Why Japan Sucks....

2003-11-30T00:37:00.000+09:00

Sorry folks....but I am just worn out. This crazy place is enough to drive anyone around the bend! So, with that in mind, I think it is time for someone else to carry the load. I have gone as far as I can go for the time being. I need a break! I therefore leave the field open for others with more time and energy. Remember: imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!

Take care and don't let them get away with pretending that nothing has happened....both in the past and today. Get off your butts and shed some light on the disgraceful things the Japanese have tried to cover up for so long. Let people know that nothing here has changed....believe you me, nothing has changed.

Keep fighting the good fight.

Smeg Whipper

2003-11-21T13:44:00.000+09:00

Well, let's see what Japan's much-maligned National Police Agency have been up to recently: NPA in Action.

Hmmmm....well I am sure this sort of behavior must be "rare" in a country that likes to boast of it's "fine" record of public safety.

Well, what can I say? There are always a few bad apples in every bunch, right? Hmmm....maybe it is not a simple case of having a few bad apples in the bunch.....maybe a better analogy might be something along the lines of bad apples never fall far from the rotten tree!

Somehow this does seem to be more appropriate.

2003-11-20T17:19:00.000+09:00

For those of you who think Japan has changed since WWII, I urge you to read this:Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere Rises Again! Nothing has actually changed here in the hearts and minds of your average Japanese person. The vast majority are historically ignorant and those that that do have some idea of their governments actions 70 years ago prefer to pretend that nothing happened. Thus, politicians in Japan have free reign to reinterpret history, demean non-Japanese people, scapegoat foreign residents, and generally do everything possible to make it difficult for foreign professionals and foreign businesses to have any influence or impact on Japan.

On a different note, some of my regular readers may have noticed a decrease in the number of postings recently. I have to apologize for this and beg your forbearance. Life in this country is not always easy. Those of you who live here know what I mean.

2003-11-16T16:04:00.000+09:00

Here is an interesting article that illustrates the attitude of far too many people here these days: Monkey see, monkey do! Interesting points to note are: a) Despite the train being packed with people, nobody helped the girl.
b) The other people involved were allowed to walk free ostensibly because the girl couldn't identify them.
c) Amazingly enough, no other passengers were asked to appear as witnesses when the group was apprehended.
d) The arrested individual shows no remorse or even recognition that what he did was wrong claiming instead "those guys started molesting her, while I just went along with the flow and joined them in touching her."
e) Groups of train molesters have their own website and even their own clubs: Join a club!

2003-11-11T22:35:00.000+09:00

I have an interesting experiment for you today. Go to a search engine such as Yahoo or Google and enter the following as your search topic: "American Girls". What kind of sites did you find?

Now begin another search and use this as your search topic: "Japanese Girls". What kind of sites did you find?

Shocked? Disgusted? I wonder if this has anything to do with your results:Yakuza Kiddie Porn Ring Busted!

The NPA is, as usual, a day late and a dollar short.....

2003-11-10T15:57:00.000+09:00

Well, troops it is Remembrance Day in the UK today so I thought I would take this opportunity to point out a few sites of interest to those of you may have trouble remembering. You know who you are, right?

The first site is a brief introduction to the Death Railway. Another interesting link, Hell Fire Pass provides lots of pictures and details that Japanese tourists to Thailand and Burma wont find in their guidebooks. Visit this site if you would like to read the stories of former soldiers who served in the Far East and experienced the "peace-loving" Japanese first-hand.

Another forgotten bit of Japanese handiwork may be found at this site: Sandakan Death March. More details can be found here:Sandakan. Sabah is still a popular place for Japanese tourist but I wonder how many know what happened there?

Another interesting site devoted to female prisoners of war of the Japanese can be found here: BETTY JEFFREY. For an interesting Japanese perspective of Japanese crimes against women I encourage you to visit this site: Mr. Yoshida's story. For a good synopsis of Japan's wartime activities I would suggest visiting this website:Japanese War Crimes.

There are so many other stories to tell of Japan's wartime atrocities but today I thought I would look at a few which don't seem to attract as much attention these days. The veterans are becoming fewer in number each year and their stories are so easily forgotten. Hope we all learned something.

2003-11-08T22:16:00.000+09:00

Well, troops, the election madness is over at last. As soon as I finish this posting I will have a very large beer and celebrate the end of the mindless caterwauling until the next, never-ending election cycle begins again. Anyway, I thought you might find this article interesting: Cult influence on Japanese election. Don't expect to see stories like this on CNN since they only seem to report stories that reflect favorably on Japan. Can't have half the world discovering that a weird religious cult controls the government of Japan, can we?

Want to read more? Lot's of interesting stuff here at this Japanese site: The Victims of Soka Gakkai Association Read on!

2003-11-08T08:09:00.000+09:00

8am and the election soundtrucks are blasting away! Wonder when the construction jackhammers in the apartment below will begin their song of destruction.....

2003-11-07T15:36:00.000+09:00

Well, another crazy day here in Japan. It is election time and the sound trucks are out in force blasting their idiotic messages at ear-shattering volume as they circle the neighborhood. Add to this cacophany of high-pitched screeching the fact that they are re-modelling the apartment underneath me and this for some reason requires jackhammers and you can imagine the week I have had. I remarked to my Japanese wife last night that I was beginning to wonder if I wasn't being used as some sort of central character in a Japanese version of the "Truman Show". No doubt it is called the "Smeggu-san Super-Genki Torture Hour!" or something along those lines......It is completely plausible since Japanese humour seems to revolve around torturing and humiliating other people. Apparently, watching other people suffer gives the Japanese a lot of personal enjoyment. Anyways, I will spend the afternoon searching for the hidden cameras...no doubt I will be interrupted by some Japanese "friends" dropping by to see how I am doing.....

Here is an interesting article by a noted Japan expert, Chalmers Johnson. He makes some very interesting comments about the LDP and the Yakuza as well as pointing out the cynical, self-serving, anti-democratic nature of the Japanese political sysytem and the corrupt bureaucrats running the show.

On a different note, it may have escaped your notice, but last week news was released of a Japanese woman who defected to North Korea! It is a rather murky story but more details have become available and may be of interest to discerning readers: Woman who fled to North Korea was government mole in Aum! Any guesses as to why she defected?

Well, I have to get back to my search for the hidden cameras....I know they must be here somewhere! Ooooops! There's the doorbell! No doubt the cable guy back to make another of his mysterious adjustments to my cable connection.....

2003-11-06T18:01:00.000+09:00

Here is a great article that sheds some much-needed attention on the behavior of teachers here in Japan:Sex Education in Japan I know some of you may be surprised by what you read here but any foreign teacher working in the Japanese school system could probably tell you many similar stories. Sexual harassment is rampant in Japan's schools and begins at even the earliest levels.

I have also seen my share of it including male teachers who would wait until the girls were changing in their dressing room and then open the door and make comments about the girls. Other teachers use to quite openly date the students and would send them emails asking them for dates and even encouraged his former 16-year-old conquests to fix him up with their classmates! Another teacher use to throw girls over his shoulder and carry them through the hallway so that everyone could see their colored panties! The list of shocking acts is endless. Unfortunately, this type of behavior is not condemned. Rather, other teachers, especially female teachers, just seemed to accept this behavior as normal.

Foreign exchange students are also given the special treatment. One particularly strange teacher used to invite foreign exchange students to his home over the summer break. He would then wait until the girl was in the shower and would then walk in and act surprised as if he had made a mistake. The student gave him the benefit of the doubt until he did the same thing again the next day! Another 16-year-old foreign exchange student was taken to a hostess club on her first night in Japan by members of the local Rotary Club. They proceeded to get drunk while being entertained by hostesses. Some of these leading members of Japanese society then repeatedly tried to hold hands with the student and kiss her! What a great bunch of citizens!

Of course, sexual indecency doesn't end at school. High school girls are worth their weight in gold here in sex-mad Japan. Just read this story and ask yourself what the future holds for the safest country in the world

2003-11-05T15:11:00.000+09:00

Here is another story sent in by "Ron from Nara" that sheds some light on the Finest Healthcare System in the World! Japanese always like to brag about their longevity but I think those that live the longest here in Japan are those who stay out of the hands of Japanese doctors!

Trust me, going to a Japanese hospital can be a life-shortening event. Take the case of the 16-year-old girl mentioned in today's article. She had a lump in her jaw. She went to a clinic and was operated on. She was then given a week's dosage of an anti-cancer drug every day for seven days! Of course, the end result of this massive overdose was a painful death and a purple corpse. The doctor had never treated her type of cancer, had never administered that drug before, misread the dosage, and ignored the possible side-effects! But, hey! He got some practice and I am sure he wont make that mistake next time, right? The old expression, "Live and let die!" takes on a whole new meaning here in Nippon!

Of course, malpractice lawsuits are virtually unknown here in Japan where everyone is trained from birth to accept mediocrity, incompetence, and a lack of responsibility as a normal part of their lives as Japanese. A few people have begun to fight back but their efforts are like an ant attacking an elephant. Since there are few records kept of medical malpractice, (easier to avoid lawsuits, right?), it is really difficult to know just how many cases actually occur. One survey of 82 leading hospitals discovered 15,201 recorded cases over three years. That means that approximately 185 cases were recorded at each of these 82 hospitals over a three year period. Now, there are 9300 hospitals in Japan. If we factor this out we discover that in three years, there would be 1,720,500 possible cases of recorded medical malpractice in Japan! I know these rough estimates don't represent good science but since hospitals don't admit medical malpractice unless they are forced to by aggrieved victims, this number represents my best guess. I must add that this number is actually probably on the low side since the original numbers of recorded medical malpractice occurred at leading hospitals and not the chamber of horrors that serve as hospitals in rural areas.

Still in doubt? Well, here is a story that I have run before but it is a classic:'Nurse! Help! I've rejoined
the elbow upside down!!' Still not satisfied? Don't take my word as gospel....let's hear what a professor at one of Japan's most prestigious universities has to say. According to Dr.Makoto Kondo, a radiology lecturer at Keio University School of Medicine,
the situation is so hopeless in Japan "that most times it is best not to seek treatment at all" and advises, "Not going to the hospital is better for your health!"

That about says it all.....

2003-11-04T15:51:00.000+09:00

Just when you think that things can't get any crazier in Japan, the Japanese manage to surprise you:Tobacco Gum: Now Available in Japan! Yes, kids, that's right! The Japanese are now selling gum which contains the same nicotine content as a cigarette! The slogan for this new product, known as "Firebreak" is "When you can't smoke." This is a very simple and clever slogan and may lead you to believe that this gum just has a simple nicotine additive. However, nothing could be farther from the truth! In fact this gum contains....wait for it......2.5% TOBACCO!!!!!!

Interestingly enough, this rather crucial fact has been left out of the article from the Daily Yomiuri. Perhaps it was just an oversight? Or maybe that is because the packaging may not clearly state the tobacco content? Thus, people buying this so-called "gum" are actually buying smokeless chewing tobacco and they don't know it! Hideo Ichiki, secretary of an international federation of dentists concerned with the promotion of nonsmoking seems to think so. He warned, "Chewing tobacco has a cause-and-effect relationship with oral cancer." In a statement urging the Finance Ministry to withdraw its approval for the gum, two Japanese dental organizations said: "Because the gum doesn't emit any smoke, it has the illusion of being safe. We fear that adults will think likewise." Yuko Takahashi, medical professor at Nara Women's University who works with children who smoke, said: "There's tolerance for this gum because it looks like normal candy. Even when chewing it, it's indistinguishable from normal chewing gum. It could trigger some people to go from being nicotine-dependent to being a smoker."

It has been labeled as a "tobacco product" rather than "chewing tobacco" by the Ministry of Finance which owns over 60% of Japan Tobacco, the third largest tobacco company in the world. Yet, the gum can be purchased at convenience stores and kiosks around Tokyo. Hmmmm.....Why would the Ministry of Finance/Japan Tobacco want to sell tobacco gum in Japan? Wouldn't that decrease sales of their "coffin nails"? Hmmmm.....

Or are they just trying to discourage people from quitting smoking because of a few feeble attempts to ban smoking here in Japan? "Work for a Western company that bans smoking in the office? Use the train a lot? Fly overseas frequently? Just chew your tobacco rather than smoke it! It won't harm you nor does it stain the teeth!" That's mighty thoughtful of them! That saves smokers from having to play a game of cat and mouse as they sneak their smokes in the airplane lavatory, in their seat under their blankets, in stairwells, under their desks, in the broom closet or just about a million other places that Japan's nicotine-crazed smokers can find to anonymously light-up and spread their poisonous smoke to their innocent victims. Chewing smokeless tobacco erroneously labelled as "gum" is certainly easier than quitting, isn't it?

Or could it be that Japan Tobacco/Ministry of Finance simply wants to sell a deceptively labelled product that looks like candy and thus would appeal to young people? Wouldn't this candy-like product with a macho-sounding name appeal to Japan's notoriously gullible and easily-led youth/sheep? The Ministry of Health obviously thinks this could be a problem. They asked the Ministry of Finance to consider a policy concerning minors, but the ministry reportedly responded by saying only, "We'll deal with it when and if a problem arises." Hmmmmm....I can bet that there won't be any problems with Japan's nicotine-addicted youth! They can use this smoke-less tobacco product right in the classroom instead of waiting to light-up at lunch time in the toilet or on the balcony!

