compaqmac321 wrote:

hmm, after re reading what i wrote it seems i left out an important piece to the point im trying to bring across...the situation is a big laugh to me because of the DIFFERENCE in cultures (not to say that there arent ppl in japan that feel that im right or that there arent ppl in america that feel that your right, ppl are ppl and that comes with differences)..you see, the difference in cultures is why to ME this whole thing is being blown out of proportion...in no way am i condoning what he did, sure it was wrong...sure he should have been arrested...but there are much worse things. so since he's a star he's to be made into a big bad guy, and the hand of god should be struck upon him? nahh, theres no way im to be convinced that his crime fits the punishment. i honestly feel sorry for him because he's seems to be a nice guy and is pretty much being shown no mercy for a little mistake. by "here" i take that you live in japan, so throw everything aside, our difference in cultures, take that out of the picture and sit in think, just give it some thought..say to yourself. he got drunk and went streaking, pretty much disturbing the peace, one night. one time. so now, yes, they should take everything from him, yes he IS in fact a disgrace. now sure he has brought shame to himself, but this is not something a simply apology and the fact that he was in fact arrested shouldnt solve. ok i was arrested for doing this, so im just not going to do it again, and think a little more rationally, with all that in mind, you STILL think that he should be out casted? most certainly not. if anything this should drawn more attention to smap and their shows, his movies and commercials...so in japan yall are going to see, well im not getting digital cable, even tho its way better than analogue no he went streaking so i dont want it. haha thats ridiculous! thats like saying if he was a spokesman for trains, you wouldnt ride them. haha id go to japan JUST to see the famous traffic jams. maybe we'll just have to AGREE to disagree though.

Not to add fuel to the fire but in Takoyama San's defence, and as you have aptly pointed out, it's all about a difference in culture. But then you turned around and said that "this whole thing is being blown out of proportion". According to who's standard is it blown out of proportion? Certainly not from a Japanese point of view. Do I think his crime warranted his punishiment? Absolutely not, but I was born and rasied in a westernized city in Asia and completed my college and post grad. education here in the US. I work for a US multi-national corp. which has offices all over the world and everytime before an overseas trip we'd be told of the DO's and DON'Ts in our destination country. We certainly don't have to agree to all of them but we absolutely have to respect them; the second you don't is when you risk putting youself on a high horse and claim there's only 1 right way to do things and that's the American way.

taroqq wrote:

Not to add fuel to the fire but in Takoyama San's defence, and as you have aptly pointed out, it's all about a difference in culture. But then you turned around and said that "this whole thing is being blown out of proportion". According to who's standard is it blown out of proportion? Certainly not from a Japanese point of view. Do I think his crime warranted his punishiment? Absolutely not, but I was born and rasied in a westernized city in Asia and completed my college and post grad. education here in the US. I work for a US multi-national corp. which has offices all over the world and everytime before an overseas trip we'd be told of the DO's and DON'Ts in our destination country. We certainly don't have to agree to all of them but we absolutely have to respect them; the second you don't is when you risk putting youself on a high horse and claim there's only 1 right way to do things and that's the American way.

when i said its being blown out of proportion i mean that its being blown out of proportion to me. im well aware of the fact that thats the way they do things in japan, i stated how i feel about the matter, and i think that even if that is how they do things in japan that if you were to just sit back and think about it its not right, its not about how people in the west do things or how people in the east do things, its about the fact the he's being treated like a murderer or a terrorist. abiding by the rules of another country only makes sense doesnt it? if you play sports in school you learn that when you go to another school you behave yourself and follow the rules of that school, same as how when you go to somebodys house, you abide by their rules, its no different with another country, that has nothing to do with what we were discussing. if i go to japan and the speed limit is 15 mph on the highway no matter how stupid i'd think it is, im not going over 15mph because im not in america im in japan and that would be breaking the law. you said yourself we dont have to agree with the way things are done overseas, and in this case i dont, but that doesnt mean that i think theres only one way to do things and thats the american way. not at all, if it happened in america which it did, the person wouldnt have had any type of punishment, which he didnt, and i never said that was a good way to deal with it, because when your in the public eye like that whether u like it or not your subject to being a role model. im not the type of person to hold america up so high and to feel as tho we set the standard, i feel that the majority of the way we do things is wrong. i dont think not punishing him is right, but i think that are going overboard.

