toolonggone comments

garymalmgrenToday  07:09 am JST

There was no legal obligation on the woman, a special permanent resident who does not possess a residence card, to present ID.

There is also no legal obligation on the hotel (or any business) to supply a service.

If that chain has had "runners" in the past, odds are that they introduced a system where (some) clients are requested to supply (hotel) acceptable

It’s kind of hard to do a runner in a hotel when they generally take a credit card upon sign in.

TokyoLivingToday  01:37 am JST

"Here we go again, another family destroyed by a depraved lunatic"*

ok Dramaqueensteve..

LOL

What exactly is dramatic about that statement? Is it not depraved lunacy to stab your own son? Has a family not been destroyed? What about the news or even the statement makes it worthy of an "LOL"?

WA4TKGMay 21  07:39 pm JST

Like I always say:

The most dangerous place for Japanese people is usually at home

Home is a very dangerous place for many people, particularly women. That's not unique to Japan.

theFuToday  02:35 am JST

American football isn't popular enough world-wide to be in the Olympics. Someone needs to follow that money to see who the NFL paid off to get it as a sport.

"So what they (the IOC) did starting in 2020 was offer to each host country, each organizing committee, the opportunity to put forward one or more sports. ... And then those sports are then voted on for inclusion."

https://www.npr.org/2024/07/26/nx-s1-5051616/how-are-new-sports-chosen-for-the-olympics

"Played by more than 20 million people in more than 100 countries, flag football is expected to overtake tackle worldwide in terms of organized participation opportunities in the next few years, according to the International Federation of American Football (IFAF).

The growth of the sport in the US, where flag football is now played by the NFL’s biggest stars as part of the Pro Bowl, has been just as striking."

https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/10/sport/flag-football-big-business-spt-intl

To many other sports make much more sense to be in the Olympics, though I'd like to see at least half the swimming and half the running events removed. Much too boring.

Just because something is boring to you doesn't mean it's boring to others and vice versa. Also, why would you bother watching something that you find to be boring?

Negative NancyToday  09:02 am JST

Ugh. This is horrible on so many levels. Nobody wants this.

Obviously somebody wants this or it wouldn't be happening. Players from countries that don't get a lot of NFL recruiters may see this as a defacto try out, so they'll want it. There are over 70 countries represented in the NFL from Canada and Cameroon to Germany and Ghana to the Netherlands and Nigeria. Surely the NFL would also be looking forward to this as it's an opportunity to showcase the sport, albiet in a milder format, to an audience that might not otherwise be exposed to it.

JJEToday  04:07 pm JST

How did sports entertainment make it to the Olympics? Next is Pro-Wrestling?

The testing for enhancement type things here will be interesting.

Equestrian has been in the modern Olympics for over 100 years and definitely in the ancient Olympics and why wouldn't they have been? The ancient Olympics were about honoring the Zeus and athletic competition, which is always basically entertainment.

The origins of equestrian sports in the Olympics can be traced back to ancient Greece. The ancient Olympic Games, which began in 776 BC, included chariot racing and horseback riding events. These competitions were held in the Hippodrome of Olympia and were among the most thrilling and dangerous events. Chariot races featured multiple teams of horses pulling two-wheeled carts, often resulting in dramatic and sometimes fatal crashes. These races were a spectacle of speed, strategy, and risk, drawing large crowds and significant attention.

Horseback racing in ancient Greece was another popular event. Riders, often without stirrups or saddles, demonstrated their skill and bravery.

These events were not just about individual prowess but also highlighted the importance of horses in Greek society, where they were vital for transportation, agriculture, and warfare.

HopeSpringsEternalToday  11:53 am JST

Trump won the election, because the workers, union, and middle-class knew he meant what he said and said what he meant about protecting THEIR Jobs!

Hollywood or Rust Belt makes no difference to Trump, just like Globalist Outsourcers, only Trump holds the higher ground with the political Support of the Workers!

