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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U.S. Navy investigating how parts fell off aircraft near Atsugi
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California court to decide if SeaWorld whales are illegal 'slaves'
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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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KumaNiku
I've seen live displays of Yabusame and I've loved it ever since. It is impressive to say the least - I can only imagine what a battlefield in the 1400s must have looked like with dozens, if not hundreds of Horse Archers moving and firing as one.
Posted in: Samurai archery, an ancient sport, still thrives in Japan
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KumaNiku
For a nation and culture that is supposedly 'in touch with/close to nature', Japan sure likes to concrete things and destroy the natural world. When I was living in Tokyo, I ended up not caring about the recycling, as regardless of what it was, it went to the incinerator which made the careflul sorting of plastics, etc. pointless. Not to mention the amount of packaging on things....
Less trash, less fuss for sure - especially in Japan.
Posted in: It isn’t easy being green in Japan
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KumaNiku
Not if you're a free thinking athiest who realises that a person is more than a pre-determined drone who must have blind devotion to fear-mongering 'god'.
That aside, I found her very interesting and quite insightful with more than a few of her comments and opinions, even if I didn't agree with all of them. A sad loss indeed.
Posted in: Former porn star Ai Iijima found dead at Tokyo apartment
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KumaNiku
Wasn't there the 'Six Hats Method' by Edward De Bono that supposedly revolutionised thinking at corporate and governmental levels? It seems that every few years there is another incredible life changing, business energizing thinking theory comes along.
Ultimately they come down to keeping things objective, doing away with unnecessary chatter etc. encouraging creativity and thinking outside the system parameters (outside the box). Oddly enough in my experience, the Japanese workplace doesn't seem to encourage these things at all.
Well, whatever works for you.
Posted in: Ask why: American states seek efficiency via Japanese way
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KumaNiku
Agree. Because the F35 is already a Multinational project, Japan can benefit from the large economy of scale and shared development. Also, there is nothing to stop Japan from (attmepting to at least) from integrating its own systems and manufacturing. And because of the large number of users, the F35 will have a consistent stream of support, improvements, shared experiences and benefits.
The F35 is a cost-effective deterrent (amongst other things) with huge growth potential well into the future. I don't sound too much like a sales rep for LockMart, do I?
Posted in: Japan likely to drop plan to buy F-22 fighters
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KumaNiku
Why would Japan want to be the sole user of something that isn't past or going past the prototype stage? If they were going to do that, they may as well start from scratch and develop and build their own - then, at least they would own the development and things associated with it.
Modifying a 4th gen to be like a 5th gen is not the same as having a proper 5th gen by a long shot. Also, Boeing's performance on contract deliveries has been well below par lately (Wedgetail, etc.) so there would be no guarantees at all about actually getting what they want anyway.
Remember, this is about giving Japan a plane that can provide capability for the next few decades, not a short interim stop gap measure like the Gripen.
Posted in: Japan likely to drop plan to buy F-22 fighters
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KumaNiku
It would appear that way, but if you define 'cheaper' in terms of the role requirements, lifespan, development potential and capability, the Gripen is not a good choice. It was developed as modern lightweight 'budget' fighter, but since its inception, the Gripen has been overtaken by technology, new requirements and international projects (see Sweden's whining over the Norwegian's choice of the F35 over the Gripen). As a result, the Gripen has had no export success, despite agressive marketing. In the end, it results in a more expensive plane with further limited potential.
As for the F22 - it is a superb plane, no question. However, it is not right for Japan. If Japan wants to be economical, it will need to go for few platforms - the F22 is a Air to Air fighter, but having just F22s will leave a capability gap in the JASDF, hence my championing of the F35 as the all round multirole solution for Japan.
