purple_depressed_bacon comments

Animal hoarders are alarming. I can't even begin to imagine what her house looked or smelt like. The poor cats. Japan really needs to beef up their animal rights laws.

Fax machines?

I second this. And ink pads for all their hankos.

LOL. Are they "fake" because they don't have a permit to practice? What an absurd arrestm

People here whingeing and whining about how "When in Rome do as the Romans do" when in reality, if countries take away their basic tourist infrastructure - tourist centres, multi-language menu options, rubbish bins, ATMs that accept international cards, English menus at restaurants etc. etc. - they'll start complaining too. Rubbish bins are part and parcel of city infrastructure and in cities with a high tourism traffic, essential. If Japan wants tourists but also wants to maintain order, they need to compromise and install bins around the cities, especially at and around popular tourist attractions.

Let us all hope that @JapanLurker is not a parent because their comments are disturbing. Child experts and psychologists tend to agree that children under the age of 12 should not be left home alone for extended periods of time. Children between the ages of 7 to 10 can be left alone for brief periods - 10 to 30 minutes - depending on their comfort level and ability to handle emergencies. The kids mentioned in this article are 3 and 5 - far too young to be left unattended, especially for 3+ hours.

She can be placed under social worker surveillance.

Because Japanese social workers have such a great track record...

If this is her first offence, then she should definitely get a slap on the wrist and a stern warning but how do we and the police know that it's the first time she's left the kids alone at home? Perhaps it's the first time getting caught.

Toss this loser into jail already and throw away the key. What a pathetic excuse for a human being.

It’s wild that a blue alien and a ukulele are outpacing gunfights, espionage, and jump-scares.

It's the Ohana factor. Honestly, as far as live-adaptations go, it wasn't bad. I didn't like some of the creative changes they made but they captured the heart and spirit of the original for the most part. There were definitely some sniffles and discreet eye-dabbing at my screening, that's for sure.

I am, however, rather, surprised, that it surpassed Sinners. One of the most pleasant surprises to come out of the cinema in recent years. I didn't know what to expect from it but that Rocky Road to Dublin scene was so mesmerising and out of left field that I went back for a second watch just to see that entire scene again.

Go elsewhere. Studying in the US is overhyped and overrated, not to mention notoriously expensive. Plenty of more affordable options in other parts of the world with equally good education systems. Though I will say that unless you plan on specialising in a certain field or are planning to go into a field that requires a degree, going to university nowadays isn't all it's cracked up to be. Better to invest in going to trade school or getting an internship to learn on the job.

Japanese horror films are great for the scare factor but the acting is generally over-the-top or wooden.

A textbook example of cutting off one's nose to spite one's face. There seems to be no end to this clown's idiocy. I shudder to think what the US will look like by the end of his presidency.

“I thought my parents would get angry if they found out,” NTV reported

Is she 26 or 16? Good grief, take some responsibility for your actions. And seriously, why are there so many of these stories where the family is unaware of the woman's pregnancy? How blind can you be to not notice such a huge change in a person who lives with you?

A 32-year-old man who had been arrested on suspicion of violating the Stimulants Control Act temporarily escaped from a police station after a police officer dozed off...

Japan's finest, ladies and gentlemen. These are the ones tasked to protect the people...and they literally fall asleep on the job. Disgraceful.

The couple lived with their son, who is in his 40s. He told police he was in another room at the time and was unaware that his mother had strangled his father,

How is this possible? Japanese homes tend to be small and the soundproofing is terrible. Surely, he must have heard the sounds of a scuffle.

The Santa Clause Express from Helsinki up to Lapland. Emerging out of the train into a literal winter wonderland with the northern lights dancing in the distance was definitely a sight to behold. And the train journey itself was brilliant - the cabins were spotless and mine was an ensuite so I had a private toilet and shower.

Well it doesn't help that a lot of international films are released in Japan months after they're released elsewhere. Take Wicked Part I for example - it came out literally almost everywhere last November but was released in Japan in what, March of this year? Talk about late and missing all the hype that comes with a film's release. And then some films are just not released at all or only shown at film festivals. Must be frustrating for movie fans in Japan to have to wait for a film months after it's released everywhere else. Also, the chances of running into spoilers, reviews, reaction videos etc. on social media is high, possibly ruining them wanting to go see it.

OTC meds in Japan are nothing more than overpriced bitter tasting sweets. They're useless in helping alleviate any sort of illness, pain, or ache you have.