Contrary to what Goebbels said, saying something multiple times doesn’t make it true. It just makes the speaker sound like a brainwashed cultist. Your man has never held the higher ground on anything, ever in his sad, debauched, lie-filled, loveless life.

> HopeSpringsEternalToday  09:20 am JST

Trump picked up over 10 points of support in Nov from voters in California, vs. 2020. Jobs jobs jobs was a big part of it, including in the movie business.

Union, working and middle-class workers don't want their jobs outsourced by globalist elites in Hollywood or anywhere else. Trump's got the high ground, the backing of the voters!

Ahhhh, yes. The global elites. I love the way this trendy phrase is tossed around mindlessly by those who either don’t know or just don’t care that their heroic man of the people was born on third base, was perfectly happy to have clothing from his Trump Line made in China, as long as HE was making money and has a cabinet and supporting cast full of Ivy League grads and billionaires who just can’t seem to make enough money. Keep drinking the Kool-Aid.

“'We hear terrible things about outsourcing jobs — how sending work outside of our companies is contributing to the demise of American businesses,' wrote Trump. 'But in this instance I have to take the unpopular stance that it is not always a terrible thing.' 'I understand that outsourcing means that employees lose jobs,' continued Trump. 'Because work is often outsourced to other countries, it means Americans lose jobs. In other cases, nonunion employees get the work. Losing jobs is never a good thing, but we have to look at the bigger picture”

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

I'm confused. If you're a stay-at-home-mom doesn't that suggest you have a child or children? Woudn't housewife or homemaker be a more appropriate term, albiet a bit old-fashioned sounding?

DavidKToday  04:08 am JST

To address the unsightly mess in the photo, the two small bins aren't big enough to hold empty plastic bottles especially in the summer and because the Japanese don't crush their bottles or cans. Perhaps one solar powered bin for recycling and another one for combustible trash would make everyone happy?

Good idea aside, nothing will make everyone happy because as you can see, too many posters want to argue for arguement's sake, always defend Japan and slag off foreigners no matter what or always slag off Japan.

Lord DartmouthMay 6  12:51 am JST

All too often, I see commentators here opposing literally everything Trump does and says because they hate him and refuse to consider the possibility that sometimes he may be right.

I won't lie. I've never liked the guy and my antipathy towards him goes back decades, well before he had any public thoughts on politics. That aside, I don't disagree with everything he says he wants to accomplish. My issue, and I suspect many people's issue, with him is the way he goes about things. His bombastic, bullying and constant need to have his ego stroked is beyond repulsive. If we lived on the same street, we may agree that a neighbor needs to clean up their yard but where we'd disagree is that he'd want to burn the house down while I might suggest knocking on the neighbor's door first to see if there was anything I could do to help.

bass4funkMay 6  09:06 pm JST

Look at the photo for this article. Who do you think did that?*

You are assuming and profiling, which would be considered racist. Can you prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was foreigners who did that?

Regardless of who did it, what the photo shows are two overflowing rubbish bins so it's fairly easy to conclude that 1) people are trying to use rubbish bins, 2) there is a need for them, 3) there is a need for them to be emptied more often and 4) the overflow could very well be a result of bins that are too full so trash falls or gets blown off.

Nibek32May 6  02:50 pm JST

@toolonggone

based on the fact that you are searching this online and cherry picking articles with anecdotal quotes reveals you haven’t spent time in these places and don’t have much real life context of the situation.

There are also plenty of trash cans in Japan if you know where to look.

Do you understand what anecdotal evidence means? Every article link I provided gave facts and figures and all were very easy to find. You have provided no evidence to prove that the pollsters were not Asian. Japan needs more public rubbish bins. Why is that even an argument?

Nibek32Today  01:38 pm

Most Asian tourists in Japan are from China, Korea and Taiwan. Have you been to those countries? I have, and they also don’t have rubbish bins all over the place like America and Europe, so don’t imagine as much complaining from them

Maybe you should have looked harder or made fewer assumptions.