Hooray Japan Tobacco/Ministry of Finance! Way to go, guys! You managed to find another way to covertly hook a whole new generation of young people on nicotine! I expected nothing less from a company that is trying to profit from cancer gene research! What a responsible government/drug pusher we have here in Japan!

2003-11-03T15:47:00.000+09:00

Here is a story that has been mostly ignored by the international press: Teacher Terrorizes 4th-Grader I have reported on this before but I wanted to bring it up again for those who may have missed it the first time. Spread the word about this incident because it is the only way to shame the Japanese for ignoring problems like this until it is too late.

The story in brief: A fourth-grade student's mother innocently told his teacher - a man with a background in engineering who gained his teaching credential via a correspondence course - that her son's great-grandfather was an American. The teacher responded angrily by saying that the boy was "tainted with foreign blood!" This little "Hitler" then began to harass the boy at school telling him in front of the class that he should be sorry for his tainted blood; that he didn't deserve to live; and that he should kill himself. He also physically abused the boy with various sadistic punishments named after cartoon characters: Pulling cheeks was called "Anpan-man'' after the popular cartoon, yanking on earswas "Mickey Mouse,'' and swinging the boy around by his nose was called "Pinnochio.'' These are just three of five "punishments'' the teacher forced the boy to pick from when the child couldn't get his things ready to go home in the 10 seconds the teacher allotted him. The child suffered numerous bruises, bloody noses, and a chipped tooth. Not surprisingly, he began experiencing mental problems.

Complaints to the school got only a feeble response. Other teachers were asked to sit-in the classroom but as soon as they left the teacher would resume his torture. The principal did not want to remove the teacher and the board of education likewise ignored the problem. Other teachers at the school must have been aware of the torture but they also ignored it and buried their heads in the sand, a typical behavior of Japanese people when confronted with something unpleasant or something that disturbs the harmony of the group. The teacher, of course, denies everything and was suspended for 6 months for "bullying" but later appealed his punishment.

The response of the foreign community here in Japan has been one of outrage but few were shocked by this behavior. Anyone who has lived here for any length of time can tell nightmarish stories of what goes on in Japanese classrooms. A letter written by "Mela" of Meladramas sums up quite eloquently how foreign residents feel about Japanese responses to these types of problems.

Japan is an extremely xenophobic country and is unlikely to change in the near future. Recent comments by the Governor of Kanagawa prefecture reflect popular opinion here: Foreigners are "sneaky thieves" A recent survey on Japanese attitudes to increasing tourism brought this unsurprising result: 1 in 3 Japanese don't want foreign tourists Of course, Tokyo Governor Ishihara must be included here for his incredibly stupid and racist comments: Ishihara=Hitler

Perhaps all of the foreign residents should just pack up and leave these "special" people to themselves....I think that is what they would like us to do. It would then be so much easier for the little "Hitlers" like Governors Ishihara and Matsuzawa to get away with their brand of Japanese fascism....

2003-11-01T14:28:00.000+09:00

Here is a story that hits close to home:Tokyo outskirts a hotbed of teen rompers Thought I was exaggerating about the disgusting place I live? Don't bet the farm on it!

2003-10-31T19:00:00.000+09:00

Thanks to Alberto for this link: Activists Claim Japan Dolphin Hunts Cruel The picture says it all....just click on it and be amazed.

2003-10-31T17:35:00.000+09:00

Here is a story I have been tracking all day: They never learn! Could they get any dumber?

2003-10-31T14:29:00.000+09:00

Special thanks goes out to the ever-diligent "RJA" who sent in the article from "Foreign Policy" magazine which was used in my earlier post. If you have anything to contribute please send it in and we will add it to the pile! As usual, your comments are always appreciated.

Smeg

2003-10-31T14:06:00.000+09:00

Japanese ladies say "NO!" to Japanese men! Well, who can blame them? After all, if you examine the behavior of many Japanese men Loving Role models? you will find them to be less than desirable. Of course, a nice Japanese lady could always find herself one of Japan's heroic policemen: NPA=Need Panty Action!

Japanese men have gotten so disgusting that even political candidates have been instructed by political parties to clean themselves up to appeal to female voters:Do you have dandruff? Bad breath? Are your socks smelly or your nose hairs in need of a trim? The fact that the so-called "best and brightest" Japanese men have to be reminded to wash themselves and brush their teeth should give you a clue about the condition of the rest of Japanese manhood.

If you are still in any doubt, lets re-examine a story that received little attention outside of Japan: "Super Free" Gang-Rape Club at Waseda University Students at Japan's top university had formed a private club in which their sole purpose was to get girls drunk and then gang-rape them while their buddies took video and photos. The number of victims is unclear but probably numbers in the thousands. What was the reaction of the male-dominated government here in safe, peaceful Japan? Seiichi Ota, a senior MP from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and former minister, effectively condoned the gang rapists, saying they were "virile" and "almost normal". Want to read more? Click here!

Let's see what Japanese women have to say about Japanese men. Here is a quote from a popular women's magazine, Fujin Koron:
"The reasons Japanese women reject Japanese men are not just physical.... Women evaluate them badly in all areasâ€”'they are childish and disgusting', 'they have a bad attitude toward women', 'they are fake and dishonest', 'they are narrow minded', 'they are bad mannered', 'they can't take care of themselves', 'they can't do housework' ... Japanese men are the opposite of the Japanese GNP, they are the lowest in the world!"

I guess that about says it all, huh?

2003-10-29T14:48:00.000+09:00

Hey! Any Koreans out there? I bet you guys didn't know this! Koreans "welcomed" Japanese colonization! All this time I thought the Koreans resisted the Japanese invaders! I guess I was mistaken! I really appreciate Governor Ishihara straightening out this misunderstanding....what an intelligent, knowledgeable historian he is.....truly a product of Japan's superior educational system! Boy, don't I feel stupid!

2003-10-29T14:39:00.000+09:00

Here is a story that illustrates just how stupid the Yakuza are:Real Tough Guy! They do this crap all the time. My favorite is when they park their car in the middle of the street or on the sidewalk to chat with their buddies while long lines of cars pile up behind them....of course, the NPA are too busy to handle these problems: NPA=No Police Action

2003-10-29T12:30:00.000+09:00

I am sure it is all a big cultural misunderstanding! Britney stalker sues for distress! Sure! He is the victim! Another victim of big, bad, racist America!

In Japan, stalkers have only recently been identified as a problem by the "ever-diligent" NPA. Prior to 2000, there were no laws or restrictions against stalkers so, of course, stalking wasn't officially considered a problem by Japan's brave law-enforcers. Victims had little recourse as you can see from this article:Stalking in Japan It would be laughable if it wasn't such a serious problem. Of course, in Japan, police do nothing until there are bodies laying all over the place: Police ignore student's pleas for help! and then they try to cover up their stupidity:NPA bunglers!

So, as you can see, poor little Britney does have some reasons to be afraid of her Japanese stalker....too bad he is allowed to take advantage of America's responsive legal system.....but, that is typical, isn't it? Afterall, Japanese are always the victims!

2003-10-28T12:31:00.000+09:00

Here's the story of a guy that made a mess of his life.....unfortunately for him he trusted a friend and now he sits in a Japanese prison accused of smuggling drugs. Think he got a fair trial? Guess again! He got a 14 year sentence which is longer than you would normally get for murder:Justice-Japanese Style

Now, I dont know if this guy is guilty or innocent but I tend to believe he was stupid and innocent. However, what is interesting is the process by which his guilt was determined. Shall we take a look at how foreign suspects are treated in this modern, developed country?

Baker was interrogated for 23 days without access to a lawyer and with poor translators.
The police never recorded his interrogations.
The individual who gave him the suitcase full of drugs, James Prunier, had a history of doing the same thing to other people.
Prunier was never questioned by Japanese police nor was his history introduced as evidence.
Baker signed a confession he didn't understand.
According to Baker, "During interrogation, the lights were on all the time so I couldn't sleep. I didn't eat for twenty days."
The Japanese judge, Kenji (Hang'em High) Kadoya, who has not found a defendant innocent in his ten-year career, unsurprisingly delivered a guilty verdict.
Baker was given a 14 year sentence. Longer than those sentenced for murder.
Baker was also placed in solitary confinement for 10 months for refusing to show remorse.

Sounds like a really modern judicial system, right? Ever wonder why the Japanese courts have a 99% conviction rate? Well, how long would it take before you confessed to killing Kennedy if you were:
1) Held without charges and interrogated for 23 days without benefit of counsel, without bail, and without protection against self-incrimination.
2) Subjected to determined police and prosecutors empowered to employ various methods, (TORTURE), to ensure a signed "confession" is on the table by the end of the 23 day period. Torture techniques include sleep and food deprivation, slapping and poking of the suspect's body, shouting, slamming and overturning furniture, false promises that you will be allowed to see family or friends or to return home after confessing are all used here to obtain confessions.

All of this is easier than conducting a proper police investigation, right? I wonder if this is just a coincidence?

What a modern, sophisticated country, huh? They are so proud of their legal system here! Like most things here in Japan it is just a complete farce. Look beyond the official statistics and the sophisticated propaganda machine that keeps negative stories about Japan off CNN and Fox and you may be shocked to find that the truth is well hidden in Japan.....just like Nick Baker....locked up in solitary confinement for 10 months just for refusing to show remorse for a crime he didn't commit. He won't get out of prison here in Japan until 2017....if he survives.

2003-10-27T13:20:00.000+09:00

Here is an interesting article on an issue that should receive a lot of foreign media attention but doesn't: Japan's Battlers of Sex Abuse Confront Culture, Law According to this article, "Figures compiled by the National Police Agency indicate that 2,238 cases of rape, or 10 percent of all serious crimes, were reported in Japan in 2001. If numbers for indecent assault are included--such as attempted rape, groping or harassment--the cases of sexual abuse rise to 43 percent of the total." Shall I repeat that? 43% of all violent crimes in Japan are cases of sexual abuse! Folks, these are just the numbers that are reported! Not the actual numbers!

I don't want to claim that rape is at epidemic levels here in Japan but if you consider how obscenely victims of rape or sexual assault are treated by the police here is it any wonder that more women prefer to keep rape a secret? Here is the story of an American woman who was attacked in Japan: Read this to see how the NPA handles sexual assaults! I include some choice quotes for the lazy readers out there:

"I was told repeatedly that because the case had been already processed, it would be 'inconvenient' if I insisted on filing charges."

"I questioned why this man, who had stalked me and tried to rape me, knew not only my address but my name, my age and other personal data. This information, given in his handwritten statement, could only have come from one source: the police."

"Investigators said they thought the man was "weak-willed." He had already suffered "considerable damage" after a phone call to his employer, for whom he continues to work as a door-to-door salesman, despite now having a police record. As Campbell noted, "He's still knocking on doors selling products to women at home alone."

"Investigators assigned to her case suggested prosecution was futile, that at most her efforts would yield only a small settlement, say 50,000 yen. When one officer joked that the man must have been stupid, because "for the price of the fine he could have gotten a lot more downtown,"

"When she (the victim) also resisted the idea of posing for on-the-scene reconstruction photos of the assault, the investigator shouted: "This is how it's done in Japan! I can't understand you Americans!"

"Unlike in other developed countries, there is no law in Japan protecting the rights of the victim. "Official crime rates are so low that Japan has a reputation for being one of the safest societies in the world. However, while 1,687 cases of sexual assault made it to the court in 1997, this is out of 6,055 officially recognized cases. Of those convicted, 561 were let off without time served. I question that."

Still think Japan is a clever, peaceful country with almost no crime?

2003-10-25T19:01:00.000+09:00

Here is a bevy of stories for you that just about sums up the real Japan experience:It was just a massage! How about a look at The NPA in Action! Or the new favorite pastime for some Japanese macho men Pedophilia is just a hobby! Well, it is if you live in the Pervert Paradise!

Folks, these stories just don't need any embellishments from me! Just read them and wonder what the Hell is going on in this nutty place! Have a nice weekend...I am heading for the mountains to escape these looney-toons!

2003-10-24T17:43:00.000+09:00

So, after receiving thousands of complaints about Yakuza Loan Sharking the buffoons at the NPA finally decide to do something. Of course, the Yamaguchi-gumi received plenty of warning so this raid was mostly for public consumption. I am sure the punch-perm boys made sure to get rid of all the most incriminating evidence and offered up a few tidbits and lower-ranking goons to satisfy the police and the gullible sheep/public. At the end of the day, everyone goes home happy! Everyone except the over 7,000 Japanese who killed themselves after falling prey to Yakuza loan sharks: Yakuza loan sharks charge 10,000% interest: NPA does nothing

What the tame Japanese media also fail to mention are the close ties that the Yakuza had to such LDP big-shots such as Shizuka Kamei This is also just the tip of the iceberg. The Yakuza and the LDP are best friends and they help each other out on a regular basis. Indeed the do....an estimated 5% of all public work projects go to Yakuza construction agencies which in turn funnel about half of the public money right back to the LDP. About half of the recent 13 trillion yen bailout of housing loan corporations went to companies tied to Yakuza groups. It just goes on and on. Read more here:LDP and the Yakuza: Birds of a feather... Could this be why it took so long for the NPA to finally act? Inquiring minds already know the answer to that question.

