Talk:Japan/Archive 15

message: The info box has an entry "Capital
(and conurbation (population)) 	Tokyo1
35°41′N 139°46′E"
The left column promises population but the right column delivers longitude and latitude. Anyone know how to remedy this? Fg2 08:50, 25 March 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: See Template:Infobox Country/doc. The right column shows what it is supposed to show. The problem is that the text of left column is misleading. Change or remove the "largest_settlement_type" parameter. I suggest removing it; then the entry becomes "Capital (and largest city) Tokyo1 35°41′N 139°46′E". --Kusunose 09:27, 25 March 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Done. If I've removed information that belongs in the box, please help us fix it. Thanks Fg2 09:45, 25 March 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Question about info box 

message: HongQiKong re-introduced 3 red links in this edit as follows....
* Japan's court system is divided into four basic tiers: 438 Summary Courts, 50 District Courts, 9 High Courts, and the Supreme Court.
HongQiKong says in the edit comment:  "The United States has these articles, so I'm wikilinking for future development as well. Please see :Category:Judicial branch of the United States government."
I disagree.  The lower courts within the Japanese judicial system are not nearly as important as for the United States.  New articles for them are NOT warranted.  How many FA status articles have links to LOWER COURTS of that nation?  Please do not create red links for the lower courts again, because those lower courts are utterly unimportant with respect to Japan as a whole.--Endroit 16:02, 27 March 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I agree with Endroit. Hong please do not start stuffing these red-links in while we're trying to resolve FAC blocking issues - no one other than you seems worried about a lack of these court links, so I can't see it as a priority right now. John Smith's 16:05, 27 March 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: At the least, surely district courts and summary courts are notable.  There are only 50 and 9 of them, respectively.  If FA status articles do not have links to lower courts, then that's probably because they don't even make mention of them.  So maybe we need to take out mention of the lower courts.  How many FA status articles do that?  Hong Qi Gong (Talk - Contribs) 16:10, 27 March 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Hong, please just leave it - let us deal with citations problems which are far more serious. This is something that can be discussed another time. John Smith's 16:13, 27 March 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Lower courts in the Japanese judicial system 

message: I know the article is quite big already, but do you think a short mention of the HII A spy satellites in the science and tech section could work? --WoodElf 12:55, 28 March 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I mean H-IIA --WoodElf 12:57, 28 March 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: If they are properly referenced, of course. I do mean that - please don't add anything in without appropriately formatted citations - I have enough to find right now. Thanks, John Smith's 15:25, 28 March 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Science and Technology 

message: The move of the photo of the Daibutsu to the left results in the statue facing the margin instead of the text. If you want a right-facing photo I suggest Image:NaraTodaijiDaibutsu0212.jpg. Fg2 10:12, 2 April 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Right-facing Daibutsu 

message: There exists an estimate for 2007 in following the link next to the old 2005 estimate. If someone would update it.24.77.65.236 21:59, 2 April 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Population 

message: Is there not a better picture to represent the government? I find it odd and almost disturbing having two photos of President Bush in both sections of Japanese politics, side by side. Some people might enjoy GW photo-ops, but that's one too many photos for an article not about the US. falsedef 10:18, 9 April 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Hi Falsedef, I think what we're seeing is that it's easy to find photos from US government sources, and if they're official works of the government they're in the public domain. So some editors were able to locate those two photos and they posted them. Do you know of any sources for photos, with appropriate licenses, of leaders of the government of Japan? They'd be valuable additions, and might well replace one or both of the pictures presently in the article. Fg2 10:27, 9 April 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I've guessed as much that the pictures were posted due to US government archives accessibility. I'd really only like to see one photo replaced. Specifically, the first one seems less descriptive. Both photos are good alone, but in the context of the article itself, two photos of the same foreign president doesn't seem appropriate. diet photos, offices, sdf, diet building falsedef 02:49, 10 April 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: New or no picture for government

message: As you can see, Japan has reached FA status. Thanks for those who supported it through the nomination process. 
There is always room for improvement, such as ensuring data is the most recent available. However please always remember to update information with new, properly formatted citations from reliable sources.
Thanks again, John Smith's 11:50, 12 April 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: sorry, when i gave my reasons why i didn't actively support it, it had been fixed but i forgot to change it to support. Anyways congrats to everyone's hard work. -ScotchMB 23:38, 15 April 2007 (UTC)

text: WOOOOO-HOOOOOOOO!!!! YES! YES! I've always wanted this!! Brutannica 18:24, 15 May 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Congratulations!

