JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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1
Why do Japanese change their attitude when they communicate with foreigners?
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2
U.S. Navy investigating how parts fell off aircraft near Atsugi
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3
Confrontation
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4
California court to decide if SeaWorld whales are illegal 'slaves'
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5
Kuroki reported pregnant 2 weeks after denying relationship with Akanishi
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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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- 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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mechadamuramu
For some reason J girls sound like, well just regular girls. I figured this post would have something unique, guess i was wrong, haha.
Posted in: Things Japanese girls do that make guys go, 'Huh?'
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mechadamuramu
The J girl on the third row up from the bottom to the left to the blond. What's up with that face?
Posted in: Girls, girls, girls
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mechadamuramu
Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those others that have been tried.
~Winston Churchill in a speech in the House of Commons on 11 November 1947
Posted in: Do you think democracy is the best form of government?
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mechadamuramu
Probably a somewhat biased poll. I think the main impediment to people getting their news online is ease of access and familiarity with the internet (i.e. few old people and few people that live in rural areas). By having the poll online its assumed that you've overcome those immediate obstacles.
Posted in: What is the main way you get your news?
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mechadamuramu
Go Arnie! I don't know why you're wasting California tax dollars to go to Asia for an "economic tour of the region" when you're forced out of office due to term limits in November, but at least TRY to figure out how to get the economy back on track.
Posted in: Meeting of minds
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mechadamuramu
Yeah, just a year or two ago she looked 22 doing that American song with all those black guys. Must be nice rockin the shampoo commercials with the fake wig. I'm sure that's the exact msg the advertiser was looking for.
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mechadamuramu
"The United States" has some votes. Talk about paranoid...
Posted in: Who do you think was behind the sinking of a South Korean warship on March 26?
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mechadamuramu
Nothing FORCES me to use my phone, but I had to vote no because I couldn't get everything done that I would want to without it.
Posted in: Could you go a day without using your cell phone?
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mechadamuramu
According to whom does this base have no strategic value? Obviously not Tokyo or Washington. Also I have heard nothing about the "illegal" placement of the base there, however I have heard that the negotiations of the base have taken place at the President/PM level, meaning that its not law, just one man's word for another. Granted they are the leaders of the country, but not technically illegal by any stretch of the imagination.
I feel the environmental impact argument, but the real NIMBY attitude comes not from Okinawa but Tokyo. As far as I've heard the Japanese government as a whole wants the bases, but its just the location of the bases that's an issue. I'm sure Washington would actually like more diversity of locations, so Tokyo could consider moving the location to Kyushu or somewhere else and this could solve the problem right there.
That is if Japan doesn't want all the US bases gone all together. Although then I'd say that Japan would need to seriously consider the NSDF's capabilities against a future Chinese threat.
Just a thought. Anyone agree/disagree?
Posted in: Anti-base ad
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mechadamuramu
Wow, what a heartless person you must be. Its not a "reward", its a right to be treated as equal. A "reward" that would help solve this problem is more tax breaks for families with more children, whether conceived or adopted. Social Security benefits by their nature have little to do with the falling birth rate.
Posted in: Should same-sex couples be entitled to equal social security benefits?
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mechadamuramu
"glasses-free"? Does that mean it looks 3D without glasses? I'm confused.
Posted in: 3-D without glasses
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mechadamuramu
I have to disagree with you there BrightEyes. The US's strategic interests have nothing to do with suppressing the Japanese war machine anymore, just as they no longer seek to keep the German's at bay. (I'm sure this is what you mean though, and here I do agree with you). What IS in America's interests is their status as world leader, and having bases all around the world to address regional issues quickly is a great way to accomplish this.
Having a quick and powerful response to China or North Korea is definitely in both Japan and America's interest.
Posted in: Does Japan need to host any U.S. bases at all?
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mechadamuramu
I may sound like a nerd but I had to get the great animated movie Akira from Australia because with the weird licensing rules across the globe Madman is the only distribution company that has both English language dubs as well as Japanese.
Posted in: Have you ever shopped online from foreign countries? If yes, why?
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mechadamuramu
badmigraine,
totally thought the same thing
Posted in: The Wolfman cometh
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mechadamuramu
totally agree with borscht that JT needs to narrow their questions down more. I put about the same for a couple of reasons. There is no question that American animated movies are more graphically and technologically intensive. However 99% of animated movies in America have a childhood audience which severly limits the variety and "quality" of the characterizations, storyline, and depth of the work.
While older era drawn animation films like Bakshi and Akira had extremely high quality, newer animated films in Japan are nearly motionless except for lip flaps while american films are full 3D CGI. However there is no way that American films could touch the adult content or impact that the best Japanese films have, such as Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Paprika, Mononoke Hime etc.
Posted in: Are American animated films better than Japanese ones in terms of quality?
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mechadamuramu
If there is substantial evidence that the person developed their complications before the official government health organization ruled that cigarettes cause harm to your lungs then yes. Its every company's responsibility to sell safe products to its customers. If you can't prove its unhealthy because big tobacco spent millions or billions on lobbyists or pro smoking campaigns then its there responsibility to own up to their lies now.
I view it like parents accidentally letting their kids play with toys made in china with lead paint in them. Before its discovered that there's lead in them, you can't blame the parents, only the toy company. After that fact though the parents are 100% responsible.
Posted in: Do you support damages suits filed by former smokers who argue they have developed health problems, including lung cancer, because tobacco companies sold them cigarettes?
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mechadamuramu
No, permanent foreign residents should have the options to become citizens if they so choose, after which they can vote. I guess that's a radical "western" view that people can become naturalized instead of just racistly thinking being born in a place is the only way to be entitled to full rights.
Posted in: Should permanent foreign residents have the right to vote in local elections in their country of residence?
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mechadamuramu
Yes it should because this poll is almost a trick question. Your freedom of speech should extend all the way up to HURTING other people, not OFFENDING them. This ensures that you can't yell 'fire' in the theater because the panic will almost undoubtably hurt someone. Also it lets you say things that may be offensive to other people's trumped up nobility, religion, etc. that they are overly protected of and will actively try to squash other people's right to free speach because they will find EVERYTHING said about the subject "offensive".
People need to quit being such babies and realize that if they can't openly discuss something they don't have the right to get offended. Even when they do get offended, that's no one's fault but their own.
Posted in: Should freedom of expression include the right to offend others?
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mechadamuramu
Where is Christoph Waltz? He's the freakin star of the show! Without him the movie would have been just good instead of great.
Posted in: Inglourious Basterds
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mechadamuramu
The peaceful reorganization of democratic government is an essential part of the system. When the Japanese choose everyday to support their democracy they accept with that, the possibility that agreements, treaties, and laws will be signed today that will come into conflict with those of tomorrow. Only dictatorships can change the rules on the fly, everyone else must play by them.
That being said there are certain "hang shaking agreements" that do not have law binding consequences that governments go into all the time. So called "Executive Orders" are those made by the chief executive of a country, usually with their counterpart from another country. They are quick, easy to make,and have a singular focus as they are essentially made between two individuals. Treaties are huge monstrous thousand page documents, but are voted on by the legislature and have the weight of law behind them.
Breaking and amending agreements SHOULD always be done in the official channels. If an executive agreement needs to be changed, the two leaders should get together and do it. If a treaty needs to be negotiated then there should be a deliberation process by the representatives. Essentially it depends on what Japan is trying to do that determines if they have the power and the right to do it.
Posted in: Should the Japanese government stick to the 2006 agreement over the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan, which the previous government and the U.S. agreed upon?