JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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To be healthy, live in the big city
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Teacher nabbed for using miror to peek up girl's skirt
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Japan's nuclear safety standards flawed, says commission chief
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Why do Japanese change their attitude when they communicate with foreigners?
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From carnivores to herbivores: how men are defined in Japan
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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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sk4ek
Strictly "by-the-book" service, however outstanding, is what keeps most Japanese-owned high-end hotels off of leading global best hotel lists. Places like the Ritz-Carlton, which give individual employees the freedom to make customer service decisions on the fly, while also holding those employees to a high standard of quality and accountability, in the end are simply better able to surprise, satisfy, and "delight" their guests. About the only Japanese-owned Tokyo hotel that I think does this equally well is the Hotel Okura. The rest are excruciatingly correct in form, but sadly lacking in heart.
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sk4ek
And in fact, in the U.S. the battle hinged not so much on the fact that people came down with catastrophic illnesses--to this day, most of those lawsuits have been won by the tabacco companies--but on the emergence of proof that the tabacco companies intentionally manipulated nicotine levels in their products to increase the potential for addiction. This angle has never been explored in similar lawsuits in Japan, and, given the monopolistic nature of the industry here, is unlikely to have much chance of emerging as plaintiff's tool going forward.
Posted in: 3 Japanese wage court battle against Japan Tobacco
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sk4ek
I'd go just to see Patti Smith. Hardly third-rate or a has-been. One of the greats, rocking just as hard as she always has.
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sk4ek
See above "Which celebrities are you tired of reading and hearing about?"
Posted in: Junichi Ishida says he’s confident relationship with Riko Higashio will go well
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sk4ek
Nothing spells a successful case like an arrest warrant from the Chiba police...
Posted in: 28-year-old man placed on wanted list for murder, abduction
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sk4ek
In the U.S., at least, local police for many years had no jurisdiction over (or preferred to avoid) questions of legal residency, and would not ask about immigration status, employment, etc. That has changed, and these kinds of questions are becoming more common, even in ordinary traffic stops. In Japan, of course, because most policing is essentially under a national authority, they have always been charged with the task of routing out illegal immigrants, and questions about employment, visa status (and, in Japan, because visa validity is related in many cases to income level), salary, etc. are considered perfectly legitimate when stopping a non-citizen resident.
Still, after never having been stopped by the police in over ten years living here, I'm beginning to have second thoughts about my plan to buy a bicycle for the first time--it seems as though it may be more trouble than it's worth, given all the stories I hear about traffic stops based solely on having been on a bicycle.
Posted in: My first run-in with the police
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sk4ek
And my other comments aside, I heartily agree--what better learning opportunity for a young golfer than to be teamed with the sport's greatest player on one of its most challenging courses??
Posted in: Woods gets Westwood, Ishikawa at British Open
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sk4ek
Well I'm sure this will do wonders for poor Ryo-kun's nerves... Gee, do you think they could've upped the pressure a bit more??
Posted in: Woods gets Westwood, Ishikawa at British Open
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sk4ek
They should've given this role to Kenichi Matsuyama, though he might be a bit too old for it now. He does brooding and moody better than any young actor out there these days.
Posted in: Johnny's talent Toma Ikuta gets big chance with 'No Longer Human'
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sk4ek
Of course if you shop at Costco then a year's supply of bottled water will only run you about 20,000 yen...
Posted in: Do you prefer tap water or bottled water for drinking?
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sk4ek
Tokyo's tap water tastes perfectly fine, but you never know, so I use a Brita filter pitcher and just refill the same two or three 500ml PET bottles from it for convenience (washing them from time to time).
Posted in: Do you prefer tap water or bottled water for drinking?
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sk4ek
Until recently, I have never had a problem with a Sony laptop, and I've been through three of them. They're a little more expensive, but performance-wise and in terms of durability, they've proven more cost-effective over the long run. My only problems have come with my most recent machine, running Vista, and the majority of the problems are attributable to the OS, not the hardware.
That said, I passed on the VAIO "T" after trying out its keyboard--it just seemed flimsy--and got an Asus 1000HE, 12,000 yen with a two-year emobile contract. The screen is miniscule, but the keyboard is fine and, running XP, performance couldn't be better. (As with many lower-cost machines, though, the track pad is over-sensitive and lacks accuracy. Just look at it the wrong way and your pointer jumps all over the place).
I think Sony/VAIO's missed the boat in this case.
Posted in: Sony to sell low-cost netbook in August
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sk4ek
Useful article on the subject here: http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ek20080930wh.html
Have read elsewhere that firm plans are afoot for greatly increasing coverage of bike paths in Tokyo, at least, but are kept on the back burner while other major infrastructure projects in the urban core (like the massive utilities tunnel that is finally moving most line--at least along major throughfares--under ground) get priority, and so-called experts "study" the issue.
Posted in: Tokyo residents pedaling to work in increasing numbers
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sk4ek
I guess good old Prince Kobayashi just couldn't ketchup this time... :-p
Posted in: Chestnut beats Kobayashi to win July Fourth hot dog eating contest
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sk4ek
Forsooth it was for the likes of thee The American epithet of 'whackjob' was given to us.
Posted in: US church creates stir with gay exorcism video
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sk4ek
Hmmm... alcohol and caffienated cola, just the thing we need in a night-time beverage. No wonder everyone is so sleep-deprived.
That said, I'm looking forward to trying this. Japanese marketing reports say it's been formulated to be extra-fizzy, which is nice because most carbonated cocktail concoctions just don't have that fizz.
Posted in: Anyone for vodka cola?
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sk4ek
The photo ad accompanying this article (from Ads by Gooooooogle, at least in my browser) made me laugh. A big guy on a big tricycle pulling another big guy overflowing a little red wagon. Sometimes these "smart word" ad placements can backfire on the article they accompany--what if this was confused for a photo of the Google tricycle in action??
Posted in: Google tricycle snaps views from walkways
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sk4ek
While there are plenty of "regular" gay guys on TV (you straight viewers just don't know who they are), the only ones who are "out and about" openly on variety shows, etc. are the flaming queens, because they're the only ones with any real entertainment value (never mind what one may think of that value...). You get a bunch of regular gay guys up on the screen and they'd be no different from anyone else.
The only reason all of these transgendered "tarento" have become so ubiquitous on the boob tube (no pun intended) is that at one point the government declared gender identity disorder a real "syndrome", so of course, anyone who is certifiably "sick" becomes an object of interest and--gasp--a twisted sort of compassion, and not something socially unacceptable. The fact that a lot of gays and transgendered folk also happen to be particularly good at laughing with their audience and at themselves probably makes the transition to television that much easier.
Posted in: Television perpetuates outmoded gender stereotypes
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sk4ek
He's a great singer and an appealing actor, but the more time he spends with this woman, the flakier he becomes.
Posted in: Mariko Ishihara vanishes after 3 months’ marriage to Koji Tamaki
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sk4ek
Books: Poirot, Pascoe, Kinsey Millhone, V.I. Warshawski, J.P. Beaumont
Film: Kindaichi Kousuke!
TV: Furuhata Ninzaburo, Columbo, Jessica Fletcher, Jane Tennison
Posted in: Who are your favorite fictional detectives of literature, film or TV?