JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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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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- Part Time Assistant Language Teacher - Kanagawa Prefecture - late-March start
- Interac, Kanagawa
- Salary: ¥9,000 / Day per 4 class shift
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"Afghans fed up with government, U.S." ?
Well you can probably imagine how "fed up" we Americans are with having to step in all the time to keep you all from slaughtering each other. Or even worse, when we take the European approach of ignoring the problem only to have the world maon whine and bellyache about how the US is doing nothing. Damned if you do damned if you don't. Gee, I can't wait for the Chinese to take the helm, as the Europeans will never get their collective doo-doo together. Typical Eurothink, paralysis through analysis followed up with a heavy dose of hindsight ! Brilliant !
Posted in: Afghans fed up with government, U.S.
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Cavemanlawyer, poor position mate, you would get run in any court of law this this flawed rebuttel:
"You have not been near them either. Best you remember that. You were not in the same room they "decided" to get married, so don't be too sure about any of it, not even the plan to get married part."
The Palins released a statement regarding the "plans to be married", its part of the public record. As for Cleo's claims that this pregnancy is "unwanted/unplanned" there is nothing to indicate either is true.
Aside from this, the typical negative spin by the Japantoday crowd, is the fact that Palin's polling numbers currently show her leading both McCain and Obama in terms of popularity. Could it be that Japantoday has once again chosen to back the wrong horse ? I'm gonna laugh my tail off if the Sarge's of this site turn out to be right and the Palin/McCain ticket wins in a landslide !
Posted in: GOP convention opens amid talk of Palin's unmarried daughter being pregnant
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Great strategy by the Bush administration. Keep Russia busy in its own backyard ! Pretty simple to understand, at least for some of us.
Posted in: Bush intends to punish Moscow for invading Georgia
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"Just because there are right wingers in Japan who deny the war crimes doesn't give you a pass to blame all of Japan."
Tokyo Governer Ishihara, a right winger ? Koizumi, with his visits to Yasukuni, a right winger ?
usaexpat... them some pretty high ranking "right wingers" don't you think ? Of course I could go on and on about hollow apologies, denied compensation for Korean victims of the atomic bombings, Mitsubishi's rise to power on the back of wartime slave labor, comfort women, etc. But hey why pass the blame on to "all of Japan" ?
Posted in: Instead of being apologetic, Japan is becoming more and more brazen. This worries me. It has to stop.
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"Japan is no longer "Low Crime". It is much more dangerous than my small hometown in the American midwest. No one is shot, stabbed, or kicked to death!"
Totally agree ! Violence in Japan has been off the charts these past 10 years. The difference is, in Japan they hide the data. These stories of parents murdering their children in fits of rage have become all too common place. This is a national crisis ! When will the government do something about the lack of mental health services ? The old farts running the show in Tokyo have their heads firmly planted in the sand, or up their keesters, as they simply refuse to admit that the nation is awash in parental angst. This crap just sickens me ! My wife ever did that to my kid ? Forget the judicial system... she's a gonner !
Posted in: Woman, 23, held for kicking 1-yr-old daughter to death in Saitama
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How many of you out there have children ? Well then I'm sure you've seen this scenerio before. You tell the youngster to stop banging on the table, and they respond with "I'm only doing this" and proceed to bang a little more. Welcome to the world of Cleo ! Where one side of the mouth says I ain't doing anything while the other side of the mouth continues.
"I'm not 'insisting' that this pregnancy is unwanted, I'm saying that all the factors point to it being unplanned."
And like I said before Cleo, you have never been anywhere near any of the parties involved. You don't know them personally and you certainly weren't in the same room when Bristol and Levi decided to get married. For all we know they decided to celebrate their proposal with a good old fashioned rollick in the hay. For you to continue to libel their good name under the protection of Japantoday is a bit risky. As I said before, the Palins are about to go after similar tabloids in the court system. I'm surprised Japantoday allows your remarks to remain. But then again, they've deleted better !
Posted in: GOP convention opens amid talk of Palin's unmarried daughter being pregnant
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"It's about damn time Japan start acting in its interests instead of groveling and appologizing for things they did almost 100 years ago."
When exactly has Japan "ever" groveled or apologized for things they did almost 100 years ago ? I'd really like to know ! Japan has never groveled, apologized, or admitted to any of its wartime atrocities... never !
Posted in: Instead of being apologetic, Japan is becoming more and more brazen. This worries me. It has to stop.
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Caveman, I can agree with you on this, "I do not approve of Cleo's words", but I can't agree with you on the rest. The so-called statement you refer to appears to be in response to media questions and the circus that there-in follows. Posters like Cleo look for any opportunity to have a go at anything American, even if it includes blind assumptions. This is a perfect example. Nobody but the people involved know what is happening. It wouldn't be the first time someone became pregnant and "then" got married ! I say congrats to them.
