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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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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LFRAgain
Oikiwa,
What a staggeringly incomprehensible argument for labelling an entire prefecture "dangerous." So if a robbery and murder happen to occur in Fukui-ken next week, will it usurp Shimane's "dangerous" crown? How absurd.
You know why stuff like this makes the news? Because it's news, i.e., not something that normally happens.
When I look at the statistics for crime in Shimane Prefecture versus crime in, say, Hiroshima Prefecture, and see that there is one committed for every 145 population in Hiroshima, versus one for every 220 in Shimane, and place that against my personal experiences over the past 10 years of living and working in the Shimane area, I can only surmise you haven't the foggiest idea what you're talking about.
Two articles found on a Japan news website do not an informed opinion make. And to so very clearly do so makes you look profoundly silly, to say the least. Next time, probe a little deeper before issuing Chicken Little pronouncements that aren't supported by the facts.
Posted in: 89-year-old man stabbed to death in Shimane
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LFRAgain
Statistically, no, that isn't true. Shimane is a fairly quiet place and this kind of violence doesn't happen.
Posted in: 89-year-old man stabbed to death in Shimane
4
LFRAgain
NetNinja
Umm... Japan has never had a communist government, much less been a communist society. In it's entire history, it's seen feudal monarchies and military dictatorships, and of course, it's current form of democracy. But that's pretty much it. In fact, much of Japan's motivation for invading China in the 1930s was in fierce opposition to the communism that was spreading from Russia.
Perhaps you're thinking of some of the more socialist elements of Japanese society, or rather its collectivist traditions versus American individualist traditions. But it's never been about communism.
But I will agree with you that it becomes a bit tedious to have to listen to an almost daily dose of how it's so much better for me to do A, B, or C, with the benefits of eating natto almost invariably being included in that mix somehowe.
Still, I don't think the government is so much mandating that people keep their homes at 20 degrees and dress more warmly as they are suggesting it as a way to cooperatively deal with potential energy shortages during the coming winter.
It's not a whole lot different from communities in the United States during WWII asking the public to conserve certaqin raw materials in order to help out with the war effort. Not so much a command as a request for the common good.
Posted in: Japanese urged to wrap up as Warm Biz gets under way
1
LFRAgain
papasmurfinjapan,
Indeed! How've you been?
I do understand that physical ability deteriorates over time. But I just don't see how that would have made much of a difference in this case. The baby was under the bus, after all.
And that's something that needs to be clarified. The bus did not "strike" the child, i.e., the child was in the path of a moving vehicle. Rather, the bus ran over a child that was crawling beneath it. That's a very big distinction, as far as I'm concerned.
But in a broader sense, yes, I admit that a split-second of reaction time can be the crucial difference between life and death. So yes, in principle, a 20-year-old has a reflex advantage over a 70-year-old, particularly if we're talking about someone stepping into the path of a moving vehicle.
But then again, there's a lot to be said for experience and the ability to remain calm in a crisis that older people possess in greater quantities than someone who is younger -- hence the lower insurance premiums the elderly enjoy.
How either youth or experience could have prevented this accident is beyond me, though. Short of bus drivers (or any driver, for that matter) disembarking to do a visual check around and under the vehicle every single time they came to a stop, I can't see any way the driver could have avoided running over this child.
Posted in: Kindergarten bus driver held over girl's death
4
LFRAgain
papasmurfinjapan,
Indeed! How've you been?
I do understand that physical ability deteriorates over time. But I just don't see how that would have made much of a difference in this case. The baby was under the bus, after all.
And that's something that needs to be clarified. The bus did not "strike" the child, i.e., the child was in the path of a moving vehicle. Rather, the bus ran over a child that was crawling beneath it. That's a very big distinction, as far as I'm concerned.
But in a broader sense, yes, I admit that a split-second of reaction time can be the crucial difference between life and death. So yes, in principle, a 20-year-old has a reflex advantage over a 70-year-old, particularly if we're talking about someone stepping into the path of a moving vehicle.
But then again, there's a lot to be said for experience and the ability to remain calm in a crisis that older people possess in greater quantities than someone who is younger -- hence the lower insurance premiums the elderly enjoy.
