JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

pawatan's past comments

• 

  2

  pawatanNov. 06, 2011 - 05:44PM JST

  I'll also say I cannot argue the fact that Japan's agriculture needs to become more efficient and prices should be lower to consumers. I just don't think gutting the farms and outsourcing all food production to poor countries in SE Asia is the way to do it.

  Posted in: Big anti-TPP rally held in Tokyo as deadline for decision looms

• 

  1

  pawatanNov. 06, 2011 - 05:43PM JST

  Nicky

  There are some yes, but there are also repercussions in keeping things the way they are, and continuing the status quo benefits the minority, not the majority

  I would argue it benefits the majority as well as a minority. Japan already has a food security problem - we do not produce enough food. If we import an even higher percentage of our foodstuffs than we do now we become less secure.

  Besides, all public assistance, anywhere, benefits a minority over a majority, doesn't it? Most people aren't on disability, or government assistance, or in need of Hello Work, are they? One could just as easily argue that we the majority taxpayers shouldn't be paying for this either as it does not directly benefit us.

  Why would someone in their 60s, or 70s, past retirement age, migrate to the city?

  Of course they likely wouldn't, but younger people would not take over their farms, either, as they could not afford to do so. As people pass on the urban/rural divide grows, and with fewer jobs in inaka people become poorer.

  Posted in: Big anti-TPP rally held in Tokyo as deadline for decision looms

• 

  0

  pawatanNov. 06, 2011 - 05:20PM JST

  Hopefully the Hawks get destroyed by whomever wins the CL, then Wada and Kawasaki bolt for free agency. Giants of the PL, I tell you, and they should be rooted against at every opportunity.

  Posted in: Hawks sweep Lions, Dragons down Swallows in Climax Series

• 

  0

  pawatanNov. 06, 2011 - 04:24PM JST

  Japanese who are afraid of foreign produce? Japanese who support a "Buy Japanese" campaign?

  It's unworkable. Restaurants and other places that buy food wholesale will have to buy cheaper foreign foods to be competitive. Individuals may be able to make choices for their own cooking but not for most prepared foods. It will be the death of the Japanese farmer, by and large.

  If you have no problem with putting a million or so out of work, fine. Of course you will have these people on public assistance, then. They will contribute nothing to society, and the migration from inaka to the cities will be even more pronounced. Higher rents in the cities with fewer vacancies. There's repercussions here.

  Posted in: Big anti-TPP rally held in Tokyo as deadline for decision looms

• 

  0

  pawatanNov. 06, 2011 - 12:16PM JST

  Jannetto

  My friend's dad in Hokkaido is retired farmer & has travelled overseas at regular intervals his whole life; he put 3 kids through college & money has never been a problem for him

  Good for your friend's dad - he sounds like most middle class people I know. Secretaries I work with (making less than 300,000 a month) also travel overseas a few times a year. I'm glad your friend's dad can make a decent wage and have a happy life. I hope it doesn't change for farmers like him!

  Posted in: Big anti-TPP rally held in Tokyo as deadline for decision looms

• 

  3

  pawatanNov. 06, 2011 - 12:13PM JST

  Antony Cudworth

  If Japan doesn't join the TPP big companies like Honda, Toyota, Panasonic, Sony, et al can say goodbye to their US market share as American consumers will be buying Hyundai cars and Samsung and LG TVs and other electronic devices that have suddenly become a much more affordable option than their Japanese counterparts as Korean companies will no longer be paying the tariffs that Japanese companies will be.

  I don't quite follow the reasoning here - both Japanese and Korean car manufacturers generally make all cars for the US market in the US already specifically to avoid tariffs. I don't see how the TPP will change that one bit. I think the market for TVs and such is already shifted heavily to Chinese-made products (and brands) with people who want (perceived) quality already paying more for Japanese and to a lesser extent Korean brands. I doubt this will affect Japan's competitiveness in the US markets in these industries so much.

  Posted in: Big anti-TPP rally held in Tokyo as deadline for decision looms

• 

  1

  pawatanNov. 06, 2011 - 10:09AM JST

  Terry Tibbs

  These farmers make a fortune while the general population get slugged with overpriced goods.

  Please explain what "make a fortune" means. Earning a living that supports your family? A decent wage? Last I checked young people are refusing to go into farming and moving to the cities instead - doesn't sound like they are making a fortune, does it?

  Posted in: Big anti-TPP rally held in Tokyo as deadline for decision looms

• 

  2

  pawatanNov. 06, 2011 - 10:05AM JST

  Neither could UK farmers compete with those in southern Europe for the same reasons when we joined the EU - but they adapted and survived.

  The standard of living in Southern Europe is way, way higher than that of Vietnam or Malaysia. Nobody is making a comfortable living on a few-man a month like they are in Vietnam. Please explain how can a farmer in Japan compete in price with commodities from countries where the costs are so low?

  Why cant J farmers do the same?

  Because they can't feed their families on less than 50,000 a month like a Vietnamese farmer can.

