JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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- Core Developer - コアディベロッパー
- Midokura Japan K.K. - ミドクラジャパン株式会社, Tokyo
- Salary: ¥4.0M ~ ¥10.0M / Year Negotiable
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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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- 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
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escape_artist
Well, brown is the national color. She does look nice, though, whatever color her hair.
Posted in: Seiko Matsuda dyes her hair 'Celebrity Beige' for new commercial
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escape_artist
Assuming it is a satellite for a sec... I don't think it's that NK needs a satellite for themselves per se, but more the money that an established satellite business would bring in. If NK can show the world, especially their previous customers, that they have the capability of launching satellites into orbit, then that could bring in lots of money and free them from their dependence on help from countries like the US and China. What their ultimate aim is, though, is anyone's guess. They are not rational folks. Plus, if it is a satellite launch, and is then shot down by Japan and/or the US, where does that lead us all (especially here in Japan)?
Posted in: N Korea warns Japan that intervening in rocket launch will be act of war
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escape_artist
Finally someone has the clearheadedness and foresight to say the obvious, even it is someone outside Japan! I've always thought how utterly irresponsible the way both companies and consumers in Japan are so gleefully obsessed about leaving our/their elders to the robots rather than, say, hire more care workers from abroad, or plan ahead to foster more care workers in Japan. The hastily announced idea to encourage recently fired workers to quickly learn to become careworkers only shows how bereft of ideas the Japanese government continues to be. Not everything has a high-tech solution, nor should it. And technology only for the sake of technology, without thinking of the later personal & societal ramifications, is an unwise road to travel too.
What I'm sure is partly true, too, is that the big companies like Panasonic pushing their pet robots on the elderly in lieu of real people have never really done any studies with real elderly people to see what THEY want. It's mainly young workers, many of them techies escaping into their geekdom, who are designing these things anyway. What do they really know about this somewhat hidden part of their society? Always asking the same so-called "talents" or anyone younger than 50 is not the same, either.
What's needed now are more Japanese (whose voices count) making similar statements of the folly of this robot approach to elderly care.
Posted in: Simply turning our grandparents over to teams of robots abrogates our society's responsibility to each other, and encourages a loss of touch with reality for this already mentally and physically challenged population.
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escape_artist
Unbelievable there's still almost 30% who apparently think he's doing OK. This is also an Asahi poll, so it would be interesting if another more right-leaning newspaper like the Yomiuri or Sankei did it; I suspect the numbers supporting Aso and the LDP would be higher. Sad.
1,044 eligible voters isn't a very big sample at all, and then with no margin of error, how useful is this survey, actually? I'm still a bit surprised that the percentage who want him out isn't higher.
Posted in: Poll: 71% want Aso to resign
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escape_artist
Does Japan's film industry, specifically the porno industry, actually have something called an "ethics watchdog body"?
For the porno film industry I would be very surprised if they do, thinking here it's probably not much more than a bunch of the company's drinking & porno-watching buddies who've labeled themselves as they wish, gleefully passing any and all films that come their way. Kokusaika only goes so far here.
I really don't see how women in Japan will ever achieve any sort of equity or respect if companies like this and their spokespeople continue existing and being tolerated by the masses. Women in Japan will have to speak up more, and more loudly, it seems, if they really want to change the way things work. But then, do they want change? It's not really clear to me (as a man, and as a non-Japanese man) given the high degree of acquiescence (among women AND men) to this sort of thing coupled with Japanese society's elevation of preserving wa as something sacrosanct.
And OK (to the Japan apologists here), Japanese society may not be sick, but it's certainly very, very unfortunate -- for all people -- when something like this is allowed that clearly makes a mockery of basic human rights.
Posted in: Amazon yanks Japanese rape simulation computer game
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escape_artist
@Molenir
Seems to me that whatever it is Molenir is selling is whale meat. Or ignorance.
Why is Molenir pushing whale meat so strongly, anyway? The bottom line as far as eating safely from the sea is to always try and eat lower on the hierarchy, meaning smaller is better. From what I understand, bigger fish and mammals are nowadays often contaminated with mercury, dioxins and other things that aren't so good to ingest on your dinner plate. A byproduct of the times, unfortunately.
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@Molenir
And why do people like this freak out themselves about others who strive to learn about and protect the environment (for all creatures, not just humans)? Grow up, please.
Posted in: Protests or not, Japanese keep eating whale
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escape_artist
McDonald's is not real food. It's precisely unhealthy crap like this and the flocks of drones that lust for it that'll surely bring Japan's lofty longevity records down, and raise health care expenses in the years to come as well.
Hopefully people in Japan don't end up eating as badly as many are in the States. Check out http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=4757669&page=1
or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_p0harpaSM
Posted in: Hundreds line up for an hour at Osaka McDonald's for Quarter Pounder debut
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escape_artist
Or in other words... "We don't like things to be unpredictable."
