SaikoPhysco comments

China lifts the ban of travel... so their citizens can go anywhere in Japan to eat said food, but it won't allow the import of Japanese food. Do you think maybe this is an excuse to protect the Chinese domestic crap food industry?

So many people bemoaning the return of the ill mannered Chinese and complaining of pretty much every other tourist too... but the reality is, Japan needs tourism badly. Tell me where in Japan, from what business sector, are you seeing growth? Everything is slowly dying in Japan, it needs the revenue. What you should be doing, if you're not satisfied with your job or the pay, is figure out how to tap into the tourism industry.

There are far too many arrogant people in Japan that never get called out for overly cruel and damaging remarks. To a certain extent Japanese culture is to blame because people are taught to not be confrontational but if this guy had had a few 'confrontations' before this, he may have already learned his lesson.

I've lived in Tokyo for many years... and if this July we're in does not turn out to be the hottest on record I'd be very surprised. And the air is fairly dry too... you can even see Mt. Fuji, which is rare in the summer.

China has every right in the world to do any testing on any food it imports... heck, Japan tests everything coming into the country and that is not an issue. Any country has the right to do as it pleases when it comes to testing imported food.

Just change the name of NATO to something like FWTO.... Free World Treaty Organization. Numbers matter when it comes to Allies and Alliances. NATO, in order to deter beyond border aggression needs to have as many members as possible. This way sanctions will have the largest impact without actual physical retaliation first coming into play. Russia unilaterally invaded the Ukraine.... because they wanted the country as a buffer zone. The largest country in the world needs a buffer zone too.

Chiba has plenty of beaches to go to and cool down but I hate to say it... most of those beaches are crap and the infrastructure along the beaches is crap too. Also... most Japanese beaches have small rivers running in to them and those rivers are full of.... yes, crap. This country does not have zoning restrictions which would help vastly in improving leisure locations and facilities.

What a relief... the number of "smart girls" has been on the decline too. So it should all even out.

In the USA... a prison sentence for Child Abusers is, and rightfully so, a death sentence. Japanese inmates need to step up and dole out some justice.

It is laughable to me to even think that they wouldn't be trying to spy on or get sensitive information from the U.S. There is a Market for almost anything in China... and secret information probably sells well.

I've got a Solar System set up on my roof here in Japan and I use TEPCO. My average monthly bill has been around Y4,000, since we built the house about 7 years ago. It would be around Y25,000 a month without the solar.

I wonder if this Apartment building might be preventing some developer from finalizing plans for something big there. This could be coercion of a sort to try to force the owner to sell. Or like an earlier poster mentioned... just some random disgruntled people acting out. But I like the Developer angle, it would be much more interesting.

I'd be willing to bet... this stuff is still happening quite often today. Why? Because you still have a society without any major checks and balances protecting underaged talent. And... in order to become someone in this country you cannot do it on your own. The various agencies control the market. That said, YouTube is starting to change the landscape here... but if you want to get booked for a public performance, you need the agents and agencies. There is too much power at the top and it lacks transparency. Say you have a rock band.... good luck booking anything on your own without climbing the ladder and putting up with a lot of crap and making little money. Why do you think we keep watching the same people day in and day out for decades on TV... because a few Moguls control everything and they don't want change.

Anyone that has lived in Japan for 5 or more years starts to notice that the Domestic Dirty Laundry is well hidden... and to prove the point this story was not broadcast in Japan itself but on the BBC in the U.K. Look... I love this country... and I am no Japan Basher. Every single country in the World without exception has its issues. I will tell everyone I meet many, many more great things about Japan than negative. But, this is a negative, the press in Japan is weak and afraid to step on toes. Japan needs better domestic investigative reporting. And her is the crazy part, it is, that all said, sometimes it is best not to know all the bad stuff, it keeps society and life for kids just a bit more on the magical side. Case in point, Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky.

I'll bet those "experts" get heavily wined and dined before the pitch.