I have already mentioned many times in the past the role of the Yakuza in creating and prolonging the current recession in Japan but it never hurts to remind you of who the real culprits are here:The Yakuza Recession

So, do you still think the raid on the Yamaguchi-gumi was anything more than a rather silly theatrical performance?

2003-10-23T14:22:00.000+09:00

Where is the last place you would think smoking would be permitted? Well, in Japan, Smoking in Hospitals is permitted! Researchers studied the effects of smoking in Japanese university hospitals and discovered an amazing fact: "Japan's university hospitals are failing to meet health standards when it comes to preventing passive smoking, with high smoke levels being recorded even in nonsmoking areas. Many patients at hospitals cannot avoid passive smoking because of the prevalence of smokers at the hospitals Well, gee-whiz! Imagine that! This is truly ground-breaking research!

According to the researchers, "Under the labor standards law and the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry's standards for separating smoking and nonsmoking areas, 0.15 milligrams of smoke particles per cubic liter is the maximum permitted level even in smoking areas. At two places where people could smoke freely, a maximum level of 1.2 milligrams was recorded at lunch and dinner times, while the average level was 0.11 milligrams. At two places that did not properly separate smoking and nonsmoking areas, a maximum level of 0.56 milligrams was recorded in smoking spaces. Even in nonsmoking spaces, the level reached 0.3 milligrams at peak times. Outside smoking rooms in the hospitals, researchers found that smoke filtered into the corridors every time the doors were opened and some areas had smoke levels that exceeded the standard."

Well, with 49% of the Japanese male population smoking and tobacco vending machines located everywhere, including the Ministry of Health can there be any doubt as to why there are so many smokers in hospitals? It couldn't be that smoking is dangerous to your health? NO WAY, Smeggu-san!!!! It can't be true!

Well, cigarette packs in Japan do bear this stern advice, "Be careful of smoking too much" and everyone knows that 60% of Japan Tobacco is owned by those clever chaps at the Finance Ministry. They wouldn't knowingly sell harmful, addictive drugs to their own citizens, would they? The Japanese government wouldn't turn a blind eye to research by tobacco company giant, Phillip Morris which clearly states "cigarette smoking causes lung cancer, heart disease, emphysema and other serious diseases in smokers." Say it isn't so, Smeggu-san!

Could this explain why, according to the researchers, "an estimated 20,000 people die from passive smoking each year in Japan"????? I can also guarantee that this number is absurdly low.....anyone who has ever set foot in a Japanese restaurant or bar will attest to the incredibly high levels of smoke in these places. You would be better off having a picnic on the expressway.

2003-10-22T15:59:00.000+09:00

Smokers sue Japan Tobacco and the Japanese government (same thing) and discover Wacky Japanese Justice! The plaintiffs in this case are all dying of smoking related illnesses such as lung cancer, emphysema, and throat cancer. They were seeking 10 million yen in compensation but their claim has been dismissed by the court because "despite evidence of the general ill effects of smoking, there is no proof of a causal link between the plaintiffs' smoking habits and their specific illnesses."

Despite acknowledging "that cigarettes contain a cocktail of chemical substances that pose grave health risks," the ever-so-wise Judge denied the plaintiffs' claim that nicotine is highly addictive. According to this fine example of Japanese judicial logic, "Nicotine is addictive, but it is not strong enoughto override the free will of each smoker," Asaka said. "It is hard to acknowledge that smokers cannot quit despite their will and efforts." Give me a break!

The court also ruled that Japan Tobacco had warned smokers of the danger of smoking with stern warnings such as "Because smoking may damage your health, please be careful not to smoke too much." Well, I am sure that this very frightening statement deters many smokers here in Japan....NOT! I guess that is why I see so many parents smoking right in front of their children including a mother I saw yesterday who was feeding her baby and smoking at the same time!

JT, meanwhile, said that it is hard to blame only tobacco because "cancer is triggered in a complex way". Oh right, smoking doesn't cause cancer! All these years I have been suffering from a misconception! D'oh!!!
This wisdom comes from a company that is almost completely owned by:The Ministry of Finance the same guys who are trying to:Profit from Cancer Genes!

Unbelievable but true!

2003-10-21T18:37:00.000+09:00

The "full moon" never sets in the Land of the Rising Skirt! Japanese schoolgirls becoming animalistic This is a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black. Here we have a Japanese professor claiming that Japanese girls have become "animalized" because they wear incredibly short skirts. At the same time, he ignores the fact that many notoriously animalistic Japanese men can't keep their hands or their winkies off not only girls that wear short skirts but also any other lady: Leacherous Lecturers

For an honest exploration of the sleazy exploitation of Japanese schoolgirls read this very interesting article on filmmaker Harada Masato:Teens on the Make Here is a very revealing quote: "Harada lays the blame for teen prostitution mainly on the men who are turned on by girls wearing school uniforms. 'Bounce shows how teenagers go wrong because of those sleazy middle-aged men,' he says. 'In the film, one of the girls says she once told a man as a joke that he could kiss her for 100 million yen. But the problem is that Japanese men today will say, 'Okay, I'll pay you 100 million for a kiss.' There's something wrong with these guys.' "

That about says it all.

2003-10-20T14:24:00.000+09:00

Here is a story that will make you ill. It is the story of a young British woman, Lucie Blackman, who came to Japan to work as a hostess in one of the millions of hostess clubs that cater to horny Japanese men. Unfortunately for her, and for countless unknown others just like her, she ended up being murdered, cut into pieces, encased in cement and then dumped in a cave by a Japanese pervert. Here is a timeline of events that will show you the true nature of Japanese justice: NPA=No Police Action

The Japanese police refused to seriously investigate her disappearance forcing the Blackman family to spend over $150,000 to hire their own investigators. The NPA even went so far as to remove information posters that her family placed on telephone poles around Tokyo! For a full accounting of events I urge you to read this:NPA Investigation Techniques Follow the links at the bottom of the Telegraph article to read even more details of NPA bufoonery. It was only after the intervention of Tony Blair, the British PM, that the NPA took action and "solved" the crime. Without the intervention of the British PM, this crime would have been forgotten just like countless others. Those NPA guys are just wonderful people, huh? Real role models for law enforcers all over the world!

Now the Japanese pervert, Joji Obara, that allegedly murdered Ms. Blackman and drugged and raped countless others while recording his sexual "prowess" on video is finally in court: Courtroom titillation for thrill-seeking Japanese These idiots are there to hear details of his crimes and no doubt hope to see the infamous video recordings that he, like countless other perverts here in Japan, have made of their drugged victims. The thousands of girls who appear on Obara's homemade videos have not been investigated nor will they ever receive any justice since most appear to be Asian and thus not important to the NPA. What other crimes has Obara been involved in that will go unsolved because the women involved were Filipinos, Thai, Chinese, Korean, or some other "disposable" Asian or Eastern European ethnic group and thus not important?

Obara has also been implicated in the drugging and murdering of an Australian hostess in 1992 whose death was not investigated even though it was obvious that she was a victim of foulplay: Coretta Ridgeway How many others are there?

If you are not completely pissed-off at the NPA by now then stand-by to be completely stunned: The NPA has not charged Obara with homicide! He has been charged with attempted rape; attempted rape resulting in injury; attempted rape resulting in death; abduction for immoral purposes; mutilation of a corpse; and abandonment of a corpse!!!!!!!!!!!

I guess Lucie Blackman killed herself and then chopped herself into small pieces!!!!! Japanese justice is an amazing thing!

2003-10-19T22:16:00.000+09:00

Well, looks like the start of another Yakuza gang war here in peace-loving, peaceful, safe, secure, "We don't have a crime problem!", "All crimes are committed by foreigners!" Japan: More Yakuza Violence Let's see how the police try to rewrite this so that foreigners can be identified as the true culprits......

2003-10-18T22:21:00.000+09:00

Here is a question that needs to be answered: Where did Arnold go on his holidays? Inquiring minds want to know......

2003-10-18T17:37:00.000+09:00

In other countries only kids would play with stuffed animals but in Japan grannies go for talking stuffed toy pets! D'oh!!!!

Actually, I am in favor of the Japanese buying these fake pets because it is better than the alternative: See cute dog on TV. Buy inbred copy of cute dog at expensive doggy boutique. Buy accessories at expensive doggy clothing boutique. Lavish affection on dog instead of children. Get bored with new toy. Leave dog outside in tiny doggy POW cage to bark all day and all night. Drive the neighbors completely bananas! Make my life a living HELL!!!!!!

So, rather than slam the Japanese for doing something completely childish, today I am going to do something I rarely do: I will applaud these old grannies and their stuffed animals and encourage more Japanese to go for the talking stuffed toy pet rather than the miserable, tortured beasts that I see chained up in their 1-square-meter POW cages outside many Japanese houses! Nippon would be a much quieter place for it!

2003-10-17T17:35:00.000+09:00

N Korea blasts Japan at U.N. for abducting 200,000 women For once this nutty Kim Jong-il has said something I can agree with. And no, his numbers are not an exaggeration. Go here if you want to read more: Japanese sex slaves I hear Japanese people moaning and groaning about their 20 or so citizens that were abducted by the North Koreans but nobody seems to remember that the Japanese forced 670,000 Koreans to go to Japan during WWII: Japanese abduct 670,000 Koreans but can't remember!

2003-10-17T14:20:00.000+09:00

Japan to pay Y300 mil "Cooperation fund" to China over poisonous gas leak Notice the key words here are "Cooperation Fund" and not "compensation".....that would suggest that the Japanese did something wrong and we all know that could open the door to accepting "responsibility" something the Japanese can never do!!!!

2003-10-17T13:02:00.000+09:00

Would you eat vegetables grown in an area that was surrounded by 16 waste incinerators? Top Court Rejects the F'ing Obvious Wouldn't you think that having 16 waste incinerators surrounding an agricultural area might have a harmful effect on anything grown there? Not to mention the people that live there? Not in Japan!!

Farmers rule the roost here and what they say goes....nevermind the effect on the rest of the country. The LDP is basically owned by the farm lobby and Koizumi dances to their tune: Paddy Politics In return for the support of farmers, the LDP doles out huge farm subsidies that would make European and American farmers green with envy: Japanese Farm Subsidies Here is a quote in case you don't have the time to read the whole article: "The US media have made much of EU cows receiving $2.50 a day in subsidies while billions in Africa survive on less, but this pales next to the $7.50 per day Japanese cattle receive. Total support for Japanese rice producers equals 700 percent of production costs. Moreover, beef and rice are not unique in the protection they receive - wheat, barley, sugar beet, peanuts, dairy products and pork are all heavily sheltered." In fact, 60% of a farmer's income in Japan comes from the state giving them an income higher than the national average!

So, now you know why vegetables grown in an area surrounded by 16 waste incinerators can be considered safe to eat. Money talks! Is it any wonder why the LDP has been in power forever?

2003-10-16T15:51:00.000+09:00

Here is another one of those stories that can best be described as the tip of the iceberg: Lecherous Lecturers This disgusting behaviour is endemic here and is much more widespread than is officially reported. From my own personal observation as a high school teacher I can assure you that what is described in this story is completely believeable. Unfortunately, it is just a reflection of an overly-permissive society obsessed with youth and sexual perversion.

It is not just confined to school teachers either. Family members are even in on the action and not only for their own sick sexual gratification but for financial rewards as well: Family Matters It is a crazy country, folks! You know things have gotten pretty bad when you can't even trust your own family not to sell your ass on voyeur videos! Can they sink any lower?

God only knows what will be next....

2003-10-15T15:37:00.000+09:00

Only in Japan:Dogs' dinner costs $239 I wish I was making this stuff up but, unfortunately I am not. It is common to see stupid, inbred "designer" dogs prissing around the piss-stained streets of this city wearing doggie yukatas, doggie hats, doggie sweaters, and doggie jewelry that matches their owner's best effort at sophisticated fashion. It is absolutely ridiculous but in a country where parents never-ever hug their children, pets have become the center of attention for many affection-starved Japanese. Dogs are pampered and spoiled and paraded around the neighborhood just like a new baby....sometimes even in baby carriages!

Having a designer dog can also give you status which Japanese seem to crave more than anything else in the world. The more rare and expensive your pooch, the more status you have and thus the higher you can poke your nose in the air. Having a designer inbred breed also gives you a right to mix with other people who have the same inbred breed and stand around in the park in little elitist groups collectively thumbing your nose at those who dare walk in the park with normal dogs not kitted out in matching designer outfits.

Well, you just have to wonder what would happen if these people would focus their love and affection on their inbred children instead of their inbred dogs. Perhaps we wouldn't see so many stories like this:Schoolgirl sluts

2003-10-14T13:18:00.001+09:00

As I was saying....317 hospital patients exposed to excessive radiation Of course, the one who has died and the seven who are dying of radiation-related illnesses have been told that their poor health has noting to do with their exposure to excessive radiation....it's just bad luck!

2003-10-14T09:48:00.000+09:00

Here we go again! This is actually pretty big news but I doubt it will get much coverage:GSDF troops stage armed march in Sasebo amid protest Gradually, the militarist are pushing the door open inch by inch......meanwhile the sheep graze contentedly......baaaaaah!!!

