JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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Teacher nabbed for using miror to peek up girl's skirt
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Japan's nuclear safety standards flawed, says commission chief
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3
To be healthy, live in the big city
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4
From carnivores to herbivores: how men are defined in Japan
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Why do Japanese change their attitude when they communicate with foreigners?
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- English Instructor (Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe)
- Berlitz Japan, Inc. (ベルリッツ・ジャパン株式会社), Kansai
- Salary: ¥125,000 ~ ¥250,000 / Month
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- FT English Teachers for Kids - Osaka
- Kohgakusha Co., Ltd. （株式会社興学社）, Osaka
- Salary: ¥255,000 ~ ¥275,000 / Month Travel Expenses, Encouragement of Japanese learning*
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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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Scrote
The only solution is for western governments to provide free or cheap drugs to addicts. This will remove most of the money from the gangs, making the drug business far less attractive. Penalties for trafficking and dealing can remain the same, or be increased, tipping the risk/reward balance in favour of the state.
Free access to drugs also stops addicts committing crimes to fund their habits, leading to savings in prison and policing budgets.
It amazes me that so many governments still have their heads in the sand and refuse to acknowledge that they cannot win the drugs "war" with the occasional drugs bust. Meanwhile, all the nasty swines are getting rich and destabilising countries around the world.
Posted in: 51 bodies found at northern Mexico dumping ground
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Scrote
There is still some doubt that Al-Megrahi was responsible for the Lockerbie bombing, he may be innocent, not that that matters to posturing politicians. It's a bit late to be moaning about his release almost a year after the event and I notice that the US had no complaints when all the Irish terrorists were released some years ago, even though most of those guys were clearly guilty of murder.
Posted in: Obama, British PM: Lockerbie bomber's release not BP's doing
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Scrote
It says "kitsu en", not "kin en" on the cover. These are all places I'll be avoiding.
Posted in: Guidebook of Tokyo restaurants where you’re allowed to smoke
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Scrote
I wonder what these assets are that total Y505 trillion. Some of them are foreign exchange reserves, of which Japan has a lot. But if Japan sells those assets to pay back debts the Yen will appreciate in value and damage exporters.
Another big asset is the government pension investment fund, but if that is used to repay debts there won't be any money for pensions. Furthermore, the pension fund has about Y85 trillion of Japanese government bonds as "assets": if these were to be sold then, assuming a buyer could be found, the bond yield would dramatically increase and would soon bankrupt the government.
Although it may seem like the government has a lot of assets, in reality it is difficult to use these assets to repay debts. I wonder if the economists quoted in the article have really thought things through.
Posted in: 10% consumption tax will destroy Japan, argue some
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Scrote
I call it "Muck".
Posted in: Debate swirls over best abbreviation for McDonald's
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Scrote
ratbert: ANA will also fly to LA, not SF, i.e. exactly the same routes as JAL and the fares will no doubt also be exactly the same.
I thought JAL were reducing their international flights, but it seems not.
Haneda airport may well be open 24 hours a day, but it's not exactly "convenient" if there are no trains running when you arrive.
Posted in: JAL to fly to 6 int'l destinations from Haneda
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Scrote
Technology would help stop match rigging, which is one reason why the corrupt FIFA organisation is against it.
I don't agree with Dunga that controversy adds to interest in the game. When blatant errors, which could be avoided, are allowed to stand it makes a mockery of the sport. Why bother watching a "sport" where cheats go unpunished and where goals are arbitrarily disallowed? The rules should be changed to restore fair play and Blatter and his money-grabbing son should be kicked out of FIFA.
Posted in: FIFA stays silent on referee errors
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Scrote
Coming from Sendai there is hardly any difference in the time needed to travel to Narita or Haneda. I suppose it's handy if you are travelling from some provincial town with the occasional flight to Haneda.
Posted in: ANA to launch 5 international routes from Haneda
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Scrote
"Her Taiwanese background troubled opposition lawmaker Takeo Hiranuma, an arch-conservative who grumbled earlier this year: “I don’t want to say this, but she is not originally Japanese.”"
Today, if your mother is Japanese you are Japanese from birth, although the law may have been different when Renho was born. Mr Hiranuma is one of those people who argue that non-Japanese should naturalise in order to be able to vote. Yet even if they do this, the likes of Mr Hiranuma will still complain that they are not really Japanese.
Mikihouse: If non-Japanese are working in Japan and paying taxes in Japan they should be entitled to all the tax allowances and benefits a Japanese gets. The tax and benefit rules should be the same for everyone, regardless of nationality or gender.
Posted in: From TV to politics, Renho blazes a trail
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Scrote
FIFA is a corrupt organisation run by criminals. If you don't believe me, look into the backgrounds of those in charge.