message: I would like to know what the language in japan is. But it never stated it. I just thought that that was important.
—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 65.241.105.45 (talk) 14:40, 17 April 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: You will notice that language is listed in the infobox on the right side at the top of the article. Unlike some countries with much more complex political/cultural/ethnic and therefore linguistic histories, Japan has always enjoyed a relative stability and unity of language under the umbrella of dialects, slang, etc know as the Japanese language. LordAmeth 22:34, 17 April 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Japan has not "always enjoyed unity". There's Ainu, several Ryukyuan languages, languages brought to Japan by immigrants like Chinese and English, as well as special developments like Bamboo English, and of course Japanese Sign Language. --Ptcamn 07:52, 7 May 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Let's throw in all the Trekies who speak Klingon too, while we're at it...-Jefu 10:13, 7 May 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: The >1 million speakers of Ryukyuan languages, 670,000 speakers of Korean in Japan, and 320,000 signers of JSL can't really be compared to the handful of people who speak Klingon. Ainu is nearly extinct today, but it was not always so. --Ptcamn 10:38, 7 May 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Complaint

message: "Most of the islands are mountainous, many volcanic, including Japan’s highest peak, Mount Fuji."
this is in the intro.  Not sure if it's ambiguous or misleading? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 207.161.46.25 (talk) 03:25, 18 April 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Mount Fuji as an island? 

message: Thought it might be prudent to mention, in the introductory paragraph to the "Japan" article, that Japan is the world's third-largest if using purchasing-power parity (see IMF website, CIA World Factbook). —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Iso2204 (talk • contribs) 19:20, 30 April 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  "Second-Largest Economy" 

message: Hi! I'm a newcomer. Feeling like a stranger in a strange land or should I say I'm helpless as a kitten up a tree? I'm not sure I could be a helper. But just try and ask me. I'm a native Japanese, working as a translator. Oda Mari 16:21, 7 May 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Need Some Help? 

message: *The following things does not Fair
*1)Image Manupulation
*Japan have border probrem but 1945-1952 SK& Russia Military Occupy Japanese Islands because at that time she could not defend herself, and Japan proposed SK Peaceful solution at court but SK rejected it. And regarding senkaku After 1971 Oil reserve found China/Taiwan suddenly decleare that the island belongs to them.
*Even all these case Japan is a VICTIM, but the article Just Indicate "HEY JAPAN IS A TROUBLE MAKER SHE DESPUTE WITH ALL NEIGHBORS" it is Not fair and it is NOT American way.
*2)Hiding Truth
*NK Aiming 200 Rodong Missile to Japan. And US analyst comented that 3 of it Loaded Nuke Warhead=NK can Nuke TOKYO. Why hide the truth is this the way of Democrats?
*Total amount of Omoiyari Yosan donation is equivalant Value of 22 Nuke Aircraft carriers, why hide this truth and Propaganda Free Rider? --202.239.229.7 00:44, 9 May 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: There is no official flower of Japan, just of the emperor. Samatarou 02:49, 5 July 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Foreign policy&Military 

message: I think we need to add some additional links to better maps. The Wikimedia Atlas of Japan is good, but if you are trying to find anything other than large cities then it will not help. I suggest that we need a link to either the Yahoo! maps site or the mashup version found at http://www.japaneselifestyle.com.au/travel/japan_map.html as this map allows the user to zoom into a good level of detail.
I don't think that Encyclopaedia Britannica or the Guardian Unlimited links should be included. They are not specialist sites on Japan and they are just as commercial as many other sites that have far more detailed information and probably just as accurate. Whats up skip 06:43, 9 May 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: That's a ridiculous justification. The Guardian is a respected broadsheet newspaper, so unless you can show its information is wrong then I strongly disagree. John Smith's 23:01, 12 May 2007 (UTC)