How either youth or experience could have prevented this accident is beyond me, though. Short of bus drivers (or any driver, for that matter) disembarking to do a visual check around and under the vehicle every single time they came to a stop, I can't see any way the driver could have avoided running over this child.
Posted in: Kindergarten bus driver held over girl's death
12
LFRAgain
Yeah, those damned old people are always underfoot. Because we all know 68 is the benchmark for instant blindness and the inability to operate motor vehicles (rolls eyes).
The child crawled under the bus. If the mother who was OUTSIDE of the the bus didn't notice her own daughter crawling under it, how in the world was the driver inside expected to know?
This tragedy could have been prevented if the mother had exercised simple common sense. I mean, who lets a 1-year-old crawl around near a street, much less a bus?
I feel for the driver. This is truly going to haunt him for the rest of his life.
Posted in: Kindergarten bus driver held over girl's death
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LFRAgain
Also, eikaiwa companies like Nova or Aeon just aren't up to the task of helping to create the kind of workforce that the public education system can't, yet companies like Rakuten still desperately need in this competitive global economy.
Furthermore, no company is going to go the way of the Ministry of Education's fading JET Programme, and import planeloads of scarcely qualified native English speakers to sit around staffrooms on hefty salaries to become chit-chat buddies for any staff that has the time or inclination to sit down and have a conversation with them. Never mind that these native English speakers would likely not be well versed in the international business terminology that lends any value to Rakuten's efforts.
In the absence of practical, context-appropriate opportunities to speak with native speakers (or even non-Japanese non-native English speakers), why not make it mandatory for the Japanese staff improve proficiency via their colleagues? Because it may appear silly? Well, pissing away trillions of yen on English language education to no visible end seems a whole lot sillier, IMO.
Obviously, the devil is in the details of how Rakuten pursues this policy, and maybe that's where you take issue with the company's decision to do it. But I can think of a whole lot of other more valid reasons to question the efficacy of such a policy than calling it "stupid."
Posted in: Adopting English as workplace language in Japan has its downside
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LFRAgain
Could you possibly elaborate? What concrete actions or policies have led you to believe Rakuten's English-only policy is a charade or PR stunt?
With respect, I disagree.
Considering Japan has had English language education as a core part of the standard curriculum since 1947, yet the most likely English phrase you'll encounter in Japan is, "I can't speak English," it's probably not such a bad idea for companies like Rakuten to try to do something different from what have very clearly been underwhelming results for the public education system as far as English education is concerned. With international aspirations, how stupid could it really be for this company to want to cultivate a workforce that takes English proficiency seriously?
Consider this as well: One of the most crucial components and quickest ways to achieving fluency in a second language is to have actual opportunities to use it in real context. Those opportunities are sparse-to-nonexistent in the Japanese corporate world.
Posted in: Adopting English as workplace language in Japan has its downside
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LFRAgain
And why would Japan have to fear losing its language? This is precisely the kind of -- and I'll be nice here --misinformed viewpoint regarding the acquisition of foreign languages that has left Japan lingering at the back of the line among Asian nations proficiency.
Sillygirl is correct. A number of Europen nations raise and educate populations that are billingual or trilingual without any threat of the mother language going the way of the dodo bird. There's no rational basis for the fear that learning a second language will destroy the first one.
Posted in: Adopting English as workplace language in Japan has its downside
1
LFRAgain
B-2 stealth bombers, while capable of carrying nuclear weapons, are not in and of themselves nuclear weapons. There's nothing dishonest about that.
Posted in: U.S.'s biggest nuclear bomb dismantled in Texas
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LFRAgain
I'm glad we've finally sorted that all out.
Posted in: Australian authorities hunt great white shark after American diver killed
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LFRAgain
As far as I know, there isn't a computer network in the world immune to being cracked by someone with the time, resources, and intent.
But I have to say, Japan seems to be suffering from some serious misconceptions about how to sucure it's digital data.
Posted in: Cyberattackers may have stolen military info from Mitsubishi Heavy
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LFRAgain
Excellent. One down. Several thousand more to go.
Although, to be fair, (and I know I'll get abused for this) history has long demonstrated the efficacy of having a bigger, better weapon than your neighbor to deter unwanted advances. Not saying it's either right or wrong, but rather that it is a reality of the human condition.
