kiwiboy comments

While foreign tourists should not be skipping out on their insurance, the figure given makes the problem about 6.7 million yen/month, nationwide.

How many tourists are coming to Japan now? How many are receiving treatment and paying. It does seem like a small amount in the greater scheme of things - not something that necessitates urgent reform?

Enjoyed as many as I could eat when back in NZ last month. They sure are delicious!

I guess this is to stop people taking off their shirt and sunbathing. While I don't have a body for taking off my shirt in public anyway, why not let the occasional person tan themselves if they want to? If they can't do it at the park, where exactly should they do it? Shibuya crossing?

Hawk

I thought that might be the case. Just because he was arrested, as reported yesterday, doesn't mean he was going to be charged and imprisoned.

NOMINATION

Knew it. People here acted like he was getting the death penalty yesterday.

True, but if he was arrested on March 24th, and they dropped the charges (and released him) yesterday, he was still locked up for 11 nights.

I wouldn't wish 11 nights in a Japanese jail cell on anyone other than real criminals who had ill intent or blatant disregard to their victims.

He's just an old man who, although silly to have brought the gun over by mistake, did the right thing and self-reported it to the authorities. Victim-less mistake.

They could have just taken his gun and let him go after one night of investigation.

Didn't Palestinians vote for him droves, unhappy with how Biden was dealing with Israel? I wonder what they think now.

The moral of the story: Trump might seem all fine and good - until he, seemingly overnight, does a flip, putting an issue you feel is important in his crosshairs.

While I disagree with many of his policies, I am interested to see what he does with a few others. But I don't trust him. He could change his mind tomorrow on any of the few policies I'm interested to see implemented - and that's not a quality of a good politician - certainly not of the leader of the free world.

I work near a railway crossing where it's common for the barrier to go up, only to start ringing again as you're crossing the tracks. But luckily where I live, there's only a few people crossing at a time. It's obvious that the infrastructure at this crossing is from a time before tourists. Now the tourists are here, there's too many people and not enough time between trains. They need an underground tunnel or an over-bridge. Build one. You want the tourists? Solve the problem. Stop encouraging tourists and then complaining about the problems if you're not ready to work out the problems that arise when there's an infrastructure/user miss-match.

But there's more men in jail than woman? Better lock up more woman.

There's more male soldiers than woman. Better sign up more young girls to go to war.

There's more male murderers than woman. Better get more woman to kill?

Gender equality as measured by having equal numbers of men/woman doing the same things is stupid. There will always be differences.

Woman should have the same opportunities as men - ie, if they want to to pursue the same things, they can. But FORCING a 50/50 split across society is stupid. It's natural for different genders to, on average, want different things.

It's a tragedy, but as much as I despise DEI hiring, this accident was not that.

It seems the helicopter was at an incorrect altitude (100ft higher than it should have been) and when asked if they had the airliner in sight, might have mistaken it for another airliner nearby. They said they had it in sight and were given instructions to keep clear of the airliner.

There may be some system-wide failures (or rather things that could have been done differently), but ultimately, it looks like pilot error on behalf of the helicopter training flight.

RIP to all involved and sympathy with the families. Shame on Trump using it for cheap political shots so soon after the accident.

China really burst their little AI bubble bigtime. As a prominent commentator has noted, this is yet another Sputnik moment.

We'll see

Sorry for the formatting mess

Lack of Transparency: Experts question DeepSeek’s claims, citing its refusal to engage with media and lack of transparency.

Unusual Behavior: The company restricts overseas user registrations and avoids media visits, leading to speculation about its motives.

Government Involvement: DeepSeek’s founder has close ties to the Chinese government, which actively promotes the company’s success.

“Genius AI Girl” Controversy: Lau Le, presented as a key figure, faces skepticism over her credentials, with some suspecting a publicity stunt.

Misleading Cost Claims: DeepSeek’s stated AI development costs omit key expenses, making its affordability claims questionable.

Propaganda Concerns: The hype around DeepSeek is likely state-driven, with a history of exaggerated technological achievements.

Security Risks: DeepSeek’s ties to the Chinese government raise concerns about potential data sharing with authorities.

