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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acuteandchronic
Kinda reminds me of my Goth friends when I was about 20. They used to swear blue murder whenever they passed a branch of Macdonalds -- those burgers were so evil and toxic and killing-death-poisonous. But when I pointed out that the vast quantities of amphetamines, tobacco and scrumpy they consumed were not particularly healthy, they daggered me with their eyes.
Posted in: What's behind our conflicted feelings on nuclear power?
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acuteandchronic
zstar6699: "Japan would never so something like this for China or Korea." I seem to remember that when Taiwan was afflicted by typhoons, Japan held events and raised money to help.
Posted in: Beyond borders
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acuteandchronic
(correction - Gigabyte TouchNote)
Posted in: What do you think of the iPad?
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acuteandchronic
In other words, why would I want a tablet and a separate PC when I can have both functions in one device? Or why would I buy an iPad, when I can have a Lenovo IdeaPad or a Gigabyte TouchPad, either of which has far more capability overall?
Posted in: What do you think of the iPad?
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acuteandchronic
hokkaidoguy at 01:32 PM JST - 12th October
How about a netbook with a touchscreen that flips round? These can be used like tablets when you're on the move, and like a notebook when you're sitting down. To my mind, this is a much more practical design, as current virtual keyboards are not up to performing tasks that require heavy typing. Several are available, and some of them are quite cheap.
Posted in: What do you think of the iPad?
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acuteandchronic
seaforte0:
Yes, and the USA and Japan are democratic to about the same degree and in the same way. That is to say, legislators are directly elected by the people every few years. There are plenty of differences in detail, but the basis for calling Japan a democracy is the same as the basis for calling the USA a democracy.
That statement is unduly popular, because it is profoundly wrong. The USA was created as a specific kind of republic, to wit, a democratic republic. Election of officials is built in to the system. A republic could easily have been completely undemocratic -- e.g., the government could appoint its own successors without consulting the citizenry. The Soviet Union was a republic, but not a democratic one. The USA is a republic, and a democratic one (relatively speaking).
You seem to be implying that the phrase "of the people" comes from the constitution. It does not. It comes from the Gettysburg address. However, it does reflect the spirit of the constitution, which is democratic.
Are you sure that's a perversion? I would say it was inherent in the system. Representative democracy inevitably gives power to highly organized, well-funded, and well-connected groups of demagogues. The ordinary citizen only gets to choose between demagogues among these groups. Many people think that's a good thing, as direct democracy would, in their opinion, lead to less competent government.
Posted in: Do you think democracy is the best form of government?
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acuteandchronic
"A republic seems to be a better form of government than a democracy" People, people -- get your terminology right.
The term "republic" is very general, and covers any form of government other than anarchy or monarchy. It therefore includes most types of democracy, and most governments of the world, including various dictatorships.
A country's being constituted as a republic does not guarantee good government. Most countries around the world are republics, but if we compare them to constitutional monarchies, such as Japan, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, the UK, and Spain, we find that in terms of the usual indicators (such as political stability, relative lack of corruption, prosperity, health, education, peace, etc.), the constitutional monarchies compare favourably with the best republics, and most republics are worse.
Since there is no absolute democracy anywhere, and all countries are in fact oligarchies (varying in degree of openness), we must consider democracy to be a matter of degree. If there is universal adult suffrage in reasonably frequent national elections, and opposition parties are not suppressed, and elections are not rigged by the government, then we can say that a country is to a high degree democratic. If some or all of these conditions do not apply, then we can say it is less democratic. The least democratic would be an absolute monarchy (of which the current examples are Brunei, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Swaziland and the Vatican City), or an absolute dictatorship.
When we look around the world, we can see that some democratic countries are corrupt, inept, and unstable), while some less democratic countries are comparatively well governed. The rich countries of the West are all highly democratic, and at least fairly well governed. This however does not imply that good government is caused by democracy. Causality could be the other way round: It could be that if a country is peaceful, prosperous and well educated, it tends to become more democratic. It could even be that there is no causal link at all, and the fact that the West is simultaneously both democratic and prosperous is just an accident of history.
Posted in: Do you think democracy is the best form of government?
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acuteandchronic
"acuteandchronic, it was a disgraceful display of gutter journalism."
Compared to what?
"I cannot for the life of me believe that someone like you can attempt to justify TBS making a direct call to the father of Lindsay Hawker for the benefit of their own selfish air time."
I cannot for the life of me believe that you are still complaining about this, when Mr. Hawker, who has dealt with those journalists many times, so he and they know each other personally, THANKED them for the role they played in this matter.
"Yes, the gutter press in the UK are just as bad."
No, they're a lot worse. They're the notoriously worst in the developed world.
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acuteandchronic
By the way, northlondon, did you see the video clip of this press event? Mr Hawker personally expressed his gratitude the Japanese press, and referred directly to some of the journalists present in the crowd. Clearly, he was not offended to be informed by the press about the arrest, so why are you being upset on his behalf?
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acuteandchronic
"Just wondering, who gave the Japanese media outlet the permission to call Mr Hawker to break the news of Ichihashi's 'apparent' arrest at the time ?"
My god, now northlondon is bashing the Japanese press for behaving almost as inconsiderately as the press in his own country back home routinely behave.
You must be the bitterest expat alive.
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acuteandchronic
"My opinion is that I am sick of the posters here saying what a good job the police did".
And I'm sick of you groundlessly bashing the Japanese police, making out like they're Keystone Kops, when in fact they have a better clear-up rate than the police forces of some cities I could mention -- including the one after which you name yourself.
Also, you bash the Japanese public for making a to-do about this guy, again showing total lack of perspective.
One kind of expat I hate is the kind who lives for years in a country, and bashes it endlessly and inaccurately, romanticizing the "home country" by implicit (and false) comparison.
Moderator: All readers, please keep the discussion civil.
Posted in: ICHIHASHI ARRESTED BY POLICE IN OSAKA
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acuteandchronic
Being fat and sitting next to me. That's unforgiveable, that is.
Posted in: What behavior or habits by passengers on planes bother you the most?
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acuteandchronic
"Critics say the system is disadvantageous to newcomers and discourages change."
It also encourages mediocrity, due to what statisticians call "regression to the mean".
Posted in: I have no record. I have no experience. But I have the passion to create a better Japan.