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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seimei
Fantastic article.
Chalked up my 31st year in Japan this year and in that time Japan has changed a lot. We have romaji signs on railway stations, western toilets, macdonalds.
One thing that most "visitors" forget is that this is Japan. No it's not another American state or a small country in Europe, it's Japan. Therefore we can all fret as much as we like about what Japanese people think of the visitors and what the visitors think of the locals, but it really doesn't matter.
What does matter is some basic human interactions like "equal before the law" and "kindness to others" etc and there have been some landmark events in recent years that aim to prove that yes, we are all equal before the law.
We all seem to go out of our way to point out the differences. Yes there are differences. Differences in education, politics, religion, upbringing, economy, values etc. Most of the time, for the person new to Japan, these are fun to explore. These are the excitement and the adventure that makes coming to Japan, a seemingly closed society, very interesting indeed.
As Katherine points out, guys are able to meet girls seemingly more easily and I know several foreign women who are completely idolized by their Japanese men. Not a bad thing at all.
Sure, every time I go into a hotel it's "good morning" not "ohayougozaimasu" but hey, do I care? No. Either is fine. My friends mothers fret that I won't like something particularly Japanese like "uni" or "umeboshi", but it doesn't bother me. It's kind of cute.
Katherine points out issues within the workplace and yes I can see how this can happen. Mostly this can be solved with patience, hard work and good results. Once the CEO invites you out for dinner because of your outstanding performance, these issues normally fade away.
I'm not saying that it's all easy going and fun fun fun. Like any country there are things that will get on your nerves, but in the end, the very things that make this country different are the things that make it interesting.
Enjoy!
Posted in: Stereotypes ’R’ Us
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seimei
Hey northlondon, totally agree about the service. Snooty waiters for sure. I think they are just trying too hard.
Posted in: The pizza man
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seimei
I really like these fake dogs. At least their owners won't be walking them past my window at 6am on a Sunday morning while their bark their heads off. SELL MORE I say!
Posted in: International Tokyo Toy Show 2008
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seimei
Hey, I'm not American so I can't claim to understand the intricacies of the whole election farce, but isn't it a good thing that he's not spending PUBLIC money and raising it on his own?
Perhaps then the government could use the PUBLIC money for something more important like... say... health care or a couple of hospitals or some new textbooks for schools.
84 million. For that much, we could even do something radical like dispose of a few nuclear weapons. But that's just crazy talk.
Posted in: Obama says he won't take public campaign funds
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seimei
Posted in: Hostesses