JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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- Core Developer - コアディベロッパー
- Midokura Japan K.K. - ミドクラジャパン株式会社, Tokyo
- Salary: ¥4.0M ~ ¥10.0M / Year Negotiable
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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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- Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) in Kanto region
- RCS (RCSコーポレーション), Kanto
- Salary: ¥180,000 ~ ¥250,000 / Month includes performance bonus
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kirakira25
It is true that no matter how much you might say "I would smash someone in the face if they did that to me" when it actually happens to you it`s a different story.
It happened to me when I was 9 months pregnant last winter. I don
t think the guy realised I was pregnant - I was pretty small and I had a coat on and a bag on my knee so it was kind of hard to see the bump. But when he started touching me I was SO terrified because of the baby. I knew in that state I couldnt defend myself if I smashed him and he got violent with me.I know the vast majority of victims are not pregnant (one would hope!) but my point is I got a taste of what it was like to feel "helpless" and it was not nice at all. If there are women walking around who do feel like that even in their normal state then it is no wonder they do nothing. It was a VERY scary experience.
I actually think mistwizard has a good point there - yes, I think women should be raised more assertively and to respect their bodies and themselves more, BUT why not go to the root of the problem and deal with the lowlifes that are doing it in the first place. It is all about power and asserting some control in a life that otherwise has none (in my opinion).
By the way, the guy did it to me on a pretty empty train with a few people sitting in plain view and EVERYONE saw what was happening and did nothing. When I stood up to move away and I picked up my bag, my coat fell open and everyone saw how pregnant I was there were a few ashamed faces, but not from the guy who actually did it. Lowlife.
Posted in: Police nab 77 in 3 prefectures during one-week crackdown on train groping, molesting
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kirakira25
TSRnow - bit of both I think. Last week I walked past a couple and they both gawped at me. I looked back after they had gone past just in time to see the woman bash her boyfriend around the head! The problem is, I can`t hide them - they are there and I find wearing big baggy tops or high cut necklines just makes you look bigger.
By the way I think Yu Yamada looks fabulous - she is not skin and bone at all, she is just tall and thin, but she looks healthy to me. It is getting to the point where anyone slim is accused of having an eating disorder. I get asked all the time if I eat properly and I am sick of it.
Posted in: Bra wars
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kirakira25
I can
t figure out what is most shocking: a) the neglect resulting in death b) The quote "he was just so cute we couldnt throw him away" or c) they`ve been living in the car with his body???!!!Oh. My. God.
Posted in: Child's body found in car of couple caught stealing at supermarket
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kirakira25
These might be selling well but I guarantee they will be worn under a loose fitting kaftan up to here and down to there. Japanese women are so beautiful - why do they cover themselves up so much? At least, their top half. And I wouldn
t mind so much, except they then spend the whole summer throwing evil looks at me because I dont cover up so much. It`s not my fault I have boobs! Accident of genetics!Posted in: Bra wars
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kirakira25
I agree very much with ronaldk - forget about the Hague Convention - Japan are never gonna sign it (unless economic pressure is put on them). But if the people WITHIN Japan facing this issue could get together and get more vocal maybe then the law will change.
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kirakira25
13,000 yen??? My son got a digital watch just like these the other day from one of those bubble vending machines - 200 yen!
Posted in: Watch for joggers
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kirakira25
I`m always shocked at how my MIL puts a sliver of tomato and one lettuce leaf in a "side salad", a piece of carrot in the miso soup, 2 strawberries for dessert and considers that a diet "rich in fruit and vegetables".
I wouldn
t say the supermarket food is all that fresh to be honest - US/UK supermarkets are usually delivered to straight from the farms, but the J system has many "middle-men" and produce sits in warehouses for several days before hitting the shelves. Thats partly why people shop most days.I try to cook with tons of fruit and veg but it is very expensive here.
Posted in: How healthy is Japanese cuisine?
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kirakira25
We`re about to move too. I pity the people on the 16th floor (beneath us) - we have 3 kids under 7 and the people we are buying from are all adults! Something tells me this is going to cost me a LOT of gift-snacks over the next few years....
Posted in: New neighbors and the trouble they can cause
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kirakira25
Yeah! Try cramming 13 million into London and have the goons currently administering it and see what happens...I love Tokyo.
Posted in: Tokyo population tops 13 million for first time
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kirakira25
Now the more cynical among us would come up with a smart comment on this one! I am not cynical and have been up all night so I can`t come up with anything...but hopefully someone else can!
Posted in: No train trip would be complete without an ekiben boxed lunch
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kirakira25
Little boys can be a nightmare. My 4 year old is intent on applying for a Darwin award before he hits puberty. In an ideal world you SHOULD watch your kids like a hawk at all times. However, in practice this is just not possible and it only takes a second for disaster to strike.
However - this mother left her child alone. I totally understand why she did it - if he was fast asleep in a locked apartment, sick in bed and she didn`t want to disturb him and was only going to be 5 minutes the thought might have crossed my mind too - there but for the grace of God go a lot of us whether we are prepared to admit it or not.
