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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shinhiyata
Toyota had to stop construction on this factory in 2009 after sales from its other Russian facility failed to reach expected levels. This so-called expansion is only bringing up the production capacity to the initially envisaged totals. Previous investment amounts per units produced are about $20000USD a car !!! All of the vehicles made at Nissan's brand new St. Petersburg facility - which took 4 years to construct - had to be recalled for brake failure in 2010. Nissan Europe is mostly owned by Renault which has had to cut over 20000 jobs since 2007. The "Mitsubishi" plant in Kaluga is 70% owned by Peugeot and only 15% of the vehicles produced there are branded as Mitsus. And while Mazda has received permission from the Russian government to build a plant, they have not even decided on a location or if the factory will be operated in tandem with another company. All this while the governments of these 2 countries are still technically at war without any legal peace treaty. I could go on and on, which is something the author should have done instead. The article fails to point out that success for Japanese automobile production in Russia remains elusive.
Posted in: Toyota invests $90 million to expand Russia factory
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shinhiyata
Shumatsu, your views are whack. Firstly, this is not a defense related issue. It's about Japan developing and selling weapons outside of Japan. 'Arms export' - which is against Japan's pacifist constitution. And Japan has no offensive armed forces. They have a so-called defense force/coast guard which is tantamount to an anti-China/Korea/Russia fishing police. They can't even protect their whaling boats from the Sea Shepherd. "If Japan disarmed tomorrow, that would do nothing to achieve global disarmament." What? Japan is essentially protected by the Ohio-class SSBNs out of Bangor patrolling off of Hokkaido. If Japan melted down its last ginsu, those subs will still be floating by Akita till doomsday. Secondly, it is very difficult (and dangerous) to be a pacifist. Just ask the Dalai Lama, or MLK, or J. Lennon, or Gandhi. And although I'm an American, nobody is guaranteeing me security from my redneck hillbilly neighbor with a collection of assault rifles and an '81 Plymouth lawn ornament. Yet I do NOT have to do what he wants. Just as Japan does not have to do what China, Russia, or NK dictate. And just as Japan does NOT have to participate in producing and selling high tech weapon systems that will only be used in conflicts and killing elsewhere in the world. Japan should divert that effort and expense into finding energy independence tech or tsunami detection tech or something productive - anything but death. I do not say that war begets war. I say that boundless human ignorance and stupidity beget war. Those who use violence against others to get what they want are not human. I AM right, pacifism is the only way forward. The military-industrial complex and it ultraviolence are the economics of extinction. Peace and love are the only way forward, for Japan and for all of us. Lastly, your final paragraph concerning my views on police force is not legerdemain to the article or this debate and I'm surprised the moderators didn't flag that for being off topic. Save it for an article in the crime section.
Posted in: Japan set to ease arms export ban
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shinhiyata
Uhhh, what some "monks" did centuries ago has no bearing on my philosophy in the here and now. That was their moral failure then, not mine today. Wielding a weapon in conflict was their mistake as it is Japan's mistake to participate in the present day global warfare machine. If those "monks" had achieved any sort of wisdom, they would not have been in a situation where conflict was necessary. Japan would do well not to repeat the mistakes of the past. Conflict and militarization have brought Japan only indescribable horror and misery. The industry of today's disaster weapons can only bring ruin and catastrophe to this world.
Posted in: Japan set to ease arms export ban
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shinhiyata
BlueSamurai - You are correct. As a Buddhist and a pacifist, I do not accept the manufacture or sale of weapons in any sense. Japan has decades of atonement to complete before they have absolved themselves of their recent military atrocities. "They should beat their samurai swords into plowshares" was my gist. And my analogy was perfect. Heroin is not a medicine - it is a killer. And the only way to correctly administer a weapon is to point it at someone and pull the trigger and kill. If you make or sell something that has only one purpose, to add to the already immeasurable amount of human suffering in this world, then you are a moral failure.
Posted in: Japan set to ease arms export ban
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shinhiyata
Solace - your rationale is somewhat flawed. Weapons and weapon system related technologies are designed for one purpose - to end human life. You can label it defense but the moral overstep is made at the time of production. If I make some heroin, am I morally absolved by the pusher or user who chose to purchase it? Such a pacifist stance is about as moral and peaceful as a banana clip.