text: Ok, I see now you've been spamming links from the same website around. That is not a good link to put in. I certainly hope you are not from that website - your Australian-esque alias doesn't help. I suggest you stop putting in to Japan-related articles. John Smith's 23:05, 12 May 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  External Links 

message: This article keeps getting vandalized every few seconds or so and starts up again after a protection period expires. Maybe someone should add a PERNAMENT one to prevent randon people completely wasting the time of others and throwing off anybody reading the article. Discuss. --Eiyuu Kou 16:52, 9 May 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I will protect it for now--let's say, for a week--but you might want to go to WP:RFPP to request something more permanent.  I'm not sure how many articles have a "permanent" semi-protected status (George W. Bush comes to mind) but I don't think that's an unreasonable request.  Have any anons made good edits recently?  Antandrus  (talk) 17:00, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

text: Oh, thanks Sean--you read my mind.  LOL.  I was just about to do it.  Antandrus  (talk) 17:01, 9 May 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: (edit conflict) I've beaten you to it, Antandrus :). I have semi-protected the page for one week, per a request at WP:RFPP Sean William 17:02, 9 May 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Request Article Protection 

message: Is it correct to call Japan a "great power"? The article cites Paul Kennedy's The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers. Skimming this book, it seems that Japan isn't a great power according to Kennedy's definition ("a state capable of holding its own against any other nation", p.539) in the military sense. Wikipedia defines it as "a nation or state that, through its great economic, political and military strength, is able to exert power over world diplomacy." Japan definitely is a great economic power, but not a political nor military one. In any event, "great power" is a highly subjective term and Japan's inclusion seems iffy at best. I think "great power" should be removed from the article or at least should be explicitly be attributed to Paul Kennedy as in "According to Paul Kennedy, Japan is a 'great power'", although I don't think he ever says anything of the sort about modern Japan.  --dm (talk) 21:33, 10 May 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I think it is correct to call Japan a "great power". Quite apart from its economic strength, it has built a significant military capability and has political clout too. John Smith's 21:38, 10 May 2007 (UTC)

text: Well, according to the relevant articles, Japan's military is about half the size & 2/3rds the spending of Britain. So, no, it's not larger than the U.K. Still, it's much larger than I had thought, so I stand corrected. --dm (talk) 17:02, 28 May 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  "great power"? 

message: Hey, it's the Canadian flag! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 194.22.4.101 (talk) 10:33, 15 May 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: This page seems to be very active. The whole first paragraph was edited to "Japan is ( *stuf* ) bullshit" this morning when a friend noticed. I was going to undo but I think someone beat me to it. Going through the history is kinda amusing too :) 81.215.13.145 12:03, 15 May 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Wrong flag! 

message: I think we should lock the page ASAP. Its a featured article, and hence lot many people try to vandalize it! Abhask 19:00, 15 May 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Today's featured article is a high visibility article that is a standard of brilliant prose and how open Wikipedia is.  Many editors are monitoring the page for vandalism.  It should not be protected; regardless, please help monitor the article for vandalism.  We certainly welcome more help!  :-)  --Iamunknown 19:04, 15 May 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I disagree; articles on the main page should be protected. Sometimes there are things that most editors just don't see. For example, the flag of Japan was changed to the Confederate flag for nearly ten minutes before someone finally noticed it, and this was a pretty obvious error, especially since the picture on the front page is the real flag of Japan. It would not be good for Wikipedia's reputation if someone looking for the flag of Japan to come here and paste the wrong one into their report, thinking that there was no way there would be an error on a featured article on the main page. --730628 21:10, 15 May 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Please see Wikipedia:Main Page featured article protection. Also, Wikipedia should never be used as a primary source of information, as Wikipedia content has no guarantee of its validity. --Slowking Man 21:26, 15 May 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Thanks for the information :) I was really helpful! Abhask 23:57, 15 May 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Just my two cents--I agree, I think it should remain protected; this article is very well-written, and lots of good work has been put into making it. I feel that (almost) every article deserves to be edited--but in this case, I think it's worthwhile to protect it. Tolerant666 01:18, 17 June 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Lock the page

