JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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- English Instructor (Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe)
- Berlitz Japan, Inc. (ベルリッツ・ジャパン株式会社), Kansai
- Salary: ¥125,000 ~ ¥250,000 / Month
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- FT English Teachers for Kids - Osaka
- Kohgakusha Co., Ltd. （株式会社興学社）, Osaka
- Salary: ¥255,000 ~ ¥275,000 / Month Travel Expenses, Encouragement of Japanese learning*
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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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sarcasm123
Japanese is not an easy language, but for someone living in Japan it should not take too much time to master it. Unfortunately, some foreigners have this tendency to live in an English coccoon they like to leave as little as possible.
Ask this same question on a non English website and you'll get a completely different result.
Posted in: Should Japanese language ability be a factor in determining the maximum length of stay on visas for foreigners?
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sarcasm123
Some people here are incredible. They see this picture and somehow think this is THE news of the day in Japan?? Have they absolutely no ability to check the normal Japanese news in papers or on television? You will have a hard time finding this news in it. This "news", my dear boys, belongs under trivia and not more than that. I don't know why some here keep confusing it with front page news, but it says a lot about their intelligence.
Posted in: Platinum
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sarcasm123
Thanks a lot, cleo. It must make quite a change for some here to be corrected by somebody else than me :P
Posted in: Movie titles in Japan: Jack, we understand your frustration
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sarcasm123
Close to the station I use everyday there is a man who cuts hair all day long, every day!
Scary times.
Posted in: Man assaults 14-year-old girl, cuts her hair with scissors on Aichi street
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sarcasm123
Azrael, I think I know what program you are in. But this part: "The system is designed to eject us from Japan as soon as we have our diplomas, under threat of deportation if regardless of visa extensions we are found in Japan three months from the day of the graduation ceremony. Doesn't that make you feel appreciated? DEPORTATION."
... I have never heard of. If you are here on a student visa and are not a student, then yes, you should be deported. But if after your graduation you get a different visa...
Posted in: Gov't looks to immigrants as population shrinks
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sarcasm123
I find it funny how native English speakers make fun of things like this, and other things concerning adaptations of English. English contains a large number of words originiating from other languages, and in all cases the pronunciation has been changed. Yet, what is the reaction if a Japanese person pronounces an English word with a Japanese accent? Yep, they are made fun of. Same for movie titles. All over the world English movie titles are NOT adapted. Can we say the same about non English movie titles entering the native English market? No, we can't.
Native English speakers have in general no idea about languages. This commentary and the discussion following it has again reminded me of that.
Moderator: Back on topic please.
Posted in: Movie titles in Japan: Jack, we understand your frustration
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sarcasm123
"But they are ok with chemical fertilizers and toxic sprays in their veggies ?"
Chemical fertilizer can be washed off. How will you remove the hormones from within the beef?
Posted in: More bull over U.S. beef
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sarcasm123
"Bovine semen is allowed without BSE certification as of 12/26/03 per MAFF instruction to Japan's ports."
Always the same argument from jambon. However, I never get an answer whan I ask him who is consuming this bovine semen :P
Posted in: More bull over U.S. beef
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sarcasm123
Haaa, where to start (again)For sarcasm123:
"Yes I do. The beef in question was under 20 months of age. Therefore it cannot possibly or scientifically contain BSE prions. That is science mate... not guesswork !"
Just plain wrong. See cleo's post.
"Wrong again... countries don't import perfectly good food products for a variety of reasons, the biggest being "market protection". That is basic Economics 101 ! Not biased opinion !"
Just plain wrong again. Do some research mate. US beef is filled with all kinds of hormones that are not allowed in civilized countries. Add to that the insufficient testing...
"Yep, just look at all those Olympic gold medals and just look at all them movie stars, entertainers, and thousands of centenerians living well over 100 years of age... yep, just look at em !"
Ahum, those Olympic medals are not very representative of the general population, my dear. They comprize, what, 0.00001% of the Americans. And I would not be surprized if they actually stayed away from US beef as far as possible.
Oh, and even China has centenarians, what was your point?
Your last arguments was just completely... well... I guess you realized how wrong you were :P
Posted in: More bull over U.S. beef
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sarcasm123
The only violence I have ever witnessed in trains in Japan was a young boy hitting his sister on the head with the palm of his hand 3 or 4 times. It wa the Inokashira line.
Maybe I am not frustrated enough in my every daylife to get into more trouble?
Posted in: A punching bag on the Odakyu line
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sarcasm123
"The piece of meat in question does not contaion any bse contaminents."
Ahum... since it is not tested sufficiently, you don't know that.
"Beef coming into Japan from the USA is the absolute most safest meat available."
That must be why the majority of developed countries don't import it.
"Millions of Americans eat American beef everyday"
And look at them!
"And even if you did eat bse tainted beef... recent studies indicate there is "no" guarantee you will contract any disease related to its consumption"
And even if you have unsafe sex there is "no" guarantee you will get a nasty disease.
Posted in: More bull over U.S. beef
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sarcasm123
Thank you jerseyboy. I also thought you were wrong. Good that's cleared up now.
Posted in: Roughed up by the cops in Shinjuku
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sarcasm123
Where to start, where to start...
"NotJohnWayne...You are really not serious with that argument are you? You think just being a foreign woman in Shinjuku station at 11:30 on a Friday night is probable cause?"
