Japan

[Witness]

The Void, but with electronics.

[Anaxagoras]

Crime in Japan drops to lowest postwar level in 2020 amid pandemic

The number of crimes recorded in Japan in 2020 hit the lowest level in the postwar era for the sixth straight year, with a sharp decline in street crime as people stayed home during the coronavirus pandemic, police data showed Thursday.

However, the number of consultations on domestic violence and cybercrime reached record-high levels, according to the National Police Agency data.

Overall, there were 614,303 crime cases in Japan last year, down 17.9 percent from the 2019 figure -- the fastest pace of decline on record.

"Changes in society such as the spread of 'the new normal' (amid the pandemic) will continue to impact the future crime situation," an NPA official said. "But it's possible that there are more victims of abuse, domestic violence and stalking who remain hidden, so we will take preventative measures by responding promptly to consultations."

Street crime, including vending-machine vandalism and snatch-and-run cases, fell 27.0 percent from the previous year to 199,282. The decline was especially conspicuous after the first state of emergency over the virus was declared in April, with a 43.2 percent plunge on year seen in May.

Heinous crimes, including murder, dropped 9.7 percent to 8,934.

The number of consultations on domestic violence rose 0.5 percent from the previous year to a record 82,641, of which 8,701 cases were investigated.

[Witness]

Kimigayo



...

Controversies

Japan's national anthem is deemed the world's most controversial due to its post-war history.[43] Schools have been the center of controversy over both it and the national flag.[44] The Tokyo Board of Education requires the use of both "Kimigayo" and flag at events under their jurisdiction. The order requires school teachers to respect both symbols or risk losing their jobs.[45] In 1999, several teachers in Hiroshima refused to put up the anthem while the Hiroshima Education Board demanded that they do so. As the tension arose between them, a vice-principal committed suicide. A similar incident in Osaka in 2010 also occurred, with 32 teachers refusing to sing the song in a ceremony. In 2011, nine more teachers joined the rebellion, along with another eight in 2012.[46] Hashimoto Toru, the mayor of Osaka, slated the teachers as "t was good that criminals [teachers] who are intent on breaking the rules [of not singing the state anthem] have risen to the surface [public]".[47] Some have protested that such rules violate the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the "freedom of thought, belief and conscience" clause in the Constitution of Japan,[48] but the Board has argued that since schools are government agencies, their employees have an obligation to teach their students how to be good Japanese citizens. Teachers have unsuccessfully brought criminal complaints against Tokyo Governor Shintarō Ishihara and senior officials for ordering teachers to honor the Hinomaru and "Kimigayo".[49] After earlier opposition, the Japan Teachers Union accepts the use of both the flag and national anthem; the smaller All Japan Teachers and Staffs Union still opposes both symbols and their use inside the school system.[50]

In 2006, Katsuhisa Fujita, a retired teacher in Tokyo, was threatened with imprisonment and fined 200,000 yen (roughly 2,000 US dollars) after he was accused of disturbing a graduation ceremony at Itabashi High School by urging the attendees to remain seated during the playing of the national anthem.[51] At the time of Fujita's sentence, 345 teachers had been punished for refusing to take part in anthem related events, though Fujita is the only man to have been convicted in relation to it.[52] On September 21, 2006, the Tokyo District Court ordered the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to pay compensation to the teachers who had been subjected to punishment under the directive of the Tokyo Board of Education. The then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi commented, "It is a natural idea to treat the national anthem importantly". The ruling was appealed by the Metropolitan Government.[53] From October 23, 2003 to 2008, 410 teachers and school workers were punished for refusing to stand and sing the anthem as ordered by school principals.[54] Teachers can also be punished if their students do not stand while "Kimigayo" is played during school ceremonies.[48]

On 30 May 2011 and 6 June 2011, two panels of the Supreme Court of Japan ruled that it was constitutional to require teachers to stand in front of the Hinomaru and sing the Kimigayo during school ceremonies. In making the ruling, the panels ratified the decision of the Tokyo High Court in ruling against 13 teachers who had asked for court relief after being disciplined between 2003 and 2005 for refusing to stand and sing the anthem.[55]

Outside of the school system, there was a controversy regarding "Kimigayo" soon after the passage of the 1999 law. A month after the law's passage, a record containing a performance of "Kimigayo" by Japanese rock musician Kiyoshiro Imawano was removed by Polydor Records from his album Fuyu no Jujika. Polydor did not want to attract harassment from far-right groups. In response, Imawano re-released the album through an independent label with the track in question.[56]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimigayo

[shuize]

Kimigayo

Spoiler:

...