Posted in: Japan likely to drop plan to buy F-22 fighters
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KumaNiku
That's all well and good, but there are far better platforms than the Gripen such as the F35, Typhoon or even the Rafale. Why would Japan want to become an arms exporter anyway? The market for that is far too crowded already and Japan is not well placed to become part of it. Japan should look to its own needs before even thinking about exporting arms.
itcher74 - I understand what you are saying, and I agree to a point - but placing the all the blame on the 'military industrial complex' of the USA for the current economic woes does not do the issue justice at all.
Again, the F35 is the best option for Japan in my humble opinion. And no - I don't work for LockMart.
Posted in: Japan likely to drop plan to buy F-22 fighters
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KumaNiku
Commercializing the arms industry will makes things far worse. Arms is a non returning industry - that is, arms are produced for non economic reasons. The same materials that are used to produce weapons could also be used to produce for example, trucks which then can carry goods for commerce.
As for the US going bankrupt, it is not due to military spending alone - there are many other factors at play. Besides, producing more doesn't mean actually selling more, which is what the US needs to do.
Defence/Military spending is about Military needs, not economic ones (or should be, rather).
Posted in: Japan likely to drop plan to buy F-22 fighters
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KumaNiku
Why have a flotilla when you can have 1 ship (a carrier or an LSD)? Japan doesn't need Nimitz size carriers (historical precedents notwithstanding) - perhaps something the size of the Pincipe de Asturias or Invincible, if thier only role is self defence. Anything bigger is for power projection. In fact, if it is only for self defence, why have seaborne fighters at all?
Posted in: Japan likely to drop plan to buy F-22 fighters
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KumaNiku
The Gripen is an unproven 4th Generation fighter with very limited growth potential. Considering that Sweden is the only other major operator, it would be a strategic orphan, difficult and expensive to improve. The same could be said for the F22 (from what I understand, the USAF is having difficulty keeping up with thier own spares/parts requirements for what is still less than half a projected fleet of the F22) Mind you, the F2 was a classic case of unnecessary over-overdevelopment - delayed and far more expensive than it should have been.
Perhaps the biggest advantage of the F35 is that it is a multinational project - there is or will be no shortage of parts, development and upgrades throughout its life. Also, I personally predict that the will be extremely hard to match in Air to Air Combat - remember that modern air warfare is not twist and turn knife fights like WW2 or Top Gun - the advantages go to those with superior detection, intelligence, networking, visability (radar, etc.) which the F35 has in spades in almost all other planes flying today, or indeed will fly into the forseeable future.
Another advantage of the F35 for Japan will be the economy of scale - if Japan is content with procuring rather than producing them themselves.
Ultimately, Japan needs to look at what it needs - rather than what is flashy and new. Producing its own plane will be expensive and pointless unless constitutional restrictions are changed. Even then, how many export customers would Japan have considering that they would be competing with the Europeans, Americans, Chinese, Russians.......
One more thing, putting small numbers of F35Bs (the VSTOL variant) on DDHs is pointless - you need at least a wing (12 or more Aircraft) for them to be effective, taking into account operation tempo and coverage.
/nerd rant off
Posted in: Japan likely to drop plan to buy F-22 fighters
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KumaNiku
Or d) Smart enough to realise that trying to holiday at this time in Japan is probably one of the most stressing times of the year.
The last Christmas/New Year period I spent in Japan, I purposely decided to work and spend time around the town - noticably fewer people (entirely relative of course) and those that stayed seemed to be less stressed than those who actually went away. Still, it wouldn't be Japan without it.
Posted in: New Year's holiday departure rush begins
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KumaNiku
Good. he US did allow export of the F22 (Which they won't) it would be an 'export' version with all the stuff that makes it an excellent fighter toned down or taken out, and then the JASDF would be left with essentially a upgraded F15 rather than a whole new platform.
In my opinion, there are only 2 real contenders for a new pane for the JASDF - the Typhoon and the F35 which, despite some naysayers who don't have all the facts or are biased against it, is shaping up to be the penultimate 5th Generation multirole fighter, more advanced than anything the Russians or Chinese can produce into the forseeable future.
