JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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- Financial Advisor
- Select Asset Management KK, Tokyo
- Salary: ¥100,000 ~ ¥999,999 Paid Training Commission Based
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- Corporate Business English Trainers
- ACT Systems, Inc.（株式会社アクト・システムズ）, Tokyo
- Salary: ¥269,500 ~ ¥280,000 / Month
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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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smithinjapan
So what is the plan of these Republicans to reduce the debt? They don't want tax increases to the rich, obviously, and want to keep a ridiculously large nuclear arsenal. So what's they're plan?
Posted in: Republicans oppose any cuts in nuclear weapons
5
smithinjapan
And let me guess how they're going to rememdy the problem: they're going to form a panel to examine the feasability of assigning a new body to regulate NISA, and will promise transparency and to root out all inadequecies, etc. In other words, they'll throw more money to NISA and do nothing to change.
Posted in: Japan's nuclear safety standards flawed, says commission chief
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smithinjapan
"Rome dropped its bid for the 2020 Olympics on Tuesday after Premier Mario Monti said the Italian government would not provide financial backing for the multi-billion-dollar project at a time of economic crisis."
Wow... a government with some sense. Imagine that! Meanwhile Japan is in a SERIOUS crisis but arrogant louts in office want the bribes for the lucrative construction jobs.
Posted in: Rome's 2020 Olympic bid scrapped, leaving Tokyo, 4 other cities
-1
smithinjapan
j4p4nFTW: "Ah so you only listen to flawed Japanese rankings that have you the best at everything. I understand.... Maybe you can explain that theory to the countries in 1st, 2nd and 3rd place then."
Yeah, because nothing you say, and certainly no Japanese survey, is flawed! :) I mean, certainly the consensus before last, where THOUSANDS of people listed to be alive, many centenarians, wasn't false, right? even AFTER it was proven many were in fact dead (and in some cases family members just collecting the benefits). Nope! nothing flawed there.
Regardless, Cletus is correct. Japan has more often than not been ranked as No.#1, once in a while being overtaken by another nation for a year until hitting the top again. In 2011, however, Japan was ranked #4 or even #5, with Macau, Monaco, and a couple of other small nations (one an island, I think) ranking higher (Monaco MUCH higher, in fact). Japan dropped from something like an overall lifespan average of 82.6 years to 82.2.
And regardless, this is not a case of 'winning' or something like that, so unless quality of life is high for all those people living beyond the average, it doesn't really mean squat, and if you think about the burden created and that will continue to exist for Japan as society ages, having one of the highest lifespans is more a bane than a bonus.
I also agree with the poster above who stated that it's more likely based on income, not necessarily location. A person living in poverty in the city is most likely NOT going to have a better life and health than a rich person in 'rural' Japan.
Posted in: To be healthy, live in the big city
-1
smithinjapan
Wurthington: "It makes me wonder. Are there Neighborhood Support Groups organized for families in Japan? As was posted earlier, many families do not have extended family nearby and with husbands so often gone it would be a help."
I DO agree with you in terms of the nation needing more immediate support with community. Much like towns back home where you know your neighbours well enough, there ARE people in the community who may be willing to pop in and take care of your kids for the short time you need to run out, or who are willing to babysit if you need to go out for longer than just a run to the supermarket, say. I think there's more hesitancy to impose on one's neighbours in such cases, but I know in the town I used to live in my neighbours would have done it if I asked. A big city here is much like anywhere else; people often don't know their neighbours well enough to trust them, let alone ask them to watch over kids. So yeah, some sort of organized community care and support would be good -- even if it were only a local kid who's free to babysit on a whim.
