JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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- Full-time English Teacher - Osaka
- Epion English Language Schools, Osaka
- Salary: ¥200,000 ~ ¥250,000 / Month Depending on your ability and experience
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- Part-time English Teacher - Osaka
- Epion English Language Schools, Osaka
- Salary: ¥10,000 ~ ¥15,000 / Day Depending on how many days a week are worked
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- Core Developer - コアディベロッパー
- Midokura Japan K.K. - ミドクラジャパン株式会社, Tokyo
- Salary: ¥4.0M ~ ¥10.0M / Year Negotiable
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smithinjapan
It's amazing how dominant K-pop is becoming as Asia's 'representative' around the world, and even outstripping a lot of domestic stuff in other nations. AKB48 also just had a concert in Singapore the other day, but I don't really see anyone emulating the band or striving to be like them. There's definitely something in the cultural differences in which they are represented, as well as the fact that the K-pop groups often have actual talent, that is making such a difference.
I find it nearly all to be drivel, really, K-pop OR J-pop, but clearly one set is finding a massive world-wide audience.
Posted in: Asia's K-Pop clones dance to South Korean beat
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smithinjapan
Sorry... autocorrect at work again... that's 'feat', not 'fete', although she should be celebrated.
Posted in: Asia's oldest elephant
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smithinjapan
It's surprising such big suckers don't live longer, but given they suffer from so many illnesses, many of them similar to human illnesses, 65 is a decent fete -- particularly given the state of most Japanese zoos. Happy birthday, Hanako.
Posted in: Asia's oldest elephant
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smithinjapan
An agreement is an agreement, Japan. Deal with it. The bases will be relocated to the twice agreed upon location or not moved at all. Saying they will demand it be moved elsewhere if voted in is simply playing politick.
Article Unavailable
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smithinjapan
"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu frequently draws parallels between modern-day Iran and Nazi Germany on the eve of the Holocaust."
Yes, well, a lot of people conveniently forget that half of the problem with this crisis is Israel, and in particular radicals like Netanyahu. It takes two to tango, and drawing on the Holocaust to try and game sympathy for being quite like the Germans instead of the victims (ie. in particular the way Israel treats Palestinians) is above and beyond pathetic. Israel will likely increase the sabre rattling or make some small incursion before a larger attack to test the international waters, and if anyone voices opposition he'll make more references to Jewish suffering and claim those who do not support him are anti-Semetic.
Israel needs to be told, and told clearly, that if they choose a preemptive attack with no clear proof of Iran's nuclear program, they are going it alone; the US should cut them off completely, and the UN condemn them the way they would anyone else. No more of this hogwash about using past victimization to justify a potential nuclear attack on another nation when clearly the nation attacking would be the aggressors.
Meanwhile, Iran has got to be more transparent with it's program and at least TRY to meet some of the demands the UN (not necessarily Israel) is making on it. As I said, it takes two to Tango, and this would not be one side or the other's fault -- it would be BOTH.
Posted in: Fears grow of Israeli attack on Iran
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smithinjapan
japan_cynic: "Wondering how many times there have been 30,000 signature petitions for harsher sentences when a Japanese kills a foreigner. I'm guessing it has never happened in the history of Japan."
The same thing crossed my mind. In a way the people who say it's not based on ethnicity are correct, but then again, I've never once heard of parents and community petitioning for a harsher sentence in similar cases when it's a Japanese nation (be the victim Japanese or otherwise). On the contrary, you often hear of people on this site calling for stiffer sentences in general despite the suspect being a minor, and many quickly come to that person's defense.
The kid (for he is a minor) may or may not deserve more than the max seven years he can get for this, and I think he should be charged as an adult for sure, but until the laws are changed he cannot rightly be given more while everyone else in this nation gets less for the same thing or worse crimes. What the people should be doing, and what I would gladly sign, is a petition to have the laws changed outright and penalties for such crimes made stricter. For this one case, though, you cannot bend the law while turning a blind eye when it's not your kid.
Posted in: Parents of hit-and-run victim present petition demanding stiffer penalty for defendant
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smithinjapan
Nicky: A number of us called it, including myself. We said that it was fishy she would go out of her way to park where she did and leave the keys in the car, with many of us saying you simply do NOT leave the baby in the car regardless of how little time you think you're going to take to boot.
