JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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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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- Full-time English Teacher - Osaka
- Epion English Language Schools, Osaka
- Salary: ¥200,000 ~ ¥250,000 / Month Depending on your ability and experience
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- Part-time English Teacher - Osaka
- Epion English Language Schools, Osaka
- Salary: ¥10,000 ~ ¥15,000 / Day Depending on how many days a week are worked
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herefornow
issa1 -- you have been peddling that line of logic since this whole fiasco started, so please just answer me two questions. First, I did not hear Woodford express any "regrets' yesterday. What exactly do you believe he should regret? Second, how can it possibly be "damage" when he has exposed three decades of corporate fraud and turned true ownership/governance over to the real owners of the company -- the shareholders -- and taken it from a bunch of crooks, the board, who cooked the books simply to continue their careers? And please don't recite that "protecting the well-being of the workers" nonsense. In the long run, Olympus will emerge from this stronger and as a more viable company to invest in, which is in the workers' best interest. I don't hear you critisizing the crooks who put millions into these fees that otherwise could have gone to building a stronger company for the workers -- like say R&D -- just the guy who brought it to light.
Posted in: Woodford wants to clean up Olympus management for good
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herefornow
Nonsense. All it has prompted is Japan Inc. circling the wagons because they know that opening themselves up to real scrutiny could not come at a worse time, as the country is still trying to pull out of over two decades of stagnation, as well as now trying to re-build from the Tohoku disaster. The meeting between the political leaders and Woodford was just for show, since politicians in Japan draft no actual legislation, the bureaucrats do. And the bureaucrats are very much in the pocket of Japan Inc. If anything, this will result in Japan Inc. allowing fewer outsiders into the top ranks and finding additional ways to look and sound serious about governance, but having no real effect.
Posted in: Woodford wants to clean up Olympus management for good
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herefornow
Gucci hiring a 17 year-old as a spokesperson. Says a lot about Japanese culture -- that girls dominate the market and real "women" are not the role models.
Posted in: Emi Takei becomes Gucci's first Japanese 'image girl'
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herefornow
"delaying"? How about "hiding" -- for over three decades? And they had no intention of ever coming clean, until Woodford blew the whistle. Delaying my arse. When the company can at least have the guts to say in a straight forward manner what happened, then I might have some faith that they learned something from this. Until then, they are just playing the semantic games Japanese folks are well-known for. And Kikuwawa transferring these assets, which were almost certainly paid for with salary he earned by being a crook, is disgusting and, again, shows his arrogance and disdain for the wel--being of the company and its share holders.
Posted in: Ex-Olympus chief Kikukawa transferred ownership of 2 condos to 'relative'
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herefornow
Not to mention the tons of water that continue to accumulate on a daily baisis and for which there is no apparent solution. Yup, that sure defines stable for me.
Posted in: Japan to declare Fukushima nuclear plant in stable condition
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herefornow
nigelboy and rickyvee -- nonsense. Amoritazation of what? Fancy term for just being willing to become a corporate criminal and go along with continuing over three decades of fraud. Your ability to rationalize that is incredible and, IMO, means you have bought into the whole Japan Inc. mindset -- that the ends justifies the means. Collusion, fraud, monopolization, kick-backs, bid-rigging, etc. are all OK, because they keep jobs, right?
Posted in: Olympus proxy fight must be avoided, Woodford tells lawmakers
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herefornow
David -- precisely. And that is exactly why these four countries think Japan is clueless. If Japan could make a plausible argument that hunting whales in the Southern Ocean was critically important to their food stock or even their culture, then they might get some sympathy -- like the Eskimos do. But they are doing it just to show that they CAN, and flaunt their willingness to do so. It is just an arrogant exercise that brings no real scientific value, or even economic one to Japan. (They could re-train the folks involved in the hunt for much less than the cost of protecting them.) But that sort of rational logic does not work in Japan, where the "we are Japan, we are different, leave us alone" attitude that came about do to Japan's great post-war success is still way too prominent. So you, Ossan and others can argue all you want about Japan's "right" to conduct the hunt, and ignore the fact that it is badly losing the world-wide PR game on this, and just reinforcing folks belief that Japan, and its people, are isolated and cold-hearted. Your "moral" victory will only hurt Japan in the long-run.
Posted in: U.S., Australia, NZ 'disappointed' over Japan whale hunt
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herefornow
888naff -- what? On what basis do you make this remark? He has spoken to three different country's authorities -- Japan, U.S. and U.K.. Willingly. And provided them evidence of the fraud. Plus Olympus's own internal investigation did not find him in any way involved in the cover-up. You just can't stand that a foreigner showed Japan's corporate governance to be the sham that it is, and at one of its most respected firms as well. And that he just didn't go quietly to his meaningless position as a non-executive director like his Japanese bosses expected he would.
