JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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To be healthy, live in the big city
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Why do Japanese change their attitude when they communicate with foreigners?
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From carnivores to herbivores: how men are defined in Japan
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Japan's nuclear safety standards flawed, says commission chief
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Teacher nabbed for using miror to peek up girl's skirt
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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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fishy
sageb1-
Daycare givers must have a license to work at an authorized daycare.. People who want to become an authorized daycare workers go to either 4-year-university, 2-year-junior college or schools that are equivalent to junior college to study child care and they have to pass the national exam to become an authorized daycare worker.
HOWEVER, there are many non-authorized daycares in Japan (read my previous posts FYI), and whenever these terrible accidents happen, it is 99.9% at those non-authorized daycares. In this case, this 41-year-old woman was a hoiku-mama... meaning she is authorized to take care of small children AT HER OWN HOUSE. Until April 2010, Hoiku-mamas were required to have a nurse or daycare giver license, but the government of Japan lowered the standard and those licenses are NOT required to become a hoiku-mama since April 2010. However, the fact that this woman had been working as a hoiku-mama for 7 years, she must have either a nurse license or a daycare giver license.
At non-authorized daycares, they just need one person who has a license and everyone else doesn't need to have a license or experience (though it is a big plus when they have a license or/and experience), and I don't really trust non-authorized daycares even though they are more convenient for people (don't have to go through government office to apply).
And at authorized daycares, they are required to have at least 1 caregiver per 3 zero & 1-year-olds. Non-authorized daycares, I don't think there's any requirement as for numbers of caregivers per child.
Authorized daycares -- I have seen 3 authorized daycares in Japan (my kids went and one is still in daycare) and ALL 3 OF THEM ARE EXCELLENT and I FULLY TRUST THOSE CAREGIVERS WHO WORK AT THOSE DAYCARES.
Whether licensed or not, whether experienced or not, whatever nationality this woman is, SHE WAS NOT QUALIFIED. She broke many rules and put children in danger.
aussiemac-
The 1-year-old girl (1 and 11 months, so she's almost 2) did not get out of child seat. She was NOT sitting in a child seat. The woman only had 1 car seat installed and had 2 small kids in her car. She had this girl in the passenger seat while driving and then moved her to the back seat when she went out to get food. Window worked because the woman left the car running.. She didn't stop the car to go, she left it running.
Posted in: Baby girl in critical condition after getting head trapped in car window
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fishy
AND as a hoiku-mama, she was actually not supposed to take the kids out on her car. this woman only had 1 carseat installed but she had put 2 kids in the car and went out to get lunch.. being a hoiku-mama, she was supposed to have food/lunch for the kids at her house. hoiku-mamas are allowed to take kids for a walk and etc, but not supposed to drive them to places...
so.... right.. whether she had a license or not, she definitely WAS NOT QUALIFIED as an adult to take care of small kids. she was working as a hoiku-mama for 7 darn years... gives me a chill.
by the way, while i do think this caregiver was stupid and irresponsible, i DO KNOW personally many Japanese mothers/fathers who are VERY responsible and would NOT leave their kids anywhere without making sure they are safe, would NEVER driving them while kids are in a car unless they are in car seats.. Saying that Japanese mothers/fathers are irresponsible IS TOO much to say... there ARE irresponsible ones and it makes me sigh whenever I see small kids in cars with no seat belts or kids sitting in the passenger seat and etc.
Posted in: Baby girl in critical condition after getting head trapped in car window
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fishy
what I heard on the news was that when the ambulance arrived, the caregiver woman was performing cardiac massage in the back seat of the car.
Posted in: Baby girl in critical condition after getting head trapped in car window
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fishy
Thetruthhurts-
Yes, she was on her cell phone when this happened and it was actually a passerby who called the ambulance..
Yasukuni-
I agree.. the whole what if thing is so so so important.. Better to be paranoid than regretting... Sure it is WORK to take small kids when you just walk into a store to get a couple of things, but you have to take the kids with you. Sure some kids don't like to sit in the car seat and they might scream, but so what.. which is better... to risk their lives? Or to listen to them scream? The answer should be obvious..
It kills me whenever I hear these news and being a mother of 2 children, my heart really goes to those parents who have lost or have had their kids injured because of SOMEONE ELSE'S negligence. I can't even imagine how ANGRY the little girl's parents are.. If I were the mother of this little girl, whether the woman is arrested or not, I would properly punish her and let the whole nation know what a terrible mistake this woman had made.
When you have kids with you, it is NOT ABOUT YOU, it is about THE KIDS..
No car seat installed, power window not being locked, left the kids in the car while she went into a store, using a cell phone and not even noticing the child's head was stuck... My goodness this woman made SO MANY mistakes...
I really hope this little girl will recover..
Posted in: Baby girl in critical condition after getting head trapped in car window
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fishy
And she is a CHILD CAREGIVER????????????????????? WHAT??
Receiving money to take care of people's kids and not being responsible, I don't know where to start. This woman, being a caregiver and probably driving children in her car on a daily/regular basis.. WHY did she not have car seats installed in the first place?
Here's one of the differences between authorized daycares and non-authorized daycares... Non-authorized daycares don't need to have all their caregivers to have a license. As long as there is ONE licensed caregiver, everyone else isn't required to have a license there. Authorized daycares are REQUIRED to have all caregivers to be licensed and the facilities have to meet the government standard. Whenever I hear tragic accidents about kids in daycare, it is 99.9% Non-authorized daycare or Hoiku-mama (caregivers take care of children at her house.
