JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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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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- 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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herefornow
Smorkian -- how predictable. You decided to respond with your usual semantic nonsense. But, respectfully, studies have shown it takes about four days of true relaxation before you really begin to de-stress, for lack of a better word. And since most of these folks will turn around and return within a couple of days, they never truly relax. But if your consider that relaxation, go for it. And be proud in that you have truly accepted devotion to Japan Inc. completely and now define relaxing accordingly. And just forget that you are entitled to probably two weeks or more of actual vacation time that you dare not take.
Posted in: O Bon voyage
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herefornow
Makes perfect sense. You live everyday packed into crowded trains/subways -- jammed together/jostling others at every turn -- and then you "relax" by crowding onto planes and the shinkansen with everyone else.
Posted in: O Bon voyage
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herefornow
Ouch is right. One week he's world-class, the next week he's bringing up the rear. Golf can really be a cruel game.
Posted in: Ryo Ishikawa shoots 15 over at PGA Championship
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herefornow
Five months in, and "officiials hope" is still the operative phrase No more needs to be said.
Posted in: Giant tent being built over Fukushima plant's No. 1 reactor
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herefornow
Smorkian -- no surprise in your response either. But, for the record, in case you missed it in the article, "flexible working" constitutes a lot more than just working at home. It also means flexible in time. And please don't tell me Japan wouldn't be better off if everybody was not commuting to/from work at the same time, or all going to lunch at 12:00. Also, you clearly didn't consider that working from home could allow women with kids, who get pushed out of corporate positions as soon as they have children, to still possibly work and contribute to Japan's economic well-being. And with an aging and shrinking population this could be very important.
Posted in: Japanese companies trail global peers in use of flexible work practices
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herefornow
."It doesn't need to be repeated every time he's mentioned. He's shorthand for evil. It's not necessary to rub everyone's face in his atrocities 24/7."
Smorkian -- nonsense. For two reasons. First, Japanese people's blind-spots towards anything outside of Japan is monumental and legendary. Especially among the younger folks who are taught little actual world history. Second, to not premise this kind of thing with at least a reference to Hitler's atrocities -- no not rubbing everyone's face in it -- is to in effect accept it as "no big deal". That is foolish.
Posted in: Japanese TV show invokes Hitler as motivator
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herefornow
ready -- not I. J-government's and TEPCO's inability to deal with this crisis was obvious from Day 1. So I was not going to stay and pay a physical, psychological, and financial price for five years or more when it would support this kind of criminal incompetence.
Posted in: TEPCO says it has lost contact with 143 nuclear plant workers
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herefornow
Disagree. People get the governments they deserve. If this country is run by a bunch of "moronic incompetents" it is because these "fabulous" people felt they deserved positions of authority. And have done nothing to try to change the system, because it is easier to just shrug and say "shonanai" as you shuffle off to the izakaya for your nightly drinking and eating session.
Posted in: Japan ignored own radiation forecasts from very beginning
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herefornow
Smorkian -- no surprise that you are using your usual semantics to try to defend something indefensible. Whether or not all Japanese or not think this way the inescapable fact is that Hitler caused untold human tragedy on millions of people. And any country, society and/or broadcaster with half a moral compass would understand that to portray him as a positive motivator is simply desperately wrong, without some acknowledgement of the terror and suffering he caused. Handled intelligently, I could possibly agree with the premise, and your argument. But in a variety show format, with someone giving a "rousing speech" about him is simply continuing the willful ignorence that Japan has hidden behind for years, and makes the country a joke internationally. Being an "island country" is no longer a defense for raising generations of un-knowing and un-caring people.
Posted in: Japanese TV show invokes Hitler as motivator
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herefornow
saru-au: Spot on. TEPCO's complete and utter ineptitude, incompetence, and arrogance have caused millions of people un-needed stress and anxiety, not to mention inconvenience, losses of wages/jobs, and possible exposure to radioactive materials. If that is not criminal negligence I don't know what is.
