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Hashimoto says S Korean troops guilty of wartime sex abuse
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Anti-Islamist protests flare after British soldier butchered near London barracks
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S Korean paper says A-bombs on Japan were 'divine punishment'
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China trying to strengthen its claim to Okinawa
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Hashimoto hits back at polls showing majority disagree with his comments
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- HVAC - Engineer ・ Electrician (Part Time)
- BMS & GREEN TECH SOLUTIONS, 東京都
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- Director of Finance & Accounting
- NIHON Firmenich K.K., 神奈川県
- Salary: 年収 1千500万円 相談可 Dependant on Experience, plus target bonus
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- Technical Facility Engineer ・ Electrician (Full Time)
- BMS & GREEN TECH SOLUTIONS, 東京都
- Salary: 月給 300万円 相談可 歩合制
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- IT機器のテクニカルサポート
- ハイパーツールズ株式会社, 愛知県
- Salary: 年収 300万円 ~ 600万円 相談可
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- バイヤー
- ハイパーツールズ株式会社, 愛知県
- Salary: 年収 300万円 ~ 600万円 相談可 試用期間あり
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sangetsu03
"Austerity is a moral issue?". What we are seeing the onset of symptoms caused by decades of government mismanagement. In order to get elected, or reelected, politicians make any number of promises, like state-funded welfare, healthcare, and retirement programs. Since the rules of financial responsobility that apply to regular people does not apply to governments, these cost of these programs keeps being handed from generation to generation, with the balance becoming ever larger. It is like my buying an expensive home, but passing on the loan with it's accrued interest to my great-grandchildren. The politicians who created these programs have by now died of old age, or have retired, they don't have to pay any of the consequences for their actions.
Another effect of these programs is that they have created a huge class of people who have become dependent on them. In the past people saved for their own retirements and healthcare, and put aside money for finacial emergencies. Government-funded safety nets have encouraged people to save less, and take less personal responsibilty for their own well being. There are entire classes of people who have lived on welfare from generation to generation without ever having worked, or contributed to the system which supports them.
The vast scale of governments, and their ability to spend now and pay decades later has driven up the costs of healthcare and other programs ridiculously. In the private sector, we choose those companies and services which provide the best value, so companies and service providers compete and innovate to find the most efficient and least expensive ways to provide those goods and services. In government-run programs, things are exactly the opposite. There is no competition, and agency budgets are set according to how much they spent the year before. Increases in performance usually result in lower costs, lower costs result in a lower budget. Since nearly all government empoyees are dues-paying union members, it is not in their interest to reduce costs, and a resulting reduction in staff. The administration costs of many programs are now nearly as high as the cost of the benefits they provide.
The result of this dysfunctional and inefficient way of doing things is a spectacular pile of debt. Unfortunately, this debt has reached the point that it can no longer be ignored. The American Social Security system will run out of money before I reach retirement age, and with the populations in all industrialized countries set to begin shrinking by the middle of the century, there will not be enough future taxpayers to fund our excesses, let alone fund their own lives.
As is often the case, good intentions have led us down the road to an economic hell.
Posted in: Austerity is a moral issue
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sangetsu03
Japan has almost no tools left in it's toolbox, and certainly not enough tools to fix the current problems the economy is facing. Japan's position as a major manufacturer is fast falling due to the lower wages and cutthroat competition from other parts of Asia. Japan is rather like the America of the 70's and 80's, except, that unlike America, Japan has no natural resources, and a shrinking population.
The big conglomerates control too much of the economy in Japan, and these conglomerates have in great part helped to create a common culture that is submissive, dependent, and risk-averse. In America, small businesses are the greatest employer, and Americans still possess a strong spirit of personal independence. As a result, Americans are five times more likely to start a new business than Japanese.
Japanese need to grow a pair, break out of their cubicles, and take control of their own lives. They have to learn that the real measure of personal worth isn't having the logo of a big company on their business cards, but being able to succeed on their own and to live independently.
Posted in: BOJ says no new easing measures
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sangetsu03
In America this crime is punished severely, as is obvious in the article. American companies who engage in price fixing are also fully prosecuted if they are caught. Do a google search for price fixing cases in America, you'll see how seriously they prosecute offenders.
Posted in: Denso execs to plead guilty to price fixing in Toyota case in U.S.