Controversies

Japan's national anthem is deemed the world's most controversial due to its post-war history.[43] Schools have been the center of controversy over both it and the national flag.[44] The Tokyo Board of Education requires the use of both "Kimigayo" and flag at events under their jurisdiction. The order requires school teachers to respect both symbols or risk losing their jobs.[45] In 1999, several teachers in Hiroshima refused to put up the anthem while the Hiroshima Education Board demanded that they do so. As the tension arose between them, a vice-principal committed suicide. A similar incident in Osaka in 2010 also occurred, with 32 teachers refusing to sing the song in a ceremony. In 2011, nine more teachers joined the rebellion, along with another eight in 2012.[46] Hashimoto Toru, the mayor of Osaka, slated the teachers as "t was good that criminals [teachers] who are intent on breaking the rules [of not singing the state anthem] have risen to the surface [public]".[47] Some have protested that such rules violate the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the "freedom of thought, belief and conscience" clause in the Constitution of Japan,[48] but the Board has argued that since schools are government agencies, their employees have an obligation to teach their students how to be good Japanese citizens. Teachers have unsuccessfully brought criminal complaints against Tokyo Governor Shintarō Ishihara and senior officials for ordering teachers to honor the Hinomaru and "Kimigayo".[49] After earlier opposition, the Japan Teachers Union accepts the use of both the flag and national anthem; the smaller All Japan Teachers and Staffs Union still opposes both symbols and their use inside the school system.[50]

In 2006, Katsuhisa Fujita, a retired teacher in Tokyo, was threatened with imprisonment and fined 200,000 yen (roughly 2,000 US dollars) after he was accused of disturbing a graduation ceremony at Itabashi High School by urging the attendees to remain seated during the playing of the national anthem.[51] At the time of Fujita's sentence, 345 teachers had been punished for refusing to take part in anthem related events, though Fujita is the only man to have been convicted in relation to it.[52] On September 21, 2006, the Tokyo District Court ordered the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to pay compensation to the teachers who had been subjected to punishment under the directive of the Tokyo Board of Education. The then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi commented, "It is a natural idea to treat the national anthem importantly". The ruling was appealed by the Metropolitan Government.[53] From October 23, 2003 to 2008, 410 teachers and school workers were punished for refusing to stand and sing the anthem as ordered by school principals.[54] Teachers can also be punished if their students do not stand while "Kimigayo" is played during school ceremonies.[48]

On 30 May 2011 and 6 June 2011, two panels of the Supreme Court of Japan ruled that it was constitutional to require teachers to stand in front of the Hinomaru and sing the Kimigayo during school ceremonies. In making the ruling, the panels ratified the decision of the Tokyo High Court in ruling against 13 teachers who had asked for court relief after being disciplined between 2003 and 2005 for refusing to stand and sing the anthem.[55]

Outside of the school system, there was a controversy regarding "Kimigayo" soon after the passage of the 1999 law. A month after the law's passage, a record containing a performance of "Kimigayo" by Japanese rock musician Kiyoshiro Imawano was removed by Polydor Records from his album Fuyu no Jujika. Polydor did not want to attract harassment from far-right groups. In response, Imawano re-released the album through an independent label with the track in question.[56]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimigayo[/hide]

Two things.

First, Kimigayo is a very boring piece of music.

There, I fucking said it.

Second, I don't really care if teachers are fired for not standing during the anthem.*

Public school teaching is a cushy government job in Japan.** Everyone knows what is going to be expected of them before they sign up and showing a minimum amount of respect for the country that employs them by standing during the anthem is not hard.

Unlike the pledge of allegiance cases in the United States (which involved students), teachers are not forced to be there. If their conscience cannot abide standing during the anthem, they can quit anytime.


* I always thought the better response would be to stand and sing it badly as loud as possible. "What? This is how I sing." Then let them try to fire a teacher for "singing badly." (Ha! Ha!)