Posted in: GOP convention opens amid talk of Palin's unmarried daughter being pregnant
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Americans must be tired of all them illegal Mexicans crossing the US border to seek safety and refuge from their homeland, literally awash in crime ! Takes a great nation to tolerate such a fiasco. No wonder the USA is contemplating a multi-million dollar fence to seperate the two ! Enough is enough !
Posted in: More than 100,000 Mexicans protest crime wave
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Some miss placed bitterness here rjdjr !
"All in all, another embarrasing exhibition by Team USA."
How so ? I mean they won the tournement !
"Fact is, any team that calls itself the "dream team,"
Your bad sparky ! This team has not called itself "The Dream Team" ! "Fact is" this team has been referred to as the "redeem team" as in "redemption" for previous failures in these international tournements. Again nothing to be embarrased about. The international game is simply different. Different sized ball, court layout, rules etc. It all leads to different strategies and game plans that have had European teams dominating for years. But make no mistake, those same teams do very poorly when they tour the USA every year playing by NBA standards. The games are different, the international game rewards outside shooting and fast breaks where the NBA game is a power game. The USA managed to win by focusing on defense, which works in both arenas, and a more fast tempo style. In the past they tried to simply set up their offense and take the two pointers. Unfortunately that didn't work when the opponent was hitting the three ! Great to see the Americans change strategy and once again show the world who plays the best hoops... in both the mens and womens game !
Posted in: U.S. beats Spain for men's basketball gold
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Hey ! Lay off the dog ! in light of the recent story here at Japantoday about food waste, it seems to me that the hotdog is a pretty efficient little food source. too bad they are so expensive here in Japan, almost a buck a dog- and thats without the bun, mustard, or relish !
Posted in: New attack ad on TV targets hot dogs
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The more press conferences I hear from both players and management alike I am now absolutely convinced that Hoshino Japan lost because they bought into the self adulation and praise of winning the WBC ! Jim Allen's article in today's Daiy Yomiuri sports section once again goes on and on about how winning the WBC set Japan up as the favorite in the Olympic tournement. As we now know, this couldn't have been further from the truth. So lets analyse what really happened.
As many of us know the WBC was nothing more than a pre-season baseball tournement designed to generate international interest 2 years before the Olympics. It was never intended to be anything more than a simple tournement and never billed itself as "The World Championship of Baseball."
Japan played poorly in the group and pool play. Losing to the Koreans and getting beat by the Americans even though they loaded the bases their last two at bats. But somehow with a 3 win 3 loss record Japan managed to slip through the back door into the semi's one more time against korea. Third time proved lucky, Japan won advanced to the final and beat a rather disappointing Cuban team.
Now for those of you who are about to ask "if Japan played so poorly how did they win" ? Let me offer these facts. Most of the players representing the USA and other teams are professionals in the major leagues. They have contracts worth millions of dollars. The vast majority agreed to participate in the WBC as more of a "spring training" exercise. In fact most had to agree with their clubs to do everything possible to avoid injury. Lets not forget many Americans declined the WBC and when all was said and done not one American sustained a serious injury in the tournement. Japan and Korea however, they used this tournement to showcase their talent in hopes of signing million dollar contracts. Players like Matsuzaka, Watanabe, etc were out there preening for the hundreds of scouts in attendance. In short, the Japanese and Koreans were playing for MLB contracts while many of the other teams were just trying to get into shape. Interesting enough many of the Japanese players have sited this lack of motivation for their failure at the Olympics. Again, many of them already have NPB contracts and a spectacular Olympic performance won't get them to the majors anytime soon.
Upon returning home Japan unfortunately convinced itself that it had played superbly and was the self appointed "Champions of the World". For the next two years that all we heard was how great Japan was and how they taught the world about "samurai yakyu" ! In the meantime the "World Baseball Cup" again came around as it does every two years, this time in Taiwan. Once again Japan played poorly and was beaten soundly by the Cubans as the Americans eventually took the title. But Japan was hell bent on keeping the title of "World baseball champions" as the local media simply ignored the "World Baseball Cup", which has a much longer history by the way.
All of this self adoration and limited vision finally came full circle. For as we know now Hoshino simply did not prepare his players mentally for the tournement in Beijing. He has admitted that his batters could not handle the new unfamiliar pitchers. I ask "why not" ? The Koreans, Americans, and Cubans did ! And they had just as many or fewer ball players in pro ball as the Japanese. He commented that his pitchers couldn't find the strike zone. Again, "why not" ? The other teams did. But worst of all Hoshino came back and apologized to the fans for Japan failing to live up to their expectations. What is that ? It's now obvious Hoshino himself bought into the WBC hype ! So much so that he didn't bother to prepare his team properly, and they got wooped. Wooped by a bunch of AAA and AA players on the US team in the bronze medal game. Japan needs to do some soul searching here. Come out and admit that maybe the WBC wasn't such a great victory after all, maybe the competition was, as they say, sandbagging it. The proof is now out there for all to see. Japan isn't very good on or off the field. And writers like Jim Allen continue to act confused, or worse yet make up excuses, as to why Japan lost. No mystery here, the myth of the WBC ! Thinking they could rest on the laurels of a watered down title, only to smacked down when a real tournement came around. Lets hope Hoshino and team Japan learn the basic concept of sports which runs on a philosophy of "what have you done for me lately ?"