2003-10-13T13:50:00.000+09:00

If you survive the fire, you won't survive the hospital! 40% of emergency room patients die in Japan! Yes, that's right! It ain't no joke when you get sick or injured here!

A government study group surveyed 108 emergency medical centers and looked at 1432 people who had been admitted for emergency medical treatment and had died. Factoring out those who were already technically dead when they arrived, the study found that 719 of the 1432 people had a better than 50% chance of survival on arrival at an emergency medical center. Of this 719, 546 would have survived if they had received appropriate medical care indicating that 38.1% of those that died in ERs could have survived!

The survey also exposed that shoddy medical care differs from one facility to another with tragic results: "all of the patients who died at three of the emergency centers had had more than 50 percent chance of survival, while 12 centers kept the death rate of patients with more than a 50 percent chance of survival under 20 percent."

The study also found that patients with an 80% chance of survival accounted for 25% of ER fatalities! Of those with a 90% chance of survival, 10% died! These numbers are a serious indictment of the Japanese medical care system! And yet, we hear nothing from the media about these astounding figures! No media frenzy....no citizen's groups marching outside the Ministry of Health, Labor and welfare....nothing at all! Just an admission that Japan's emergency medical care system is about 30 years behind the United States!

I have seen this emergency medical care treatment in action several times. The worst was a road accident between a small car and a large truck. The ambulance and fire truck arrived on the scene within 5 minutes but they had no equipment to remove the victims from the wrecked car which was resting on its side....not even a hammer to break the windshield so the victims could be pulled out. Instead, they began rocking the car with the victims trapped inside until it finally tipped over with a crash! They then tried to break the windshield with a fire extinguisher which then burst sending the spray all over the place. Finally, someone borrowed a crow bar and smashed open the window. They then began man-handling the victims out of the car without spine boards or neck braces and laid them on the pavement without even covering them with blankets or placing them in the shock position! As if this wasn't bad enough, as they were loading the first guy into the ambulance he fell off the gurney because he hadn't been strapped down! Yes, he was still alive! No basic life-saving actions took place....no CPR, no treatment for shock, no spine-boards, and the one neck-brace they did use was placed upside down on the victim and fell off as he struggled to breathe....it was a complete farce!

Folks, this is the gospel truth! I would not have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes! I gave the Japanese more credit than this but after this accident it is easy to see why so few people survive emergency medical treatment here in Japan! And no, this didn't take place in some country area either....it occurred on one of the major access roads leading into Tokyo!

The moral of the story? Wealth does not equal modernity! The Japanese can boast about how affluent they are and safe is their society but when 40% of the people admitted to an ER die from improper medical care then something is wrong!

2003-10-12T11:19:00.000+09:00

Woman, 4 grandkids perish in Hiroshima fire Hmmmm....wonder if they had a smoke detector?

2003-10-11T18:18:00.000+09:00

Isn't this too obvious? Well, apparently not in Japan. It staggers me how little common sense is applied here....I know some of you may think this is being hyper-critical, (unusual for such an easy-going gent such as myself), but the absolute lack of simple preventive measures like smoke detectors makes you wonder just what, if anything, the government does to protect it's citizens.

This is especially shocking when you visit a school and find that there are no fire escapes! Yes, that's right! NO FIRE ESCAPES! Instead of a ladder or external stairway they use a ridiculous chute device that takes about ten minutes to deploy and over an hour for the students to slide down one at a time!!!! Think I am kidding? I taught at five high schools, all of which were four stories or higher, and none of them had fire escapes! I don't consider the chute device as a fire escape...more a "chute of death" than anything. Can you imagine a hundred students waiting patiently in-line for their turn to slide down the safety chute? Don't worry....I am sure the teachers would make them all stand in-line to be burned to death in alphabetical order! Of course, the victims would be mostly girls since the boys are always placed in front and the girls all in the back!

If you bother reading the article you will find these typical examples of Japanese bureaucratic research: "While an advisory fire-prevention panel to the Tokyo governor has been studying measures to deal with the problem for two years, the fire department's Fire Science Laboratories has conducted research on the effectiveness of fire alarms and case studies on house fires. Researchers found that the time spent from the outbreak of fire until a fire department is notified could be shortened by about 80 seconds if an alarm was activated before the amount of toxic fumes reached a level requiring evacuation." What a shocker???!!! Who would have thought it?!!

How about this even more priceless example: "The researchers also found that the installation of fire alarms would reduce the number of deaths caused by fire and the area destroyed by fire to one-third their previous level, respectively." Wow! Imagine that! Wonder how much money they wasted trying to fiqure this out! Millions, no doubt....and I am sure they had several hundred meetings where government boobs sat around and sucked air between their nicotined-stained teeth while picking their noses! The usual "belly-talk" meeting in Nippon.....

And yet, after all of this research, they are still just "considering" creating an ordinance requiring fire alarms!!!!!!! What does this say about Japan in general and Tokyo in particular, a city that has burnt to the ground numerous times? It should send you a message that is loud and clear....just like a fire alarm!!!! Too bad there aren't such devices to detect government stupidity!!! They would be going off 24/7!!!!!!

2003-10-10T16:36:00.000+09:00

Well, troops....the stories of women being attacked by rapist are literally flooding in these days as more and more women have begun reporting what was once a thing to keep hidden. The nature of the crime has also gotten more violent as TV/manga-inspired, gang-rape perverts seek bigger and more exciting thrills:Japan: Rapist Paradise! or Watch and Learn! Take your pick....it's a dime a dozen here in "safety" Japan!

I have even started to lose count of the number of rapes publicized in the last day or so.....each one just seems to get more bizarre than the last:School-girl BBQ I have reported on this one before but now more details have emerged. The story is as follows: nice girl joins bosozoku gang, meets Yakuza guy and gets married illegally so that she can become a bar worker at a Yakuza establishment, graduates to prostitute and is forced by her charming husband to pay him a commission. This clown also pimps her to his associates while keeping a string of other teenage girlfriends who were, no doubt, being used the same way. Meanwhile, he decides to kill her after she allegedly falls behind in her payments. Gathering together his bosozoku friends, thay bash her head in and then set her on fire.....charming! Of course, her parents didn't even have a clue that their daughter was married and was working as a prostitute. Lets see if this Yakuza thug had a million dollar insurance policy out on his "wife"!

Burning seems to be the preferred method these days to get rid of the evidence. It is not like NPA is going to employ any high-tech equipment to investigate a crime....it's not like this is an advanced, first-world country, right? The criminals know this and thus we have our cause and effect: Another roasted school girl

Some are luckier than others. Another school girl, age 15, was abducted by Yakuza thugs and held captive for 8 days before the NPA managed to "solve" the crime:Lucky isn't the word for it! What is interesting to note about this police operation is that the girl's friend went to the police after seeing her friend being held captive in a Yakuza hang-out surrounded by the punch-perm boys. The police waited until the next day to take action and, of course, when they turned up a day late and a dollar short, the girl had already been spirited away by another gang member. She was only recovered four days later after the gangster turned himself in. God only knows what happened to the girl during this eight day ordeal. The interesting question to ask is why school girls were visiting the Yakuza? Could these nice gents have been recruiting them for the Girl Scouts? I don't think so!

The NPA are such a hard-working group of diligent, law-enforcers, right? Maybe in bizarro world! Hey! Wait a minute! This is BIZARRO WORLD! Hard-working Japanese Police

2003-10-09T12:27:00.000+09:00

Here is a rather sad story about life in Japan: Only Pure Japanese, Please! Many Japanese, especially older people, still believe in the "pure-blood" myth of Japan and don't take kindly to those of mixed ancestorage. The fact that this racist teacher was able to torture this kid for such a long time without attracting any attention should say something about Japanese society. The fact that he was only suspended for 6 months as punishment should send you a very clear message about the Japanese educational system. At least Japanese lawyers have taken up his case but asking for 13 million yen, ($120,000), seems a bit trivial compared to the physical and psychological damage done to the kid.

Think this is rare? Not really....in fact, the first thing my Japanese mother-in-law said to me when she met me was "No Hafu!" which translates into "Please don't produce any half-Japanese, half-Caucasian children!" Nice, huh? The funny thing is, that after my wife and I were married and the in-laws got to know their new American son-in-law, the more they wanted us to have children. I thought this was strange and I asked my wife about this apparent change of heart. Imagine my surprise when I was told that this change of heart was not due to my "sparkling personality" but due to the fact that having a foreign son-in-law had given my wife's mother a new "prestige" in the community and she thought having cute, blue-eyed grandbabies would increase this prestige to even higher levels!

2003-10-08T14:33:00.000+09:00

The best health care in the world? I don't think so...in fact visiting a Japanese hospital is downright scary! Hygiene precautions are laughable at best and downright criminal in many places! The staff are very poorly trained and in many cases the doctors are complete knuckleheads....their preferred method of examining a woman for breast cancer is the touchy-feely method rather than x-rays: Dr. Feel Good Do you really need to ask why? I think we all know the answer to that question!

Want to read more? Not satisfied with these mild stories of Japanese bufoonery? Well, here you go! Medical Maniacs in Japan! Yes, folks, Japan may not have the best health care in the world but it is certainly the most entertaining....unless, of course, you get sick here!

2003-10-08T11:00:00.000+09:00

Think I am exaggerating when I rant about the incompetent police here in Japan? Well, read this: After 23 years, bungling police `solve' murder! To summarize: A man is dragged from his car in front of witnesses and is later found dead, bound and gagged at the bottom of a dam. Police verdict: SUICIDE! Read the whole story and rest assured that this is not unusual here in Japan.

2003-10-07T16:34:00.000+09:00

Hey! Like to drink and drive? Well, Japan is the place for you! Drunk Driver Kills 5, gets 15 years! That's three years per person! I am sure that this "harsh" sentence will make the families of his victims feel better!
Here you can drive drunk quite easily and rarely worry about police check points or drunk-driving patrols. Afterall, the NPA has better things to do with their time: NPA=No Police Action

It takes a lot to get the police to do something here. They usually need a dead body, Roasted School Girl, or at least a piece of a dead body,Could this be a clue?, before they spring into slow motion and give us their best Inspector Clousseau impression. Instead, they prefer to stay in their kobans where it is safe! Afterall, if they go out on patrol they might actually stumble across a crime and that would destroy their low crime statistics! It is easy to say that Japan has a low crime rate when blatant criminal acts seldom attract the attention of the police!

The result is that drunk drivers can get behind the wheel and turn the streets into their own personal slaughter house. I see it every night from my balcony. Drunks stagger down the main street, climb into their cars, honk the horn a few times to wake everyone, and then speed off on their mission of mayhem. Where are the police? Not out patrolling a neighborhood that has at least 50 bars and five major parking lots!!!!!! No, they are warm and cozy in their little koban 400 meters away!

What message does this organization of inactive, incompetent "law enforcers" send to the youth of Japan? Pimping is easy!

2003-10-06T11:16:00.000+09:00

Here is another story that has gone unreported in "peace-loving" Japan: Japan will Nuke North Korea! Yes, thats right! The new secretary-general of the Japan's "ruling forever" Liberal Democratic Party, Shinzo Abe, is a real tough guy! He is popular with the ladies here because of his straight-talking, macho manner and his promotion to secretary-general was publically seen as a ploy by PM Koizumi to capitalize on Abe's current popularity prior to next month's general election. However, I wonder if he would be so popular if his supporters heard some of his recent comments regarding North Korea.
According to a local journalist, after a lecture at Waseda University Abe was talking informally to reporters over drinks. When asked about the North Korean situation he was quoted as saying, "Oh yeah! We're gonna waste North Korea!" and "Let's nuke North Korea and annihilate 'em!" Which, of course, implies that "peace-loving" Japan does actually have nuclear weapons, something that they have denied for years in their role as the "world's greatest victims". It also gives you a chance to see just how the "peace-loving" Japanese actually feel after they have had a few drinks in them. Just scratch the surface here and you will find that things haven't changed all that much since the 1930's....

2003-10-04T17:43:00.000+09:00

Here is a good article that explains Japan's attitude to the "War that Never Occurred":The View from Japan The big black busses that you see in the picture are the infamous right wing fascist that I am always complaining about. They drive round and round my city blasting out martial music and their hate-filled screed at 50,000 decibels....and no, nobody does anything to stop them, especially the police who are their "special" friends. Imagine what would happen in the Neo-Nazis did this in Germany....here in Japan, it is accepted as completely normal.

On a different note, I was alerted to this article on Organized Perversion by James, another long-time foreign resident of Japan. Train gropers or "Chikans" as they are more commonly known, are a huge problem in Japan. Nearly every woman that uses the trains in Japan has had a run-in with these disgusting pervs. They even have their own magazine to promote their perverted behavior called "Finger Press" and have formed their own clubs with various ranks. They have expanded their activities beyond the train system to other crowded places: More Organized Perversion They can operate without much fear of the police since the police seem to be their biggest supporter: Police Pervert#1, Police Pervert#2, Lazy Cops, Complete Idiots

I don't mean to be too critical and label this situation a complete disgrace for a modern, developed country....but if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck....then it must be a duck.

