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
1
ThonTaddeo
I'll admit that this guy's TV shows are pretty funny, and I'm always happy to see another Kansai Japanese speaker on TV (where newscasters speak nothing but boring kyoutsuugo), but he's a bully and he had this coming.
Will all his shows be cancelled? I'd hate to see the other "talents" that appear on his variety shows lose work and lose money because of him. These geinoujin may be in your face every day on TV, but from what I understand, they're not very rich.
@Darren and BlueWitch - Isn't that restaurant all the way up in the northern part of the island, in the middle of nowhere? I've heard of it but haven't been there. I just hope Shimada, in retiring from the entertainment business, doesn't switch to managing his restaurant full-time and start abusing the cooks and wait staff there!
Posted in: Comedian Shimada quits show business over reported ties to yakuza
0
ThonTaddeo
I just want a PM who will stand up to the "tyranny of the majority" that is Japan's legion of soon-to-be-elderly baby boomers.
Politician after politician insists that the consumption tax must be raised and the funds diverted to handouts for retirees. They're already richer than their juniors will ever be, and had the advantages of inheriting a peaceful postwar world from their elders (who made huge sacrifices during WWII and whom I'm happy to pay pension money to), enjoyed safe lifetime employment with benefits and family prosperity on a single income, saw the values of their property go sky high during the bubble, and built their wealth steadily in an expanding economy.
Today's new graduates get none of those things, and have no representation in government looking out for their interests. For today's government, it's: Raise taxes! Run up huge deficits to be paid back "later"! Destroy the value of people's savings through inflation! Distract the populace with nanny-state sleight-of-hand like child allowances! Who cares how high unemployment goes -- everyone who counts is near retirement!
Just once I want to see a PM who isn't looking to throw everyone born after 1970 under the bus so that that huge no-longer-productive boomer voting bloc can have even more advantages. Japan takes great pride in its social cohesion, and even today Japan has something the world should envy. But when trouble comes, it won't be because of island disputes with neighbors or problems with resident foreigners or whatever other boogey-man they've cooked up -- it'll be because the simmering hatred brought on by generational theft will have boiled over.
Posted in: DPJ to pick new PM on Aug 29 if two bills pass this week
1
ThonTaddeo
Ivan, you said it!
When I first arrived in Japan, there was a consistent year-round indoor temperature of about 21 degrees.
These days, we have to endure "Cool" Biz in the summer but winter has the samugari not doing their part in the least; they've got things turned up to 25 or 26!
It;s pure torture. I'd fell much better about enduring heat in the summer if others were willing to endure some cold in the winter. But they're doing the exact opposite!
Posted in: Summer of setsuden
1
ThonTaddeo
And destroy the value of the hard-earned savings of millions of people? That's a big LOSS right there.
How are younger people saving for their first homes and trying to raise kids supposed to cope with inflation eating away at their savings? Pensioners on fixed incomes?
Your policy is only a "win" for the government (who can pay its debts in inflated currency) and for exporters (who can sell more stuff abroad). It's a nightmare for the average person, who, despite the stagnant economy of the last 20 years, has at least been able to save money without its value being taken away.
What Japan should be doing in this situation is using the high yen to attract top-quality talent to come work for Japanese companies with world-class salaries. This is a golden opportunity for innovation, and the justice ministry, to its credit, is making things easier for immigrants with the new 5-year visa system.
Corporations, hire the best talent you can find and pay them commensurately -- shouldn't be hard at 76 yen to the dollar. Now let this influx of talent, paid in sound money, work its magic.
Posted in: Vice finance minister describes yen's recent moves as 'violent'
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ThonTaddeo
Those poor innocent fish!
Killing innocent animals is unforgivable. I hope karma catches up with whoever did this.
Posted in: 3,000 tropical fish die after fish tanks shattered at Tokyo store
1
ThonTaddeo
Haha; no worries! Go see it after your little faa (子供?) is born and you have some energy!
Posted in: Paying their respects
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ThonTaddeo
Oops, forgot the link. Ishihara is in red; the others are Watanabe (dark blue), Higashikokubaru (light blue) and Koike (purple):
http://publicspeaking.jp/column/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/g1302434691.jpg
Check out all those 70+ elderly who keep voting for this buffoon.
