maxjapank comments

I suspect there is more cheating, especially from smaller colleges that need to maintain a quota of students. Long ago, before I married my wife, she went to attend a "lecture" the night before an eiken examination. She came back afterwords with a list of sentences to study that the teacher had written on the board. I helped her study, and she really did study hard all the time, and she passed.

When I was able to see the actual questions on the test, I noticed that about half of the sentences on the blackboard were actual problems on the existing test. I was shocked. There is no way that that teacher guessed actual problems on the test.

About five years ago, my then vice-principal sent out a school-wide message declaring "Cool Biz" over and for teachers to report Monday wearing a dress shirt and tie. I was the only one who responded, and I asked why was a polo shirt acceptable wear at school during "Cool Biz" and unacceptable afterwards. We all have different body temperatures and it's hard to be productive when we are sweating all the time. He came to me the next day and said that it wasn't his decision. That it was decided above him. That was probably true but also a way to deflect responsiblity, I thought.

After my response, though, I had several Japanese teachers thank me for speaking up. And then when we got a new vice-principal a couple of years later, "Cool Biz" was abolished and both teachers and students were told that everyone could wear attire according to their body temperatures.

Sometimes speaking up may not initially bring about change. But it can help get the ball rolling.

Used to go on summer camps in this area. Not Mystic, but another one nearby. Later, I also lived in that area for a while. We'd often go swimming in the river, but you were always wary of the weather. The river bed and area is very rocky, and rain can quickly cause flooding and block roads. Being that this happened in the middle of the night and the water rose 26 feet in 54 minutes, it's a real anomaly.

There have been floodings and deaths in this area before. But the last real tragedy was in 1987, when a church camp bus was swept away, killing ten teenagers. They were returning home, but the low-water crossing (an area of road that essentially crosses over the river) was higher than usual. And rather than turning around, the driver decided to attempt crossing it, which led to the bus being swept off the road.

She says she is afraid when she sees foreigners hanging out in the local park, especially at night.

How does she know they are foreigners when it's night? And she should be careful when walking alone at night, especially in the warmer months. A lot of Japanese creeps start coming out.

I think the majority of those joining ultranationlist groups like these are just full of hatred or they have never had the opportunity to meet a foreigner and interact with them.

20,000 workers deserved better than this Nissan management.

It is these "nationalist" parties that are going to cause the rest of us to suffer from racism, hatred, and wars. Those of us who want to live peacefully are going to have to speak out against these people, wherever they are.

What!? Bonus pay to the ones responsible for the downfall of Nissan? Again, the workers there deserve better than this.

It's hard to find much support for Nissan after how they treated Ghosn. But I feel sorry for the every day workers there who are fearing their finanacial future. I wish them the best.

Overall, I feel my high school students are happy. But...there is a lack of sleep, namely due to them goofing off at night. And, for every 40 kids in a class, there is inevitably 1 student who cannot mesh well with the other 39. And they eventually, quit coming to school or go to a special room to study. I think it must be this 1 student who is suffering, and I don't know what to do. When they do come to school, I make sure to let them know that I am happy to see them. And if they go to the special room, I make sure they get some personal time for the stuff they missed in my class.

That's not surprising. I often wonder if private clinics and hospitals aren't milking the system a bit too much by seeing people who really don't need all that treatment, e.g. anyone who thinks they have a cold.

I do think some clinics do milk the system. I quit seeing my dentist of 10 years because I felt he was taking advantage of me. He used to be so good, but for some reason changed, and I began to feel uncomfortable in his care. Switched to a new one, and I've had nothing but good experiences and care. That said, I can just imagine how much everything would cost if I didn't have health insurance.

@KazukoHarmony Thanks, but doesn’t apply to most people, does it?

Understood. That's why I began by saying "I know this won't help some of you..."

I know that this won't help some of you with the price of rice, but if you have extended family in the countryside or access to a plot of land, growing your own vegetables can help reduce the cost of living, allowing the price of rice to not hurt so much. I spent part of Golden Week tilling the soil in my wife's parent's greenhouse. I do the backbreaking work and they will keep up on checking and harvesting. We receive a lot of veges throughout the year and sometimes receive rice from the neighbors there. Really helps.

The first of many dominoes.

Personally, I think this is a cute idea. A full day experience of being a semi-Japanese student. I couldn't afford it. But with the weak yen, it's likely affordable to overseas tourists. And it's just a different experience than your usual tourist world heritage sites and amusement parks.