Listen, dear Jerseyboy, I have seen others here (and probably you too) describe Shinjuku as hell on earth + infested with "Yaks" and adult entertainment, especially SE Asian women on an "entertainment visa". True or not?
True.
What do we have in this story? Two foreign women hanging around in the station of "hell on earth" late at night. They attempt to run when asked to show their ID. True or not?
True.
Let's get this perfectly clear, jerseyboy. There is not one developed country where these women would have been treated better given the above facts. You can pretent there is, but the reality is different jerseyboy.
I will give you another fact: tomorrow you will be on this site complaining about the cops never doing anything about the "entertainment" in Shinjuku. True or not?
True.
"If I see an attractive Japanese woman walking through Ginza or Roppongi late in the evening, should I automatically assume she is a hostess?"
Well, dear jerseyboy, I have seen posts of you where it actually seems as if - yes - you do think that way. So, what was your point? Problem is, a Japanese woman doesn't need a visa to work in Japan, and what's more, "hostess" is not an illegal profession.
"Or, if a J-guy happens to cut down a street with some gay bars on the way to the station, should one conclude he is gay?"
I would say that the chances are higher than average.
"What you are saying is that blatant stereotyping is OK when it applies to foreigners, but not Japanese."
He did not say that, and I doubt he wants to be accused of that by Mr. "all Japanese men spend their evenings drinking with some hostess" Jerseyboy.
"Wow, you really have become Japanese in your thinking."
You were saying what about stereotyping?
"I have not once in 7 years here been asked to show my ID"
I will put this one on paper for the next time you claim otherwize.
"How come I can walk into a convenience store early on a Sunday morning in Roppongi to buy a paper un-deterred by the J-cops, while they are making a black guy unload his pockets?"
I have no idea, but I think it is the same reason as the one that causes black people in your country to get far more easily in jail than white people.
True or not?
Posted in: Roughed up by the cops in Shinjuku
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sarcasm123
How some foreigners here love to see themselves as victims. Incredible.
Posted in: Roughed up by the cops in Shinjuku
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sarcasm123
Come on, people. You can like Murakami all you want, but have a look at this:
(translated by me) "Some day I want to go to Spain" "Why Spain?" "I want to join the Spanish war" "But the Spanish war ended years ago!" "I know. Lorca died and Hemingway survived" "But even I should have the right to join the Spanish war" "In a metaphorical way?" "Of course"
The conversation between a 15yo and a guy in his twenties in a restaurant while eating sea food people! And no, they are not trying to be funny. They talk like this ALL the time!! All I had to do is pick up one of Murakami's books and open it at any page and this came up. Is this his "realistic dialog"? Mind you, I have no problem with reading this kind of dialogs ones in a while. But I have a feeling they come up far too often, and in too many of his books.
That being said, I have read his books with pleasure. But dear god please don't give him a Nobel Price.
Posted in: Japan’s best-known novelist fails to deliver—again
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sarcasm123
moobs, of course I agree with what you are saying about translations. I am sorry if I sounded harsh, I didn't mean to do so.
Posted in: Japan’s best-known novelist fails to deliver—again
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sarcasm123
Of course translating a novel means writing a new novel. But still the argument that it is because of a translation doesn't sound very convincing for me, since I read the novels in Japanese...
"Murikami's gift for writing interesting, realistic dialogue"
I haven't read "After Dark", but I have never heard any 16 yo speak the way his "Kafka" speaks in "Umibe no Kafka". And certainly not without any preparation. Interesting, maybe. Realistic... not to me at least. Not that it needs to be, of course.
Posted in: Japan’s best-known novelist fails to deliver—again
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sarcasm123
Nice review.
"The same themes and imagery keep getting repeated (or should that be rehashed?) across multiple novels."
I agree with this 100%. I have read a few of Murakami's novels, partly as a way of improving my Japanese, and I found that many of the main characters of one novel could easily be replaced with those of other novels... Same thing for many themes he uses.
Posted in: Japan’s best-known novelist fails to deliver—again
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sarcasm123
Will China - after using the "it's an internal business" line as an answer to the international complains about Tibet - have the guts to complain about this?
Posted in: 62 lawmakers visit Yasukuni Shrine
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sarcasm123
Boy oh boy... where to start...
"All the other Japanese food scandals never got so far to ban the whole sector let alone products by a country because of one incident."
And when did Japan ban the entire gyoza sector again? Please remind us.
"The funny yet sad truth is food here are so full of artificial dyes, preservatives and all sorts of potential chemicals that it is a wonder that the average Japanese considers themselves mindful of food safety at all."
It is funny and sad that you seem to think that is something that is limited to "here". Have you ever checked the "ingredients" list of yogurt in other developed countries? Do you think some yogurt looks red because it contains strawberries?? Why does the meat you buy not oxidize within a few hours?? Come on, tell us!
"Where was the alarm when it became clear lots of deep sea fish are packed with heavy metals such as mercury?"
Too funny!! I will give you some reason: because it was not injected in it on purpose!! Because there is no alternative. We cannot stop eating fish completely. We can, however, stop eating gyoza made by a certain company.
"The American press..."
Is that the American press as in, from the country that introduced the "China free" labels? Why did they do such a thing?
"And I don't think anyone touched dioxin (formed by burning chlorine-based chemical compounds with hydrocarbons) and put that into the context for health yet."
Dioxins are a problem all over the world. I have no idea whey you bring it up here.
Posted in: Gyoza scare offers insight into Japan's culture of eating