And because those non-authorized daycares and hoiku-mama are needed for those who are on the waiting list to put their kids in authorized daycares and there are way too many people waiting but have to work, the government actually lowered the standard of those hoiku-mama from April 2010. Until April 2010, hoiku-mamas were required to have a nurse/ child care license, but they changed the law and now those hoiku-mamas can start the business after taking several child-care courses... It is good that the government is trying to do something so that people with small kids can go back to work, but it is a terrible idea to lower the standard of child care givers...
I hope the parents of the little girl will sue this woman and she will get punished.
Posted in: Baby girl in critical condition after getting head trapped in car window
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fishy
Um.. the girl and the son are not going to the states to get out of Japan or anything like that.. she is taking the boy there so that he can grow up in a country where his father grew up and he can be near his grandparents and the grandparents can see their only grandson grow up, the girl and the husband promised to raise the boy in a land where the husband grew up so she is fulfilling the promise.. she and the boy are both adored by the parents of the husband...
Posted in: U.S. Marine's Japanese widow allowed to live in U.S.
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fishy
ILoveNippon-
He didn't get any special treatment.. he's been killed. It is about his family members and whether the war is legal or illegal, it isn't his fault and he should never be blamed on for this. He was a service member and he did his job. While I DO think this war was a mistake, I do not think he did anything illegal himself and his family should be allowed in the United States as family members of an American citizen. Blaming the war nor the service man is really not the thing to do here.
Posted in: U.S. Marine's Japanese widow allowed to live in U.S.
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fishy
this girl has a mother (in okinawa) who supports her and the baby all the way and lets her what she has decided.
his family adores her and the baby so much and that was one of the reasons why she decided that she wanted to live there.
Posted in: U.S. Marine's Japanese widow allowed to live in U.S.
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fishy
i'd understand that she couldn't yell or punch him, but why wouldn't she even stand up and walk away? one time i was on a train early in the morning and was sleeping, some guy sat next to me and started touching.. i didn't scream but i stood up and moved to a different car. even if the train was crowded, she could surely stand up and let someone else take the seat..
Posted in: Chiba cop arrested for allegedly groping woman on train
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fishy
my goodness...
Posted in: Mother killed, 5 hurt in gunbattle at California mall
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fishy
cleo-
**I've seen no mention anywhere of him renouncing Japanese nationality
You're right, and that is why I said I think. The fact that he could start a business there, could get married to an American national (Amy Savoie) so quickly and go through the trial and all that, I thought it would be natural to think that he might have reclaimed his citizenship as he CAN regain his U.S citizenship. Someone told me that The U.S. immigration doesn't check the documentation of his Japanese citizenship being renounced or not, so technically he can still hold Japanese passport while regaining U.S. passport.
if the immigration status of anyone whose parent, grandparents or in-laws residing in the US indicates the legal opinion of their wish to live in the US, the applicant becomes eligible for immediate citizenship.
Either way, whatever the paper says, he can conveniently play Japanese or American, and like you say, it shows that he's not trustworthy.
Posted in: Savoie's suit against judge dismissed in child abduction
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fishy
Savoie had really well-planned the whole thing for his benefit.. planned things so that he'd get all he wanted, cared less about noriko, he had his new family/wife, business and all that.. he moved back to the states in 2008 to PREPARE for his big plan..
Posted in: Savoie's suit against judge dismissed in child abduction
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fishy
butterlfly1-
I think he conveniently renounced Japanese citizenship and then regained U.S. citizenship... so, he's American now. He became a Japanese citizen for business/tax reasons, now he lives and works in the U.S, he has no reason not to have a U.S. citizenship. I believe both of the children have dual citizenship as Savoie was a U.S. citizen when the kids were born, but the fact that the kids were born and raised in Japan, no matter what the paper says and what they look like, they are Japanese inside-- just like me and my children.
Posted in: Savoie's suit against judge dismissed in child abduction
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fishy
Japanese kids believe in Santa as much as western kids do!! Kids hang or leave stockings by their bed or futon before going to sleep.. They often write a note to Santa and put it in the stocking, telling Santa what they want and etc.. It is usually sometime around 5th or 6th grade in elementary school that kids start to wonder if Santa really exists. Some kids with older brother/sister might start wondering earlier, some might continue to believe until they are a bit older.
For Japanese kids, Santa has nothing to do with religion, it is just a pure fun and they love the idea of expecting a present from Santa.. Many kids try to stay up to meet Santa but they usually fall asleep :)
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fishy
can't people sue the police?? i thought they could..
Posted in: Woman allegedly killed by neighbor after seeking police help on 5 occasions
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fishy
Law cannot fix this, the police mentality needs to change..
Posted in: Woman allegedly killed by neighbor after seeking police help on 5 occasions
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fishy
pointofview-
Savoie was too busy and even though he was awarded 2 weekends a month with the kids, he usually sent his new wife to pick up the kids and she spent time with the kids, Savoie was rarely there.
Noriko emailed Savoie and asked him to keep his new wife away but he didn't listen and kept sending HER to Noriko's place to get the kids and drop them off.
Savoie left Japan in 2008 and it was 2009 when he finally invited his family to the states.. Noriko and the kids followed savoie after Savoie convinced them to start a new life in the states..
Doesn't sound like he was spending much time with the kids to me.
Posted in: Savoie's suit against judge dismissed in child abduction
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fishy
not sure, but it's weird that as a child i used to have dreams that i'd be running and then all the sudden fall into a deep hole...very scary. it's been like 20 years since i had that dream.
Posted in: Do you believe that dreams have a bearing on or are symbolic of something in your real life?
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fishy
sometimes yes, but not always.
Posted in: Meet Aki, queen of the 'gyaru-mama'
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fishy
nope! her new song's selling and i hear it on the radio everyday ;)
Posted in: A global goodbye for Hikaru Utada