Lot's of hype, but let's see how it all plays out. Here's some great insight into why it might not be as spectacular and game changing as it sounds:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jq3egQZmyas

Points raised:

• **Lack of Transparency**: Experts question DeepSeek’s claims, citing its refusal to engage with media and lack of transparency. • **Unusual Behavior**: The company restricts overseas user registrations and avoids media visits, leading to speculation about its motives. • **Government Involvement**: DeepSeek’s founder has close ties to the Chinese government, which actively promotes the company’s success. • **“Genius AI Girl” Controversy**: Lau Le, presented as a key figure at DeepSeek, faces skepticism over her credentials, with some suspecting a publicity stunt. • **Misleading Cost Claims**: DeepSeek’s stated AI development costs omit key expenses, making its affordability claims questionable. • **Propaganda Concerns**: The hype around DeepSeek is likely state-driven - China has a long history of exaggerated technological achievements. • **Security Risks**: DeepSeek’s ties to the Chinese government raise concerns about potential data sharing with authorities.

And yet there isn't any resentment or division.

Are you kidding me? My sister missed out on getting into Law School in her first attempt because Maori with lower scores were given priority - quite literally the definition of racism. In a modern society, race shouldn't matter at all. The best people get the spots - as simple as that.

On my recent visit to NZ I was shocked to learn how in the public health system, you have many cases where Maori are being given priority for medical treatments based solely on their RACE, and not just their level of medical urgency. This kind of race-based treatment definitely leads to resentment and division.

That's not what it's about. There are promises in the treaty.

Where promises don't stand with modern society (ie, any promises made on the basis of race), they should be scrapped. Rip it up if need be, and create one based on one country, for all New Zealanders in the 21st Century.

Everyone born in NZ today is equally New Zealander. Immigrants who naturalise become equally New Zealander. Everyone deserves equal rights in a one-law-for-all society based on personal merits. No special treatment just because you're 1% Maori.

In tackling the unfortunate situation where many Maori are in lower income households (which leads to higher instances of crime/imprisonment) I'm all for programs that help break bad cycles and lift people up - but they should be programs that target all low-income, high-risk households - not only to specific racial groups.

For example, my cousin married a Maori, so her kids are technically Maori. They're fairly well-off, but her kids will have a free education and they use the Maori ticket as much as they can. Why not, if it's possible, it's possible. But they don't need that special treatment, so shouldn't have access to it. Assistance programs should be based on NEED, completely race-blind.

New Zealand doesn't have policies that perpetuate racial distinctions only serve to reopen old wounds and foster inequality. In fact, it's the opposite.

Where do you live?

Three years to get to trial? Too long

Kobe is, and it's only a short train ride to Osaka. Perfect!

If you're 18, you're an adult. If you're an adult wanting to go overseas, you can pay for your own passport - which is the bare minimum requirement for going overseas.

If the govt. wants more people to travel they need make the situation such where young people feel like they can travel. That really comes down to money. How much they earn in their part-time jobs and how far their yen will go once they're overseas.

If you want young people to travel do two things:

1) Raise the minimum wage to something reasonable.

2) Improve the economy, which will result in two things - a stronger yen so their money will go further overseas and optimism in the future so they're not worried about spending what little money they've saved on an overseas trip.

I only want to know where my taxes end up, that's all, and maybe not asking for too much.

Agree!

It's our tax money and that's a LOT of it, so if they say it's to reduce our costs, I want to see where and how much I'm saving. For example, on my electric bill, show me the portion that's been deducted and paid for by the govt.

If there's no accountability, what's to stop it just disappearing, without us actually saving anything?

Whaling: Why the practice will not go away

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

She recommended that people avoid exposing their skin by wearing long-sleeve tops, full-length trousers, hats, gloves and other clothing, as well as making sure they cover their necks with towels in woodland areas, use insect repellent and take baths following outdoor activities.

Oh I can't wait to go outside and enjoy nature like this.

Many owners have insurance.

Not for loss of earnings.

They come in steal some of your wires and your solar units are no longer producing power. It might take a couple of months until they can be serviced at this time of the year, meaning possibly a couple of months of ZERO power production (money generation) during that time.

Insurance won't cover that. So yeah, you'll get your new wires installed - but you're still going to be waaaaay out of pocket.

If you aren't a VERY competent swimmer and VERY confident around water, go to the pool instead of the beach or river.

Japan can be so lame and boring sometimes. Just change the rules and allow them!

These days everybody seems to think everything is "not what it seems" and there "must be more to it".

Most of the time in life though, the simplest and most boring explanation is the real one. And all these conspiracies are nothing but fiction.

The ministry declined to comment on the issue.

Why didn't they comment? Isn't it their job to comment?

They could have at least used it as an opportunity to strongly discourage anyone from joining the war.

Then why were they sending similar leaflets into the South not so long ago, covered in poo no less.

Don't do to others what you can't tolerate yourself.

Did you try carnivore? Or keto?

Yes, but it's all easier said than done. You're juggling work and life and you're at a convenient store looking for lunch. There's not much that will, at reasonable cost, fill you up and be keto or carnivore.

