Wednesday February 15, 2012

JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

Ah_so's past comments

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Ah_soMay. 05, 2010 - 10:48PM JST

There's almost no reason to open a window in a hotel, Japanese are very big on privacy and would never freely open a hotel window.

Soggygyoza - I think you are jumping to conclusions. I like opening hotel room windows where I can. I also do not think that opening a window when you are on the 6th floor would affect your privacy.

Posted in: 4-yr-old girl falls to death from 6th-floor hotel window
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Ah_soMay. 05, 2010 - 10:42PM JST

Tragic. She must have jumped from one bed to the other and carried on the trajectory out of the window.

I rarely find a hotel room where the windows open more than a few inches.

Posted in: 4-yr-old girl falls to death from 6th-floor hotel window
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Ah_soApr. 26, 2010 - 07:12PM JST

The stigma that surrounds homosexuality in Japan is positively medieval.

Something of an exaggeration. It was only legalized over the West since the 1960s. In even being legal, Japan is well ahead of most of Africa and the Middle East.

In terms of the question, what benefits could gay couples apply for anyway? Japan is hardly noted for an ultra-generous welfare state.

Posted in: Should same-sex couples be entitled to equal social security benefits?
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Ah_soApr. 22, 2010 - 05:41PM JST

I think this article could really have done with a picture of 24 year old Maria Ozawa.

Posted in: Shooting AV stars
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Ah_soApr. 07, 2010 - 09:22PM JST

100 years ago, most Japanese people wouldn't eat much maguro

The everyday diet of the typical Japanese 100 years ago would probably not have had much fish at all. It was largely vegetable and grain-based.

Posted in: Japan's food culture is an endangered species
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Ah_soApr. 06, 2010 - 04:40PM JST

Japan will eventually go with the rest of the developed world towards a non-smoking culture. This is really a debate about whether it will be a few years or a decade.

What a ban could do for Japan is create a more al fresco culture and promote roof-top bars and the like. However, it would totally kill off a lot of the tiny city-centre snack/karaoke bars that the older men like which are often 7 floors up. I will not miss them, but their clientele will.

Posted in: Would you support a total smoking ban in public places?
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Ah_soMar. 22, 2010 - 10:14PM JST

If there is a God, He has done an exceptionally good job of keeping His existence secret.

Like the Yeti and the Lochness Monster, He has believers, yet He remains elusive.

Perhaps the Yeti, the Lochness Monster and The Almighty have something else in common...

Posted in: Do you believe in life after death?
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Ah_soMar. 17, 2010 - 05:36AM JST

Looking at apartments on the internet sounds like a great idea. Japan leads the way again. I expect this will probably catch on in Western countries one day.

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Ah_soMar. 17, 2010 - 05:27AM JST

I bought that book, struggled to get through the introduction, and then a realisation hit me, like a bolt of lightening. I am not American and never will be and so should not be reading a self-help book.

With this realisation, I chucked the book to the bottom of the bookshelf, where it will stay as my only ever failed foray into self-help books.

Posted in: Burn your copy of 'The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People'
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Ah_soMar. 16, 2010 - 05:52PM JST

While I strongly support trade restrictions to reserve stocks, I will volunteer for scientific research duties.

Posted in: Bluefin tuna tops CITES conference agenda in Doha
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Ah_soMar. 12, 2010 - 05:37PM JST

I only wonder why it has taken them nearly 4 years to come up with something to tackle the Wii. Despite being the least powerful games machine, it offers so much more to a player than a standard controller with its 50-odd buttons.

Posted in: Sony unveils new motion controller to slow Nintendo
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Ah_soMar. 11, 2010 - 11:13PM JST

Just because these people have been hunting dolphins and whales since the 1600s does not mean that they can continue to ignore the rest of the real world of the 21st century. Its not on any more.

I laugh about all these "traditional" habits that the Japanese feel that they are entitled to enjoy.

to quote from Isabella Bird's 'Unbeaten Tracks in Japan',

The shops, such as they are, contain the barest necessaries of life. Millet and buckwheat rather than rice, with the universal daikon, are the staples of the diet...These people never know anything of what we regard as comfort, and in the long winter...the families huddle round the smoky fire...their condition must be as miserable as anything short of grinding poverty can make it.

