JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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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
Something people don't seem to grasp (no pun intended) is that nudity is allowed in the bath area and changing areas but NOT in the lounge or anywhere outside the bath area. Every activity at the onsen has its place, including eating and drinking. Being naked in an area non-designated for that use is therefore embarrassing for the viewers who understand how the place works. An onsen is NOT a nudist resort. The fact that there are mixed baths does not turn an onsen into a nudist resort. Onsen and sento are organized in terms of activity and service, for maximum efficiency. For example from my experience in University field trips, bathing nude with friends and classmates at the onsen or sento is normal, but nobody goes nude in the hotel rooms we share, let alone walk naked in the lounge or the dining room. Onsen yukatas are provided for guests for a reason. For Japanese like for most people in the world, misplaced nudity is impolite.
Posted in: Foreign nudists flock to Gunma hot spring resort
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Azrael
If you look at her hip, you'll notice flesh-colored panties. I suppose it's for hygiene. Come to think about it, bodily fluids invite disease - nobody knows if she's healthy. Her smile looks hysterical, or maybe her face already hurts for having to grin continuously. Also, for a fetish convention, I find curious how those arms around her appear to be of fully-clothed people, specially the long sleeves. I think this was less wild than it appears to be on first sight. Her armpits are not shaven. Also, the food is not directly on her skin but on a big leaf that appears to be fabric, and may be glued to her body with double-contact glue like those used in fashion shows to keep plunging necklines to show too much. Same goes for the garland covering her "exposed" breast. It seems to be attached.
Posted in: Fetish fashion
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Azrael
Primarily, I do not support suicide under ANY form. What I think would be a gray area where negotiation is possible is, whether a terminally sick person crosses the point where they wouldn't be alive without a machine or specific body-damaging drugs that keep them alive but take away more than 50% of quality of life. More precisely what I mean is, when an ill person faces the point where he would be dead within hours without mechanical treatment - this we could call "extreme" treatment. The person should be able to decide if they want to continue and undergo extreme treatment or not; this at the end of natural life.
For secular society, life is a commodity that can be ended when it is no longer useful. That is starkly dehumanizing. Even as I think the point where a person should be able to decide if they want to prolong their life beyond the threshold of natural death, I think laws should not give that power to relatives, partners or guardians. That would only open the door to abuse and murder (think life insurance, inheritance and such). Also, what about those crazies on JT news who said after killing someone, "he was suffering so I killed him," or "I was tired of caring after him." Legislation should give the ill one the ultimate power to decide - and because of all this I oppose the term "assisted suicide" because it gives too much power to a third party. Suicide plain and simple would be more legally transparent. However, "suicide" as traditionally understood is a sin to many and should not be legally enforceable.
Currently in my religion (Catholic) all forms of suicide are sin, but life beyond the threshold or point of natural death (where it would have happened without extreme treatment) is generally considered life nonetheless, hence keeping yourself alive by all means possible that do not take another human's life is your duty. This is why Pope John Paul II endured to the very last instance, because he was aware he was the highest example and he would never take his own life (which in our belief is not his but God's property). However extreme treatment beyond the point of natural death is not mentioned specifically in any canonical text I have come across. I think this may be a point of negotiation but that is only my own opinion.
Posted in: What is your stance on assisted suicide?
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Azrael
Anyway, if her husband is too insecure to handle having a wife successful in her profession and his insecurity goes as much as making him think having an affair out of spite would be acceptable, I think Nori-P would be better off without him. He could also bring STD's home, including HIV so even for her own health, she better tighten the leash or just get rid of him. A man with healthy self-esteem would be better for her.
Posted in: Singer Noriko Sakai kicks surfer husband out of home
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Azrael
I agree with Sharky1; Nori-P is being stalked. I suppose as long as the reporter doesn't chase her to her death like the paparazzi did to Lady-Di, it can be considered just work... but still, it leaves a bad feeling.
Posted in: Singer Noriko Sakai kicks surfer husband out of home
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Azrael
Maybe the husband didn't want people to see his wife dangling from a beam and removed the body, placing it on her futon for dignity. Maybe it was him who put the children on their futons, too (if the wife didn't kill them in their sleep or put them in their futons after murdering them). It's a possibility.
