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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abromofo
No matter how many times I hear this, I find it astonishing that Japanese people have trouble distinguishing between R and L sounds. I know it's true for almost all of the Japanese population. But personally I believe I do not have any trouble distinguishing different sounds in any language. My ability to distinguish sound differences is not limited to the sounds that make up the English and Japanese languages. Does anyone else think the same thing? I'm more than willing to have this tested - not that I think anyone will want to take me up on this.
Posted in: Unraveling how children become bilingual so easily
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abromofo
I think there are a lot of details missing from this story. With details missing, one can only make assumptions. I'm going to assume that the little guy made a nuisance of himself so that the woman lost her cool, and whacked him. I don't believe in hitting kids under any circumstances, but, I think it's possible you could have diffused the situation long before it came to that. A lot of 5 year olds will run riot given the chance.
The fact that she called security, not you, makes me assume that you and your family really wound her up big-time.
Having said that, laws exists to protect people from being hit, especially children. Once she hit your son, you shoulda asked them to call the police, to teach everyone a lesson.
Posted in: The cheering gets nasty at a pro baseball game
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abromofo
Does anyone else know Japanese people that do NOT use air conditioning at all? A friend of mine lives in Niigata, where it frequently stays above 30 at night, and up to 38-40 degrees during the day. I tell them it's dangerous for their health, they insist it's "normal" in their area, but I've never seen anyone else doing the same. Ever.
Posted in: What do you do to stay cool in summer?
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abromofo
This reminds me of an incident involving a Japanese friend (who is no longer a friend) being suspected of child abuse in New Zealand. The NZ authorities are very quick to act on things like this. While having a routine medical check, the staff noticed an adult sized BITE MARK on the arm of her 6 month old daughter. The Japanese mother made up some bollocksy story about accidentally biting her daughter while asleep.
The Japanese mother was taken by surprise that welfare services became involved, and she tried to get help from her friends to defend her actions. This is about the time I stopped talking to her.
To me, it indicates that this kind of thing may go on more commonly in Japan compared to other developed countries. I seriously doubt it was an accident. And I think the mother thought she could get away with it, and was not expecting to be suspected of abusing her child.
You have to start wondering how this can go on in Japan. I believe that behind Japan's modern cities and seemingly dignified population is something a bit... rough.
Posted in: 22-year-old couple arrested for burning 2-year-old son with hair dryer
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abromofo
womanforwomen: Because I think you're saying disciplining a child is difficult when there is a lack of maturity of some parents, lack of efforts to educate them, combined with stressful living conditions.
If so I agree entirely. I know of a family in this kind of situation, their kid is unfortunately not getting a good start in life.
In the worst case scenario, I believe this kind of situation can escalate into child abuse.
Posted in: 22-year-old couple arrested for burning 2-year-old son with hair dryer
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abromofo
womanforwomen:
Is this in reply to my post? Not trying to be annoying or get off-topic, but just wondering I can offer a worth-while response.
Posted in: 22-year-old couple arrested for burning 2-year-old son with hair dryer
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abromofo
Yeah this is sick. Even the most monstrous 2 year old doesn't deserve this kind of abuse. The parents have some serious issues. Some small children can really push adults to the limit, but "the limit" should be a stern telling-off and a few minutes in the naughty corner. I believe this is part of the problem: Japanese people generally do not know how to discipline kids, the kids run riot, and drive parents nuts.
Posted in: 22-year-old couple arrested for burning 2-year-old son with hair dryer
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abromofo
I really don't think that is the case. If you happen to read a post I made yesterday, I explained what I saw last week in detail: A girl near me on the train accused a Japanese guy of groping her, a mob of salarymen including myself chased after him, and he was apprehended and dealt with.
Give me a break.
http://www.japantoday.com/category/crime/view/miniskirt-police-singer-nabs-groping-suspect-on-train#comment_298618
Posted in: Man sentenced to prison for groping insists on his innocence
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abromofo
To all the gaijin men who think they've been felt up on trains in Japan: It's wishful thinking!! In my opinion it's EXTREMELY unlikely that the girl intended to do anything. Contrary to popular gaijin belief, most Japanese girls aren't gagging for a piece of you.
