Tamarama comments

Disappointed with the result.

Sweden were faster, bigger and looked intent on muscling the Japanese women off the ball, clearly something they had identified pre game and it worked well. They pressed hard when Japan were on the ball which negated Japan's passing game.

That being said, the handball penalty was really unlucky, and once Japan decided to play with 20 minutes to go they created multiple chances and were unlucky not to level. Had they done that, I think they would have run over the top of them in extra time and won.

A very good lesson for a young and skillful team.

This game was really, really dull until the penalty shootout, which has to be the most bizarre PSO I've ever seen. The Melbourne crowd, which has to be one of the most cultured sporting crowds on the planet, were reduced to silence for much of the 2nd half, such was the tepid nature of the football. Sweden did not look like scoring at all, and the whilst the US were a touch more lively, some decent goalkeeping ensured they didn't score.

Neither of these teams would have troubled Japan in the next round, who are clearly a class above, but with Sweden getting through their job looks that much easier.

I notice a LOT of negativity directed towards Megan Rapinoe in the BBC comments post match - clearly not a popular athlete.

Japan will be extremely encouraged by the match, and the result.

Purely by coincidence, I have been listening to Dan Carlin's 'The Destroyer of Worlds' podcast this morning, which is well worth a listen for those so inclined. Tells a good yarn, does Dan.

Nice kit, by the way ladies. Like that one.

Japan absolutely dominated, they were so assured and clean on the ball and have looked a class above every team they have played so far.

Continue to be impressed by Jun Endo, fantastic passing player on the left wing that they went to all game tonight. Don't think Miyazawa will be playing for Sendai for too much longer at this rate, either.

Japan have been one of the few teams with genuine quality around the park and on their bench. They are technically skillful, quick and tactically strong.

The way they dismantled Spain was so clever and efficient, and Spain had no plan B whatsoever.

I don't see Norway beating them.

Well, they are going to need a veritable army of people to take care of this, because cyclists in Japan are a law unto themselves and do whatever suits them. They want to ride on both the roads and sidewalks interchangeably when and how it suits them - and are a menace to both pedestrians and drivers in the process. These fines are long overdue.

While they are at it, they can also introduce laws stopping drivers from just switching on the hazard lights and parking their car in traffic on the LHS of the road. It's madness. Half of them are just sitting there with their feet on the dashboard with the aircon on watching YouTube. Unbelievable.

And....and....and....

And how do you propose he committed suicide after walking out? Did he stab himself with an invisible knife? Maybe he used one made of ice, which melted after he stabbed himself. Maybe he used his sharp wit?

Ooooh, so touchy, Gary. So testy.

How's this one - he kills wife on the bed, then cuts his wrist, neck, whatever and drops the knife in place, staggers out of the room (you don't die immediately Gary, as I'm sure you can appreciate) and collapses in the kitchen as he blacks out from the blood loss?

How's that one? Plausible, right?

What leads you to believe the husband killed his wife? Considering the knife was found next to the woman in her bedroom, it seems to me she may have done this.

My assumption is that she was killed on her bed in her sleep, then he walked out and committed suicide and dies in the kitchen.

Global statistics also tell you that the rate of intimate partner homicides are 6 times higher for women than men.

That's what leads me to believe...

People aren't reading the article properly - it says murder-suicide, meaning the father killed the mother, then himself. Not sure why she is getting the blame here.

Yet another example of violence towards women resulting in their death. I absolutely abhor men who are violent to women. They are the lowest of the low - emotionally infantile cowards in the extreme.

Not real men.

Thank god for the storm in Tokyo yesterday arvy. Had been surfing in Chiba and it was heating up out there, but drove back into a tempest down Kampachi! Was welcome relief from the relentless heat.

How is this even remotely possible in this day and age? 91 children?!?! This is a massive disaster for the childcare system in Queenland.

I do not know Australia. Does "childcare" in Australia mean preschoolers (i.e., children well under 10) ?

