's difficult to tell on the internet :)

The popularity of K-dramas really is shocking. They are simply awful. Did someone in Japan think "We don't have enough terrible dramas domestically... let's import some more?" (See also: boy/girl bands.)

If we're talking Japanese stuff, I'd say Drifters (Showa era comedy troupe): actually well-written and well-acted sketches. Very dated now, but a style of comedy that is mostly not even attempted these days due the work/skill required.

These days, the "comedy" mostly consists of minimally-talented geinoujin, who think that shouting in mock surprise/offense is the height of entertainment, and even less talented boy/girl band members.

(Yes, manzai does require some writing/acting ability, but it's mostly very generic and simple, and not at all entertaining unless you're Japanese and have never seen any better comedy.)

I'm not surprised sumo is popular with foreigners, as it's completely unique, and not something they can see in their own country. Experiencing different things is a big part of going on vacation, and sumo definitely fits the bill. As for the sport itself, I've watched it on TV for many years, and have been to Kokugikan several times. It's truly a great experience.

roninroshiToday 09:25 am JST

I recall the great days of Kaio and ‘Robo Cop’…Asashoryu and Haramafuji! Those were truly great years!

I loved watching Harumafuji! Watched him right back from when he was "Ama."

to protect its consumers

Yeah, of course it is. This is the same China that has a long history of food scandals, and a severe lack of regulation in any industry, such as its buildings and bridges regularly collapsing.

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

And the idea of the Chinese government wanting to protect its citizens is laughable, when it will happily beat and arrest them simply for wanting a vote, or commit genocide on them simply for being Muslim.

This "testing" a purely political move by China, as always.

quercetumToday 10:24 pm JST

If you need to read to find out how well a country's economy is doing instead of looking up the numbers yourself

If we were talking about a different country you may have a point. But this is China, where the government fabricates its statistics for political reasons.

For China, it's better to look at how the people are actually living their lives, rather than how the government wants people to think they're living their lives. This is what decent journalists do. And the people are suffering: that's very obvious from things like social media, even with the government's censorship.

So we should just give in to the child’s demands because they’re having a fit?

Some kids just can't manage school, especially if they have something like autism, or anxiety disorder. Forcing them to go simply makes it worse, and may scar them for life. As adults, we tend to think "just go to school," but the world looks very different to a child, especially if they have pre-existing conditions.

Japan in this regard is still behind other many other countries when dealing with that particular situation

From personal friends' experience it's actually pretty good. All schools seem to have counselors, extra classes where needed, and many now allow online learning and will let children attend for only part of the day. Plus, they will refer kids to doctors/psychologists/psychiatrists where needed (three of my friends have done this, with good results).

For what it's worth, my take on the matter is that education is very important, and kids definitely should go to school if they can, but sometimes they just can't. In such cases, we have to accept that, and try and educate them as best we can, even if it's far from perfect.

they envy the Chinese people

The Japanese people envy China's ruthless oppression of its population? Total lack of democracy and human rights? Harassing of its neighbors? Genocide? Military occupation of the South China Sea? Stealing of technology? Cyberattacks? Absence of judicial process?

You obviously don't know any Japanese people.

Even with its problems, China's economic keeps stronger than the whole decadent west.

China could've been in a good position if it weren't for Xi. He has ruined everything for the Chinese people. There's an interesting article in the UK Guardian today about how badly he's done:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/commentisfree/2023/aug/13/putin-and-xi-are-the-laurel-and-hardy-of-statesmen-but-its-no-laughing-matter

Rule by fear has consequences. China’s exports and imports, domestic retail sales, private and foreign investment, youth employment and GDP are all cratering. China’s property market is a destabilising, bottomless hole of debt. Consumer and business confidence is shot.

Truth is, a surprisingly insecure, misguided but apparently unchallengeable Xi has brought all this down on China’s head through his dictator’s determination to dominate.

And the article links to another interesting piece from before he came to power. Just look at the difference now he's had 10 years in charge:

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2010/aug/16/chinese-economic-boom

Earlier this year, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) said that a "seismic change" was underway in the world economy and that China would catch America by 2020

Typical China. Military and diplomatic saber-rattling, all because an elected official got on a plane.

Xi stomps up and down like a child when he doesn't get his own way... but the big difference is that a child will learn and grow out of it. Xi won't.

Zannen, Japan. Just couldn't quite get it together on the day.

Still, great entertainment throughout the tournament, and this team will get better and better :)

Miraikan was great when I went a few years back:

https://www.miraikan.jst.go.jp/en/

Really looking forward to this!

Japan has the tools to beat the Swedes: they just need to keep busy and not allow them to settle, which I'm sure they will do. At this stage of the competition, whether you progress/go out can often go down to a few key moments, but if you concentrate and work hard - which, again, I'm sure Japan will do - you give yourself the best shot.

Ganbare Nippon!

Purely political, as everything is with China.

In this particular case, it looks like these local officials want to show the Emperor how obedient they are, so they can get a leg up on the totalitarian career ladder. This kind of thing happens a lot in China: the Emperor decrees a COVID lockdown, and local officials then do things like weld people into burning buildings, and beat dogs to death to show their loyalty.

RodneyToday 09:17 am JST

Why is China the smartest country in the world?

Where is this official "smartest country in the world" ranking? I'd be interested to read it.

YamanekoToday 08:05 am JST

Why attempt to lie about the fact the sole reason for the war games is because of insecurity and fear of China's rise ?