Posted in: Japan set to ease arms export ban
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shinhiyata
All this will do is make certain that population centers where these facilities are located remain primary strike targets for NK gas and germ weapons and Chinese cyberattacks. Peace on Earth and good will towards men? Yeah right.
Posted in: Japan set to ease arms export ban
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shinhiyata
Miss Asada is an amazing athlete and fantastic performer, but her choice of costumes and music for her routines leaves me baffled. I wish she had a different stylist and better selection of tunes to work with in the past. She's such a gorgeous young woman and terrific skater, it's always entertaining to watch her compete, but she could do so much better with her outfits and songs. That aside, she's adorable, accomplished, and inspirational. Go Mao-chan !!!
Posted in: Asada out to seal Grand Prix final berth
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shinhiyata
Dr. Furukawa is almost 50 years old. He should be a hero and inspiration to all students of science and medicine throughout Japan. Sadly, none of my students know who he is or that he was on the ISS. But they all know Ai-chan. Go figure.
Posted in: Furukawa, 2 other astronauts return to Earth after 5 months on space station
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shinhiyata
This probe was a huge debacle with numerous failures throughout the entire 7 year mission. The costly MINERVA mini lander malfunctioned upon deployment and tumbled off into space. The Hayabusa craft itself was not designed as a lander and was only supposed to make momentary contact, however it impacted the asteroid twice and was on the surface for 30 minutes. The M5 launch rocket experienced multiple failures and the launch was postponed for 2 years resulting in 2 changes for the destination asteroid. The solar cells were unexpectedly damaged by a solar flare on route which decreased the ion engine efficiency so much the rendezvous was postponed for 4 months and the on site missions were shortened by 2 months. The 3 planned 'landings' had to be reduced to 1, and this did not go as planned either as noted above. The sampling canister did not function as designed and only 100 particles were retrieved from the ambient space around the asteroid and not directly from the surface - in my opinion, this constituted a mission grand objective failure. The return journey was so fraught with setbacks and emergencies that it was a miracle of luck that it didn't fall into the sun. The reentry didn't go as planned and the container capsule was heavily damaged upon impact. JAXA analysis of the retrieved samples states that 'most' of the particles retrieved were extraterrestrial in origin. Well, how did the contaminants get into the sample? The mission was so hampered by setbacks and timeline changes that the name of the probe, the destination asteroid, and JAXA itself all were changed during the mission. Not a stunning success, arguably not worth the cost, and certainly not worthy of a movie
Posted in: Down to Earth
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shinhiyata
I was just in Sendai the other day and this story is correct. Everything was jumping and everyone was smiling and shopping. I saw no evidence of the disaster whatsoever in people's faces. There was a late-model Maserati, a new Aston Martin, and a vintage Ferrari on the streets. Somebody is making money here in Tohoku (unfortunately not me). And I had to comment to my coworkers that Japan should be proud of it's ability to bounce back from this historic tragedy. Zichi is right to point out that much work needs to be done, but if this had happened in America, the situation would still be Katrina-style desperate even after 7 months. I have friends in Rikuzentakata and Kessenuma who lost everything, yet they are moving forward with resolve and stoicism that is hard for me to imagine considering what they have endured. Are they ready to party like in Sendai? No, not just yet. But the crying is over and hands are busy and the healing has begun and life goes on.
Posted in: Quake recovery funds bring boom to Sendai
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shinhiyata
I truly believe that Ferrari has the best overall car - certainly chassis and quite possibly engine, but their team and drivers just don't have the passion. Enzo sold road cars to finance racing and raced to get his street cars noticed. Now he's long gone and money is not a problem. Modena just doesn't seem to care anymore. If the course were more difficult, Alonso might have won. His car is made for a more challenging course, and Suzuka is not one of the harder circuits. But I suppose it's easier to hold a race there than at Fuji.
