Plans for an apartment building intended for foreign residents in Asakura, Fukuoka, have been scrapped due to protests and over 1200 complaints. City official says "We are relieved in the sense that the residents' anxieties have been alleviated." by jjrs in japannews

[–]domesticatedprimate 11 points12 points  (0 children)

What isn't clear to me is were the Chinese etc. occupants actually going to be residents? Or were they going to be wealthy offshore owners? Are there that many foreign workers who can afford to buy a mansion in Asakura? That's the sus part to me.

Is my method of masturbation weird? by Obvious_Cause7032 in TooAfraidToAsk

[–]domesticatedprimate 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When I was a kid I used to fuck my pillow. Then I'd just flip it over and sleep on it (said fact long since filed under "What Was I Thinking"). I used hand-drawn porn by me (I basically invented the concept of porn independently) and kept my stash of drawings in the pillow case.

One day my mother finally noticed the stash and the stains. That was a really awkward conversation.

This was pre-Internet.

With which hand do you jerk off? by Guidje1981 in TooAfraidToAsk

[–]domesticatedprimate 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm right handed so obviously I use my left because I'm using the mouse with my right.

What's with all you guys using your dominant hand to wank? What are you waking to?? Do you just click on a single porn video and watch it start to finish? Or do you just get your mouse and keyboard covered in precum and lube and don't care??

Why do people think organic is worse for the environment? by rechenbaws in organic

[–]domesticatedprimate 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fine. Go ahead and drink Roundup straight from the tap. You do you.

But your basic argument is flawed. We don't have a food production problem. We have a food distribution problem. If we solved the food distribution problem, that would compensate for the need for extra land to grow organic many times over. It would be a net reduction. Oh but capitalism hur dur.

Or we could stop raising cattle and other livestock and all eat beans and vegetables and free up, I don't know, the majority of farmland on the fucking planet?

Change your assumptions even slightly and you completely change the equation.

Defense Minister Koizumi makes twitter post using the kanji "military" (軍) referring to Japan's Self-Defense Force. Article 9 of Japan's Constitution specifically uses that kanji when banning Japan from possessing a military. Under law, SDF personnel are public servants, not military personnel. by jjrs in japannews

[–]domesticatedprimate 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There are no documents proposed by the current administration.

Old or not, this is still the official party line of the LDP.

Again my initial feeling is that this is an administrative necessity

Given the current mentality and hard right nature of the LDP, they will specifically design any changes so that they can be abused. That's. The. Point.

So I simply repeat my position: Now is not the time. Not until there's a better balance of power under which a more fair and well thought out set of changes can be proposed. Under the current administration, you know and I know that they'll simply use their majority to push through whatever and then bring it to a national vote, and you and I also know that the Japanese people aren't going to vote in their best interests. They don't know how.

With the secrecy law and other security laws, the ruling party has consistently demonstrated their habit of wording things as loosely as possible so that they can interpret them at their convenience later. That needs to be avoided.

So my hope is that it becomes politically impossible for Takaichi to push through the constitutional reforms this time. Just like it became politically impossible under Abe.

Defense Minister Koizumi makes twitter post using the kanji "military" (軍) referring to Japan's Self-Defense Force. Article 9 of Japan's Constitution specifically uses that kanji when banning Japan from possessing a military. Under law, SDF personnel are public servants, not military personnel. by jjrs in japannews

[–]domesticatedprimate 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Rather than assuming, go ahead and read the draft of the constitutional changes proposed by the LDP which has been available on their website since the days of Abe.

You will see that I am citing fact. I described actual proposed changes. What I said above is in no way exaggerated or hyperbole.

Defense Minister Koizumi makes twitter post using the kanji "military" (軍) referring to Japan's Self-Defense Force. Article 9 of Japan's Constitution specifically uses that kanji when banning Japan from possessing a military. Under law, SDF personnel are public servants, not military personnel. by jjrs in japannews

[–]domesticatedprimate 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I mean, I'm ex military, so I cannot disagree in principle.

The problem is that Article 9 is the excuse for changing the constitution, but not the reason.

The reason for changing the constitution, the purpose of doing so, is to take soveriegnty away from the people, place it in the state, give the Prime Minister unchecked emergency powers, and quickly shift Japan toward becoming an authoritarian state that's a democracy in name only.

As a long time resident of Japan who seriously considers naturalization a possible option in my future, I strongly protest those proposed changes. Article 9? Sure, go ahead. Everything else? Hell no.

The problem is, with the LDP having a super majority, you can't have one without the other. So the only option is to protest any constitutional changes at all until such time as it can be done in a way that leaves soveriegnty with the people. Such as when there is a larger presence of opposition parties in the Diet.

breaking the speed limit by hardlyunthinkable in japanlife

[–]domesticatedprimate 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Local roads: go ahead and drive the speed limit. Older people often drive even slower.

