JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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Why do Japanese change their attitude when they communicate with foreigners?
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Confrontation
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U.S. Navy investigating how parts fell off aircraft near Atsugi
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4
California court to decide if SeaWorld whales are illegal 'slaves'
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5
Kuroki reported pregnant 2 weeks after denying relationship with Akanishi
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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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taikan
You need to get outside of Tokyo more. There are tremendous beaches all along the West coast of Japan. The water is relatively warm (at least, in the Summer) and usually pretty calm. Not so good for surfing, though. The bar isn't likely to be at the beach (although there are some), but in the town not very far away.
Posted in: What does Japan need to do in order to attract more tourists?
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taikan
If the government wants to attract more tourists, it should conduct surveys of departing tourists to find out what they liked and what they didn't like about their visit to Japan.
For example, I have heard complaints from friends who have visited Japan about the fact that most trains (including the shinkansen) lack adequate luggage space, even for a bag that will fit into the overhead compartment on an airplane. Another complaint I have heard is that there are relatively few ryokans for which reservations can be made via the internet, especially if one is not able to read Japanese. Although I have heard complaints about language difficulties, I have not heard any complaints from any of my friends who have visited Japan as tourists about racism or having been treated badly (or, in any event, about having been treated any worse than when they visited New York City or Paris as tourists).
Posted in: What does Japan need to do in order to attract more tourists?
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taikan
There are a number of factors. These include more inspection and better methods of detection that result in the discovery of instances of contamination that previously would not have been discovered in the absence of a large outbreak of illness caused by the contamination. An increase in the frequency of contamination, caused in significant part by intense competition in China that drives down profit margins and thus increases the benefits of adulterating food or avoiding processing steps that would rinse off pesticides and other chemicals, is another factor.
Stiffer penalties is one way to deal with it. Another way is for consumers to insist on knowing where food comes from and what's in it. Also, more inspection and testing. And, of course, publicity that enables consumers to know what companies are producing, importing and/or selling contaminated food.
Posted in: Why are food scandals surfacing one after another and what can be done about it?
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taikan
Except when prodded by their leaders, most people don't have the time or the energy to "hate" the people of another country unless the countries are neighbors that previously have been involved in one or more wars against each other (and the atrocities that so commonly are perpetrated in connection with a war). It's likely that the vast majority of Iranians are more concerned with earning a living and providing for their families than they are with "hating" the US.
Posted in: Iran's top leader says hatred for U.S. runs deep
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taikan
The hanging of an effigy, however tasteless, is a form of "speech" which is protected by the First Amendment. However, there is a key distinction between the hanging of the Palin effigy and the Obama effigy. One was on private property and the other was on public property. As such, it was appropriate for the authorities to require the removal of the Obama effigy. It would not be appropriate for the authorities to seek the removal of any effigy (be it Palin, Obama, or someone else) on private property unless the existence of that effigy resulted in a clear and present danger of inciting violence.
Posted in: Obama effigy found on university campus; hanging Palin effigy removed
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taikan
This raid appears to be similar to earlier raids conducted by the US in Pakistan, and although the US has refused to confirm whether it was involved in a raid in Syria, a spokesman for the Iraqi government confirmed that the US had conducted such a raid. Whether the raid had been approved by the Iraqi government, however, is another question, because at least one member of the Iraqi Parliament has pointed out that Iraq's constitution prohibits using Iraq as a base for conducting an attack on another country.
There have been many reports in the press indicating that the Pentagon, like the rest of the US, is divided about how best to proceed in the Middle East. More likely, this was the White House's attempt to assist McCain.
Posted in: Eight reported killed in U.S. attack inside Syria
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taikan
The answer to Cirroc's first question is "no," and the probable answer to his second question is "yes."
Even if one assumes that Pakistan is not doing an effective job of preventing Al Qaeda and the Taliban from conducting raids in Afghanistan from within Pakistan, unilateral action consisting of attacking those entities within Pakistani territory without the approval of the Pakistani government violates international law.