But ultimately she shouldn
t have left him alone. Isnt hindsight a wonderful thing? She will be paying the price for this for the rest of her life.The thing with little boys is to always expect the unexpected. We are about to move from an apartment on the 3rd floor with a ledge right under us to one on the 17th floor. I am going to see it today to check for safety features and what we need to buy to make it safer. I am seriously concerned right now - how do I keep that little beggar off the balcony??! He has houdini-like qualities for being able to pick locks and get into trouble. And I`m sorry, but if you are in another room it CAN still happen - 4 year old monkeys really ARE that quick!
Posted in: 4-year-old boy dies after 12-story fall from Chiba apartment
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kirakira25
I am SO sick of these stories! I have been told in the past by well-meaning Japanese grannies on the street that my kids shouldn`t be out in the cold/wet. I ask them how I am then supposed to get food for dinner and their answer is "leave them at home"!
My mother in law proudly told me she left her kids and went shopping alone all the time. She wonders why we never ask her to babysit....
Posted in: 4-year-old boy dies after 12-story fall from Chiba apartment
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kirakira25
pandaclair - I`m right with ya babe!
Sorry guys - I
m by no means stupid, but it just wouldnt have occured to me to take the batteries out. It`s not on any banned or warning list. I would have wrapped it up well and not thought anything of it. Millions of hair appliances fly every day with no problem - this was just a one-off case. Now we KNOW about it - yes, by all means, lets take the batteries out in the future. But I think calling this poor woman stupid is a bit of a stretch.And yes, I am a blonde - but not a real one!
Posted in: Hair iron blamed for Narita airport suitcase fire
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kirakira25
It entirely depends what you are using it for.
I personally think there is a suspicious link between the taking off of social networking sites and the global recession.....no-one is doing any work anymore - my friends are forever sending me virtual drinks and trying to figure out whether we are "movie compatible" and what 80`s song I am.
Posted in: The downside of twittering as Japan goes at it 24 hours a day
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kirakira25
Wow Dolphingirl! Wish I`d been a member of YOUR Girl Guide group! We only had safety pins and string in our pockets!!!
But seriously - I hope I am not speaking out of turn here, but one thing I have noticed both from living here and from reading the opinions of both foreigners and Japanese on a wide variety of subjects - I get the impression that westerners are far more concerned with their own internal belief system - guilt, morals, fear of eternal damnation and what have you. Japanese - and please correct me if I am wrong - don`t seem to have such an entrenched internal belief system but rather are concerned with what society will think of them. Our western pressures seem to come more from within - christian-based religious influence maybe? - whereas Japanese culture comes more from societal "group" pressure. I see this played out in behvaiour not just in this situation but in many other areas of society too.
If this is the case, then awful and sad stories like this are no great surprise really. I agree with what another poster said - Japan by no means has the monopoly on terrible crimes against children - but it is very rare to read such stories as newborns being dumped in rivers overseas. We seem to have more "abandonment" stories, where for example a newborn is left on the steps of a hospital.
From our perspective as "westerners" this is a disgusting crime - but I wonder what the Japanese perspective would be? Mikanojo - I don`t know if you actually are Japanese (and if you are your English is excellent) but your point of view was a very interesting read.
Posted in: Body of newborn boy found floating in Tokyo river
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kirakira25
This always troubles me but not so much because of the age difference, although 24 years is pretty extreme. If she was 35 and he was 59, it wouldn
t seem so bad, but at 16.....I dont know. Maybe she was an exceptional 16 year old but I would go with bouncing around the room any 40 year old that came after my 16 year old daughter.Interesting though that her mum went out on dates with them! On the other hand, I guess that if you have a strong 16 year old, better compromise with her in the interests of protecting her and keeping your relationship strong, rather than risk her running off and getting married anyway by herself. Sounds like her Mum might have made the right decision.
God, I`m dreading the day my daughter turns 16 already! Only 10 years from now....
Posted in: Mika Mifune reflects on life with an older man
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kirakira25
Me too! I was about 52kgs when I came here and the Japanese girls are always going on about my figure too - they think I am tall (what???) and I have long legs - but I think they only look long because they are like picks! Pizza and chips for me tonight! Have a good pig-out, dolphingirl!
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kirakira25
Thank you JA - I think I am just normal for me. Really must stop using it as an excuse to stuff my face with starbucks choc chunk scones though!
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kirakira25
I
m sorry everyone, its all our fault. Mum brought the weather with her from the UK two weeks ago.Posted in: Tokyo experiences coldest mid-April day in nearly 50 years
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kirakira25
@sillygirl - yes, everything you say is true. The problem is as well, in Japan often the doctors tell women to limit their weight gain to 8kgs, regardless of their pre-pregnancy weight. It is SO frustrating because it is SUCH bad advice. I was lucky - my midwife actually calculated my BMI and told me I needed to gain at least 12 kilos - WAHEY!!!! I did my best and gained just over 11! My son was 3800kgs so not small at all. But as soon as he was born, I shot back down to 46kgs again. I just seem to be naturally skinny, and if that is natural for me, there is not a lot I can do about it.
I guess what I am trying to say is not all skinny people are sickly. It just depends what is natural for you.
I`m sure I read something recently that said women with bigger thighs and bums are less likely to suffer with heart disease. Great!
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