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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Azrael
I see a few things here. One: Strangers pretending to be Plainclothes Police Officers - who can really tell they really were police officers? Real police officers do show IDs and do allow verification, which is why they have BADGES with NUMBERS. Real police officers approaching tourists would at least have a few PHRASES in at least English to address the tourists. Most policemen I've met have a pamphlet with lists of questions in several languages. Two: There are many thugs in those areas trying to draw women into prostitution. Your passport is your only valid ID in Japan when you are a tourist, and who doesn't know by now the first thing pimps do is take away the passports of the sex workers? To allow someone whose identity you have not verified take your passport is folly - specially when you are a woman. Three: The station officers pulled out a "kankenai" right there. Wouldn't the station officers have to be aware of policemen doing rounds in their station? Four: The Shinjiku police station declined comment. Maybe in fact, the two men were not policemen and the station simply had nothing to say or even deny; OR the men -might- be real policemen and the police station doesn't want trouble, so pulled a "kankenai" as well.
In any case, two men of suspicious behavior tried to force two women to produce their passports and when they asked for an explanation they didn't bother to explain but immediately tried to drag them away; and they were not dragging them to the next authority place, aka the train station's office. Aren't chikan and thieves taken there in all the train station crime news? It seems to be the usual procedure - and those men were not following it. That in this country famous by its sex trade and slavery of foreign prostitutes, IS SUSPICIOUS. I think the girls did the best thing: defend themselves.
Posted in: Roughed up by the cops in Shinjuku
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Azrael
This is a point of caution to be considered by the Chinese government. I think the Chinese government has or is about to over-play the Nationalism card.
International protests about the Chinese Olympics have come in quite handy for the Chinese government; everything that fans and rouses nationalism fervor distracts the Chinese people from other pressing issues such as pollution, environmental disasters, land being taken by the government to build Olympic facilities (such as the Bird's Nest, which caused many citizens to give askance looks), and money diverted for the Olympics effort.
However... if the flame of nationalism, no doubt fanned fervently by Chinese government mouthpieces, gets out of control and more boycotts form, and larger anti-Western demonstrations take place, the potential foreign visitors to attend the Olympics in China may become frightened for their lives and don't travel to China to attend the Olympics.
I do suppose the Chinese government itself will use force to repress the nationalist demonstrators if they get out of control or even if they just become an eyesore. It's very smart from the Chinese demonstrators so far, to remain peaceful demonstrators. I guess their leaders are aware that at some point, their government will send in reins to make them back off if they are not peaceful. However, however... such nationalistic masses (and not only in the case of Chinese, but every single nation around the world) usually DO GET out of control. Windows get smashed and cars burned. We will see how this one develops. I hope the tragedies will remain minimum.
Posted in: China urges 'calm' as anti-Western protests continue
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Azrael
TELL THEM, PUTIN! Putin is my hero for saying that @.@;.
Posted in: Putin denies affair with gymnast
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Azrael
Actually, in all the Japanese homes I've visited in about four years, the house door is ALWAYS unlocked throughout the day. Windows are unlatched. Back doors are ajar or closed but unlocked. People announce themselves IN THE GENKAN, not from outside. Even when homes have an interphone at the fence (if there's a fence at all; for example townhouses, row houses, etc.) the doors beyond the fence are unlocked. This always mystified me. I know some of my friends actually sleep with their windows open. When we stayed overnight working at our lab, the FRONT DOOR was left unlocked unless I went and locked it myself. Just because there's a security guard at the UNIVERSITY GATE like, three buildings away, they feel safe enough to have the door open at midnight. Japanese people lack self-preservation awareness (or self-preservation instinct?). There's this myth going about Japan being "safety country" despite the numerous reported murders of people in their homes, women raped in their beds, elderly bludgeoned in their own houses. However, the whole "safety country" myth is somehow entrenched into nationalist feelings. Saying that Japan is not safe enough to live with doors and windows unlocked actually offends the Japanese (specially those above 40 years old). I concur with the article; the people younger than 40's are in a bliss of ignorance about crime prevention; they are not even aware of that they are not doing. These two are very dangerous attitudes. It's puzzling how young people here carry their "messenger bags" with the strap across their chest and the bag AT THEIR BACK. Same with purses, sometimes flapping open. Those women painting their faces on the train, showing off the contents of their purses to everyone - what are they thinking? As someone mentioned, people here won't report crimes to the police, since in petty crime cases they (the victims!) feel lazy and inconvenienced by having to take the time to report the crime and deal with the police. It's astounding.
Anyway, not -everyone- is so blissfully ignorant. A friend here in my university gave me some advice, like: have some male clothing and hang it out with your laundry, to make people think a man lives with you; never hang your underwear outside to dry. That was clever. Some simple steps to safety in a Japanese context.
Posted in: Young women lax on security at home
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Azrael
McDonald's will have to top that with a Mega-mega-mega Mac."
That would be Giga Mac ;]. I could not open my mouth enough to bite that thing. It's ginormous silly. How would ladies do to keep a lady-like appearance while eating that on a date? Just curious.
Posted in: Big burger
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Azrael
Positive action, at last. Kudos to Spain for spearheading change.
Posted in: French fashion industry signs anti-anorexia charter
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Azrael
I was a Super Escapist when I was a little kid (I still can manage to disappear whenever I want, and I can appear out of the blue, too). Definitely, loudspeaker warnings will never work with anyone under the age of 6. It's terrible enough she lost a finger, but the ring finger of her left hand? I foresee some cruel teasing from the usual high school girl bullies coming her way when she hits puberty. I hope she will be fine. Thank goodness it wasn't her thumb.
Posted in: 1-year-old girl loses finger in escalator accident at supermarket in Hiratsuka
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Azrael
Mr. TokyoHaze: It's a beautiful photo, as much for the models as for the timing and use of the light and focus. Congratulations!
Posted in: Mother and son
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Azrael
Realist (11:25 AM JST - 7th April) sums most of it all up very well. However, I have more annoyances to add:
Men trying to stare at you and at the same time, pretending they are not staring. It's like, having their eyes nailed to you - most annoying. If I doze, their persistent staring does wake me up (I'd rather not fall asleep anyway, but when the train trip takes hours it's difficult).
Men trying to take snapshots of you with their cellphones.
Men trying to take VIDEOS of you with their cellphones. It seems like, since the camera phone makes a noise while taking video doesn't, they are switching to video camera function.
What in Hell is wrong with these people? I resort to holding a book or my own cellphone in front of my face. That usually discourages them.
Posted in: What behavior by train passengers bugs you the most?
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Azrael
Hi hi. I like the new look overall, but I agree with something others have mentioned in previous posts: the font is too small. How about a feature for readers to customize small/normal/big font size? Other websites have it, and it's useful.
The layout looks somewhat messy. Maximizing the importance of each section is alright, but the side text column was useful as an overview and allowed a faster view of all that was new on the news. The new layout takes more time and additional effort. The font for the old news links is too tiny and the light blue color on white background makes it more difficult to read. Please choose a darker shade of blue. So, to summarize my suggestions: Customizable site font size; bring back the text links sidebar; darker shade of blue for the old news links.
Thank you for your efforts. I appreciate them.
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