But a 2021 survey conducted by the city government revealed that over 70 percent of respondents perceived Seoul as having a shortage of accessible street trash cans.

https://m.koreaherald.com/article/3233976

Where Can I Find Trash Cans in Taiwan?

*Trash cans are actually everywhere; you simply have to know where to look. However, due to the above mentioned reasons, these trash cans are strategically placed in areas with surveillance cameras or high foot traffic to dissuade people from using them for household waste disposal. It’s important to note that throwing household trash in public bins can result in fines.*

https://bubbleteaisland.com/2023/11/29/where-are-all-the-public-trash-cans-in-taiwan/#:~:text=Trash%20cans%20are%20actually%20everywhere,them%20for%20household%20waste%20disposal.

“Garbage in hand, and no trash bin in sight. It's annoying, and sometimes embarrassing.

Well, the situation will soon be resolved with a new allocation of rubbish bins on the way as a guideline was released on Thursday.

The city is increasing the number of garbage bins at public venues, the Shanghai Greenery and Public Sanitation Bureau announced on Thursday, following complaints from residents and tourists that it's difficult to find a bin to handle their waste.”

https://www.shio.gov.cn/TrueCMS/shxwbgs/voices/content/20230511233242343.htm

Nibek32Today  12:34 pm JST

And yet Japan has much cleaner parks and sidewalks than all those western countries with trash cans everywhere.

What western countries? Are you assuming all the people polled are from the Americas or Europe? As far as I know, Japan gets loads of tourists from Asia, or do they all have filthy parks too?

I think people complaining about trash cans should take a hard look at all the trash they are generating. This is a good lesson.

Yes, everyone should, maybe starting with all the companies and stores who engage in so much excessive and unnecessary packaging.

I’ve yet to hear any Japanese people complain about this situation

I have, more than a few, so there you go.

What I don’t get is why some people are so riled about tourists, who were polled, expressing a desire for more rubbish bins. It’s not an unreasonable wish. It would seem to fit in with those demanding tourists “follow the rules”. It would certainly indicate a desire on the part of the tourists to help keep Japan clean. And, in such a rich country, which has gained so much from those tourists and all they spend, more rubbish bins wouldn’t exactly bankrupt the country. I mean out of all the complaints people might’ve had, wanting more rubbish bins is really quite inoffensive and understandable.

TokyoLivingToday  08:17 am JST

Dear foreign tourist...

This is Japan, a country of order and civility..

Blah, blah, blah. Doesn’t it get tiresome, always touting the same old lines all the time?

There's no need for trash cans on streets because Japanese people are clean and RESPONSIBLE for their own trash..

So, Japanese don’t want trash cans either? The ones I know certainly don’t agree with that.

Do the same and be responsible for your own trash..

Saying you’d like to see more trash cans doesn’t equate to littering.

Japan won't accommodate you, you have to accommodate to the country rules if you want to visit..

Stop whining and act like a good responsible adult tourist..

Who’s whining? Did you miss the part where people were answering a survey?

Adjust to the country's rules and don't litter..

See above.

No english, this is JAPAN, and japan language is the JAPANESE..

Use digital translators..

Thankfully most Japanese I encountered in my early days were not nearly as hostile as you and would try to help me out when my Japanese was nearly nonexistent, with none of them demanding I speak Japanese if English accidentally came out due to frustration with my language skills.

Thank you for coming, be civilized and respect country rules and enjoy Japan..

Maybe don’t imply that others aren’t civilized if they don’t follow every rule. It’s often a simple matter of not knowing them. No one but a self-righteous nationalist would expect a tourist to know all the rules or be able to communicate in a language spoken in one country. The civilized thing would be to be glad that people have an interest in your country and show a little more empathy.

SomeWeebApr. 29  06:58 am JST

NZApr. 28 08:17 am JST*

most strange part is that there are no public holidays Christmas and Easter here most of world have...