** Not as cushy as some. (Ha! Ha!) But pretty damn cushy for Japan.

[Witness]

First, Kimigayo is a very boring piece of music.

There, I fucking said it.

Any tune can be interesting if you know how to wrap it.

As for the teachers, I was mostly poking fun at the "controversy in a teapot". It's nevertheless interesting that the melody has endured so long.

[Witness]

[Anaxagoras]

Some landmarks.

The river I believe is the Sumida river. On the far side of the river, the area of tall buildings is the Maru-no-Uchi area. Tokyo station is located here.
The large green area behind those buildings is where the Imperial palace is located and the smaller green area behind that is another Imperial property called the Asakusa Imperial Property. To the right of these you can see the Tokyo Dome, where the Yomiuri Giants play. Other green areas further away include the Meiji Jingu area (a shrine to the late Emperor Meiji, Hirohito's grandfather and great-great grandfather to the current Emperor) and the Shinjuku Gyoen, a park. The area of taller buildings further away is the Shinjuku area. The Imperial family sure does own a lot of valuable real estate right in the middle of Tokyo.

[Grammatron]

Tokyo is a cool city.

[Doctor X]

But not as cool as Tōkyō.

Or even Planet Tōkyō:



– J.D.

[Anaxagoras]

残念

動画を再生できません
この動画には Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc. さんのコンテンツが含まれており、お住まいの地域では著作権上の問題で権利所有者によりブロックされています。

[Doctor X]

私のために働くよ。

– J.D.

[Witness]

Japanese submarine collides with commercial ship while surfacing in Pacific



A Japanese submarine collided with a commercial ship as it attempted to surface off the country's Pacific coast on Monday, government officials said.
Three crew members from the Maritime Self-Defense Force submarine Soryu suffered minor injuries, and pictures from the Japanese Coast Guard showed it sustained damage to its fairwater planes, the winglike structures on its conning tower.
The accident occurred off the main island of Shikoku in southern Japan.

The Soryu, commissioned in 2009, is the first in its class of Japanese diesel electric-powered submarines. It displaces about 3,000 tons and has a crew of around 65.
The Defense Ministry said communications equipment on the sub was also damaged, although it was still able to operate.
"Soryu scraped the hull of the vessel as it was surfacing. It is extremely regrettable the MSDF submarine has collided with a commercial ship," Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said.
The commercial vessel -- the Hong Kong-registered bulk carrier Ocean Artemis -- reported no damage, Coast Guard officials added.
Bradley Martin, a RAND Corp analyst and former US Navy captain who analyzed images of the damage, said the impact would have restricted the submarine's capabilities.
"I wouldn't call the damage 'minor.' The submarine can't dive and can't communicate," Martin said in an email to CNN.

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/08/asia ... -hnk-scli/

[Anaxagoras]

Wow. An American sub had a similar mishap with a Japanese fishing boat that actually caused the fishing boat to sink some years ago.

In fact, I think Mori was Prime Minister at the time.

Speaking of Mori, he is resigning today.

Tokyo Olympics chief Yoshiro Mori expected to quit Friday over sexist remarks

[Doctor X]

I thought of posting some articles on his comments.

"Women be like . . . always talking too much . . . yo!"

– J.D.

[ed]

FIFY

[Anaxagoras]

One day after a major earthquake in Northern Japan:

Nikkei ends above 30,000 mark for 1st time in over 30 years

Upbeat corporate earnings, hopes for a U.S. recovery and robust growth data for Japan's pandemic-hit economy injected fresh vigor into the Tokyo stock market Monday, pushing the Nikkei index to close above the 30,000 mark for the first time in more than 30 years.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended up 564.08 points, or 1.91 percent, from Friday at 30,084.15, its highest close since Aug. 2, 1990, when the Japanese economy was experiencing an asset bubble.

Keep in mind that this particular index still has not recovered its all-time high (which was likely grossly overvalued at the time, as it assumed rapid economic growth would continue indefinitely in Japan; back in the 1980s Japan appeared to be an unstoppable economic juggernaut).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikkei_225

The Nikkei average has deviated sharply from the textbook model of stock averages, which grow at a steady exponential rate. The average hit its all-time high on 29 December 1989, during the peak of the Japanese asset price bubble, when it reached an intra-day high of 38,957.44, before closing at 38,915.87, having grown sixfold during the decade. Subsequently, it lost nearly all these gains, closing at 7,054.98 on 10 March 2009 — 81.9% below its peak twenty years earlier.