I love cycling to work. I obey all rules and of course, wear a helmet. But I do wish there was more cycling space given on the roads. There are sections that can be quite nerve-wracking. I've almost been pushed off the road twice by impatient drivers.

Glad there were no major injuries. And a bit "lol" at how every poster has been downvoted here. Maybe I will be, too.

"Crooked Hillary Clinton and her team 'were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information.' Not fit!"

Can you guess who said this?

Understandable concerns from the locals, unbridled, unregulated, culturally inappropriate and excessive development will blight the area while benefiting the people who live there nor at all in the long run, even driving them out of their own home town for the profit of strangers.

I don't know too much about this particular area to make an appropriate assessment. I also feel your concerns. But I also know that without tourism, some areas would cease to exist. There would be no tax revenue generated to support needed services for locals. And this has already led to schools and businesses shutting doors in the country side, along with the younger population moving to bigger cities. It's a double-edged sword. Hopefully, foreign businesses and tourists can become more aware of the rules and regulations of the area.

It's unfortunate, but those of us who just want to live peacefully with everyone around are going to have to start standing up and speaking out against anyone who spouts hate towards others. It goes partly against our nature because we are in general, more calm about differences that may exist between others and ourselves. But we can't afford to let nationalist, hate-mongering groups lead us to division and war. Our fight must be against them wherever they are from.

Japanese people who do not accept foreigners are often criticized, but Japanese people are fed up with foreigners who do not try to blend in with the local community and unilaterally impose their own culture and customs on people.

That's on par with many ignorant comments spoken by prejudice or lack of knowledge. I'm sorry to say it like that. While I agree that residents in a community should try to live peacefully with other residents, there seems to be a higher standard thrown at the foreigner vs. another Japanese person doing similar things. At least keep the standards the same. Also recognize that one complaint that many foreigners have is that no matter how much they try to blend in, they are never fully accepted. I do my best, but it isn't always easy.

Foreigners still only make up 3% of the total population. Maybe some disagree with me, but I like to welcome any foreigner from wherever they are. We are a minority here and we often face similar difficulties. So don't be surprised if a random foreigner at least acknowledged your presence. It was probably me. :)

Is Rubio going to be the first around to Trump to realize how insane he is? Will we get an add in the paper telling us not to worry...that there are those working in the White House looking out for America's best interests? I'm betting he'll be the first to wake up and express a warning to all.

Due to stickiness, Japanese rice is not the most suitable rice variety for most dishes beyond East Asia.

For example: if you are making risotto, pilaf or paella then Carnaroli, Arborio or Baldo are better options.

Speaking of suitable rice for dishes. When I first came to Japan, I invited some friends over for dinner. I was only going to make Chahan (fried rice), but I still thought that the more expensive the rice, the better it would be. So I bought a small bag of the most expensive stuff in the store. I couldn't figure out why my Chahan became so sticky until my girlfriend noticed I had purchase Mochi-gome.

Production can only be increased if there are more farmers growing rice. 

Shall we purchase a rice field in our old age? We can meet up for a canned coffee at our shared vending machine between our two rice fields.

Any non-Japanese has got to be crazy to take a leadership role in Nissan. Any failure, even failure that's been happening before now, will fall solely on the shoulders of the non-Japanese person.

What really irks me is that when companies are lacking a worker, the other workers have to pick up the extra work. And...they don't pay the current workers any more for doing that. If they are advertising 21 man a month for a new worker, then at least divide that money up till they find someone. It's only fair.

The Executive branch does not have the authority to dictate what money Congress has already appropriated. Contractors have already completed work and should be paid. Whether you agree with how the money was spent or not doesn't matter. A contract was made between Congress and the Contractor. But Trump has done this his entire life. Getting businesses to do work and then not paying them or refusing to pay them the full amount agreed upon. He hasn't paid cities that set up security for this rallies. Even previous lawyers who did work for him haven't been paid. He is a dishonest con man through and through.

Why Not Make it in the U.S.A by the very same people who are buying your products!???

You could say the same to Trump and his family as most of their manufactured products were produced in China, Mexico, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

I have little trust in Rubio, who flip-flops on everything, and no trust in Russia as long as Putin is in charge. Any deal that doesn't return Ukraine's land back to them is unacceptable.

The New Zealand varieties - Jazz, Royal Gala - are excellent and widely available in Tokyo.

They sure are. I've really enjoyed trying several new kinds of apples from New Zealand. Had one called "Dazzle" this year that was spectacular!