albaleo comments

The main opposition Conservative Party offered a swift response.

But they didn't support a national inquiry when they were in power.

One useful regulation might be to attach a picture of a robot to anything that is created by AI.

Urawa is a nondescript suburb about an hour north of Tokyo

That's not my memory.

This is a Nazi policy during their reigns in Germany and occupied area.

I don't think that's entirely true. The previous law from 1940 followed the Nazi idea of a "superior population". The 1948 law wasn't completely bad - it legalized abortions. The bad part was that it allowed sterilization without the person's knowledge or consent.

One thing missing from the article is the reason for the sterilization. Was it simply because he was an "alleged delinquent" or were there other reasons?

A question I have is if a person's child is likely to suffer either mentally or physically, should sterilization be encouraged?

When people have access to powerful weapons tragic incidents are bound to occur

I agree. There are nutcases everywhere, and easy access to guns increases the chance of sad events like this.

I don't follow most of the opinions here (except ian's). I can accept mistakes were made with the placing of the pump. But who should take responsibility? The owners of the company (i.e. the shareholders) or the executives? I think they all hold some responsibility - but as the executives are serving the owners, maybe more blame lies with the owners. Meanwhile, the two engineers that Wallace referred to and the thousands of local residents who had to move out of their homes are the ones that deserve compensation.

What is a "subway driver?"

According to Google's AI search overview...

A "subway driver" is a common term for a train driver on an underground subway system. They operate trains between stations, adhering to schedules and safety regulations.

That seems to make sense to me.

I didn't know of him when he was a player, but I have fond memories of him as a manager. The "wacky phrases" made me smile. And I think it was he who once forgot to take his son home one day - that made me smile even more. Thanks for the warm feelings.

@1glenn,

I don't understand why your comment was downvoted. Your comment matches what I saw at the time. People were dying, hospitals were getting full, and people waiting for treatment for other problems had to wait longer.

Not for healthy under-65s. That's why they stopped recommending it for that group.

Here in the UK, this year only over-75s will get the vaccine (and those under 75 who have certain conditions). The reason given is that general immunity has been increasing ‘due to a combination of naturally acquired immunity following recovery from infection and vaccine-derived immunity’. Cost-effectiveness rather than side effects is the reason for stopping it for under-75s. I.e. there's no point on wasting money for generally healthy under-75s.

How on Earth can you kill your own baby after a few months ?

I don't know. That's probably because I'm a man, I've never been pregnant, and never given birth.

When our two kids were born, my wife's mum came to stay for a while to help out. She probably thought her daughter's husband was a useless idiot. She was probably right.

I've read the infanticide rate is higher in my country than in Japan. One difference is probably that the cases are generally not reported in the news as they are here on JT.

Not sure what the emphasis on 'white' has to do with anything.

Wiki quote: "There are also many White Muslims in the country

That's true, but the police probably thought the more moronic thugs were less likely to cause trouble and attack mosques as happened after the Southport murders if the person was known to be white. I don't envy the police in making the decision, and I imagine they will consider whether it was appropriate or not and what they should do following future incidents.

The decontaminated soil is less than 0.1 microsieverts.

I'm assuming that's 0.1 microsieverts per hour. If so, it sounds quite safe.

when using tonic water use only high quality and expensive tonic water

Is that because there is quinine in the more expensive types in Japan? I thought quinine was banned in Japan, but apparently that's not the case. I've read it's left out of the cheaper brands because of the cost.

some slightly radioactive soil

All soil is radioactive to some extent. It would be helpful to know the exact radiation level of this soil.

Better to cover up,say with a widebrimmmed hat,or hooded long sleeve rashvest.

Which makes me think of how older people in Japan tend to dress in summer.

People with darker skin still need to wear sunscreen

Does that not depend on where you live?

The link below includes this sentence - "For people of colour there is a much lower risk of skin cancer, and a much higher risk of vitamin D deficiency, and as such, people of colour are more likely to benefit from sun exposure."

I think that refers to those living in the UK - not the sunniest of places.

https://www.skinhealthinfo.org.uk/sun-awareness/sun-advice-for-skin-of-colour/

A modern democracy should elect its head of state, period.

A monarch with zero power versus a head of state with a lot of power - which is better? I don't think there is a perfect answer. A lot of European countries still have a monarch, not because they want to obey their king or queen but because they can't think of a better solution.

