JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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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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- Assistant Language Teacher - TOKYO - late-March start
- Interac, Tokyo
- Salary: ¥230,000 ~ ¥255,000 / Month
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- Assistant Language Teacher - Kanagawa Prefecture - late-March start
- Interac, Kanagawa
- Salary: ¥230,000 ~ ¥255,000 / Month
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funkymofo
'ejected from the dugout'- at a football match.....riiiight
Posted in: Qatar, Japan draw 1-1 in World Cup qualifier
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funkymofo
Yes, difficult to work out whether racism is in or out.
Posted in: It is difficult to read world opinion or which way the political wind blows.
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funkymofo
Japan comes together in ‘Rhythm and Hope’ and wishes refugees goodbye and good luck.
Posted in: Japan comes together in ‘Rhythm and Hope’ for World Refugee Day
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funkymofo
Yeah, it's almost as if the movie was a work of fiction.
Posted in: Foreign minister says Indiana Jones movie trivializes nuke threat
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funkymofo
I think the guy is out of the country or dead. The increased reward others have mentioned might at least turn up the truth and help give the parents a little closure. Maybe this episode could provide some impetus towards a bit of an examination into foreigners rights in Japan, both for educating foreigners, and helping police in their dealings too. Maybe something positive could come out of this tragedy.
Posted in: Realistically speaking, what do you think the police should be doing to catch Tatsuya Ichihashi, the suspect in the 2007 murder of Lindsay Ann Hawker?
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funkymofo
I agree, the only thing stopping me getting one is the camera- perfect 3 in 1 gadget if has decent resolution. Are you listening to me Steve Jobs? Hello?
Posted in: New iPhone software has copy-paste, no Flash
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funkymofo
We are vain and we are blind I hate people when they're not polite
Psycho Killer, Qu'est-ce que c'est? fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa.....
Hang on.... has anyone seen David Byrne recently?
Posted in: Woman stabbed after being asked for directions near Yokohama station
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funkymofo
I'm sorry, I had no had no idea you were an expert on maritime safety. As I said, let's wait and see what evidence is uncovered by the AFP before we start convicting people, shall we?
Posted in: Anti-whaling group says Australian police seized video of clashes
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funkymofo
ossan,
When a video is taken of 2 independently moving objects from another moving object, all floating on a on a medium which is itself moving and provides no reference points, the camera becomes the only apparently 'non-moving' reference point. This can be very misleading when viewed in isolation. I'm not sure I explained this at all adequately, but I hope you get what I mean. The commenter's recollection is not totally incorrect, just differing from yours- we'll all just have to wait and see.
Personally, I'm glad the Japanese have decided to pursue legal recourse, as is the Sea Shepherd organisation itself. Hopefully this will open the whole stinking whale hunt up to international scrutiny. The SS has a great deal of evidence of the use of water cannons, military grade acoustic weapons, metal balls, stun grenades etc. which I'm fairly sure will be viewed with some interest when taking the poor , defenceless whalers' pleas of harrassment into consideration- not to mention the killing of baby whales, the use of shotguns etc. on the unfortunate sea mammals and the fact that the whalers are in breach of Australian law and have been repeatedly told by the IWC to stop.
Yeah, right- what are the charges?
Posted in: Anti-whaling group says Australian police seized video of clashes
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funkymofo
People who can't make the cricket team play baseball in Australia, so we're not much chop at baseball- though I believe we beat Japan in the Sydney Olympics.
Posted in: Matsuzaka shaky in Japan's 11-2 win in WBC tuneup
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funkymofo
Having no Jordan or Obama is Tokyo's biggest hurdle.... yeah, right.
Posted in: We are not led by the big stars. We don't have Barack Obama, we don't have Michael Jordan. But again I have to state that the Olympics is not staged by the person, it is won and staged by a team. We are promoting the team and the city itself.
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funkymofo
Pretty dour game, Aussies looked on the back foot for much of proceedings- valuable point though, mission accomplished.
Posted in: Australia vs Japan
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funkymofo
Anyone who has sat through an average Japanese junior high English class already knows the answer to this question. Anyone who has had any dealings with education boards here knows that nothing is gonna change anytime soon. IMO.
Posted in: What's wrong with the way English is taught in Japan?
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funkymofo
Great idea! Now, if I can only learn to sleep with my eyes open.
Posted in: LED clock light
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funkymofo
The government of Japan and its baying apologists have often described the Sea Shepherd protesters as 'eco-terrorists'...
So, recent issues:
The Japanese have aimed a “military grade” noise weapon that can cause deafness and vomiting at the Sea Shepherd.
.protester hit in the face with a large chunk of metal lobbed from a harpoon boat.