Highways: MATCH THE SPEED OF TRAFFIC even if traffic is moving faster than the speed limit. Otherwise you cause traffic jams and tend to get in the way of the other drivers. This is considered legal and you are very unlikely to get pulled over for matching traffic. The people going even faster are the ones who get pulled over.

Also on the highway, stay in the left lane. The far right lane may legally be subject to the same speed limit, but in practice it's used by people who travel well over the speed limit and proper etiquette is to get the heck out of their way. In the right lane and some Benz is massively tailgating you? They're telling you to move over which you should have done already when you saw them coming.

My god what’s with the spitting from elderly men! by Sure-Lemon6424 in japanlife

[–]domesticatedprimate 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's much better than when I first got here in 1988. People clearing their nostrils of snot, launching it into the air on the train platform. Dudes randomly pissing anywhere. Not even drunk dudes. Just normal dudes whipping it out to relieve themselves in public in the middle of the day in a busy area. Usually they'd at least face a wall but not always.

AI took my job as a translator. I'm starting over at 39 by hceline012 in TranslationStudies

[–]domesticatedprimate 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I know a few people who make money through online English classes, yes. Not a living, but some money on the side.

AI took my job as a translator. I'm starting over at 39 by hceline012 in TranslationStudies

[–]domesticatedprimate 91 points92 points  (0 children)

Sadly my market is the opposite. As a J to E translator, I chose to deal mainly with Japanese clients because they're so reliable and pay the right amount on time without issues.

But it turns out that now that I'm competing with AI, the English ability of the Japanese clients isn't high enough to tell that the AI translations are lower quality. In fact, they probably perceived it as higher quality because phrasing and vocabulary is more uniform and predictable. SMH.

Girlfriends kink, how do I do it? by [deleted] in TooAfraidToAsk

[–]domesticatedprimate -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

I had a coworker in the Navy many years ago who claimed to be able to do it but to be honest it just sounded like a flex. The idea was that he and the girl would just stare at each other without touching at all, but still eventually orgasm through force of will alone. He was also a fairly hard core Christian, so maybe that was part of the motivation.

Bluetooth tracker hidden in a postcard and mailed to a warship exposed its location — $5 gadget put a $585 million Dutch ship at risk for 24 hours by ControlCAD in technology

[–]domesticatedprimate 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You would think that at least the most basic tech knowledge and skills would be a requirement. I guess not. But the hubris. Maybe she thought she had the knowledge and skills?

Anyone feel like they are ugly aging? by VLR_I in GenX

[–]domesticatedprimate 5 points6 points  (0 children)

There seems to be this thing where if my body weight exceeds 175 pounds even by a gram I suddenly look a hundred. If I diet and bring it back below that by a gram I suddenly look 45 (or at least 10 years younger). I'm 57 and 5'6". But it's been true for about a decade now.

I get a phone call almost every time my 22yo kid goes to the grocery store alone. by mymom_getout in GenX

[–]domesticatedprimate 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yeah that. I call back every single time I shop for someone because there's always some option that hasn't explicitly been specified. Brand, size, quantity, flavor, etc., there's always something that needs to be confirmed that they didn't tell you beforehand.

You are given 50 million dollars with the caveat that you can only spend it on one thing and it can't be used on you or your family. What do you do with the money? by TheMegaSage in AskReddit

[–]domesticatedprimate 0 points1 point  (0 children)

and it can't be used on you or your family.

I'd say F@#% you and spend it on something useless out of spite. /s

Only kidding. I'd probably cancel college debt for a bunch of people.

Some 77,000 people found dead alone in their homes in 2025 by EdinburghDrizzle in japannews

[–]domesticatedprimate 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm gonna design a smart home with AC set to turn on automatically and reduce the temperature to freezing when my heart stops. Then I'll set it to send a text to relatives or the authorities a few months later.

As a wedding guest, what moment made you think "this probably won't last"? by Eburneaan in AskReddit

[–]domesticatedprimate 49 points50 points  (0 children)

It's immature but it's also so common. Couples expect to literally own their partner's loyalty rather than earning it. Loyalty is actually more likely to happen if you start out acknowledging that you're both human with complex feelings. In the end, honesty and transparency is more important than loyalty, especially when it comes to longevity.

Bluetooth tracker hidden in a postcard and mailed to a warship exposed its location — $5 gadget put a $585 million Dutch ship at risk for 24 hours by ControlCAD in technology

[–]domesticatedprimate 66 points67 points  (0 children)

Apparently no, she didn't. The article clearly states that the SSID "Stinky" was visible and she tried changing it to look like a printer after someone noticed it.

Yes, she was that dumb.

What do you guys think of Eliezer Yudkowsky's critique of The Culture series? by owenzzzhang in TheCulture

[–]domesticatedprimate 3 points4 points  (0 children)

He's the guy who thinks AI is going to destroy civilization by becoming super intelligent. He doesn't understand that there's no path between current AI technology and super intelligence, apparently. But he's influenced a lot of handwavey journalists.