JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
-
1
Why do Japanese change their attitude when they communicate with foreigners?
-
2
Confrontation
-
3
U.S. Navy investigating how parts fell off aircraft near Atsugi
-
4
Apple dethrones Google as company with most respected image in eyes of consumers
-
5
JFA plans to hold Under-20 Women's World Cup match in Fukushima
-
- 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
-
- Assistant Language Teacher - TOKYO - late-March start
- Interac, Tokyo
- Salary: ¥230,000 ~ ¥255,000 / Month
-
- Assistant Language Teacher - Kanagawa Prefecture - late-March start
- Interac, Kanagawa
- Salary: ¥230,000 ~ ¥255,000 / Month
0
motytrah
Bush II is going to be a very hard president to top in unpopularity. If he can't turn around the damage 8 years of republican control (six of the years of complete republican control) he may not get re-elected, but he'll never be as unpopular as Bush.
Some people talk like Obama is going to put spinners on the limo and get all "urban" with the white house. It's not going to happen.
Posted in: Bushes and Obamas: All smiles at the White House
0
motytrah
I haven't flown in coach in some time, but the "choice" seats usually have additional pitch because of exit row requirements. Always check with sites like seatguru.com first when selecting seats.
Posted in: Delta starts aligning policies, fees following Northwest merger
0
motytrah
Nice brushing habits aside, straight teeth are very hard for ethnic mongoloids (such as the Japaneses). Just not enough room for all the teeth. She obviously had some work.
Posted in: Tomoka Kurotani named 'Woman With the Most Appealing Teeth'
0
motytrah
Maybe Aso caught some reruns of the J-Drama "Change" and decided to take a shot at being a populist.
Article Unavailable
0
motytrah
When I'm in Japan I often go to Western hotel chains. Easy to book, easy to get a nice room. A bit pricey though. That's great for major cities, however, as I've looked at going to smaller cities and towns you won't find that friendly western chain to book with. So I think there is something to getting other lodging to be more westerner friendly.
Posted in: What does Japan need to do in order to attract more tourists?
0
motytrah
DNC has it's share of mud slinging. But at least the DNC stuff only mildly twists the truth. The RNC ads warp reality in ways that are hard to comprehend. The only reason it works is because the middle class people who vote for the RNC canidates are quite dumb. Seriously. Take a look at this clip of people in Ohio at a McCain-Palin speech:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRqcfqiXCX0
You want below the belt, how about the "Obama Bucks" posters various republican groups have put out. Featuring Obama next to pictures of Fried Chicken and Watermelon. Sure, no racial stereotypes going on there...
Posted in: Which side is doing the most mud-slinging in the U.S. presidential campaign?
0
motytrah
hahaha, you think that's scary? Here's a little fact for you. Thousands of pilots in the US are armed. Last year a gun accidentally went off on a US Airways flight.
Posted in: In many U.S. airports, guns are OK outside security
0
motytrah
Loki520> "Worst president ever"? Oh please, we already have the worst president ever right now. G.W. Bush.
Posted in: Which side is doing the most mud-slinging in the U.S. presidential campaign?
0
motytrah
The oldest Flight Attendant at Northwest Airlines is over 80. Seriously.
Posted in: Airline complaints: Which bothers you the most?
0
motytrah
The old 747's have some of the worst coach pitch. Both JAL and Northwest have poor coach pitch on the 744. However, on the newer A330s that Northwest flies to NRT there's a bit more room.
For the most part the flight/cabin attendants are pretty good. Though I admit that in the last couple years I've only flown first and business class. Service tends to be way more attentive and the meals/booze is way better on JAL/ANA. Terminal and Gate Agents tend to be the weak link for me however no matter what airline I'm on.
JAL and ANA blown US airlines away when it comes to service and amenities in the business and first class cabins. The only thing I wish was that the JAL and ANA Flight Attendants weren't so shy about speaking English.
Posted in: Airline complaints: Which bothers you the most?
0
motytrah
If it was already in the can they should have shown it. The ratings would have spiked. The US does this too however, instead of killing the show they generally boot the offending actors. Not so much because of a moral issue, but the insurance company underwriting the show usually demands it.
Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr. is a prime example of getting booted from productions after drug/DUI busts.