compaqmac321 wrote:

when i said its being blown out of proportion i mean that its being blown out of proportion to me. im well aware of the fact that thats the way they do things in japan, i stated how i feel about the matter, and i think that even if that is how they do things in japan that if you were to just sit back and think about it its not right, its not about how people in the west do things or how people in the east do things, its about the fact the he's being treated like a murderer or a terrorist. abiding by the rules of another country only makes sense doesnt it? if you play sports in school you learn that when you go to another school you behave yourself and follow the rules of that school, same as how when you go to somebodys house, you abide by their rules, its no different with another country, that has nothing to do with what we were discussing. if i go to japan and the speed limit is 15 mph on the highway no matter how stupid i'd think it is, im not going over 15mph because im not in america im in japan and that would be breaking the law. you said yourself we dont have to agree with the way things are done overseas, and in this case i dont, but that doesnt mean that i think theres only one way to do things and thats the american way. not at all, if it happened in america which it did, the person wouldnt have had any type of punishment, which he didnt, and i never said that was a good way to deal with it, because when your in the public eye like that whether u like it or not your subject to being a role model. im not the type of person to hold america up so high and to feel as tho we set the standard, i feel that the majority of the way we do things is wrong. i dont think not punishing him is right, but i think that are going overboard.

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compaqmac321 wrote:

when i said its being blown out of proportion i mean that its being blown out of proportion to me. im well aware of the fact that thats the way they do things in japan, i stated how i feel about the matter, and i think that even if that is how they do things in japan that if you were to just sit back and think about it its not right, its not about how people in the west do things or how people in the east do things, its about the fact the he's being treated like a murderer or a terrorist. abiding by the rules of another country only makes sense doesnt it? if you play sports in school you learn that when you go to another school you behave yourself and follow the rules of that school, same as how when you go to somebodys house, you abide by their rules, its no different with another country, that has nothing to do with what we were discussing. if i go to japan and the speed limit is 15 mph on the highway no matter how stupid i'd think it is, im not going over 15mph because im not in america im in japan and that would be breaking the law. you said yourself we dont have to agree with the way things are done overseas, and in this case i dont, but that doesnt mean that i think theres only one way to do things and thats the american way. not at all, if it happened in america which it did, the person wouldnt have had any type of punishment, which he didnt, and i never said that was a good way to deal with it, because when your in the public eye like that whether u like it or not your subject to being a role model. im not the type of person to hold america up so high and to feel as tho we set the standard, i feel that the majority of the way we do things is wrong. i dont think not punishing him is right, but i think that are going overboard.

Let me put it another way; there're certain things that're perfectly ok in one culture but not in others, ie whether certain thing/behavior is right or wrong doesn't apply across cultural boundaries . It's not as black and white as something universal such as being a murderer; even the definition of a terrorist depends on your point of view and which side you're from. Taking the argument to the extreme, what do you think wll happen to a monk if he does the same thing in a temple, or a priest in a church?

My point is people in different countries are brought up with different cultural believes and social values. Do not profess to judge what is right or wrong unless you have a deep understanding of that country's culture and its history.

taroqq wrote:

Let me put it another way; there're certain things that're perfectly ok in one culture but not in others, ie whether certain thing/behavior is right or wrong doesn't apply across cultural boundaries . It's not as black and white as something universal such as being a murderer; even the definition of a terrorist depends on your point of view and which side you're from. Taking the argument to the extreme, what do you think wll happen to a monk if he does the same thing in a temple, or a priest in a church? My point is people in different countries are brought up with different cultural believes and social values. Do not profess to judge what is right or wrong unless you have a deep understanding of that country's culture and its history.

you still dont seem to get it. im not saying what they are doing is wrong, im saying in my opinion his punishment is to much. are you actually reading what im saying or are you skimming through it? i understand japanese culture and history, i study it every other day in class for the past 3 years, ive been exposed to japanese culture i lived in japan for 3 years.
but an actor and a man of god?
thats like comparing apples and oranges, the only thing similar is that they are fruit.
but i will say that im sure the punishment and the amount of press surrounding it would be the same or maybe worst, not particularly just because of the crime though but because its a monk and a priest.

compaqmac321 wrote:

...the situation is a big laugh to me because of the DIFFERENCE in cultures

You are correct with differences in cultures. In Japan you can see a 5 year old walking down the street alone and nobody would think anything of it. If you have the same situation in America someone more than likely would call child protection services and scream "bad parenting". What's acceptable here may be construed negatively in America and vice versa.

