JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
-
- Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) in Kanto region
- RCS (RCSコーポレーション), Kanto
- Salary: ¥180,000 ~ ¥250,000 / Month includes performance bonus
-
- Assistant Language Teacher - TOKYO - late-March start
- Interac, Tokyo
- Salary: ¥230,000 ~ ¥255,000 / Month
-
- Assistant Language Teacher - Kanagawa Prefecture - late-March start
- Interac, Kanagawa
- Salary: ¥230,000 ~ ¥255,000 / Month
0
Antonios_M
Foxie san, kalimera! Usually, i agree with you but this time i don't. I see nothing clever with this "plan" which created huge financial losses as you said around the globe. I can't understand the logic behind this decision and the majority of the Greek society criticizes it.
Did he try to blackmail the opposition? The Greek people? The IMF? Germany and France? In any case, he failed miserably and now he faces the threat of not being able to remain in power any longer. Today's vote of confidence will judge whether he will remain a Prime Minister or not. In any case, the Greek public opinion is furious with this political trick.
Posted in: Greek PM abandons referendum on debt plan
0
Antonios_M
Like i said, Papandreou days are numbered. If the governing party does not force him to resign, then it would have to face the consequences of a possible default which will lead Greece into chaos.
Japan holds off investing in Greek rescue fund, just because of Papandreou's stupid decision for referendum in the worst possible time. Now he understood that he lost the gamble, but he still refuses to resign.
Mr. Papandreou, shame on you. The future of the country is uncertain, despite the dramatic efforts of France, Germany, the rest of the Eurozone members and the Greek people, who accepted huge cuts in their pensions and wages, as well as having to deal with extraordinary taxation.
Right now, Greece needs a government of consensus consisted of Greek and European technocrats until all the necessary measures are implemented. There is no other way out and both Pasok and Nea Dimokratia need to realize this before its too late.
Posted in: Greek PM abandons referendum on debt plan
0
Antonios_M
Haha...the referendum was canceled and Papandreou refuses to resign. I doubt he is at the right state of mind...
Posted in: Greek referendum plan 'confusing,' says Azumi
0
Antonios_M
Well, he already took back the decision for referendum. The pressure he received from Merkel and Sarkozy was enough to make him change his mind. Now it just remains to be seen if he will still be the Prime Minister of Greece until tomorrow.
Posted in: EU holds Greece crisis talks on eve of G20 meet
1
Antonios_M
Zichi, i am reading all major news sites since Monday. That's exactly what the BBC said:
The next 8bn euros of rescue loans will be withheld from Greece until after its referendum on the eurozone rescue plan, European leaders say.
So, they would wait to see the result of the referendum in order to decide whether they will go on with the rescue plan or not. In any case, i doubt that the referendum is going to be held, even though it would be better to do so, (now that it was announced). After all, the situation became too complicated and risky for Greece and i don't see an easy way out.
Posted in: Greek referendum plan 'confusing,' says Azumi
1
Antonios_M
I think they said that if the result of the referendum is negative, there will be no more bail out money... Don't worry people. I am sure that Papandreou won't last many more days. There are many influential people within his own Party who think that this decision was suicidal and i am sure they won't let it happen.
It would be interesting to see what the result of this referendum would be though. I guess that many readers expect that to be a "no", but something tells me that this might not be the case. Yes, we Greeks are stubborn, suicidal, old fashioned, loud, etc....but we are not stupid in any case.
The whole issue reminds me a lot of the period 2-3 years before the Athens Olympics when everybody was criticizing Greece for the delay in the constructions, the lack of safety measures, etc.... Greece was about to lose the organization and when this thing was announced to the public, miraculously, everything started working out and all projects were completed in time for one of the best Olympic Games organization ever. In any case, i am planing to go and vote for "YES" in the Euro and the stability of the Eurozone.
Posted in: Greek referendum plan 'confusing,' says Azumi
1
Antonios_M
Kalimera Foxie, kala eimai, esi? I am fine, but worrying a lot with all the news i read about Greece everyday. The Anti-Greek sentiment has also increased a lot, something that it is understandable but quite worrying under the current circumstances.
Posted in: Greek government in chaos with debt deal in doubt
0
Antonios_M
Global watcher, i agree 100% with you.
Posted in: Greek government in chaos with debt deal in doubt
7
Antonios_M
Some readers here said really mean things about her thinking it was only a cold yesterday...i hope they regretted it after reading the title. Pneumonia is extremely dangerous if not treated properly. I hope she gets better soon...
Posted in: Princess Aiko has pneumonia, agency says
0
Antonios_M
Papandreou's days are numbered. Apparently, he committed political suicide with this Kamikaze move that surprised everyone. Like my friend in Piraeus said "This guy is either too smart and tries to be a hero, or too idiot and he will throw the whole country in abyss and catastrophe". In my view, it is the second. His decision for the referendum might not have been pointless 1,5 years ago before the country consult the IMF for the rescue plan, but right now it is extremely dangerous, not only for Greece but also for the entire Eurozone.
Posted in: EU holds Greece crisis talks on eve of G20 meet
0
Antonios_M
FDR of course. This man got a country in ruins and made it into a superpower few years later.
Posted in: If you could vote for a 5th U.S. president's image to go on Mount Rushmore alongside George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt, which president would you pick?