Not insecurity and fear: prudent readiness. We've seen time and time again what authoritarian nations do. Just look at Russia right now. The rest of us must be ready in case they push too far.

deanzaZZRToday 09:41 am JST

Two questions, deterrence against what, and, do these nations want you there?

1) China 2) Yes

China has long sought to improve the way it handles extreme weather

It, however, spends the money needed for this on oppressing its people, and harassing all its neighbors instead, so it never actually does so.

Yamaguchi's planned visit to China

...will be as pointless as all other visits to China by everyone. He will just get the same lies the world has gotten from China for years.

So, it turns out that oppressing your country's people, funneling trillions to your military rather than public welfare, committing genocide, cracking down on businesses that don't follow Xi Jinping Thought, illegally occupying your neighbors' territory, stealing other countries' technology, and ***ing off all your trading partners for decades... somehow doesn't* make for a good economy? Who'd have thought it?

And, as I said on another thread, this is official "data with Chinese characteristics," so the real picture in the country is undoubtedly far, far worse.

Of course, Xi will say that it's not his catastrophic policies that are to blame, but the people who fail to correctly implement his faultless Imperial Edicts.

And remember that this is official "data with Chinese characteristics"... meaning that the real figures are undoubtedly much, much higher.

Samit BasuToday 07:47 am JST

It's not the tritium that's not the problem, but plutonium, cesium, strontium, etc.

Per Roy Sophveason's post, everything except Tritium is removed/filtered by ALPS. This water discharge is undergoing more scrutiny than literally any other discharge in history, and it still passes the test. If the accident had been in China, they'd still be denying it ever happened.

ianToday 09:21 am JST

Like what

China's claims that the water release is dangerous, despite the IAEA confirming it's safe, and the fact that China's own nuclear power plants (and industry in general) release far worse things. It's purely political, as everything is with China.

https://www.voanews.com/a/experts-china-sees-fukushima-water-release-as-tool-to-divide-seoul-and-tokyo/7170792.html

And if you want another example: all China's COVID disinformation, which continues to this day.

I'm glad that this is now (almost) happening, as Japan needs to move the decommissioning process along, and this forms an important part of that. There isn't unlimited storage space for the water, and it has lower Tritium levels than water released from other nuclear power plants, so the plan makes sense. Plus, the whole process is being monitored by the IAEA for those who don't trust TEPCO (which is a great many people).

China is complaining, but China complains about everything that's not written in Xi Jinping Thought. If they ban Japan's seafood for purely political reasons, so be it: there are plenty of other markets.

China causing trouble, yet again. The country does nothing good for the world - only bad. Even the trade and infrastructure links just cause it to exert leverage over other countries, and conduct economic coercion and espionage.

Obviously Xi doesn't care about China being "liked," but he also doesn't seem to realize that behavior such as this actually weakens China, as other countries move away from it and band together against it. China's economy is slowing, companies are leaving, exports are falling, unemployment is rising, and tech is being closed off to them: one day, China will wake up to find that the world has moved on from it and left it behind.

Yes, many times at festivals, "pop-up" stores, and places like Midette:

https://midette.com/

There was also an "antenna shop," as they call them, in Ginza that I bought from a few years back, but I'm not sure if it's there anymore.

I think it's very important to help the region, and I will continue to do so.

quercetumToday 08:30 pm JST

No one in Asia calls it the South China Seas.

Japan is in Asia, and Japan calls it "南シナ海": literally the South China Sea.

https://ejje.weblio.jp/content/%E5%8D%97%E3%82%B7%E3%83%8A%E6%B5%B7

Fantastic! Well done, Nadeshiko!

With 14 goals scored and only 1 conceded the other teams will be very wary of playing them. Would be great to see them go all the way like in 2011.

Aso is an awful person but he does wield a lot of influence in the Japanese halls of power, so this visit should be good for Taiwan, Japan, and the democratic world.

China is doing its usual whining, but it has simply nothing to do with them: Taiwan is not, and will not be, part of China.

No, not in my view. The numbers are probably not even a quarter of what they were before COVID.

Personally, I like to see people here on vacation, enjoying themselves. However, I'm having a hard time seeing all the terrible tattoos :(

TaiwanIsNotChinaToday 07:27 am JST

The coal is still in there so isn't that still releasing a ton of CO2?

I imagine they'll use carbon capture for the emissions:

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

Over time, the plan is to increase the amount of ammonia (eventually to 100%), and gradually reduce the amount of coal.

https://www.woodmac.com/press-releases/ammonia-co-firing-in-thermal-power-plants-could-be-worth-us$100-billion-in-2050/

From everything I've read, ammonia (along with hydrogen) seems an area well worth pursuing.

Asiaman7Today 10:21 am JST

And Tokyo’s Imperial Palace would make a great Central Park.

Indeed. The park could be fully open to the public, with a small charge to enter the palace, just like castles all around the country.

Japan would make an absolute fortune through tourism in this way.

wallaceToday 10:25 am JST

I overestimated actually. Estimated wealth is ¥56 billion divided by 127 million people would work out at ¥440 per person.

Even if this figure is correct (I haven't checked), estimated wealth still doesn't take into account the ongoing use of public funds for their benefit. For instance, the taxpayers' money given to them by the government for their "expenses" and upkeep of properties, etc.

They also have many administrative staff, and security guarding them around the clock, which costs even more public money. This money could be better used elsewhere, with the administrative staff moved to government departments to perform work for the people that actually pay this money, and the police freed up to fight actual crime.

And, of course, it's not just the money - it's the idea that, in this day and age, some people are considered "better" than others and "special," simply because of an accident of birth. It makes no sense and is totally wrong.