Could be a sign that Aso just doesn't like where he is. too, though.
Posted in: He sometimes responds to questions with a sullen face, and frowns at unpleasant queries. This obviously does not leave viewers with a favorable impression.
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escape_artist
I'd also like to add that I hope everyone has a merry Christmas and great Oshogatsu, too. Jesus -- if he existed as we've been taught -- was indeed a great teacher, and we can all learn much from him, just as we can learn from other great teachers through the ages.
But it's the arrogance and myopia of many religious sects, namely Catholics (from my experience), that needs to change, to seek a wider, more all-embracing perspective, if we're all -- wherever we're from and however we believe in "God" -- going to live in some semblance of peace with one another. Making things right here in this reality is probably a more pressing thing to work on, too, rather than focusing so much on possibly fictional worlds that have their basis primarily on belief alone.
Posted in: Ginza
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escape_artist
Why should anyone believe such nonsense that we have to be "saved" from anything in the first place? And then the hubris they exhibit of eternally believing they are the "only" path to whatever it is they and every other creature that vibrates with the universal force are seeking, or that the Bible is the last literal word on anything of importance. Middle ages thinking in today's world just doesn't cut it anymore.
"I think it's about time we gave up religion and got back to God." --Lenny Bruce
Posted in: Ginza
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escape_artist
True leaders don't blame others when their myopia, greed, and lust for power masquerading as service to the country leads the country and her people down & backward, rather than up and forward. Cheney is indeed a dangerous person who puts himself above everything else, always has been, and to even think that ilk like him deserve any sort of "class" is extremely ignorant of the kind of person Cheney really is. He deserves exactly what he gets, and America is far better off to get him out of government as soon as possible.
Posted in: Cheney blames Congress for failing to help struggling automakers
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escape_artist
Hey, send the police a copy of Minority Report... They'll learn how to be good proactive reactionaries. On the other hand... not sure I'd like living in a society that encourages the "attitude" from authorities (and those they enlist) of being presumed guilty without having done anything wrong nor any intention of doing anything wrong. What's next? A workplace test now of presumed guilt for the crime of the month right alongside the required metabo exam? Lie detector tests, or just evasive stares and shifting eyes?
Posted in: We'll change our conventional attitude, which has been to act only after crimes are committed, and will instead adopt a more proactive stance toward cutting crime and eliminating the factors that cause fear in society.
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escape_artist
The sickness that is obsessive consumerism... http://www.storyofstuff.com/
Posted in: 2 men shot dead in Toys 'R' Us brawl; Wal-Mart worker dies after rampaging shoppers knock him down
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escape_artist
I've always wondered about a society that treats women and men's crotch areas the same as someone wearing a pair of handcuffs, with the naive notion that using the fuzzies will actually "hide" them all from someone or "protect" someone from someone else. The authorities' stupidity is clearly in plain view.
More than a few people must have missed the English lesson on vegetables and fruits, too.
Posted in: 17 arrested for selling illegal porn at DVD shops in Tokyo
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escape_artist
I wonder if the people of Darfur, Congo or the Gaza have their eating contests too? Sheesh. I don't care how "traditional" some in Japan might think this is, it's still a rather sad commentary on the priorities here. Right down there with diamond-encrusted iPhones, yup.
Posted in: Woman downs 383 bowls of soba in 10 minutes
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escape_artist
Most department stores nationwide are losing money and this is the best thing the bone-headed managers can come up with? I don't care how much they think sex sells -- and it certainly does, it's still just a gimmick in the end. Do people really need or want someone pointing the way to the escalator these days? Is going back to the '60s the new fad? I may be missing something, but it seems that as long as women in Japan keep acquiescing to jobs like this, no doubt to male bosses, I don't really see how women overall will move anywhere toward improving their lives here vis-a-vis men. Or are these to be for the women-only escalators...?
Posted in: Escalator girls
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escape_artist
The train looks like the Nankai Rapi:t express, a fast and comfortable but more pricey way to get to/from downtown Osaka and Kanku.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bq6vgf0vb_4
Never even close to crowded whenever I've taken it. In fact, I see more people on the train in this photo than all the times I've ever taken it.
As for the cosplayers, they can have it; not my cup of tea personally. Too much escapism doesn't do society any good. And robots and video games can't solve everything. One thing for sure... all the first-timers to Japan are sure to get (after their fingerprinting) quite an interesting welcome when they arrive at the airport!
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escape_artist
I remember when going to a department store in Japan used to be a rather enjoyable adventure, as places where one could wander floor to floor wiling away the time checking out a wide variety of goods at not so unreasonable prices (except maybe for the traditional Japanese items). I really felt like I was shopping (window- or otherwise) at a "family" store named Hankyu or Takashimaya. And all the workers made me feel like going there was a treat, whether I bought something or not, not like I was fodder for their sales pitches the moment I made eye contact or overstepped into an area's little "territory." Those were the days. The ambience today is very different.
