Mentally ill child-killer gets 22 years in prison
…
According to the ruling, Ujiie stole a knife at an Ito-Yokado Co. supermarket in Anjo at around 10:40 a.m. on Feb. 4, 2005. He then stabbed to death 11-month-old Shoma Aoyama of Okazaki in the prefecture, who was in a baby buggy near his mother around the children’s clothing section. Ujiie also kicked and injured the boy’s 6-year-old sister and a 27-year-old woman nearby.

Oh. But he didn’t mean to do this. He wasn’t in his right mind. There were voices in his head that told him to do this, but he didn’t really want to do it. So he gets only 22 years as opposed to 30 years.

I don’t like capital punishment. The danger is so great that an innocent could be killed, and I could never really accept that. But a man killing a baby in cold blood? I might have to rethink my opinion on this.

I’ve been to that specific Ito-Yokado more than a few times, though never with my children. I did often take one of my children to an Ito-Yokado in a near by town, when he was a toddler.

I don’t believe in the insanity plea for several reasons. One reason is because issues like guilt should not be up to pseudo-scientific experts of the mind. In a certain sense, we’re all crazy.

There’s no question that he committed the crime, so there shouldn’t be too much debate over what punishment he deserves.

U.S. marine held over illegal entry in Okinawa
NAHA–A 21-year-old U.S. Marine Corps corporal was arrested Monday on suspicion of breaking into a house in Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, and falling asleep on a sofa, police said. Cpl. Shawn Jake, stationed at Camp Schwab, was arrested on suspicion of trespassing after the prefectural police arrived at the scene at the Henoko area in the city, in response to an emergency call early Monday from a 54-year-old woman who lives in the house.

What are these guys doing down there?

Apparently that’s what many Japanese think:

At home, the government faces a longstanding ambivalence toward foreigners. A 2003 survey shows that, while 48 percent of those polled would like to see more foreign tourists, 32 percent don’t. About 90 percent of them blame increased tourism for a “rise in crimes committed by foreigners.”

Link.

From the Japan Times:

… he got off the bridge by going through an unlocked door and down a stairway. He entered a restricted area on the ground but was not spotted by a security guard who was positioned just below the bridge, the sources said. The man walked through the restricted area for more than 500 meters and left the airport through a gate shortly before 10 a.m. without being stopped by any guard.

I wouldn’t suggest this as a way to avoid getting fingerprinted when reentering Japan. It does, however, call into question the whole point of the activity.

There’s been a lot going on in Japanese politics, so I wanted to update everyone.

First, there are a few things I don’t really understand.

I don’t understand what the substance of a grand coalition between the LDP and the DPJ would have been.

I don’t understand why Ozawa even considered it.

I don’t understand why Ozawa resigned.

I don’t understand why the DPJ leadership begged him to come back.

I don’t understand why he came back.

Okay, that aside let me go over in detail what I do understand.

ahem … [head scratching] …

Okay, I’ll have to come back to this later …

In the post previous to this one I mentioned the Ron Paul money bomb.

I checked at about 11:55 PM, east cost American time, at Ron Paul’s campaign site. Total contributions then we’re about $2,700,00 for this quarter. As I write this they are over $3,800,000. That would suggest that in about 7 hours, he has raised over a million dollars.

I will also note that shortly after it turned 12:00 AM on the east coast of America, just after 2:00 PM in Japan, I donated $100 to Ron Paul’s campaign. This is the first donation I have ever given to a presidential candidate ever. I look at it this way, at the very minimum he is educating young people about economics, and that is worth contributing to. Look at the top candidates in either party. Rudy Giuliani, Hillary Clinton … do these people actually care about the constitution? Do they care about people? Do they care about economics and policy?

I look at today as a chance to make a statement. I hope a really loud one.

Now if you think this has nothing to do with Japan. Guess again. I’m not just talking about the kind of antics you get from Ozawa and Fukuda, but the fact that monetary policy in Japan is, as it is in America, centrally planned. Is it really even conceivable that a bureaucrat, a sort of technocrat, should be able to set interest rates better than the market would? Just read the article I’ve linked.

Governor Fukui says, “But we need to pay greater attention to the risk of prolonged easy policy, even as downside risks grow.” How in the world is he suppose to know what the best rate would be? And even if he knew it, who in the world would have the courage to raise the rate for the good of the economy knowing it would incur everyone’s wrath?

It’s late (for me) and I’m rambling. Good luck Ron Paul!

… a group of people are attempting to elevate Ron Paul’s status as a candidate by simultaneously donating $100 on the same day. Their goal is the get 100,000 people total, which would mean a $10,000,000 combined donation.

So far they have nearly 11,700 people who have pledged.

I think it terms of supporters who are sincerely passionate about their candidate, Ron Paul must be leading the pack.

Is it actually even possible to be passionate about any of the other front runners in the US presidential primaries?

Certainly the Internet is changing the whole dynamics of the election. A passionate following on the Internet translates into cash. Cash translates into money for advertising. Advertising translates into name recognition. Name recognition translates into more support …

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Ken Worsley is reporting some fairly significant news about Nova over at Japan Economy News & Blog:

The Yomiuri provided some late night/early morning articles that certainly woke us up: According to one article, Nova President Nozomu Saruhashi failed to show for an emergency board meeting and was dismissed by the other board members. Board member Katsuichi Watanabe is now apparently in charge of the firm.

A second article tells us that Nova’s debts are not around 5 billion yen, or the 20 billion or so yen I had been talking about. Rather, Nova’s debts are somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 billion yen. The firm apparently intends to petition the government for help under the Corporate Rehabilitation Law.

More on this story as news develops.

The following excerpt is from a really fascinating article:

Ritalin abuse will be tough to stamp out
The growing number of people abusing Ritalin, a highly addictive psychotropic drug, has highlighted the problem of doctors who are too readily prescribing the drug on request from patients suffering depression and other mental disorders …

I recommend reading the whole article. Also check out this one.

Ritalin is still often prescribed to children for Attention Deficit Disorder and Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in America. Though it has many detractors, it’s even given to preschoolers.

People in America who still support the use of ritalin need to examine closely what is happening in Japan.

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No more ritalin for depression in Japan