Posted in: Miniskirt Police singer nabs groping suspect on train
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abromofo
Last week I saw exactly the same thing. It wasn't one of the Minisuka Police though :-) The girl grabbed the guy's wrist and refused to let go as he tried to escape into the crowd. I got swept out of the train as he pushed through the crowd, and then joined a mob of salarymen chasing the guy! Several people grabbed him, and he gave up running. When the station staff appeared he pretended to faint. Pasty little otaku git. It was actually funny to see how weak he was when confronted. Anyway, my point is, Japanese girls don't take this anymore, and the general public step in to help! Way to go! It was on the Tokaido line at Kawasaki station.
Posted in: Miniskirt Police singer nabs groping suspect on train
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abromofo
Drink spiking in Roppongi is not new. Two friends of mine had their drinks spiked in 1998. That is ELEVEN YEARS ago. The offending bar was run by foreigners. These two friends left the bar before the drug really took effect. They spent a rather confused night in a hotel somewhere. Lucky that's all that happened.
Posted in: U.S. Embassy issues new warning over drink-spiking in Roppongi
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abromofo
In my opinion, Japanese people's behavior has become more aggressive and inconsiderate. Both men and women. But there are still many perfectly well behaved people. I was walking quietly down the street with my girlfriend, and was shoulder barged buy a drunk Japanese guy who then proceeded to try and start a fight, like a K1 pre-match stare down! Incredible! I never thought I would see that in this country. And recently, a Japanese girl in her 20s charged through train doors as they were closing, deliberately crashing right into me, and actually put both elbows out in front like battering rams, which got me right in the chest. Why do Japanese people HAVE to get on the train as the doors are closing?? But it's not all bad. This morning a woman lost her balance, jumped on my foot, and fell right onto me. She said a quick "Sumimasen", which is all that's required.
Posted in: Older men up in arms over slovenly female behavior
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abromofo
Excellent! You've left fourth left in the blue for me!
Posted in: Lux
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abromofo
Not one of them is standing in that funny pigeon-toed manner that westerners love to criticise Japanese girls for doing. Maybe it's gone out of fashion? And they're all gorgeous to me!
Posted in: Lux
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abromofo
Gotta be careful of those smart and confident Japanese women. One of those terrible J-comedians said it well: 女って怖いですよ！
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abromofo
There are so many hilarious ideas for a noise-making device. I'm trying not to laugh out loud and disturb my co-workers. "abunai! abunai!" at 90dB gets my vote! :-D
Posted in: Gov't may add noise-making device to quiet hybrid cars for safety
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abromofo
And one more comment: Should I apologise for my grandfather's part in World War 2 against the Japanese? I think not.
Posted in: How do you feel about the call by some World War II POWs for Prime Minister Taro Aso to apologize and offer reparation over their wartime forced labor at a coalmine owned by his father?
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abromofo
Mr. Coombs is going to meet Aso Corporation officials this week according to other news reports. An apology from these people, on behalf of the company, is great.
He's is also going meet with lawmakers on thursday. That's also great.
But this is not appropriate, in my opinion:
"Coombs said Aso should 'be the one to apologize for the family's involvement in the mine and also as head of the government.'" (from www.straightstimes.com).
Aso is not responsible for his relatives actions, and has no reason to apologise in the capacity of head of government.
If I was Aso, I would call his bluff, meet the guy for a few minutes and say "I'm sorry". How would certain people react? Would they give Aso credit for going above and beyond his duty? Or would they find another reason to hate Japan?
Posted in: How do you feel about the call by some World War II POWs for Prime Minister Taro Aso to apologize and offer reparation over their wartime forced labor at a coalmine owned by his father?
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abromofo
Best: JAL
They make an effort, and in my experience they help out families travelling with young kids.
Worst: Air New Zealand
They are ALWAYS in a group, in the galley, with the curtains closed, laughing and chatting. They made me feel like I was interrupting them when I asked for some milk for our little one. Lazy sods.
Posted in: In your experience, which airline has the best flight attendants and which one has the worst?
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abromofo
Rest in peace. Thanks for brightening up the world just a little bit while you were here.
Posted in: Koakuma Ageha model Sumire dead at 21