Reasonable people may differ regarding whether the circumstances warrant violating the law. In that regard, it should be noted that the US has not yet used other means, such as putting diplomatic and, more importantly, economic pressure on Pakistan to get Pakistan's government to take a more proactive approach to dealing with the cross-border raids being staged from within Pakistan. On the other hand, the Pakistani government may not be capable to dealing with the Taliban and Al Qaeda on its own, in which event the US has only the option of conducting raids within Pakistan or allowing cross-border incursions to continue.
Posted in: Suspected U.S. strike kills up to 20 in Pakistan
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taikan
Ronald Reagan coined the phrase "tax and spend Democrat" to make Democrats appear fiscally irresponsible while painting Republicans as fiscally responsible defenders of taxpayers. However, rather than being fiscally responsible he became the first big "borrow and spend Republican." In the process, he created a situation where the next Democratic administration was forced to raise taxes in order to start paying down the debts that Reagan's administration incurred, thereby reinforcing the image of Democrats as the party of "tax and spend" policies.
Bush has followed the exact same path. As a result, all Americans will have to pay more in taxes (whether in the form of income taxes, the social security tax, or some other form of taxation) in order to pay for the tremendous debts that the Bush administration has incurred in the name of the American people. This has enabled McCain to label Obama as another "tax and spend Democrat," when the reality is that whoever becomes the next President of the US will have to raise taxes, if for no other reason then simply to pay the interest on the debt that the current administration has racked up.
Posted in: McCain warns Obama is big taxer
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taikan
The difference is that the Clintons, McCain, Obama and Biden have paid for their nice clothes, etc. with their own money, not with money donated for the purpose of assisting them in getting elected. It will be interesting to see what impact this has on middle-income supporters of the Republican ticket, especially those who donated to the campaign.
Posted in: Republicans spend $150,000 on Palin's look
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taikan
Being a right-wing xenophone (or, for that matter, a left-wing xenophile) doesn't mean that everything such a person says is incorrect.
Posted in: Ishihara rebukes countries over climate change stance
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taikan
Wolfpack, you got this one completely wrong. The Washington Post and a number of other papers have reported that a key website used by Al Qaeda states that Al Qaeda supports McCain, not Obama.
Posted in: Iran: Obama seems more rational than McCain
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taikan
The amount of Alaskan LNG shipped to Japan rather than the "lower 48" will be replaced in the US by LNG obtained from other sources such as Qatar, Nigeria and Algeria. If the US prevented the export of LNG from Alaska to Japan, then Japan would purchase an equivalent amount of LNG from the same sources that the US currently uses, such as Qatar, Nigeria and Algeria, using the same US dollars Japan currently is holding that it otherwise would use to purchase Alaskan LNG. Thus, the net effect, in terms of both LNG and dollars, is the same regardless of which country (the US or Japan) obtains the LNG being shipped from Alaska.
Posted in: Palin backs shipping Alaskan LNG to Japan
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taikan
If these men were serial killers or rapists who had committed their crimes in the United States, they would have been freed by now (regardless of guilt) because of the government's unconstitutional withholding of exculpatory evidence and failure to prosecute them in a timely fashion.
Posted in: U.S. drops terror charges against 5 at Guantanamo
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taikan
According to the article, McCain said that the next President of the United States "won’t have the luxury of studying up on the issues before he acts.” I, for one, am truly scared by the prospect of an American president who does not study up on the issues before acting.
Posted in: Obama extends his campaign into Republican states
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taikan
In the short term, the key to whether other Japanese financial institutions are affected in a way similar to Yamato will be the nature of the debt instruments in which those institutions invested. If a significant portion of the debt instruments in which they invested are backed by American real estate or were issued by companies that are overleveraged, then those financial institutions will have problems. If not, then financial institutions in Japan will be able to withstand the initial round of financial company failures. In the long term, the health of Japanese financial institutions will depend on whether the Japanese companies to which they have extended credit are able to weather the current financial storm.
