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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DS
These days there are myriad alternatives that are closer to a 'real' Christmas dinner. Supermarkets like Jusco and Apita sell roasted chicken, either in pieces or whole birds. If you live near a Brazilian supermarket they also sell cooked birds, usually for cheap (around 1000 yen). If money is no object, you can order from places like The Meat Guy too.
No reason to eat Dead Bird in a Box in the year 2012.
Posted in: The KFC-Christmas connection in Japan
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DS
Newt's the smartest guy running, on both sides. Unfortunately, he also has the most baggage. A GOP version of Hillary Clinton, but with more political experience.
He'd be great in an advisory capacity, thought. Definitely NOT a guy you would want to face in a debate.
Posted in: Gingrich wins New Hampshire newspaper backing as Romney plugs along
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DS
Wow, terrible story Tedei.... I'm in my 20th year of marriage and things are much much better. I think if you can actually communicate well (in either language) it helps a lot. We lived half our married life back home, and half here. Also have a teenager, but that's where the similarity ends. The in-laws stay out of our lives, we have date nights at least twice a month, etc. It takes a lot of work ,but the rewards are greater.
Posted in: 61% of single men aged 18-34 have no girlfriend; 49% of women unattached: survey
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DS
I blame the whole "parasite single" phenomenon for this. Take a 30 year old OL, living at home, no chores to do, no rent/expenses to pay, mom makes her lunch, can spend her entire income on her selfish self. She has no experience trying to look after herself. What incentive does she have to marry, start to budget her money, learn to compromise with her man, possible (gasp) learn a little self sacrifice...
Parents who enable their children to stay children well into their twenties and thirties are a big problem.
Some of my students ask me the best way to get a girl (me being the grizzled veteran of a 20 year marriage). My answer? Cook. Invite a girl back to your place for a home cooked meal. A nice pasta, few bottles of wine, watch a DVD or two, then oh no the last train's gone already...
Great advice, but if they still live at home, they are shafted. Young people need privacy and independence to begin starting adult relationships with each other. If they can't even act as adults themselves, the whole process is dead on arrival.
Posted in: 61% of single men aged 18-34 have no girlfriend; 49% of women unattached: survey
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DS
Himajin, you are right that "educating oneself is never a waste".
However, where I teach (an all-girls university), that is not happening. The girls are NOT educating themselves. They are spending their parents' money. And at the end of 4 years and 6 million yen, their ambition is to find a husband to take care of them (at least in 80% of the cases).
I also have countless male coworkers who found that their wives, who had all been working before marriage, suddenly started to slack off after. Taught less classes, dropped to a part time work schedule, etc. Not due to pregnancy, increased load of housework, etc. Just the assumption that they would soon join the ranks of 'shufu-dom' and start playing the role of happy housewife.
Posted in: Shiseido exec fights for gender equality in Japan
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DS
The murdering scumbag has the right to write his book.
The movie company has the right to make a movie about it.
The general public has the right to ignore it.
Pretty simple really. It doesn't matter if he glorifies himself, or if the movie is accurate or not. The best way to sabotage the project is to ignore it. Let it sink into obscurity. The more rage and publicity is generated, the more people will become curious and buy/watch/read it. If you take the time to complain to the studio or to the actor, they will be pleased. After all, there is no such thing as bad publicity.
Posted in: Book by killer of British woman to become film
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DS
Just checked the Bhutan tourism homepage, and the price is going up! Soon it will be $250 per day per person. SO, for a family of four, it will cost up to $1000 per day to visit Bhutan. Sounds like a ripoff. Upwards of $5-7000 for a week? Give me a break.
Posted in: Bhutan royals' visit to Japan boosts interest in travel to their country
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DS
Cleoo, so would any good parent. However, in this case the mother did NOT do that. She selfishly stole her daughter from the only home she knew (the USA) and took her to a foreign country (Japan). The mother was thinking of herself, of revenge against the father, and not about her daughter. The mother had status in the US, she could easily have stayed there and co-parented her daughter. She chose not to.
She disrespected the court, her daughter, and the law. She lied, cheated, and was finally caught. She should NOT be allowed to profit from her immoral behavior.
The daughter won't suffer if she is returned to the land of her birth. Whether or not she WANTS to go is not relevant. That is why children get assigned parents- to make sure they do what is right, not what they want. My son WANTS to eat cake and drink Coke for breakfast, so should I let him? Of course not. His wishes aren't paramount, nor are the daughter's in this case.
Posted in: American father wins custody of daughter taken to Japan
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DS
I was thinking the whole vegan/organic movement. It's self indulgent and inefficient. Most of the world can't afford to eat this way. If all farms went organic, millions would starve. Plus, would vegans use organic waste only (such as animal poo) as an alternative to chemicals for crops? Or use no fertilizers at all? Both options reduce the crop yield. It is wasteful use of valuable agricultural land.
Comparing to meat production is of course, comparing apples to oranges (or steaks to oranges).
Posted in: Veganism has some stylish new spokespeople: Celebs
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DS
Nothing like a group of pretentious limousine borgeosie (sp) congratulating themselves on how clever they are. There's nothing wrong with eating a variety of healthful foods, and of course raw foods are part of that. But, humans have emerged at the top of the food chain for a reason. Not to mention, it seems that producing wholly vegan food is very wasteful and bad for the environment.
Making cheese out of cashew nuts? Please. Leave them as is, throw on a bit of salt, and have them with a cold beer while watching a football game.
Posted in: Veganism has some stylish new spokespeople: Celebs
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DS
Foreign policy doesnt matter in the big picture. Elections are won and lost on the economy. This is particularly true now, since Obama has copied and expanded so much of the Bush administration's policy.
