James comments

Japan needs to find Prime Minister “Abi” 2.0

No japan just needs to allow Trump a win and increase imports from the US ... 2015:68bill, 2018:83 bill worth of us imports.. 2023:76bill worth of imports, with out Trump imports from the US has decreased.. just bring in more from the US and allow Trump to think it is his negotiation skills and play a few rounds of golf and make sure he wins.Also constantly praise his stories and tell him he is great. We don't need another Abe to be able to brown nose and offer to increase imports from the US.

The government will draw a supplementary budget to finance the stimulus measure

Hmm they no longer have a majority in the Lower house, I imagine anything that would make LDP look even remotely "good" would have a hard time getting enough votes to pass and this is one of those things.

Opposition parties should vote NO, Stimulus can come after the upper house elections once the opposition party can secure enough members to make sure new bills reach a vote and LDP can't block changes.

The opposition parties should utilize this to gain the needed seats in the upper house elections and only support this government on things that are needed to keep the country Afloat, Then call out how useless the LDP is and how they are not worth voting for. They would be stupid to call for a no confidence and force a new election now. They need to use this time to discredit LDP and say how useless they are. It is the only way to gain the needed seats in the upper house to be able to push through any changes they plan on once they do call a no confidence vote

At the time of his arrest in the Tsuyama case in 2018, Katsuta was already serving time for stabbing a female junior high school student in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture, in 2015.

A man serving a life sentence for killing a girl in western Japan two decades ago was arrested on Thursday for an alleged stabbing in 2006,

Kinda confusing

How was he still stabbing kids while serving time

Read the dates. He was first arrested for a stabbing in 2015 and then again for crimes that so far go back as early as 2004 so far...

He is a serial killer and has been killing and stabbing young girls for what maybe nearly 15 years or more. Seems that the time line on individual cases is starting to catch up. He may have done a lot more that he hasn't been questioned on yet so we may see him being arrested again and again in the near future for other stabbings in other neighboring prefectures like Tottori, Hiroshima and Osaka they are not that far to travel to all at least can be reached within less than a day. For all we know he may have been doing stabbings every year or even more. I wonder if others have been arrested and convicted for his crimes. Hope they take it seriously and piece together a bigger picture.

Papua New Guinea, an impoverished Pacific nation vulnerable to climate shocks, says it is "sick of the rhetoric" and is boycotting this year's U.N.-led talks in Azerbaijan altogether.

Yep good idea that is the way to make your voice heard in a political arena. oh wait no it isn't boycotting only works when it is a large number of people hurting the pockets of corporations.

Papua New Guinea needs to be their and make their voices heard... a no vote is a vote for no change.

Although I like the idea of the LDP stepping back, Noda had his chance before and couldn't do the job. Isn't there someone with new ideas?

If you look at the history there is a reason he couldn't push through any of the changes that they had promised. The LDP controlled the Upper House (and still does) they blocked all the attempts to change laws by not voting on any of them forcing them to need to be resubmitted time and time again.

Baba told reporters after his meeting with Noda at the Diet, "We can't stand with him unless there is a solid cause or concrete plan for political reforms."

Well that's not going to happen while the LDP control the upper house which can ignore bills for law changes (no vote) making the lower house's veto strength worthless as all bills must go through an upper house vote.

The UN has no right to interfetre with Japanese monarchy what so ever. Or any monarchy from any country.

The UN is always over stepping its bounds culturally.

Unless of course some royal Japanese family pressed the United Nations to include it since their voices at home are ignored...

Risky isn’t it? An over zealot customs agent and it gets you a fine and it’s thrown out. Heck in Narita you can’t even transfer with duty free liquids inside the customs bags so I don’t think they will be able to guarantee USA or Singapore compliance. So risky.

Did you read the article?

Japan Airlines Co launched a service on Monday to sell Japanese luxury wagyu beef to passengers traveling to the United States and Singapore and have it inspected for customs clearance.

They are saying it will be cleared. I imagine if you get the beef from anywhere else it won't be certified and then would be risky, this way you can probably make a claim against JAL if it does happen to get seized.

