Japan

[Simple Minded]

The first time in the Midwest I went food shopping at Jewel/Osco, after paying for my items, receiving my change and receipt from the cashier,
I said "Thank you" and she replied with "Uh-huh" which caused some linguistic confusion on my part as I has been taught to expect "You're welcome" as a reply.
So I asked "Okay?" and the cashier gave me a odd look and again replied "Uh-huh". Still confused, I decided to move on. Later learned that this was a colloquialism
used by some.

Yes it can be very subtle. No doubt varies significantly by location.

Uh-huh, or I'm my experience "un-uh" or "a-huh" signifies "I agree" or "I am listening," while "ont-uh" or "unt-a" signifies "I disagree" or "No, you are wrong."

[noddy]

yeh. yeh. yeh.

nah.

[Simple Minded]

yeh. yeh. yeh.

nah.

the best discussions alway end with Fred repeatedly saying "ont-a" and Joe repeatedly say "uh-huh" in response to each other.

[noddy]

https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-i ... 4fab623b8b

Basically, instead of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, he should be called Abe Shinzo as is customary in the Japanese language.

The new policy would mark a major shift in the country’s long-running practice for handling Japanese names in foreign languages, meaning the family name would come first followed the first name.

Foreign Minister Taro Kono said now is the right time to make the change.

While the government is promoting the change, a poll revealed that 34.9 per cent of Japanese preferred surname-first in English, while 30.6 per cent preferred given-name first and another 29.6 per cent were fine either way.

[Simple Minded]

https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-i ... 4fab623b8b

Basically, instead of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, he should be called Abe Shinzo as is customary in the Japanese language.

The new policy would mark a major shift in the country’s long-running practice for handling Japanese names in foreign languages, meaning the family name would come first followed the first name.

Foreign Minister Taro Kono said now is the right time to make the change.

While the government is promoting the change, a poll revealed that 34.9 per cent of Japanese preferred surname-first in English, while 30.6 per cent preferred given-name first and another 29.6 per cent were fine either way.

how can they continue living with this level of internal strife?

now sounds like an excellent time for a JEXIT vote......

[Typhoon]

https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-i ... 4fab623b8b

Basically, instead of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, he should be called Abe Shinzo as is customary in the Japanese language.

The new policy would mark a major shift in the country’s long-running practice for handling Japanese names in foreign languages, meaning the family name would come first followed the first name.

Foreign Minister Taro Kono said now is the right time to make the change.

While the government is promoting the change, a poll revealed that 34.9 per cent of Japanese preferred surname-first in English, while 30.6 per cent preferred given-name first and another 29.6 per cent were fine either way.

how can they continue living with this level of internal strife?

now sounds like an excellent time for a JEXIT vote......

A colleague once asked me, after quite a few drinks, whom I preferred: former PM Koizumi or current PM Abe.

I said that I preferred PM Koizumi.

He asked, "Why?"

I replied, "Because PM Koizumi was driving forward while looking at the road far ahead, whereas PM Abe is driving forward while looking in the review mirror."

[Simple Minded]

A colleague once asked me, after quite a few drinks, whom I preferred: former PM Koizumi or current PM Abe.

I said that I preferred PM Koizumi.

He asked, "Why?"

I replied, "Because PM Koizumi was driving forward while looking at the road far ahead, whereas PM Abe is driving forward while looking in the review mirror."

CS,

So what do the activists, busybodies, perennially bored, proselytizers of wokeness, and defenders of all things virtuous obsess over and fill the blogosphere with in Japan?

Labels on bathroom doors? Melatonin content in skin? Whether someone they will never meet owns a gun or gets an abortion? Who is the most oppressed victim with the worst mental scars to prove it? What religion is the most pure? Global cooling/warming/climate change?

Shirley, all of Japan can't be free of professional meddlers nuances, and crazies. Or is it? If so, how was this achieved? Superior breeding thru eugenics? Tossing sub-standard citizens into volcanoes?

Enquiring minds want to know.

[Typhoon]

A colleague once asked me, after quite a few drinks, whom I preferred: former PM Koizumi or current PM Abe.

I said that I preferred PM Koizumi.

He asked, "Why?"

I replied, "Because PM Koizumi was driving forward while looking at the road far ahead, whereas PM Abe is driving forward while looking in the review mirror."

CS,

So what do the activists, busybodies, perennially bored, proselytizers of wokeness, and defenders of all things virtuous obsess over and fill the blogosphere with in Japan?

A bit tough to say as I don't have a Japanese [or English] Twitter or Instagram account. Twitter has become very popular in Japan.
I do have a Facebook account that I use solely for news feeds, but it is effectively anonymized.

I only use Line, popular in Japan, to keep in contact with friends.

Labels on bathroom doors?

Not an issue. Male or female. In the case of small establishments with limited space, with a single toilet, unisex.

Melatonin content in skin?

