CrashTestDummy comments

Are the data centers using people's data in a way beneficial to them or against them? That is my main concern.

Rice is hot political issue like eggs and gas in the US.

I like rice.

"The Japanese government has set an ambitious target of almost doubling tourist numbers to 60 million annually by 2030"

Wow, that would be a lot of tourists. I guess it is good for the Japan economy with lots of foreign money coming in. However, a lot of the hot spots (Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, etc ) are just really super crowed by tourists and the prices for hotels and other things are going up a lot. I'm going to just go to the lesser crowded areas.

Totally understand that the people who live around the bridge are unhappy with all the people around their homes all the time. Disruptions and tons of people around your home is not good. Your home is a suppose to be a place of peace. Perhaps the government should make a good photo place that is away from people's homes.

I'm a half-Japanese foreigner and speak very little Japanese. It is extremely difficult for foreigners to meet women in Japan unless you speak Japanese fluently.

Like someone said earlier "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." Could not be more true.

Surprising and odd crime story.

I just did a search for hotels in Japan, yesterday. I was really surprised at how much prices have gone up since September last year when I went to Japan. Depending on the dates, I saw prices nearly double in some of the most sought after areas where I looked. High demand is driving up prices. Simple supply and demand.

@Blacklabel

the gift was given TO Trump. BY Japan. Made in China.

@Blacklabel is correct.

"Akazawa added he gave Trump a gold-colored piggy bank in the shape of Myaku-Myaku, the official mascot of the World Expo, now underway in Osaka." NHK World Japan News April 19, 2025

"During trade talks, Japan presented Trump with a 'Made in China' piggy bank, highlighting the complexities of global supply chains amid trade tensions." Economic Times April 24, 2025

Too many people makes things worse. I went to Kyoto/Shiga area in September. Never saw so many people. I'd much rather visit the smaller cities and towns now.

I like Denny's in Japan much more than Denny's in the US. Lol. They have great western breakfast and open early in the morning. Jonathon's in Japan is almost identical to Denny's which is also good. Really surprised that Denny's and Jonathon's are not owned by the same company.

Nissan should bring back a newly designed Xterra. Rugged full-4wd SUVs are really popular in the US right now.

"Gambling is illegal in Japan."

But, I thought Japan recently approved a casino to be built in Osaka? Also, what about horse racing?

How will affect the prices Japanese and US steel products? That is the question.

Gas prices super high!! How is everyone liking those climate change green policies now?

How will this affect Japanese carbon steel golf clubs and steel golf iron shafts? That is all I'm concerned about. Lol.

Merry Christmas. Everyone heading to KFC!!

Tons of Chinese visit Japan and spend a lot of money. I think Ginza in Tokyo caters to the Chinese shoppers the most because they spend the most money.

commanteer

In other words, he promises that they will be getting even less than they are now when inflation is factored in. I find it interesting that hotel prices have double tripled and quadrupled in the past 3 years - but the pittance they pay their workers remains unchanged.

It is because the hotel businesses and pretty much all businesses costs went up a lot. Whenever business costs go up from external factors, they always pass the increases in costs to the consumers. I have seen inflation/prices/costs of living for virtually everything skyrocket in the US for the last 4 years because of that.

They raised the minimum wage drastically in many areas of the US. This what happened, inflation/prices went up substantially, businesses laid off a lot of workers and/or cut their hours. I expect to see the same results in Japan, but I could be wrong.

I watched a short YouTube documentary by a news outlet on Japan's declining birth rate. They interviewed a couple of Japanese women that live in Tokyo. One woman said that she was not interested in getting into a relationship because she would likely have to change her lifestyle. However, she would consider getting into a relationship if she didn't have to change her lifestyle, her life improved, and the guy had a driver's license. I thought the driver's license part was funny. Lol.

Been to China many times. China has some amazing national parks and nature. However, I still am concerned with their COVID policies and lockdowns.

Not good, but flu cases always go up during the winter.

Lots of things in the study are very interesting. I found it very interesting that in Dec 2011 both Japan and South Korea had high levels of happiness with Japan (70% happiness level) and South Korea (71% happiness level) respectively, but then went down substantially over the years to now.

Japan happiness level went down at a very steady rate from 2011 (70% happiness level) to 2024 (57% happiness level). Whereas, South Korea happiness level went down sharply from 2011 (71% happiness level) to 2017 ( 48% happiness level ) then stayed at a low happiness level from 2017 to 2024 (48% happiness level).

You really have to wonder what was the causes of the happiness levels to decline so much in Japan and South Korea.

Here is the full Ipsos study for anyone interested in reading it.

https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/news/documents/2024-03/Ipsos-happinessindex2024.pdf

I think the study needs to make a distinction between the dissatisfaction of relationships and sex of men and women. For better context, it would be good to see the differences in opinions of men and women. Not lump them all together.

"The economic stimulus will include subsidies to offset high electricity, gas and gasoline prices and deliver cash handouts to low-income households."

Worldwide push to ban viable efficient sources of energy for expensive inefficient sources of energy in the name of climate change. What could go wrong?

There was a lot of voter fraud and interference in the election from the mainstream media, social media, and search engines in the 2020 election. Domininion claimed that the voting machines were not connected to the internet and that they could not be accessed remotely to change any of the voting data. That was not true. In the Arizona Dominion hearings, IT security experts got into the Dominion machines easily through the SQL software and was able to flip and switch votes with a few clicks. They accessed the machines remotely with computers, usb flash drives, and iphones.

"Cybersecurity Expert Confirms and Provides Examples of How Backend SQL Management Software Can Be Used on Voting Machines to Alter Results" Gateway Pundit April 4, 2023

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/04/cybersecurity-expert-confirms-sql-software-on-voting-machines-real-time-manipulation-of-votes-on-dominion-voting-software-demonstrated/

"7-Eleven's parent company Seven & I Holdings, based in Japan, said in its earnings report that the North American economy experienced persistent inflation, high interest rates and a "deteriorating employment environment.""

There are a lot of problems caused by the skyrocketed inflation/prices caused by Biden/Harris/Democrat economic and energy policies the last four years.

Funny how some places just go viral. I'm allergic to lines. I would just go somewhere else. There are tons of great restaurants with very similar quality around.