Kusanagi's act is considered shameful and he must accept whatever repercussions is given to him. What is sad is that he probably had the cleanest image out of all the SMAP members. He's someone a lot of women would love to bring home and meet their parents. That image is now marred forever. Kusanagi more than likely will bounce back from this since he's a huge celebrity. Any other average Japanese star would vanish into obscurity falling from grace.

This is how Japanese society works whether you agree with it or not. The Japanese have a proverb: "Ikihaji kaku yori, shinu ga mashi" (Better to die than to live in shame). Honor is considered invaluable to them. One would think you would be more understanding of Kusanagi's situation since you lived in Japan for 3 years and studied it's history and culture. Laugh if you will but the majority of Japanese are not amused.

Takoyama wrote:

You are correct with differences in cultures. In Japan you can see a 5 year old walking down the street alone and nobody would think anything of it. If you have the same situation in America someone more than likely would call child protection services and scream "bad parenting". What's acceptable here may be construed negatively in America and vice versa. Kusanagi's act is considered shameful and he must accept whatever repercussions is given to him. What is sad is that he probably had the cleanest image out of all the SMAP members. He's someone a lot of women would love to bring home and meet their parents. That image is now marred forever. Kusanagi more than likely will bounce back from this since he's a huge celebrity. Any other average Japanese star would vanish into obscurity falling from grace. This is how Japanese society works whether you agree with it or not. The Japanese have a proverb: "Ikihaji kaku yori, shinu ga mashi" (Better to die than to live in shame). Honor is considered invaluable to them. One would think you would be more understanding of Kusanagi's situation since you lived in Japan for 3 years and studied it's history and culture. Laugh if you will but the majority of Japanese are not amused.

Well said.

You absolutely have to view the situation from a Japanese POV and it's just not acceptable behavior.

im still trying to figure out why no1 but one person payed attention to what im saying. why is it hard to see that im agreeing with the fact that its shameful in japan and that he should have been punished, but in my opinion (meaning to ME, not to japan, not to anyone else to ME) his punishment is to steep. no matter how many times u dont pay attention to my words, im still not going to change what im saying. this has nothing to do with anything but my opinion on his punishment and how far its going. i sent that reply days ago, im already over this situation, after i read what he said at the press conference im just going pretty feel the same way he does and wait and see what happens cus its out of his hands. he thinks he reaps what he sews so so will i. i cant believe this is like the 5 time i've replied to this haha when i pretty much agreeing with u ppl i just have my own opinion about his punishment. but your pretty much telling me i dont get to have an opinion about me not liking how far his punishment is going when i do .

compaqmac321 wrote:

im still trying to figure out why no1 but one person payed attention to what im saying. why is it hard to see that im agreeing with the fact that its shameful in japan and that he should have been punished, but in my opinion (meaning to ME, not to japan, not to anyone else to ME) his punishment is to steep. no matter how many times u dont pay attention to my words, im still not going to change what im saying. this has nothing to do with anything but my opinion on his punishment and how far its going. i sent that reply days ago, im already over this situation, after i read what he said at the press conference im just going pretty feel the same way he does and wait and see what happens cus its out of his hands. he thinks he reaps what he sews so so will i. i cant believe this is like the 5 time i've replied to this haha when i pretty much agreeing with u ppl i just have my own opinion about his punishment. but your pretty much telling me i dont get to have an opinion about me not liking how far his punishment is going when i do .

Nobody is telling you not to have an opinion. That's the beauty internet public forums. You can freely speak your mind even though others may not agree. I simply was trying to justify why the Japanese acted the way they did and perhaps sway your view/opinion of the whole situation. I apologize if you feel I was picking on you. I'm sure there's a lot of people that lurk this thread that share the same sentiments as you. I hope they can learn from this. PEACE.

Takoyama wrote:

Nobody is telling you not to have an opinion. That's the beauty internet public forums. You can freely speak your mind even though others may not agree. I simply was trying to justify why the Japanese acted the way they did and perhaps sway your view/opinion of the whole situation. I apologize if you feel I was picking on you. I'm sure there's a lot of people that lurk this thread that share the same sentiments as you. I hope they can learn from this. PEACE.

ohh
nahh i didnt feel picked on, i just felt that no1 was actually listening to the fact that im agreeing with what was being said i just had a different opinion on how he should have been punished pretty much. no hard feelings, i was on the debate team in high school, arguments with ppl who have valid points are fun lol

Support Tsuyoshi Campaign...

