CaptDingleheimer comments

If the U.S. were to withdraw its military presence from Japan, Japan would likely need to at least double or triple its current defense budget—potentially investing over $100 billion annually—to independently match the deterrence and capabilities provided by the U.S. forces, including nuclear umbrella protection, advanced missile defense, and regional naval presence. Given this immense cost disparity, it is justifiable for Trump—or any U.S. president—to ask Japan to contribute more toward the shared defense burden, as the current arrangement heavily favors Japanese security at a fraction of the true cost.

But I get it, Orange Man Bad.

I remember having a crush on a girl who didn't like me back.

But busting into her place, stealing her undies, then going home to sniff them never really crossed my mind.

I have a friend who is a top-of-field international economist, you sometimes see him on the BBC and hear him on NPR, that sort of thing.

He said that overall, the blanket tariff thing is a bit reckless. But he did say that the exception are the two countries in particular who deserve the tariffs for their general behavior toward the US and its exports:

China, and Japan.

Hey, whatever it takes to keep a few million 40–50 year-old borderline child molesters drooling and spending money

Crazy cat lady.... I bet she drives an old Subaru and has tie-dyed tapestries hanging up in her house.

I got stopped and asked for my ID once in front of a conbini. I refused to show it to them until they told me what crime they suspected me of. They insisted. so did I. It went back and forth for awhile. One cop got really mad, but the other one must have realized they didn't have anything, because he pulled Deputy Angry aside and conferred with him, then they just left.

Liberate what, all 6 city blocks where these stupid riots are taking place?

Japan's strategy seems to be paying men crap, too.

Just stay away from the 6 or 8 city blocks where the protests/riots are confined to. Problem solved.

“That’s not how democracies work”….

That’s EXACTLY how democracies work. The executive branch is elected on a platform, and then they make changes to executive branch agency leadership to move their platform agenda forward.

As the article stated, Biden replaced the entire committee with his own picks.

But that doesn’t count, because he’s on the Blue Team. So it’s okay.

But were in a spot where “Democrats don’t like it” = “They’re ending democracy!”

How about tax incentives for companies to allow remote work, and opening satellite branches in smaller cities, and creating significant housing incentives for younger people to move to more rural areas?

If you’re a young Tokyo couple living in a smaller town or city in a bigger home with more natural space around while still making near Tokyo money, that’s a much better environment for raising children.

Whatever. He made a bad joke. Move on.

Yeah, when I lived in rural Akita I never paid for rice. I lived in the edge of a bunch of rice fields, and I used to get blind drunk with some of the neighboring farmers.

They hooked it right up.

I paid $23 bucks for a 5kg sack of Hokkaido-grown rice in Boston this week.

That’s ¥3,200.

Shipped all the way here and still much cheaper than in Japan.

They’re copying American hood rats.

I asked ChatGPT by what percentage would Japan have to increase its defense spending if the US simply packed up and went home:

”If the U.S. pulled all military support from Japan, Japan would likely need to increase its defense spending by roughly 100% to 200%—possibly more depending on the threat environment and desired capabilities.”

(any elaborated after that, go ask yourself and see the details)

so yes, I know it’s fun to sit around and get all mad about America and Trump and all that, but be careful what you wish for.

Elon Musk left his advisory role in the Trump administration due to a legal time limit associated with his position. He served as a Special Government Employee (SGE), a designation that restricts individuals to a maximum of 130 days of service within a 365-day period to avoid triggering stricter ethics and disclosure requirements. Musk’s tenure began on January 20, 2025, and concluded on May 30, 2025, aligning with this 130-day limit .

So there was nothing at all unconstitutional about him being there doing what he was doing. He was a temporary advisor doing the president’s bidding. Par for the course.

It seems like they’ve been walking back the “the foreign tourists are eating all the rice” narrative.

How would her family not know she was pregnant? This is a Japanese woman we’re talking about, not some 385-pound American woman

My sister-in-law said that “the news” is attributing it to the foreign tourists.

Because having 1.5% more people on top of the population totally equates to the price going up 115% in 10 months…

Boy, that’s a hell of a lot of money to spend on a ticket for a band that sucks.

Talk talk talk talk talk, talk talk talk.

I was there for half of April. Definitely saw a bunch of foreigners in Tokyo, but the places where my family members live haven’t been discovered yet. And there’s some nice spots in those places, too.

They should’ve let him stay on if he went to an actual farm and shoveled horse manure for a week.

Met my wife nampa.

(Met quite a few before her that way, too)

Dating apps are for amateurs.

If you marry Japanese woman, the age of your youngest child is the same number of years since the last time you had sex. Makes it easy to keep track of.

But keep telling us about how it’s always the foreigners’s fault when the marriage doesn’t work.

It was a smart move from the owner but I failed at humour today :)

@ Wasabi

I always upvote bad jokes. There are so many humorless twits in here just going around downvoting everything good, bad, and ugly, so I figure I can help cancel them out.

The article mentions that the tourism boom is one of the two main factors driving the price of rice to double.

My sister-in-law told me that "the news" says foreign tourism is the main factor in the price of rice going up.

There are roughly 3 million foreign visitors a month. They don't all stay for a month, but the influx/outflux is rolling, so let's assume that there are 3 million extra mouths to feed at a given time. And let's assume that kids under the age of 5 aren't really eating rice. So we have 3 million extra mouths to feed over the 119 million Japanese over the age of 5.

I realize that there are some rather hefty gaijin about, but gaijin account for at most 2.5% of the rice-eaters in Japan at a given time. And they are largely responsible for the price going up by 100%. Right. Got it.

“It’s our dream that people from all around the world come enjoy our very famous this-or that!”

[people from all around the world come enjoy their very famous this-or that]

”Dangu-nabbitto!”

Good. They must be having issues.

UFO's have been monitoring and sometimes harassing US military aviation for a long time, and with some of the stigma now removed, we are hearing about a lot more of it. The Navy encourages reporting. The USAF still discourages it. They've been directed to encourage reporting, but reportedly they still let pilots know it will be bad for their careers if they do.