2003-10-03T11:13:00.000+09:00

Here are some classic editorial cartoons which are right on target: Humor for You Click on the cartoon link on the left if the page doesn't pop up automatically. Make sure you scroll down to see all of them as there is an all time classic at the bottom. This particular cartoon pokes fun at Emperor Akihito's visit to London in 1998. Much to his surprise he was met by jeering crowds of war veterans who turned their backs on him while whistling "Colonel Bogey's March" made famous in the movie, "The Bridge over the River Kwai". Of course, none of this was shown on Japanese TV. Click here The Emperor was not amused! to see what the Japanese will never see.

Some of the veterans were criticized for their actions by simpletons who never suffered as POWs of the Japanese. Incidentally, if you were a POW of our little yellow friends you had a much higher possibility of not surviving since 35.7% of all Americans held by the Japanese died in captivity as compared to 1.1% held by the Germans. I don't have the data for British survivors but it must have been about the same, if not worse. Survivors, therefore, should not be criticized too harshly by those either too young or too stupid to remember the atrocities committed by the Emperor's minions. Afterall, some of them survived the Japanese death camps to entertain you today with novels based on their experiences with the Japanese: Planet of the Apes

I think this letter sent to the Emperor by a survivor sums up most people's views on the subject: A POW writes to the Emperor

2003-10-02T13:21:00.000+09:00

Well troops...it seems as though the filthy escapades of the Japanese orgy tourist in China have been forgotten just as quickly and easily as all of the other bad things that have happened in Japan, past and present. Not a mention in the press today. However, just because the media and government have buried an unpleasant issue doesn't mean that it can't come back to haunt them later. Here is a good example of how the ghosts of the past just can't stay buried in Japan: Wartime vivisectionist warns of a return of militarism

This guy is just the tip of the iceberg. I applaud him and other veterans who are now speaking out about the atrocities that were committed during WWII, or as it is known in Japan, "The War That Never Happened" or "The Day the Americans Attacked Innocent Japan with Atomic Bombs". Too bad that they are shouted down and abused by the fascist right-wing groups parading around in their big, black busses blasting their "Greatest Japanese Marching Band Hits of 1937" CD at 50,000 decibels! It makes you wonder what these lunatics have to fear from a lot of old veterans? Why would they want to shut down any attempt to examine Japan's actions during WWII? Well, if you want to know just click on the links on this page:Unit 731 If you want to hear the voices of the victims then I recommend this page: Voices that will never be heard in Japan

There is so much more to say about this but it is really tough to know where to begin. Get off your duffs and find out for yourself....I have given you a push in the right direction....Remember: the Japanese government and their right-wing fascist allies don't want you to read about this. "Just forget about it! It happened a long time ago....Japan is a peace-loving country! Go shopping, buy Japanese products....love Hello Kitty and think that Japan is a wonderful, safe country where everyone wears kimonos and drinks tea while gazing peacefully at Mt. Fuji." Fictional Japan

2003-10-01T11:23:00.000+09:00

Here is an update on the Japanese hotel sex orgy in China: Zhuhai 'hotel sex orgy' pimp arrested I don't know what will happen to this guy but I hope the Chinese don't whack him right away. I would like to hear what he has to say about the incident. 50 of the prostitutes were also arrested but, as usual, the Japanese guys involved are safe and sound and are probably busy churning out videos of their exploits for the porn industry.

As for my article on sex-slave trafficking I offer the following report from the U.S. State Department: Sex Trafficking in Japan The report notes that "Japan is a country of destination for men, women, and children trafficked for sexual exploitation. Victims come mainly from China, South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, the Philippines, Colombia, and Eastern Europe. Some victims are lured to Japan under false pretenses; others come aware that they will work in the lucrative Japanese sex trade and are abused after their arrival. Trafficking also occurs within Japan as victims are "resold" between traffickers."

As for the Japanese government's response to trafficking, "Japan has no law specifically prohibiting trafficking, although in practice it applies mainly the immigration and labor laws against traffickers. The government does investigate traffickers, but the number of prosecutions has been too few and the penalties too weak to act as an effective deterrent against the professional syndicates involved in trafficking. The 2003 arrest and conviction of kingpin trafficker Koichi "Sony" Hagiwara were significant. His criminal sentence, like many violent crime sentences in Japan, was light by U.S. standards (less than two years for a repeat offender who operated a criminal trafficking organization which moved hundreds of victims from Colombia) indicating a weakness in Japan's punishment of traffickers. The government does not aggressively prosecute and punish the criminal organizations involved in trafficking."

You can draw your own conclusions. However, to be fair I have received emails from Japanese people condemning the behaviour of their fellow countrymen and their government so it may not be as hopeless as it seems. The sex tour story finally made the news here in Japan with the tone best described as "cautious" tinged with "embarrassment". Public reaction has been interesting: From the mouths of babes

The Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda was questioned about the story but only said, "I don't like to hear about this kind of story. I do not wish to talk about it any further." I have noticed that the story has disappeared from the English newspapers published in Japan. Let's see what the evening news has to say....my guess is that the story will quietly disappear there as well.

2003-09-30T15:27:00.000+09:00

In case any of you think the stories of sexual slavery in Japan are untrue: White Slavery in Japan Read the whole article....it's quite revealing.

The Japanese like to pretend that this form of sexual slavery doesn't exist in Japan. However, as I have reported here many times these women can be seen all around the train stations of Japan. You have to be either blind or stupid not to see these prostitutes. The other possibility is that it is so common that Japanese people don't even notice them anymore.

Interestingly enough, when I ask Japanese about these prostitutes they either look embarassed or they insist that these girls just came to Japan to make money....no suggestion that they may have been tricked or coerced into coming here by local gangs cooperating with the heavy-hitting Japanese Yakuza. Basically, most Japanese could care less unless it affects them. It's the old refrain, "If I don't see it, it doesn't exist!"

Ignorance and apathy, the hallmark of modern Japan.

2003-09-30T13:45:00.000+09:00

Poor Innocent Japan! Always the victim! Don't you just feel sorry for these guys? Everybody is against them! They are truly the world's all-time greatest victims! Not only do they get over-charged by the Chinese prostitutes they weren't even allowed to erect their precious Japanese flag in the lobby of the hotel for the 71st anniversary of the the 1931 Japanese invasion of China! Just think...71 years ago they would have just gang-raped all the women in the town and shot all the men over the age of 12! Poor Japan! It's so unfair!

Officials from the Osaka-based construction company don't deny that the event took place. According to a company official, "The media reports have quite a lot of errors and they seem to be making people think badly of Japan. We were not involved in systematic prostitute-buying. Perhaps some of the employees may have done something like that (in their free time) and that may have led to a misunderstanding.". Hmmmm.....it's just a simple misunderstanding! I guess that's why news of this event hasn't been broadcast in Japan.....it's just a simple "mis-communication" as the Japanese like to say when they get caught saying something completely stupid.

I asked several of my Japanese students about this story and none of them had heard of it. One said that she was not surprised as this type of activity was "normal" for Japanese men and that stories of sex tours to Asia were "not newsworthy" as this was just a regular feature of Japanese male behavior. A male student who does business in China just laughed at the stupidity of the guys involved since they had paid "way too much" for the Chinese prostitutes!!!! No condemnation of this behaviour, no outrage or distaste.....just an acceptance of this as normal behaviour for Japanese men.

Anyone out there who argues that the "Rape of Nanking" as well as other Japanese atrocities never occurred should look closely at the attitudes of a society that sees nothing wrong or distasteful in organized sex tours to Asia. There is no such thing as "moral outrage" here.....just complete apathy.

Would the same thing be true if 400 Chinese guys descended on Tokyo, took over a hotel, and held a huge orgy party?

2003-09-29T11:18:00.000+09:00

Justice minister pledges to make Japan safe again! Hmmmm....how does he plan to do that? Let me guess.....that's right! Blame the foreigners! That "homogeneous" group of non-Japanese who commit less than 2% of the crime here! Here is another fine example of Japanese xenophobic, statistical logic: Evil Foreigners! Make sure you read the comments at the bottom of the article....they are quite amusing.

Of course, we all know that the Japanese are the most honest, decent, and law-abiding people in the world and would never do anything to stain their reputation: Japanese Holiday Antics! Hmmmm....I wonder if this story will turn-up on the news or in the Japanese papers? I DON'T THINK SO! Any heinous crime involving the Japanese is conveniently forgotten here....the Rape of Nanking, Unit 731, Slave Labor, Comfort women, ALL OF WWII!!!!!!!! It never happened!

It's always easier for the Japanese to point the finger at the foreigners! After all, we commit less than 2% of the crime here! It is only logical to blame us! (If you are Japanese!)

2003-09-28T22:16:00.000+09:00
Hmmmm.....let's see what our clever, little friends are up to today: Japanese orgy in Zhuhai hotel sparks Chinese fury D'oh!!!!!!! What a bunch of nice guys, huh? Thanks to the intrepid Marco for emailing and reminding me of this story!

Don't think this is an isolated incident either. Japan leads the world in providing sex tours for the modern depraved beast and don't you doubt that these sex businesses find a comfortable home in permissive Japan. In fact, now that sex with Japanese high school girls has become a slightly more risky proposition, the cream of Japanese manhood has turned to poor countries to satisfy the huge demand for kiddy sex, gang rape, bestiality, buggery, bondage, and other forms of Japanese manga-inspired perversions allegedly including white slavery in Belarus and black slavery in Kenya, the hunting of kids with rifles in Equador, the kidnapping of Thai, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Indonesian, and Philippina women for the purposes of rape and debauchery.....the list goes on and on. Want to read more? Just click here: Japanese Holiday Plans

Now, guess what famous Japanese institution is heavily involved in organizing these sex-tour businesses? That's right! Our crazy little punch-perm friends who have their dirty little hands, (minus a few missing fingers), in everything.....the Yakuza!!!

What a safe country! Aren't the Japanese just a swell bunch of fun loving people?

2003-09-27T17:53:00.000+09:00
Here is a priceless comment from one of the leaders of Japan: Ozawa calls voters idiots! Hmmmm.....makes you wonder. I don't want to be accused of being over-critical, (being such a fair-minded gent), but perhaps Mr. Ozawa may have finally discovered something that other "lesser mortals" have been suggesting for quite some time....it's just interesting that it took him this long to figure it out.

Question: Just what do the rest of Japan's politicians think of their constituents?
Answer: Not much, really....I doubt these illustrious shepherds of modern Japan have ever cast a critical eye over their flock. '*o*' (Baaaaaa!!!!!)

2003-09-26T11:00:00.000+09:00
Well, here we go again! Another big earthquake last night this time in Hokkaido: Strong Earthquake Strikes Northern Japan Add this one to the smaller one that occurred on Sunday in the Tokyo area and you have to conclude that any investments in Japan would be a bit risky at the moment...

Of course, since this earthquake occurred in Hokkaido and not Tokyo (the only place that seems to matter in the minds of the Japanese government and media), I have to report that the morning TV variety shows, with their never-ending exploration of all things related to ramen, have not been disturbed and are right on schedule informing the nation that ramen is still the most popular dish in Japan!

2003-09-25T12:35:00.000+09:00
Here is a story that you want see elsewhere: 102 teenage Gang members arrested in the middle of Tokyo Why did it take a whole year for police to make these arrests? Certainly over 100 teenagers carrying bats and clubs would appear to contravene a whole series of laws here in Japan, right?

Not really.....it is a normal, everyday occurrence where I live! On any given day you can walk down the main street of this sordid city and see teenagers standing around the station in red track suits carrying bats and chains. They are shaking down the junior high school kids and robbing drunken salarymen. Some are into pimping their underage girlfriends so they can buy the latest hip hop fashions that the "Nigerians pretending to be Americans" sell in their many shops around the station.

The one thing you won't see is a policeman! They are either too afraid to "investigate" these gangs or they know that these teenage gang members are simply junior members of the Yakuza. Where is Sheriff Buford Pusser when you need him?

2003-09-24T16:48:00.000+09:00
Here is a good story that has gone unreported in many places. Seems Japan Tobacco wants to make a zillion dollars through deals with biotech companies for the exclusive right to market lung cancer vaccines. Yes, that's right....a tobacco company that wants to profit from the very disease that it creates. Japan Tobacco to profit from cancer genes Too cynical to be true? Not in Japan, the smoker's paradise!

Well, are you ready for the punchline? Can you guess who owns 66.7% of Japan Tobacco and makes billions every year spreading cancer all over the world? How about the Japanese government! Yes, that's right! The Finance Ministry of Japan owns 66.7% of Japan Tobacco which makes Camel, Winston, Mild Seven and Salem!!!!! Japanese government profits from cancer!!!! Yes, only in Japan....where the cigarette packs contain this stern warning: "There's a risk of damage to your health, so let's be careful not to smoke too much."

No wonder over half the Japanese are chain-smoking lunatics!

2003-09-23T12:31:00.000+09:00
It's Autumn here in Japan and love is in the air....Japanese style. Let's look at how Japan's macho men sweep the ladies of Japan off their feet: Steal her underwear! If that doesn't impress her then this method seems to have achieved a lot of success recently: Kidnap her! If the girls persist in their refusal to recognize your obvious charms, more drastic actions may be called for: Knock her down with your car!

How about the technique of a junior high school teacher: Things you shouldn't do in a classroom!

Come on, lads! We have so much to learn from the Japanese!

2003-09-22T20:25:00.000+09:00
Here is a new excuse for perverts in Japan:Pedophilic dentist blames lack of sister for perversion What would he have done if he hadn't had any brothers?

