JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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- 秘書及び業務サポート
- 加治金属工業株式会社, Tokyo
- Salary: ¥4.0M / Year
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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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- ALT - Mie Prefecture - Yokkaichi City - June start
- NPO法人グローバル教育推進機構（GLAD), Mie
- Salary: ¥230,000 / Month For a full working month. Some months differ.
-8
ben4short
Mr. Iyer's astute comment obviously flew way over the heads of Ivan and others. The former is talking existentially; the latter is merely repeating the same old tired talking points. Clearly two different levels of consciousness.
Posted in: Japan is built, at some deep, invisible level, around the Buddhist law of the reality of suffering; my Japanese family and neighbors are not inclined to complain about circumstances so much as to deal, silently and efficiently, with the hands they’re dealt.
-12
ben4short
I always cringe when I see these so-called "manner posters" because I resent being treated like a child. When you are treated like a child, you act like one. Treat people like adults with common sense, and there will be no need for these silly posters. Wa schma, meiwaku schmeiwaku . . . bureaucratic interference into the obvious sucks.
Posted in: Subway manners
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ben4short
It's about time. Wise move, hopefully a step toward repealing the silly war-renouncing Article 9 of the Japanese constitution.
Posted in: Gov't begins discussions on easing self-imposed arms export ban
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ben4short
All good points, gyouza. Any positive action in the face of staggering apathy (especially one approved by a bureaucracy) should be saluted.
As for the language issue, of the "millions" of tourists in Sapporo each year, the vast majority are Japanese (80-90% I'd guess). I'm quite certain there are other information booths for overseas tourists who don't speak Japanese.
Posted in: Homeless people run tourist information booth in Sapporo
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ben4short
Hats off to Sapporo for this bold and terrific idea. I make it a point to buy the Big Issue magazine every month from as many different homeless men as possible, and always try to engage them in conversation. Many are decent and gentle souls, often very funny. This is an original win-win idea that should be applauded, and possibly imitated by other countries.
Godan, your sarcasm is mean and incorrect: the program was never meant as a way to increase tourism.
Posted in: Homeless people run tourist information booth in Sapporo
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ben4short
Mirai, I disagree. Actors, musicians, athletes and other "celebrities" do what they do because they love it and are good at it. So-called "celebrity" status is conferred upon them by their fans who willingly and freely might spend money on their films, music or performances. I therefore disavow the notion that "famous" people should be ambassadors or role models. Aside from gratitude, they owe nothing to their fans, least of which is the forced, unnatural state of always being on their "best behavior," whatever that means.
Posted in: Joe Odagiri apologizes for signing name 'Kumi Koda' as autograph for fan
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ben4short
Regardless of the ridiculous bet, Romney or any of his fellow GOP clowns will not get anywhere close to the White House in 2012.
Posted in: Romney stumbles by offering $10,000 bet
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ben4short
Compared to some previous Pics of the Day, this photo is rather mediocre and uninteresting.
Posted in: Towering tree
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ben4short
And pushing a button, calm down, is cowardly.
Posted in: Transport Ministry says 2011 worst on record for passengers falling onto train tracks
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ben4short
Nicky, no, the platform button cannot stop the train. Only buttons inside the train can stop it. Platform buttons simply alert the staff.
Posted in: Transport Ministry says 2011 worst on record for passengers falling onto train tracks
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ben4short
Most disturbing part of this story comes at the end:
Incredible institutional discouragement of acts of bravery (of course with their inherent dangers) in favor of time-wasting button-pushing for help from station personnel who will hold a consensus-building meeting while the victim is crushed to death.
Posted in: Transport Ministry says 2011 worst on record for passengers falling onto train tracks
6
ben4short
**easily predict ** Mirai? How prescient. And now we further learn from your long background in psychology that the kid's parents, too, are nuts. So not only does the system's predictability confirm the boy's fate, but we also know all the contributing factors leading to his horrible acts. Must be nice to be able to fit this messy thing called Life into your neat little hankie drawer.