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sangetsu03
As for "Austerity", most Japanese live a far more "austere" lifestyle than other developed nations. Long working hours, rather mediocre pay, and a high cost of living. How would the French react to having to work 50-60 hours a week, with a 5 day vacation every year? What if they had to spend 3 euros for a loaf of bread?
Posted in: Is Japan's economic rebound a recipe for Europe?
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sangetsu03
No, for many reasons. As mentioned, Japan owns it's own debt, and has it's own currency. Also, the unemployment rate in Japan is a fraction of the rate in Europe, and there is no large welfare-supported underclass. Japanese workers are very productive, compared say to France or southern European countries. What is medicine for Japan would likely be poison for Europe.
Posted in: Is Japan's economic rebound a recipe for Europe?
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sangetsu03
Price-fixing is common practice in Japan, I guess Watanabe and Suzuki thought they thought could get away with Japanese-style business practices in America.
Posted in: Denso execs to plead guilty to price fixing in Toyota case in U.S.
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sangetsu03
What a load of rubbish. Education does not, and never has been a prerequisite for success. "Income inequality" is par for the course in a world where people are not equal. I cannot bat 400 in baseball, I cannot run a mile in 5 minutes, and simple math equations leave me confused. But that has not stopped me from starting my own business and earning a good income. My parents were not "elite", and they did not pay one cent for my education.
"Those that can, do", those who can't end up having to work for those who can. There are no "haves" or "have-nots", there are only "do" or "don-nots". The article gives the impression that there is no hope for anyone but the "elites", which contributes to the problem. Before ever blaming someone else for your difficulties or poor quality of life, take a look at yourself first, and see how much you may be to blame.
Posted in: Poor little rich kids
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sangetsu03
As of June 1st of 2008, bicycles were required to share the road with cars. But, like many laws in Japan, this law is selectively enforced (or not enforced at all).
Posted in: Road traffic laws in Europe and the United States are simple, whereas in Japan pedestrians are always exposed to the risks of bicycles bumping into them from all directions...It is time for us to go back to the original point of the road traffic law, where bicycles and cars share the road.
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sangetsu03
Another money-losing venture by the fast-sinking Goldman Sachs. Almost no investment in alternative energy in any country has been an economic success. Huge amounts of money have been "invested" are huge, but the results of this investment has been less-than-huge. If Goldman are playing their cards properly, they'll build up some green energy momentum, and then cash out before before the momentum carries their projects over the edge.
The problem in Japan is less a problem of generation than it is a problem of misuse. Buildings use far more lights than necessary, insulation in most buildings is either non-existent, or inadequate. 75% of electricty is lost simply through transmission, changing the power grid to shorten the transmission distance, and relocating power plants would be significantly more cost-effective than the current alternative energy boondoggle, which is tailor-made to provide yet another industry to waste subsidies and provide kickbacks to bureaucrats and politicians.
Goldman-Sachs may be looking to exploit renewable energy, but Mistui, Mitsubishe, et al, are putting their money in shale gas.
Posted in: Goldman Sachs to invest in Japan green energy projects
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sangetsu03
The cost vs benefit of a university education is becoming a concern, particularly as the cost of tuition goes up, and as students seem to favor degrees with little professional significance. A degree in Gender Studies (my auto-complete tried to use the word "stupidities"--I almost used it), Hospitality, or Political Science costs about the same as a degree in engineering. The market is flooded with hospitalical-political-gender-scientists, whilst there is a tremendous shortage of engineers. An entry-level hospitality job for a person with such a degree pays about as well as a full-time cashier at McDonald's. Most Gender/Poly-Sci students will end up with a masters in education, and end up as school teachers, making not much more to start than a full-time cashier at McDonald's. And of course they are saddled with 6 figures in student loans, which are steadily accruing interest.
My grandfather valued a university education, but not for himself (he never finished high school), he usually hired educated people to work for him.
Posted in: Is college worth it?
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sangetsu03
The Consumer Affairs Center should also prohiibit the sale of glucosamine in Japan. Glucosamine is claimed to effective against joint pain, and was widely sold in America until the USDA found it to be completely ineffective. So sales of Glucosamine were stopped in America, only to begin being sold in Japan.
Posted in: Coca-Cola advised to correct misleading TV commercial for ginger ale
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sangetsu03
This is war. And its a good thing they were not massacred.
