JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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- Financial Advisor
- Select Asset Management KK, Tokyo
- Salary: ¥100,000 ~ ¥999,999 Paid Training Commission Based
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- Corporate Business English Trainers
- ACT Systems, Inc.（株式会社アクト・システムズ）, Tokyo
- Salary: ¥269,500 ~ ¥280,000 / Month
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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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frontandcentre
P.S. - I love the way the Mainichi describes pulling the column altogether and punishing the people who edited it, as "a fundamental re-think". If there were factual errors in the translation of a particular story - or the original story itself was incorrect - then why not just name the article, apologise and clarify the facts? It seems however to be much more about the charge of "debauching Japan by sending around the world information that could be misunderstood" (i.e. information that could be readily understood about the seedier side of Japanese life, business and crime) than any specific story.
Truly pathetic, from an organisation that doubtless describes itself as an independent provider of news about this country.
Posted in: What do you think of the Mainichi's decision to cease publishing its WaiWai tabloid tidbits section on its English online site following complaints that it portrays Japanese society in a negative light to the world?
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frontandcentre
If anyone hasn't, I strongly advise reading Mainichi's spineless, self-contradictory explanation of its decision on the website. Instead of taking a balanced position on the merits and criticisms of the Waiwai column, it surrenders completely to those unnamed parties that complained about certain stories which it refuses to identify.
If the automatic response to any kind of criticism is immediate apologetic capitulation to whichever deluded, self-interested group or individual complained in the first place, surely there's little hope for objective and thorough reporting of ANY news in Japan? Waiwai usually covered entertaining, saucy and (mostly) trivial stories, so what about when there is a real matter of public importance making news? Can we expect the Mainichi to report the truth when reputations, careers or even more are at stake, now their response to criticism is so clear?
If indeed Korean newspapers have been using Waiwai as source material for their commentary on Japan (and they can just as easily continue to do so by translating the original weeklies into Korean themselves) it says a hell of a lot more about Korea than it does about Japan. The mark of maturity in a society is press freedom and the ability to accept that others may judge you on what is published. This is a profoundly retrograde step, in my view.
As the Japanese might euphemistically say, in terms of journalism this decision is a "regrettable development".
Mainichi should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves and Ryan Connell should be employed by JT, Metropolis or some other organisation as soon as possible.
Posted in: What do you think of the Mainichi's decision to cease publishing its WaiWai tabloid tidbits section on its English online site following complaints that it portrays Japanese society in a negative light to the world?
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frontandcentre
I only discovered Salvatore recently - surprising given the number of shops he has - but was very impressed by the pizza. He sounds like a decent man from the interview, not taking himself too seriously, which is always a good point
Posted in: The pizza man
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frontandcentre
Thin people! So where the bl**dy hell are you?
Posted in: Australia world's fattest nation, U.S. 2nd
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frontandcentre
bottchef - don't worry, this is a great place to live, especially if you are happily married and able to make a decent living.
Most of the people you hear bitching are those who realise that they are stuck in a dead end job, or are attention-seeking "writer-cartoonist-cultural observer" types (a.k.a. an English teacher trying to persuade him / herself that he / she has more purpose in life than simply teaching housewives basic phrases) or those who are simply unable to hold down an adult relationship.
The rest of us just enjoy the place, grumble occasionally with our friends and get on with business, life and love...
Posted in: Stereotypes ’R’ Us
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frontandcentre
Ultimately, ALL men pay money to talk to girls. It's only a matter of WHEN you pay...
Posted in: Hostesses
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frontandcentre
Some of my Japanese clients are so wildly enthusiastic about going to "kyabakura", it's quite pathetic really. I've been to quite a few and chatted to some pretty girls, but it's all so artificial and superficial. Nothing like getting drunk and picking up a girl in a nightclub or pub somewhere...
Whoever is saying the girl(s) in the photo are "stunning" must have been stuck on an island with only monks for company. Or Saitama
Posted in: Hostesses
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frontandcentre
WilliB - I never mentioned revenge, even if someone else did. State-sanctioned revenge would result in anarchy.
Ultimately he was executed for murder. Deliberately putting someone to death is, to my mind, murder. Therefore what the state has done to him is effectively what he did to these poor children, in terms of the ultimate consequence rather than the horrific details.
