Posted in: Why so many marriages in Japan are sexless – and what you can do about it See in context
The US, with its huge overweight and obesity problems, is very good at keeping the action going in the matrimonial bedroom. That's lots of people riding the ripples and not counting their partner's carbs.
I also read somewhere that the men in Japan who get the most marital sex do the least housework. This contradicts the story, which leans very heavily on mainstream Western feminism, the dull middle-class stuff ("how many women are CEOs?" "Isn't Michelle Obama wonderful!" etc) with all the 1970s or earlier radicalism stripped out.
-7 ( +4 / -11 )
Posted in: Apple harvest threatened after heavy snow blankets Aomori See in context
fwiw, I think Aomori is home to one of Japan's most famous organic farmers, the guy that wrote the "kiseki no ringo" book, an occhan with a very photogenic big gap-toothed smile. I think he started doing the usual spray your apples 10 times in a full Hazmat suit thing (i.e., standard Japanese apple production) but gave up when his wife had a reaction to the pesticides. He covered his orchard floor with organic mulch and found that he could still get trees to thrive
I can't remember the guy's name, but I hope his trees are okay..
3 ( +5 / -2 )
Posted in: Trump makes first big foray into Ukraine diplomacy, speaking to Putin, Zelenskyy See in context
One point must be held to and that is Ukraine joins the European Union.
Corruption is a huge hurdle to Ukraine joining. This will doubtlessly be worse after lots of war money sloshing around. This will have been at both the Ukraine and US/EU ends.
Ukraine has a huge agricultural sector and will be automatically entitled tons of subsidies after joining the EU. It will be a huge net recipient of funds. There will be mass opposition to this if it is being syphoned off the same way the military spending is. This is to say nothing of vultures like Blackrock hovering over Ukranian farmland or any other Ukranian resource that might be of use to the EU. Trump is on Blackrock's side not Ukraine's.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/07/29/ukraine-is-still-too-corrupt-to-join-the-west/
-5 ( +1 / -6 )
Posted in: Why so many marriages in Japan are sexless – and what you can do about it See in context
I believe this problem is at least 40% but probably below 50% with women. The article just blames the husband for being insensitive or unloving, presumably without talking to any husbands. When I came to Japan, I taught English conversation, spoke to many women, and got a very bad impression of Japanese men. Having lived in Japan for ages, I now many Japanese men as victims.
There is definitely a cultural aspect to this, because Westerners are encouraged to see sexlessness as a problem. Hold hands with your wife in Japan and people will comment on it.
My Japanese brother in law married a Filipina and it is funny to see how intimate she is with him here in Japan. They have a five year old but it doesn't stop her being very lovey-dovey. They can barely speak to each other in very broken English, so it is not "fantastic communication", him "being sensitive to her needs", or anything like the advice in this story. He is also little different to other Japanese men, who many Japanese women find physically abhorrent once they are married to one.
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Posted in: Apple harvest threatened after heavy snow blankets Aomori See in context
Aomori is used to snow, so this is exceptional. That's if its not obvious from the guy saying "we've lost fifty year old trees".
We're in Nagano and our garden has been very heavily damaged. We've lost tree that were over fifteen years old and eight or nine meters high. You can't tie up something that big.
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Posted in: AP reporter denied access to White House over 'Gulf of Mexico' naming issue See in context
I strongly agree with the Australian PM who has come out and deliberately said he will not give a running commentary on announcements by President Trump. This strikes me as very sensible position for the rest of the world.
This is a trivial issue in another country. I'm sure it is good for clicks, but this is a Japanese news website. Please report news that is more significant for Japan.
0 ( +4 / -4 )
Posted in: 'Birupaku' turns vacant spaces into unique lodgings in central Japan See in context
I think I saw this in Nara somewhere too. Several empty and decaying properties in a shotengai were converted into comfortable and clean accommodation
I've seen similar too. There are some interesting/semi-bohemian efforts to revitalize shoutengai out there. One here in Nagano is called Tobichi in a town called Harano.
In Japanese, "biru" means office building. I suppose you can make interesting spaces within them, but the lobby, corridors etc will still be the same. Lots of cleaning, lots of lighting, lots of heating. Its much easier to repurpose a small building than a big department store or block of offices.
1 ( +2 / -1 )
Posted in: Facing 40 lawsuits, Trump blasts judges, fueling fear of constitutional clash See in context
Facing 40 lawsuits, Trump blasts judges,
You gotta pump those numbers up. Those are rookie numbers in this racket.
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Posted in: Starbucks Japan unveils new Sakura Frappuccino for cherry blossom season 2025 See in context
It’s not new - it comes out this time every year
I think the bigger problem is the name. This is a very sugary milkshake with no cappuccino sophistication.
