JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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- English Instructor (Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe)
- Berlitz Japan, Inc. (ベルリッツ・ジャパン株式会社), Kansai
- Salary: ¥125,000 ~ ¥250,000 / Month
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- FT English Teachers for Kids - Osaka
- Kohgakusha Co., Ltd. （株式会社興学社）, Osaka
- Salary: ¥255,000 ~ ¥275,000 / Month Travel Expenses, Encouragement of Japanese learning*
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- Translator
- ZAIHON, Inc. (日本財務翻訳株式会社), Tokyo
- Salary: ¥6.0M / Year Negotiable
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Antonios_M
Huh? 1 out of 4? Retirement age of 49? Am i missing something here or are we talking about a different country? It's true that Greece needs to reorganize it's public sector by moving some of the employees to useful positions, (for example, for every police officer who is on patrol, there are other four who stay at office doing paperwork), but noway there are people retiring at 49 or such a huge number of public employees. Yes, there are many, but definitely NOT that many. I would even dare say that the problem is not so much the number of public employees, but the fact that they are not productive enough.
Greece needs a number of changes. If these essential changes occur, i am sure that Greece can do it. As Joanna Lumley said at the end of her travel documentary about Greece: Although the days are dark for Greece at the moment and the nights are long, she will survive triumphantly to see another dawn!
Posted in: New Greek government in race against time
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Antonios_M
Implement all the necessary reforms, privatize a part of it's public sector, open up the closed professions, invite investors from abroad and make it's economy more competitive, exploit the natural resources, take advantage of public land plots like the one in Elliniko ex-airport, abolish the stupid height limit of 27 meters for new constructions, provide the right incentives for Greek ship owners who have left Greece to return there, make a more stable taxation system, etc. Believe me, there are a lot that can be done in order to improve Greek economy.
Posted in: New Greek government in race against time
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Antonios_M
Foxie, well said!
You don't want to know how Greeks call it...:-)
Posted in: New Greek prime minister vows to stick with euro
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Antonios_M
Huh? That excuse might be acceptable for a 5 year old kid, but not for a 22 year old male. This guy must be arrested not only for child abuse and potential murder, but also for extreme stupidity.
These news are so sad. I can't accept that there are people out there who can mistreat and abuse a young child. It's frustrating, really.
Posted in: 22-year-old man arrested for attempted murder of girlfriend's 3-year-old son
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Antonios_M
Ganbare, Mr. Papademos. It's not easy to carry the fate of a whole country on your shoulders, but i have faith in you.
Posted in: New Greek government in race against time
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Antonios_M
...or the CERN experiment going wrong???
Posted in: IAEA reports unusual radiation in Europe
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Antonios_M
Yes, i remember this very clearly. However, a return to a devalued drachma would be catastrophic for the welfare of the Greek citizens. The bottle of water, which once used to cost 50 Drachma and now, 50 cents, would cost around 1000 Drachma. I don't think that its for Greece's best interest to return to its local currency. At least not now and not under these circumstances.
Posted in: New Greek prime minister vows to stick with euro
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Antonios_M
And what you suggest is, as the Greeks would ironically say: Ponaei kefali, kopsei kefali which literally means If you have a headache, cut your head off.
Posted in: New Greek prime minister vows to stick with euro
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Antonios_M
Those well respected economists were against the creation of the common currency in the first place. Like i said, i agree that the creation of the common currency was a naive mistake not taking under account the differences in fiscal policies of each country. However, kicking these countries out of the Eurozone as we speak would probably have the same consequences as the Bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers had in 2008.
Posted in: New Greek prime minister vows to stick with euro
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Antonios_M
WilliB, you earn the title of the eurosceptic of the year. I agree with you that there shouldn't have been a common currency in the first place, but i hope that you do realize that the cost of getting these countries out of the Eurozone is enormous.
It is less risky to make these countries change their fiscal policies than kick them out of the Eurozone.
Posted in: New Greek prime minister vows to stick with euro
4
Antonios_M
"Tok tok"
"Who's there?"
"Linux desu"
Posted in: Cyberattacks hit Fujitsu system used by 200 local governments
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Antonios_M
RIP Miyazaki san. Indeed, you were a fine ambassador for Japan.
Posted in: Japanese aid worker injured in Turkey quake dies
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Antonios_M
Finally, the Greek political system realized that only an experienced technocrat could take Greece out of this mess. Lucas Papademos is an excellent choice since he understands Greece's need for changes better than any socialist politician from the Pasok Party. I am very pleased with how things turned out and i sincerely hope that Italy will follow Greece's example. It is time for the Eurozone to recover. Yes, it won't be easy but there is no other choice.
My only fear is that the political parties won't support Mr. Papademos sufficiently enough in order to make the reforms. Greek society has already suffered a lot. Unemployment has skyrocketed and the cuts in wages and pensions are very harsh for any Greek to handle since the prices have not fallen yet. Therefore, the new government should be very careful of how to handle the situation. The country desperately needs structural reforms and the privatization of public sector but any more taxation and cuts in wages/pensions would be lethal for its economy.
Posted in: New Greek prime minister vows to stick with euro
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Antonios_M
This was nothing serious to comment on, Elbuda. But Greece got a new Prime Minister now. His name is Lucas Papademos and was Vice President of the European Central Bank. An excellent choice. Btw, i didn't know that Foxie's native country is Greece...???
Posted in: Greek talks in limbo as they enter 4th day
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Antonios_M
Italy, please, act quickly. Eurozone can not afford a second Greece at the size of Italy. It would be too much to handle.
Posted in: Tokyo shares close down 2.91% on fears over Italy
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Antonios_M
Oh, God.... In any case, Italy should not make the same mistake Greece did. They should take austerity measures as soon as possible. Of course, there is no comparison between Greece's economy and the Italian one, but this also means that an Italian debt crisis would have 10x times the consequences of a Greek debt crisis where the Eurozone might eventually cope with. On the other hand, if Italy gets to the same way that Ireland, Portugal and especially Greece got into....then, i think its game over for both the common currency and the Eurozone as a whole. I doubt that France and Germany would be able to handle the situation anymore...
Posted in: Europe's financial chiefs try to 'stop the rot'
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Antonios_M
Unfortunately, communism is still very popular among Greeks, and it is increasingly popular among young people. K.K.E (The Greek Communist Party) always gets around 9-10% in the National Elections and it is not the only hardcore Leftist Party.
Indeed, unity was necessary in order to take a step forward. I am sad that Mr. Samaras (the leader of the main opposition party - Nea Dimokratia) refused to take part officially in this government of unity but now the political momentum requires such a decision.
Posted in: Greek PM survives crucial confidence vote
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Antonios_M
Mr. Papandreou just refuses to resign. I wonder what this government of national unity is going to be, since there is no much time left. Both parties should give up their political aims and concentrate on saving the country and the Eurozone.
Things would have been much easier if Italy was not following the same steps...
Posted in: Greek PM survives crucial confidence vote
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Antonios_M
I agree. Autumn in Japan is amazing. Best weather, not crowded anywhere you go, amazing colors and the sense of "melancholy" that creates such a bittersweet taste about the meaning of life, etc.
Posted in: Autumn in Nikko
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Antonios_M
I agree with both readers above.
Well, apparently, he didn't succeed in either. Yes, there are talks about a government of consensus, but only because he made things for Greece so dangerous that there is no other choice right now...
And now Greece faces the danger of not receiving the 8 bn disbursement that was necessary in order to pay pensions and salaries. Like i said, Papandreou should be arrested for this irresponsible decision.
Posted in: Greek PM abandons referendum on debt plan