Posted in: TBS pulls drama after actor Taishu Kase arrested over drug use
0
motytrah
Palin and Biden both appeared to do well. Though, if you listened to what the candidates actually said the clear winner was Biden. Too often during the sections on foreign policy Palin seemed to be streaming together a series of non-sequitor sentences that had little to do with the topic at hand nor made a whole lot of sense in general. I don't have confidence that she could do the job in the event that McCain died.
Posted in: Who came off looking best in the Palin-Biden debate?
0
motytrah
I think Download sites are the key to the Japanese film industry. Sure, some Japanese film and television ends up in the west. But most of it is either anime or select action films. Most drama's languish. There's a large "fan sub" gray market in the west for Japanese drama. They should subtitle dramas and release them at the same time they play in Japan. Sell them for $1.99 an episode on iTunes or some equivalent.
Posted in: With so many movie download sites around, what do you see for the future of the film industry?
0
motytrah
My question is exactly how would it make things worse? I don't think it will make things any better, but no one that has legalized/decriminalized it has really had in ill effects.
Posted in: Should marijuana use be illegal?
0
motytrah
After Densha Otoko aired one of the Japanese quiz shows did a segment on just how many nerds (Otaku) would get involved in a situation where a drunken salaryman was harassing a pretty girl. The show found that almost 70% of the time the Otaku would get involved and "save" the pretty girl.
My gut feeling is either people have a perverse pleasure of watching the cat fight, or the girls weren't attractive and people didn't want to be around them.
Posted in: Two teenage girls arrested for beating another girl at station in Yokohama
0
motytrah
ReikiZen, you make a lot of good points, but they don't support the initial argument that we shouldn't blame the CEOs.
There are plenty of large banks that are doing fine out there despite the mortgage crisis in the US. I think the long and short of it is that the CEOs decided the risk/exposure they were willing to take. Institutions that followed traditional/conservative standards will weather this period just fine. In fact some are doing quite well stepping in for the companies that have fallen. Those that choose to risk it should pay a price, and the CEOs shouldn't be rewarded for their mistakes.
Ultimately the CEO choose the direction for the company and sealed their fate.
You're absolutely right about history repeating. Even worse, it's not like people weren't warning wallstreet about it. Warren Buffett has been warning people the problems in the housing/lending system since 2003.
Posted in: Bank of Japan injects Y2.5 tril into markets as Lehman Japan also files for bankruptcy
0
motytrah
You vote with your yen and get the gov't to issue real fines. Food quality in Japan is generally quite good. The types of issues that happen in Japan are much better than ones that happen in countries such as China. Though it is interesting to see that western food companies in Japan are almost never in the news over this type of thing.
Posted in: In view of all the tainted food and mislabeling scandals, what is the consumer to do?
0
motytrah
I believe the "Business Class" they are talking about is US Transcontinental flights. Which are more like Premium Econ.
Most US airlines only have Coach and First on domestic flights. And very few offer international 1st class anymore. Just business.
Carriers like JAL and ANA are miles ahead on service and meals. But international Business class tends to be pretty good on most airlines none the less.
Posted in: United drops planned meal charges on Europe flights
0
motytrah
People get so polarized about "their" team winning that they ignore the plain facts. Ultra Conservatives are betting so much on Palin as VP that they will ignore the experience question, or deflect it with a non-Sequitur. Obama supporters have had their heads in the sand about the fact that until very recently he hasn't had a lot of detailed policy backing up his talking points.
More so, the RNC tactic of painting the DNC as anti-american has created tension that I think is going to really boil over this year.
Posted in: Why is the U.S. presidential campaign generating so many vitriolic comments from both sides?
0
motytrah
Correct. But that's not what I said. She positions abstinence only education as the ONLY solution to the teen pregnancy problem when in her personal life that has shown not to be the case. When you say something publicly that you know in your private life isn't true then you are a hypocrite.
Mostly. I think it tanks most of the hopes of stealing Clinton votes. It won't sway religious right voters.
However, I'm pretty sure she's going to be the Harriet Myers of the campaign. Her lack of experience will result in a flub.
Posted in: GOP convention opens amid talk of Palin's unmarried daughter being pregnant