Posted in: U.S.'s biggest nuclear bomb dismantled in Texas
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LFRAgain
Sigh...
At the risk of violating forum decorum, I'M NOT SAYING STAY OUT OF THE WATER!
I'm saying that one should reasonably expect that things happen in nature that are largely beyond our control, like shark attacks. And when they do, the first reaction should NOT be to go out and start killing an endangered species. The first reaction should be, "Hey, maybe we should see where these sharks are hanging out and avoid that area for a while."
You seem to like and respect sharks. I do, too. So what's the disconnect here?
Posted in: Australian authorities hunt great white shark after American diver killed
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LFRAgain
Kamala Brown-Sparksm,
Thanks for sharing that. I agree. It behooves society as a whole to teach our children the value of treating others as we ourselves would be treated. I wouldn't go so far as to say that particular social value has completely disappeared. But it does appear to be in short supply.
Posted in: Woman dies after beating administered by son, provoked by incontinence incident
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LFRAgain
tmarie,
You really just aren't getting what I'm trying to say here. I'm not suggesting we all stay indoors or that we avoid nature wherever we encounter it. I'm suggesting that we use a modicum of common sense when traipsing around the backyard of one of the most efficient predators on the planet.
And I'm further suggesting we not freak out and throw our hands up in the air in a "let's cull the herd" tizzy (from the article, not from anything you've said) when a few folks decide to gamble against Mother Nature and lose.
Posted in: Australian authorities hunt great white shark after American diver killed
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LFRAgain
tmarie,
Are you kidding me? Did you really just suggest that sharks aren't holding up their end of some sort of unspoken bargain by not "respecting" a human's presence in their territory? Talk about absurd. Methinks you're taking this Tmarie the Shark Whisperer thing a bit far.
It also bears noting that the comment "They can't be bargained with. They can't be reasoned with. They don't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And they absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are eaten." is a slightly adapted quote from a fairly well-known 80s film with tongue placed firmly in cheek. If you aren't you aren't familiar with it, fair enough. But it's pretty clear from the rest of my posts that I don't believe it any more than I believe the asinine claim made by another poster that the oceans sharks live in don't belong to them.
We're supposedly an evolved species. The onus to exercise greater restraint and better judgment when dealing with nature fall squarely on our shoulders, not a shark's.
Posted in: Australian authorities hunt great white shark after American diver killed
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LFRAgain
tmarie,
No, I'm tarring sharks as animals that will eat when hungry and near a ready source of food. Not a whole lot unlike will. In fact, sharks tend to exercise better judgement when deciding to kill prey or not, unlike humans, who have a propensity to kill indescriminately.
Please spare me the Steve Irwin "Isn't that shark a beauty, mate?" speech. They are animals that should be afforded the proper respect when in their natural habitat.
When humans start freaking out and pondering "cullings" of this endangered species because a few divers get chomped on after swimming in the same aformentioned natural habitat, it tends to piss me off.
Stay out of the the damned water if you don't want to run the risk of getting chewed on. And if you do find yourself in the unfortunate position of getting chewed on, count yourself lucky if you happen to be able to walk away after presuming humans and sharks are ANYWHERE near the same level of understanding.
Posted in: Australian authorities hunt great white shark after American diver killed
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LFRAgain
On the contrary, this shark -- if it is indeed only one -- knows precisely what it's doing: It's hungry and knows just where to get an easy meal.
Seriously, where does all of this, "The predator seems to have acquired a taste for humans" or "the predator just doesn't know any better" silliness come from?
These are wild animals. They're predators, for Pete's sake. Eating things is what they do. They can't be bargained with. They can't be reasoned with. They don't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And they absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are eaten.
Posted in: Australian authorities hunt great white shark after American diver killed
2
LFRAgain
The Munya Times,
Sorry, but you'd be hard pressed to convince me or the majority of people who do or have lived in Japan for any appreciable length of time to buy into this blanket and wholly unfounded "The Japanese people are souless machines" theory of yours. We're just going to have to agree to disagree here.
Posted in: Woman dies after beating administered by son, provoked by incontinence incident