message: I was looking for a place to insert some mention of karaoke, Japan's most popular leisure activity, but it was unclear whether to put it under "Culture" or "Sport and recreation", since it's arguably both (though not a sport, of course). And then I saw that the "Culture" section mentioned things like tea ceremony and flower arranging, which are done as hobbies for recreation in modern Japan. I've therefore made a go at merging these two sections into "Culture and recreation". Sports are arguably culture, and other country articles treat them in that section (see Cameroon, for example). — Brian (talk) 22:52, 15 May 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: The main article on anime discusses each of your issues thoroughly, therefore any major explanation belongs over there, not here. The links to specific topics on the main Japan article are merely meant to be a guide to other Japan-related articles, which expand on a particular topic much more thoroughly, as is the case with anime. The wording on the main article should be kept as simple as possible; thorough explanations on the etymology and history of anime belongs on the main anime article. ···巌流? · talk to ganryuu  05:21, 5 July 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Culture and recreation

message: Is the official name of Japan "State of Japan" or "Empire of Japan"?  I couldn't find a reference to the official name. Inkan1969 00:50, 16 May 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Technically, its neither. When you talk about the Empire of Japan, you're usually talking about pre-1947 Japan.  --WoodElf 05:21, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: According to the CIA World Factbook, it's just "Japan", not "Republic of..." or "State of..." or anything like that. Shortest country name in the Factbook ^_^ LordAmeth 07:58, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Official Name 

message: The Gini coefficient for Japan is missing. It measures income inequality and most other country pages have it. Fed0ra 23:43, 2 June 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: No Gini value

message: The current foreign policy and military section seems overly long, and slightly POV. I suggest the following trimmed version. Please Support or Object as you see fit:
Japan maintains close economic and military relations with its key ally the United States, with the US-Japan security alliance serving as the cornerstone of its foreign policy. A member state of the United Nations since 1956, Japan has served as a non-permanent Security Council member for a total of 18 years, most recently in 2005–2006. It is also one of the G4 nations seeking permanent membership in the Security Council. As a member of the G8, the APEC, the "ASEAN Plus Three" and a participant in the East Asia Summit, Japan actively participates in international affairs. It is also the world's second-largest donor of official development assistance, donating 0.19% of its GNP in 2004.  Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2005-04-11). Retrieved on 2006-12-28. Japan contributed non-combatant troops to the Iraq War but subsequently withdrew its forces from Iraq. 
Japan is engaged in several territorial disputes with its neighbors: with Russia over the South Kuril Islands, with South Korea over the Liancourt Rocks, with China and Taiwan over the Senkaku Islands and with China over the status of Okinotorishima. Japan also faces an ongoing dispute with North Korea over its abduction of Japanese citizens and its nuclear weapons and missile program. 
Japan's military is restricted by Article 9 of the Constitution of Japan, which renounces Japan's right to declare war or use military force as a means of settling international disputes, although the current government is seeking to amend the Constitution via a referendum. Japan's military is governed by the Ministry of Defense, and primarily consists of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF), the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF). The forces have been recently used in peacekeeping operations and the deployment of Japanese troops to Iraq marked the first overseas use of its military since World War II.
--WoodElf 09:57, 7 June 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: The second paragraph needs citations/a citation. John Smith's 10:04, 7 June 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I have added a citation for territorial disputes from the article. --Kusunose 10:43, 7 June 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: So, should I go ahead with it and change the section? I want to be extra careful since this is a featured artcle. --WoodElf 04:15, 8 June 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Yes, this is better and less controversial. The previous "content" was borderline propoganda.--222.233.205.82 04:09, 10 June 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: OK, went ahead with it.--WoodElf 09:40, 10 June 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Shortening of Foreign Policy and Military section of article