JeffLee comments

Antibacterial soaps are popular, but experts said they dry out your skin too much for daily use.

That ain't the case in Japan in summer or SE Asia year-round. I always stock up on Dettol soap to kill the bacteria. "Dry skin" is certainly not a problem in muggy, sweaty Japan right now!

Long outdoor queues and insufferable weather are a dangerous combination. How about working on reducing the length of the lineups?

Maybe if ishiba had responded like Canada's Carney or Mexico's Sheinbaum's firing back with retaliatory tariffs and harsh defient words, instead of just mumbling that the situation was "regrettable."

they shouldn't have gotten rid of Toshien Mae Water Park

Never went there but one saw a poster that showed what looked like a nice big outdoor pool. Then it said it was only open on weekends and national holidays until the school holidays started. It was closed on the hot sweltering summer day I saw the poster. Closed on purpose.

The place wasn't about enjoyment and relaxation. It was about packing as many human bodies as possible into confined spaces. That is so often the business model in Japan's "leisure" industry. Good riddance!

I really don't see that in Tokyo. Usually it's the odd coffee can rolling around the floor that no one wants to touch, and so it keeps rolling.

Raising corporate tax will cause wage stagnation.

A cut to the corporate tax a few years ago was followed by real wage declines. LOL. Wage stagnation actually sounds pretty good.

What in high heaven prompted them to procure Japanese software?!? The Japanese make many great things. Enterprise software is not one of them.

it’s all being wiped out in real time, with Western backing.

Utter nonsense. “Wiped out”?!? The Palestinian global population was 1.3 million in 1948. Today it’s 14.5 million. In the Gaza, it has grown from 60,000 to 2.2 million. Their population has seen explosive growth, mainly through high birthrates, including in territories while under Israeli control. What kind of “genocide” is that?

The target is Hamas, not the general population. Sadly, Hamas choses the battlefield, and that battlefield is within schools, hospitals and dense residential areas.

the number of people in 85 countries will be shrinking by 2050, mostly in Europe and Asia

A deceptive stat. there are around 200 countries in the world. What about the rest of them, as in most of them? LOL. The global population will be growing for a very long time, and thus climate change and the environment will continue to worsen. Because nobody except for a tiny minority refuse to tackle the root causes.

The security guards in front of my office building in Tokyo stand outside in the sun on an unshaded piece of concrete in their full uniforms. There are no chairs, and they never sit down. The person or people responsible for this arrangement are insane. If someone where trying to break in, the guards would be too fatigued to give chase. I've never seen this in other countries.

If living in the middle of nowhere in a house that will be almost impossible to resell is your thing then go for it.

You forgot to mention "living in a community where the average age is 90."

Constantly disrupting Russia's civil aviation is good strategy for Ukraine. Kinda hard to run a functioning society when no one can fly anywhere.

A friend of my wife just resigned from the police force in her mid-30s. She said she couldn't stand the extremely harsh working conditions. So good luck with this project!

Don't forget to thank Donald for that at the next election.

The same trend is happening in Canada at a more pronounced rate. A growing number of young people believe they have not future and would be happy to emigrate to Trump's America. Canada has been ruled by globalization-loving, mass-immigration loving liberals for over the past decade.

Basic safety equipment include a long pole and/or flotation device. It seems they didn't have either. Trying to rescue someone without the equipment is very risky, even for good swimmers.

Tinned fruit is good for your emergency disaster survival kit.

His comments might make sense if the govt hadn't slashed the corpoate tax several years ago while hiking the tax on consumers. The obvious solution is to rebalance, given that the corporate sector has been making the highest profits in history in recent years while the real wages of workers have nearly consistently fallen.

Consumption drives over 60% of Japan's economy, afterall, more than any othe factor.

".....an over-reliance on cheap credit.." 

Better an over-reliance on cheap credit than on expensive credit, LOL.

Ironically, it's really difficult to do this in Japan right now, due to the oppresive heat and humidity. My Tokyo park is nearly deserted in the afternoons, even on weekends. Ugh.

@Tora

This is exactly what is happening.

No it isn't. The current global population is around 8 bil. It was 2.5 bil in 1950. In 2080 it will be over 10 billion. That's way, way, way too many people. Think of all the greenhouse gases that will be dumped to the atmosphere. God forbid that we tackle the root cause.

Not a big fan, but they were jeans-wearing working class kids who wrote and performed their own songs using little more than guitars and drums and still got higher in the charts than others who had huge industry backing and money. Refreshing in this day and age.

The way to stop it is to actively encourage thhe world to stop having so many babies. The emissions come directly from people's activities. Fewer people, fewer green house emissions, less heat. Really simple solution, but no one (except me and a tiny number of others) wants to do it.

 Japan surrendered days later.

Too bad it wasn't days earlier. They would have lived.

I'm wondering who will harvest it. ICE is creating a situation at American farms

Americans? If the farmers can't hire enough, then people on temporary work visas. Like in Canada, Japan and most other developed countries.

the economy is on life support with the BOJ having exhausted their ammunition. 

Been hearing that over the past decade.

My Nikkei ETF in my NISA has been a decent performer in the last few year, not just in appreciation but dividends as well. Let's hope the returns will become even greater as a result of these moves.

In this single case, there are at least 10 people who allegedly collected, processed and distributed the images systematically. It makes you wonder how extensive this disgusting behavior is through Japan's school system.

Beer, beer, and more beer. In addition, tap water with the occaisional salt tab.

They should have had guns.

The Chinese don't sell illicit fent in Japan or China because in the first case, if caught, they'll get a very lengthy jail term in the world's strictest run prison system and in the latter, a bullet in the back of the head.

In the US, they'd get a moderate sentence becoming a light sentence on the grounds of "good behavior." In Canada, they won't go to jail at all, which is why Canada is prime destination and has the worst fent situation of all.

Not surprising. Japan is a highly rule-bound society to an extent not really seen in any other country. A big role for schools is to instill obedience to the rules, regardless of how outlandish or illogical they may be. Many of these rules exist for the sake of simply being rules -- that MUST be followed.

Too many of them are filled with smoke and have only one commercial lager beer, and it's usually Super Dry, my least favorite. Beer is the most popular item and yet there is hardly any choice. Doesn't make sense.