.Japan has lost fishermen overboard and refused help from protesters in the search, then attacked the protesters for not helping.
.had a fire on board and broken down in pristine antarctic waters risking further environmental damage.
.killed thousands of whales with grenade tipped harpoons 8000km from their homeland.
.bought votes in IWC to prevent the closure of loopholes that allow for commercial under the guise of 'scientific research'.
.caught 1800ton over quota for bluefin tuna alone in a single year.
.continued the inhumane slaughter in Taiji etc. of dolphins and small whales.
.repeatedly ignored requests of governments of affected countries and protest groups to cease whaling.
Who are the eco-terrorists again?
Posted in: Whalers blast activists with water cannons in Antarctic Ocean
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funkymofo
davidattokyo,
If you are sticking to facts and figures, then I applaud you, but your posts seem to reveal evidence to the contrary. For example, the characterization of protest groups as eco-terrorists and thugs is hardly supported by evidence. While the actions of some of these groups and/or their members may not be particularly edifying in your mind, they have not been found guilty under international law. Rightly or wrongly, they have not been proven to be thugs or terrorists. Your assertion that annecdotal(sic) evidence 'needs to be fair' is again, a little bit of a furphy. It is, by definition, subjective. It is one individual or group's recollection of a situation. On the subject of protesting and it's relation to the financial situation of the restaurant mentioned earlier, surely if the demand was there, there wouldn't be 4000 tonnes left over. Maybe the ICR should thank the 'eco-terrorists' for preventing them from looking even sillier.
How much whale meat is consumed? Clues are found in the whale meat supply, released semiannually by ICR, and the whale meat inventory, compiled monthly by MAFF. The whale meat supply in FY 1987, when research whaling started, was 1,140 tons. Since then, the supply has increased together with the number of whales caught and reached 4,154 tons in FY 2006. Inventory also increased rapidly. It was at the 2,000 ton level, but suddenly increased to the 3,000-4,000 ton level in the latter half of FY 2004 and peaked at 5,969 tons, which exceeds the maximum annual supply of 5,560 tons (2005-2006) at the end of April 2006. As a CPA of a major audit corporation acknowledges, "it is unthinkable for an ordinary business entity."
The spurious attempt to link the proposed expansion of foreign commercial whalers into the Japanese market as indicative of domestic demand for whale by-products may say just as much about the foreign domestic market as it does about demand here. While I'm not au fait with the foreign situation you mention, the evidence is firmly stacked against your conclusion.
You're right, I'm not planning to make any consumption graphs, you got me. I was responding to your suggestion. I actually don't believe I need to make a graph at all. Even under duress (from those naughty 'eco terrorist thugs') the whalers slaughtered and processed more than the existing stockpile of whale by-products they still have in storage. Imagine if they caught their full quota! You should be careful who you support, David. You may have a fisherman knocking on your door after Christmas asking to borrow your freezer.
Finally, I must offer you an apology. I wrote- 'As it contains up 200 times the safe level of mercury'. While that does not equate to your assertion that I said 'whale meat contains "200 times the safe level of mercury"', it was a typo- I meant to write 'up to'. I think I read somewhere that your average piece of whale sold for human consumption contains something like 12- 70 times the recommended safe level of mercury, but it's late and I'm too tired to go looking for it- that number is much more comforting, don't you think? Dozo meshiagatte kudasai. A final quote, sorry for taking up your time, I'm off to bed.
Posted in: Australia invests in whale research to challenge Japan
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funkymofo
davidattokyo, '
' When supply outstrips demand- as has been found in audits of the whaling industry, a glut is the result.
Anyway, glad to see you're focusing on the arguments instead of pointless semantic quibbles. Oh, wait a minute....
And suppose I do graph the figures you quote- I might also be tempted to graph the annual consumption of the products you mentioned. Yushin, the 'flagship' whale restaurant in Tokyo is closing, citing 'high operating costs', I believe. Isn't the whaling industry also having problems paying back the loans it has been given, above and beyond the massive subsidies they receive, that is. Any comparison between this oversubsidised niche and mainstream food industries is a rather transparent attempt to give it legitimacy that it clearly does not deserve.
Anyway, I have to wonder why you don't address the health concerns I mentioned. Have you ingested enough whale to affect your memory?
Posted in: Australia invests in whale research to challenge Japan
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funkymofo
I hear Japan has a glut of approximately 4000 tonnes of whale meat in storage. As it contains up 200 times the safe level of mercury, I say to Japanese people 'eat and be damned'. Enjoy your ancient and precious 'tradition' of hunting with grenade tipped harpoons far across the world surrounded by people who don't want you there. It's interesting that there is no outcry over poisoned and contaminated whale meat.
Posted in: Australia invests in whale research to challenge Japan