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While The Japan Times would like to encourage free discussion as well as constructive feedback, we must reserve the right to keep discussions clean, civil and focused.

To this end, comments will be moderated. While we will process these messages as quickly as possible, we will make no guarantee as to when they appear on the site.

Messages that will be subject to deletion include ones that:

  • Contain any content deemed libelous or defamatory
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  • Display willfully disruptive behavior.
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  • Are nonsensical and/or unrelated to the related story.
  • Contain obvious copyright violations.
  • Are written in a language other than English (though, when appropriate, the mention of non-English words is acceptable.)
  • Endorse any unlawful activity.

The Japan Times will not be held responsible for any misinformation in comments, nor do the opinions contained in comments represent the views of The Japan Times.

User with offensive or misleading usernames will not be allowed to comment.

Differences of opinion are inevitable, but please take a deep breath and consider the consequences of your comment before you submit it. Your comments will be archived, so avoid posting any comment that you might regret later.

By commenting on this site, you grant us the right to republish your comments. These may appear on other Japan Times sites as “most recent comments” or in the print version of the newspaper

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Please limit your comment to the topic of the story. If you would like to make a general, unrelated comment about Japan or anything beyond the scope of the story topic, this is not the place to post it.

Those who repeatedly violate these  terms will be banned from posting comments.

Although the removal of comments or banning will not necessarily be explained, offenders may initially be warned of their behavior. The moderators’ decisions will be final.

The Japan Times reserves the right to change these guidelines at any time, so when in doubt, please refer back to this page.

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