Posted in: Ishihara calls Kan, cabinet 'not Japanese' for not visiting Yasukuni Shrine
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ThonTaddeo
@Patrick
It's actually people in their 70s who love him; his support steadily declines as voters get younger, and in fact voters in their 20s ad 30s cast more votes for Higashikokubaru last time.
Still, we all know how massive a voting bloc seniors are and will continue to be. I just hope he retires of his own volition when this term is done. Despite being a 12-year resident, I still haven't experienced a non-Ishihara Tokyo!
Posted in: Ishihara calls Kan, cabinet 'not Japanese' for not visiting Yasukuni Shrine
2
ThonTaddeo
@BlueWitch - I actually thought you might have been referring to that exact incident when you mentioned cover-ups and then said that you were from Ishigaki. If you have relatives over about 70, ask them if they know about it.
If it weren't for that one conscientious person who reported it, the ringleaders of this disgrace would still be revered as good soldiers. While I sympathize with the other soldiers who were ordered to participate, I can't help but wonder how many other atrocities have been hidden from the public.
Go see the monument if you have a chance - it's on the southwest coast of the island, near Makira (?) beach; if you reach the Mine Kobo craft place you've gone too far. It's a small monument but it had me, who had never heard of the incident, staring at it for quite a long time, and hoping that the world never sees anything like WWII again.
Posted in: Paying their respects
1
ThonTaddeo
@BlueWitch - Hold on a minute. The second half of my post was addressed to Yuri; I didn't accuse you of anything!
With you being from Ishigaki, I thought you might know about the incident in which those three American POWs were tortured and killed and then the Japanese Army ordered people to never talk about it. Not until 1947, when a Japanese soldier wrote an anonymous letter to MacArthur, did it come to light. (GHQ initially wanted to execute all 47 perpetrators, but eventually only the ringleader faced punishment.)
The average person doesn't know about it, though; I mentioned it as an example of the cover-ups that went on during the war.
Photos here if you're interested:
http://blog.ishigaki.fm/toita/237747-comment.html
The following parts of my post were directed at Yuri, who despite being from mainland Okinawa seems to have a blind spot about the evils of the Imperial Japanese Army (such as the Tebo/Tuggle/Loyd torture) and instead reserves her hatred for the postwar US occupation and is willing to forgive people who do not deserve forgiveness. I find this to be an inconsistent position that whitewashes history.
I probably should have inserted a paragraph break before switching to that part to make the distinction more clear; sorry about that!
Posted in: Paying their respects
3
ThonTaddeo
@Yuri and BlueWitch -
Do you two know who Robert Tuggle, Vernon Tebo, and Warren Loyd are? "Lying and denying" is exactly what the Japanese Army did with the incident involving them. Yuri, if you're truly Okinawan, then your pro-Japan, anti-American fanaticism makes no sense at all. Please study the history of your birthplace from 1609 to 1945, particularly the years up to 1903 when the "head tax" (人頭税) made the ordinary person into a virtual slave.
The Americans were downright benevolent compared to what went on when the Yamato people were running things before 1945.
Posted in: Paying their respects
0
ThonTaddeo
Can someone tell me why this senile old git is given a voice in the media to even make these ridiculous pronouncements?
He's the mayor of Tokyo. He's not a national-level politician.
If he wants to talk about how the capital of Japan shouldn't be moved elsewhere, that's fine. Even if he wants to talk about bringing the Olympic Games to the city of Tokyo, that's fine too, even if I as a Tokyo resident think he's wasting our money.
But what gives him the right to pontificate on Japan's national policies and expect anyone to listen to him?
He does not represent Japan in any way. He represents Tokyo in opposition to Osaka, Saitama, etc. News outlets, stop asking for his opinions on what Japan as a nation should do. It simply isn't Ishihara's business.
Posted in: Ishihara says Japan should conduct simulated nuclear weapons tests
0
ThonTaddeo
Cleo, you're the only poster who actually understands that the "10 months" thing makes sense and isn't literally 10 months. The phrase 十月十日（とつきとおか）means "the 10th day of the 10th month", not "10 months and 10 days". Conceive your baby on January 1 and it'll be born on October 10.