  Posted in: Big anti-TPP rally held in Tokyo as deadline for decision looms

• 

  1

  pawatanNov. 06, 2011 - 09:32AM JST

  The smart ones will adapt, the ones that are unwilling will go unemployed, just like what the rest of us face daily in our regular jobs. Time for farmers to wake up and smell the coffee.

  As I have said before, farmers will never, ever be able to "adapt" enough to compete with farmers from Vietnam or Malaysia who have no problems living on 20-30,000 a month. We're not talking about competition with the US or South Korea only here.

  Posted in: Big anti-TPP rally held in Tokyo as deadline for decision looms

• 

  2

  pawatanNov. 06, 2011 - 09:02AM JST

  Looks real yummy, no info on how many CALORIES??

  Way, way too many.

  Posted in: Krispy Kreme Doughnuts ties up with Oreo

• 

  1

  pawatanNov. 06, 2011 - 08:47AM JST

  Let the farmer's here continue to live in luxury with abnormally high subsidies, make the consumers pay far too much for fruits and vegetables, keep production of farm products back in the dark ages?

  Farmers living in luxury? You must live in a different Japan than I do.

  Consumers paying too much for fruits and vegetables? Japan joins the TPP and a lot of farmers in Japan will be unemployed. You want that? You want your cheap apples that much?

  Posted in: Big anti-TPP rally held in Tokyo as deadline for decision looms

• 

  0

  pawatanNov. 06, 2011 - 08:26AM JST

  Japan should remain smart and not go anywhere near those talks.

  Posted in: Big anti-TPP rally held in Tokyo as deadline for decision looms

• 

  0

  pawatanNov. 06, 2011 - 08:18AM JST

  If you look at MLB, this past post-season was very entertaining, with multiple upsets that would have been nigh impossible here.

  Au contraire! As has been mentioned before my Chiba Lotte Marines won 6 out of 8 consecutive road games to get to the Nippon Series last year, then won another two in the series (and two more at home) to win it all. It was shockingly entertaining, probably much more than the MLB playoffs this year.

  We Lotte fans migrated en masse to Seibu for the first round games - outnumbering Seibu fans in their stadium. How awesome!

  The postseason should be a separate season, and the only advantage should be the one extra home game.

  Nah, it's just not enough. The playing field shouldn't be so level.

  Posted in: Hawks, Swallows win in Climax Series

• 

  0

  pawatanNov. 06, 2011 - 12:48AM JST

  It was the perfect storm of tons of injuries, bad player moves (always bad karma to trade your player rep unexpectedly during the season, getting nothing in return, and to the Giants to boot) and bad gameday coaching.

  They didn't have much power last year and with the new ball, lack of power bats (Kim Tae Kyun, biggest power hitter on the team, hit one or two on the season before calling it quits in June) the team only had 46 all year. The entire team! They were hanging tight until late July but fell apart once Iguchi stopped hitting.

  He'll be back, unfortunately - he's great half the year and a giant lead anchor around the offense the rest of the year. We got away with it last year but no chance this year.

  Posted in: Hawks, Swallows win in Climax Series

• 

  2

  pawatanNov. 06, 2011 - 12:04AM JST

  Capitalizing on the popularity of crystal ball juggling

  Easily the most unlikely sentence I have read today.

  Posted in: Glass juggling ball

• 

  2

  pawatanNov. 06, 2011 - 12:03AM JST

  This is not a "new" crisis. Why must news agencies have a narrative? There's been a radioactive waste crisis since there's been radioactive waste - since March.

  Posted in: Japan's new crisis: radioactive waste disposal

• 

  1

  pawatanNov. 05, 2011 - 04:50PM JST

  if they're that good ,they shouldn't need such an advantage

  They don't need the advantage; they earned the advantage. There should be a reward for winning your league and a simple 1 game advantage like in MLB is just not enough. I like the punitive nature of the system - you have a chance, but you better be damn good if you don't finish first. Like Lotte last year.

  Posted in: Hawks, Swallows win in Climax Series

• 

  1

  pawatanNov. 05, 2011 - 02:40PM JST

  It's a very coward move to raise our taxes but what about the tobacco? Why couldn't they increase it?

  They just doubled the taxes on tobacco last year, BlueWitch. Tobacco tax increases rapidly get into diminishing returns, which is great for improving people's health and well being but not so great for increasing revenue. Taxes on other luxury items tend to decrease consumption as well.

  Posted in: Japan to double consumption tax to 10%, G20 action plan says

• 

  0

  pawatanNov. 05, 2011 - 02:37PM JST

  not only do the hawks start the series with a 1-0 advantage, all the games are played at hawks home field. what a scam !!

  The Lions deserve a distinct disadvantage for sucking all season. The Hawks deserve an advantage for winning the league by 17.5 games. As Lotte proved last year, these disadvantages are not impossible to overcome if you are a quality team (which Seibu clearly is not).

  Posted in: Hawks, Swallows win in Climax Series

• 

  0

  pawatanNov. 05, 2011 - 12:48PM JST

  Seems like a good one. Swallows over Hawks!

  Posted in: Hawks, Swallows win in Climax Series

Follow us