JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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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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- 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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MASSWIPE
Nigelboy, there you go again, writing about Japan as if it's some garden-variety "trading state" of Asia that needs to maintain large trade surpluses because of a very high exports-to-GDP ratio. But you know Japan doesn't fit that profile, and has not since probably the 1970s. All the talk about Japan's "export-dependent" economy is overstated. A lower trade surplus with the US (if that's what results from approval of TPP) will hardly pose a threat to Japan's well-being. Unless, of course, you think Japan is such a weak and fragile country that it needs to treat trade surpluses as a matter of national security.
I'm sure there was huge opposition in Japan at one time to revision of the Large Store Law, which protected the small mom-and-shop stores once characteristic of Tokyo and elsewhere. But I'm sure today many Japanese are pleased to shop at Costco, Ikea, Carrefour, and the other big-box foreign outlets that were able to move in after reform (in addition to the large Japanese outlets too). Same scenario is likely to play out with TPP.
Posted in: Japan to make decision on TPP next week
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MASSWIPE
Nigelboy, has it ever occurred to you that maybe Korean consumers are pleased to have access to a greater availability of products from EU countries? And are trade surpluses really the be-all and end-all of existence for nations? Will the "trading states" of Asia ever get beyond this mentality?
Your opinion is a variation on the tired statement that says "The way Japan has done things up to now has served the country well, so there's no reason to change anything."
Posted in: Japan to make decision on TPP next week
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MASSWIPE
"so that no foreign power can have influence over decisions made by politicians and ensure they have no influence over important elections."
If this is the reason why it's illegal for Japanese politicians to receive donations from "foreigners" then it shows the utter absurdity of the whole situation. Because guess which Japanese political party received probably millions of US dollars in funds from foreign sources throughout the 1950s and 1960s? That's right, the LDP, best friend of the anti-communist US government. No wonder the Japan Socialist Party never had a chance. So much for ensuring that foreigners have no influence over important elections in Japan.
Posted in: Noda apologizes for receiving donations from foreign nationals
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MASSWIPE
Looks like Eddie was rushing to meet a deadline, because this is a rather sloppily written piece. The Wake Islands? An archipelago consisting of one coral atoll, really?
This is a tired and well-worn topic. I'm not really sure what Eddie is trying to get at. And all for what, he asks, regarding World War II casualties. Well, for a lot. It was a hegemonic war in which Japan tried (and failed) to supplant the West as the dominant power in Asia. It seems rather silly to write off World War II in Asia as some kind of pointless, perfectly avoidable tragedy.
As for Perry's place in Japanese history, that's up for debate, certainly. Pressure had been building up on Japan since the early 19th century to end its hermit-like status in the world, with that pressure coming as much (if not more) from countries like Russia, the Netherlands, and Britain. As for the extent of American influence on Japan from 1853-1900, it's long been overstated. The French-inspired national bureaucracy, the British-inspired postal service system, the Prussian-inspired educational system--on and on it goes.
And as for the idea that Japanese went off the deep end in their treatment of fellow Asians during WWII by mimicking Westerners, ask Asians in Seoul, Nanjing, and Manila if they blame white Westerners for inspiring/forcing the Japanese to behave in a barbaric manner, or if they just blame the Japanese themselves. I think the latter answer is far more likely, anti-Western attitudes among Asians notwithstanding.
Posted in: Commodore Perry & the legacy of American imperialism
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MASSWIPE
It's depressing to think of what will happen in sub-Saharan Africa, which remains relatively underpopulated with 900 million people. But that will change fast, and much of the animal life will go extinct. Visit Africa while you can still see safaris and the like.
Posted in: Challenges loom as world population hits 7 billion
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MASSWIPE
Interesting how Occupy Wall Street has provoked such a strong reaction from garden-variety right-wing types who worship at the altar of private industry, espouse a vitriolic, pathological hatred of government and maintain blind faith in the efficacy of private markets as a palliative for everything. To those people, all I can say is: This is your world. The USA is a bank-owned state. Investment bankers and hedge fund managers, insufferable in the best of times, pulled off one of the biggest shakedowns the world has ever seen following the 2008 crisis. What more do you garden-variety right-wing types want? The people you worship have swallowed the USA whole, practically.
Posted in: Protesters in Tokyo join 24-hour global 'Occupy Wall Street' movement
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MASSWIPE
Obviously the protests that started in New York won't resonate as much in Japan. Notwithstanding the arrogance of Japan's economic and political elite, at least the country has regulations with teeth compared to the bank-owned USA. Japan's Gini coefficient has gone up in recent years, but there has already been a very strong reaction among Japanese (going back several years) against the "Americanization" of the country's income distribution.