Please buy SMAP's single <Kono Toki, Kitto Yume Jyanai> on 04th May in order to show our love to Tsuyoshi and to SMAP.. Help pushing up the sales and let it be back to Oricon chart again... Online purchasing in CD Japan, HMV and Amazon which are credited to Oricon..

please support...
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Quote:

And some stuff off megaupload: Kimura Takuya Solo and Duet songs from ALL SMAP albums up to SAMPLE BANG (2005) These are all the solo songs and duet songs that Kimura Takuya has done with SMAP. The majority of them are solo songs and I included some duets that he did in the early days of SMAP. If there is an interest, I would love to do releases of Solo Songs of Nakai and the other members. http://www.megaupload.com/?d=EEP7HO0G ______ Just saw your post. Thanks for uploading, Vanessa. For the solos, he has Kimi Ga Iru and Style from the albums after Sample Bang.

So it begins...

Kusanagi wasn't on SMAPxSMAP tonight.

re the megaupload for Kimura san's solos and duets....I can d/l this but it will not play at all. I usually can play most things without problem. Just because this is the one I truly have wanted..it won't open.

Any hope of another way to do this please??

Peggy

I really wish that you read my opinion about what happened to Tsuyoshi,

I think that SMAP including Tsuyoshi gave us very happy and funny moments in our life they made us laugh, enjoying our life, they don�ft just sing and act they made a lot of people happy, and in this horrible world we live in, when a person makes you smile, you owe him/her a lot, so how much do you think we owe Tsuyoshi and all of SMAP members?

The people who saw Tsuyoshi in the park in that look (because he was drunk) they could just cover him with something and try to get him home without calling the police and cause all this noise, I don�ft now how but there must have been a solution, and I think it would be considered as an act of morality.

Because every body knows that he was totally drunk, which means he wasn�ft aware of what he is doing, in my country he will be punished for the extra drinking but he will not be punished for what he did when he was drunk because the desire is simply absent. { Tsuyoshi was wrong (only in drinking that much), so the people and media...etc can forgive him and stop their pressure on him)

We should appreciate what SMAP are doing to our lives, we are lucky to have such a legendary band within our life time.[

I wrote this out of my Arabian cultural perspective, not to be against any other different cultural look, i do respect the other's opinions,
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Actually i wanted to correct what i said,

when i read more about the news of Tsuyoshi in many other websites i was choked with a new information that made me feel that all what i wrote was totally the opposite

you may know it but it was new for me, that the Japanese cops realy wanted to give Tsuyoshi another chance they wanted to help him without complicating the situation, (they tried to take that act of morality just as i said) but he screamed at the police and talked to them in a bad way and said: WHATS WRONG WITH BEING .......... ???

If he answered their question then he was certainly aware of what he is saying

Soo....I think that Tsuyoshi was really wrong

and the Japanese police were very justice by trying to give him a chance am really sad for him, he must really feels terrible

I wish that Tsuyoshi and SMAP can get over that as soon as possible and return to us as five
members.
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It seems that he won't be gone for long. There's already talks about him coming back as soon as July, to coincide with his new movie.
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Tsuyoshi's going to be back to work by the end of this month. He's a part of too many television shows and projects to be away for that long.

hi all... i've been a fan of SMAP a few years back.. but has not been keeping track of their news for some time..

my fav is Kimura Takuya.. i have all his dramas.. (not the latest ones though)..

recently, i watched the dramas and concerts dvds and once again, mesmerized by Kimura again.. :nut:

i have a wish - to watch SMAP concert at least once in my life.. however, their concert tickets are so hard to get.. even harder for non Japanese...

years back, i found a website that act as a agent for foreigners to join the Johnny Fan Club for SMAP.. but as it was very troublesome and was unsure about how all the telegraphic transfer work back then, i did not join SMAP fan club in the end...

i would like to ask if anyone know of this website that one can join SMAP fan club.. or is there any other way to joine SMAP fan club?

and also, i read all the past Posts, i really envy u guys who are able to go the SMAP concert.. i bet the experience is very special... u guys are amazingly lucky to be able to get the concert tickets..

in preparation for future concerts to come, would appreciate all the advice on how to get SMAP concert tickets..

thank you all...

loving him always...

hi every one i just wanted to ask you one silly question long time ago........

what is the story of SMAP and Lemon

I have a lot of SMAP ( and even KATTUN ) pictures in which they have a lemon in their hand and smiling very happily
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