JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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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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- 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*
1
smithinjapan
Geez... only 54 million when they had contracts valued at over $6 billion. That's less than 1%.
Posted in: Marubeni to pay $54.6 mil penalty for role in Nigeria bribery scheme
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smithinjapan
“The captain defended his role on the direction of the ship after the collision, which in the captain’s opinion saved hundreds if not thousands of lives,”
Like piloting the ship off course to please a person from the island? Yep, saved thousands of lives by doing that. Oh, and he surely saved thousands of lives by bailing before almost anyone else and not returning to the ship when ordered!
How this coward has the gall to say otherwise is beyond me, save of course that I understand he is merely trying to save his own skin... which will soon, rightfully, be flayed.
Posted in: Italy cruise wreck rescue halted; captain under house arrest
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smithinjapan
Good points: They are extremely well timed and very convenient (albeit quite complex as a result). Bad points: over-crowded during rush-hour and quite expensive compared to other countries.
All told, I think the Japanese train/subway system is among the best in the world.
Posted in: What do you think are the good and bad points about the subway systems in Japan's cities?
2
smithinjapan
"TEPCO also said the extra revenue will be needed to compensate those evacuated for radiation risks, as well as the massive costs for shutting down the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant."
So now we are LITERALLY paying for TEPCO's ineptitude and inabilities. Along with yesterday's sudden blackout they're going to start saying, "We must restart existing plants to maintain the demand for electricity (but we're still jacking up the costs). We ask for the public's understanding". I ask a woman with particularly pointy stilletos to write 'understanding' on the tip of the shoes/boots and give the TEPCO execs a very hard, very swift kick in the ass. I hope they understand.
Posted in: TEPCO to raise electricity rates for corporate users by 17% from April 1
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smithinjapan
I see we're already vying for world's worst invention for 2012. Move over lap-pillow!
Posted in: Bum's the word in Japan security scans
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smithinjapan
Well, if they were illegal to posses, than charge the man, bottom line.
Posted in: Father of boy accused of attacking two girls in Saitama, Chiba faces charges
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smithinjapan
Why would you wear a patch for a black eye, anyway? It's not like you're taking attention away from it or anything. He could sport the black eye and say, "I was fighting the opposition on taxes", or some self-deprecating joke.
Posted in: Noda appears in eye patch for tax fight
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smithinjapan
Familienprobleme: "but you know how much money just went down the tubes as this ship is a total loss? 570 million U.S. dollars! Half a billion! That is quite a toy the captain decided to play with!"
Sadly, that is the main reason that ensures the captain will be screwed, not the loss of life. But at least the captain IS screwed, regardless of how you slice it: he was taking people on a joy-ride that resulted in death, he wrecked a half a billion dollar ship, and he ran out before the evacuation and refused to go back and help. This guy is utter scum, and how he became captain I know not.
Posted in: Italian liner toll up to 7, 28 missing as captain questioned
-1
smithinjapan
senseiman: "Er....there seems to be some confusion here. If the panel was not independent, as you seem to imply, it would have been more likely to pin the blame on the accounting firms (Olympus outsiders) rather than blaming Olympus` own auditors (Olympus insiders)."
Well then, do tell who formed the independent panel? How many foreign experts were on it, by the way? And why is it more likely they would blame the accounting firms instead of singling out a few former Olympus (and one current) employees?
Posted in: 2 accounting firms cleared, 5 in-house auditors blamed in Olympus cover-up
2
smithinjapan
I question the 'human ties especially nurtured by japanese society and culture' when they seem to mean ANY tie, from infidelity to the ties established from the 3.11 disaster. Or is it related to the newly formed 'Kizuna' party from the DPJ and former LDP dropouts?
"Rising sales of such appliances as espresso machines and home bakeries highlight a new feeling that there’s no place like home, and no companionship like that of one’s own family."
That or it's a cheaper and easier way to make bread and rice cakes instead of shelling out 200 yen for 5 slices or pulling out the giant mortar to pound freshly made rice into rice cakes. I seriously don't understand what the feature is trying to say Kizuna means, unless they're advertising home bakery machines here. I would think that being part of a community sponsored Omochi-tsuki event is more about bonding than turning on a machine, with others or alone, in your home.
gaijinfo: "Another word with an extremely vague meaning that can be used in almost any situation to excuse/rationalize/justify any behavior you want, as well as highlight Japan's special "uniqueness." All of the so called "evidence" of kizuna in this wandering article are anecdotal at best, and imaginary at worst. They certainly aren't measurable with any degree of certainty."