[ed]

.

[Witness]

Court rules against school that forced teen to dye hair black

OSAKA--A former Osaka high school student has won her lawsuit against the prefectural government for forcing her to dye her hair black because it didn't conform with school regulations.

The Osaka District Court on Feb. 16 ruled against the prefectural government, finding that it was responsible for the former student's emotional distress. It ordered the prefecture to pay her 330,000 yen ($2,840).

The plaintiff, now 21, had entered a prefectural high school in April 2015.

According to the lawsuit, the school regulations prohibited students from “getting their hair permed, colored, bleached or braided with extensions.”

The female student’s natural hair color is brown. But the school repeatedly told her to dye her hair to make it look blacker based on the regulations.

She was sometimes banned from attending classes and a school trip because “her hair was not dyed black enough,” the lawsuit said.

Eventually the student, suffering from emotional trauma, stopped attending the school.

The student sued the prefectural government in October 2017, seeking about 2.2 million yen in compensation.

One of the main arguments in the trial was whether the school regulations have a legal basis.

The plaintiff said that a hairstyle choice is up to the preference of individuals and that the school regulations violate the right to self-determination guaranteed in the Constitution.

The prefectural government argued that the school regulations have a legitimate educational purpose, since they are intended to direct students’ interests toward studies and sports and prevent them from committing delinquent acts.

The plaintiff also said that the student told the school that her hair color is naturally brown but it rejected her explanation.

http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14194606

[Witness]

Japan's ruling party invites more women to meetings, as long as they don't talk

Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, long seen as a homogeneous redoubt of elderly men, now wants more women at its key meetings - provided they don’t do the talking.

The party, in power for most of the time since 1955, has proposed allowing five female lawmakers to join its board meetings as observers in a response to criticism that its board is dominated by men.

Two of the party’s 12-member board are women, while only three of its 25-member general council are women.

The proposal comes after sexist comments from former Tokyo Olympics chief Yoshiro Mori, himself an LDP member and a onetime prime minister, sparked a global outcry and renewed attention on gender disparity in the world’s third-largest economy.

The move would allow more female LDP members to see how decisions were being made, said Toshihiro Nikai, the party’s 82-year-old secretary general. He said he had heard criticism the party’s elected board was dominated by men.

“It is important to fully understand what kind of discussions are happening,” he told a news conference late on Tuesday.

“Take a look, is what it is about.”

Those female observers would not be able to speak during the meetings, but could submit opinions separately to the secretariat office, the Nikkei newspaper reported.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japa ... 00019e2531

[Pyrrho]

.

Indeed.

[Doctor X]

“In response to today’s unfair judgement, I will create a party called ‘The Party to Crush NHK and Judge Hiroshi Oshima!’ and will run for governor in Chiba next month. We will investigate collusion between NHK and the courts.”

Not Trump

– J.D.

[Witness]

Japanese website maps neighbourhoods that have noisy children

Gossiping adults and boisterous children are identified on the Dorozoku map, which has struck a chord in a country known for its quiet

Chatty neighbours and children letting off steam on the street have become the target of a controversial website in Japan that identifies neighbourhoods where noise levels may be too much for those in search of a quieter life.

The Dorozoku (street tribe) map is ablaze with colourful circles indicating places to avoid because, it says, they reverberate to the sound of children at play and adults gossiping within earshot of their neighbours.

The site appears to have struck a chord in a country where even packed commuter trains are often oases of quietude, with information about almost 6,000 hotspots across Japan posted by irritable locals.

Clicking on the icons reveals the nature of the nuisance, from children “playing noisily with balls” to adults engaging in marathon gossip sessions.

“Primary school children are always playing and romping around the street, causing trouble to people living nearby,” reads a typical submission, while another user complains of having to dodge children while driving in the neighbourhood.

Older schoolchildren are not the only group being singled out, with other gripes directed at crying babies and kindergarten pupils raising their voices in the evening and during weekends.

