JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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Why do Japanese change their attitude when they communicate with foreigners?
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Confrontation
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3
U.S. Navy investigating how parts fell off aircraft near Atsugi
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4
California court to decide if SeaWorld whales are illegal 'slaves'
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5
Kuroki reported pregnant 2 weeks after denying relationship with Akanishi
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- 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
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- Assistant Language Teacher - TOKYO - late-March start
- Interac, Tokyo
- Salary: ¥230,000 ~ ¥255,000 / Month
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- Assistant Language Teacher - Kanagawa Prefecture - late-March start
- Interac, Kanagawa
- Salary: ¥230,000 ~ ¥255,000 / Month
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Azrael
O____O; That's the stuff of nightmares right there. The Howling (1981 movie) immediately came to my mind e.e; (I only saw the poster when I was a kid and that was more than enough). The white beast on the photo with its distended jaws in a blood-curdling howl is an accident waiting to happen. Its owner is going to pay dearly for having its behind shaven and exposed in public.
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Azrael
Mrs. Cleo> I saw it in Jusco last week =(
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Azrael
x.x; It's hard to believe a simple (and small, mind you) avocado costs 400yen here and 70yen in my home country e___e;. Vegetables are raving mad expensive here!
I did find a farmers supermarket here; it's away from the city center (in Ibaraki), I have to walk past some rice fields and see a mountain in the distance >.>; but it's worth the walk. It is cheaper by like a third of the price of veggies in Jusco. Of course it's not all neat and pretty, no bg music, cement floor - but it's clean and the vegetables are very good, and sizeable. I don't see the point in buying from farmers in Tokyo that purposely sell their goods at higher prices than supermarkets (which are more expensive than Jusco) just because of some fad. There is a crisis here! People are being laid off, the government subsidies (and scholarship stipends) shrink as we sit here! c.c; I don't understand this aspect of the Japanese culture. They don't look for quality, only for high prices and blindly believe the price is directly proportional to quality without a double check.
The only reasonable Japanese people with a keen sense of home budget and hunting for quality at reasonable prices are old Japanese ladies over 65 years old. Must have been the war experience that made them smart. Life under a dictatorship made my mother quality-wise and she taught me. It's sad but hardship makes you smarter in many aspects.
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Azrael
I wish I could connect flights in Mexico instead of having to enjoy the USA customs' hospitality on my way to my country.
Posted in: JAL, Mexicana to increase code share routes
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Azrael
That is rendered meaningless if the fish do not come from Japan. I was told once that Japanese sushi relied on the fish growing up on food found in Japanese waters to acquire that unique Japanese taste, and that this was the reason why sushi in foreign countries didn't taste the same, hence sushi police (remember them? Last year?) checking the quality of sushi in foreign countries was a valid idea.
I am disappointed =(. I think Japan should just fund those Japanese universities that are developing a way to farm fish - that is a better idea than greedily depleting the oceans on the other side of the world.
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Azrael
o.O; At this rate and with such arguments, I am not sure if the world can sustain "Japanese culture." Half-joking here.
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Azrael
Concerning US interest in investing on Haiti right now, I found this editorial interesting: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ucru/20100115/cm_ucru/thehaitianearthquakemadeinusa
The most important thing is that the aid may be rapidly organized so that it gets to the people quickly. Apparently, there is disorganization on air traffic control. The first plane with help from my country had to land in Santo Domingo because the Port au-Prince airport did not respond to their requests for permission to land, because of disorganization at the airport site. They will try again tomorrow.
Posted in: U.S. takes charge in Haiti — with troops, rescue aid
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Azrael
I think men in Japan grope to transfer their feelings of impotence, helplessness and inadequacy. They are psychologically abused (or so they feel) at work, belittled and in general, castrated by the office culture and social hierarchies at the workplace and at home. Because they feel they are powerless losers, they transfer their frustration by abusing someone weaker that is not likely to defend themselves. Similar principles apply for child abusers, wife beaters and abusers of the elderly and infirm. The looks and dress of the victim are irrelevant, because the feeling of empowerment is all the same regardless of the victim's appearance because: they dehumanize the victim in their mind in order to treat them as a sexual object; it is arguable that uniforms are manipulated as sex fetiches by Japanese Media; and, it's not the looks of the victim but the immediate availability provided by the environment of a packed train.
Gropers are frustrated people, and not necessarily in a sexual way; but because sex abuse is specially shameful and hurtful to the anonymous victim, groping is their weapon of choice. Other people choose box cutters, kitchen knives or scissors to chop off chunks of hair from the heads of others - the common denominator is the same: depersonalization, frustration, repression and feelings of inadequacy.
Groping is wrong and should be treated as what it is: a crime. Gropers may need help, but that does not excuse their behavior, their malice and their cruelty.
Posted in: Why is groping so prevalent on trains in Japan? Anyone care to hazard a guess as to the psychological reasons on why men grope?