Anyway, are the police investigating the murder? or is she just going to get off with an 'abandoning a corpse' charge?
Posted in: Oita woman confesses to lying about daughter's abduction, burying body
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smithinjapan
They're going to meet behind closed doors and figure out ways in which to try and dupe the public into the cash cow that is nuclear power. The truth is, only the government and power companies need nuclear power -- alternatives would only take more from their own pockets.
I'd request that they all have a formal lunch with foods ONLY from Fukushima and the areas surrounding the plant -- food the J-government has deemed 'not harmful to human health, of course -- but I know they would never go near the stuff.
Get ready to hear all about how they are going to introduce (again) re-enforced guidelines and stress-tests that 'prove' nuclear energy is safe (while dismissing the disasters), and telling us how we need it, etc.
Posted in: Nuclear security summit aims to restore confidence in industry
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smithinjapan
Sarcasm123: "When cancer rates sky rocket in the next few years, they'll deny, obfuscate and misdirect as well."
They're already setting this up. Hirano, in stating the government cannot afford to give free health care to children (under 18) who are/were in the areas around the Fukushima plant said, "It'll also be difficult in the future to determine that illnesses are linked to radiation from the nuclear plant" or something very close to that. They know full well they are killing their children, and are setting up the excuses for denial later.
Posted in: Area near Yokohama school closed due to high radiation levels
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smithinjapan
What's with you disgruntled people blaming all this on Obama for some reason? This is about China and Russia vetoing the resolution for no REAL reason except to protect some national interests and side against it's typical 'opponents'. If/When Obama decides to have the US once again do something against another nation in the ME you guys will be howling as you are now. Guys, leave your baggage at the door!
Posted in: Outrage as Russia, China veto U.N. move on Syria
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smithinjapan
Issa1: "True Samurais !!!("
Samurai are criminal according to Japanese law, so I guess in that sense they fit the bill. Beyond that, they are nothing like samurai at all -- weak, old men who are corrupt with power and want to put Japan's head further in the sand than it already is.
Posted in: Ishihara says he is ready to help new political party change Japan
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smithinjapan
Change Japan into what...? a fossil?
Posted in: Ishihara says he is ready to help new political party change Japan
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smithinjapan
And how long has the stuff been there and the kids possibly exposed to it?
Posted in: Area near Yokohama school closed due to high radiation levels
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smithinjapan
KingBasil: "His exact words were "full quote" and later "exact quote" and his meaning was clearly, again, "full quote"."
You are indeed correct, which means my bad -- and if people misunderstood me then I'm sorry for that! (see how that works). haha.
Seriously, though, sailwind ACTED like the press had twisted the man's words when all they did was cut out one part at the end, and even included that later in the article. The latter part was irrelevant and has been repeated constantly, and does not help him at all. The FULL 'if the safety net has holes' was quoted shortly thereafter, and the 'focus on the middle class' and 'rich are doing fine' were also all in the article. I agree for the most part that cherry-picking and soundbites are for morons, but in this case what followed was not immediately relevant to the comment. Now, if he had said something like:
"I'm not concerned about the very poor. Well, wait... it's not like that... what I mean is..." and the cut out everything after the 'very poor' part, I would agree it was low.
Agree with you on everything else.
Posted in: Romney admits he 'misspoke' over poor Americans
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smithinjapan
sailwind: " But rarely does one respond by pulling cash out of his back pocket to help a struggling voter pay her bills."
Tell me what happens when this woman runs out of money again after Romney has patted himself on the back for solving her problems? What he SHOULD have done, if he wanted to help, was create a job for her, or better help her find one herself.
Only a fool would think that forking out a bit of cash for a political point is going to solve this woman's problems. Now if he had given it to her and said, "Let this tie you over for a couple of days. Then come to my local campaign office and we'll see if we can help you earn some more" then I could have respected it -- but all this little publicity stunt did was the opposite of what he intended; it showed how ABSOLUTELY out of touch the man is with poor people in particular. A quick cash hand out is simple, especially for the rich. Doing some actual work to really help people is hard, and the man clearly is not cut out for it.