No identity politics of the type so popular in the USA as Japan is still a highly homogeneous society.
With the rise in Japanese-foreigner marriages, one issue is the hāfu | ハーフ, literally "half", offspring who may experience bullying as kids and discrimination later in life.
The converse also exists for a subset; if they are photogenic, then they have much better odds of becoming models and/or media celebrities, so-called tarentos.
Or sports. Yu Darvish; baseball, Naomi Osaka, tennis; Rui Hachimura; basketball, etc.
More generally, hāfu have an edge iff they are fortunate to have an outstanding skill/talent in some field.

Whether someone they will never meet owns a gun?

Private ownership of handguns is prohibited in Japan. So homicide by handgun is extremely rare, only a few cases per year.

The National Police Agency announced that in 2017 there were only 22 shooting crimes throughout Japan. These are defined as cases where people with firearms cause death, injury, or property damage, but exclude accidents and suicide. Members of organized crime syndicates were the perpetrators in 13 of the crimes. Three people were killed and five injured.

Even the yakuza are afraid of being caught in possession of a handgun.

Japanese citizens are permitted to possess firearms for hunting and sport shooting, but only after submitting to a lengthy licensing procedure followed by periodic spot inspections by the local police.
After ten years of shotgun ownership, a license-holder may apply to obtain a rifle.

So a non-issue.

Whether someone they will never meet gets an abortion?

Abortion in Japan is available to women in limited circumstances, including endangerment of their health or economic hardship. Chapter XXIX of the Penal Code of Japan makes abortion de jure illegal in the country, but exceptions to the law are broad enough that it is widely accepted and practiced. Meanwhile, the Maternal Health Protection Law allows approved doctors to practice abortion with the consent of the mother and her spouse, if the pregnancy has resulted from rape, or if the continuation of the pregnancy may severely endanger the maternal health because of physical reasons or economic reasons. Anyone trying to practice abortion without the consent of the woman will be punished, including the doctors.

No abortifacient has been approved in Japan. Approved doctors, however, can choose to use imported abortifacient under the same terms above. Any other people who abort the fetus using abortifacients will be punished.

Emergency contraceptive pills were approved by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan in 2011.

The interpretation of the law is so broad that abortion in Japan is effectively legal.
Unlike the USA, not aware of any significant anti-abortion groups. A non-issue.

Who is the most oppressed victim with the worst mental scars to prove it?

No idea. Perhaps the people who commit suicide.

What religion is the most pure?

Religion is not an issue in Japan. Shinto is for marrying, Buddhism is for burying.
Also faux Western-styles wedding, with ministers officiating, are popular,
faux in the sense that the bride and groom are not Christian and know bupkes about Christianity.
One will encounter Shinto shrines in Buddhist temples.

Christians consist of about 2.3% of the population.
One's religious beliefs, or lack thereof, are not an issue in Japan. For example, being a practicing Christian is not a career impediment including politics.

Global cooling/warming/climate change?

Paid lip service by the govt for international political reasons, but not a major concern.
The reality is that Japan has to import all its fossil fuels, a far greater concern.

Shirley, all of Japan can't be free of professional meddlers nuances, and crazies.
Or is it?
If so, how was this achieved? Superior breeding thru eugenics?
Tossing sub-standard citizens into volcanoes?

Well, Japan certainly does not lack for crazies, but with the notable exception of stalkers, chikan, and perv upskirt photographers, their behaviour is internalized and typically private.

Social conformity. It is considered poor form to disturb the wa |和 - usually translated into English as "harmony".

It implies a peaceful unity and conformity within a social group, in which members prefer the continuation of a harmonious community over their personal interests.

Japanese proverb: "the nail that sticks out is hammered down".

This does have a number of serious negative consequences. Effecting needed changes is difficult in politics, business, and society in general.

Enquiring minds want to know.

Good phrase. The Nat Enq was nothing if not entertaining.

[Simple Minded]

thanks for the information CS.

Sounds like being a professional whiner, busybody, victim, scam artist, or complainer isn't a very lucrative living in Japan. I think you guys may have figured out the solution.

I heard a stat the other day that over 80% of Twitter, Facebook, and other social media traffic is caused by less that 2% of the population. No idea if it is true or not.

Most of what I have learned from the MSM (never ventured into social media) is that every place I have ever lived in the US, and almost all the Merkins I have met are aberrations!

Aberrants Unite! We can become the norm!

[noddy]

2YntFbFRnvs

no time for whiny sillyness when you are still hard at work saving up for a melon of your own

yeh yeh, i know its just status cock waving for rich folks and everyone has versions of it

[Simple Minded]

2YntFbFRnvs

no time for whiny sillyness when you are still hard at work saving up for a melon of your own

yeh yeh, i know its just status cock waving for rich folks and everyone has versions of it

$45,000 for a nice pair of melons? could be could speak for breast implants....

Cool! A perennial Tulip Bulb Mania!

I knew the Japanese had found the solution to all social problems. Coddle and pamper your melons, not your children, and life will be better for all of society!

We all need to copy this aspect of Japanese culture. NOW!

[Typhoon]

Japan and S Korea are having their own trade war, brought on by historical memory.

Nikkei Asian Review | South Korea to drop Japan from its fast-track trade 'whitelist'

SEOUL -- In an apparent tit-for-tat move, South Korea said Monday it will remove Japan from its "whitelist" of trusted trade partners, an act that risks exacerbating tensions between the two U.S. allies.

