Tim Sullivan comments

Trump's threat to "totally destroy" North Korea kept us safe for a few years. The current diaper-wearing POTUS isn't made of the same stuff. Let's hope the Donald gets reelected in 2024.

Only the plebs who are living from paycheck to paycheck are going to reproduce themselves for 80,000 yen -- this is not very smart policy. Extinction may be the kindest option for Japan -- there isn't much that is actually worth preserving about this society.

How about a tax on prostitution? One of Japan's biggest industries.

It's going to be Dad's Army fighting China (some of you may remember the classic BBC series from the 1970s).

It really is a hopeless situation. I've been here for 40 years and it is steadily getting worse. My advice to young people here -- get out while you still can.

Kishida is a ditherer who can't make decisions. He is not doing anything about inflation or wages that haven't gone up in 30 years. People are tired of being exploited.

I just love that chair -- I hope IKEA will make a scaled-down version that would fit in my living room.

Patrick McGoohan got it right over 50 years ago in The Prisoner: "I'm not a number, I'm a free man!"

He's about as much use as Liz Truss. A photo op followed by ... nothing.

All I know is that the yen is sinking and I am taking advantage of the fantastic pound exchange rate-the wife is happy too!

Even the pound is a better place to put your money than the yen right now. Not a good sign...

Thanks to Kishida and Kuroda, we've all become 30 percent poorer since the start of the year.

Japan has many smart and talented people -- unfortunately none of them become politicians.

Abe-san is smiling down at us from heaven now -- thank you for your wonderful Abenomics and the masks.

Poor little girl. Her parents will be haunted by her death for the rest of their lives. How could this have happened?

Will his incompetent security guards be prosecuted? Aren't you supposed to take a bullet for your boss? They just ran away!

"The person needs to be covered from all directions" -- you don't have to be a VIP security specialist to know that. Will the people who failed to protect Abe be punished for their incompetence? Of course not -- this is Japan!

The "elite" security team was about as much use as a chocolate fireguard. The octogenarians at my local shopping center could have done a better job.

I thought he was dead.

It seems that Komeito's main function is to prop up the Living Dead Party.

I predict an LDP landslide -- nothing will ever change in this country.

I thought Maggie Thatcher put a stop to all that union nonsense.

This is like a story from the Rising Wasabi. Unfortunately, most people in Japan have nothing to smile about these days. Everything is steadily getting worse by the day. But don't worry, the Living Dead Party will win the Upper House elections by a landslide!

The coronavirus is probably afraid of Keith.

I think Shigenobu is still dangerous -- she should never have been released.

You can turn this situation to your advantage by buying gold and commodity-linked currencies. But most people here will still keep their hard-earned savings in their Mizuho account and get no benefit. It's sad.

Ikebukuro is always crowded -- I have been a resident since 1988. You could buy a signed Andy Warhol print in Seibu department store when I first got here. Times have changed and most people don't have that kind of money anymore, but there are still plenty of interesting shops and restaurants.

Well said, Mickelisious. You have eloquently expressed my feelings about a country that I am still in love with despite its many faults. Japan is dying, but no-one with any power is willing to admit it publicly.

Japan is locked in a demographic death spiral. I can handle that because my time is almost up -- I just feel sorry for the next generation. It upsets me to see young people working their butts off for 1,000 yen an hour - that was the minimum wage in the US over 30 years ago.

The poverty is more obvious now -- even in central Tokyo. The sad truth is that Japan is becoming a poor country.

He won't be missed.