JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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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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herefornow
Not good. Unlike consumers in Japan, ones in the U.S. are not blindly loyal. The safety recalls and basically boring product are hurting Toyota and it will likely take a few years for it to fully recover. If it does.
Posted in: Toyota boosts U.S. sales with rental cars
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herefornow
So, in other words, an out-spoken proponent of nuclear power, charged with developing worst-case scenarios, instead decided that Fukushima would be no worse than Three Mile Island. What a surprise. And this is acceptable? Wrong. Its that kind of thinking that made me leave Japan despite considerable professional and personal cost. Japan Inc. is the only core "value" of Japan, and, unfortunately every key decison that gets made there is based on what is best for it, and not the actual well-being of the citizens. And that will not change for decades.
Posted in: Official defends secrecy over worst-case nuclear disaster scenario
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herefornow
Could just about describe every major company and institution in Japan. The word transparent is just thrown around there, never really implemented. And proactive does not even enter into the vocabulary. As a result, the citizens are going to have to foot over $20.0 billion in government payments to solve all the problems caused by this culture. Which, if my math is right, is about $155.00 in extra taxes for every person in Japan. All because TEPCO, like so much else of Japan, is stuck in a business model that broke over two decades ago, but cannot change because it knows know other way to operate. Years of isolation, and arrogance, are catching up with Japan in a big, big way.
Posted in: Gov't OKs further Y690 bil for TEPCO, but wants say in running utility
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herefornow
Dog -- your posts are spot on, as usual, on this subject. Like most things Japan has done of late to try to correct the massive problems in its economy, this is just spitting into the wind. Because, as you say, they are totally unwilling to make the massive structural changes needed. Like Einstien said: "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and hoping for a different outcome". But that is what defines Japanese economic policy for the past two decades.
Posted in: Yen weakens as BOJ eases monetary policy
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herefornow
Yup, a $500 million loss and one of the guys who has been sued by the company for particpating in the fraud is still president. That says all anyone needs to know about how seriously Japan takes corporate governance. And, unfortunately, fredster is right -- the moral of this story for Japanese companies/boards is not that they should open up and adopt world standards. Instead it will be to simply circle the wagons more and become even more isolated.
Posted in: Olympus reports Y33.08 bil net loss for 9 months to December
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herefornow
Which of course explains why one of its key amenities is the Evian Spa featuring "French savoir-faire". Didn't realize that Japanese women had bought so much French luxury goods that it could now lay claim to French culture being part of the "very essence of Japanese hospitality". LOL.
Posted in: Palace Hotel Tokyo to open May 17
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herefornow
Spot on. Can the folks finally rise up an take on Japan Inc. Unlikely, since most men are employed by big companies, or in construction projects linked to big companies and/or the government, and they would never bite the hand that feeds them. The only way this movement will succeed is if the elderly, and women , especially mothers concerned about their kids health, unite and really do something dramatic. But the odds of that happening are slim and none.
Posted in: It’s fine to go around with a Geiger counter and see if your child’s playground is radioactive, but how do you go from that to getting the laws to change so that this kind of thing can’t happen again?
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herefornow
Wow, a Japanese business leader who gets it. Don't see him claiming that its not a problem because its mostly owned by Japanese. He understands that taxes will have to be raised considerably to pay all the bills, like the consumption tax, and he knows what an impact this extra 5% to 10% will have on discretionary spending, which of course dining out is. I always thought Zest and La Boheme were passable imitations of Mexican and Italian cuisine, respectfully -- adjusted for Japanese taste of course.
Posted in: Global Dining
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herefornow
If he loved her he would not have assisted her slide into addiction, which ultimately appears to have been the cause of the decline in her vocal skills, and likely led to her death. RIP Whitney.
Posted in: Whitney Houston's daughter treated for stress at hospital
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herefornow
I sincerely hope Hirai can turn Sony around, for the good of Japan. IMO the only way he will do this is if he is willing to make the "hard decisions" he speaks of, especially as it pertains to the bloated Japanese corporate staff and their related expenses. Sony is sort of like the U.S. car companies of a decade or two back -- they were saddled with huge legacy costs dating back to when they were selling everything they could make. But then when the market turned against them, mainly due to Japanese imports, they could not be competitive due to the impact of this huge overhead. I was in Best Buy today here in the states, and a Sony TV and a comparable South Korean or Chinese one are about $200 difference in price -- say $299 versus $499 for a 32-inch. In a still recovering economy like in the U.S., and that is too big a difference for just the brand name of Sony to overcome.
Posted in: Incoming Sony CEO Hirai refuses to abandon TV business
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herefornow
Typical Japan -- taking a stand with words only. Yup, Japan thinks Iran needs to change, but not at the expense of earning money from their central bank.
Posted in: Noda says Japan seeks waiver from U.S. penalties on Iran
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herefornow
These guys are employees of a PUBLICLY traded company. And they let this guy walk away with over $120 million, just because he said to. And people say Japan takes corporate governance seriously -- yeah right. And then all they get is suspended, or, god forbid, have their salaries cut. Japan's corporate ethics are a joke, and the whole world knows it now, not just us folks who saw it first-hand.
Posted in: Daio to punish 23 execs over former chairman's breach of trust
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herefornow
Funny how Japanese have the reputation as being so stoic and circumspect, but so many politicians get themselves in trouble every year because they cannot keep their mouths shut. My guess is that it happens because the guys like Azumi really have no experience in the area that they are supposed to be minister of, so in order to sound like thye know what they are talking about, they spout off anything that comes across their mind. In other words, they are the epitome of the saying "They know just enough to be dangerous".
Posted in: Azumi under fire for revealing forex intervention level
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herefornow
Hope his doctors there are as good as mine were here in the states. I had to have a cardio cath. a few months ago after experiencing chest pain, and they found two blocked arteries. Put in three stints, and I'm as good as new. Sincerely wish the same outcome for the Emperor. He's a decent bloke.
Posted in: Emperor has angiography to check on heart condition
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herefornow
Yubaru -- have you lived anywhere else "on the planet". If you had, you would know that prices for medices in Japan are often several hundred percent higher than places like Canada or Mexico.
Posted in: Gov't to hike some medical fees to relieve overcrowding at large hospitals
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herefornow
JapanGal -- great comment. And a big reason as to why Japan is gaining momentum as it slides down the slippery slope into irrelevancy. One year on, and the best they can do is create a new ministry that will last NINE YEARS. At least the bureaucrats are benefitting from the disaster.
Posted in: New reconstruction agency launched with Hirano in charge
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herefornow
Good luck with that. If Japan gets back to 10.0 million they should consider themselves lucky. Remember, part of that "tourist" number is foreigners coming to Japan on business, and that number is declining along with Japan's economy. Those folks are going to China, Singapore, etc. now.
Posted in: Gov't aims for 18 million tourists a year by 2016
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herefornow
smith -- spot on, as usual. Japan, at its core, is a country without a guiding set of values, since its constitution was imposed on them. The words like freedom of thought and speech are just abstract concepts which they truly don't grasp the essence of.
Posted in: Supreme Court rules making teachers sing 'Kimigayo' is constitutional
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herefornow
Called protectionism, or alternately Japan Inc. But despite this advantage JAL still managed to go bankrupt.
Posted in: Jetstar Japan to start domestic flights in July
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herefornow
But since we are talking about California, the more important question is whether or not the whales can have same-sex marriages?????
Posted in: Judge throws out whale 'slavery' suit against Seaworld in California