FIFA isn't interested in the use of technology as it would make it harder for referees to fix matches. I'm not saying that the England - Germany match was fixed: the result was pretty much as expected, but the refereeing in some of the other matches has left a lot to be desired with many dubious decisions. The receipt of bribes is one way to explain those decisions.
Posted in: FIFA, don't ignore the Blunder in Bloemfontein
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Scrote
I'm quite happy not being able to vote: all the blame for the useless, corrupt politicians resides solely with the Japanese and they will get what they deserve in the end.
I'm fairly confident that no Diet vote will ever be passed enfranchising non-Japanese. The sentiment here is generally anti-foreigner and shows no sign of changing.
Posted in: Japan weighs up whether to give foreign residents the vote
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Scrote
nothereillegal: Just using the airline web sites you can find much cheaper deals from Singapore.
For example: BA quotes Y177220 for a return flight from Narita to London, leaving at the end of August and returning in September.
On the same dates, it costs Y90675 from Singapore to London (on BA), a saving of Y86545. So for the three of us we can save about Y260000, but you need the miles to get the free flights to Singapore, otherwise you won't save much.
Posted in: ANA to raise int'l fuel surcharge for Aug–Sept
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Scrote
I suppose they could have noisy and quiet coaches, so that those who cannot restrain themselves can talk away freely. At least they haven't reached the stage of playing awful music from their phones yet, as the youth do in the UK.
Posted in: Man punched in face by fellow train commuter over phone manners
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Scrote
No surcharge on domestic flights though: they must run on a different type of fuel.
Flights out of Japan in August are already horrendously expensive. I am using my miles to fly to Singapore for free, from where I can get a much cheaper flight to Europe.
Posted in: ANA to raise int'l fuel surcharge for Aug–Sept
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Scrote
What about the constant "eeehhhhhh"'s of the commentators? That's almost as annoying.
Posted in: Constant drone of vuvuzelas killing World Cup atmosphere
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Scrote
Isn't a certain amount of break time guaranteed by the much-ignored employment law? If people want to spend their break time praying, that's up to them, but inflexible attitudes aren't likely to get you promotions or increased bonuses. I wonder how many more people belonging to the unnamed religion will be hired by the company in the future? Not many I would imagine.
Posted in: Reconciling foreign workers' prayer breaks with production deadlines
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Scrote
This is old news: it has been known for a long time that Japan paid for IWC votes. Since the bribe takers are mostly small countries it would be a good idea to weight the IWC votes according to population, which would render Japan's sneaky tactics irrelevant.
None of this will be reported by NHK or other Japanese "journalists": they are happy to regurgitate the government line without question.
Posted in: Japan bribed small nations with cash, call girls to get whaling vote: Sunday Times
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Scrote
Klein2: Deflation is bad news for the government as it means they have to repay existing debts from a shrinking pool of income. It means that in real terms, even a nominal 1% interest rate is quite high.
The Japanese government has debts of around 200% of GDP and annual tax revenues of about 30% of GDP. There aren't too many banks that would lend you nearly seven times your annual income, particularly when you continue to add to the debt year after year. With no credible plan to repay the debt, once the postal savings money runs out interest rates will go through the roof and it will be game over.
Also, local governments in Japan certainly do have debts and most issue municipal bonds. Ever heard of Yubari, a bankrupt local authority? Take a look at the local government budgets that they send round in their newsletters. For Sendai about 10% of the budget goes on loan repayments, not too bad, but other places are much worse.
It's certainly fascinating to watch the government carry on year after year, seemingly oblivious of the fate that awaits them. They will try to raise taxes soon, but maybe it's too late. The people with the money are the elderly and they don't pay taxes.
Posted in: Kan warns of Greece-like debt crisis
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Scrote
The postal savings are running out, hence Kamei's move to increase the limit on postal savings from 10 million to 20 million. It won't work though: years of pay cuts, an ageing society and declining workforce mean that the pool of cash will soon be gone. And who do you sell your bonds to then? The dreaded "foreigners"? They won't put up with a measly 1.5% interest rate, but anything higher will soon bankrupt the country.
I expect the government will default, it wouldn't be the first time, and it that sense Japan is very much like Greece. Visit the Bank of Japan museum to see the history of Japanese governments spending beyond their means, followed by default, repeated over and over again. Just like Greece. Make sure you don't own too many Yen when the "New Yen" is introduced, as history tells us you will be screwed.
Posted in: Kan warns of Greece-like debt crisis
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Scrote
The biggest one costs something like Y50,000,000, according to the paper.
Posted in: Panasonic to start taking orders for world's largest 3-D plasma TV