The watches have yet to be recovered? Perhaps these boys were smarter than first thought. They rented a large white van and they did it in broad daylight. They knew they'd be caught so they must of had a plan to get the watches to someone else. My guess is they may've passed the watches to someone who then took off in a small car with stolen plates. That person then probably drove to parking garage where another car was waiting. Or you just ditch the car and jump on a train from there. If that is the case then yes, a Yakuza may've been involved. It will be interesting to see if these boys confess and give up the person they gave the goods to.

I wonder how much the News Channels paid for the video from the cell phone?

"It wasn't intentional" but he left the can behind... which seems intentional, I doubt he would forget it since he took a risk acquiring the detergent from work. Very suspicious!

Pretty much agree with EFD although I think they'd get less than Y50 mil for their troubles. I'm very interested in their background. They're probably Japanese since they mention nothing of them being foreigners which is something they seem to go out of their way to do if it is the case. Either way... gotta be High School dropouts or something.

May 8th... the day will come and go for 99.9% of us living in Japan just like any other because you know nothing will change. Although, that said, going forward tourism may pick up quite heavily, may, and if it does Japan just does not have an available labor force to handle it.

Meanwhile there are two American companies looking to do the same thing later this year... I think they're probably not all that disappointed.

Ultimately this has not been massive news in Japan because as gogogo mentioned they launched off of a Space X rocket. The article mentions the U.S., China and Russia as the only 3 countries to land successfully on the Moon, it does not mention that they used their own rockets to get there and do it. It would like me saying that I climbed down from the top of Mt. Everest but never mentioning that I didn't climb to the top in the first place.

But yet if you watch YouTube you'd think Toyota was giving up on EV and going with Hydrogen. This is how badly influencers are catering to those that want to believe something versus actual fact. And how people will not even try to search for actual facts versus happily feeding their pet political views. If it were not such a massive problem it would be laughable how beyond stupid things are.

No one has mentioned anything about who the father is or how she ended up doing what she did. Just because she's Vietnamese does not mean she should be burdened automatically with 100% of the guilt. There is a story behind this and a person that got her pregnant in the first place. She may've told the father that she was pregnant and he may've totally broken off the relationship. As a Trainee is she explicitly forbidden to have relationships?

What a joke this "new" program is. Japan needs skilled programmers, engineers and even laborers badly but all they do is throw up these idiotic requirements that barely address the country's needs. If it was me running things for the govt. I'd set up a program whereby any company can become certified to hire foreign labor as long as they become qualified to do so. It will not be a question of money or education... leave that to the hiring company, but it will be about labor laws regarding visas, healthcare, pensions and separation pay. Let the company beware... they should be qualified enough to make the hiring decision.

People that vote "no" really must not have a clue about the amount of gambling already going on in Japan. Horses, Cycling, and those little one man boats initially and quickly come to mind. Gambling is and has been alive and sickly in Japan for a long time. The only reason these Casinos were contentious might be because they infringed on a business currently being run behind the scenes by organized crime groups. A few years ago I saw a full casino set up in Roppongi. A few trucks pulled in around noon and by 8PM a Casino was set up... the next evening it was gone. The cops must have know about it but they turned a blind eye to it... because it is government sanctioned as long as it does not go too far.

Whoever wrote the story was probably stoned.... along with the "Japanese customer service" line which made zero sense as it pertained to the criminals. Heck... they hadn't even gone through the vehicle. Good customer service might have saved the guys. It is good that I don't often try to read JT often... I'd probably more miserable.

I stopped wearing my mask indoors while shopping about 2 weeks ago, at first I felt a bit self conscious about it but now I hardly do at all. Like others have said, don't bother me and I won't bother you about it. I'm within my policy rights.

And after that threat by China... the U.S. should have her address the entire U.S. Congress.

And the Government wonders why the Birthrate is down in Japan. This is just another reason. Millions of graduates in the last 10, 20, 30 years have all had to put up with unreasonable conformist demands while the world has moved on. Who wants to have kids in a society that is even afraid to take off their masks lest they feel different and might stick out. I love this country but, like pretty much every other country in the world, it does have its issues.