Childcare is for any children up to the age that they start Pre Primary, which is 5 years old. Some childcare is for primary school students as well, before and after school until their parents can pick them up.

Different countries have different perspectives on crime. As an open minded traveler, it's your responsibility to know and abide by the laws of the country you are in. If you don't do your homework first, you are negligent. If you do, and you choose to break the law anyway, you are stupid. As a resident though?

A little story. In 1995 on Khao San Rd in Bangkok I got chatting to this young British guy who was about my age and could not have looked more conspicuous if he tried in terms of drug trafficking. Long dreadlocked hair, beads, tie dyed clothes - the whole shooting match. He was so cliched it was absurd. In the course of the conversation, in hushed tones, he started to tell me about how he was there to smuggle drugs with some friends from Thailand to Europe by ingesting them in condoms. He went into some detail about how he would do it, as I recall, and I don't think it was his first time. He was cavalier, carefree and incredibly, incredibly stupid. Death penalty at the time.

I'm no prude, I've had plenty of fun, but all I could think as I sat listening to this guy with complete incredulity was that he was one of the stupidest people I had ever met.

I don't know what happened to him, never saw him again, but one thing was certain. If he did get caught, he did so in full knowledge of the choices he was making and the consequences he faced - and could have no complaints.

There is no way North Korea will attack Japan. No way.

The Kim family have managed to stay in power in NK because, amongst other things they have managed to maintain this facade within the country that they are powerful and have the capacity to strike out at their 'enemies'. As much as anything, firing those rockets is propaganda for the domestic audience - it helps to maintain the status quo and balance of power. They spend big on hardware that looks spectacular on news broadcasts, but when it comes down to brass tax, NK forces are woefully ill equipped in the face of the weapons that surround them from Japan, South Korea and the US.

Why would the Pyongyang elites give away their privileged existence for a war?

Not going to happen.

I'm a pretty regular combini coffee drinker. It's not amazing, but perfectly serviceable and very good value.

I have been seeing the same proposals to solve this problem since I got here in 1995.

Seen the the same total lack of action from the nabobs in the Diet for the same length of time, too.

"We must make sincere efforts" then off to the hostess club with the guys from Dentsu.

It puts me in mind of pandas. They have plenty of chances to do something about their declining numbers, but they just won't do what's required.

Yep, 100%. But it's also important to remember that these guys are democratically voted in every time. The people here choose their conservative inaction on matter like this because it best aligns with what the Japanese want. I've said this before, but I am 100% convinced that Japan will opt for a population of 60 million Japanese over a 120 million multicultural mix. Preserving the 'ethnic purity' of the country is an absolute priority - it's a deeply ingrained mindset.

And you know what? Good luck to them. If that's the way they want their country to be, they have every right to do that. I've got no problem with that whatsoever.

It's been a shocker in Tokyo, I'm not gonna lie.

This is a human rights violation that only seems possible in Japan. You can't ban a whole group of people like that because of the actions of a few individuals (who are probably no longer at the school or have changed their attitude)

No it's not and of course they can, it's their business - they set the standards for how they expect customers to behave in their space, not the other way around.

People have become so obsessed with their 'rights' that they have completely forgotten about their responsibilities - which is clearly very important in this country.

Good on them.

We strongly disapprove!

But we won't vote for change!

They were actually quite outstanding - technically very, very good.

Jun Endo on the left was exceptional - her passing was top shelf. Japan would have won by significantly more had Tanaka converted the passes Endo provided for her on several occasions. She's one of the best female passers I've seen, if not the best.

Poland are right to transfer troops to the border region, it's is sensible, but this situation is also alarming and the language by Putin sounds ominous, in that there could be a will here to expand the war and really test NATO's mettle. Bigger wars start like this.

A couple of things. First, I am certain that their parents would have told them countless times to stay away from the river. Two, they aren't babies. When I was their age, I roamed far and wide in a day by myself on my bike - in fact, pretty much all day, I'd be home for lunch and dinner, so you can't necessarily blame the parents here - they need a little autonomy at this age.