Christmas was made up by US marketing firms to sell things in a slow season, and Easter is a Catholic holiday and a lot of Japan is not Catholic. Also Easter is a pretty dumb holiday, from the non-religious perspective.

Easter is a Christian holiday, not just Catholic, although it is one of, if not the most important celebration of the Catholic church. Various Christian religions celebrate it in different ways and at different times, but for most, the death and resurrection of Christ is centrally important to their faith.

I fully agree that it would be odd for Japanese to recognize either as national holidays given that only around 1% of Japanese are Christian.

zulanderMay 1  08:57 am JST

The tatami is the floor.

Or call it what you want. I prefer a bed and mattress.

Yes, tatami is the floor but a futon is not. A futon is on the tatami, thus the futon is on the floor, but your body is not on the floor, therefore you are not sleeping on the floor. Details actually do matter.

Manners matter everywhere. They just aren't the same from place to place.

If you live in Tokyo or Saitama, Toshimaen Niwanoyu is less than 2 minutes from Toshimaen station on the Oedo line.

Concerned CitizenToday  01:51 pm JST

It's obvious that most US media and liberal elites have a bias against Christians. At the same time some Christians have a bias against them. This is apparent even on this forum.

I love how people just latch onto whatever supposedly derogatory names get thrown out there, such as “liberal elites”, without seeming to give a thought to the fact that Trump was born on third base, has a cabinet and advisory positions filled with Ivy League graduates and is surrounded by kowtowing billionaires. And yet, the liberals are the elites? Thanks for the laugh.

What is the solution to this? Love, serve and forgive one another, as Jesus taught.

Maybe try practicing what you preach.

HopeSpringsEternalToday  01:33 pm JST

Non-US citizens are afforded No such protections, especially illegal aliens designated as terrorists. Hopefully, people can make the distinction, as countries have borders and immigration laws for good reason.

Who said repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth? That’s usually attributed to Joseph Goebbels, so, while you’re in “good” company, you’re still wrong.

The following decision was largely based on the 1903 Japanese Immigrant Case. Your man should be familiar with it since, in 2017 the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals blocked an attempt by President Donald J. Trump to ban immigration from certain Muslim-majority countries. See above article about his administration trying to root out religious discrimination and have a laugh.

3  The Court reasoned that aliens physically present in the United States, regardless of their legal status, are recognized as  persons  guaranteed due process of law by the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. 4  Thus, the Court determined,  [e]ven one whose presence in this country is unlawful, involuntary, or transitory is entitled to that constitutional protection. 5 Accordingly, notwithstanding Congress’s indisputably broad power to regulate immigration, fundamental due process requirements notably constrained that power with respect to aliens within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States. 6*

YrralApr. 20  11:17 pm JST

Never heard of her,I guess she not important

Yes, because surely you are the arbiter of all who are important in this world.

TokyoLivingToday  02:22 am JST

Hollywoodish behavior..

An expected and typically ridiculous comment. I guess the schtick hasn't gotten bored you yet.

Mr KiplingApr. 15  07:14 am JST

Has happened to me twice. I ask for a real menu, if they don't have , I go leave. I have no problem with the "ipad "style menus but will not be downloading menus and scrolling on my smartphone when the staff are stood around doing nothing.

I don't care for the QR menus either, mostly because I find them harder to read and navigate, but they are still "real" menus. They just aren't printed up. As for the staff standing around doing nothing, what would you like them to do? Even if you were looking at a printed menu, in all likelihood, they'd still be doing nothing while waiting for you to make a choice. Mind you, I'm using the term "doing nothing" quite liberally because restaurant workers are typically run ragged during the course of their shifts.

HopeSpringsEternalApr. 16  07:24 pm JST

In today's crazy world, she probably gets a big career boost from this cruel incident, that's Hollywood for you!

Hollywood? She was in one French film but is by and large a Japanese actor, in Japanese films, made in Japan. Likewise, the car accident and hospital incident occured in Japan.

