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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blvtzpk
In Australia there is an 'escape gate' that you can use in such situations - the pedestrian gate that closes for people trying to cross the tracks can be opened by someone stuck in such a situation.
Disillusioned might be harsh, but those who try and save an extra second or two - I see them almost everyday in my rural life. People traveling way over the speed limit in the few urban zones, passing my car (which is doing 50 km!) in a 40 km zone because they're in a rush. "This won't be a bother..." then "Oh sh*t"
Not all 67 year olds are flexible to drop and drag themselves under a bar. That and panic.
Posted in: 67-year-old woman killed by train after trying to cross tracks
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blvtzpk
Why. The, Unusual! Punctuation... ?*!
Posted in: SMAP kicks off international tour
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blvtzpk
What? They dissolve into mush within a few days of buying them.
Posted in: What are the best foods to keep in case of an emergency?
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blvtzpk
Soylent Green
Posted in: What are the best foods to keep in case of an emergency?
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blvtzpk
All-in-all, a very 'Mickey Mouse' effort.
Posted in: Halloween starts early
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blvtzpk
Moderators: I urge you purge the expression "ground Zero victory mosque" or "GZ victory mosque" from certain posts. This fabrication adds nothing to the discussion.
Posted in: Pressure builds on Florida pastor who wants to burn Quran on Sept 11
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blvtzpk
I can see it now - feces throwing at 5 meters!
I better stock up if I'm going to get that money...
Posted in: Marauding monkeys have Y200,000 bounty on their heads
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blvtzpk
I want to see a duel between him and Fred Phelps and his "God Hates Fags" Westboro Baptist Church. See who is the most righteous and has the most correct interpretation of the bible.
Posted in: Pressure builds on Florida pastor who wants to burn Quran on Sept 11
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blvtzpk
Yee-haw! Time to gets out ma monkey huntin' gear!
Posted in: Marauding monkeys have Y200,000 bounty on their heads
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blvtzpk
I have. In a cinema as well!
Posted in: What are some of your candidates for the worst movie of all time?
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blvtzpk
My vote is for Kurara.
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blvtzpk
What went wrong? Japanese politics and its inherent structural problems. Implosion.
Posted in: When the Democratic Party of Japan, led by Yukio Hatoyama, swept to power a year ago, there were high hopes that they would bring about positive change in Japan. What do you think went wrong?
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blvtzpk
Year 10 - I was 15-16 y.o.a. in Year 10. Year 12 is the end of high school, i.e. 17-18.
Posted in: Australian students assigned to plan terrorist attack
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blvtzpk
They were expendable(s).
Posted in: Stallone back to big action in 'The Expendables'
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blvtzpk
Gee, you'd have top have guts to wear those things in this heat.
Wait a minute...did you say his name is 'Guts'?
Wow!
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blvtzpk
Oikawa has it nailed. I was under the impression it was about increasing the English ability of students (and Japanese teachers of English), but it wasn't too long until I found out what it was really designed for. If you can track down some of the original JET ALTs and ask them, you'll get a clearer answer. The outward purpose is summed up by David McConnell's book on the JET Programme, which is entitled "Importing Diversity" - in the mid 80s, there was money to spend, a poor image of Japan in the US (the 1980s equivalent of the China-fear felt there today) and elsewhere, and an interest in nurturing a positive feeling about ol' Nippon in major trading partners' future movers and shakers (i.e. the recently graduated young 'uns in the 1980s). Not only would Japanese schools and kiddies be exposed to 'Johnny Foreigner' on a day-to-day basis, so would the community, and those same foreigners would go back with a glowing impression of Japan. When these returnees went back home and then climbed the corporate and governmental ladders as they pursued their 'real' careers back home, they would be familiar with, and hopefully positively oriented towards, the people and country they had spent their time in during their 20s. The decision in the 1980s to create the program was also an effort to placate governments who saw 'Japazilla' chomping up the rest of the world, and permit these young ambassadors to have a (supposedly) pressure-free period in this country, which would also help pay of any study debts they may have had.
So, has it outlived its usefulness? Thinking about its original purpose(s), and whether they're still relevant and practical in today's world, will undoubtedly lead you to a certain conclusion.
Posted in: Do you think the JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching) program has outgrown its usefulness?
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blvtzpk
Well, I can finally breath again! I've been waiting for this for so long! ;)
Ahem. A serious documentary needs to be 'hosted' by two comedians? Why not just provide the documentary without bloating such shows with hosts/navigators/commentators/panels etc etc. I know this is the Japanese way, but less = more sometimes.
Posted in: Marcia's family history to be revealed on NHK documentary
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blvtzpk
Chain places - pure robotic routine as everyone has been pre-programmed and must follow 'the manual', but once you get the process, you let it slide. I rarely eat out with any one else, so I have my partner(s) to keep me company. Phony friendliness is worse in my mind than phony politeness. Small places where you can become a regular - my experience is that the politeness does not diminish, and the intimacy increases because you're now a 'regular' and a 'face.' However, smaller places with a robotic form, and never change even though you've been there a few times, and they recognize you - that's a turn off, and make me doubt wanting to there. I always find it amusing watching non-Japanese owners/staff at eating places and watering holes who do the ape the local greetings, approach to customers. I know that this is done because the majority of their clients are Japanese and tend to expect it, but I find it amusing nonetheless. As for customers, I hate boorish customers anywhere. I treat the staff with the dignity a working person deserves, UNLESS that working person has a bad attitude and approach. As for the customers who treat serving staff like their lackeys and underlings - take your power and ego tripping elsewhere.
Posted in: What are some differences you have observed between waiters and waitresses in restaurants and cafes in Japan and other countries and also the way in which customers treat them?
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blvtzpk
I sincerely hope this piece of equipment comes with a 'happy ending' setting. Just sayin'...
Posted in: Helping hand
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blvtzpk
There was no luck for me until AMEX started offering cards to foreigners in Japan - thrusting them upon them, so to speak. After I started using it, I found a liquor chain that gave me a card, and then after that, they kept being accepted. That was until the last 12 months when I applied for two cards, both with major 'Gasoline Stand' chains - I'd just moved jobs and locations, but one came through quick smart, complete with a ETC card. The other one, which I applied for a few months later, was rejected with one of those vague 'didn't meet our requirements' letters. My credit record must be pretty damned good after 10 years here with a variety of cards being issued in my name, so this rejection took me by surprise. I didn't really need this extra card - it was going to save me a few pennies on gas when I used this chain's self-service stations. So much for that.
Posted in: Which credit card company do you recommend? Have you had any trouble with any credit card company either in Japan or abroad?