Get rid of the deficit, get spending under control, pass a budget (something the Obama administration has failed to do for years), give the economy a chance to recover. Those are the issues that will decide the election.
Posted in: Republican rivals debate foreign policy
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DS
Cleo;
A child with divorced parents, who is bicultural, who is living with grandparents, and is the center of a custody battle, would probably benefit greatly from some counselling or support, don't you think? Unfortunately, Japan does not have a very good record in emotional or mental health care.
Plus, even if her father is given generous visitation, experience has shown that visitation is not enforcable in Japan. There are simply no mechanisms in place to ensure that the non-custodial parent is able to enforce the court's decisions. That is the crux of the matter. If she moves to the US, she has a chance to see both parents. If she stays in Japan, she will never see her father again.
Posted in: American father wins custody of daughter taken to Japan
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DS
I would like to add that, for all the faux generalizations and 'wisdom' in this latest blog offering, it did have one shining bright spot. Makoto's precious "MBA programme" wasn't mentioned. For that alone, it was worth reading.
As for the myth that Japanese are cold and unphysical, I have a question- just where does the katakana word "Skinship" come from? And why is it necessary if there is no physical affection in Japan? I see lots of familial affection here that would raise eyebrows back home-families bathing together, sleeping in a communal futon, massaging each other....
I think things fall apart at the couple/romantic level. Japanese have less sex than most other nationalities according to most research. There is often much less casual contact and intimacy between couples.
And as another writer said, the absolute WORST buzz kill is when couples call each other "oto-san" and "0ka-san". I mean directly when addressing each other, not merely referring to each other. I have even heard foreigners doing so- wow. No need to go into details, but I can't see it being very stimulating for a healthy physical relationship.
Posted in: Love without words
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DS
Bookbag;
Are you seriously suggesting that a 9 year old child be allowed to decide on custody arrangements?!?!? Given that they aren't even allowed to be left unattended for more than 10 minutes, your suggestion borders on the ridiculous.
This girl was already ripped from her native land (America). She needs to be returned there, to a father who loves her and is willing to get her the professional support she may need. Can her mother offer the same? I don't think so.
Posted in: American father wins custody of daughter taken to Japan
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DS
Gyouza, you would still be wrong. Marriage of convenience as a cover for prostitution isnt necessary. "Entertainer" visas and illegally overstaying toursit visas can do the job just as well.
Now, as for the topic at hand... the girl needs to be returned to her father, the legal guardian as recognized by courts in two countries. How she enjoys her childhood and adjusts doesn't really depend on WHERE she lives, it depends on HOW she lives. If she has a loving parent/s and supportive family, then she will be just fine. Of course there will be a period of adjustment, but children are not delicate little hothouse flowers. They are flexible. She has already witnessed the trauma of her parents' divorce, compared to that the choice of residence is nothing.
Until Japan gets with the 21st century and joins the world in putting the interests of children first, this kind of thing is going to happen again and again. The girl needs to be with the stable parent, the one who has proven capable of raising her, and the one willing to provide her with stability. In this case, her father.
Posted in: American father wins custody of daughter taken to Japan
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DS
Sushi;
Closing the Iraq War? I'll believe it when I see it. He's just trying to re-name the mission as "training" rather than "combat", but the reality is that there are still tens of thousands of US troops there.
As for health care, don't confuse a level of health CARE with a level of health insurance. The vast majority of Americans were satisfied with their health care when Obama was elected. Of course, the system wasnt perfect, but it shouldnt have been a priority. He squandered vast political capital on trying to fix something that wasnt an immediate priority.
As to your point about only Americans having valid views on American threads...... sorry but that is plain ignorance. Do YOU restrict yourself\? Do you refrain from commenting on threads about other countries- Japan, Greece, etc? I doubt it.
Posted in: Failure looms for U.S. debt talks
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DS
I say cut down on ALL the wars. Obama is following in the tradition of warmonger Democratic presidents. He expanded Afghanistan, illegally bombed Libya, expanded the predator drone campaign, failed to close Gitmo...
Posted in: Failure looms for U.S. debt talks
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DS
And in other news, a Balanced Budget Bill was defeated in Congress by........... which party?
The problem isn't revenue, it has been relatively steady. The problem is spending. The gov't is borrowing nearly 4 BILLION dollars every day to fund their programmes. You could confiscate the entire wealth of "the 1%" and it wouldn't pay for a year of government deficit.
Politicians love to thow around big sounding numbers, like "a 300 billion dollar spending cut", without adding little details like it is spread over 10 years, or projected against anticipated revenue, or...
To repeat. The problem isn'T executive compensation. That's a red herring. Or taxes/tax breaks. That's a distraction too. The problem purely is spending. Spending is outstripping revenue by 30%. This is unsustainable.
Posted in: Failure looms for U.S. debt talks
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DS
Whales are just another renewable resource, like any other sea creature. As long as they arent hunted to extinction, it's nobody's business. If the whales were so intelligent, they would avoid being caught in the first place.
For those who are confident the whaling industry would die, why not put that thesis to the test? Allow Japan to hunt unmolested by Sea Hippies for a couple seasons. See if they can make enough money to sustain the industry. If there truly is no market for whale products, those who make their livings on the hunt will soon turn to other pursuits. Let the marketplace do its magic.
Posted in: Japanese whaling: Why the West is in the wrong
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DS
Fascist government? Give me a break. The fascists are the ones trying to run the Occupy camps as their own personal fiefdoms, restricting press access and shouting down those who disagree. There is nothing wrong with peaceful protest. There IS something wrong with taking public space and expropriating it for your group's exclusive use.
Posted in: Canada shuts down Occupy protests