Exactly! It's like the article is saying, "Being with your family is Kizuna. Being away from your family is Kizuna. A marriage is Kizuna. Infidelity is also Kizuna". EVERYTHING is Kizuna! The only thing 'uniquely' Japanese about it seems to be the vaguery of how it's used.
Posted in: 'Kizuna' takes many forms in post-disaster Japan, including marriage and infidelity
3
smithinjapan
Nicky: "Stop right there. i have never in the 10 years I have been here ever seen human ties nurtured by Japanese society or culture."
BINGO!
"Er...no....Japanese men just cant keep it in their pants, and Japanese women have the morals of alley cats when it comes to married men."
Ah, come on... infidelity is not limited to Japanese. It's just that there's less of an attitude of "just don't bring it home" in other cultures. We have our trashy but somewhat discreet motels, and here they have love hotels next door to their apartment complexes. Still, again, no one can say infidelity is limited to any culture -- I'm only surprised they tie they word into 'Kizuna' while at the same time saying 'Kizuna' is a special term for the Japanese after the disasters of 3.11.
Posted in: 'Kizuna' takes many forms in post-disaster Japan, including marriage and infidelity
1
smithinjapan
Why not ROBO-Jiji?
Posted in: ROBO-G
3
smithinjapan
Wow... TEPCO can't figure something out. Go figure! My guess is it was intentional, or that it was going to happen and they did nothing to stop it, and will follow it up with requests for more funds from the government and to build new reactors to compensate for energy demands.
Posted in: Blackout in Tokyo's Edogawa Ward affects 59,000 households
2
smithinjapan
"Current CEO and president Shuichi Takayama, who is being asked to pay 500 million yen, has not been sacked, with the company saying he will resign after the next extraordinary general meeting, scheduled for March or April."
And let me guess... he'll receive a nice severance package totaling quite a bit more than 500 million yen for not being sacked. Japanese corporate governance at its best!
Posted in: 2 accounting firms cleared, 5 in-house auditors blamed in Olympus cover-up
3
smithinjapan
Wow... an 'independent panel' clears the companies of wrong doing but finds a few scapegoats... go figure!
Posted in: 2 accounting firms cleared, 5 in-house auditors blamed in Olympus cover-up
1
smithinjapan
cleo: "When did 'Till death us do part' turn into 'Only as long as it's convenient/Only as long as I feel like it'?"
When the green card kicked in.
Seriously, though, I knew this one, as well as others, wouldn't last... but at least in this case it's for slightly different reasons, and I agree with Hamasaki that being apart physically can lead to separation mentally as well. They were just a little premature in deciding to wed in the first place.
Posted in: Ayumi Hamasaki to divorce husband of 1 year
3
smithinjapan
"The draft legislation has won the backing of Hollywood, the music industry, the Business Software Alliance, the National Association of Manufacturers and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce."
In other words, all the unnecessary middle-men who reap most of the profits. A star doesn't necessarily earn less if the products they appear in/sing are pirated; the company earns less. Actors are contracted, and musicians get the lion's share of their riches through live performance.
Posted in: Wikipedia to go dark to protest web piracy drafts
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smithinjapan
noriyosan73: ""Just follow me blindly."
Very well put!
Posted in: Noda appears in eye patch for tax fight
4
smithinjapan
Hope he talks about how the government should not be wasting money on dam projects and whaling and instead should ACTUALLY be putting it towards Tohoku -- especially the money that was actually earmarked for that purpose!
Posted in: Ken Watanabe to appear in documentary on Tohoku recovery
1
smithinjapan
JapanGal: "But look at the bright side, as the body gets more worn out, the mind gets much better."
Would that that were so, but unfortunately that argument wouldn't fly at an Alzheimer's conference. Hope it works for Kate-Drumm, though.
Posted in: Veteran Date-Krumm 'may play until she's 50'