Hmm, the reason that the Americans and Filipinos did not "surrender peacefully" is that during their conquest of Asia, the Japanese took few prisoners, and those few prisoners became slaves, who in most cases were worked to death. Japan itself said clearly that "Nippon does not greatly admire those who surrender". And those few whom they did take alive in the heat of battle received no worse treatment than those who "surrendered peacefully".
My grandfather was in the Philippines, and was an adjutant to General Wainwright, who commanded Corregidor. He knew the Japanese quite well, as did the rest of the allies fighting in Asia. The Japanese starved, beat, and murdered without reservation or impunity, and performed such acts even against civilians, whom had done them no harm at all.
After the Japanese conquered, non-military industry and agriculture collapsed. People were paid for their work or goods in scrip which had no real value. Merchants and farmers who did not accept this so-called money simply had their wares stolen by the IJA. As a result, shops and factories stopped producing, farms stopped growing. The IJA brought in opium dens, addicting the people, and extorted from them anything of value. A wonderful occupier Japan was. The story was the same throughout the lands they conquered.
And of course, besides the millions killed outright, we can't forget the hundreds of thousands who died as slave laborers, many of them being prisoners of war.
Posted in: Filipino director takes new look at Bataan Death March
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sangetsu03
Truly, Obama is no Nixon, Nixon was a leader, not a political figurehead. Unfortunately, Nixon was also a liar and a "crook". Obama is a more honest man, but he couldn't lead a child to the toilet. How low we have fallen to have either Nixons or Obamas as presidents.
Posted in: White House: Obama is no Nixon
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sangetsu03
Of course there is no way in hell they would use a real Indian (native American) to play the part. At least Jay Silverheels was the real thing. But then again, a grown man riding around in a black mask in the late 19th century isn't all that authentic either.
Posted in: Will Disney's new Tonto be any better?
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sangetsu03
Hmm, are these Chinese and Filipino women who are always trying to take my arm and lead me to a massage parlor "comfort women"? Are they not "recruited" in a similar way as the women who were "recruited" during the war? The more things change, the more they stay the same.
My grandfather was a soldier in the Pacific during the war. The allies were quite surprised that Japanese "Army-issue" comfort women existed, while allied soldiers simply used common prostitutes (whom they were warned against as being 100% infected with VD) who were often pimped by children. Certainly the allies didn't require comfort women to fight effectively, and it never has been (and never will be) hard to find a representative of the world's oldest profession.
Posted in: Hashimoto says comfort women system necessary for wartime troops
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sangetsu03
MRI was never an investment company, it was yet another ponzi scheme. Much of the blame lies with Japanese regulators, which licensed and allowed MRI to operate as an investment company in Japan. MRI's own description of their company was enough to raise red flags with anyone who had half a brain. "A fool and his money are soon parted". I hope the president of MRI rots in prison, but I don't have great symapthy for fools who "invest" their money foolishly.
Posted in: Lawyers to pursue case against MRI in U.S.
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sangetsu03
The first and foremost reason I can see is that the US automakers think that the Japanese people are actually not worthy enough to own US made cars. If not then why else would they not bother to manufacture their popular cars conforming to the basic necessity of having the steering on the right-hand side, with the exception of Chrysler and Tesla. I mean , seriously cars like the Corvette, Camaro, Mustang, Viper, Charger and even their people haulers and SUV's, are not conformed for the market here. Comparably all European manufacturers do offer their cars in both right and left-hand driver versions.
The second reason is size. US automakers make bloated cars which are not suitable for Japanese roads and the frosting on the cake here can be the unavailability of suitable parking spaces for such cars. To prove my point try sizing up a Toyota Landcruiser (already a big car here) next to a Toyota Seqouia you will know. Even Japanese Automakers have specially bloated cars for the American market. Rural Japan does not need trucks, they are happy and content with their long-lasting Kei-Trucks which are small (3.4m x 1.48m), economical (approx 25km/litre,660cc engine) and cheap to purchase (new cost around 700,000yen). Any automaker beating or even competing those odds has a chance of selling something but, alas, no one bothers.
