Yesterday, two important things happened with relation to travel and Japan.
First, the government removed virtually all restrictions on travel to Japan, eliminating quotas on the number of international entries (previously 50,000 per day) and resuming visa-free travel to Japan (for citizens of 68 countries) for the first time since the start of the pandemic. People can now come to Japan on their own without being part of a package tour. The only requirement is that you have either proof of vaccination (3 shots) or a negative PCR test from within 72 hours of departure for Japan. Thatās right: You can now come to Japan!
At the same time, the government also launched āNationwide Travel Support,ā a program to stimulate domestic travel with the hope of giving local economies a shot in the arm. The program covers 40% of travel costs (i.e. train/plane + lodging) up to a maximum of 8,000 Yen per person per day (5,000 Yen limit for day trips). In addition, each participant (including each person in a party) will receive 3,000 Yen worth of restaurant/shopping vouchers for each weekday of travel and 1,000 Yen worth of vouchers for each weekend day of travel, with travel starting on a weekday and ending on Saturday counted as weekday travel. Is it complicated? Yes! but the idea is to go through a travel agency.
The program, which runs from October 11 through December 20, is only available to residents of Japan, but there are no citizenship requirements. It also requires either proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test prior to travel.
Honestly, the program has been kind of a mess. Yesterday and today, travel agency sites have been freezing up in the middle of making reservations as tickets and hotel rooms were being snapped up in an instant. Each prefecture has an allotted budget for the program, and several prefectures have already hit their limits (some prefectures have opted to start the program later in October). I was very lucky to be able to book a family trip to Hokkaido next month for about 700 USD (down from 1200 normally), but it involved clicking refresh a lot on a popular travel site over and over again to get past error messages just after the program went online and then realizing too late that the hotel that I had booked in my frenzy was kind of shitty.
Americaās religious picture is much more diverse, ideologically and otherwise, than the average āreligion versus Democratsā stories would have audiences believe. Many different faith traditions promote women into leadership, solemnize same-sex unions, and even within those who do not the adherents to those traditions are often more liberal than not. A majority of U.S. Roman Catholics believe abortion should be legal in most circumstances, and one quarter of American abortion patients are Catholic.
A short but good article on the role the media has played in shaping the publicās perception of religious adherents.
What do I keep saying around here, to apparently great controversy?
I think itās a giant conspiracy and someone at Dame is reading your posts for ideas. This isnāt the first time theyāve backed up a point youāve repeatedly stressed. Either that, or you know what youāre talking about 
I doubt that!
I do like to see confirmation on points I make in other places, tho. Makes me feel less like Iām yelling into the void and might have something valuable to contribute to the human race.
Nahā¦ canāt be that! Men have said Iām wrong! /s
The supreme court will basically be deciding on the future of āFair Useā. Gee, i wonder who they will side with?
Weirdly, in this case, itās two pretty powerful cultural estates, both of which are likely worth millions.
New York City Police say that the other suspects remain uncomprehended.
As someone opposed to the death penalty in all cases Iām fine with this outcome. Let the guy rot away and die with a whimper, not a bang.
I certainly feel sorry for the grieving parents who feel that only the death penalty will bring them justice and closure, but in all likelihood it would have taken many more years before being carried out anyway. Hopefully they can now find a way to forget about this guy and move on towards healing.
@noahdjangoā¦ any other ATLiensā¦ something of an update on the situation with the Star Barā¦ Iām a little disappointed that this isnāt getting coverage from WABEā¦ Iām glad that GPB is covering it, at least, but this seems like a very ATL story that should get some attention from our own.
More on the NY case - 45 is having a week! 
i think itās interesting how most news outlets are centering those families feelings. what about the families who are against the death penalty? who donāt think that it would bring closure?
i donāt know if itās a prejudice by the various outlets, or if maybe the families who wanted the death penalty are the loudest. whatever the case the skew in the reporting is notable.
I wonder about that, too. On one hand, thereās a group that really wants to see people executed. Some make the argument that government-run prisons cost taxpayers money and this approach avoids that. Others see it as the punishment fitting the crime. On the other hand, news outlets are owned by corporate interests. If they have any connection with private prisons, the more people who are incarcerated for a long time, the more money they make.
When it comes to closure, itās hard to say which is better. There are restitution programs for offenders to atone to families affected by their crimes. Thatās another option available in some places.
revenge rarely really works, I think.