Posted in: Two sisters, aged 5 and 3, perish in Tokyo fire
2
smithinjapan
Man... how many times do we have to read about little children dying because of parental negligence and abuse. So, it's clear no one was at home while these little children burned alive, so where were the parents? Dad may well have been at work, and if that's the case I'm sorry, Wurthington, but we cannot blame him or Japanese corporate culture any more today than we could have yesterday, or with any other family that grows up with all the members alive and intact. This is mom's fault. I agree that women carry a lot of burdens that their husbands may not (not in all cases) in terms of child-rearing, but this woman made a conscious choice to leave her children at home alone, probably with a kerosene stove nearby their blankets or something else flammable, and now she has to deal with the very, very sad reality that had she not her children would probably still be alive.
RIP to the little ones, and my heart goes out to the family -- even the mother who made a stupid choice. I hope the children were sleeping and passed away without any pain or suffering (ie. carbon monoxide).
Posted in: Two sisters, aged 5 and 3, perish in Tokyo fire
-1
smithinjapan
"...Salarymen working in major urban areas are more physically active than one might expect. They climb stairs and use their muscles to hang on to straps while standing during their morning commute. And they walk a lot, too...."
And yet:
"When the elderly overexert themselves, they become rickety. Since people living in cities only exert themselves to a limited degree, they are better able to maintain their vitality.”
So, do they exert themselves much more than we think, or only to a limited degree? As usual, this kuchikomi article, or at least the people quoted from the study, are contradictory and make generalizations that could apply to anything, anyone, anywhere. They take Mr. A, who moves to the boonies and gets sick. They then contrast this with a 'typical town mouse', who is healthy. Of COURSE someone who is sick is going to be sicker than someone who is healthy! That's not relative to place!! How about taking the town mouse who lives in an urban high-rise and is very sick vs. the country mouse who is very healthy? Nah, gotta pad the study.
And guess what -- business people who live in the country can ALSO exert themselves a lot more (than one might expect); even more than the town mouse, if you will. And yes, they can 'exercise muscles by hanging on to a strap on the crowded commute' even.
Ludicrous study. The only thing that would make sense is a comparative study on when people GET sick in both urban and rural areas. Obviously there would be a higher concentration of clinics and medical centers available in urban areas in contrast with rural. While the article touches on the idea of stress in the big city, it does not study it in detail, or nearly enough as it is. What's the mental health in both areas like? How about suicides? Crime?
j4p4nFTW: "A Japanese lifespan is the longest in the world even though big cities can stress many people. This is due to the perfect traditional diet with much soy and fish, and a lack of guilt based morality that causes depression."
Agree with the first part, which is why in the next 20 years the average lifespan of Japanese will fall in the ranks from first (sometimes second) to about where the US and other Western nations are, if not lower. The average diet of most people today is not at all similar to that of, let's say, Okinawans 70 years ago. The current centennarians did indeed grow up on quite a healthy diet, comparatively speaking. But these days in Okinawa people drive their cars to the local convenience store even, and have more junkfood available to them than any other part of Japan. There's also a lot more stress on rush in lifestyle for young people today up to people who are in or nearing their sixties compared to before.
As for lack of guilt, I agree that feeling guilty or upset can cause a lot of problems physically, but a 'lack of guilt based morality' is not necessarily a good thing when people are guilty of something -- that's just denial, and can lead to a person snapping later on if not dealt with.
Posted in: To be healthy, live in the big city
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smithinjapan
This will ruffle some ultra-right feathers in Japan, but I guess China is the world's second largest economy and still rising whereas the sun has more or less set here.
Posted in: Obama: Strong U.S.-China ties help rest of the world
1
smithinjapan
Sushi: "It seems pretty clear to me that Japan has little choice but to continue creating and using nuclear energy, which let's face if, has had a near spotless record in Japan since the first plant was commissioned circa 1966..."
Now, Sushi, I generally agree with you, and I realize your first post on this thread was sarcastic, but you've got to be kidding if you say Japan has a near spotless record. There are a good number of accidents that have occured throughout Japan at various plants, and this is not even TEPCO's first time trying to cover up their negligence and the disasters that have ensued. Just look up TEPCO and 'coverups' and you'll find half a dozen specific examples and explanations, the next largest to 3/11 of last year being the Niigata earthquake and damage to the plant -- built DIRECTLY on top of a major fault line despite lying that they did not know about said fault line (was later revealed they did, and had a map detailing it, but paid off certain people to ignore it and give them the thumbs up, etc.).