One reason hollywood stars remain thin is because they have private cooks and personal trainers.

Yes, you could consider these drugs "cheating", but why not!?

You could struggle for years trying to succeed at all the normal diets and end up failing, or take the medicine and succeed. The side-effects are very rare. If you started taking the medicine and it really didn't agree with you, you can stop. Far outweighing the risks of the medicine are risks of being obese and all the health problems that come with that.

It's easy for people who've always been active and never been overweight to judge, but when you get to a point, there's no harm in getting help that works to kick-start your new lifestyle.

Does your doctor have a plan to wean you off it once you've reached your target weight, or is it a long-term thing? And does the doctor expect a bit of rebound once you're off it? And have you experienced any uncomfortable side-effects from it to date, or has it pretty much been smooth sailing?

Honestly, there's not a lot of research of people coming off them, as most people that take the medicine have diabetes and need it for life. It's going to be one of those things where self-control and discipline are important.

My friend who came off it 6 months ago said his hunger never returned to anything close to what it was before. He gained 2kg and settled there, but still about 10kg down from where he started - and he only took the medicine for 4 months.

I'm going to lower my dose next month, and then come off it at the 9 month mark.

Of course if I eat like before and don't exercise, I'll put weight back on. But I'm far more active everyday now than I was before because it's easier to move around. It's fun to go to the pool and smash out 80 laps. I can easily take the stairs instead of the escalator. I can eat a banana and yoghurt and be content.

So even if a bit of hunger returns, I'll be more active and eating healthier - which is the goal to long-term weight control anyway. It's just the medicine helped by removing the unwanted urges that make you fail, allowing me to craft my new healthy life in a few months, unlike of all the failed attempts of the past.

Each to their own of course, but if you've tried and failed many times to get weight under control, it's an option!

Will be on a Boeing 737 this afternoon, but not a MAX.

I'm definitely not in a hurry to fly a 737-MAX or 787s anymore and will choose airlines that fly other models when there are options.

For long flights the Airbus A330 configuration of 2 seats X 4 seats X 2 seats is a much more comfortable trip than 3 X 4 X 3 anyway. You can get a window seat and only have to squeeze past one person to use the bathroom.

I started taking Mounjaro in January.

At 171cm, I was 95.5kg, I was very round. High blood pressure (which I was on medicine for). Felt tired all the time. Had tried every diet, had tried swimming a few times a week without any noticeable results.

After a friend did it, I started taking Mounjaro in Jan, which killed my appetite. It was liberating. Cravings for bad food were/are gone. I now eat a banana, yoghurt and a protein shake for lunch, and a light healthy meal for dinner. I go to the local pool 3-4 times a week.

The drastic weight loss (I was down 3kg after the first month, 6kg after the 2nd month and 9kg after the 3rd month) gave me the motivation to keep going with my swimming. I would look down and be surprised my stomach was so small. Or my legs so thin. Definitely a great feeling to finally see results - which motivated me to keep going to the pool.

It's July 9th now and I'm 19.7kg down since Jan 15th. My blood pressure is no longer high (I've stopped taking blood pressure medicine) and have never felt better!

The medicine isn't cheap, at about 33,000yen/month, but I save at least 20,000yen on food as I eat less - most importantly, I eat out at restaurants less.

I'm a believer in this. Not because it's a shortcut - you still need to exercise and stay healthy. But it helps by taking away the bad urges, which let you build your new healthy habits.

Family ruined

Rape per capita in Japan: 1.1 in 100k people

Don't believe that for a second. Once heard that it's thought that only about 1 in 13 rapes in Japan are reported due to stigma and social circumstances.

Of course there's no way to know if a young Japanese person would be more or less willing to report one committed by a foreigner, but I have a feeling they would.

Anyway, we're getting off-topic. I don't mean to minimise this or the other crime or any crime. Any crime is unforgivable and the perpetrator should be punished to the FULL extent of the law. My point was simply that there are a lot of American's in Okinawa and this shouldn't unfairly reflect badly on them.

Hope he's punished to the full extent of the law.

It's unacceptable, horrific and unforgivable.

But also let's remember there are nearly 80,000 American's in Okinawa with the military (active military, their families, department of defense civilians etc).

That's a LOT of people!! So as horrible as these cases are when they happen, let's not bash the military personal there as a whole. With large numbers, a certain level of terrible, unforgivable incidents is unavoidable, and let the law deal with them.

I'd love to see official stats if they exist, but I suspect the level of crime (serious or otherwise) committed by the 80,000 US military and their families is lower than average compared to the general population.