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nandakandamanda at Jun. 20, 2013 - 07:53PM JST The headline and the article are totally misleading.…
Posted in: Hashimoto may resign if his party fares badly in Tokyo assembly election
@ Janes Blonde This is what happens when children who are brought up in an environment…
Posted in: Korean campaigns for removal of Japanese flag from French stores
@bertie The U.S.A. just doesn't get it. I think more like, people like you that haven't…
Posted in: U.S. tries saving Taliban talks after Karzai objects
"Diet Building... murals depicting the four seasons" If there's one thing Japan has, it's four seasons,…
Kinda thinking of moving to japan at this point. Any suggestions?
Posted in: FBI director says surveillance drones used in U.S.
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UnagiDon
DIsillusioned;
Cletus;
Here's a crazy concept, maybe the Sydney report removed the paragraph about Japan, and the original AFP article does mention it? Ever considered that before resorting to conspiracy theories. I'm no fan of JT's journalistic standard but come one, use your brains for a sec. You know that it possible, right?
A Google search for the offending paragraph took me 10 seconds and confirmed that JT posted the original AFP article in its entirety, unless you want to believe that the Bangkok Post, Malay News, and Google News all conspired together with JT to insert the exact same plagiaristic paragraph about Japan? Fiendish devils!
Posted in: Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson arrested in Germany
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UnagiDon
tmarie;
I doubt that Taiwan has a lot of immigration, and Singapore has lots of expats (which is different). Germany, even with substantial immigration, has a comparably low fertility rate to Japan, meaning that if you take out the effect of immigrants (who tend to have a higher fertility rate), then Germany actually has a lower "native" fertility rate than Japan. Why is that, I wonder?
Bingo! This applies to Japan, Germany, and all developed economies, it's certainly true in Canada. And that's my point, this declining fertility rate is a developed-world problem, not a Japanese one. Immigration is certainly one solution, but hardly an easy one, and may not even be needed on a large scale.
I think a smaller population is not necessarily a bad thing. We are too mired in the old models of economic development that say big pop = bigger GDP = better economy. We have moved beyond that, and the future economies of the world should look at individual wealth and GDP, and so long as relative standard of living can be maintained, individuals should be better off in a smaller-sized populace. THAT is the real challenge, for Japan and all developed countries, not reversing a shrinking population. Japan is simply a little further ahead of the curve than others. Adaptation is what we should be doing, not attempting to reverse it.
Posted in: Japan faces 'extinction' in 1,000 years, researchers say
3
UnagiDon
Oh and for all the simplistic thoughts as to why this is happening in Japan, keep in mind that this is hardly unique to Japan and so not some damning indictment of Japanese society. Fertility rates are this low in many countries, even those with immigration, and are much worse in some of Japan's neighbours;
Germany 1.41 Japan 1.39 Greece 1.39 South Korea 1.23 Taiwan 1.16 Singapore 0.78
It's a complex issue, it's a global issue, and simplistic answers based on your problems with Japan are hardly likely to provide an answer.
Posted in: Japan faces 'extinction' in 1,000 years, researchers say
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UnagiDon
Predicting pretty much anything societal beyond a few decades is an exercise in wishful thinking - technological change, social change, disasters and wars have a huge impact and cannot be predicted. To even be able to guess about the pension situation in 30 years is highly uncertain, who knows what kind of medical advances will have extended our lifespan by that point.
Posted in: Japan faces 'extinction' in 1,000 years, researchers say
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UnagiDon
As opposed to the slow, gradual deterioration of our climate due to increased greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution? That's what those children are inheriting - a hotter, dirtier Earth. The problem is that gradual disaster doesn't scare people as much as sudden and spectacular ones, so people get way, more worked up about nuclear plants and the risk of a sudden disaster, than the slow gradual disaster of climate change.
This is a nonsense statement which cannot be proven.
Posted in: Japan's greenhouse gas emissions projected to rise 15%
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UnagiDon
farmboy;
Yep, other sources such as coal and gas plants - welcome to 30% greater emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollution from that ramping up.
Posted in: Nuclear-free Japan braces for summer power shortages
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UnagiDon
Exactly - making out Japan's shutdown of its nuclear plants as some sort of "green" victory is ridiculous. More fossil fuels will be burned to compensate for it, more GHG emissions, more global warming, People say they want to leave their children a cleaner, safer world without nuclear plants. Maybe, but increasing air pollution and warming up the planet do not seem to be things that we should be leaving our children.
