JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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To be healthy, live in the big city
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Japan's nuclear safety standards flawed, says commission chief
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Teacher nabbed for using miror to peek up girl's skirt
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From carnivores to herbivores: how men are defined in Japan
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Why do Japanese change their attitude when they communicate with foreigners?
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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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Cicada
Why is she carrying such a precious violin while she is a "tourist on a trip"? Immigration authorities should have another look.
Posted in: 18-year-old Japanese woman loses Y8 mil antique violin on Austrian subway
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smith:
Why so pessimistic? Look at the bright side.
How many 16 year old daughters are not dating 38 year old losers?
The father is in big trouble, but the daughter has a bright future ahead of her.
Posted in: Kumamoto man arrested after fatally stabbing his daughter’s 38-year-old boyfriend
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Doctors in hospitals use alcohol all the time, to wash their hands. Maybe they could compromise with vodka ads emphasizing the anti-septic properties.
Posted in: British doctors call for ban on all alcohol ads
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Harry:
At least it's a cut above synchronized swimming. The Olympics seems to include lots of non-sports, where the judging is quite subjective. Some of the announcers are quite boring too, with their stupid emphasis on whether or not a skater nearly fell on their arse or whatever.
Maybe there should be a new category for "most creative announcer". It might be nice to hear some wacky commentary for a change.
Article Unavailable
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Why the definite article? Was there only one "holocaust"? For example, in Ruanda and Cambodia the killing was far more efficient.
I found an answer to this question -- interesting short discussion of the term at http://www.thefreedictionary.com/holocaust
The primary definition is:
so I guess only 31% of the Panel approves an extension to cover "lack of water".
Posted in: U.N. caught in Gaza dispute over study of Holocaust
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wmd:
No, Debito is not fighting for anyone, short or long term. I'm a long termer and I have yet to meet any other long termer who thinks otherwise. Only on the Internet I read such comments, which are most likely produced by Debito's little gang of supporters.
And to reiterate, Debito is not himself a long termer. He is a Japanese, a tenured professor whose "research" is constituted by these phony crusades of his. It is nothing more than self-promotion. He goes all out with publicity-seeking, so that even if we did not want to know about him and his foolish exploits, we have to read about them from time to time.
Now, in this case, he chose to take on Mr James. Possibly he is truly offended that McDonald's did not use him as a model instead. But complaining about the "racism" of Mr James is about as silly and ludicrous as one can get.
bgaudry:
Wouldn't be surprising. Or maybe Debito has realized that he is no match for Mr James.
Posted in: Mr James
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Cicada
So the convenience store filmed the man filming the girls. Technology against technology. A sign of the times.
At least the guy was not driving his truck while taking photos... and btw whatever happened to that JR train driver?...
Posted in: Truck driver arrested for taking photos up skirts of school girls
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smartacus:
Self-preservation?
Posted in: Kennedy memoir reveals remorse over fatal accident
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masswipe:
Yes, this is the source of the portrayal as developed by the ad agency.
Yes, but as several posters pointed out, the Mr James character is not perceived by most people as a negative one. Common sense would dictate that the "mascot" selling a product is not designed to induce negative feelings. So Debito Arudou has a tough sell on that point.
spudman:
You are correct that I do not know everything there is to know about Debito Arudou and his activities, for I am definitely not a fan. I'm familiar, from his website, with a series of lawsuits he got involved with, which accomplished absolutely nothing for foreigners, and actually tended to hurt those who cooperated with him.
And despite your post, I am no wiser now. "Those people" -- exactly to whom are you referring? Are you suggesting that Arudou has made a difference to many people in the area of housing? You don't provide substantiation, so I somehow doubt that escapade had any more significance than his other ones, which have benefitted no one but himself.
The ill feeling he arouses amongst both Japanese and foreigners certainly does nothing to improve anyone's image of foreigners.
And of course the fact is that Debito Arudou is not a foreigner. He is Japanese, an elite tenured professor enjoying all sorts of benefits that ordinary foreigners will never enjoy, including a lot of free time to launch campaigns against McDonalds. But if he helped a few people rent the house they wanted, good for him.
Posted in: Mr James
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mnemosyne, great post!
Yes, but I think the "sometimes" is closer to "always" with feral animals.
To the others, yes I may have exaggerated the psychological profile of people who feed cats and pigeons, but I am referring to people who habitually feed them every day on a large scale, without the slightest regard for the effects on neighbors. Nearly always these people are mentally unstable, and unable to form relations with others. That was the case here I think, regrettably.