Posted in: Olympus proxy fight must be avoided, Woodford tells lawmakers
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herefornow
Yubaru -- great post and agree with your sentiment 100%. However I'm not sure if it is the sun shining in the right places, or just a spot light shining temporarily. And, after the present furor dies down, if any real and lasting change will occur to corporate governance. IMO, Japan and Japan Inc. don't truly understand the need for change, and even if they do, don't have the stomach for it.
Posted in: Olympus proxy fight must be avoided, Woodford tells lawmakers
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herefornow
Horse feathers. So long as Japan Inc. continues to adhere to a model of large inter-company holdings, and almost exclusively inside directors, there will be no such things as true corporate governance in Japan. With many large companies and banks holding such large blocks of each other's stock, earnings must be protected at almost any cost. Because the whole house of cards would fall if stock prices dropped and all the companies had to reflect the losses they had incurred due to the declines. (Look at TEPCO holding over $ 2,000,000,000 in stock. ) The snow-ball effect would be devastating. That is why Olympus got in the position it did in the first place.
Posted in: I do not think there are any problems in terms of the corporate governance system. The issue is really about individual firms.
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herefornow
Obviously the White House figures Noda won't make it to the spring. So no sense wasting Obama's time on anothet short-timer. Thye've been down that road at least three times already.
Posted in: Noda's U.S. visit postponed from January to March or April
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herefornow
johannes -- why do you kep stating such nonsense as fact. Coca Cola did not invent Santa Claus. Yes, their renditions of St. Nick in magazine ads they did from the 1930's have become the tradional form of picturing him, but that is not "inventing" him. St. Nick had a long history before Coke.
And, you bet I encouraged my kids to believe in Santa Claus.
Posted in: Do you, or did you, encourage your young children to believe in Santa Claus?
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herefornow
Reformed -- that's funny, neither you or Yuri expressed similar sentiments just yesterday about the Japanese movie about Yamamoto. That was not "stuff...getting dragged out again and again". In fact, Yuri defended it. But since this is China, telling about Japanese atrocities, it is unnecessary propaganda -- right?
Posted in: Christian Bale denies Nanjing Massacre film is propaganda
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herefornow
oldanno -- really? Do you really believe that? As flawed as the post-war era has been, with largely U.S.-led dominance and world politics, it is light-years better than what would have emerged from a victory by the Axis powers. Sure, the Allies were not always morally perfect in the decisions they made in fighting the war. No question about it. But to say the conflict was not basically against an evil form of tyranny as implemented by Japan and Nazi Germany is simply refusing to take a moral stand on your part.
Posted in: Movie shows wartime Admiral Yamamoto in new light
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herefornow
Yuri -- what are you talking about? "Suppose" that the Japanese had given the Americans the details? And the U.S. declared war the NEXT DAY not after the war? You are a perfect example of the re-invent history thinking that is all too pervasive in Japan.
Posted in: Movie shows wartime Admiral Yamamoto in new light
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herefornow
yanee -- care to explain why exactly you feel this way, as opposed to making an overly simplistic statement like Newt did? In fact, one could rationally argue that the U.S.'s steadfast support of Isreal has hurt it substantially in the world of International diplomacy and has provided the justification for numerous terrorist attacks. What is "good" about that?
Posted in: Gingrich stands firm on blunt Palestinian stance
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herefornow
sensei258 -- spot on. He was so morally conflicted that he decided the best course of action was to launch a sneak attack and kill roughly 2,500 people because he was opposed to a war. Unfortuantely I would predict that a large segment of the Japanese audience will actually be sympathetic to that kind of reasoning. Which, of course, is the problem with post-war Japan and its victim mentality that has been promulgated.
Posted in: Movie shows wartime Admiral Yamamoto in new light
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herefornow
Did he graduate? Hate to think he did, as that would not reflect well on the University of Tokyo's las school. Because he apparetly learned nothing.
Posted in: Former Daio chairman gambling debt increases to 15 billion yen
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herefornow
Up, no question about it, Edano was right -- corporate governance in Japan is clearly on a par with the U.S. I mean all this guy did is take about $200 MILLION in company funds -- actually, share-holders' funds -- to go to Vegas and gamble without any formal approvals. He just demanded it. Unbelievable, if we were not talking about Japan.
Posted in: Former Daio chairman gambling debt increases to 15 billion yen
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herefornow
johnnygogogo -- thank you for the information. In that case, then I do agree with the author, and Japan's farmers are, in effect, the last samurai -- "practically useless" and "running up huge debts". Although I hardly think that was the context in which the author meant his comparison. And, as for them "working their butts off", so what? That is the knee-jerk refrain heard to cover up Japan's biggest problem -- mistaking effort for results. If Japan, and its farmers were smart, and actually joined the 21st century, like SK's have done, they could probably work less hard, be more productive, make more money, and cost the tax-payers/consumers less. In a global economy, productivity, efficiency and results are paramount, not perceived amount of effort. And Japanese farmers are, unfortunately, the poster boys for all of Japan's domestic economy on the opposite.
Posted in: Farmers - last of the modern-day samurai