2003-09-22T11:56:00.000+09:00
Well, between Saturday's earthquake and Sunday's typhoon I thought I would run a story that reports on another form of rocking and rolling, jerking and blowing: Career choices blow for women in Japan! Please excuse the bad pun......

2003-09-20T21:16:00.000+09:00
It's those terrible FOREIGNERS again! Always making trouble! The Foreign Menace!! How many times did they use the term "FOREIGNER" in this article? 5 times in 4 paragraphs?! Exactly what message does this transmit to the uncritical, gullible and xenophobic Japanese reader? Could this be one of the reasons that so many Japanese are worried the fictional "increase" in crimes involving foreigners when the actual numbers show that 98.6% of all crime in Japan is committed by the Japanese? Does the word SCAPEGOATING mean anything to you?

Of course, it doesn't help when the PM and is cabinet are a load of xenophobic old farts: PM: Influx of foreign workers will cause security problems What he is actually afraid of is that in the future large numbers of foreigners that object to their "slave-like" working conditions might actually do something about it. The government of Japan imports foreign labor on "training schemes" but in reality they are worked like slaves by medium and small-sized companies. Read more here: Foreign Slaves of the Japanese

Just imagine what would happen if these poor foreign slaves were allowed to organize? Perhaps we should refer to a Western author who had some experience with Japan and wrote an interesting little novel about it: Pierre Boulle

2003-09-20T14:21:00.000+09:00
Big earthquake here today! A 5.5 on the Richter scale! It was pretty exciting although it nearly wiped out my computer when the bookshelf collapsed. I am sure this is just a preview of bigger things to come....it's just a matter of time.

I am sure the Right Wing is disappointed. A big disaster such as a major earthquake in Tokyo is just the opportunity for them to take advantage of the government's incompetence and seize power....don't say I didn't warn you!

2003-09-19T22:56:00.000+09:00
Here is a typical Yakuza operation: Girl gets gangster to pull out student's teeth in extortion plot. Use a high school girl to lure the "john" into a position where he can be victimized by the Yakuza. Happens everyday in Japan. Read the comments following the story for some interesting insights into this lovely country.

2003-09-19T22:37:00.000+09:00
Here is story that is not as rare as you may think:Teacher kisses Jr. High students and doesn't get fired! What does this say about Japanese society?

2003-09-19T18:45:00.000+09:00
Sound familiar? More perverts kidnapping schoolgirls

2003-09-19T11:51:00.000+09:00
Hey! Looks like I am not the only one to point out where Japan's wealth comes from: The G.I.'s Were Japan's Worker Slaves. Believe It. Keep spreading the word!

Need some more information on Japanese slave labor: POWs were slave laborers for Japanese corporations!

2003-09-18T13:33:00.000+09:00
Japan is a country that suffers from amnesia. It would appear that most people can't remember anything that happened between 1937 and 1945. Everybody agrees that something happened but it had nothing to do with them. The Japanese are like a bunch of school children who are secretly videotaped while the teacher is out of the room. Most will misbehave and some will go absolutely bananas and throw books all over the classroom. Yet, when the teacher returns and asks who made the mess, everyone will look down and act as if they haven't a clue. "Not me! It was somebody else that did those terrible things!" they will invariably say.

A good example of this selective memory is the current problem with North Korea. North Korea is certainly capable of attacking Japan with missiles and could very well do so in the near future. The Japanese fuss and fume but conveniently forget the role they played in helping the North Koreans develop those same missiles. 90% of NK missile parts come from Japan

They also can't seem to understand why the North Koreans, (not to mention the rest of Asia), despise them so much. Very Selective Memory The Japanese are always fussing about the fate of a couple of dozen Japanese who were abducted by the North Koreans over the last 20 years while conveniently forgetting the 5,400,000 Koreans used as slave labor in Asia and the 670,000 Koreans that were brought to Japan as forced labor during the War That Never Was, otherwise known as WWII by the rest of the civilized world. It is estimated that around 500,000 Koreans died as a result of Japan's treatment of Korean slave laborers between that mysterious gap in Japan's history, 1937-1945. For all the sordid details of Japan's slave-labor activities I urge you to read this: Japan forgot about these people!

According to the North Koreans, "Japan should opt for redeeming its past!" suggesting that Japan should compensate for their past evil deeds in Korea and Asia. The Japanese typically have a different view. "We must resolve the abduction issue. We, as the government, want to make utmost efforts to deal with the urgent issue." Of course by the "Abduction Issue" he means the North Korean abduction of a few dozen Japanese and not the 670,000 Koreans that Japan abducted.

Again, I bring up the analogy of the school children running amok in the teacher-less classroom and then denying all responsibility for the mess when the teacher returns. "Who made this mess?" the World asks. "Not me! We had nothing to do with it! We Japanese are such a peaceful people!" say the Japanese, as they smile and bow in their modern, developed country built by slave labor.

Who do you think is telling porkies now?

2003-09-17T17:55:00.000+09:00
Don't know much about History? Well, you are not the only one! Selective Memory It comes as no surprise that this series of lectures is subsidized by the government....they would like for people to remember only the end of the War That Never Was rather than the beginning. Of course, the RIGHT WING would like to forget the end and only remember the beginning! Talk about a mixed up, confused country! It is no wonder that 90% of the Japanese people haven't got a clue why the rest of Asia despises them!

2003-09-16T23:30:00.000+09:00
I got an email from a reader in Australia who alerted me to the fact that a documentary about the "Hikikomori" phenomenon was being broadcast on Aussie TV. Hikikomori are people in Japan who shut themselves away from everyone including members of their own families for years at a time. I am not talking about guys going to some monastery and shutting themselves away to meditate on the mysteries of life. No, I am talking about young Japanese men that lock themselves in their rooms and spend all their time sleeping, playing video games, and eating whatever their mommies stick through their cat-flap. I am sure the Aussies found it interesting and I hope it gave them a good view of the real Japan.MADE IN JAPAN: Hikikomori

Well, if they live anywhere near where I do, I can't say that I blame them one bit. Much of the Tokyo area is just one, big, featureless, gray, urban nightmare with very few redeeming features except for the occasional glimpse of Mt. Fuji when a kindly wind blows the pollution out to sea. Obviously, living in this mess is not healthy, mentally or physically. Add to this unpleasant environment the intense pressures of school, work, and the fact that women find your fascination with filthy magazines and rape videos repugnant and you have all the ingredients you need to become a Hikikomori.

That's not to say that these nutcases sometimes don't venture out of the safety of their rooms. They do leave and it is the most basic instinct of all that drives them out of their holes: SEX! Yes, these guys often like to prowl the streets looking for young ladies to abduct and rape. Some of them kidnap young girls as young as 9 years old and force them to live with them in their tiny little rooms. One guy was caught just yesterday after he had abducted a 15 year old and held her for 11 days.Just another pervert in Japan. She was only found after the abductor's parents noticed the girl in his room and released her while the pervert went out for snacks.

This is nothing unusual, unfortunately. Another nutcase who was a long-term Hikikomori kidnapped a 9 year old girl and kept her locked up in his room for TEN YEARS!!!!!!!!! This was in spite of the fact that he had been stopped and questioned by police about the time the girl went missing because he had apparently tried to lure some young girls into his car!!!! Of course, the NPA never considered the guy as a possible suspect when the 9-year-old girl went missing because they are so incredibly incompetent. His own mother had contacted the police many times because she noticed that he had been buying tampons and had shoplifted girls underwear!!!! How many more clues to you need?

Anyways, the poor girl was confined in his room as his sex slave for TEN YEARS!!!! Read the story here: The NPA=Incompetent Baboons She was finally released when the pervert's mother gave up on getting any help from the police and contacted social workers. Apparently, they went to the house several times but nothing was ever done. Finally, on a later visit the social workers gained entrance into his room and discovered the emaciated girl shackled to the floor. The police were called to the scene of this obvious kidnapping and began "investigating". The Chief of Police, however, was busy at a karaoke party and declined to attend the scene of the crime! Can you believe this?

After all was said and done, the pervert got only 14 years for his crime. The girl will have to live with this the rest of her life. She is, no doubt, being attended to by Japan's incredibly bizarre mental health system....which means she got a lollipop, a pat on the head, and a huge jar of sedatives.

There are loads of girls missing here in Japan. Most are never found. There are also loads of Hikikomori here who are very rarely seen....except when they try to kidnap little girls. Is there a connection? Hmmmmmmmm.....probably has never occurred to the NPA.

2003-09-15T18:47:00.000+09:00
I wish I was making this stuff up but unfortunately I'm not: Yakuza armed with shit and grenades terrorize major Jap town Here we have a perfect example of how the Yakuza actually run things here in Japan. A small group of Yakuza extort money from locals and brutally attack those who try to resist while the police stand by and do nothing. We are not talking about a large group either....we are talking about less than 10 individuals.

This is not unusual when you see the obvious collusion between Yakuza and the police here in Japan. According to one knowledgeable informant with the inside track on the NPA, the first thing a new policeman does is meet the local Yakuza boss, bow and scrape before his master and exchange business cards. How cozy! The police seldom intervene in Yakuza activities except when the violence escalates to a point where innocent people might get hurt. Thus, the Yakuza can do whatever they want as long as they don't disturb the "Wa" or group harmony, which is so important here in Japan.

Well, the people in Kyushu are tough folks and I admire them. They have stood up to the Yakuza even though it took a grenade attack at a local hostess club to force them to take action. Locals cornered the yakuza lunatic after the attack and choked him to death. (Score one for Yakuza victims all over Japan!) Later, 1000 locals held an anti-Yakuza rally in the city center while community leaders continued to badger the NPA. These lazy goobers finally took some action although as usual it was a day late and a dollar short. The "heroic" NPA cracked down on illegal parking and searched the Yakuza's headquarters arresting 27 on charges of assault and extortion. Wow!

If you take this police action at face value it sounds impressive. 27 arrests! Great! But if you look beneath the surface, this belated action reveals the cozy relationship between the Yakuza and the NPA. The locals in Kita Kyushu had been terrorized for over 10 years by a few Yakuza goons while the police did next to nothing to stop them. It was only after the grenade attack when the citizens organized an anti-yakuza protest that the police finally bit the bullet and reigned in their Yakuza buddies. 1000 angry citizens marching in the streets forced the NPA to do their jobs not some sense of duty.

Will the rest of Japan learn anything from this? Will they see what can happen when they get angry and complain about the irresponsible and downright stupid behavior of their government officials? Don't count on it. People in Tokyo could care less about what happens in the rest of Japan. Several knowledgeable people I talked to had heard of the grenade attack, but none had heard that about the anti-Yakuza rally.....I wonder why?

2003-09-14T16:15:00.000+09:00
Here is another story the Japanese government would like to keep quiet:30,000+ Japanese kill themselves every year I am sure the government doesn't want to expose the fact that the mental health system in this country is a complete farce. There are almost no safety nets for people pushed over the edge by the stress of living in a society where people are encouraged to work 60+ hours a week and never complain about their shitty little lives. Unlike other countries where people would get angry and march in the streets over the outrageous, abusive, irresponsible and disreputable behavior of government and industry, here in Japan the Japanese just prefer to kill themselves. After all, killing yourself is easier than trying to fix things, right? Breathing in deadly carbon monoxide gas or jumping in front of a train is easier for Japanese people than writing a letter of complaint or organizing a protest! Oh, and it is certainly easier for the government and industry if the malcontents kill themselves....we certainly wouldn't want a bunch of angry malcontents inconveniencing government and industry, would we?

Yet, just like everything else in Japan, suicide is a group activity! This year there have been a large number of cases of groups of strangers who met over the internet getting together to kill themselves. There have also been quite a few cases of whole families driving their cars off piers into the ocean, mothers and children stepping in front of trains, and parents strangling their spouses and children. Where do people get these ideas? On internet sites designed to facilitate suicides: Internet Suicide Pacts Of course, like most things in Japan the idea of an internet suicide pact did not originate in Japan. They copied the idea from other people, most likely the Koreans who experienced a similar phenomenon a few years ago. Too bad they didn't copy other useful things from the Koreans like protesting and fighting for worker's rights....might not be so many suicides if people tried to make things better here rather than always taking the easy way out.

Let's not forget that many people are killing themselves for the insurance pay-outs: Suicide for Money This is especially common among older men who have been laid off or just get tired of the stresses of working long hours, riding incredibly crowded trains, and living in rabbit hutches. Why bother doing this when you can insure yourself, commit suicide, and set your family up for life. So many people have been doing this that insurance companies have been refusing to pay out in cases of suicide.