Posted in: Woman, 2 children found dead in Yokohama home in suspected murder-suicide
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Azrael
I would certainly not want to get a needle inserted in my arm in a place where IV drips are a form of consumerism commodity - specially considering Japanese businesses tendency to mislabel and the lack of awareness about HIV and AIDS rampant in Japan, where people still believe it is one of those diseases that only foreigners have. Besides, crook doctors are easy to find and a little stimulant in the drip will provide the "experience" clients are looking for without necessarily providing any health improvement.
This IV drip vitamins thing is just like diet pills and meal supplements aimed for weight loss: placebos and smoke screens. The ONLY way to health is living a healthy lifestyle. Balance your meals, bring a lunchbox to work, exercise regularly, have a regular sleep cycle with no less than 6 hours a night sleep, reduce the intake of industrial pre-made meals and do take vitamins. Patch-on remedies are just lip service.
Like some say, fools are soon parted with their money.
Posted in: Tokyo’s latest health craze goes straight for the jugular
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Azrael
Sydenham> I think by truck he means the big ones such as lorries (if you are British), trailers, car transporters, oil trucks and such; not the luxury humvees.
I live next to what could be called an Interstate road. It's rather quiet, considering people rarely honk if ever. Trucks come down around 5am and yes, they fly low rather than drive on the road. In day time the trucks go slower but still I've seen some reckless driving here. My sensei knows the crossing near my place and when he heard I live nearby his eyes shot open wide and he gasped, "that is a dangerous crossing, you should always be careful!" I am very careful when I cross any street. I've seen worse in my country, where trucks are colloquially called Erasers. You may guess why.
Posted in: Why I hate driving in Japan
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Azrael
I think it sounds good. I'd go watch this movie if movie tickets in Japan didn't cost the same as a regular DVD on Amazon. I suppose I'll wait for the DVD.
Since WW2 is much of a hushed topic in Japan (only one or two people I know are willing to talk about it when the topic arises) I find myself very curious about how Japanese people react to this legacy and more importantly, how do they feel about it. How are WW2, xenophobia and cultural attitudes towards hafu kids and their parents related for one family, it's quite interesting. That coupled with the hafu topic itself (which some prefer to believe is a non-issue) makes the movie look interesting to me. I would like to see a similar movie made by a Japanese director and compare both.
Posted in: Bridge over troubled waters
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Azrael
In Malaysia, so it would seem.
I think emotional violence needs to be addressed in many societies, yes including both men and women. Emotional violence tends to be passive-aggressive, the attacks manipulated as to seem to be jokes and harmless words when they are not. It is true there is a balance somewhere (the backbone, as some call it) but emotional violence is not any less real because of it. Bullying could be easily included in this category, because bullying includes emotional violence as in psychological attacks. I would hope Malaysian legislation in this field will be well structured and a case study to follow, hopefully to apply the best aspects of it in other societies according to their needs.
Posted in: Malaysia men who call wives ugly better look out
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Azrael
I'm aghast. If any image remains in my mind regarding Governor General Michaelle Jean is a complete savage eating a bleeding heart like Hannibal the Cannibal, complete with blood and gore like Hollywood's best - but this was not SFX. Whatever message whatsoever she wanted to impress upon people's mind went flying out of the window. Who could not possible cringe at the imagery she has displayed? Thank goodness there is no photo attached to this article. People eat chicken, cows, sushi everyday - but tearing out a creature's heart and swallowing a slice for the sole purpose of staging a publicity stunt that is not even true (the Inuit have protection of the law) is simply despicable and nauseating. I sure hope it comes back to her.
Posted in: Canada's governor general eats seal heart
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Azrael
Mexicans painted better faces on their masks, with more colors. I saw them on the news.
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Azrael
I forgot to mention that (well, obviously) spayed female cats don't have any marks left, except a couple of stitches that fall off in time. Females may or may not turn aggressive after spaying.