1
Antonios_M
Here i am. Ohayo gozaimasu, Foxie san! Like you said, Greece is not exactly the unproductive country that many people think of. There is a base of production focused on agricultural products and raw material like marble. Greece's main exports are fruits, vegetables, olive oil, textiles, steel, aluminum, cement, refined petroleum and petroleum-based products, etc. Greek exports have increased significantly the last year. However, Greece still consumes much more than it produces and therefore it needs to cut spending, especially by reducing the public sector. Of course, tourism and its merchant navy are the two main sectors of Greek economy.
I would also add to your list the famous Greek mastic of Chios island. Its amazing flavor is one of the things i miss the most when i am in Japan. By the way, you are right about saying that most Japanese people dislike Ouzo, something that i found quite surprising when i first came to Japan.
Wow, maybe i should say this to my fellow Greek friends to feel proud of. Who said that Greece is not the center of the world anymore? Haha! Of course, i am joking. It's true that Greek crisis became a real round 2 of the 2008 Global Financial Crisis which many people thought that we managed to handle and deal with efficiently. Its a pity that a country which managed to host the Olympic Games successfully few years ago ended up in this kind of situation...
Posted in: Greek government in chaos with debt deal in doubt
1
Antonios_M
Like i wrote:
It is obvious that Pasok people could not deal efficiently with this kind of crisis. After all, they were elected as the "Socialist" Party and socialism is not a way to go for Greece right now. They need liberal reforms and reduce spending significantly, as well as minimizing the huge public sector. Thus, they need to resign immediately before they make things worse for both Greece and the Eurozone and allow Greek and European technocrats to run the government and adopt the necessary policies.
This is the only way. Referendum is obviously a terrible decision.
Apparently, Papandreou needs to resign. Monday's decision leads me to believe that this person acts irrationally and is very dangerous for his country. I can tell you that all my friends and relatives in Greece who were in favor of the implementation of the austerity measures and the reforms, were shocked to hear, Monday night, the Prime Minister's decision to put the entire country in the edge of collapse with this stupid and provocative action. Shame on him.
Posted in: Greek government in chaos with debt deal in doubt
0
Antonios_M
I doubt that the people of Greece rejected any offer to save the country. The government was the responsible one for not being able to implement all the necessary reforms. Adding more taxes and cutting minimum pensions to half is not a way to make the country more competitive.
It is obvious that Pasok people could not deal efficiently with this kind of crisis. After all, they were elected as the "Socialist" Party and socialism is not a way to go for Greece right not. They need liberal reforms and reduce spending significantly, as well as minimizing the huge public sector. Thus, they need to resign immediately before they make things worse for both Greece and the Eurozone and allow Greek and European technocrats to run the government and adopt the necessary policies.
This is the only way. Referendum is obviously a terrible decision.
Posted in: Greek PM calls referendum, confidence vote on EU debt deal
4
Antonios_M
And which part of the body is going to receive this free kisu? Lips, cheeks, neck...? :-)
Posted in: Nice offer
1
Antonios_M
I hope that my 4000 square meters won't be in the middle of the desert though...;-) It is true though that most people want to live close to urban centers and therefore, vast areas remain vacant and unexploited.
Posted in: World's 7 billionth person will be born on Monday
8
Antonios_M
I once found a wallet packed with 10,000 YEN notes in the toilets of Narita station. There was the I.D of the owner inside along with business cards of him, so i called him directly and returned the wallet without involving the police. My biggest reward of that was the smile of gratitude along with some Japanese kashi i got from his granddaughter. If the money is not yours and you didn't work to earn them, then its just not right to keep them.
Posted in: Fishermen net bag with Y11 mil off Iwate coast
1
Antonios_M
Sorry, but i disagree. Irony aside, you can not expect to survive in the current competitive economic environment without adopting some of the successful policies of other countries. Look at China, for example. Who would have expected 35 years ago that the hardcore Communist China would have adopted hardcore Capitalist principles in order to survive? The answer: no one. Who would have expected back in the 1850s that the Feudal Japan would end up some few decades later to defeat the great Russian Empire by adopting policies for developing militarism and supporting industrialism, while at the same time westernizing its entire society? The answer is again: no one. Throughout history, the element of change is necessary in order to survive. Change is not an easy procedure but it is definitely necessary.
I am not going to comment about you considering the Greek culture as corrupt. This is absurd and definitely misleading. You can characterize the Labor Unions and the Public sector as corrupt, but when you label the entire culture as "corrupt", i can not take your comment as serious.
Posted in: Europe crafts debt deal as banks take Greek losses
0
Antonios_M
Oh, thats a serious loss... Bad marketing? Competition? Lack of ideas? Strong yen? Probably all of them are to blame.
Posted in: Nintendo everywhere
0
Antonios_M
Your Greko-chinese jokes are not funny either.
Haircut of the Greek debt was inevitable. Fortunately for Greece, Germany and France were not willing to abandon her in a state of default and misery. I am not sure how these countries are going to react in the case of Italy though. Someone here said that Italy and Greece are totally different and that the Italian economy is much stronger than Greece's. This is 100% true, but financial crises don't strike only weak countries. In any case, the Greek debt is counted in billions while the Italian one in trillion. Thus, it is in a totally different scale and i hope that the Eurozone would never have to deal with it...
Posted in: Europe crafts debt deal as banks take Greek losses