Posted in: TEPCO says it has lost contact with 143 nuclear plant workers
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herefornow
Over fifty comments and not a one from Zenny11 or WiiliB or the other posters who rant against the folks who said from Day 1 not to trust the information coming from TEPCO or the government and to make decisions accordingly. But the bigger question, IMO, is what would they have done if this model was showing the radiation heading south/southwest, towards Tokyo? Would they have had the courage/moral backbone to do the right thing, or would thye have willingly endangered the lives of millions of people? Scary to potentially think that it was which way the wind was blowing, that allowed them to avoid making the right decision.
Posted in: Japan ignored own radiation forecasts from very beginning
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herefornow
Anyone who is hoping the next PM will be significantly better than the last five is simply not grasping reality. Japan and its political system in its current form is simply not capable of providing a strong leader. Raising generations of mama's-boys who rise through the ranks by simply "playing politics" rather than actually accomplishing anything as a legislator or minister is coming home to roost. And will continue to do so for at least a decade or more.
Posted in: DPJ, LDP agree on passage of bills, paving way for Kan to step down
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herefornow
The NY Times article is pretty depressing, and it is likely the Japanese public will never learn all this. But, it is exactly as many posters here, including myself, have said for months. Trusting TEPCO and the J-government to handle this crisis in a transparent manner was simply foolish. To do so ignores decades of government control/spinning of information in order to protect Japan Inc. -- hepatitis, mercury, and asbestos being just three previous/recent examples. And no one can presume this will change at all going forward either.
Posted in: U.N. chief asks Japan for frank input at nuclear safety summit
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herefornow
Smorkian -- why feel sorry for the shareholders? They got paid dividends for years out of profits that were made by TEPCO deliberately short-cutting safety measures. (TEPCO's annual profits for the last decade far exceeds this loss.) And now the taxpayers are footing the bill for the disaster this caused. I shed no tears at all for them.
Posted in: TEPCO reports Y571.8 bil loss
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herefornow
This can be what happens when a company tries to be the foundation of Japan Inc. and places too much reliance on one country for production of cars and parts. Diversifying production and suppliers was economically justified years ago. But Toyota felt compelled by political forces to keep jobs here.
Posted in: Toyota hopes for revival after sinking to No. 3
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herefornow
My sympathy to folks there. The price of rice in Japan is already like 7 times the international price due to the tariffs. And now this on top. The ripple effect of Fukushima just keeps spreading.
Posted in: Rice futures trading suspended after price soars on nuclear fears
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herefornow
Japan and "frank" should not be used in the same sentence when it comes to any information about Fukushima released by the government or TEPCO. Delayed, opague, partial, deceitful, overly-optimistic would all be much better adjectives.
Posted in: U.N. chief asks Japan for frank input at nuclear safety summit
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herefornow
Assuming this is an actual trend, and not just a few isolated cases, this could possibly be one of the saddest articles about Japan I've ever read, and gives little hope for the country addressing and overcoming its many serious issues. Women and their mothers berating hard-working salarymen because they became victims of two developments beyond their control -- Lehman Brothers and the Tohoku/Fukushima disaster -- is about as cold and unintelligent as I can imagine. Maybe Japanese society is as superficial as I had feared all along.
Posted in: Honey, do you mind going back to work?
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herefornow
As a U.S. citizen and registered independent, can't say I disagree with this comment. Neither party looked particularly good in all this. But, economic and political criticism coming from China, which has contributed to the U.S. economic woes with its grossly under-valued currency, and throws political opponents in jail, rather than allow debate, is a bit ironic to say the least. China, more than any other country, has benefitted from the U.S. over-spending to keep the economy pumping. Or is that huge balance of payments surplus they run with the U.S. just a figment of my imagination?
Posted in: Time for U.S. to take responsibility: Chinese state media
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herefornow
Congrats to Ryo. He handled himself well on Sunday. This is his first top-20 in a stroke play event in the U.S. Let's hope it indicates that his game is improving in the areas it needs to to beat the world's best. In fact, they said on the U.S. broadcast that he has bought property outside of Augusta, Georgia, and intends to build a home there. Maybe he's gonna follow Rory's lead and play more next year in the states.
Posted in: Scott wins Bridgestone title; Ishikawa 4th