TactMerc

I know they're separate charges when a package is being imported, as a tariff is imposed on goods being made in a particular region while MPF is something else but it's billed alongside a tariff while customs brokerage fees is its own thing (if I'm understanding that right). They do add up combined making the item cost more than its face value despite it being purchased elsewhere.

It's like lets say this individual lives in a state with no sales tax like Delaware (US) purchasing stuff from a seller living in Fukuoka (Japan), the value of this item is ¥30,000 ($189.50) while the same being sold in America is jacked up in price at around $349.99 MSRP retail. However, they're hit with a notification their package is being held due to tariffs waiting to be paid before it can be delivered (even in a state with 0% sales tax).

This part gripes me when they travel to "less fortunate" or "poor" countries where eating out is $0.50-2.00 but the same or similar thing is $30-500 in the US, however: people earn different levels of income. Like in that "third world" country, people may only live with $10 a day while Americans live with either $7.25 / $15 per hour in minimum wage, so it's not comparable as to why the prices are seen as "cheap" by Americans.

Now, put it this way: if an average joe were to earn the FEDERAL mandated minimum wage of $7.25, is buying a whole weeks worth of groceries affordable with that alone (excluding rent, utilities, insurance, etc)? Do you consider a $200 semi-fancy dinner at a restaurant (not over the top luxurious, but formal & fine dining) with family or friends "cheap" in the US whilst earning $15 (or even $30) per hour in minimum wage?

This is the kind of sentiment I have when a question is asked on “do Japanese people talk like anime characters in real life?” And the straight answer is no. Is it the same with “do Americans talk like in Netflix” or is that a load of garbage? It happens with some people thinking anime speak is how Japanese people interact but in the end they appear stupid as no one talks like that IRL. Now, is the manner of speaking from US Dramas or TV representative of a real life conversation?

Tip: NEVER use google translate for Japanese! (Even for travel) It's so bad!

I hear about emergency preparation in certain countries like the UK or Japan (as they anticipate either a incoming cyberattack or another Iranian conflict) in case things end up becoming as if its the rapture all of a sudden. However, the weird thing is that neither are discussed openly on MSM or shown on the top feed of social media (perhaps due to censorship or hate being called out for fearmongering).

I've heard about Sony receiving bad publicity due to their plans on phasing out physical games by 2028 (heck even the upcoming PS6 has no leniency for a disc drive as its digital by default), so that leads into the question: is it worth spending money on a PS5 knowing their recent business practices? Also, the library seems lacking if you're looking for unique exclusives to play (since most are ports from PS4 titles).

I have physical games that are Japanese only regarding language support, if it's a PS5 disc or Switch cartridge: the covers are of course written in Japanese & the region code for it is JPN (even if consoles are region free, why are language locks still a thing regarding the software as there's no ENG?)

But, can you still trade them despite accepting this caveat: locked under a language barrier as the UI's in game cannot be reverted to English. (Also, the classifications use CERO framework rather than ESRB). Like a CERO D (17才以上対象) is akin to a ESRB M17 & CERO C (15才以上対象) is similar to ESRB Teen.

I've seen this 2015 documentary of some sort from the perspective of Japanese vs Australian kids being able to commute to and from school on their own without parental supervision. The thing is that parents in Japan encourage kids to be independent from a young age without being "babied" too much while apparently in Australia it's common for parents to drop kids at school.

Now: why is it common for American parents to either drop kids off themselves or kids using the stereotypical yellow school buses on commuting to school rather than letting the kid use public transport themselves or walk to school on foot on their own? I've heard that a father got arrested in the US just for letting his son walk to and from school due to accusations of "child endangerment".

Note: I'm not asking for legal advice. Rather, it's a thing in some countries (like Japan or Indonesia) as I recall watching a video depicting an Australian tourist in Indonesia witnessesing people pursuing the phone snatcher by ganging up on him in which they eventually caught the dude & undercover cops managed to arrest him. Now, the question remains: are people in the US allowed to conduct a citizens arrest in the US?

For perspective: there was a power outage that took place across the Iberian peninsula (affecting mainly Portugal and parts of both Spain & France back in 2025), at least people there didn't resort to looting immediately the moment everything was in disaray (transit networks were down, internet & phone connections were offline, contactless payments were disrupted and people were made to leave public venues). At least, the federal governments of their countries managed to act fast the moment this occurred nationwide.

NOTE: This is not a thread discussing modding consoles or anything of that sort. Rather, the main topic is about the recent news on a guy who managed to hack the Switch 2 by adding third party content into MKW (which isn't natively on the game) all because of a "game" found on the eShop (I think it got removed). He was using the global unit of the console. I'm ordering the region locked variant (日本語・国内専用モデル).

The difference between that and the international models are minor: mainly with the language and eShop, as the region locked one can only be used in Japanese and the JP eShop is only allowed (but would that alone be jail broken with hacks reverting a Japanese language only console adding other language packs basically turning it into a global unit despite this specific model being intended for domestic use only?).