JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

Mark_McCracken's past comments

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  Mark_McCrackenNov. 01, 2011 - 05:18PM JST

  Turn it in. 1. It is illegal to do otherwise. 2. You'll probably get the money eventually. I found 20,000 yen once took it to the police. Got it back after the waiting period.

  Posted in: If you found a bag with a huge amount of cash, say 10 million yen, would you hand it in to the authorities or keep it?

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  Mark_McCrackenOct. 26, 2011 - 09:49AM JST

  The first question is irrelevant. The deals did not occur strictly in Japan - they were international. So the way they could be perceived vs. "how business is done in Japan" is not applicable.

  The second question is premature. We can't reasonably say whether or not the Olympus deals could be "thought of as normal business practices by Japanese executives" without knowing where the $687 million dollars ultimately ended up.

  Posted in: Do you think that the problem unfolding at Olympus is a difference in perception of how business is done in Japan? For example, could deals that ousted British CEO Michael Woodford considered dubious, be thought of as normal business practices by Japanese executives?

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  Mark_McCrackenOct. 26, 2011 - 09:24AM JST

  Linked, yes, but correlation does not equal causation.

  Posted in: Teen violence linked to heavy soda diet: study

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  Mark_McCrackenOct. 21, 2011 - 09:18AM JST

  There is a built in cushion that prevents you from eating 30 whoppers in 30 minutes. You have to order them. That means getting in line and waiting while each one is made. The 2nd whopper, no problem, but I'd expect Whopper number four to take several minutes - "it's cooking now.."

  Posted in: Burger King to offer all-you-can-eat Whopper campaign for two weeks

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  Mark_McCrackenOct. 18, 2011 - 01:31PM JST

  I don't know what they want, because they don't know what they want, which makes it difficult to support them.

  Posted in: Do you support the 'Occupy Wall Street' movement which is spreading globally?

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  Mark_McCrackenOct. 15, 2011 - 11:32PM JST

  Thanks, yabits, for taking the time to explain it.

  The only way I think this movement could create significant change is in the case of Armageddon-ish economic collapse. Otherwise, I don't see a very large group of people (ie. millions) committing themselves to creating change without first deciding what specifically that change should be.

  Posted in: Protesters in Tokyo join 24-hour global 'Occupy Wall Street' movement

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  Mark_McCrackenOct. 15, 2011 - 10:50PM JST

  The group is still in the process of growing and needs to reach a critical mass with the consensus-building processes in place.

  So you would develop a very large group of people who want "change". Later, you try to decide, as a group, what specifically that "change" should be.

  But won't people who don't agree with the specifics either leave the group, or turn against it? How can you hold the group together if they have different ideas of what "change" should be?

  Posted in: Protesters in Tokyo join 24-hour global 'Occupy Wall Street' movement

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  Mark_McCrackenOct. 15, 2011 - 10:03PM JST

  What kinds of changes must be made and how they will be made will be worked out.

  Wouldn't it be more productive to work on specifying the desired changes now, rather than later?

  Posted in: Protesters in Tokyo join 24-hour global 'Occupy Wall Street' movement

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  Mark_McCrackenOct. 15, 2011 - 09:26PM JST

  It is difficult for the public to be sympathetic to protesters who can't explain what specifically changes they want to make.

  Posted in: Occupy Tokyo

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  Mark_McCrackenOct. 14, 2011 - 07:56PM JST

  Why do you think the disaster has spurred more single people to consider marriage?

  This question assumes that people who visit match-making agencies do so to get married, which may or may not be the case.

  Posted in: Match-making agencies in Japan have reported a surge of up to 50% in members since the March 11 disaster. Why do you think the disaster has spurred more single people to consider marriage?

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  Mark_McCrackenOct. 12, 2011 - 11:31AM JST

  Several months later...

  The top 20 candidates were chosen and voted for online, but, in the end, Simon Hamill decided that not enough people had applied and withdrew the keystobrisbane offer.

  I don't know anyone who applied, but I suspect people feel cheated by Simon Hamill. Their $20 was refunded, but they created videos, and solicited friends to vote online, for what turned out to be an enormous foolish waste of time.

  Posted in: Australian man offers his home to the world

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  Mark_McCrackenOct. 08, 2011 - 05:01PM JST

  I don't see the fault with the logic. Is comparing the change in the number of Japanese language students to the change in the number of total undergraduate students a poor basis for determining popularity?

  Posted in: Demand for Japanese language instruction in U.S. skyrocketing

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  Mark_McCrackenOct. 08, 2011 - 03:04PM JST

  She pointed out that the Modern Language Association has reported a 10.3% increase in Japanese language enrollments in U.S. colleges and universities between 2006 and 2009, 66,605 in 2006 to 73,434 in 2009 and furthermore, that a Japan Foundation survey reported a 19.7% increase in Japanese learners in the same period.

  Undergraduate students in the US (2006) = 15,184,000.

  Undergraduate students in the US (2009) = 17,565,000. (an increase of 15.68%)

  (http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=98)

  The popularity of Japanese Language Classes seems to be decreasing slightly based on Modern Language Association's numbers, while gaining slightly based on the Japan Foundation's numbers.

  Posted in: Demand for Japanese language instruction in U.S. skyrocketing

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  Mark_McCrackenOct. 04, 2011 - 06:26PM JST

  Most families are depending on children to support them which is why you see bigger families these days.

  Japanese households have been steadily decreasing in size for at least 40 years. In 1970, the average Japanese household had 3.41 members. In 2010, the average Japanese household had 2.46 members.

  http://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/handbook/c02cont.htm

  Posted in: Seniors find rough going in search for second careers

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  Mark_McCrackenOct. 03, 2011 - 09:35PM JST

  Moderator Sep. 21, 2011 - 08:23AM JST Wendy's will return to Japan in November.

  Was there a problem with the launch? It seems to have been pushed back.

  Posted in: Wendy's to be relaunched in Japan in December

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  Mark_McCrackenOct. 03, 2011 - 05:07PM JST

  Alternatively, they may have forgotten the "i" at the end, and Ebi-Chan was given a 60-cm cake made entirely of pasta.

  Posted in: Ebi-chan celebrates 32nd birthday with release of photobook

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  Mark_McCrackenOct. 01, 2011 - 12:32PM JST

  What?

  Posted in: Tokyo tourist draw shoots self in foot with bizarre name change

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  Mark_McCrackenSep. 30, 2011 - 01:00PM JST

  For comparison, it was 4.7% in July.

  Posted in: Japan's unemployment rate falls to 4.3%

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  Mark_McCrackenSep. 29, 2011 - 12:55PM JST

  She'd probably just prefer you take her to a nice restaurant.

  Posted in: Guys, take note: This is what you should cook to impress women

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  Mark_McCrackenSep. 25, 2011 - 08:00AM JST

  Some people actually are able to distinguish musical excellence.

  Posted in: Why do some people mock others' taste in music and dismiss groups that they don't like as being crap and having no talent, etc, as if they were some great authority or arbiter on musical excellence?

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