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Azrael
Typo: My post's last line must read, "Japanese expertise on the third stage is as needed as the expertise of others for the first and second stages is needed."
Posted in: Tens of thousands feared dead in Haiti quake
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Azrael
Don't underestimate the third stage; it's as important as the rescue effort. Reconstructing infrastructure, reestablishing water and electricity networks and making sure the buildings are safe for survivors to use is crucial, too. It's all about coordinated organization.
Before I was born, there was a devastating earthquake in Nicaragua in 1972. My father, who is a civil engineer, participated in relief efforts in a group of engineers sent to Nicaragua by my country and his group's specific task was to rebuild roads and bridges to allow aid to reach zones isolated by the earthquake. He told me about it when I was a kid. Latin American countries traditionally help out each other in this kind of situation, but you have to administrate resources at every stage of the reconstruction effort, and every professional and worker have important tasks to do. Japanese expertise on the third stage is as needed and the expertise of others for the first and second stages is needed.
Posted in: Tens of thousands feared dead in Haiti quake
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Azrael
XD! I always found it hilarious how he could sing that song "Un hombre solo" (a lonely man) @.@; he wasn't lonely at all, he had like five kids with different women!
Posted in: Julio Iglesias to tour Japan in April
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Azrael
I wonder if Abraham's name will be banned, too.
Posted in: 3 Malaysian churches firebombed in 'Allah' dispute
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Azrael
After pressing the shutter the photographer ran for his life, most likely ;D.
Falconry has awed me since I was a child. I saw a film about traditional falconry in Mongolia with most majestic eagles. I have read that owls are much more difficult to train, and a special license is required (after a license for falconry, that is!).
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Azrael
ROFLOL! x______x;;; Yaa... I thought something similar, too.
I wonder if the unknown superheroes will make impromptu dances and songs, and will have cute anthropomorphic sidekicks, too.
Posted in: Disney sees superhero dollars in Marvel unknowns
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Azrael
Typo: It should read "They are criminals," not there are criminals.
Posted in: Boy reunited with American dad in Brazil
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Azrael
This is how I see it: The mother was a Brazilian, married an American man. In Latin America till very recently if not yet ongoing, it was considered that marrying an American was a good catch, getting a Green Card and an American consumerist lifestyle. Said woman took her child to Brazil, saying it was a two-weeks vacation; however she forced a divorce and married a Brazilian tycoon. Said Brazilian tycoon paid pricey lawyers to keep the child in Brazil. Woman dies in childbirth, Brazilian tycoon makes a Goliath-David esque legal battle (him being Goliath) to keep the child. Brazilian man became diplomatic trouble, had to give back the child. End.
I for one, feel that justice has been made. International parental child abduction is a terrible issue. How many stories of Japanese parents and grandparents abducting children into Japan and the left behind parent being helpless in the face of Japan being a haven for parental child abductors? The grandmother can say whatever she wishes, she had no right to abduct a child. Latin American culture does not condone such things. There are criminals. Maybe in time, after the child becomes a legal adult, he could travel to Brazil again. After all, the Brazilian family is stinking rich! They can easily afford to visit him in the US (under tight surveillance, that is!).
Posted in: Boy reunited with American dad in Brazil
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Azrael
After reading Taka's post, Helter Skelter's post made me laugh so hard my ears got red x___x;;;. Talk about chronicle of a foretold death.
Posted in: Major winter storm taking aim at U.S. Midwest
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Azrael
I don't like Akishino; he gives off a bad vibe.
I like the Emperor, Empress and Naruhito; they seem to be good and well-meaning people. I like Masako, I wish she could heal. The Emperor, Empress and the King and Queen of Spain came to my university last year and I was part of the group to greet them. I like them ever since. The King and Queen of Spain were kind, too.
I wish the Emperor a Happy Birthday.
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Azrael
Typo: reminder, not reminded.
Posted in: New book suggests ulterior motive to timing of 1949 executions
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Azrael
Perhaps so, but there is an important difference: the Allied Powers won. They are the victors. They hold the higher ground, Anakin.
I think it wouldn't be far-fetched to see a special significance on the date chosen for the executions; indeed, it is obvious that the date was carefully picked with ulterior motives. As I see it, it could signal a reminded that the Emperor was allowed to remain untouched as an individual whilst the men at his command (yet possibly rebellious to take such commands) were punished with death for their crimes; a trade perhaps that MacArthur didn't want to be forgotten and hence placed the reminder like a Damocles sword over Hirohito's first born.
The ultra-right wingers cannot pick on the date because it would be disrespectful to the Emperor; the date prevents them from having their own holiday and "martyrs" of their efforts to seize control of Asian countries. Nor Hirohito nor his son have ever worshiped at Yasukuni Shrine since the Class A criminals were enshrined there, leaving in the open the fact that they repudiate the Class A criminals. The birthday of the emperor eclipses bad reminders. From a Machiavellian point of view, the choice of date is flawless.
Posted in: New book suggests ulterior motive to timing of 1949 executions