Posted in: Mid-sized insurer Yamato Life goes bust, affecting 1,000 employees
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taikan
The sad truth is that neither one of them is willing (or perhaps able) to tell the American people what he actually would do if elected. They both ducked all of the difficult questions during the most recent debate, and they continue to focus on matters that are peripheral to the issues one of them will have to face as President.
McCain's increased emphasis on supposed issues of "character" reflects the fact that the American public's concern of the moment is the economy, a topic on which McCain lacks credibility. If something happens to bring issues relating to national security back to the forefront, you can expect McCain to stop emphasizing irrelevant matters such as Obama's service on a charity's board of directors with Ayers and to start emphasizing his military experience. Unless, of course, what raises national security concerns seems to indicate that the surge hasn't worked, in which case McCain's goose really is cooked.
Even though economic issues favor Obama, he also has failed to be candid with the American populace about how their lives are going to be negatively impacted by the current situation, including the likely fallout from the economic crisis.
Posted in: McCain steps up attacks on Obama over ties to Ayers
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taikan
Sushi -- Your distortion of McCain's record is just as bad as Sarge's distortion of what Obama said.
McCain may not have been a war hero when he was dropping bombs, but he became one when he defied his captors and refused to accept an early release when that would have meant leaving his fellow POWs behind. Also, while McCain did support the deregulation that has given rise to the current economic crisis, particularly the Gramm-Leach-Bliley bill that repealed the Glass-Steagall Act, it was a Democrat, Bill Clinton, who elected not to veto it and instead signed it into law.
Clearly, McCain and Obama have different views of the world and how to solve the world's problems, and that includes their differing views about how to deal with the current financial crisis. However, that is not a valid basis for impugning the character of either one of them.
Posted in: Race little altered by 2nd McCain, Obama debate
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taikan
Sarge -- Even you should be able to see the difference between Obama saying that the US had no reason to invade Iraq and saying (as you did) that he was in favor of keeping Hussein in power.
The uncomfortable truth is that the politics of world power has little, if anything, to do with morality, and everything to do with what a particular country believes (correctly or incorrectly) is in its best interests at the time. Saddam always was a brutal dictator. However, in the 80s, because he fought a war with Iran, many in the US establishment thought it was in the US' best interests to support Saddam. Thus, during the presidencies of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, the US actively helped Saddam Hussein stay in power. It also helped Saddam to obtain and use poison gas, both against the Iranians and against the Kurds in Iraq. It was only after Iraq invaded another US ally, Kuwait, that the US concluded that Saddam's actions were no longer in the US' interest, and therefore turned against him.
The point of Obama's statement is that Saddam Hussein posed no threat to the US or to US interests, and therefore it made no sense for the US to expend its resources to depose Saddam and at the same time give the Iranians an opportunity to expand their influence in the Middle East.
Posted in: Race little altered by 2nd McCain, Obama debate
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taikan
If, as is widely expected, Aso calls for a lower-house election in the very near future, the Japanese people will have an opportunity to voice their opinion of the selection of Aso and the manner in which the LDP has been governing the country. Undoubtedly there will be many Japanese people who vote for DPJ candidates rather than LDP candidates, just as there were many Americans who voted for Gore or Kerry rather than Bush. However, if the LDP wins the election, that should serve as adequate evidence of the Japanese electorate's views.
Posted in: Aso elected LDP president
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taikan
Anyone who thinks AQ is failing should remember what Osama Bin Laden said in a tape released in 2004. Speaking about how AQ's actions were affecting the American economy, he said: "We, alongside the mujahedeen, bled Russia for 10 years until it went bankrupt and was forced to withdraw in defeat. . . . We are continuing this policy in bleeding America to the point of bankruptcy."
Posted in: U.S. officials say Al-Qaida 'imploding,' unpopular