But the site’s operator, a man in his 40s who asked not to be named, is now under fire himself, accused of fomenting intolerance of children who are only doing what comes naturally, and in a country that needs many more young people if its economy is to survive in the coming decades.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/ ... dApp_Other

[shuize]

“In response to today’s unfair judgement, I will create a party called ‘The Party to Crush NHK and Judge Hiroshi Oshima!’ and will run for governor in Chiba next month. We will investigate collusion between NHK and the courts.”

Not Trump

– J.D.

Yeah, those NHK guys are dicks.

They always start off nice and then get pushy.

Just to fuck with them, rather than answer their questions about whether I have a TV, I used to play stupid and say "I don't watch TV." (Ha! Ha!)

Now I just don't open the door.

Which is the same approach I'm pretty sure most Japanese people take.

[shuize]

Japanese website maps neighbourhoods that have noisy children

Gossiping adults and boisterous children are identified on the Dorozoku map, which has struck a chord in a country known for its quiet

Chatty neighbours and children letting off steam on the street have become the target of a controversial website in Japan that identifies neighbourhoods where noise levels may be too much for those in search of a quieter life.

The Dorozoku (street tribe) map is ablaze with colourful circles indicating places to avoid because, it says, they reverberate to the sound of children at play and adults gossiping within earshot of their neighbours.

The site appears to have struck a chord in a country where even packed commuter trains are often oases of quietude, with information about almost 6,000 hotspots across Japan posted by irritable locals.

Clicking on the icons reveals the nature of the nuisance, from children “playing noisily with balls” to adults engaging in marathon gossip sessions.

“Primary school children are always playing and romping around the street, causing trouble to people living nearby,” reads a typical submission, while another user complains of having to dodge children while driving in the neighbourhood.

Older schoolchildren are not the only group being singled out, with other gripes directed at crying babies and kindergarten pupils raising their voices in the evening and during weekends.

But the site’s operator, a man in his 40s who asked not to be named, is now under fire himself, accused of fomenting intolerance of children who are only doing what comes naturally, and in a country that needs many more young people if its economy is to survive in the coming decades.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/ ... dApp_Other

I'm sympathetic to noisy neighbor problems.

But a pet peeve of mine in Japan are all the "Don't have any fun play [insert long list of activities kids normally play in parks]" signs posted in parks.

You don't want kids playing in front of your house? Fair enough. But they're not supposed to play in parks, either? Where the fuck are they supposed to play?

Not to mention, the people bitching about "noisy" kids are usually the same people bitching about kids just sitting around playing video games all the time.

[Anaxagoras]

Number of births in Japan falls to record low in 2020

The combined number of babies born in Japan and to Japanese nationals living abroad stood at 872,683 in 2020, down 25,917 from a year earlier and marking the lowest level on record, according to health ministry data released Monday.

The number of deaths dropped 9,373 to 1,384,544, the first decline in 11 years, the ministry said in a preliminary report that also included data for foreign nationals living in Japan.

A total of 537,583 marriages were registered, down 78,069, or 12.7 percent, the largest margin of decline since 1950.

The part I didn't expect is that deaths actually declined in 2020 for the first time in 11 years. A small decline, and the decline in births was larger, but one might have imagined that deaths would increase in a pandemic year.

So digging a little deeper, the tracker I use says that there have been 7,472 deaths due to coronavirus in Japan so far, but actually over 50% of those have been in 2021, not 2020. On January 1st, the figure stood at 3,513. Compared to the total deaths (1,384,544) that would mean that Covid accounted for only 0.25% of them in 2020. It simply wasn't a large enough number to make a significant difference one way or the other.

If you subtract the number of births from the number of deaths, Japan's population declined last year by 511,861. Over half a million.

[shuize]

Number of births in Japan falls to record low in 2020

The combined number of babies born in Japan and to Japanese nationals living abroad stood at 872,683 in 2020, down 25,917 from a year earlier and marking the lowest level on record, according to health ministry data released Monday.

The number of deaths dropped 9,373 to 1,384,544, the first decline in 11 years, the ministry said in a preliminary report that also included data for foreign nationals living in Japan.

A total of 537,583 marriages were registered, down 78,069, or 12.7 percent, the largest margin of decline since 1950.