NSFW, but here is my view. One of my favourite scenes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lwcH6JBqr0
-2 ( +0 / -2 )
Posted in: 73-year-old man dies after falling off roof while removing snow from vacant house See in context
Uonuma gets way more snow than Europe. There is really no comparison.
fwiw, the roof this guy was shovelling was a gable roof. He was found off the roof on top of the snow pile but the hospital said he had no physical injuries and have proclaimed it a 病死, which probably means a stroke or heart attack. Its always worth having a read before jumping to conclusions.
https://news.ntv.co.jp/n/teny/category/society/teee27893241c6410c96cad43810a4ba15
At least two more deaths from snow today, ladies in the eighties and nineties. The one in Sakai mura, just about the snowiest inhabited place in the world, was hit by snow off her roof.
2 ( +3 / -1 )
Posted in: Google changes name of Gulf of Mexico to 'Gulf of America' for U.S. users See in context
Perhaps Google could move Kansas City to the state of Kansas, because that's where President Trump thought it was.
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/03/politics/trump-kansas-city-chiefs-super-bowl-missouri/index.html
2 ( +7 / -5 )
Posted in: Trump says there will be no right of return for Palestinians in Gaza under his plan for U.S. 'ownership' See in context
So much for the "antiwar" President!
The only way you get the Palestinians out of Gaza is with the US Military. Tens of thousands of them. The IDF with all their hi-tech toys completed failed. Carpet bombing failed as well. That leaves only the US Army and urban warfare. Lots of death. American deaths.
You don't have to go along with this. There is a choice.
Regardless of what Trump says, Jordan and Egypt are not remotely "very rich countries". They can't provide their own populations with good housing, never mind hundreds of thousands of refugees. The leaders of both countries will also likely sign their own death warrants if they go along with this. Arab Spring part II.
10 ( +10 / -0 )
Posted in: 73-year-old man dies after falling off roof while removing snow from vacant house See in context
Poor fella. Record snow this week so everyone around there will be knackered.
Parts of Uonuma are quite built up. If you do not have much land around your house, you cannot build a steep roof, because it will dump snow onto your neighbours. Instead, you have to build a flat or gradual roof that needs to be shoveled. This is especially tragic since he was doing this for an akiya.
1 ( +2 / -1 )
Posted in: Trump announces 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum, risking inflation on promise of more jobs See in context
I don't quite understand how more expensive inputs help manufacturing. Or construction, or anyone else.
Trump obviously doesn't care, but importing steel and aluminum equals outsourcing emissions. Its an easy way to score eco points. Its also an easy way to get someone else to use masses of electricity that your own grid might not be able to provide. If you build a smelter, expect local electricity prices to go up.
1 ( +1 / -0 )
Posted in: Super Bowl Monday See in context
The Superbowl has had a good run of close games, so this one was like a throwback to the 80s and 90s when the NFC seemed to blow out the AFC every time. I feel deprived of the normal level of entertainment from the game.
Mahomes is normally box office with his movement and wouldn't be nailed by a four man rush, so maybe there were multiple factors at play. The first half picks he threw were terrible and killed any momentum the Chiefs could have had from forcing that pick off what was a careless throw from Hurts. The Chiefs got into a hole and just kept digging. It was essentially over at half time.
1 ( +1 / -0 )
Posted in: What do you think of U.S. President Donald Trump's suggestion that Nippon Steel invest in U.S. Steel rather than buy it? See in context
Donald Trump is not an industrialist so I am ambivalent about this suggestion.
He also thinks Spain is in BRICs and Jordan is a "very rich country", which presumably noone who's been there would agree with. We've been to Egypt and that was clearly not a very rich country in the early 2000s.
1 ( +1 / -0 )
Posted in: Legal hurdles keep high-profile rape victim's film off Japan screens See in context
Two stories here, the first is the drug rape of Ito and the second is very powerful people closing ranks to defend the perp. This second story obstructed justice in the first story.
This begs the question of what was so special about the perp to Abe or some Abe lackey. Given the Abe scandal/fiasco with that right wing school in Osaka on public land, maybe it just is the "biographer" angle and such people's complete impunity to the law. Why did the state (Abe didn't do this alone) go this far to protect the perp, especially given that the victim was herself a journalist unlikely to go quietly?
It is likely that women trafficked to Epstein Island were raped by powerful people with government protection. So this isn't just a Japan thing. We still haven't been told who went there.
8 ( +12 / -4 )
Posted in: Ishiba proposes Nippon Steel invest in U.S. Steel rather than acquire it See in context
If they aren't going to repaint the roof, I recommend removing the fifty feet high Stars and Stripes or making it a lot smaller.
0 ( +1 / -1 )
Posted in: Japanese woman found dead in Hungary had sought embassy help over DV See in context
It seems like the Hungarian authorities failed this woman far more than the embassy.
I take it other posters are not suggesting a Japanese embassy goes against judgements by local authorities about family matters and custody. Because there are already many bad precedents about that.
Hungary is a first world country, a fully paid up member of the EU which on paper is probably supposed to have more women's rights than Japan. I would blame the embassy to the extent to which they already know and would likely expect the Hungarian authorities to be hopeless. As a EU member, they certainly should not be.