Now what we have the last 10-15 years or so are shells of their former selves, huge buildings (and ever more huge and glitzy) full of not much more than fancy and expensive designer brand boutiques, tiny microcosms of consumer gluttony and designer worship. While my wife will always enjoy what she calls her "window shopping," essentially getting ideas for her artwork and dreaming of things we probably will never afford, I don't find department stores nearly as enjoyable, nor as affordable, nor even as interesting as in years past.
Names (in Kansai) like Isetan Mitsukoshi, Daimaru, Sogo, and more recently Hankyu, Hanshin, Takashimaya and even Kintetsu, one I'd always seen as a working-person's department store, are nowadays mainly just letters on worker's name badges and titles emblazoned on all the multi layers of wrapping and designer-like paper bags gleefully being churned out. What's actually sold inside these stores seems more and more under those boutique brand names, which are then stuffed gently into the stores' fancy bags. What's really apparent too is that most department stores today that I've been to seem infinitely more empty than years ago; with the only floors usually really busy these days being the bargain sale floor, the upper one with the free art exhibits, and of course the basement food floor. Way, way more clerks on all the other floors than customers. I always wonder how they make as much money as they pretend to be.
And I'm not the only one voicing dissatisfaction with these stores' ongoing obsession with brand names, inflated prices and perpetual catering to seemingly the only market worth marketing to in Japan... young women aged 20-30. Have these stores' marketing hotshots noticed that Japan is aging? Duh. One store I read about a few weeks ago was all over the news simply because the president wants to do the obvious, stock items that folks over 50-something might want to buy, and at prices that most folks on pensions and limited incomes can afford to spend. Seems pretty obvious to me, and a pretty safe long-term business plan as well, yet the guy's being chased by wide show types and others as some newfangled maverick (that'll later certainly be marketed overseas as "made in Japan"). Department stores here have a lot to learn, I think.
I say as long as department stores like Isetan Mitsukoshi keep pushing their current business plan of stuffing their stores with overpriced and vastly overrated boutiques that only attract a small segment of the population, good riddance.
I still venture into department stores for the cultural experience, and occasional window shopping & dreaming too, as well as to indulge in their overcool aircons in summer and overhot heaters in winter. But for actual shopping, I'll keep on wiling away my time enjoyably at smaller and less pretentious general merchandise stores like Izumiya, Jusco, Ito-Yokado and Seiyu, not to mention family-run joints in the local shotengai.
Posted in: Isetan Mitsukoshi to close 6 department stores next spring
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escape_artist
The Japan Times article this quote is from is here... http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20080919f1.html
I think Yohan's demise was just the biggest and latest of Japan's sucking in toward itself in recent years. The foreign book sections at all major bookstores in Kansai have been shrinking for years, now catering mainly only to Japanese people learning English and other languages, i.e., not so much anymore for native or near-native English & other readers.
Naturally, it's to be expected that the bulk of any bookstore in Japan will be Japanese books, or books for Japanese people, but how are other languages like English ever to move beyond elementary-school level in Japan if these other languages are cut back so severely? Where's the substance behind the kokusaika mouthed so frequently here?
Even most Book-off stores have or are getting rid of all their English books now, so there must be a trend away from them. I can't imagine that Yohan's failing was entirely "sudden" to many industry observers. The article above states that people shunned Yohan because they went to the internet & other routes instead so that Yohan had increasing numbers of returned foreign books. Well, here's an idea... perhaps it also might be due to Yohan and similar distributors/booksellers not understanding who they were/are ordering foreign books for: for Japanese readers/learners of English? or for foreigners living or visiting Japan who want to read decent (above learner's level ) books in their native tongues? I think it's deeper than simply because people went to the internet; people went there probably because they didn't like the selections, smaller and smaller selections as well, they saw in the bookstores.There's some confusion of cause and effect going on here, I think.
Yohan's demise and the publishing industry's apparent inability to fathom what's happened can only be a further boon for those companies who do have it together to cater to all customers, not just its own citizens, like internet booksellers. I still don't understand how any distributor in Japan can justify jacking up the price of a US$7 magazine to US$15-16, or books a similar percentage. Does it really cost that much to get the book to Japan in this day and age? To whom or for what is all that extra charge going? This is robbery to me.
I enjoy going to bookstores to wile away the time browsing through physical books and magazines, but the continuing situation with English publications (in my case) in Japan is what moves me to keep on buying at online booksellers or Book-Off & Kinokuniya fire sales.
Posted in: Yohan's bankruptcy was too sudden and it is taking a long time for other book distributors to establish a supply system. They do not have the knowhow for handling large volumes of foreign magazines and books.
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escape_artist
RIP
Posted in: Pink Floyd member Richard Wright dies age 65