The traditional diet...the traditional house...how the Japanese must long for these things.

Posted in: Anger and defiance in Taiji after 'Cove' wins Oscar
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Ah_soFeb. 21, 2010 - 02:32AM JST

You are allowed dual nationality with Japan as a minor, but on reaching majority must officially renounce the Japanese or the non-Japanese one (although many do not, I believe).

Both of the Reed children are over 20, so they must have elected citizenship of one or the other. I very much doubt they renounced their US citizenship, so what are they doing skating for Japan?

While they are not true Japanese, they have a far greater claim to the country than their sister does to be a Georgian - a country with which she has absolutely no ties whatsoever.

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Ah_soFeb. 18, 2010 - 07:42PM JST

Narita is light years behind Seoul Incheon.

Posted in: Narita ranked third in airport quality survey
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Ah_soFeb. 11, 2010 - 11:32PM JST

"Ummm....exactly half are above average and exactly half are below."

I hate to keep on about this one, but the average human has less than 2 arms (there are a handful with one or no arms), but about 99.9% of the population have over the average number of arms.

An interesting example to illustrate the weakness of mean average.

On this topic of education, I have an almost off-topic example to illustrate how children develop. As a JET at JHS I used to use a warm-up thinking exercise with board magnets. The basic idea is to, "move one magnet to make...". They are based on lateral thinking exercises with coins and match sticks.

Over and over again, the ichi-nen-sei were able to get the answers, whereas the san-nen-sei struggled and took much longer. I told the san-nen-sei this to their amazement and disbelief.

Sadly, something happens in that period at JHS in adolescence to make them lose that creative spark, to "think out of the box". I am not sure if this is a Japanese thing, a human thing, or both, but it was noticeable and sad.

Posted in: The dumbing down of Japanese students
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Ah_soJan. 13, 2010 - 11:02PM JST

Have not, and will not see the film, so cannot comment. I also do not see strong racism in Hollywood films, if we interpret that as a negative depiction of other races.

I believe that the audience is now race neutral, between black and white male actors. However, I suspect that there is a preference against east Asian starts, except in "Asian" roles. I think it is very unlikely that a male east asian star will break into lead roles, outside of martial-type or Asian-specific roles.

Please correct me if I am wrong.

Posted in: Some see racist theme in alien adventure 'Avatar'
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Ah_soJan. 13, 2010 - 10:05PM JST

I don't know why, but if you asked me where this picture was taken, I'd say China rather than Japan.

If it were not for the katakana in the background, I would agree with you.

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Ah_soJan. 10, 2010 - 06:02AM JST

This case was a classic bit of incompetence. Yes, there are lots of names of people suspected of being involved with terrorism, but this guys was known and when he filled out his ESTA application, his name should have pinged on the system.

Arabic names can be tricky, because there are multiple ways to spell the name, but the latest security systems, look for alternative spellings of certain names.

The U.S. government had his name for at least 48 hours before he boarded that plane, so allowing him on showed real weaknesses in the organisation.

Posted in: So many dots, so much sharing. What now?
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Ah_soJan. 07, 2010 - 02:48AM JST

It will be effective in an attempted hikjack, but not in the case of a suicide bomb. Considering how rammed a 747 or Dc10 is, how would they get to someone nicely tucked away in a window seat? If his bomb works, then kaboom - the plane goes down, if not, you over-power the guy like Richard Reid and this Nigerian flop.

It hardly matters if they are trained in ninjitsu or the Darth arts if the bomb actually works.

Posted in: Do you think it is a good idea to have armed guards on planes as an anti-terrorism measure?
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Ah_soDec. 22, 2009 - 11:07PM JST

41% have voted "No", yet hardly anyone has come forward to defend this position. In the context of Japan, I wonder how Japanese would tend to reply, compared to Westerners. My feeling is that in "harmonious" Japan, there would be a greater tendancy to vote "No" to this question, whereas in the "Confrontational" West, "Yes" would be a far more likely answer.

Also, do people feel that there is a distinction between being offensive as a by-product of expressing an opionion, as opposed to being deliberately offensive e.g. "People who believe in God are delusional" vs. "You are a complete and utter ****"?

Posted in: Should freedom of expression include the right to offend others?