Is it possible she was simply in shock after the accident? Dilated pupils, weakness or fatigue and agitation or confusion are all symptoms of shock.

Purple_depressed_bacon 

This is absurd and completely defeats the entire purpose of the pill. Is Japan not capable of rational thought?

https://freethepill.org/otc-access-world-map

Fans show blue balloons ....

Show? To whom are they showing them?

John-SanMar. 19  06:35 am JST

proxy: The MLB is an inferior competition compared to the NPB but the MLB is where the money is. The NPB is where the world best talent is period. You also forget that the USA is a English speaking country not a country that Japanese nor the majority of the western world want to visit let alone live.

You're letting your emotions take control here and that rarely helps formulate a good argument. Leaving aside your specious claims about the MLB vs NPB, we may actually agree on a fair amount when it comes to the current state of the US, but still, facts are facts and the facts would certainly seem to belie your claims with regards to Japanese or westerners wanting to visit and or live in the US.

According to NTTO, there were 66.5 million international visits the U.S in 2023, still below pre-Covid numbers of 2019.

In 2023, over 25.07 million domestic and international tourists visited Japan, marking an increase from the previous year but remained below the peaks of 2018 and 2019. - JNTO

Overall, a record 47.8 million immigrants lived in the U.S. in 2023, up from 46.2 million in 2022. The nation’s immigrant population includes naturalized U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents and lawful temporary residents, as well as unauthorized immigrants. - Pew Research Foundation

In 2022, trainees represented the second-largest category of foreign workers. Because of these reforms and initiatives, the number of foreign nationals in Japan rose by 11 percent from 2022 to 2023 and now stands at three million people, the highest number in Japanese history. - Harvard International Review

John-SanToday  03:16 pm JST

Wallace: it is non polished Japonica short gain rice. There is on such a thing as brown rice. Olive oil is over rated and olive oil and non polished rice have very little benefit on your diet. except the cost of polishing the rice and that saving goes toward the imported expensive over rated olive oil you must have. Try soy and sesame oil for salad dressing it tastes way better and way cheaper.

Well, there is brown rice because that's what it's commonly called. It's a whole grain, consisting of three parts: a fibrous outer layer (called the germ), a middle layer (the bran) and a starchy center (the endosperm). As opposed to white rice, brown rice is minimally processed, so it's still a whole grain containing all of its original fiber, vitamins and minerals and affects your blood sugar differently than white rice.

Olive oil has risen in price, but it tastes nothing like sesame oil and they have different smoke points. Whether or not it's overrated is basically a personal preference. They both have their benefits and suit different dishes. Studies have shown that diets high in soybean oil are more connected to poor metabolic health than diets high in fructose or coconut oil. You may think you've avoiding it if you don't cook with it but it's commonly used in processed food and restaurants due to it's lower cost.

WA4TKGMar. 17  05:25 pm JST

Nope, I actually find myself eating more junk food because it’s easier and cheaper to eat than buying food that’s supposedly good for you.

If fact, for some reason, when I first got back, I had even lost 3/4 Kg, still trying to figure that one out

Are you seriously questioning whether or not fruits, vegetables and legumes are better for you than junk food? Cooking fresh food means you can control the amount of salt and sugar that goes into it, not to mention the lack of preservatives and additives. Junk food might be more convenient in the short term but it has little nutrional value, won't keep you full as long as nutrient dense food and is far more likely to cause adverse health effects such as high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease, which will definitely cost you more in the long run. Something like a bean based chili with plenty of veggies and served over brown rice can last you days and come to slightly more than a fast food meal. It can also be frozen in batches if you can't eat it all. The key is to buy ingredients that can be used for different dishes, consume more beans and legumes, use more spices and less salt and to cook things that can easily be frozen for later consumption. Less waste means you save money and time, both long and short term.

If you're experiencing unexplained weight loss, you may want to get a check-up as that can be a sign of something serious such as diabetes or cancer.