[Juno]

People often ask me why I live in Japan.

A part: is that it is a place where I could take my daughter to lost-and-found to ask about an acorn, knowing that someone would return an acorn, knowing that someone would clearly expect a lost acorn to be returned and therefore ask.

https://twitter.com/patio11/status/1179388295479996418

img.jpeg (247.38 KiB) Viewed 4730 times

[Typhoon]

People often ask me why I live in Japan.

A part: is that it is a place where I could take my daughter to lost-and-found to ask about an acorn, knowing that someone would return an acorn, knowing that someone would clearly expect a lost acorn to be returned and therefore ask.

https://twitter.com/patio11/status/1179388295479996418
img.jpeg

Now a couple of decade ago I was at a conference meeting at the Kobe Portopia Hotel, on the man made Kobe Port Island, with a Canadian colleague.
After the meeting, as we were about to exit the hotel to take the monorail back to the city, a hotel staff member came running up, out of breath.
She was pursuing us to return an ordinary pen that he had forgotten at the meeting.

Same colleague later tore his suit at the armpit seam a half hour or so before he was scheduled to give a presentation.
Another Portopia Hotel staff drew his attention to it, asked him to give her the jacket, and returned 10 minutes later with it properly repaired.
Apparently she did the repair herself. Several years later my colleague mentioned that he was still wearing that suit with the original repair.

[Nonc Hilaire]

http://www.spoon-tamago.com/2019/10/27/ ... dane-2019/

Borderline brilliant. You have to read the costume titles to get it.

[Typhoon]

http://www.spoon-tamago.com/2019/10/27/ ... dane-2019/

Borderline brilliant. You have to read the costume titles to get it.

Clever.

In Tokyo, the now traditional gathering spot for Halloween revelers has been Shibuya.

However, last year there were some incidents of vandalism which does not go over well in Japan.

NHK | Tokyo police on alert ahead of Halloween

So this year, the authorities increased the police presence and banned drinking in the streets.

Attendance was apparently down. The usual case of the few spoiling the fun for the many.

[Miss_Faucie_Fishtits]

Halloween has gained in stature as cosplay becomes a major interest for ppl 40 and under.....'>.........

[Alexis]

Sorry to hear about the grave fire at Shuri Castle ...

A fire has broken out at Japan's Shuri Castle on the island of Okinawa, local police told CNN on Wednesday.

People in the area are being evacuated, said a police spokesperson, though it is unclear how many evacuees there are or how big the fire is.

The blaze started near the main hall of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, according to the fire department in Naha City, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's national broadcaster NHK reported.

Shuri Castle was the seat of the kings of Ryukyu for more than 400 years.

The castle was completely destroyed during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945, and reconstruction work was only completed in the early 1990s.

[Typhoon]

Sorry to hear about the grave fire at Shuri Castle ...

A fire has broken out at Japan's Shuri Castle on the island of Okinawa, local police told CNN on Wednesday.

People in the area are being evacuated, said a police spokesperson, though it is unclear how many evacuees there are or how big the fire is.

The blaze started near the main hall of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, according to the fire department in Naha City, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's national broadcaster NHK reported.

Shuri Castle was the seat of the kings of Ryukyu for more than 400 years.

The castle was completely destroyed during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945, and reconstruction work was only completed in the early 1990s.

Thank you. Damn tragic.

[Typhoon]

Halloween has gained in stature as cosplay becomes a major interest for ppl 40 and under.....'>.........

Halloween and J-cosplay are made for each other.

wPzsaO0q_sw

[Typhoon]

Some dirty laundry has been exposed in public before having been properly washed.

Daily B | Carlos Ghosn’s ‘Great Escape’ Writes a Hollywood Ending to Japanese Imprisonment

JSR | Op/Ed From Ex-Prosecutor: Ghosn must respect Japanese Justice Statistics

roxqTOAor0I

[noddy]

thats classic.

speaking of Japan, just watched a new series from James May which was quite fun - covered the usual cliches but also added a layer of small local interactions which was nice, was a less cartoony view than the usual ones you get.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11302324/

[Typhoon]

Ghosn strikes back.

I4KH7_TwV0M

Tokyo prosecutors obtained an arrest warrant for the wife of Nissan’s former chairman, Carlos Ghosn, on suspicion of perjury, adding to the couple’s legal troubles.

Some level headed analysis from the Nikkei

Nikkei Asian Review | Ghosn saga leaves unanswered questions over Japan business norms

[Typhoon]

thats classic.

speaking of Japan, just watched a new series from James May which was quite fun - covered the usual cliches but also added a layer of small local interactions which was nice, was a less cartoony view than the usual ones you get.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11302324/

If he avoided the "mysterious Orient" and "Japan is unique" tropes then kudos to him.
May have a look out of curiosity.

As is the case with any country or city, visiting and travelling versus living and working there are two rather different experiences.

[Typhoon]

Reuters | Yamaha warns musicians not to climb in instrument cases after Ghosn escape