The third argument can be on the mileage. As much as we would like to, people in Japan do not pay the same for gas at the pump as Americans do, which makes for thrifty shopping choices. All those decision makers in the auto industry should come and take a stroll down any popular road in Japan. They would be shocked to realize that half the cars plying Japanese roads are econo-cars mostly popular because they are running on 25-30 km/litre mileages.
Many fallacies in your post. Most high-end performance cars in Europe are not availalble in right-hand-drive, which is why most of these cars sold in Japan have the steering wheel on the left (including my Porsche).
660cc K-cars cannot be sold in America or Europe because they do not meet even the most minimal safety standards, and cannot keeo up on American or European highways where the speeds are 100kph and up.
The most popular car models in America are not the large-sized cars. Cars like the Focus, or Cavalier are the same size as a Corolla, and are smaller than Tokyo taxis. The market for large SUVs is not big, but I have seen Hummer H1 and GMC Suburbans navigating Japanese raods with no problems, they are much smaller that the Japanese delivery trucks which you see on nearly every Japanese road every day.
The issue at hand is Japanese protectionism. Japan is the world's third-largest economy, but it is more or less closed to American and European sellers. Cars, televisions, and countless other goods made elswhere are simply not available in Japan, or are priced out of the market. America and Europe have allowed Japan free access to their markets, but Japan has not done likewise. This is not fair.
Posted in: Big three U.S. automakers to skip Tokyo Motor Show
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sangetsu03
Hmm, the Ford Fiesta was the top-selling car in Europe for a number of years, and the Ford Combi Van has been popular for generations. American cars have sold well around the world, and continue to do so.
80% of the cars in the world drive on the left side of the road? America has about half the cars in the world, add Canada, all of the Americas, most of Europe, much of Africa, and much of the middle east, all of which drive on the right side of the road--that statement is an outright lie.
Japanese cars are no better made than most other cars, and cars built for the Japanese market do not meet basic European or American safety standards. The typical Japanese car will see about 60,000 kilometers of service in it's life, an American market car will see more than 100,000 miles. American-market cars have far better warranties than Japanese market cars. Quality must be good in a lawsuit- happy country like America, which is home to more than half the world's lawyers. No car made in Europe or America is deemed unsafe in Japan.
Technically-speaking, Japan charges no tarriffs on imported cars, but mountains of red tape add a lot to the price. That, and the typical collusion between sellers to fix prices (which is patently illegal in all other developed countries) also adds to the price. As a result, these safer, better-quality, foreign cars make up only 7% of the cars on Japanese roads. This side-stepping to charge more for non-tarriffed items is why many countris do not want Japan to join the TPP.
I have to agree with the American car manufacturers, much as I don't like them.
Posted in: Big three U.S. automakers to skip Tokyo Motor Show
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sangetsu03
But who regulates the government? Certainly not you or I. Do you really think that businesses are more corrupt or greedy than politicians? At least we can choose what companies we do business with, whist politicians answer to no one. If you look at America, the congress has an 18% approval rating, yet more than 90% of it's members are reelected each year.
Posted in: Business, taxes and responsibility
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sangetsu03
You don't say. When the average American must work 6 months just to pay a year's worth of taxes, it's not a surprise that they will try to find a way to avoid them. Those who are able are of course going to find amway to reduce their tax burden, and with some governments eager to bring business and money to their countries they offer lower taxation. I am considering incorporating in Singapore just for this reason.
If I thought my government was spending my tax money wisely and productively, I would have no qualms staying where I am, and continuing to pay what they ask. But in a system of rampant waste and zero fiscal responsibilty, and signs of yet increasing waste, and accumulation of debts which outweigh the annual GDP, one can't be endure being squeezed harder and harder each year.
So, businesses move to greener pastures, taking their money and jobs with them, whilst their home governments refuse to run their ships more efficiently or effectively. Debts accumulate more quickly, and the situatuion deteriorates even more quickly, taxes and fees are yet again increased, which in turn drives more businesses to move, or simply shut down.
What exactly is the "fair share" in regards to taxes? The bottom 49% of wage earners in America effectively pay no income tax. The top 1% pay 36% of tax collected, the top 5% of wage earners pay 59% of tax collected, the top 10% pay 70% of all taxes collected. Is this fair? The top 10% of wage earners provide more than half the jobs in America, the more taxes they have to pay, the less they have to spend to enlarge their businesses, or hire more workers.
Posted in: Business, taxes and responsibility