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"pig snouts and stomachs, cow lips and livers, goat gullets and lamb spleens."
Nowhere near as questionable as the raw horsemeat, baby squid, chicken cartilage, or various insects I've consumed while here in Japan.
Posted in: New attack ad on TV targets hot dogs
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I can't help but wonder if the BBC will be able to live up to the exceptional performance put on by NBC. Latest Neilsen results show that Americans were more than just pleased with the coverage, they were ecstatic ! Headlines at this mornings USA Today boldly state,
"Nielsens: Olympics on NBC capture ratings gold !"
"•Olympic jump. NBC's 17-day coverage of the Beijing Olympics averaged 27.7 million viewers in prime time, surpassing the 2004 Athens Summer Games (24.6 million viewers) by 13% and the 2000 Sydney Games (21.6 million) by 28%. Sunday's coverage of the Beijing closing ceremonies beat Athens by 42% (27.8 million vs. 19.6 million) and Sydney by 66% (16.7 million). NBC is claiming the title of the "most-watched event in U.S. history" for Beijing, based on total audience for network and cable: 214 million viewers."
Now those are some heady numbers, especially for those here that continue to speak ill of the "peacock" ! I sometimes worry about the BBC. It took them almost 3 years to finally realize that George Bush did indeed win the presidential race !
Posted in: Curtain comes down on Beijing Olympics as baton passes to London
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"I have a business that does $6 million or more in sales."
"Or more" ? You mean you don't know ?
"I'd say this should be taken with a grain of salt" !
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WWe broke it, we invaded Iraq. Iraq was held together by a brutal dictator but put aside the morality of getting rid of that jerk and except our responsibilty for what we really did."
According to the NY Times January 8th 2008, "you wanna make an omelette... you gotta break some eggs !"
Posted in: Iraqi leader insists on 2011 deadline for U.S. troop pullout
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Hontodayo, you seem confused. The Americans won the "overall" medal count with 110 medals. China finished second with 100. And please, don't go into the "values" argument. If the Gold was all that was important then the International Olympic Committee would award only one medal !
The face of these Olympics is definitly Michael Phelps ! 8 medals, the most in history, and the class and integrity of a true champion. Usain Bolt, for all his ability, was actually warned by the head of the Olympics to stop the showboating and show more respect to his sport and competition. Ignoring his competitors at the end of every race to congratulate himself and mug for the cameras is hardly the image the Chinese or IOC want representing the "face of the Beijing Olympics" !
It will be interesting to see if Phelps competes in London. Simply the best Olympian of the modern era needs to go out and do it one more time, for history's sake !
Posted in: Curtain comes down on Beijing Olympics as baton passes to London
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Sad day for Australian dairy farmers. And for the nation as a whole, a very risky move to give up a whole domestic industry to an overseas entity, especially the Japanese. Who have a history of driving up prices through cartels and price fixing. Mark my words your dairy food prices will be through the roof, like they are here in Japan, in less than 5 years. Sad indeed.
Posted in: Japan's Kirin to buy Australia's Dairy Farmers
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Pizzaboy, smart move,
"20,000 comes out of my account every summer. thinking about closing my account now to dodge em."
Go easy on the Americans though. The Hoops team was by far and away the media darlings and fan favorite in Beijing. You want "gloating" ? Look no further than Usain Bolt, the poster child for poor sportsmenship at these Olympics. On the contrary, the Americans were the epitomy of sportsmenship and class. Once again they offered their time to charitable events, signed autographs, and tossed shoes and jerseys into the stands for fans to enjoy. Class act all the way !
Posted in: U.S. beats Spain for men's basketball gold
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The highlights ? So many, I can think of 110 to be precise. But of all those, well it would have to be the whole Michael Phelps experience. Out of those probably the mens 4x100 freestyle relay was the epitomy of excitement and national ferver for this American. Considering how much the French had mouthed off and how tight the race was, seeing the US pull it out in the end was truly epic !
The low point, again easy, Japan's television coverage ! Way too much focus on Judo, Volleyball, womens wrestling (sick), and Japanese athletes finishing in the middle of the pack ! I totally understand a nations obligation to cover it's athletes, however, I disagree with the Japanese tendency to do so at the expense of other nations or athletes. Not showing any of the mens or womens basketball tournement on terrestrial television was a huge letdown. The mens tournement in particular seems to be all abuzz in Beijing, not in Tokyo.
Posted in: What, for you, were the highlights and low points of the Beijing Olympics?