Posted in: Protesters in Tokyo join 24-hour global 'Occupy Wall Street' movement
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MASSWIPE
"he tried to cut drastically things like basic R&D expenses so that the company's profits and executive compensation rise in the short run (a few years). stereotypical gaijin management."
rarara: If what you wrote above is true, how come just two weeks ago, according to the report, "Olympus said 'the board have been extremely pleased with the progress made under Mr Woodford's leadership'"? Could it be that "stereotypical gaijin management" also appeals to the Japanese?
Getting a little tired of comments that make binary, black-and-white distinctions between Japanese and white Western businessmen.
Posted in: Olympus ousts British CEO after 6 months due to conflicts
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MASSWIPE
And let me just add that in situations like this one, involving high-ranking Japanese and white Western business executives, the problem is often mutual arrogance. There's no shortage of immodesty on either side in those types of confrontations, I'm sure.
Posted in: Olympus ousts British CEO after 6 months due to conflicts
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MASSWIPE
"Hmmm... Seems like this guy arrogantly thought he could simply transplant European business practices into Japanese business culture."
SushiSake3: And it sounds to me as if you accept at face value what is being reported here. Why so readily accept the tired narrative of "modest" Japanese and "arrogant" Westerners? One could just as easily theorize here that it was the Japanese board directors who were arrogant in their belief that no change in the way the Olympus CEO does things was necessary.
Posted in: Olympus ousts British CEO after 6 months due to conflicts
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MASSWIPE
Oh come on, Ichikawa's "amateur" remark is just an example of garden-variety mandatory expressions of modesty according to Japanese social conventions. Look around online for the full context of his remarks and you'll see that Ichikawa had an important qualification as well, stating that although he is an amateur, his appointment is also an indication of civilian control over Japan's military.
Posted in: Opposition calls for defense minister to go over 'amateur' comments
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MASSWIPE
"How is this headline relevant to Japan Today?"
If you know how deeply Japan is connected to baseball and the city of Los Angeles, quite a lot. Hideo Nomo, who made a huge splash when he bolted from Japan and became the first Japanese citizen to play in the US major leagues in 30 years, started off his major league career in 1995 with the Dodgers. Los Angeles has a huge ethnic Japanese population, to the point where it practically qualifies as one of Japan's own cities. The Dodgers are among US baseball's crown jewel organizations, right up there with the Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals, and Cubs.
The prospect of the Dodgers being owned by Chinese could create a very interesting situation. The Dodgers, along with all other West Coast US teams, have been a preferred destination for Japanese baseball players since 1995 (including pitcher Kuroda right now, who made it clear before the 7/31 trading deadline that he really wanted to stay in LA). Who knows how potential Chinese ownership of the Dodgers will affect the feelings of Japanese ballplayers who until now have always found playing in LA most attractive.
Posted in: Chinese investors back record Dodgers bid: LA Times
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MASSWIPE
Nothing earthshaking here, but not bad either. I'm guessing Landsberg is an American, which accounts for the many comparisons of Japan here with the USA regarding work hours, suicide, etc. But the USA is the undoubted oddball and outlier among wealthy, developed countries. Large numbers of Americans are known for espousing a vitriolic, pathological hatred of government that citizens of EU countries, Canada, Australia, South Korea, Singapore, etc. find mystifying. Cross-national comparisons of Japan with other rich countries that aren't so downright bizarre like the US would be more useful. After all, Japan has national health care--putting the country squarely in the company of "normal" wealthy nations.
"To the typical Japanese person, Japan is a small island—it is all they ever had and all they will have."
I'd like to think that the typical Japanese person is aware of the fact that their country once possessed far more than the 4 main Japanese islands. Japan is the only non-Western nation that acquired an overseas colonial empire in modern times. Korea, Taiwan, South Sakhalin, MIcronesia--Japan once had all of these places.
Posted in: Japan’s crisis of ambivalence
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MASSWIPE
"This is the danger of a parliamentary system........"
lostrune2: If by "danger" you mean the ease and frequency with which the prime minister's office changes leaders, you are incorrect. A quick glance at the UK, Canada, and Australia shows that a prime minister can stay in office for a long time (even longer than a two-term US president) in a parliamentary system.
