JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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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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TheCode
To imgold:
Actually, Hoshino said, "I'm disappointed that we couldn't win a medal, but we just ran into some very good teams. The Americans, Koreans, and Cubans all had very well-trained teams, and playing against them humbled us." Seems to me that this remark of his does indeed say something good about the competition he faced.
Posted in: South Korea wins gold in baseball
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TheCode
If softball and baseball are to be reintroduced to the Olympics in 2016, then it would have to be either Chicago or Tokyo, as they have the venues for those sports already in place, as well as the fan interest.
Posted in: 2016 Olympic bids count on heads of state
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TheCode
Good job Argentina! Also, a well-played game from Nigeria. I'm so glad that this was a clean game unlike that awful one I saw in the preliminaries between Belgium and China:
http://en.epochtimes.com/n2/sports/chinese-soccer-star-maliciously-injures-opponent-2748.html
I really hope the Belgium player's groin is alright.
Posted in: Argentina beats Nigeria 1-0 for soccer gold
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TheCode
Overall, this win by Japan may be what softball needs to get back into the Olympics. Parity and competition should help bring it back eventually. This year, it helped that the Olympics was held in China, which had the facilities in place and a growing interest in the sport of baseball and softball; not to mention their own national teams.
Posted in: US softball team loses gold to Japan
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TheCode
Congratulations to Japan! It was a great game. They played their hearts out and won. I could see that the U.S. women were a bit too confident and thought they could win again. It was nice to see that at least one American (Bustos) was enjoying receiving the silver medal. However, it was appalling to see players like Jennie Finch and Cat Osterman practically bawling at "losing the gold medal". I could even see a sneer come across the face of the woman on the right side of the Japanese player on the far left of the podium as the Japanese women were handed their gold medals. Oh well, that's the way the cookie crumbles.
As for everyone who is questioning the "Page system" of the medal round playoff format, it was a rule that was instituted awhile back, just like the tie-breaker rule and the intentional walk rule. They were all agreed on by all nations, so that it shouldn't be a problem. Yes, the U.S. had to beat Japan twice (not three times, since games in the preliminary round only count for placing in the medal round, and Japan could have been in the same position. In fact, I thought it was very strategic of Japan to not play Ueno in the preliminary game and save her for the medal round games.) in order to win. For more information about the "page system format", see this link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pageplayoffsystem
People have mixed reactions to this system, as they do with the single-elimination system, but it seems that the popularity of this is increasing. Frankly, because of this system, Japan had to play an extra game in the medal round and the U.S. got to enjoy an extra day of rest (which they should have spent better preparing for this game).
Posted in: US softball team loses gold to Japan
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TheCode
Congratulations "Nadeshiko Japan"! I was impressed by how well they played throughout the match. That goal by Nagasato in the second half was brilliant. I'm convinced that the women can beat even the men at this game. Now it's on to a revenge match against America. It won't be easy, but I'm convinced that Japan has a great chance. Good luck!
Posted in: Japan eliminates China 2-0
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TheCode
True, all networks should have focused more on Phelp's achievements. However, I did see about ten minutes focused on it on Fuji Television. They showed snippets of Carl Lewis, and all nine gold medals he won. The significance of it of course, is that he held the record before, and now Phelps has broken that. They also showed some tongue-in-cheek comments by his own teammates. One where Aaron Piersol (a true Olympian in his own right) says that Phelp's is a great Olympian, but still just another part of the American team. Makes me think that yes, his own teammates respect his achievements, but are getting tired of all the attention being paid to only him, and not the rest of the American team.
Posted in: Matsuda takes bronze on historic day for Phelps
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TheCode
I'm really glad Matsuda could do well. He really seems like a classy, down-to-earth guy too. He still trains in the makeshift swimming pool back in his hometown (made within an old greenhouse) and with the same coach. He even shunned the high-powered and rich college training programs so that he could stay close to home. It was even good to see that he was the most animated of the three medalists as they were shown approaching the podium. To him, winning the bronze (any medal in fact) was a tremendous accomplishment for him; something he could show his coach for everything she has done for him.
Posted in: Matsuda takes bronze on historic day for Phelps
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TheCode
That 100 m. relay race was amazing, with no less than three teams ahead of the world record. Wow! Congrats to Team USA. And a huge congratulations to Kitajima Kosuke. He really put his all into it and came out a champion yet again.
Posted in: Kitajima gears up for Hansen; Phelps, Rice grab gold in pool
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TheCode
GW:
In years past that would be quite true. I'm pleasantly surprised that the coverage in Japan has been quite international. I saw nearly all of the men's judo under 60kg. division. The French guy was pretty good. And so was the Algerian and Czech. Then there was the men's air pistol final where two Americans were in the mix and ended up placing 4th and 5th, right behind a Chinese, South Korean, and North Korean. Then, I saw all nine heats of the men's 100 m. breaststroke, women's 400 m. medley, and women's 4x100 m. relay. It was even interesting to see a couple of the qualifying (elimination?) rounds where only 3-5 swimmers were competing from countries like Kazakhstan (which are not known as swimming powerhouses) compete.
One thing I realize though, is that the longer races, like the 400 meter ones start to get boring, since by the time the swimmers get to their final laps, the favorite ends up building such an insurmountable lead. I'm not looking forward to the long-distance swimming events, like the men's 1500 m. freestyle and women's 800 m. freestyle.
Posted in: NBC delays Olympic coverage by 12 hours, angering U.S. fans
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TheCode
ChimpsAhead:
Actually, U.S. swimmer Jessica Hardy was already caught doping, and thus will miss the Beijing Olympics.
http://www.japantoday.com/category/olympics/view/doping-cheats-caught-before-they-get-to-olympics
Posted in: Australia, U.S. swimmers face strong rivals at Games
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TheCode
TheNoSpinZone:
Thanks for your post. I have just a couple of questions: Who made the U.S., the world's protector? And by "evil ones", who do you mean, and who is to judge are the "evil ones"? Yes, George Bush declared Iran, Iraq, and North Korea a part of the axis of evil, but why did he only decide to claim that Iraq owned weapons of mass destruction (and thus invaded it), but not Iran and North Korea? It just doesn't seem rational thinking, when fewer than 13 percent of Americans can locate Iraq on a map, and less can do so with Afghanistan.
Posted in: Hiroshima mayor hopes next U.S. president will back ban on nuclear weapons
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TheCode
True, but who or which country should it be that decides who should, or shouldn't have nuclear weapons? If one country is allowed to have them, then all should be allowed to have them. And when all are allowed to have them, then others would love to have more of them. And thus, a nuclear arms race is born.
Who can really say, that the U.S. (and really the President of the U.S., in this case, Bush) is the one who should be given that privilege? God? If democracy is to be preached, then it should be practiced. I propose that a world vote be held as to which country, or country's government is allowed that right to monitor the storage and/or use of nuclear weapons.
It is only then, that it would be fair.
True, and so the Japanese have proven that it is possible to live in peace without weapons (e.g. guns, nukes), yet countries such as the U.S. continue to insist on having them. Why?
Posted in: Hiroshima mayor hopes next U.S. president will back ban on nuclear weapons
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TheCode
I hope they will be a success. Unfortunately, I long for the days when they only allowed amateur athletes to compete. It was so much more inspiring to see someone young and raw trying to compete and achieve. These days, it's all business. It's such a shame.
Posted in: Do you think the Olympic Games will be a success?
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TheCode
I love the nebuta too. They instill me with such awe and wonder... I wonder why they are so angry, and I wonder if they could make one look a bit happier?
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