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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sirgamble
Tips have ranged from “Don’t drink tap water; the Japanese all drink bottled” to “You won’t be allowed into an onsen with a tattoo.”
Both are correct... in small towns they use bore, so you can't drink it. 99.99% of onsens will turn you away if you have a tattoo and can't cover it up or something.
Looks like somebody just has a chip on his shoulder...
Posted in: If a longtime expat starts offering you advice, walk the other way
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sirgamble
I didn't think commercial whaling was legal...
Posted in: Anti-whaling activist Pete Bethune gets suspended prison term
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sirgamble
Tokyo vs Osaka "dialects" are really splitting hairs. I've lived in Osaka and lots (most) people say "Maku"... then one guy from Osaka says "Makudo" and everybody goes "oooooooh Osaka dialect" (although it's just as common in Tokyo.)
Personally I call McDonalds Maccas and the Yanks never know what I'm talking about...
Posted in: Debate swirls over best abbreviation for McDonald's
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sirgamble
Yeah I'm not a fan of the tats in Japanese... particularly when the branded cow can't even read Japanese, but they still feel that kanji will make something more meaningful.
A guy I know came to Japan with pale white skin... nerdy guy, but on his back had some weird kanji + a picture of some anime guy. I think he thought this would make him cool... in reality it just meant he couldn't go to the onsen, and stuck out as an even weirder geek.
Posted in: Kanji catching on all over, but frequently misunderstood
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sirgamble
"Is the Lawsuit against Japan at the ICR still happening, etc?"
Ooooh I think so... Gillard is further left than Rudd. She's ditched a mining tax, and is more likely to go back to carbon trading...etc. Undoubtedly Peter Garrett will be let off his leash a little as well... I can see him campaigning against whaling (like he used to when he was with the Oils.)
Posted in: Australia gets its 1st female prime minister as Rudd ousted
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sirgamble
It's food for those countries seeking legal action against Japan in international courts. Be interesting to see how these bribe allegations stack up in the international court...
Posted in: IWC meeting abuzz over Japan vote-buying accusations
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sirgamble
I was reading that the international community is getting serious because Japan has paid rego fees for certain countries and also provided them with prostitutes. In my opinion this should be banned...
Posted in: IWC opens meeting with focus on commercial whaling ban
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sirgamble
Meh we should project a copy of it onto a big city building or something one day with big speakers...
Posted in: Internet service company to show 'The Cove' in Japan
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sirgamble
I've never had an estate agent say no to me on the grounds that I'm a foreigner. I think they say no to people because they work for Nova, don't make much money, actively say "key money is b/s" and speak no Japanese (so can't read the hefty paperwork required to rent a property.)
Posted in: Why Japanese property managers are so strict on renting apartments
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sirgamble
All I can say is this... if whaling/dolphin hunting (which the movie calls the same thing) are really Japanese culture, then why isn't it something they are proud of?
Posted in: Dolphin hunt film canceled in Tokyo after protests
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sirgamble
What a farce, it's like canning to kill a mockingbird because people didn't like the message around the time. Not saying The Cove is anywhere near as good in terms of quality as a text, but it has a message, and I don't think things should be canned just because a vocal minority smells change and doesn't want it published.
If the Japanese people who don't like this are so proud, why don't they make their own documentary that portrays their feelings and views their practices in a more positive light? I'll watch that... and I can tell you, it's not gonna be banned in the USA, Australia, UK, Canada...etc just because people don't like dolphin hunting.
Posted in: Dolphin hunt film canceled in Tokyo after protests
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sirgamble
The guys at www.rant-a-day.com did a decent report on this I think.
Posted in: Australia to take Japan to int'l court over whaling
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sirgamble
I like the fact that it will be a court case rather than a popularity contest, whereby Japan has bribed countries to vote with it.
One reason the USA, Australia, NZ, UK...etc (most of the world) have not counter-bribed countries to vote for their opinion is because in a court of law this will be significant. I can just see Japan arguing "but the IWC voted..." and the Judge saying "but only because you bribed them... how dodgy is that!"
Posted in: Australia to take Japan to int'l court over whaling
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sirgamble
I think that unless you REALLY want to learn kanji then it's impossible. I speak decent Japanese and have passed my JLPT level 3, but above that I have absolutely no interest in mastering Japanese...
That said, I know a really weird chick who LOVES manga... she reads it every day and studied kanji up until say 4am every day because she LOVES Japan and manga... so had a reason so learn. She was what I'd call basically perfect after about 3 years.
I don't think it's THAT hard to master Japanese, you just have to want to do it. Personally I have other interests...
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sirgamble
Who knows what happened... so many conclusions being jumped to. Attempted murder is the obvious issue here. Whether or not the father was violent, this was not an act of self defence, it was an attempted murder on a sleeping man.
If he's beating up his wife and kids... they should call the police, not try to take the law into their own hands. A pre-meditated attempted murder is a much more serious crime than an assault, and "battered wife syndrome" is no excuse for this, as has been tested in many cases.
Posted in: High school student arrested for stabbing father in Chiba
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sirgamble
Eikaiwa's do not offer long-term work prospects or any advantages for people with real teaching qualifications. They are what they are, and I think the teachers are basically expected to come over as fresh new graduates, party for a year, realise the system's rubbish the go home.
I don't know if people really want the "teachers" to stay?
Posted in: Back to the 'eikaiwa' drawing board
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sirgamble
This is the conservatives paired with the liberal democrats (a left wing party) though... It'll be hung and I doubt the conservatives will be able to achieve much.
Posted in: David Cameron takes over as British prime minister
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sirgamble
"Last week, the IWC put forth a proposal that would allowing whaling nations to hunt without specifying whether it is for commercial or other purposes"
Should read... last week, Japan put forth a proposal to the IWC that would allow whaling nations to hunt without specifying whether it is for commercial or other purposes.
Australia rejected it... so did everybody else.
Posted in: Australia rejects proposal for limited whale hunts by Japan, Norway and Iceland
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sirgamble
"First of all...you seem stressed. Have a smoke and relax. And your passport may say resident...but until you vote you are a foreigner."
For the record, permanent residents can now vote in Japan...
Posted in: Anti-smoking 'monsters' have smokers on the run
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sirgamble
Raise the taxes on the smokes... in Japan there's no tax on tobacco, so I have to pay their taxes. Health insurance is 40,000 yen a month for me, and all it does is pay for people who are sick because they smoke. Everybody in Australia gets more comprehensive insurance for free... oh and cigarettes are about $15 a packet rather than $1.50...
Posted in: Anti-smoking 'monsters' have smokers on the run