Posted in: Fukushima faces increased quake risk, scientists say
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smithinjapan
Serrano: "300? How about just 30? 30 could do a lot of damage."
Well, I agree with you that 30 is better than the current level, but the ideal would be ZERO. Of course, before that can be accomplished other nations need to make equal efforts -- then of course you run into problems with certain nations selling the decommissioned weapons to 'rogue' nations, and those rogue nations in general. No reason why they can't be cut back by 80%, though, and it would be a refreshing change to see the US leading in such a mission instead of always rushing to war or pushing arms races.
Posted in: U.S. weighing steep nuclear arms cuts
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smithinjapan
Yeah, Molenir.... they need enough weapons to destroy the world 1000 times over. Reducing the nuclear forces to the point where they can only destroy the world 100 times over is ridiculous!!
Posted in: U.S. weighing steep nuclear arms cuts
3
smithinjapan
Scrote: "It's interesting that minister Edano sent his family to Singapore shortly after the nuclear disaster."
That IS interesting, and something I did not know. I would like someone to ask why, after literally DOZENS of "it's not harmful to human health" and "there's no danger" proclamations by this man, he sent his family away.
Posted in: Official defends secrecy over worst-case nuclear disaster scenario
9
smithinjapan
"But he also acknowledged Tuesday that the design for the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant had been faulty and he had not expected the “Chernobyl-style disaster” that occurred."
And yet you gave the go-ahead for building. Whose fault is that?
Posted in: Official defends secrecy over worst-case nuclear disaster scenario
1
smithinjapan
No surprises here, and with the poor security of Google -- from private information being lost and/or stolen to the latest 'keitai wallet' hacking -- it's looking even worse for them. By contrast, Apple creates amazing products and uses its own system to run, etc.
Posted in: Apple dethrones Google as company with most respected image in eyes of consumers
3
smithinjapan
Phew! It's only a warning from scientists, so TEPCO can ignore it like they have consistantly for years (including threat of a 3/11-like earthquake). Then when one DOES hit and causes further damage, they can claim, "We had no way of suspecting such a thing would occur", and when it's proven that they WERE warned about it, they'll say, "We had a meeting four days before the incident in which TEPCO officials gave a warning to management, and we were about to start working on it when this happened. Unfortunately, there were no minutes of the meeting taken, and the original document has been lost".
It'll happen because TEPCO will allow it to happen.
Posted in: Fukushima faces increased quake risk, scientists say
1
smithinjapan
It's sad that people take this incident, without knowing a SINGLE thing except that an Aussie national is dead, and start labeling all Australians who go abroad as drunkards or what have you. Again, we know nothing about what happened here. As was posted earlier, for all we know he had a heart attack.
RIP.
Posted in: Australian man found dead at Niseko ski resort
-1
smithinjapan
"Nuclear plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) said the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant remained stable."
Yeah, in 'cold shutdown status', right? "Remained UNstable, but no further visible damage was done" would be more apt.
Posted in: M6 quake hits eastern Japan; Fukushima nuclear plant stable
1
smithinjapan
zichi: As usual I agree with you, but I guarantee the companies will turn the reactors back on regardless of whether they have the public support or not. The whole 'public opinion/support' thing is a joke -- it only applies when they agree with the government.
Posted in: TEPCO blames high reactor temperature reading on broken thermometer
2
smithinjapan
And yet they don't tell anyone what the stress tests consist of.
Posted in: Nuclear agency OKs stress tests on 2 Fukui reactors
0
smithinjapan
Yup, not the company's fault -- this whole thing is the fault of a malicious little thermometer!
Posted in: TEPCO blames high reactor temperature reading on broken thermometer