JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
-
- Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) in Kanto region
- RCS (RCSコーポレーション), Kanto
- Salary: ¥180,000 ~ ¥250,000 / Month includes performance bonus
-
- Assistant Language Teacher - TOKYO - late-March start
- Interac, Tokyo
- Salary: ¥230,000 ~ ¥255,000 / Month
-
- Assistant Language Teacher - Kanagawa Prefecture - late-March start
- Interac, Kanagawa
- Salary: ¥230,000 ~ ¥255,000 / Month
4
cleo
Mark, the epicentre of the Great Kanto Earthquake was deep under Sagami Bay, and it had a magnitude of 7.9 - the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Japan prior to 3/11. The fact that it occurred at lunchtime, when many people were using cooking fires, was a major factor in the number of fires that were started and did a lot of the damage. Hopefully, with better safety systems in place (eg cookers and heaters that automatically shut off when shaking starts), that won't be as much of a hazard next time.
While you're correct that since then earthquake-proofing techniques have improved tremendously, there are also now many, many more people in Tokyo today than were there in 1923, taller buildings, larger stocks of oil, etc. I would not like to be there when the big one hits, even if the magnitude is less than 3/11. (And Mag 7 is a lot smaller than Mag 9; if the energy released in a Mag 7 is compared to the energy of 480 kilotons of TNT, the energy released in a Mag 9 is the equivalent of 480 megatons.)
Posted in: Big quake could hit Tokyo within 4 years, researchers warn
-5
cleo
No such thing as excess kittens, Nessie. And they don't cause weight gain, intestinal irritation (constipation, diarrhea, wind), dehydration, seizure, heart disease, kidney problems and bad breath, unless you eat them. :-)
Posted in: Buns are fried chicken?! Check out KFC's Chicken Filet Double
0
cleo
Are the houses in Canada, northern Europe and other snowy places made of wood?
Posted in: Man dies after falling from icy roof in Nagano
1
cleo
That's a major reason. When I lived in Toyama, where they get a lot of very wet snow, the weight of the snow on the roof of our wooden house would make it impossible to move the sliding doors. Left to its own devices, the show compacts down under its own weight so that there's a thick layer of ice underneath; a sudden thaw can send that crashing down on the head of anyone who is unlucky enough to be passing by.
Posted in: Man dies after falling from icy roof in Nagano
-7
cleo
Most people already get way more protein than they need - and no one needs protein from unhealthy sources like this monstrosity.
The average person needs no more than 50-75 grams of protein per day, depending on body weight. Excess protein intake can cause weight gain, intestinal irritation (constipation, diarrhea, wind), dehydration, seizure, heart disease, kidney problems and bad breath.
Posted in: Buns are fried chicken?! Check out KFC's Chicken Filet Double
5
cleo
The low crime rate & relative lack of mindless vandalism. Friendly people. The reliable transport system. The fresh fruit and veg (I gather this isn't such a plus in the cities, but out in the sticks we're really blessed with fresh produce). The beautiful starry skies (again, not in the cities). Especially not in the cities - the wildlife: tiny lizards, huge grasshoppers and preying mantis in the garden, red-faced pheasants, snowy-white egrets and ebony-black ravens in the fields, not to mention the kites circling overhead and the snakes that are rarely seen but leave their sloughed skins in the brambles and keep the rodent/frog populations under control. And to echo Nicky, most of all I love the fact that after 30+ years of marriage my heart still beats a little faster when my Japanese husband walks through the door.
Posted in: What are some of the things you like most about living in Japan?
3
cleo
You do know people don't actually 'graduate' from Mensa? Entry requirements don't actually rely on IQ, but with a reported IQ of 176, Carter is in easily. Though the same site gave Bush2 an IQ of 91, so I think maybe they were being generous. Carter is still highly intelligent.
Posted in: Gingrich attacks Obama in South Carolina victory speech
-3
cleo
In cold storage, and slowly trickle it out over the year to the supermarket shelves and school dinners.
Posted in: Activists hurl stink bombs at Japanese whaling ship
0
cleo
Your loss, mrkobayashi. :-)
Posted in: How to be funny in Japan
-1
cleo
Nah, apparently they're killing whales to help build Tohoku.
I thought the marriage rate was already way down? (I know, a typo - you really meant get rid of the (free) rides, yes? :-)
Posted in: Gov't says revenue from 5% consumption tax hike to be used only for social security
0
cleo
You'd think there was a greater need to keep the goggawful suicide rate down.
At least they aren't calling it an accident. Yet.
Posted in: Police haven't ruled out suicide in severed penis case, media report
0
cleo
Don't worry, if you need blood, they'll let you have it.
Posted in: The importance of blood type in Japanese culture
0
cleo
Family farms in Japan do not supply supermarkets, except at the high end. I guarantee Mabo's eggs are low-grade rubbish from factory farms. CactusJack is right.
Posted in: Egg prices at their lowest in two years
2
cleo
They said the same thing when the consumption tax was first introduced, and it's as rubbish now as it was then, total back-to-front thinking. You don't decide you're going to raise taxes and then decide what you're going to spend the money on; you calculate how much money you need for what, then look at ways of procuring it, including raising taxes. Instead of spending money on lowering insurance premiums for low-income earners, how about first making it compulsory for married ladies who can afford to sit at home to pay their fair share of insurance and pension premiums.
Posted in: Gov't says revenue from 5% consumption tax hike to be used only for social security
-1
cleo
For eggs to be that cheap, they have to come from the worst factory farms where birds (considered nothing more than cogs in a giant egg-producing machine) are crammed in as tight as possible, fed the cheapest possible feed and dosed with hormones to increase their laying rate. The hormones from those tortured, sickly short-lived birds get into the eggs. I guess you don't care where your eggs come from, or what you eat.
Posted in: Egg prices at their lowest in two years
8
cleo
I'm sorry I could only give Johannes Weber's post one thumbs-up, it deserves to be written in neon.
So many times we hear those who were born at the top of the pile expounding on the virtues of hard work and proclaiming themselves to be self-made men (or women). Before we pat ourselves on the head for working hard and getting into a good university/good job on our own efforts, we need to step back and give thanks for the fully-functioning brain and body that we were born with that enabled us to work hard, and for the sheer good luck of being born into a society where hard work will help you up the ladder.
If hard work alone were the key, half the women in rural Africa would be millionaires.
Posted in: Entitlements are not rights
-1
cleo
The supermarket eggs are factory-farmed.
While I have seen half-dozen packs of eggs, never, ever in Japan have I seen dozen-packs. They always come in 10s.
THe semi-free-range eggs at my local nokyo went from ¥300 to ¥200 for a while, but this week they were back at ¥300.
Posted in: Egg prices at their lowest in two years
0
cleo
I think up to three payments is interest-free; more than that, or revolving, and they charge interest. (15-18%)
Posted in: Visa Worldwide (Japan) Co Ltd
0
cleo
The mother is fine, it's the second and subsequent babies that are at risk. In the past a rhesus baby stood a very good chance of brain damage or death, now they can prevent problems by giving the mother injections after the first pregnancy.
Posted in: The importance of blood type in Japanese culture
3
cleo
Back on topic, this blood-group-personality thing is a load of hogwash. According to all the books, Mr cleo and I are the worse possible combination in terms of both blood group and zodiac sign - we should be tearing each other's throats out. And we don't do that more than once a month at the most.
Posted in: The importance of blood type in Japanese culture