Now, cue the 'Russian/Chinese planes are superior' crowd....
Posted in: Japan likely to drop plan to buy F-22 fighters
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KumaNiku
It is nice - I still want the GTR before it though.
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KumaNiku
I doubt that the world will do much about this. We all stood by in the 1990s and watched the Congo civil war kill in the order of 3 million people. Again, there will be headlines and articles, but those who can do something about it won't do anything. After all, they're only Africans.
Posted in: U.N. says Congolese troops raped civilians, pillaged villages
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KumaNiku
They were public figures because they were going to be executed - locking them away in tough conditions for the rest of thier lives would have been a worse punishment and eventually they would have faded into obscurity.
Remember - the overwhelming population of Indonesia are moderate 'normal' people like most of us here. As I stated before - it's always the nutters who get the headlines.
I did not and have not advocated the 'look the other way' approach. I simply believe in upholding my standards of justice in the fight against terrorism - because it is not a war of bombings and arrests, it is a war of ideas and principle. If that sounds high falutin' or 'soft' to you, then so be it. The problem of extremism is complex and nuanced, and a brash, ignorant, 'kill 'em all' strategy is bound to fail. This fight requires a multi layered approach which does not rely on headlines and tabloid individuals such as yourself baying for blood.
My comparitively very safe country with a high standard of living? By the way, I'm not in Japan. Singapore is a good example of a One party Police State. I like Singapore - but I value democratic debate and choices. If a bit of graffiti is the price of that, so be it. Also - graffiti is a very long comparison to make with terrorism.
As for the 'soft' approach not making a society peaceful - China isn't a country with the 'soft' approach and they aren't peaceful. Nazi Germany wasn't 'soft' and that wasn't peaceful.
I have a life, and a good one at that thank you very much. If you want to disagree with my points, by all means do so, but do not make it personal. Learn to space and paragraph properly, too.
KN
Posted in: 3 Bali bombers executed
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KumaNiku
So, if Obama and the Democrats are wrong and can't do anything right, and only the Republicans can do it properly, why have a Democracy? Why not strive for a Republican one party state? At least then you wouldn't have to worry about those dastardly lefties and people with a different point of view.
Again, equating Obama with Hitler is just silly (which Paul Broun effectively is) and does nothing for the man's paranoid, one-eyed image.
KN
Posted in: U.S. congressman warns of Obama dictatorship
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KumaNiku
Agreed, we don't know what will happen. But I for one, am optimistic because I'd rather be optimistic and wrong than pessimistic and right.
Posted in: U.S. congressman warns of Obama dictatorship
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KumaNiku
He could be referring to reorganising and strengthening the FBI, ATF, etc. We don't know and that's the point. Until more information comes to light, specualting only fuels paranoia.
Obama is right about this though - Terrorism is a security issue, not a military one. A clear set of boundries, laws and limits with proper funding to the appropriate agencies are required for national security - not carte-blanche powers that promote sloppy investigative work and 'arrest statistics'.
"This is scary stuff! I'm glad I don't live there."
I can think of many other places with much more intrusive state security agencies than the US. Despite its problems and challenges, the US is still far ahead of most places in ther world in which I personally would live.
KN
Posted in: U.S. congressman warns of Obama dictatorship
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KumaNiku
With all due respect; this conspiracy theory about Obama being 'socialist' or Stalinist or even facist makes its proponents look like laughable, bitter and sulky high school students whose friend lost the class president election.
Fact is, we don't know what Obama intends. We can safely say though, it will not be 'proletarian guard', and its mandate would not exceed constitutional limits.
Obama needs to be treated like any other president - credit where credit is due and criticism when it is needed. Sensationalist name calling and hand wringing is neither - it is just rumor spreading and name calling reminiscent of the school yard and cafeteria full of Princesses, Jocks, Rednecks and Hippies.
KN
Posted in: U.S. congressman warns of Obama dictatorship