JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
-
- 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
-
- 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*
-
- Translator
- ZAIHON, Inc. (日本財務翻訳株式会社), Tokyo
- Salary: ¥6.0M / Year Negotiable
0
sk4ek
Old Takarazuka stars never retire, they just end up in fake marriages to in-the-closet actors... :)
Posted in: Takarazuka star Hana Hizuki to retire
0
sk4ek
Wow, straight out of an old Benetton ad.
Just the logistics of trying to travel halfway around the world with six kids, semi-incognito, must be daunting, even for the rich and famous...
Posted in: Brangelina
0
sk4ek
The hard part now will be finding doctors who can pronounce these devilishly-named drugs correctly for the dispensing pharmacy.
Posted in: Novartis gets approval to market 4 drugs in Japan
0
sk4ek
I thought it was great, not his best in terms of inspirational moments, and a bit old-fashioned in its rhetoric (he may have spent a little too much time reviewing the inaugural speeches of past presidents), but nevertheless a rousing call to the world, and to the American people. I particularly liked the imagery of our offering an open hand to those who unclench their fists, and of carrying forward a gift of peace to those generations to come. I don't think many expect him to meet all of the lofty expectations built up around his candidacy, but I am confident he will govern with every bit of the intellect, honesty, and compassion he has shown throughout the election and the subsequent transition process.
Posted in: What do you think of President Obama's inauguration speech?
0
sk4ek
Didn't something similar take place at another university in the middle of last year? Even the "black coat and cap" description sounds familiar.
Posted in: Professor stabbed to death at Chuo University in Tokyo
0
sk4ek
The Web site shows a 128GB SSD -- how was Sony able to bring the SSD to 128GB when Asus and everyone else are still only offering, at most, 16GB?
Using an SSD of course is a great advantage with such a small form-factor--it should boost battery life and lessen the time required to boot up.
Posted in: Sony unveils pocket-size VAIO laptop
0
sk4ek
Gee, nothing says "a tall, refreshing glass of Fanta" like a giant Mongolian sumo wrestler!!
Posted in: Asashoryu to appear in Fanta's new TV ad
0
sk4ek
Many components of the designs come from historical "yoroi" (samurai armor) fabric and cording designs, so really there's nothing in the least feminine about them, though I suppose when you translate them in nylon like this the effect is somewhat altered... :)
Posted in: Hot to trot
0
sk4ek
People who stand in smack in front of the elevator doors, then act all surprised when it arrives and people actually want to get off. People who push the "close door" button on the elevator before they push the button for their floor.
Men who pee off of train platforms.
Women who play with their hair the whole time they're sitting next to you on the train, pulling out loose strands and dropping them on the floor.
Posted in: What bad manners annoy you the most in public places?
0
sk4ek
Del Toro has never looked particularly well.
Anyway, as we say in Japanese, "che" ...
Article Unavailable
0
sk4ek
Well just go to the Man Bra web site, it's there in black and white... and pink.
Posted in: Men's bras getting a lot of support
0
sk4ek
A more in-depth article on the subject pointed to a survey of men who admitted to wearing this product (at least to the survey, if not to the people around them), and revealed that those with other cross-dressing proclivities (which have nothing to do with being gay, by the way--the majority of cross-dressers are straight men) were actually just a fraction of the total, with the most prominent groups being men in positions of power (doctors, lawyers, politicians, etc.) and those in sales jobs.
The most common reasons giving for liking the product were "It makes me straighten up (no pun intended), like knotting my tie smartly" and "It makes me feel like being nicer to other people" (something that's noted even in the marketing copy from the manufacturer).
Go figure...
Posted in: Men's bras getting a lot of support
0
sk4ek
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and her Lover (Michael Nyman)
The Last Emperor (Ryuichi Sakamoto/Cong Su/David Byrne)
Psycho (Bernard Herrmann)
The Mission (Ennio Morricone)
Amadeus (W.A. Mozart -- and who can beat Mozart???)
Special mention: The soundtrack of any Scorsese filme, not strictly scores since they typically include little or no original music, but in every case nearly perfect.
Posted in: Name your five most memorable movie scores.
0
sk4ek
They've tried all sorts of things to control the flow of visitor traffic, especially during the early-morning wholesale auction hours, but most visitors don't realize it's primarily a working wholesale market. What they need to do (and maybe will, when and if they finally relocate) is to more clearly separate the retail and wholesale parts of the market (maybe something like the venerable Pike Place Market in Seattle for the retail side), and possibly, as jinjapan suggests, build a separate auction viewing area (glassed in, overlooking the auction floor?) for visitors who want to see that excitement.
Posted in: Tourists to be barred from Tsukiji tuna auctions for a month
0
sk4ek
I have yet to see a credit card application that requires you to provide your nationality, much less that of a spouse.
Posted in: Try to get a credit card in Japan
0
sk4ek
Since when will a credit card get you through US immigration? Unless you're bribing a customs officer with it...
Posted in: Try to get a credit card in Japan
0
sk4ek
Sorry, I meant that Shinsei and Aozora are NOT easier for consumers to deal with, given their lack of experience in retail banking services.
Posted in: Try to get a credit card in Japan
0
sk4ek
Japanese banks and credit card issuers do not have access to foriegn credit bureau data, so your application is scored solely on the basis of your financial record here in Japan. The banks all have their own "scoring engines" (usually software, but sometimes including human checks) which include pre-configured rules for filtering out clearly unqualified applicants. Names/nationality are not usually configured as part of these rules. The software then generates a score, which is combined with/compared to scores generated by one or more of the outside credit bureaus--though if you have no credit history in Japan, that step will not usually produce a result--to determine an acceptable credit limit, in the case of acceptance, or to reject the application.
Banks have stricter guidelines for income and existing debt; third-party credit card issuers will often accept applications with household income well below 7 million yen (otherwise most recently hired graduates wouldn't be able to get a credit card, with average starting salaries averaging 3.5-4.5 million). Of course, as in any other country, length of residence and continuous employment will affect the overall scoring. The new systems, which rely more on automated scoring and industry-wide access to shared credit data, are actually probably fairer and less prone to any kind of discrimination than in the past, when an application could easily be rejected simply on the basis of personal prejudice or institutional bias.
I personally don't think the standards are skewed to significantly disadvantage foreigners in the process. Some banks (like Shinsei and Aozora, which have only a short history in retail banking and a long history of strict credit standards) will be easier to deal with than others--as someone noted above, Suruga Bank excels in customer service, while Mizhuo is a real misery to deal with--but that is certainly not something unique to Japan, either.
Posted in: Try to get a credit card in Japan
0
sk4ek
I've never had trouble getting a credit card in Japan, and I am self-employed (for the most part), on a work visa, and have "only" been here 8 years. My JAL gold card has a 2 mil. yen limit (I only use it to purchase air tickets online), the others all have typical credit limits/rates, the only restriction being that a couple have no cashing capability.
It is getting more difficult for anyone in Japan to get a credit card--until a few years ago, there was little coordinated credit-checking (companies would just verify the data the applicant provided), but more recently the credit bureaus here have begun sharing information, so there is now more comprehensive credit history data available to the banks, which they use together with their own in-house scoring to determine creditworthiness.
Posted in: Try to get a credit card in Japan
0
sk4ek
So, why did NHK broadcast only the women's program yesterday and not the men's short program??
Good to see Oda is back and in form!
Posted in: Asada takes lead after short program at NHK Trophy