Three, my kids are currently attending swimming school here and I'm impressed with the way they are being taught - it's logical, sequential and effective. My kids are strong in the water already for their age as we are a beach family and they have grown up around water, but still, I am impressed with what I am seeing. However, this needs to be taught to all kids in Japan as part of their Elementary schooling because there is water everywhere in this country and people are drowning on a daily basis right now. It's just not good enough.

Four, it's an absolute tragedy.

What an eyesore. They've turned a once lovely beach into Tent City

Huh? This is no different to any beach, anywhere, in the height of summer.

I'm not going to lie, and this probably won't be a popular perspective, but I was a little underwhelmed by the skill levels in this game. I really want to embrace and enjoy women's football - and my family and I will watch many of the games, but as a showcase of women's football at a world level, it didn't blow my socks off.

I certainly can't see Australia winning this tournament, thats for sure.

Of all the marginal decisions he has probably made in recent times, this one might top them all. Gambatte.

Imagine starving a population to death, whilst you spend all the money on military hardware you keep shooting into the sea....

That's abhorrent.

However, the question has to be asked as to why this disinformation and attacks are occurring, and it's pretty clear that a lot of people are very concerned about the militancy and aggression with which aspects of the LGBTQ etc etc movement's agenda are being forced onto the broader community. The whole 'You either accept our ideas or you are a bigot' is abject nonsense, and the exact opposite of diversity and inclusivity. Ironically, it's a completely binary mindset.

Communities and societies need time to discuss, debate, ponder and consider ideas before they accept them, and I think generally most contemporary societies as a whole are pretty fair minded in this regards. Give it time, allow ideas and concepts to gain traction and acceptance. I can say with absolute certainty that acceptance of homosexual rights has shifted significantly in my lifetime, which is a pretty short timeframe, which is great.

But just because somebody thinks they are entitled to something, or has an idea that they want broadly implemented and thinks everyone else must accept as a reality, is absolute nonsense, and this is where the LGBTQ+ movement has run itself into trouble. This is why you are seeing this backlash. There is an immature, petulant, self-absorbed feel to it that makes people uncomfortable.

Frankly, I know a lot of very reasonable, open minded people who either have serious concerns about aspects of their agenda, or outright reject them. Clearly there's a significant number here at JT as well.

Take the pronoun thing as an example. It seems that a lot of people are generally supportive of the idea that if someone's gender identity if commonly confused for whatever reason and they feel the need to clarify that through the use of pronouns, fine, go right ahead. But to then demand that everyone else, 99% of whom have never once in their life been confused for the other sex, do the same think because it's 'inclusive', is absolute nonsense. You can't demand people do that and then try to call them bigots if they don't. The logic is pure comedy.

So, in order for this debate and push for social change to gain a more organic and balanced middle ground, it needs to be scaled back on both sides, to give people time to think and contemplate what is best for everyone.

I'm going to sit in the Tamagawa....

@Houdini

It's not misogynistic.

Japanese women aren't hated by Japanese men.

Misogyny (/mɪˈsɒdʒɪni/) is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. It is a form of sexism that is used to keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the social roles of patriarchy. 

I don't know about you, but I have literally had men in Japan tell me 'Tamarama, you need to understand that women in Japan are behind and below men.'

The flip side of this coin though, is that women in Japan have to want the change to happen too. I see plenty of Setagaya Mummies having a lovely lunch with their friends, having shipped the kids and hubby off to school and work, they've done some washing, a spot of cleaning, will do a little Korean Drama work in the afternoon, the kids will then head off to Juku after school until 10, Hubby home at 10.30pm.....

Maybe they really are hella smart.....

Taking a more detailed look at those OECD stats is fascinating. Japan and Korea score equal 2nd in educational skills ie: the student's competence in the subjects they study, BUT, South Korea is dead last for Gender Inequality and Japan is 4th last.

Those are some awful numbers man. Basically, they have hella smart girls that end up contributing very little to the development of the country because.....the boys don't want them to.

Wow.