JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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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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Brainiac
I miss photos. I don't know anyone who makes prints of digital photos and keeps them in an album. My parents and grandparents kept all their photos lovingly preserved in albums, some more than 100 years old. Each photo conjures up precious memories. I never get that feeling with digital photos.
Posted in: Gone but not forgotten
7
smartacus
What is the point of having crossings if vehicles aren't obliged to stop for pedestrians?
Posted in: Woman killed in hit-and-run involving three cars
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smartacus
It's very complicated trying to sort the garbage at our office. Nobody can agree on what is burnable and what isn't.
Posted in: Shirai Group
-2
smartacus
My impression is that Japanese, especially older people, are very lax about their personal safety. You see this every Sunday night when NHK gives its daily deaths from nature accident report (I'm exaggerating, there isn't really such a report). In summer, it is deaths from rivers, oceans and mountain accidents. In winter, it is skiers and snowboarders, mountain hikers and snow-related deaths.
These elderly people we are reading about have probably been going up onto their rooftops all their lives and have become complacent about the possible danger.
Posted in: Why are there so many deaths due to snow-related accidents (people falling off rooftops, for example) in Japan this winter?
2
smartacus
The anecdotal evidence doesn't say how long Chiemi's fling with Yang lasted. Not very long, I suspect.
Posted in: China outperforming Japan in campus romance
5
smartacus
I've never had any trouble with Sony products and I have been using them since the 1970s. I think their trouble started after Akio Morita left the helm, and due to some risky choices. Betamax's defeat to VHS was a big blow. I had a Betamax and I still say to this day that the quality was better than VHS.
Probably, in the end, Sony's decline comes down to no longer making innovative products and no longer staying ahead of the curve. These things go in cycles. Right now, Apple gets all the glory, but maybe in 10 years time, Sony will reemerge. Who knows?
Posted in: Sony is forecasting a 220 billion yen loss for fiscal 2011, its 4th straight year of red ink despite massive cost cuts and restructuring efforts in recent years. What do you think are the main reasons for Sony's decline?
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smartacus
I would say she is more mentally ill than evil, as some of you seem to think. Dangerous, certainly, but in need of serious help (since long before her crimes).
Posted in: Woman sentenced to 4 1/2 years for breaking babies' legs
1
smartacus
If Kate comes within the near future, I think she would be the most popular visitor ever, beating all the celebs and sports stars hands down. But unfortunately, from a protocol point of view, there is no equivalent Japanese royal for her or William to meet, except for Princess Aiko and her cousins.
Posted in: British Chamber of Commerce in Japan
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smartacus
King Basil
I recall a story in JT that said the amount of contaminated topsoil would fill 23 Tokyo Domes or something like that. You cannot store that much soil in mountainous areas because the first time there is a typhoon or heavy rain, there will be a landslide. It is because those prefectures are so mountainous that I believe there is a shortage of land.
And metal and wood has to be incinerated.
Posted in: Should prefectures outside the Tohoku area accept tsunami rubble for incineration or disposal?
2
smartacus
Wooden thatched houses can be very precarious indeed if snow piles up on the roof. You do have to clear it off.
Posted in: Heavy snow continues in northern Japan
-9
smartacus
If I understand the situation correctly, there is not enough land to store the tens of millions of tons of debris in Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima.
My view is that as long as debris can be proven to have been decontaminated, I don't see any reason why other prefectures shouldn't help with incineration or disposal. The disaster and its aftermath is not just the Tohoku's problem. We all have to help.
Posted in: Should prefectures outside the Tohoku area accept tsunami rubble for incineration or disposal?
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Brainiac
Ben
I doubt whether eating fruit or eggs beforehand would have contributed to the kids getting ill.
Posted in: Shibuya herb vendor raided after 3 teenagers fall ill
1
smartacus
Speaking for myself only, I am tired of seeing remakes and sequels. There is very little new or original. But I can understand the reasons given in the story - there are so many gadgets competing for people's disposable income and time that going to the movies isn't as much fun as it used to be.
When I was a kid, Saturday night at the movies was a tradition (two features back then). That was followed by the drive-in. Video changed the whole movie-going experience for at least two generations.
Another problem for me in Tokyo is trying to make it to the 7 p.m. screening, especially on a week night. You rush from work to get to the theater, no time to have dinner, and spend the first half of the movie juggling something to eat and drink in the darkness. No fun at all.
Downloading of movies isn't a factor for me,. I have never downloaded a film or TV show in my life and, quite frankly, can't see why anyone would want to. I do buy DVDs because I have built up a library over the years and I enjoy the extras that come with the DVD.
Posted in: Film box-office revenue down 17.9% in 2011
-4
Brainiac
I actually agree with the government's decision and for the reasons stated. Giving all children in Fukushima free health care is certainly unfair because they would be able to claim free health care for hundreds of ailments that have nothing to do with the nuclear accident. A child who breaks his leg playing soccer, gets the flu, has a toothache and so on would be getting free health care, while millions of other children around Japan would not be able to.
Now if there were free health care for all children in Japan, that would be different.
Posted in: Gov't says no to free medical care for children under 18 in Fukushima
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smartacus
Good for him. I'll be happy to try his ice cream, if it will help support his business.
Posted in: Fukushima ice cream maker wins Italian award
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smartacus
I think it is harmless fun, although I know a lot of people think otherwise. If nothing else, AKB48 are good for the economy and for promoting Japanese pop culture overseas.
Posted in: Do you think all-girl groups like AKB48 are being marketed as sexualized little Lolitas or is it just harmless fun?
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smartacus
It's quite a funny commercial.
Does anyone know how good these Pocket Wi-Fi devices are?
Posted in: Mane event
3
smartacus
Sad news.
I don't agree that the Internet will make TVs obsolete. Why would you even want to watch programs and movies on a computer screen? I prefer my 50-inch TV screen any day.
Posted in: Hitachi to stop making televisions
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smartacus
The last paragraph sums the LDP up. Tanigaki has said nothing about the sales tax and TPP because the LDP will do exactly the same as the DPJ, if they retake power.
Posted in: LDP resolves to take power from DPJ this year
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smartacus
Hope he gets well soon.
Posted in: Ailing maestro