Other people kill themselves because they are in debt. Loan sharking is a big business here in Japan with the government doing almost nothing to regulate this incredibly profitable Yakuza business. Annual interest rates of 6,000% have caused many people to choose death rather than try to get out from under this mountain of debt. The interest rates at banks are at 0% but the banks have no interest in loaning money to regular people. After all, a Japanese bank is not there to serve the interest of its depositors only its owners! Besides, loaning money to regular people has always been the business of the Yakuza. Legitimate banks wouldn't want to interfere with the Yakuza's business, would they? Maybe that's why ATMs in Japan close at 9pm? So, people who need small amounts of money for entertaining or taxis have to rely on the so-called "Salariman Banks" which are ATMs set up by yakuza loansharks with incredibly high interest rates attached. Read here to see how these gents conduct their business:Yakuza loansharking

The Yakuza sure are nice guys, aren't they? These guys are responsible for the economic mess in Japan but don't think the government or police will do anything to provoke their masters! The Yakuza run the show here! Yakuza Recession

2003-09-13T17:44:00.000+09:00
I don't have any clever introduction for this story. Let's just say that it is a touchy subject between over-protective mothers and their sons: Land of the Rising Son

Which leads me to this story: Child Abuse: A hidden secret of Japan Remember: these numbers represent only a fraction of the actual cases. The vast majority of the cases of child abuse go unreported just like crime....the NPA and the government don't even have a clear idea of what constitutes abuse. If they did kiddie porn and teenage sex services wouldn't be such a growth industry here in Nippon.

2003-09-12T15:36:00.000+09:00
My post about the school-girl bloomers and the perverts seemed to have hit a nerve with some of our readers judging from the number of emails I have received. One in particular, from another foreigner in Japan, deserves to be read by all so I will share it with you today:

Howdy Smeg,
I just read your entry today, and it's funny how it coincides with a
letter I was sending a friend about the same thing. I saw a train
poster yesterday that had what had to be a 13 year old girl posing with a
bathing suit cleavage shot. It made me sick. This was on the train. People used to be ashamed to look at such stuff, not because it's cleavage, but
because it's jail bait cleavage. Not so here.

I remember when my son was in primary school, and the girls wearing those tight little shorts thingys, I remember thinking at the time, those are - peculiar- not hardly comfortable for doing sports, just highly visible doing them. But if you've attended the "Sports Days" here, you'll know how sick it really all is. Rain, thunder andlightning, heat [I'm talking 4-5 hours in the sun] while the parents sit in tents to watch. I have yanked my son out of events that I thought too long, for no apparant reason as to only amuse the adults.

And the issue with kids wearing shorts in the winter- I could go on for days all the unbelievable shit that I've seen first hand. I'm still here, and lately I really wonder why.

Yesterday they had an asshole out spraying insecticide in my
backyard- "aimed " at the trees but sorta just going in the air. I screamed at
them to stop, people live here, and it's poison, they stopped, and told me shut the window. I told them to stop again. A cell phone call an old man shows up, and a debate, then - they all left. All this for what? It's so sick-
people do not do anything to stand up for themselves.

I really hate it here sometimes... Bla bla bla. Sorry to vent. But I know how frustrating it is here, too- believe me.

Well, I wish I could say things were going to get better in Japan but somehow I don't think they will....there are just not enough foreigners here to make a difference. Foreigners have always been a catalyst for change here in Japan but these days most say "to Hell with Japan and the stupidity" and they go home. Probably they have done the right thing.

Meanwhile, I am getting my "Cow shit-fertilizer, water balloon" bombs ready for the inevitable return of the bosozoku this evening.....

2003-09-12T00:20:00.000+09:00
I got an email from a loyal reader commenting on his experiences with Japanese salarymen and their fascination with child pornography. This prompted me to share this little jewel with you: a book about the skin-tight bikini bottoms that elementary and junior high school girls wear for PE. Bloomers in Japan Yes, it's true....elementary and junior high school girls are forced to wear skin-tight bikini bottoms called "bloomers" while they participate in PE classes. These disgusting bits of spandex leave nothing to the imagination and can only be described as a "paedophile's dream come true." Folks, there is just no way you can justify this nonsense....it is simply obscene.

Don't believe me? Here are a few quotes from the publisher:

"the bashful Tokushima company president who we'll identify only as The Boss claims that he merely wanted to pay tribute in a reference book to what he regards as an historically important garment, critics claim his work makes it rife for little girls to become the target of perverts looking to have a crack at getting a shot of them in their skimpy underpant-like sports gear......because the skintight bloomers got caught up in the various cracks above a woman's thighs, or sometimes undies poked through the sides, girls became embarrassed to wear them. Making matters worse was the burusera (bloomer seller) boom (of the early '90s where young girls were encouraged to sell their soiled bloomers to customers with less than savory intentions). It turned bloomers into a sellable commodity with erotic value for adults....its final 50 pages contain some 150 photos of bloomer-clad babes -- with so many schoolgirl pics included, babes is in fact the operative word.....'We really wanted to get shots that showed why schoolgirls really hated bloomers. For that reason, we couldn't print without shots of how the bloomers used to get caught up in the girls' cracks.' " What a nice guy, huh? A real humanitarian!

During the early days when I had just arrived in Japan I noticed that the junior high school athletic field seemed to attract a lot of attention from what I thought were sports enthusiasts....there were always lots of guys lined up around the perimeter fence intently watching whatever was taking place on the field. I innocently thought that these Japanese guys must really like sports until I went over to the fence one day to see just what was so exciting....I nearly had a cow! There were about fifty, 13-year-old girls doing leg spreaders and bend and reaches on the field just 100 meters away while their male teacher strolled around taking in the full view!!!!! I couldn't believe it! It was so bizarre and so obviously perverted that I didn't know how to react...I was just dumbfounded by this blatant perversity!!!!!! I looked around and saw the guys happily leering at the girls...some even with binoculars, on a busy street with people walking past acting as if nothing strange was happening....and, to them, nothing strange was happening!!!!

My Japanese wife, standing calmly and unconcerned beside me through all this, informed me that most Japanese men did not consider leering at pubescent girls to be wrong, hence, the line-up at the fence! I think it was at that exact moment when I knew something was really wrong here....this went beyond being culturally relative. This was publicly accepted perversion in it's worst form.

So, if you are ever in Japan and you see a group of men lined up at a fence near a school, don't assume they are sports fans......the only sport they enjoy is a game of pocket pool.

2003-09-11T21:25:00.000+09:00
If you think the Right Wing is not a problem here in Nippon, then you need to read this:Tokyo Governor Advocates Terrorism This guy is Governor of one of the biggest cities in the world and he wants to be Prime Minister! What happens when his dreams come true?

2003-09-11T18:08:00.000+09:00
What are japanese housewives up to these days? Turning tricks for one thing: Amateur Hour And it is not being done discreetly either. Enter just about any phone box in Tokyo and you will find hundreds of ads taped to the glass. Look in the newspapers and you will find loads of ads with pictures. Open your mailbox and you find even more ads! Sex is probably the largest growth industry in Japan!

And why not? If turning tricks is good enough for the teenage daughter it is good enough for the mother too! There certainly doesn't seem to be any stigma attached to selling your body here in Japan. Many students in my high school were involved in the sex industry. A few of the really daring ones even passed out business cards! I mentioned this to a teacher and she told me that it was just a phase that some of the girls went through and that there was little they could do to stop them. HMMMMMM....

Of course, I could see why some of the teachers weren't interested in stopping the girls....I once checked the "history" on the teachers computer and found that the majority of the sites that had been viewed on the teacher's computer were porn sites.....most featuring girls in high school uniform! HMMMMMMMM.....

2003-09-10T23:04:00.000+09:00
Here is a story about being in the wrong place at the wrong time: BBC NEWS | Wales | North East Wales | Japan prisoner 'feared for life' Here in "modern" Japan a law-abiding, educated, legal, foreign resident has no legal rights. The police can arrest you and hold you for 23 days without cause...just on suspicion. I was nearly arrested once for simply asking for directions to the drivers license office!!!!

Once you are arrested they will find something to charge you with. There are any number of unsolved crimes that they are just waiting to get off their books. You are charged and tossed into a cell. No phone calls are allowed. If you resist you are beaten to a pulp by a group of cops who want to work off some frustrations. Even if you don't resist you stand a good chance of being beaten. You are a foreigner, you have no rights. After a few beatings they keep you awake for several days and every so often they give you the rubber hose treatment. Then, when you are a complete mess they send in a Japanese lawyer who tells you to sign a document written in Japanese. He doesn't care what you have to say. You are guilty. This is Japanese justice.

2003-09-10T11:47:00.000+09:00
In case you didn't already know it, alcoholism and public drunkeness are a huge problem in Japan. Walk down the street of any major city on any given night and you will see the drunks staggering along, zombie-like, as they try desperately to make the last train home. The train platforms become a public pissing and puking area with fights a common occurrence.
Drunk drivers are also all over the roads. My apartment overlooks a public parking area and just about every night I watch the drunks stagger through the parking lot, stop for the obligatory piss against the apartment building, and then climb into their cars and drive off on their missions of destruction. My complaints to the city and the NPA are ignored. Of course, the "caring and concerned" Japanese government is still trying to determine if alcoholism is a serious problem! Talk about a day late and a dollar short! Japan targets drunkenness

So, how does the Japanese government respond to the problem of rampant alcoholism? Restrict alcohol sales? Take the beer and sake machines off the streets? Get rid of all the alcohol advertising plastered all over the place? Nope! They are going to make it easier for the drunks to buy alcohol! Buy Gas - Get Pissed! That's right! Gas stations, video stores, pizza delivery places, discount stores, drugstores, and florists will all offer more alcohol to a nation already over-loaded with drunken imbeciles. Talk about throwing gasoline onto a fire! How much more irresponsible can the Japanese government be?

Kirin Breweries Co., Japan's biggest beer company, is pissing themselves with glee, "We forecast 20,000 new outlets will be selling liquor by 2005," a company spin-doctor tells Shukan Post. "We don't think the results will be immediately obvious, but we're going to continue working to get more places selling."

I think I can predict what the results will be....a massive increase in drunken driving, public drunkeness, under-age drinking, and alcohol related illnesses. But hey! Don't worry! The NPA will protect us! Just like they protected these two, 14-year-old girls: Drunk driver gets 5-1/2 years for killing two girls!

2003-09-09T13:03:00.000+09:00
Two teenage bosozoku members, ages 13 and 14, beat up a Japanese policeman and stole his motorcycle: More Bosozoku Antics The NPA sure are an impressive bunch of law enforcers!

The real joke is that the xenophobic Japanese media have recently been harping on the fictional rise in crimes committed by foreigners, currently 1.39% of all crimes in Japan, while ignoring the fact that 98.6% of the crimes are committed by Japanese people! Foreigners are dangerous! What they fail to point out is that these so-called crimes committed by foreigners are not actually violent crimes but involve things as trivial as forgetting to carry your Japanese ID or over-staying your visa! But, it is always easier for the Japanese government to blame the foreign scapegoat than to admit the truth!
Ignore the teenage motorcycle gangs racing through the streets with bats and chains but arrest the foreigner for leaving his ID card at home!!!!

2003-09-08T15:07:00.000+09:00
Made in Japan! Thank our Japanese "allies" for this one!

2003-09-08T12:51:00.000+09:00
It has been a quiet day here and I must say I am grateful for the change. I guess even the right wing and the bosozoku have to sleep....even though it must be difficult sharing a bed with so many people and all of them men or boys!! After all they are "in bed" with the NPA, the LDP, Governor Ishihara and well over half the elected officials in this country.....

The stock market here is all in a tizzy today....seems there is a rumour that the North Koreans are going to launch a missile tomorrow....I don't know why this should come as a shock to the Japanese since these missiles should have a sign on them that says "MADE IN JAPAN!" Japanese Keep Selling Dangerous Items To North Korea! Hey, anything for a buck!

2003-09-08T00:44:00.000+09:00
The Japanese are such lovely people! Nothing has been done for these unreported and unrecorded victims of nuclear Japan: Japanese nuclear 'slaves' at risk Has there ever been a public outcry here in Nippon? No....the Japanese believe "If we pretend we don't see it, then the problem doesn't exist!" And after all, homeless people are disposable in Japan!

I know I keep harping on this but I want people to hear about Japan's Nuclear Slaves. Please post links to this story! Publically shaming the Japanese is the only way to get them to admit responsibility and do the right thing.....

Oh, and I would be in bed right now but after a day of being hammered by right wing soundtrucks blasting out their hate-filled nonsense at 50,000 decibels, I now have their junior partners, the bosozoku (teenage motorcylce gangs that race up and down the streets with no mufflers), to contend with. The noise and shit just never ends here....

2003-09-07T10:51:00.000+09:00
Sunday morning and the right wing are blasting their obnoxious music and messages of hate at ear-shattering volume. It began at 0820 this morning....when will it end? The local police stand idly by with smug smiles on their little, yellow faces. It's going to be a long, frustrating, bad day.....

2003-09-06T07:51:00.000+09:00
The past is inescapable. No matter how hard they try it always comes back to haunt the Japanese! Hundreds of suspected gas shells found underwater in Fukuoka Too bad the government doesnt take responsibility and publically identify areas where the Imperial Japanese Army dumped all of their chemical weapons.....could doing so be an admission of guilt? Don't drink the water! You decide....

2003-09-05T23:42:00.000+09:00
Think Japan has a modern legal system? Think again! Read the story of Mr Patrick Loughlin. He was working in Kariya, Japan, when he was involved in a brawl with Japs brandishing weapons, including a Kendo sword. One of these drunk idiots died after falling and hitting his head on a wall. Despite having been confronted with a group of armed Japanese, Loughlin was the only person arrested and charged. His original lawyer could not speak English and against Mr Loughlin's instructions entered a guilty plea on his client's behalf. He spent the next four years in a Japanese prison where he was abused by his Japanese jailers (imagine that!?). Japanese Justice=Japanese Joke Is this an unusual case? HELL NO! It happens every day! What can we learn from this? Any foreigner involved in a dispute in Japan is automatically considered guilty and any foreigner who is the victim of a crime is shit out of luck.