The MMR comes with significant risks. That's why Japan does not offer the measles vaccine as an MMR combo.

The MMR combo was discontinued in Japan because of a concern with the Mumps element. There was concern over the incidence of serious aseptic meningitis. (I understand the Mumps element of the vaccine in Japan was different from other countries.) I've read that the incidence was 0.05%. I've also read that the incidence increased to 1.24% among unvaccinated people following the separation of the vaccines.

Read the above article. The suspect was smoking. No seeming about it.

I've read the article a couple of times and can't see where it says the suspect was smoking.

across North America and England

That should be Britain and not England. He had concerts planned for Edinburgh and Liverpool.

Anyway, I hope he gets through it all. When I first read this news, I played "We Didn't Start The Fire" - the best 5-minute history recall ever.

Can anyone recommend a good one for my dodgy shoulder?

Yes. Drink a bottle of red wine every day. It will help you forget the various medical issues you have. It's worked for me for quite a few years now. :-)

There are plenty of other missing people but the police keep dragging out this photo every year. I wonder how family members of other missing people feel to see their loved ones get passed over again and again.

As far as I know, there are not many cases of young children going missing and never being found. I remember the police being criticized for not showing this photo in the past.

Sorry, but I find it a very sad story. I know the Kumatori area, and I also have memories of my daughter going to school not so far away when she was nine. In our area, the local community group organized sets of parents to stand on the roads that the kids walked. A few times there were reports of creepy people lurking in cars on the road to the way to school. When that happened , the numbers of locals standing on the roads were doubled.

I can't imagine how the parents of this girl must feel.

You don’t recall being told that?Because the entire world was flooded with that promise — not just from politicians, but from health officials, media outlets, and pharmaceutical conglomerates themselves.

I'm pretty sure the document I received from the NHS in the UK didn't guarantee the vaccine would prevent me getting Covid. (It was about reducing the risks.) I do recall hospitals being overwhelmed with patients, mainly older people, which reduced treatment for other problems. I do recall a man in my street dying from Covid. I do recall a lot of uncertainty about the appropriate measures to take. And I do recall a few people who seemed very certain that they knew everything.

Did you miss the part where we were promised protection? "Get vaccinated and you won’t get COVID!!!"

I don't recall ever being told that. I remember being advised to get vaccinated and reduce the chance of getting Covid and reduce the severity of the illness if I did get it. I did get vaccinated and I did get Covid. It wasn't severe.

Perhaps people are more exposed to "free speech" these days than in the past. When I was young, I'd have to go somewhere to hear people ranting about something. These days it's all on the internet and smart phones.

I'm not comfortable with the phrase "free speech". I can understand that we should be free to express opinions, but what if those opinions are offensive to some. When I was young, if I said something offensive about my sister, I'd have got slapped on the hand by my parents. And so I learned I wasn't free to say anything I wanted. If I say "religious believers are wrong", that might be considered OK. But what if I say, "religious believers should be locked up"?

So I might say offensive speech should not be allowed, but then how to define "offensive"?

Sorry, but I have no clear answer to how we should manage the concept of "free speech".

We should send them back to the sender.

I've read elsewhere (see below) that it was found in a former wartime supply depot, so it may be a Japanese bomb.

"According to the Hiroshima University Museum, the campus was the location of a former Imperial Japanese Army ordnance supply depot where weapons and ammunition were stored. "

I'm a little confused, probably because of age. The article seems to split the options between app payments and cash. But when I worked in Japan, my pay was always paid directly into my bank account. I think I'd still find that method preferable.

I've always felt that the health insurance premiums we pay every month should take into account whether the payee lives a healthy lifestyle or not. People who don't smoke, exercise often, aren't obese and don't drink alcohol should pay less.

I've heard an opposing argument. People who smoke and drink alcohol pay extra taxes and die younger, putting less strain on the health system. And I guess fat people buy more food and therefore pay more tax. As one comedian said, "These people are the heroes in this mess."

The boy has admitted to killing his grandfather with a knife, the police said. His grandmother's death is still under investigation.

Is there just a possibility the grandfather killed the grandmother and the kid killed his grandfather in anger? Sorry, but articles like this are frustrating. But they seem to trigger anger among readers. I think it's better to wait a little and see what info emerges. Meanwhile, perhaps pop out for a smoke and a think.