Posted in: Romney admits he 'misspoke' over poor Americans
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smithinjapan
Oh, sailwind, sailwind, sailwind... how did I know the interview was going to be EXACTLY what I thought it was. It's no more an apology than someone saying, "Well, if you misinterpreted me, then I'm sorry (you misinterpreted me)", for that's what he said. He did not apologize AT ALL for the actual words he uttered. What's more, when the interviewer asks him what he said he completely avoided the, "I'm not concerned about the very poor" and skipped immediately to, "I said that I'm concerned about the middle class.", touching later on the "if there are holes in the safety net we'll fix it. Wow... an apologist for a man who cannot admit he made a mistake but instead puts the blame on people for misinterpreting his remarks. Now THAT's sad!
Posted in: Romney admits he 'misspoke' over poor Americans
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smithinjapan
sailwind: "Thought I'd help the Media here by including their exact past descriptions about Mitt in the article so far from articles about him here on JT."
Is this going to be like the other day when you decried the media for making soundbites and misquoting, only to have you quote the EXACT same thing the media said and somehow claim the quotations were different?
"Multi-millionaire, wealthy businessman, former venture capital boss Mitt Romney admitted Friday he “misspoke” in an ill-advised comment about poor Americans,"
So tell me, sailwind, how is that not included in this article, and how does it change what he said? I ADORE the fact that you quote, "Multi-millionaire, wealthy businessman, former venture capital boss Mitt Romney" as though not having it in the article (given that it's well known) somehow should make us more sympathetic about his complete lack of concern for the poor, or how he tried to cover it up later.
"I can't wait to see what they come up with next,"
More like, "can't wait to see what Mitt says next".
But please, do go ahead and tell us how he didn't actually say what he said and that it is being misquoted.
Here's what you should do, Romney -- forget all this, "I misspoke" and simply say, "I made a mistake, and I apologize wholeheartedly for it". But could this guy utter the words "I'm sorry for what I said"? I think not.
Posted in: Romney admits he 'misspoke' over poor Americans
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smithinjapan
This guy is screwing himself over in such a classic manner it is HILARIOUS to watch! "I ADORE poor people!" "Some of my very favourite people that I've fired have been poor people!"
Yep, Mitt... you're really showing that you can sympathize with and relate to 'the poor people'. I can't wait until the starts slipping up like this in regards to Mexicans and immigrants, etc.
Posted in: Romney admits he 'misspoke' over poor Americans
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smithinjapan
Sorry, but I don't remember hearing 'basically' when the government declared successful shut down and said the plant was STABLE. Now, as everyone has predicted, they're backtracking on their blunt statements and simply watering them down. Now beta rays are being released -- but oh! they've set up a few sandbags to prevent any leaks from reaching the ocean.... until tomorrow when we read about how they've noticed several tonnes of radioactive water have reached the ocean (but it poses no risk to human health!!).
Still think people should go home to the nearby villages?
Posted in: More radioactive water leaks found at Fukushima nuclear plant
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smithinjapan
Lunchbox: "Yay for science, and yay for earthquake drills. Anyone who opposes emergency drills shouldn't be given access shelters or food and water."
I don't think anyone opposes such drills, I just think some people question the way they are conducted. It's like sports day here -- all planned out beforehand, with everyone knowing the outcome before it happens (except the odd case when a kid who is 'not supposed to' fall falls). What they need is an honest to god drill -- don't tell people there's one that's going to happen (save for the people in charge, and who are supposed to be helping). This is downtown Tokyo we're talking, so there's bound to be a good number of foreigners, but do you see even one in the crowd (granted, there could be people from other Asian countries)? How is this guy going to communicate to those people in such a situation? So again have a drill where few people involved know what's happening, but throw in a few token foreigners without letting the 'rescuers' know to see how they can react to the situation.
Or if people are worried about creating panic in such a drill (there would be, but there would be a LOT more panic during the real deal), let all the people who volunteer to be 'innocent shoppers' or the injured know, but don't let the people assigned to evacuation management know that you're throwing in a few wrenches. Otherwise, it's just not going to be realistic.
That said, Lunchbox et. al., drills like these never hurt as supplements, and I'm 100% for proper education about what you should do in the event of an earthquake (ex. do NOT get under a table or desk, or try to wait it out in a doorway, contrary to popular belief that that's what you should do!), where the proper evacuation zones are, etc. This is done of course at schools, to an extent, but should be done with adults more.
Posted in: Earthquake drill