Posted in: NPO provides unusual solution to Japan’s feral cat problem
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Azrael
My neighborhood's veterinarian back in my country and home city, has run a similar program for years, and it is effective. However cats migrate, new cats keep on coming in, so there is never been a point where there's been no cats at all. It's important to know too, that a spayed male cat is not aggressively territorial. Younger male cats looking for territory move in more easily. My male cat is spayed and he was harassed by one huge male trying to evict him from our yard. Solution? We borrowed the vet's cat trap, captured the intruder and sent him to be spayed. The vet released him in the same area. He never came back.
There is always the risk that a trapped cat actually has an (irresponsible) owner who may protest or not for unauthorized spaying, but our vet leaves the scrotum in place (just a cosmetic effect though) so visually there is no change.
Oddly, this paragraph reminded me of Japan's shrinking population, too. Kittens: children; new cats moving in: foreigners; non-reproducing cats: Japanese (non hafu or nissei or any of the denominations considered by Japanese society to need a prefix or special name of any sort for being "mixed"). It's... disturbing, but it might be the same in the end.
Posted in: NPO provides unusual solution to Japan’s feral cat problem
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Azrael
If the link doesn't work, here's the whole webpage: http://models.com/oftheminute/?p=2105&page=14
Posted in: Ken Watanabe’s daughter spotted dating actor Yukiyoshi Ozawa
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Azrael
She looks better here: http://i.models.com/oftheminute/images/2007/09/2105/14AnneWatanabe.jpg
I think she looks nice. Anyway, beauty is relative to the weather, lighting and the skill of the photographer. Even models don't look good in every photograph. As for the news itself, well I hope she finds happiness and the guy is not a poor choice. Perhaps older men still have the chance to have some maturity nowadays in comparison to 20sumtin guys.
Posted in: Ken Watanabe’s daughter spotted dating actor Yukiyoshi Ozawa
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Azrael
I remember the first time I wore a yukata; one of my friends let me borrow one and her grandmother dressed me up. Her grandma said I should remove my bra and change into a camisole and petticoats. I did so in another room and came back. The grandmother admonished my friend saying, "I told you to ask her to remove her bra!" My friend smiled apologetically and said, "She already did."
All brassieres in Japan are extra-padded, regardless the size (unless it's a sports bra, they are lightly padded). I saw the bra-tops at Muji last week and I was really tempted to get one, but I don't think they offer enough support, and for some reason the cups are too close at the center, making it difficult to keep them in place. The cups are so thick the bra-top looks like it already has someone inside. In the end, I didn't buy it. I've not tried the Uniqlo models, but I don't think I will.
Posted in: No-bra gear may gain ground this summer
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Azrael
... And yet, this beacon of mankind (yet unabashedly American) in his second coming had to stand behind a row of Japanese girls holding their ticket to the Enterprise in their cutesy outfits and colorful socks; the faces of the Enterprise crew were reflecting the deep and somehow lonely confusion only space travelers know. Interesting irony right there. The past Kirk was quite international - there's Trekkies around the world to prove it. Star Trek promoted a vision of a future where your nationality, the color of your skin, your gender and your social standing did not affect your ambitions and discrimination was successfully eradicated; an utopian land of opportunity. It wasn't American in fact, because the United States of America lost its power to the benefit of the world - gone was the American fist. The US was only one country among many in earthly peace. Cool, isn't it? Kirk was an honest man in his own way and not just more equal than others. The second coming of Kirk (wow) looks fine, so far. Outstanding performance, I'd say. After reading this article, the photo of the day where the Enterprise crew was the background of a few to me unknown Japanese singers looks even sadder than before... and somehow, delightfully amusing.
I hope I won't be honored with the new alien card equipped with a microchip that reveals my life numbers (possibly including my bank account - wow) to every Japanese official. Scotty, beam me up.
Posted in: Capt Kirk, American icon?
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Azrael
She has to bow down in salute wearing that?
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Azrael
Indeed, by saying the photos if released would endanger the American troops and casually dropping references to Abu Grahib in the same statement makes a powerful image in itself, along the lines of "there is no need to see the photos to know what they contain, from Obama's words," for example. "Not sensational" is a poor choice of words, too - it sounds dismissive after admitting the photos could "further inflame anti-American opinion." Anyway, that article was an interesting read.
Posted in: Obama says releasing detainee abuse photos would endanger U.S. troops