Posted in: F1's reigning champ savors second title
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shinhiyata
PT - I'm curious as to what influence Beijing might have over Lukashenko, Nazarbayev, Otunbayeva, or the Muslim Kyrgyz, Kazaks, and Uzbeks??? The only force with increasing influence in central Asia is Iran and radical Islam. And the only force with increasing influence in Belarus is desperation and hopelessness. Russia has nothing of value to offer any of these peoples except the nostalgic order and stability of an authoritarian de-facto police state that is not Sino.
Posted in: Putin proposes setting up 'Eurasian Union'
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shinhiyata
PT - your comment is not understandable. I've perused your other entries, and your inability to communicate in English is painfully obvious. Nevertheless, I offer you this food for thought. Why would anyone want to return to Hell? You don't need to use your imagination when the reality is that 2 million - nearly 10% of the population - are starving right now. To return a few million more sounds rather Stalinesque. Did you get that gameplan from Mao's book of wisdom?
Posted in: N Korea wants back 2 citizens found in South waters
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shinhiyata
What a farce. Putin is a classic megalomaniac with delusions of grandeur if he truly believes that this dictator clique is some sort of 'major global player'. Belarus is a polluted economic disaster run by Europe's last true iron-fist dictator. This country is so marginalized that most Europeans don't even know where it is. Kazakhstan is true-to-life as depicted in Borat. Another joke of a resource-rich-oligarch mafioso ruled by a paranoid dictator one-man-show for a government. Nazarbayev is insane and only remains in power because nobody wants the responsibility of cleaning up the nuke test sites and nerve gas weapon dumps. Putin can have these two borscht-banana republics. The world doesn't want them and doesn't need them. Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are even worse. Kyrgyzstan doesn't even have an effectively functioning government right now. And since there is no freedom of the press in Dushanbe, all the pipe-dream state propaganda covers up the nightmare reality of this stone-throw from the stone-age hot bed of Islamic militants and Iran supporters. Putin's "Loser Union of Former Loser Soviet Republics of Losers".
Posted in: Putin proposes setting up 'Eurasian Union'
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shinhiyata
While Rolls are still made at Goodwood, and Bentley are still made at Crewe, the formerly majestic British car industry has gone the way of the empire. Rolls is now entirely owned by BMW and Bentley by VW. Even TVR is owned by a Russian these days and Aston Martin by Kuwaitis. Of all the historic and mighty English cars still being made, only the eccentric Morgan and my favorite - Bristol - remain as true hand-made blue-blood heralds of this once proud tradition.
Posted in: Ghost car
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shinhiyata
dzimmerm56 - Superluminal transfer of information is possible according to the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen effect, but the information is unknowable according to Greene and Heisenberg.
Posted in: Physicists wary of junking light speed limit yet
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shinhiyata
The Tonga team are monsters and Soane is a bad mofo. Hope they take it all. Green hair, Poly tattoos, and the Sipi Tau rock the world !!!
Posted in: Tonga beats Japan 31-18 at World Cup
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shinhiyata
Toyota had to stop construction on their 2nd Russian factory in 2009 after sales from the 1st failed to reach expected levels. All of the vehicles made at Nissan's brand new St. Petersburg facility - which took 4 years to construct - had to be recalled for brake failure in 2010. The "Mitsubishi" plant in Kaluga is 70% owned by Peugeot and only 15% of the vehicles produced there are branded as Mitsus. And while Mazda has received permission from the Russian government to build a plant, they have not even decided on a location or if the factory will be operated in tandem with another company. Nissan Europe is mostly owned by Renault which has had to cut over 20000 jobs since 2007. I could go on and on, which is something the author should have done instead. The article fails to point out that success for Japanese automobile production in Russia remains elusive.
Posted in: Honda to build factory in Russia: report
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shinhiyata
If 'technically still at war" is such a ridiculous concept, then I have a hotel in Kumgangsan and a factory in Kaesong that I would love for you to invest in. Please remit your currency in USD so I can convert it to yen.
Posted in: Mizuho Corporate Bank ties up with Russian bank
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shinhiyata
State support from Russia - a neo-mafia energy-resource oligarchy backed by remnants of the KGB - and China - a totalitarian police state propped up by currency manipulation and virtual slave-labor wages = a good safe choice by Mizuho ??? Couldn't help but notice all of your figures are in USD.
Posted in: Mizuho Corporate Bank ties up with Russian bank