The part I didn't expect is that deaths actually declined in 2020 for the first time in 11 years. A small decline, and the decline in births was larger, but one might have imagined that deaths would increase in a pandemic year.

So digging a little deeper, the tracker I use says that there have been 7,472 deaths due to coronavirus in Japan so far, but actually over 50% of those have been in 2021, not 2020. On January 1st, the figure stood at 3,513. Compared to the total deaths (1,384,544) that would mean that Covid accounted for only 0.25% of them in 2020. It simply wasn't a large enough number to make a significant difference one way or the other.

If you subtract the number of births from the number of deaths, Japan's population declined last year by 511,861. Over half a million.

I check that site as well.

It includes information on Wuhan-Corona deaths by age group.

The overwhelming majority of deaths are in the 80s+ band.

More evidence, in my opinion, that wrecking the world's economies over this was complete insanity.*

I know. I know. The counter argument will be "But, but, but, what if they hadn't done anything!"

To which I ask, besides fucking with my ability to visit relatives overseas, what sort of hard lockdown strategy did Japan ever introduce?


* In Japan, assuming those numbers are accurate, you have to look to the "50-year-olds" band before there's even a statistical mortality blip.

Wuhan-Corona Deaths/Cases by age:

50s: 162/55,276 = 0.0029 = 0.29%
60s: 511/35,939 = 0.014 = 1.4%
70s: 1,555/32,008 = 0.48 = 4.8%
80s+: 4,264/32,925 = 0.12 = 12%

I also suspect those numbers are too high as they are only reflect people who tested positive, were hospitalized, etc. and do not include people who had it but were never tested.

[shuize]

Japanese website maps neighbourhoods that have noisy children

Gossiping adults and boisterous children are identified on the Dorozoku map, which has struck a chord in a country known for its quiet

Spoiler:

Chatty neighbours and children letting off steam on the street have become the target of a controversial website in Japan that identifies neighbourhoods where noise levels may be too much for those in search of a quieter life.

The Dorozoku (street tribe) map is ablaze with colourful circles indicating places to avoid because, it says, they reverberate to the sound of children at play and adults gossiping within earshot of their neighbours.

The site appears to have struck a chord in a country where even packed commuter trains are often oases of quietude, with information about almost 6,000 hotspots across Japan posted by irritable locals.

Clicking on the icons reveals the nature of the nuisance, from children “playing noisily with balls” to adults engaging in marathon gossip sessions.

“Primary school children are always playing and romping around the street, causing trouble to people living nearby,” reads a typical submission, while another user complains of having to dodge children while driving in the neighbourhood.

Older schoolchildren are not the only group being singled out, with other gripes directed at crying babies and kindergarten pupils raising their voices in the evening and during weekends.

But the site’s operator, a man in his 40s who asked not to be named, is now under fire himself, accused of fomenting intolerance of children who are only doing what comes naturally, and in a country that needs many more young people if its economy is to survive in the coming decades.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/ ... dApp_Other

Here's a nice video from America on the subject:



Of course, knowing how things work in America, there's a good chance someone is going to crash their bike while following his chalk lines and sue the shit out of that guy.

[Rob Lister]

very fucking cool

[Witness]

More about Korea than Japan, but here it goes:

On ‘Comfort Women’ and Academic Freedom

The recent controversy over a Harvard professor’s article showcases how limited the space for debate and discussion on the issue has become.

We, scholars based in South Korea, call for debating not censuring Harvard Professor Mark Ramseyer’s recent article, “Contracting for Sex in the Pacific War” (published by the International Review of Law and Economics), which researches claims that Imperial Japan forced Korean women into sex work during Japanese colonization. Attacking Ramseyer’s academic integrity because of personal connections to Japan is unproductive and sounds xenophobic. Demanding that he apologize for, rather than defend, his conclusions, undermines a deliberative process that has advanced science since the Enlightenment. Accusations that his article lacks Korean perspective assumes a homogeneous, victim-centered, “Korean” perspective, which labels opponents as anti-Korean or pro-Japan collaborators.

