Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on August 2013
ALL they REALLY WANT
Regarding “Cyndi Lauper” (Music, Jul 18): As another visiting rock star said, “Japan treats you well (when you are a visiting celeb)… So long as you leave when you are supposed to!”—jon
OLD NEWS
Regarding “Yuji Kuroiwa” (Q & A, Jul 19): I pay more for national healthcare here than for privatized care in the States—and I can’t get an appointment. I have to get up at the crack of dawn and beat a bunch of septuagenarians to the gate. And then no doctors speak English. They do in South Korea. This guy is a poster child for everything wrong in Japan.—jtodsttoe
BREW MOON
Regarding “Keith Villa” (Tastemaker, Jul 2): Blue Moon resembles a Belgian white about as much as Budweiser resembles a proper pilsner.—Jeffrey
smoky bacon
Regarding “Burger Special” (Jun 7): Why not include info about their policy on smoking? It would be nice to eat somewhere in Tokyo without some idiot blowing smoke in my face.—Smeg
HOPPIN’
Regarding “It’s a Swing Thing” (Feature, Jul 5): I passed lots of copies of Metropolis to swing dancers and jazz musicians around me. Everyone said the article was wonderful and written very well. I think [writer] Emma Brooke and the editors did a great job. Thank you!—Hiro Yamada, Tokyo Swing Dance Society
JUST SAY NO
Regarding “The Quality of Mercy” (The Last Word, Jun 21): Typical Metropolis article, no depth, asks more questions than it answers, misleading headline, factual inaccuracies. Great work.—Brian
Great article. However, sorry writer [Richard P. Greenfield] but your headline is totally wrong! I have chronic pain—fibromyalgia. I was getting hydrocodone in the US, but here I can only get tramoset which is maybe 10% as potent. So I totally agree on your main point, but the headline is about OTC drugs which do not require a prescription by definition. Even where it is legal, hydrocodone requires a prescription, so its not being available OTC is irrelevant. The issue here is even a doc cannot prescribe it.—Yosemite_Steve
When I broke my leg, before even knowing if/how broken it was, they gave me pills that made me feel totally groovy, it was awesome. But Japan needs to get with the times on this stuff, especially medical MJ. It’s probably a reflection of how old the voters and decision makers are, along with old customs that discourage kohai from speaking up.—G
TROOPERS
Regarding “Gaijin Evolution” (The Last Word, May 23): I’d argue that a sizeable percentage of Metropolis readers work for the US military. This is seldom, if ever, recognized by the magazine. We’re not all English teachers and tech industry workers.—Dave