9 ( +11 / -2 )
Posted in: Ishiba proposes Nippon Steel invest in U.S. Steel rather than acquire it See in context
Given how often this image/angle is used, I recommend investing in some paint for the roof.
-3 ( +1 / -4 )
Posted in: Saudi Arabia to showcase kingdom's transformation at Osaka Expo 2025 See in context
As long as an oppressive Muslim regime is in place, there will be no transformation.
This is incorrect. Saudi has adopted big cultural changes, adopting western dress, letting women drive cars, investing heavily in sports and entertainment. Imams opposing this have been locked up. A "Muslim regime" would not ban preachers from talking politics.
Israel was on the point of normalization with Saudi, who are very pro US, but has destroyed any chance of that by flattening Gaza. Any Arab country throwing their lot in with israel now risks Arab Spring part 2. Recognition of Israel will likely now come with a huge cost, like Saudi getting nuclear power (which means weapons).
-1 ( +0 / -1 )
Posted in: Super Bowl Monday See in context
That's a nice hall, but I suggest a trip to Costco for some larger tvs!
8 ( +10 / -2 )
Posted in: Hokuriku region of Japan experiences record snowfall See in context
It's looking pretty much over now, but we've had close to 150cm in four days. Officially its much less, but that's what fell at my house and all I care about. A decent chunk of it is still sitting on my lower roof, so there'll be more and heavier shoveling when the sun hits it and it comes down. At one point, we had 30cm windpacked on a 45 degree roof with no support from below, which is the most I've ever seen. It normally slides off before it hits 10cm.
(Its 20C above normal at the Arctic. The massive low that has driven this snow looks like part of the polar vortex that has meandered south, hence high temps at the pole, but don't quote me on it)
2 ( +2 / -0 )
Posted in: When danger strikes, how should foreign visitors to Japan be alerted? See in context
There are measures in place for a natural disaster like an earthquake or flooding. This is all written down In what Japanese call a "bosai manual". As wallace says, there is an app too.
Thankfully, attacks like the Nagano one are not frequent, and are probably impossible to stop. The best way to warn skiers of a "killer on the loose" in Nagano City is through their accommodation. Most ski accommodation providers, including those just off the plane, boast of having "extensive local knowledge", so I'm sure they will know all about something getting blanket coverage on local tv.
1 ( +1 / -0 )
Posted in: Ishiba says Trump isn’t as frightening in person as on TV See in context
Pretty good. He's handed Trump a PR victory while giving him absolutely nothing. Well played sir.
4 ( +7 / -3 )
Posted in: Zenko-ji light-up See in context
This festival has been going for years. I've not been but most coverage I've seen on local tv has focused on lanterns made of washi or bamboo on the temple approach or that area. Its not just love hotel lighting of the temple itself.
3 ( +3 / -0 )
Posted in: Entrepreneur launches support service for international school kids in Japan See in context
One reason its weird if international schools do not offer a liason service in Japanese is that people send their kids to them because they feel their kids do not fit in the Japanese system.
Like everything else, int'l schools will be a mixed bag. Some will be great, others won't be. Colleges in Japan are a mixed bag, and ones overseas are the same. You cannot tell from the name alone. The experience of living outside Japan may be more valuable to a Japanese than whatever they are taught at an overseas college they go to. Thanks to working holidays, it is not necessary to go to college to experience living overseas.
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Posted in: Year begins with warmest January despite shift toward cooling La Nina See in context
Japan in January was colder than normal in Kyushu but milder than normal in Hokkaido.
Snow was also a mixed bag, less in some snowy places but others also got hammered. While regional differences always happen, they've been more extreme than normal. As witnessed by the price of cabbages, for example.
0 ( +0 / -0 )
Posted in: Over 40% of Japanese want to use original family names at work after marriage See in context
This is a free gift to politicians. A popular policy that cost hardly anything to implment.
The number of new marriages has crashed since Covid. This is not the time to be bleating on about traditions. Forming a family usually helps people and it helps the economy.
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Posted in: Entrepreneur launches support service for international school kids in Japan See in context
A bit weird for very expensive schools in Japan to not put out communications in Japanese.
While international schools in Japan are expensive options, they have become more democratized in recent years. The declining birthrate in the country means more money can be spent on one child.
A very bizarre use of the word "democratized". What has happened is that the large fall in people making 7 to 10 million yen, traditional middle class, has been accompanied by a jump in the (tiny) number of people making 15 million yen plus. More people can now afford 10 million yen cars, 30000 yen steaks, 100,000 yen plus a night hotels, 1.5 oku plus tower mansions, and x million a year schools. I would not call increasing inequality "democratization".
3 ( +3 / -0 )
I wonder what variety the apple are, is it a common variety or are they one of the varieties that…
Posted in: Apple harvest threatened after heavy snow blankets Aomori
Posted in: Trump pushes for plastic straws as he declares paper ones 'don’t work'
Posted in: Explosion at Taiwan department store kills 4; 8 others hospitalized
Posted in: New 'Captain America' film flies into Trumpian headwinds