Added to the fact that innocent people are known to have been executed, that it does not act as a deterrent and has no impact on the crime rate, nor in Japan is there any twisted, underlying religious justification for it, in practical terms the arguments in support of capital punishment crumble rapidly away.
But my main objection is one of principle - for the state to kill as punishment for killing is plainly absurd.
Posted in: Serial child killer Tsutomu Miyazaki, 2 others executed
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frontandcentre
I don't see why this is not an appropriate place to discuss the death penalty - since its use is precisely what the story is about.
Assuming this man was guilty of these horrific crimes, then I have no sympathy for him personally and every sympathy for the families of the victims. The death penalty, however, is fundamentally wrong and should be banned. For the state to lower itself to the level of the killer is reprehensible. If we are to progress towards a more civilised future, then such a sanction should never be used anywhere. It has never been proven as a deterrent nor, obviously, as a means of rehabilitation. Murdering the murderer makes no sense whatever.
Posted in: Serial child killer Tsutomu Miyazaki, 2 others executed
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frontandcentre
Hopefully he will be put away for a very, very long time. Killing him won't make anything better - and the families of the victims are never the people to ask, because they can't look at the case objectively. I think he must be mentally ill, and thus requires treatment
Posted in: Akihabara
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frontandcentre
"What's your name? Ichihashi? Going to Ni-chome? Off you go then, sorry to bother you!"
to lady kohai policewoman: "Hmmm.... he looks somehow familiar... no knife, though"
Posted in: Police search
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frontandcentre
I think the choice of title is a bit misleading - after all, his bag wasn't "lost" in London, he was careless and had it stolen. While I don't think he deserved that, I lived in London for years in some good and not-so-good parts of town and I never had anything stolen or burgled, never ran into any kind of physical violence or (for that matter) lost anything of great value. Considering how unlikely you are to lose something and get it back in London or most other world cities, I'd say that the complaint about not getting thanked for returning something in Tokyo seems both rather petty and misdirected. After all, the norm is that you get most things back here - and normally if you hand something in you get thanked.
Virtue should be its own reward
Posted in: Lost and found in Tokyo and London
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frontandcentre
bushlover - how is helping kids to get safely across the road 'childish'? Sounds pretty public spirited to me. Let's hope your children never need such 'childish' assistance.
Posted in: Man held for attempted murder after driving car into schoolchildren in Chiba
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frontandcentre
nisegaijin:
...and that kind of punishment would make you any better than him, would it? I don't think so.
Posted in: Akihabara
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frontandcentre
If the guy really is mentally ill, then he should be treated in a secure hospital until he is fit to be rehabilitated into society - presumably for the rest of his natural life. If he isn't, then throw the book at him. He should not be executed, but should be required to atone for his crimes every day until he dies
Posted in: Suspect says he decided to stage Akihabara attack a few days before
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frontandcentre
I disagree that the police did a good job - they must've been right on the spot in the middle of Akihabara and this maniac still had the time to run over 3 people, then get out and kill 7 plus injure many more. They should've shot him
Posted in: Suspect says he decided to stage Akihabara attack a few days before
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frontandcentre
The cops here are so effective that they feel videotaping their interrogations of suspects would somehow make life easier for criminals, and the Justice Minister - who is supposed to be representing a 'justice' system based on a proper regard for human rights - agrees with them...!
Posted in: Are Japanese police really as incompetent as readers on Japan Today make them out to be?
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frontandcentre
Sarge, a black Democrat president for the next 8 years. Don't you just love it?
Maybe it'll be enough time to start clearing up all of the problems caused by the Bush disaster
Posted in: Obama nears win amid signs Clinton may admit loss
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frontandcentre
By the way "Tsuyoshi" means strong - I guess his parents got that wrong...
What a pathetic coward
Posted in: Man held for attempted murder after driving car into schoolchildren in Chiba
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frontandcentre
All the ingredients of another Liddell 'classic' - shoot at those easy targets, slap on the arrogance, indulge your vocabulary, then claim your readers' responses prove your point and that since no-one is nearly as intelligent as you are, you are being 'misunderstood'.
Excuse me while I crawl onto dry land for the first time...
Posted in: For Japanese men, dysfunction starts in the cradle