Posted in: Police arrest 16-year-old boy over knife attacks in Chiba, Saitama
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ben4short
Let's see, summing up the brilliant comments from the above posters: a boy with murderous thoughts ought to be executed; the boy had previously abused or killed animals (no doubt cats, right silly girl?); and he was thought to be a "good boy" by parents and teachers because he was quiet and introverted.
The quick to judge know-it-alls on this thread are truly mind-boggling. Would that us mortals were blessed with a mere 10% of their wisdom.
Can't wait to see what other ridiculous stereotypes and moronic comments follow.
Posted in: Police arrest 16-year-old boy over knife attacks in Chiba, Saitama
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ben4short
ratpack, tired, illogical and irrelevant old argument that holds no water. That the best you can do?
Posted in: 8-yr-old girl stabbed by man while walking home from school in Matsudo
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ben4short
Question: why were the foreign media barred from the press conference, and, more importantly, why did Tommy boy agree to be part of such an event? (Could it be to avoid the inevitable questions about Scientology?) Don't know but very curious.
Posted in: Cruise control
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ben4short
And thank you, Japan, for buying it.
Posted in: Domino's Pizza offering unique discounts
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ben4short
Wrong Charlie, it's called being paranoid, a totally irrational fear. I know, I know, better safe than sorry, blah blah blah, but seriously all you over-protective worrywarts, your kids are a thousand times more likely to die in a plane crash than at the hands of a random "nutjob" on the street, so why not keep them grounded? Sheesh . . .
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Posted in: 8-yr-old girl stabbed by man while walking home from school in Matsudo
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ben4short
Perhaps my third attempt will get thru to most readers. I am not denying that this tragedy is news and worthy of inclusion in this and other Japan-related media. No argument here. And I am less interested in fluffy feel-good news than anyone on this site. Replacing one with the other was not my point (which I think everyone except Smith understood).
What I strongly object to is the TOP NEWS placement of these types of stories; i.e. parent negligence resulting in pachiko car deaths, falling kids, violence in general . . . you get the picture. These stories invariably lead to posts comparing Jp police and US cops, Jp laws and US laws, Jp parents, etc, even to the ridiculous point of comparing the value of human life in Japan and the rest of the world.
But like all online media, advertising rates are determined by clicks, reader comments, visits in general, and my cynical suspicion is that despite the mod's constant "let's be nice to each other" refrain, management is quite pleased when things get hot and heavy on the comment boards, and even encourage it by placing these inherently controversial stories at the top of the heap. I have noticed this pattern for a long time but only decided to bring it up today.
Posted in: 8-yr-old girl stabbed by man while walking home from school in Matsudo
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ben4short
Cricky, if you knew me you'd know I'm the very last person in the world to be in favor of censorship or filtering. Yes of course a little girl getting stabbed by a stranger is news, but in this publication it is always at the very top of the news, which is what I object to. JT loves when any story generates over 100 reader comments, and the easiest way to achieve this is to foster divisions among readers. Just take a look at some of the recent stories. My question to the editors is why are these sensationalistic stories always given top billing? (And my suspicion is that they are trying to encourage this reader in-fighting we see so much of because it is "good for the ratings game.")
Posted in: 8-yr-old girl stabbed by man while walking home from school in Matsudo
-15
ben4short
Serious question time, JT editors: why is it that you continue to give such prominence to violent, sensationalistic (yet fairly rare) stories such as this one (child abuse, kids falling from verandas, rape, murders, ad nauseum)? Could it be that you try to encourage the inevitable bitter Japan vs. the West comments that are sure to follow, hopefully hitting the holy 100-comments mark. Are you more interested in producing a quality product or generating the most number of clicks? They are not, unfortunately, the same.
(Please don't remove this is off-topic. I think it is an important discussion to have.)
Posted in: 8-yr-old girl stabbed by man while walking home from school in Matsudo