Posted in: Efficiency can't replace nuclear power
1
UnagiDon
Chuck;
That's a good point - how many years of French education did us anglos get in school, six? How many of us are actually able to use it in conversation? Probably not that far off from the Japanese. Contrast that with the Quebecois who seem to pick up English much better, but maybe because of their constant exposure to it.
Posted in: Why are Japanese so bad at English?
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UnagiDon
Isn't the relatively poor level of English a good things for all you eikawa teachers out there? If the Japanese were better at English, most of you would be out of a job. The whole business model of the eikawa schools is not based on making Japanese actually able to communicate in English speakers, but making them improve just enough so that they'll pay for more lessons.
Posted in: Why are Japanese so bad at English?
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UnagiDon
Yes, let's all celebrate for the REAL winners in this affair - the oil and gas-producers of the Middle East!
Posted in: Japan to shut down last nuclear reactor
1
UnagiDon
Cricky;
The world didn't end...lights are still on.
Get back to us in the middle of July on that...
Posted in: Work begins to switch off final nuclear reactor
5
UnagiDon
Heavens to Murgatroyd!
Posted in: World’s first snaggletooth girl group formed
3
UnagiDon
Harley Davidson was able to find the owner living in Yamamoto in Miyagi and has said that they'll pay to have the bike restored and returned to him. Definitely a win-win for all and a PR coup for HD!
Posted in: Harley-Davidson among tsunami debris washing ashore in Canada
1
UnagiDon
Thomas Anderson;
Well said. It's all the more hypocritical when you consider how many of the same commenters complain about being discriminated against for being non-Japanese. Apparently certain forms of discrimination are acceptable to such people.
Posted in: Rainbow Pride
1
UnagiDon
People being hurt, possibly children, is great in your eyes? Why?
Posted in: 5 injured after high-speed boat apparently collides with whale
0
UnagiDon
The jorudan website has all the current delays in Japanese, I'd hope people can at least recognize the name of their train lines and from that figure out the length of the delays.
Posted in: 3 dead, 306 injured in 33 prefectures by typhoon-strength storm
2
UnagiDon
The reason Japan nor almost any other country will send observers is because that would give the appearance of legitimizing the launch. It would give NK a propaganda victory. It's a pretty simple reason, but one obviously missed by many here. This launch has been condemned by pretty much every country in the region and the UN, the only ones cheering it on are NK and those with an axe to grind.
Posted in: Japan rejects N Korean invitation to send observers to rocket launch
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UnagiDon
I was going to say how one less AKB48 in the world can only be a good thing, then remembered that they'll find a replacement. Zero sum.
Posted in: Atsuko Maeda 'graduates' from AKB48
0
UnagiDon
Cletus;
As I said, it's a contingency. NK has already changed the planned trajectory once, do you really trust them to either launch it on the path that they've publicly announced or to not change it again? If you are in the Japanese government, are you going to put your faith in what NK says that they're going to do and not prepare for the possibility that they won't? Do you want to be the one who left Tokyo unprotected id NK changes its plan again? Politicians tend not to like those things.
You could do this if you knew where the missile was coming from, but strangely enough the path a missile would take is not a straight line between points a & b. You need to factor in the launch angle and bearing, speed, Earth's rotation, etc., so there are multiple possible flight paths and if you had a lot of interceptors you can put them in each likely flight path. If you don't, you put them where there is maximum coverage of the capital, which would be in or near the capital. Now I'm not denying that there is some PR value to placing them by the MoD, but my point is that placing them there is not flawed when you consider everything else.
Posted in: Gov't to deploy Patriot missiles in Tokyo
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UnagiDon
Armchair experts notwithstanding, it's a prudent act to do this. Your unpredictable and belligerent neighbor has stated they're going to launch a missile which may overfly your territory, in defiance of international sanctions Deploying Patriots and saying that you will shoot down a missile which threatens to fall on your territory is absolutely justified. South Korea has announced that they;re going to do exactly the same thing. Especially when you only have the word of NK for
a) It's payload b) it's trajectory
But there is a rational reason for Patriots in Tokyo. Surprisingly, Cletus got it half-right, except he had to toss in a conspiracy theory.
Drop the conspiracy theory and he's almost got it - you protect your capital as a contingency, for what NK might do. If this missile was judged to be a threat to Japan and was shot down near Okinawa, or even by SK or the US, you have no idea what NK will do in retaliation. If Japan does have to go ahead and intercept the missile, it makes sense to have defences in place around your capital.
Posted in: Gov't to deploy Patriot missiles in Tokyo