This chef, if he's that good, could surely do just as well for himself if he came back to Japan and opened a restaurant here.

Not when you can charge 150€ for lunch and 580€ for dinner or 280€ for a tasting menu ... don't know about you but don't think I'd be dinning there very often specially on the wages the average Haruto gets here... and I would most likely still be hungry after and need to stop at Lawson for a rice-ball on the way home.

He wanted to stay behind bars until his last day of his life. He doesn't cares his own personal freedom anymore. He just want a stable for food and shelter with rents, medical free. How sad !

This is Japan after all and he is Japanese so they will probably just give him a suspended sentence. So if that is his plan I wonder what crime he will do next.

If you think you have a model for economic growth in the face of a rapidly declining population, or have some idea how to turn around demographic trends that are global, there are probably some Nobel Prizes awaiting. Go ahead if you think you have all the answers. Anyone can complain. Now what do you know that your elders don't?

It is actually pretty simple to say what needs to happen doing it on the other hand would require a lot of work, firstly you would need to raise minimum hourly wages to met international standards to be able to persuade talent to come here.

Opening the gates to more foreign workers and actually allow their integration into society including allowing permanent visa holders to vote and be elected.

Revamp the justice system, to be able to handle the influx of international people, adjust the school system, and the political system. (to allow them to cater to internationalization)

When you are older you watch the younger members and you think to yourself, "this fool is going to mess it all up doing that", and they proceed to do so, but they won't listen because, well, you're just some old timer. What could you possibly know?

I do the same with elder people as well, specially all these inherited and entitled politicians here in Japan.

Don't forget what was relevant 30 odd years ago where these elder Japanese politicians seem to be stuck in time, is actually no longer relevant. This is why many people call for younger politicians. We all watch these elder politicians here in Japan mess it all up all the time.

Another old person who should have retired puts their hat in the ring. What is it with Japan and the USA choosing old people to be prime minister. Surely someone in their forties married with children would be a better pick to represent the Japanese public.

Well with around 36 million people over the age of 65 in Japan and pretty much where ALL the LDP votes come from I'd say 71 would be about the age group they want to represent.

Sick of all these entitled inheritance politicians.

Other factors include lower harvests caused by hot weather and water shortages, as well as increased demand related to record numbers of foreign tourists.

Bunch of lies..

https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240823/p2a/00m/0bu/024000c

Whaling: Why the practice will not go away

The article is long winded and covers a bunch of other stuff not related to the title.

I read the article to see why it won't go away, but that wasn't answered?

Did you read the following?

Tokyo argues that eating whale is part of Japanese culture and an issue of "food security" in the resource-poor country, which imports large amounts of animal meat.

Basically this is the sentence that answers why it won't go away.

So anyone who smoke and left cigarettes' butts around that area during that time will be subject for a crime conviction? Most important where's the murder weapon?

No butt they would be a suspect if their DNA turned up in the system.

Since Tanaka is already behind bars for another crime involving guns, you can bet his DNA is in the system.

And I am sure it is not the only evidence against him they probably have CCTV footage of him using the stolen scooter.

They ought to hold the general election ahead of the party president election to give the party at least an inkling of what the public wants. Not that they really care.

What would be the point? More than 50% of voters here don't vote.

By political party, the support rate for the LDP stood at 36.7 percent, while that for the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan was at 12.3 percent. The second-biggest opposition Japan Innovation Party measured 8.5 percent

And by knowing that 50% of eligible voters in Japan don't vote you do the math.

Congrats of creating unnecessary panic and fear

HUH? What panic has been created?

.Reservations for reserved seats on the shinkansen ... were about 1.2 times higher than last year, JR companies said.

Airlines reported that reservations for domestic flights were at the same level as last year.

Expressway operators are predicting that traffic jams of more than 10 kilometers this weekend.

Doesn't seem to have created any panic at all. Japan sends warnings for everything.. they even cancel schools just for a rainy day.

in the apartment next door, from his balcony.

so the man was standing on his own balcony?

leaning over his balcony and pointing his camera into his living room

And leaning over his balcony or their shared balcony?

