thelonius comments

It's not just the age limit that is the problem. There are so many structural obstacles baked into the system now that make it difficult for anyone who is not connected to the LDP or Japanese establishment in any way to get anywhere politically.

This article doesn't mention the women that just leave Japan forever to pursue careers in STEM. Akiko Iwasaki is a good example. She is now one of the top immunologists in the U.S.

The country is on a mission to close the gap.

Won't be any real change for at least another generation or two.

@David Brent

Okay, so I guess there are no knock-on economic effects from a declining population that will affect the value of your savings?

It's amazing how many people don't realize/understand this.

why should my taxes go to support your child rearing that you “cannot afford”.

@David Brent

Then why should those future taxpayers pay for your pension? Fair enough.

The survey covered data from 105 major food and beverage companies listed on stock exchanges and 90 unlisted companies.

Nikkei up 30% this year so far. If you want to shield yourself from inflation, buy stock. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

Congrats to Vegas!

And glad the Panthers didn't win. Their game is based more on intimidation than skill. Vegas stood up to that in a way that Carolina and Toronto did not.

Doesn't he know that Japanese university students pass no matter what?

"Today's Asia-Pacific needs open and inclusive cooperation, not buddying up into small cliques,"

Agree. But it's China's behavior that is causing the latter.

So the dip below 800,000 births per year came 8 years before government projections, which were already pretty dire, and they're not going to do anything about it until 2030? Good grief.

“Zelenskyy’s visit is not appropriate for Hiroshima, which is a peace-loving city,” said Etsuko Nakatani

What the heck does that mean??

Glad Boston is out. I reckon Toronto has a better chance against Florida. And I can’t stand Brad Marchand.

Let's see how far they kick this can down the road this time.

Let us not forget that before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, they were caught red handed in a systematic, state-sponsored program to cheat in the Olympics.

I’m not American, but I would rather live in the USA than in China or Russia a million times over.

Given the weirdness of Japan's legal system, I would not be surprised if this results in a lighter punishment.

“Japanese people are also conscious about not opening their mouths very wide when they laugh, because they think it’s impolite. So there’s less pressure to take care of your breath, and so attitudes about oral hygiene can become lax.”

If this is true, then masking surely has made this worse. I bet some people have just stopped brushing altogether.

Some people's breath here is so bad I can smell it through their mask and mine.

Such a peculiar (and typically Japanese) decision.

Instead of raising rates, how about trimming the fat at some of these companies! I'm sure there's a ton of it.

Lot of silver-sans feeding at the trough. They need their cashflow for their golf trips!

Economic decline and deflation is so entrenched in Japan that they can’t even imagine a situation where things will change.

The truth is, things won’t change, and the policymakers know it. After this period of inflation is finished, Japan will resume its downward slide. There’s no stopping that.

I think more than anything they are worried about the tech falling into Russian hands, which is a legitimate worry.

A Russian invasion of the west with T type tanks is nothing to worry about. An invasion with tanks based on advanced western tech on the other hand...

LOL, that face! Kishida looks so uncomfortable without his interpreter!

This just confirms Japan is on the right side.

Monsters. Lock them up for a long, long time, and let this be an example to the other child beaters out there who are getting away with it every day.

The title of the article should instead be: "Frivolous research the main reason Japanese universities low in international rankings"

In other words, about 90 million people still haven’t caught it.

This virus isn’t going away anytime soon.

I guess he’s finally going to be on a winning team. Can’t blame him for looking forward to that!

Would this be the XBB.1.5 variant at work? Or are we now in a situation where multiple immune evading variants are sloshing around, with an infection from each offering no protection from an infection from others. I had Covid for the 2nd time last week. At least I can say it wasn't as bad as the first time.

Immigrants and refugees face similar problems wherever they go. I just hope Japan can learn from this to improve things. Instead, I expect Japanese people will see this news as a reason NOT to let people in.