2003-09-05T18:22:00.000+09:00
Ever wonder what Charlie Sheen, Meg Ryan, Bruce Willis, Madonna, Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, Whitney Houston, Pierce Brosnan, and David Beckham have in common? They all pander for the Japanese! Panderers in Japan You would think that having a gazillion dollars already would preclude most of these undertalented boneheads from flogging cigarettes, beer, and tea in Japan, wouldn't you? Guess again! The Japanese are always happy to have cute foreigners shill for them!

2003-09-04T14:25:00.000+09:00
I recently chronicled the big Japanese "pity party" which occurs every August here in Japan (see my rant of Aug. 7th). This is the annual "moan and groan" festival in Hiroshima and Nagasaki where Japanese leaders gather to pay homage to the poor victims of "warmongering" America's "unprovoked" atomic attacks on "innocent" Japan during the "War That Never Occurred" otherwise known as WWII in the rest of the intelligent world.

Yesterday, I reminded my readers of the infamous nuclear accident at Tokai, Japan in 1999 in which the clever Japanese managed to create the world's first nuclear reaction inside a stainless steel bucket and the secret use of homeless people to clean up the mess after the media had dissappeared.

Now, dear friends, let's see what these clever folks have been up to recently: Japan Exports Nuclear Tech to the Axis of Evil Yes, that's right! The same folks that brought you the Nanking Massacre, WWII, Unit 731, chemical weapons dumps all over Asia, sexual slavery, school-girl prostitution, and nuclear slaves are today laying the ground work for the next nuclear armageddon! These dopes are exporting high tech machinery which can be used to create better rocket fuels to Iran, North Korea, various Middle Eastern and former Soviet Bloc countries! Not only are these boobs exporting machinery to improve rocket fuels they are also exporting high tech equipment that is used in the production of nuclear weapons! According to the Asahi Shimbun, "Last month at a U.S. Senate hearing, a former engineer who is said to have been engaged in developing ballistic missiles in North Korea testified, '90 percent of the parts came from Japan,' and that 'they were shipped on the Mang Gyong Bong-92 every three months.' ''

A recent Time magazine article states, "Those who have witnessed North Korean arms-manufacturing operations are not surprised that Japan is a source of components. Kim Do Sung, who defected from the North in 1997 and now goes by a pseudonym to protect relatives back home, says he worked for nine years at Plant 38, a huge armaments factory in the city of Huichon in the northern province of Jaggang. Kim says the vast majority of the computer chips and electronic components used in missile guidance systems there were Japanese. He recalls unloading a shipment of equipment from Japan that was like a Christmas stocking for missile scientists, packed with oscilloscopes for analyzing trajectory, special welding machines to make the seamless joints needed in a missile body, computer chips and picture tubes used in monitors to track missile routes. 'Without foreign parts we couldn't have made the missiles,' says Kim." Read the whole article here: Japan: Arsenal of the Axis

So, not only are some Japanese companies greedy they are also incredibly stupid! But, what about the Japanese government? What are they doing to prevent rogue countries from getting their hands on nuclear technology? Not a damn thing! Especially when that country has OIL!!!!! Take Iran for instance. Not exactly a paragon of virtue, right? Well, the Japanese have extended the Iranians a $3,000,000,000 credit line in return for preferential rights to the Azadegan oilfield. This has not made the Bush administration very happy since they identified Iran as a member of the "Axis of Evil" along with North Korea. But the Japanese have been very busy trying to seperate the two issues. Oil and nuclear technology are not related!!?? The Japanese government has even pressured the Iranians to comply with IAEA protocols and inspections to give their dealings with Iran an air of respectability. I wonder what the inspectors found? Nuclear Iran

Investing $3,000,000,000 in Irans oilfields while Japanese companies sell missile technology to Iran doesn't seem like the actions of a respectable country, does it? Especially one that prides itself in being the victims of the world's only atomic attack. Where will Japan's quest for oil end? Will they sell their soul to the Devil for Iranian oil? We will do anything for OIL! Too late! They already have!

2003-09-03T14:10:00.000+09:00
Ever heard of the nuclear accident at Tokai, Japan? This is the only recorded time in history when a nuclear reaction was started in a stainless steel bucket!!!!! Only in Japan!!!!!This is a story that all of you must read from start to finish: Nuclear Boobs If, after reading this article, you have any doubts about the monstrous stupidity of modern Japan then there is nothing more I can say that will convince you....this nuclear accident at Tokai in 1999 and subsequent cover-up is the ultimate in modern-day Japanese stupidity. I was here when it happened. I saw it with my own eyes.

What this article also fails to mention is that the clean-up after the accident was carried out by unprotected homeless people who were brought to the plant in busses from Tokyo....these poor wretches had no idea what they were doing. This article is taken from the Earthisland. org website: Nuclear Slaves (You have to scroll down to find this and other stories about the accident).

Nuclear Slaves
Japan - "As unemployment grows in Japan, the nuclear industry is creating new job opportunities for "nuclear slaves." Hundreds of homeless people have been hired to clean the country's nuclear reactors. Attracted by high wages, an estimated 5,000 workers have been hired on a part-time basis. Supervision is lax: Some workers complain that they were told to keep on working even after their radiation detectors started beeping. Some workers travel from reactor to reactor - piling up more exposure to radiation. There is no compensation for workers who fall ill and many fear speaking out because the recruiters have been linked to Japan's criminal mobs."

So, do you still think I am crazy?

2003-09-02T21:58:00.000+09:00
I have received many inquiries about the recent deployment of my patented "Cowshit-Fertilizer Balloon Bombs" and whether or not they were successful in deterring the bosozoku. Well, I have to admit that by the time I got to my staging area with my bucket of cowshit bombs, the little bastards had scootered off in a cloud of exhaust and ear-shattering noise to terrorize another neighborhood. Too bad!

Don't worry..... they will be back and I will be ready.....there is always plenty of shit to go around here.

2003-09-02T00:31:00.000+09:00
This newstory is a few years old but it provides excellent information on the teenage motorcycle gangs known as "bosozoku" some of whom are racing up and down the street as I write this....now just might be the time to deploy my cowshit fertilizer balloon bombs! Motorcycle gangs ride roughshod in Japan

This stuff would be comical if it wasn't so irritating....It seems to be a regular feature on the TV news here. I can only imagine the laughter of a group of American policemen if they could only watch the Japanese version of the the "Keystone Cops" trying to stop ten, 14 year old kids on motorscooters. With over 100 policemen deployed, as well as inflatable barriers, net guns, and police cars they were only able to stop one kid and that was because his bike stalled. Watching this TV news story with some Japanese people I was struck by the fact that none of them seemed to think that the police had done a bad job....Most seemed to think that the police had actually done a good job! In other words, they think that the absolutely shitty job that the police do here is perfectly acceptable....the question is WHY?

This is mainly because most Japanese people have shitty jobs that force them to work 60 hours a week so that they can live in shitty little houses that cost on average $300,000 and fall apart in a few years but are close enough to Tokyo that they only have to spend 4 hours a day in shitty trains where they are packed together like sardines. All of this so that they can spend their 12 hours of free time each week buying shitty, over-priced designer goods at shitty, over-crowded shops because doing so makes them feel better about their shitty little lives.....

Yet, nobody complains....there is no whiff of revolution in the air.....they have been so intensively socialized by the government here to accept shit as the normal standard for so long that they can't imagine anything different. What is the alternative? Obviously, America is a big, bad, crime-ridden place where everybody carries a gun and will shoot you just for target practice, especially if you are Japanese. Why would they think this? Because the government feeds them a steady diet of news about the terrible crime in America.....After all, if the government says it, then it must be true, right? Americans are all lunatics with a penchant for violence and itchy trigger fingers....nothing you can say can change their minds. Take them to America and let them see for themselves and they will agree with you but just wait until they get back to Japan. In a few weeks they are back to the old "America is dangerous" mindset. The intensive brainwashing is just too much for them.

The point is that these people would think that shit is vanilla ice cream if the government told them so.....meanwhile I am going to launch my cowshit bombs on the bosozoku and add to America's unsavoury reputation.....

2003-08-31T23:13:00.000+09:00
In the US and the UK you have Tony Blair and George Bush trying to cover up scandals but not in Japan! Typical Japanese Bureaucrat

2003-08-31T23:10:00.000+09:00
In the UK they have the "Naked Chef" but here in Japan they have the Naked Teacher

2003-08-30T17:33:00.000+09:00
Here is an example of the quality of Japanese science these days: Japanese Brain deficiency??? Please don't think that this sort of "pseudo-scientific bullshit" is rare here in Nippon....it's normal. Other examples would be the famous "We Japanese can't catch AIDS because we are genetically different from other humans" or "We Japanese can't learn foreign languages because our brains are designed differently." Both of these masterpieces of scientific reasoning have been offered to me as scientific fact by various Japanese university professors and medical doctors.

Some jewels from the article are extracted here for your reading pleasure:

"The frontal lobe, situated behind the forehead, is the most developed part of the human brain. Those who suffer from disorders of this part of the brain exhibit the same symptoms as young people today--they do not care what other people think of them. These people ignore the situations or people around them. For instance, they suddenly become upset in quiet gatherings, making obscene remarks about women walking along the street, or acting disgracefully in a crowd.....If young people are unable to understand other people's feelings or cannot restrain their passions, it is apparent that sooner or later they will turn to crime."

"Racially, the Japanese are Mongoloid and the development of a Mongoloid's brain is slow. From the anthropological viewpoint, Mongoloid children should be raised slowly and carefully in large families and be exposed to complex social relationships. This kind of environment is essential in raising Japanese children to ensure that their frontal lobe develops properly. Most people used to raise children in this manner."

"After World War II, however, Japanese society became extremely Westernized and large families have become rare in this country. In the Western-style houses prevalent in Japan, children spend much of their time in their own rooms and the number of children has declined. The biggest problem is that mothers and children have become too closely bound during the child-rearing phase."

"Though traditional Japanese food, based on fish and rice, was most suited for the brains of the Japanese, dietary habits have become Westernized over the years."

There you have it....all problems in Japan are caused by those nasty foreigners!

2003-08-29T17:15:00.000+09:00
Love Hotels This one requires no comments from me....it writes itself. By the way, love hotels are hotels that offer rooms by the hour and are about as numerous as convenience stores in this country....there are at least a dozen within five minutes of every train station in the Tokyo area. Have fun with this one!

2003-08-29T15:56:00.000+09:00
550,000,000 Yen allocated for poison gas probe in Kamisu, Ibaraki Wonder how much the Chinese victims have gotten or will get? After all, some 2000 Chinese have died since the end of the war from Japanese poison gas.....How have the "honorable" Japanese taken care of these victims?

2003-08-29T15:31:00.000+09:00
Here is an oldie but a goodie! Momma's Boys

2003-08-29T00:16:00.000+09:00
Here is an excellent article on the right wing loons here in Japan: The Emperor is God! It's very rare to see much in the Western media about these clowns so I have taken the liberty to post some extracts for those of you too lazy to read the whole thing.....

"This is the world of the right-wing sound truck. Tokyo may be known internationally for its decorum, but for decades the perennially aggrieved men in paramilitary fatigues who operate these vehicles have made earsplitting public disturbances a regular feature of life here.
The Japanese have often assumed a link between these militant nationalists, who appear to have free run of the streets, and the country's leadership. In fact, the huge buses and trucks filled with scowling crews in headbands are usually escorted through the streets by chummy policemen in squad cars, even as they flout public nuisance laws limiting sound levels."

"Former far-rightists, retired policemen and historians say, though, that they are not just noisy pressure groups. These observers contend that many of the nationalists disturb the peace and intimidate people freely because of their deep ties to the country's conservative political elite. Those who have studied them say that they are useful in bullying opponents of the long-governing, and conservative, Liberal Democratic Party and that many of them are actually members of criminal gangs that use their influence and protection to practice extortion."

"But those familiar with the groups say disturbing the peace is the least of the problems. They say the noisy disruptive behavior masks other, far more serious crimes, like extortion.
"Historically, the line between radical elements of the right and elite elements of the L.D.P. has been a very thin one," said Sheldon M. Garon, a professor of Japanese history at Princeton. Mr. Garon said many of the party's well-known top politicians had been members of rightist groups. Japan's mainstream press, which has sometimes been among the victims of far-right violence, treats the subject as taboo.
Akio Kuroki, a retired policeman and freelance journalist, whose police job was to monitor right-wing groups, said they enjoyed close ties with law enforcement. "The police are supposed to be neutral, but they are very close to the right-wingers and their mentality," he said. "If the right-wingers break the law, they are supposed to be arrested, but many police feel that would spoil the relationship."

"Japan today has lost its purpose as a nation and is stuck with a dysfunctional system," said Mitsuhiro Kimura, 45, the leader of a far-right group named Issuikai, in a recent interview with the newspaper Asahi Shimbun. "Political corruption is beyond belief. I just don't believe the law can fix all the problems." Mr. Kimura said his group approved of the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States and supported Palestinian suicide missions. The goal of Issuikai, one of about 800 such groups in Japan, is to carry out a revolution that would restore political power to Japan's emperors."