herefornow's past comments

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  herefornowApr. 06, 2013 - 11:39AM JST

  Schaeuble said Japan knows it must find a solution to its structural problems

  “If monetary policy is used instead of financial and economic changes, then we run in the wrong way,” he added, speaking through an interpreter.

  Japan knowing something, and actually doing something about it, given the dysfunctional political system, are two different things. IMO, Japan running "in the wrong way" is far more likely.

  Posted in: Monetary stimulus not enough for Japan: German finance minister

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  herefornowApr. 05, 2013 - 10:35PM JST

  Sea Shepherd committed “unforgivable sabotage”, Hayashi said, according to Kyodo News, including a collision with a whaling vessel as it was being refueled.

  I think most people outside of Japan would use the word "unforgivable" to decribe Japan for conducting their slaughter in the first place, not Sea Shepherd in trying to stop it. Especially since it costs what it does, and over 300,000 folks are still homeless in Tohoku.

  “We will seek more support from other countries to conduct research whaling in a stable manner,” the minister said.

  Yo, good luck with that.

  Posted in: Japan blames sabotage for record low whaling haul

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  herefornowApr. 05, 2013 - 06:36AM JST

  The numbers don't add up.

  Japanese automakers’ collective share of China’s passenger vehicle market fell to 12.5% at the end of February from 16.4% at the end of last year

  Meaning there was a fall of 3.9%, while;

  German brands in particular have taken advantage and claim 19.3% of the market, up from 18.4%

  The top rising group, the Germans only gained 0.9% meaning there was a drop of 3.0%- in overall car sales.

  It's not Japan losing grounds, it's Chinese economy slumping with car sales as an indicator

  Samurai -- I did re-read the article, as well as your initial post (above), and you are COMPLTETLY WRONG. The fact that Japan lost 3.9% market share, while the Germans only gained .9% share, is in NO WAY an indication of the fact that Chinese car sales are slumping. LIke I said, you are mixing apples and oranges in analyzing the percentages. I sure hope you are not responsible for analyzing statistics at your company. And my B.S. in economics and MBA stand behind that.

  Posted in: Japan's automakers lose ground in China

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  herefornowApr. 04, 2013 - 11:15PM JST

  SamuraiBlue -- afraid you need some remedial math. You are mixing apples and oranges -- market share percentages with market growth and sales growth percentages. You can't do that. In reality, Japan's market share dropped almost 25% -- from 16.4% to 12.5% -- and that is HUGE. Much larger than the 3.9% number you reference implies.

  Posted in: Japan's automakers lose ground in China

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  herefornowApr. 04, 2013 - 12:22PM JST

  It's polished white rice, sugar and dead fish. Not a veggie in sight, apart from the occasional bit of cucumber.

  LOL. The Japanese have among the world's highest average life expectancies, have for decades, and Cleo trashes one of their most traditional meals, because it does not please her Vegan sensibilities. Gotta love it. And in case you missed it Cleo, "dead fish" isn't such a bad thing. In fact, fish is one of the key elements in the "heart-healthy" Mediterranean Diet, that is increasingly popular here in the states.

  Posted in: How healthy a food is sushi?

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  herefornowMar. 30, 2013 - 11:58AM JST

  “Our safety culture, skills and ability were all insufficient,”

  Ya think? Pretty much covers all the relevant areas -- not enough thought to safety, lacking the skills needed to manage nuclear power, and the ability to respond in a crisis.

  Posted in: TEPCO takes blame for Fukushima nuclear crisis

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  herefornowMar. 29, 2013 - 01:21PM JST

  So just keep his 500 million bail and call it even. Apparently it is just walking around money for him, so he won't miss it.

  Posted in: Property tycoon accused of tax evasion posts Y500 mil bail in cash

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  herefornowMar. 29, 2013 - 01:17PM JST

  underscoring the fragility of the recovery of the world’s third-largest economy

  What recovery? Having the governor of the BOJ say it don't make it so.

  Posted in: Japan's jobless rate up to 4.3%; prices, manufacturing fall

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  herefornowMar. 28, 2013 - 12:16PM JST

  Complete hogwash. First off "lifetime employment" is not mangement. It is a societal value reinforced by numerous rules and regulations which make it virtually impossible to fire an individual employee, no matter how poor their prerformace. Second, the actual measure of management is how well it utilizes this resource that it has been given in the form of lifetime employees. And since Japan's domestic effciency rate, as well as profit margins, are among the worst of the major economies, you'd have to say they are failing miserably at this. Finally, one of the key measures of mangement is its ability to set strategy for companies and build organizatons that can adapt to a changing environment, especially in the 21st century. Again with an economy in close to its third decade of stagnation, and major firms like Sony, Sharp, Panasonic, etc. bleeding red ink and having their bonds classified as junk, you'd have to Japan is woefully deficient here as well. Respectfully, this article reads like a term paper for a business major at a Japanese university. Not to be taken seriously, and no better than a "C+".

  Posted in: Why Japan is winning and 'Western management' isn’t

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  herefornowMar. 27, 2013 - 08:34PM JST

  Organizers of Tokyo’s bid for the 2020 Olympics say public support for their campaign had risen to 77% as IOC inspectors make a fact-finding tour of three candidate cities.

  The support rate was up four points from January, the Tokyo bid committee said, citing its own telephone surveys

  .In a related story, Japan was ranked number four among countries when it came to telling lies.