In South Korea, the restriction of research and debate on “comfort women” has fostered a groupthink in a society and polity that otherwise values vigorous public discussions. The few academics that openly dispute the “comfort women” abduction narrative are too often harassed by activists, investigated by their universities, and prosecuted by the government.

https://thediplomat.com/2021/02/on-comf ... c-freedom/ for the rest.

[Doctor X]

He never considered simply installing a water canon?

Meanwhile . . . in Japan I: the girl who sued her high school for forcing her to dye her natural brown hair – there are natural brunettes . . . in Japan . . . as well as blond, green, and, naturally, blue:

because anime says so – to black finally, after four years received a non-decision:

Finally, after four years received a non-decision . . . in Japan

Meanwhile . . . in Japan II:

Number of births in Japan falls to record low in 2020

I suggest "Cannot Wi Anax and shuize step up their game.




In the rain.

– J.D.

[shuize]

Well, in shuize's case, it's not for a lack of trying.

[Anaxagoras]

On a personal note my son starts college this April. My daughter graduated last year and found a job. My waifu and I are obviously done having kids ourselves, but maybe someday there will be grandkids. Probably not in the near future.

[Doctor X]

Even I will not mock that, especially since Waifu carries knives. . . .

– J.D.

[Anaxagoras]

Gender-equality minister signs paper opposing dual surnames

One of those issues peculiar to Japan. Married couples are legally required to adopt the same surname. However:

Japan’s minister in charge of women’s empowerment and gender equality acknowledged that she signed a document that opposes dual surnames for married couples but insisted her “personal belief” would not affect her duties.

Tamayo Marukawa recently took over the Cabinet post from Seiko Hashimoto, who became chief of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee following the resignation of Yoshiro Mori over his sexist remarks.

Ah yes, there has been a reshuffling of jobs since ol' man Mori shat the bed again.

Here's the funny part:

Marukawa is married to Taku Otsuka, a Lower House member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. But she uses her maiden name during her activities as a lawmaker.

So she continues to use her maiden name in public life, although it is not her legal name (unless her husband changed his legal name, which is allowed). I don't know why the government thinks this is an issue that people cannot decide for themselves. Or why, if she feels so strongly that married couples should share the same name, she doesn't use her legal name as a lawmaker. I think it is common in Japan for professional women with established careers to continue to use their maiden name in their work lives, even after they get married. I know several female colleagues at my own company who got married after they started working there but still go by their maiden names for work-related business.

[shuize]

For our non-Japan based friends, Japan does not allow joint custody of children post-divorce.

I asked a graduate law student to give me his best explanation why this is the case.

He thought about it for a while and finally said it was probably because it would complicate the koseki (family register) system and make government worker's lives a bit more difficult.

I suspect there's something to that.*

It's bullshit, of course, but I wouldn't be surprised if that's at least part of the reason the government is also so resistant to spouses having different legal last names.

That and some misguided "Because 'family!'" explanation.

To which I offer my solution: Just don't ever get married again.**

On that subject, I once overheard my girlfriend mention to a friend that if we got married, she'd have to jump through some hoops to register her maiden professional name.

I was happy to put her concerns to rest and let her know she didn't have anything to worry about on that front. (Ha! Ha!)


* Because if there's one thing you can trust government workers to do, it's make things easier for themselves. Consider their reluctance to enforce child visitation "orders" which, coming from a court, one might be forgiven for thinking actually have some legal significance.

** Marriage is a shitty deal for men.

[Witness]

It's bullshit

If I had to do the paperwork with a brush and a seal on rice paper and faxing it before gluing it into some book I'd be reluctant too.

---

Tokyo high schools ask students to certify hair color not altered: NHK

Nearly half of Tokyo high schools ask students with hair that is wavy or not black to submit certificates confirming that their hair is not artificially altered, public broadcaster NHK has reported.

Of 177 high schools run by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, 79 ask for these certificates signed by parents, NHK said on Thursday, citing information the Japanese Communist Party obtained from the metropolitan government.

In Japan, many schools have strict rules about hair color, accessories, make-up and uniforms, including the length of skirts for girls.

Tokyo's board of education told NHK that the hair certificates are not compulsory. But the broadcaster said only five of the 79 schools make it clear in writing that students aren't required to submit them.

https://japantoday.com/category/nationa ... ltered-nhk

Not black or curly = anarchy. At least.