So I am assuming he was still actually standing on his own property... maybe he should have been the one to have called the police and complained they were putting their acts of sex on display, I mean if all he had to do was lean over his balcony to see them... they are lucky he didn't have kids. It could have been them leaning over the balcony...

@DanteKH

They are only doing this in order to help the mega corporations, that are paying them handsomely, to have even more earnings due to exports.

This I can agree on. Japan politicians inherit their political positions and continue to support the same corporations and receive hefty funding and kickbacks from these corporations.

since Japanese people are too scared and cowardly for a big change in leadership.

You misunderstand, the LDP have been in power for so long that they have had time to adjust the political arena to their favor. Japan has three houses. two upper houses and 1 lower house. the two upper houses are 6 year terms split by three years so they can continue to maintain a majority. and they can control what happens in the lower house just by voting or not voting on any law (laws that are not voted on must be resubmitted every session) ... Also they spread propaganda through state news papers and state TV that it isn't worth voting for anybody basically the lower the voter turn out the higher chance they have to win.. Japan rarely ever has more than a 45 - 50 % voter turnout. Furthermore the opposition parties are limited on the amount of time they are allowed to make themselves and their policies heard and state media rarely ever reports anything on them except when they do something wrong.

The thing in Japan is that drivers of all 3 cars that hit her will face criminal charges and civil lawsuits, as some blame is almost always assigned to each of the parties

And so they should, The law is that they should have stopped and helped out with the accident and called police.. they didn't do what the law requires of them ... and that their reckless driving caused a death.

The plaintiff in the Sendai lawsuit also wanted an official apology from the Japanese government, according to an essay at nippon.com (link below).

I wonder if she’ll get that?

The government "sincerely apologises" for the policy that "trampled on the human dignity" of victims, Kishida said, adding he would meet survivors in coming weeks to listen "face-to-face to their stories of suffering"

If you already live somewhere, why would you want to stay in a hotel room there?

some residents grumble about being priced out of hotel rooms or crowded out of buses and restaurants

This does not say, local residents, it's meaning is residents of Japan. When they say tourist they don't include Japanese visiting Kyoto.

Just be sure the question is being used to help justify imposing a special foreigner tax.

The faces in the grey suits will change but rhe LDP will forever rile Japan. Japanese are incapable of doing something as “risky” as voting for real change. Sigh.

You obviously don't understand Japanese politics.. LDP are so ingrained in the Upper House that just replacing the Lower House does nothing... the Lower House can not make any changes without the Upper House who have a special veto called "ignore"which blocks any legislation by not putting it to a vote in the current session (Any legislation must be approved by both houses to become law even though the lower house can veto the Upper House vote if it isn't voted on then nothing to veto...) and with over 2 thirds of the upperhouse being LDP Lower House can do nothing.

High school girl? isn't she most likely a minor? Shouldn't that be classed as child porn? unless she had just turned 18 in the last few days... it is only the 9th of April. Isn't it wonderful how they change the facts for one of their own...

Problem is nowadays she may lie about her age, ask a promise not to call parents and police...this is a common feature of young girls.

As an adult, it would be your responsibility to make sure that she is not a minor before excepting her into your home. If she is asking you not to tell her parents or cops, it would be a pretty big red flag to me that she is a minor or a criminal.

Not every situation is what you think, especially when no harm is done as it seems by reading the article

Yet in this case the guy admitted to knowing that she was a minor.

I would argue that what he did does not fit with what abduction is. I would argue it is more in line with coercion as he did not physically remove her from her home to his.

I agree that coercion is a part of how he abducted her. Once he had her in his home even if she believes she came by her own free will she is a MINOR and she was 'even if not by force' removed from the care of her parents. which as described by Wikipedia is the definition of abduction.

the man and the girl met on a social media site and that the man asked the girl to come and visit him in Chiba

She had been staying at his home since March 16.

Child abduction or child theft is the unauthorized removal of a minor (a child under the age of legal adulthood) from the custody of the child's natural parents or legally appointed guardians.

So he met her online convinced her to come to him maybe even paid for her train.. then without being authorized he took her into his home... Sounds like it fits with what Child abduction - Wikipedia says it is.