What's wrong with your paychecks being wired to your bank account? I don't know anyone who gets paid via app. Sounds hinkey to me.

What airlines should do is weight both total hand luggage and the passenger.

While weighing the passenger would definitely run into ethical issues, many airlines do weigh your carry-on nowadays, especially if you go to the check-in counter to check in your big bag. If it meets the weight limit, you get a carry-on tag to put on your carry-on handle. Also, if you're in Europe taking one of the many budget airlines, they will absolutely weigh and check the size of your carry-on by making each passenger put their bag in the sizer prior to boarding the flight. If it's overweight or sticks out of the sizer, then you're beep out of luck because you're going to have to pay a hefty fine.

You've got one piece of news today about a teen who unalived his grandparents and now this article about a grown man who unalived his mother and sister. What's in the water in Japan that's causing people to off their family members? It's disturbing.

And this is why maternity AND paternity leave is important. Not only is the mother physically exhausted from giving birth, but she's physically exhausted from her body trying to heal itself after giving birth. Then with the baby up every few hours needing a feed and change, she's mentally and emotionally wrung out as well exhausted from lack of sleep. Both parents need to be there for the baby as well as each other during the first few months. Having a support system is crucial and can minimise postpartum symptoms. Clearly, this woman had no help or support and was backed into a corner feeling like she had no options left. Japan needs to start taking mental health seriously and provide more resources and support for such matters.

So many pressing questions:

why are they cleaning up after a meal at 11 o'clock at night?

why is a 1-year-old awake at 11 o'clock at night?

why was the 1-year-old left alone unsupervised at 11 o'clock at night?

A Japanese government source expressed concern over the film's release, saying it could "rekindle rows over history" between the two Asian neighbors and negatively affect bilateral relations.

Translation: Japan doesn't want the world to be reminded of all the atrocities it committed during WWII. Just because their history textbooks glosses over all the horrific acts the Japanese army committed during this time, doesn't mean that the rest of the world forgot. Aside from the film actually looking pretty decent, it'll serve as a reminder that Japan isn't infallible. Maybe it might even get the Japanese government to start making amends though I doubt it.

...national census data actually shows that dual-income households are more likely to have children than households with stay-at-home moms.

And the grass is green, the sky blue. Talk about stating the obvious. Do these people not realise just how incredibly expensive having children is, especially in today's economy? It's a minimum 18-year investment, possibly more. It's not something anybody should go into without taking a good, long and hard look into whether or not they are financially stable enough to have kids.

Also, talk about sexist. Fathers can stay home too, you know. Some choose to, while the mother goes back to work. In the end, while money is a huge factor into whether or not one should have kids, time and a healthy work/life balance are equally important factors. Japan has never been able to achieve quality family time or a healthy work/life balance, and now with the Yen in the toilet, they don't have the financial stability either. They're sunk.

Rubbish bins are a basic, necessary part of urban infrastructure. Japan needs to get with the program and install them already along with benches. Quit whinging and whining about how tourists are littering and sitting on the sidewalks and actually act on the very simple solution of providing these amenities.

I travel frequently so:

Food for the plane. I usually pack a hefty ham and cheese sandwich, a banana or an apple, some gummies, and biscuits. Sometimes I bring some teabags with me.

Reusable water bottle so you can fill it up after you go through security and save yourself being robbed blind because paying 5 quid for water should be a crime

Noise cancellation earphones

Necessary gadgets, cables, chargers, powerbank, and adapter

A set of clothes that always go in my backpack just in case my luggage is lost or delayed

Chapstick and hand cream because the airplane air dries out your skin something fierce

A 3-in-1 waterproof jacket because it's versatile and saves you having to pack extra layers

Traditionally, Golden Week -- which includes three consecutive public holidays -- gives Japanese workers one of their longest breaks in the year, 

This is truly one of the most tragic things I've ever read. 3 days off is not break or a holiday; it's an impulsive weekend getaway.

Castration and jail. Utterly sick and tired of hearing such cases and Japan's lenient punishments on sex crimes is doing nothing to deter these predators.

Lives at home with her family but said family doesn't notice she's pregnant, or if they do, don't try to let her know her options? And this is not the first case where a girl has gotten knocked up and lives at home but apparently, the family knows nothing about it. Says a lot about family dynamics in Japan and now an innocent life has been so needlessly snuffed out.

Imagine if she was this callous with a dog, what should could do if she had a child. Lock this woman up and throw away the key. Japan should also use this case as an initiative to tighten up their animal rights laws, which are, in my opinion, lacking.