No, what's happening in Japan now is an indictment not of parliamentary democracy or even Mr. Kan, but parliamentary democracy Japan-style. The Japanese are famous for importing ideas and concepts from abroad and tweaking them here and there to make them suit Japan, but they've blown it with their political system. A bicameral legislature in which both houses have actual power is workable in a US-style system that also has a strong, separately elected chief executive, but it's a potential disaster in an ostensibly Westminster system where supreme power is supposed to reside in one main parliamentary body. A bicameral structure in which both houses have power is a recipe for endless gridlock, UNLESS one party is overwhelmingly dominant, as was the case in Japan during the Cold War with the LDP. But those days are gone.
Japan should seriously consider either abolishing the Upper House altogether or at least stripping that body of any power to delay the passage and implementation of much-needed laws.
Posted in: Kan resigns; says he did all he could, given difficulties he faced
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MASSWIPE
Maehara as PM could be interesting, but no matter what the next several years will be tough going for Japan. The country is caught in a bind, not because it can't find good leaders, but because its leaders (no matter who they are) can't clearly express any overarching goals for Japan. Despite being an ally of the US during the Cold War, Japan's leaders at that time were able to get away with overt expressions of mildly antagonistic rhetoric about "achieving economic parity with the West" and "not losing to America." This is because Washington (for the most part) viewed such rhetoric from Japanese politicians as intended for domestic consumption and just friendly competition from a non-threatening ally/virtual protectorate.
But today, Japan's leaders can't openly express any goals related to, for example, accelerated economic growth for the purpose of competing with China, because that just fuels suspicions of Japan's aspirations for maintaining/achieving economic hegemony and domination over the Asia-Pacific. But in the modern era, Japan's leaders have always "thought big" and framed national goals in terms of competing with foreigners, whether they are a threat to Japan or not. To declare that Japan should aspire to become a happy, contended Scandinavia-like minor power just won't cut it with voters.
Posted in: Maehara's candidacy shakes up PM contest
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MASSWIPE
"Maher, a total asshat, should join with John Bolton and start a school of diplomacy."
Mark_Richards: Sometimes even a "total asshat" can be right, or do you think that is not possible? I will say that the general hostility of the US towards the DPJ government, stemming from former PM Hatoyama's insistence on reopening negotiations about relocating the US marine base at Futenma, makes this remark by Maher suspect, even if he is correct.
Posted in: Maher says 'nobody' in Japan gov't was in charge early in nuclear crisis
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MASSWIPE
"I only pay respect to winners, but nonetheless we should commend them for their efforts. I mean, fighting against a foe that can deliver round the clock strategic bombing of residential zones is no friendly match."
patty cake champion: People like you who employ this type of framing strategy for portraying the Japanese as "underdog victims" during World War II need to be called out for what you're doing. To imply that Japan's main foe during that war was the US (the ones who could "deliver round the clock strategic bombing") is a lie. The main thrust of Japan's war throughout the 1937-45 period was against a bunch of ragtag Chinese guerilla fighters and largely defenseless civilians. The island-hopping campaigns of the US were a sideshow by comparison. Vis-a-vis China, World War II was very much like the Vietnam War, with the Japanese playing the role that the Americans would play 25 years later. That wasn't exactly a friendly match, either.
Posted in: Ishihara calls Kan, cabinet 'not Japanese' for not visiting Yasukuni Shrine
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MASSWIPE
make that "frame the question"
Posted in: Ishihara calls Kan, cabinet 'not Japanese' for not visiting Yasukuni Shrine
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MASSWIPE
"sure, what's the email address? the explanation is off-topic on this thread"
patty cake champion: It's not that off-topic. But if you don't want to (and it seems like you don't), I'll frame the answer in a more general, pertinent manner so that you may actually respond here: How are politically conservative Japanese politicians like Ishihara "good at everything" in terms of governing Japan?
Posted in: Ishihara calls Kan, cabinet 'not Japanese' for not visiting Yasukuni Shrine
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MASSWIPE
"So as long as they are PC, useless Japanese politicians should be able to be elected over conservatives who are good at.. everything else?"
patty cake champion: Are you really implying that Ishihara is good at everything except being PC? Not to deny Ishihara his accomplishments during his 12 years as Tokyo governor, but this man is single-handedly responsible for flushing untold amounts of money down the toilet in futile pursuit of multiple Summer Olympic bids and the setup of the failed Tokyo Shin Ginko.
Japan had politically conservative prime ministers in office without interruption from 1996 to 2009. Do you really believe that Messrs Hashimoto, Obuchi, Mori, Koizumi, Abe, Fukuda, and Aso were so good at leading the country? Would you care to explain why if you think so?
Posted in: Ishihara calls Kan, cabinet 'not Japanese' for not visiting Yasukuni Shrine