  Posted in: Tokyo 2020 Olympics bid boosted by record support

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  herefornowMar. 27, 2013 - 09:33AM JST

  Absolutely no surprise to anyone who has spent any significant time in Japan. Since there is no sense of guilt in Japan, lying is no big deal. It is getting caught that leads to shame that is an issue.

  Posted in: Japan 4th in world liar rankings

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  herefornowMar. 26, 2013 - 08:44PM JST

  The U.S. as a country believes that a person can't be tried twice for the same charge, as in this case. Italy already had its chance.

  Bryan -- exactly. This is why the U.S. has the "double jeopardy" laws. If the Italian justice system erred by finding her ot guilty, they don't get a second chance.

  Posted in: Italian court orders retrial in Knox sex-murder case

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  herefornowMar. 26, 2013 - 08:35PM JST

  Observers say the legal challenges are aimed at bringing moral pressure on politicians of all parties to alter an electoral system that has become weighted in favour of those living in rural areas

  Leave it to Japanese politicians to frig up a free lunch. As Yubaru says:

  One Person One vote! How hard is it?

  Posted in: Gov't to examine electoral system after lawsuits over vote disparities

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  herefornowMar. 25, 2013 - 08:53AM JST

  Probably a good thing since that awful shade of "dog-poop" brown that many ladies get from the cheap, do-it-yourself hair dyes is not attractive.

  Posted in: To dye or not to dye?

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  herefornowMar. 24, 2013 - 11:53AM JST

  He said Japan is sensitive to the concerns of U.S. industry, and he urged the U.S. to be sensitive to Japanese agriculture, in pursuit of the “higher goal” of building regional free trade

  Clever strategy. Japan knows it would lose this debate on simply the merits of "free trade" since Japan will almost certainly try to exempt their "sensitive" categories, and then likely throw up lots of non-tariff barriers to undermine the agreement in many others, as they have always done. So, instead, they are playing the political card, and, read between the lines, trying to play the U.S. off against China. In other words, play ball with us, U.S., or we'll play ball with China. But, they need to remember that all treaties need to be approved by the U.S. Congress, and the members of Congress listen to their constituents, who care most about jobs, and not a bit about Japan or China.

  Posted in: Japan's ambassador urges U.S. to endorse Japan's TPP bid

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  herefornowMar. 23, 2013 - 10:32PM JST

  A cup of boiled edamame will give you somewhere in the range of 30 grams of protein.

  Yum, yum. No thanks. I'll gladly get my protein from chicken, fish, pork and lean beef. My taste buds like the variety. Besides, in many counties, you can afford to do so. LOL.

  Posted in: The ideal nutritional proportions are 50 to 60% carbohydrates, 20% proteins, and the rest fat.

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  herefornowMar. 22, 2013 - 11:41AM JST

  These dudes are really playing with fire here.

  gaijinfo -- spot on. Creating inflation merely by printing more money, like you said, and spending wildly on pork-barrel projects is not a long-term solution. It simply masks the underlying problems in the Japanese economy that caused deflation in the first place and does not create the pressure needed to re-structure the economy. So in two years or so, the country'sdebt to GDP ratio will be well over 250%, and the cost of needed imports, like fuel and food, will have gone sky high due to the weaker yen. Which will eat into people's already razor-tight budgets. Then what do they do?

  Posted in: Do you think the Bank of Japan can get the economy out of deflation?

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  herefornowMar. 21, 2013 - 08:38PM JST

  Exports to China in February dropped 15.8%, partly due to the territorial spat and also the effect of the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday.

  Shipments to Europe, a key market for Japanese products, tumbled 9.6 percent, while exports to the US market climbed 5.7 percent from a year earlier.

  I hope all you folks who say Japan doesn't need the TPP are reading this and can put aside your anti-U.S. sentiments for the good of Japan. Tade with China will always be precarious due to the nature of the political relationship between the countries. Europe is struggling to avoid an economic meltdown. Only the U.S. can be Japan's reliable trade partner -- strong enough to lift Japan's all-important exports. Facts don't lie.

  Posted in: Japan posts Y777.5 bil trade deficit in February

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  herefornowMar. 20, 2013 - 11:49AM JST

  “As we look at Japan, why in the world would we believe at this point that this would be any different?”

  Like myself and others have been saying for a long time, Japan needs deals like this more than the other countries need Japan to be part of it. Most developed countries, especially the U.S., are fed up with Japan's antics and know there is very little upside for their companies. Japan's days of growth are long gone and so they cannot bluff their way through anymore. Face reality folks, Japan Inc's protectionism worked great before the bubble burst. But now with an economy that has gone nowhere in over two decades and a shrinking/aging population, that model is completely obsolete. But since that model has bred a generation of corporate leaders that only know one way to manage, and rely on the tariffs and other trade barriers to mask their comapnies' inefficiencies, Japan is between a rock and a hard spot. I hope these senators hold Japan's feet to the fire. For Japan's sake.

  Posted in: U.S. senators want no exemptions for Japan over TPP

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  herefornowMar. 20, 2013 - 11:38AM JST

  with organizers saying they want something to welcome nuclear evacuees in three decades’ time.

  Talk about a meaningless gesture that will only let these "organizers" feel better about themselves. Most of the evacuees, unfortunately, are well on in years and will never likely see these in "three dacades". Why not focus on real reconstruction, rather than gestures? Of, right, I forgot, we are talking about Japanese government.

  Posted in: Fukushima to get 20,000 cherry trees on 190-km coast