Posted in: Woman murdered after argument with man over feeding stray cats
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helloklitty:
This is a very perceptive question. Mr James is a clown in the sense that he is a stand-in for Ronald the Clown.
Debito Arudou is a phony because he is not even a Gaijin but he pretends to represent Gaijin. He is, however, a Clown nonetheless and many people mistakenly believe he is a foreigner.
I think your statement is vague to the point of meaninglessness.
If you are trying to say that Debito Arudou has been a help to resident foreigners, why not specify exactly how he has helped what group of foreigners? Tenured professors that meet with him over coffee to discuss frivolous lawsuits that accomplish nothing?
If so, then yes, I agree he has helped them learn how to make some extra money by giving "inspirational" lectures (this great advice is on his website). Not much to sink one's teeth into...
Posted in: Mr James
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tomtokyo: good post!
Yet another irony of the little Debito Arudou gang is that they loudly proclaim that Arudou somehow stands for (or represents) resident foreigners in Japan, but --alas-- Debito Arudou is not a resident foreigner, he's a Japanese!! He does not speak for 99% of foreigners in Japan. He could speak for resident naturalized citizens, I guess, but I doubt that group wants to be represented by him, either.
I'm rather glad he went on his Mr James campaign trail, because it shows more clearly than ever what a phony clown he is.
In great contrast, Mr James is a real clown selling real burgers and attracting a real following. Still, let's give credit where credit is due. Debito Arudou, and his tiny groupie following of wannabe crusaders, are good for laughs, even when they themselves don't seem to get the joke.
Posted in: Mr James
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hoserfella
gamera99, jeffrey
I concur with Jeffrey too. For some reason, there is a small group of loudmouths going around extolling Aldwinckle as the "Rosa Parks of Japan", but he never has done a darn thing for anyone here. The vast majority of long-termers in Japan regard him with disdain at best.
But Mr James is another story! He has done more for foreigners in Japan in a few short weeks than Aldwinckle has done over the years with his useless self-aggrandizing.
Apparently, McD's realized that Mr James is the best sort of clown, and Aldwinckle is miffed.
Posted in: Mr James
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Cicada
I don't want to see them bring about any changes at all. I would be grateful, though, if they managed to avoid making things worse. But I suspect the greatest achievment will be to lose the next election.
Posted in: For you personally, what changes would you like to see the new DPJ government bring about in Japan?
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This is what Richard Nixon called "peace with honor". There was great success with it back then, so it is not surprising that the generals are so confident.
Posted in: U.S., NATO need new strategy to defeat Taliban, says general
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nipponreddog:
Mr James reminds me of a lot of JT posters. That character is an accurate portrayal of the typical foreigner one can see lurking all over Japan. He even looks a little like Debito Arudou, "the chairman of the Foreign Residents and Naturalized Citizens’ Association of Japan". I think it is this uncanny resemblance that has upset and embarassed these wannabe crusaders.
bgaudry:
Well, no. There is no discrepancy between goal and result. The "intention" of JET is twofold: 1) give many foreigners a chance to see Japan in a superficial way 2) give many Japanese a chance to see foreigners in a superficial way
And that is exactly what happens, so it is a success, and this "success" is not accidental.
Mr James might as well be in the JET program teaching kiddies how to say Big Mac.
Posted in: Mr James
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Unbelievable attempt to excuse the parole officer who should have been thoroughly examining the property on each visit.
That officer should be prosecuted, but don't hold your breath.
Posted in: Horror story emerges after woman kidnapped as child resurfaces 18 years later
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Potsu: I agree. She probably parked in the hottest space available.
Posted in: Baby boy dies in locked car while mother plays pachinko in Akita
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seeker1
I may have exaggerated, but rarely is anyone forced to take a job in which the pay is based largely on tipping. They do it because they think they can make money, and the whole system is unfair. Ugly women are tipped less as waitresses, for example.
I never tip, whatever the service is like. I am not the manager, judging and deciding how much they will be paid. If I am to do that, I myself should be paid. The managers and owners should decide what wages are appropriate and pay the workers themselves. Leave me out of it.
Posted in: What do you think of the tipping system in restaurants, taxis, etc?
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Cicada
No, I'd say it is the stray-cat feeding idiot who "threw it all away" by killing the woman who was tired of him attracting thousands of cats to the neighborhood.
People who regularly feed stray animals are heartless fools with no friends. They need the "affection" of animals who come to them for food. And more often than not, as this woman found out too late, they have a violent streak and are infested with hatred of fellow humans.
Posted in: Woman murdered after argument with man over feeding stray cats