A Japanese explanation is here: http://www.pixy.cx/~kamosika/1/totukitouka.htm
As for the law that this woman is against, I reluctantly have to agree with it, at least in the era before DNA testing. It protects the new husband from being saddled with the a child that isn't his. If you're a man, imagine marrying a woman who (truthfully) claims to be single, and then immediately becomes pregnant. Being duped into raising another man's child is one of the worst things that can be done to a man short of murdering him.
Perhaps both sexes should be required to wait before marrying again, with a six-month "cooling off" period for both partners. It would be gender-neutral, would ameliorate paternity fraud concerns, and would prevent people from rushing into ill-advised marriages.
Also, @BlueWitch - You're from Ishigaki? I travel there several times a year and love that area. I even learned a bit of the language of the Miyara district on the east side of the island. Supposedly people were resettled there from other islands after the disastrous Meiwa Tsunami of 1771, and their language is different from other Yaeyama people. Of course the young people all speak Japanese nowadays...
Posted in: Okayama woman sues over 'sexist' marriage laws
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ThonTaddeo
Each year? Good; that should give them a solid, responsible surplus every year and the debt will be gone before a decade has passed.
Oh, wait...
Posted in: It's a deal: Obama, Congress will avert debt default
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ThonTaddeo
Oops, that should be addressed to "Cleo", and my "5." turned into a "1."; I wanted to make addition to her four items!
Posted in: Japan ranks first for women's longevity
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ThonTaddeo
Ceo, don't forget:
People argue that housewives work just as hard. Parenting isn't the easiest job in the world, not by a long shot, but it's a lot more psychologically rewarding and fulfliing than slaving away for a corporate boss all through the best years of your life. I'd choose full-time fatherhood over company work any time.
I'm happy to see people living longer, but we need to start doing more for men's health. Women enjoy a retirement that's nearly 50% longer than that of the average man (21.39 years vs. 14.64 years), despite paying in the same premiums. I want to see more done to improve the lives of Japan's belaeguered salarymen until they too are living more than 86 years on average.
Posted in: Japan ranks first for women's longevity
-2
ThonTaddeo
I like SF2K's ideas about deep atwer cooling; I'd never heard of it before! Very informative.
On the nuclear issue, I'm concerned that so many people are conflating the safety-standards-flouting mismanagement of nuclear power by TEPCO with nuclear power itself -- the former is a disgrace but the latter is, given competent management, one of the safest and least polluting forms of power generation in existence today. The world's supply of oil is in irreversible decline; no one wants to go back to the choking black smoke of coal; solar power isn't cheap enough yet. Nuclear power can keep the world running while technology improves to the point where even cleaner forms of power generation can take over.
Posted in: 70% support Kan's policy to make Japan nuclear-free: poll
2
ThonTaddeo
Find the man's family and make sure they get the skull. Don't even involve any governments.
Posted in: Skull believed to be of Japanese pilot discovered at Pearl Harbor
0
ThonTaddeo
You misspelled "pleasant". ^_^;
Air conditioning has plenty of benefits. You don't need to take two showers a day; you don't need to change clothes multiple times because of the sweat; you buy less deodorant, etc., etc. Not to mention the big jump in productivity that comes with having cooler air -- less lethargy means sharper minds, fewer mistakes on the job, and probably less overtime as not-exhausted workers should be able to finish their jobs efficiently.
I agree with Cos and Kronos. There's no reason to force people in Kansai to masochistically endure hotter indoor temperatures out of some misguided sense of shared mutual suffering. It sounds like something Tokyo mayor Ishihara would implement so that he could revel in the shared privations of the WWII era.
Posted in: Gov't asks Kansai to cut energy consumption by 10%
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ThonTaddeo
I have no problem with taxi drivers taking naps -- a well-rested driver is a safe driver -- but taxis with engines left running are a disgrace and should be ticketed and heavily fined. All that dioxin and black soot is being emitted from the back of the car and right onto the pedestrians nearby! What right to taxi drivers have to cover us in their filth... when their cars aren't even moving!
Posted in: Nap time