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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California court to decide if SeaWorld whales are illegal 'slaves'
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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
So far, Al Qaeda has killed fewer Americans than the number who die in one month from automobile accidents. Nevertheless, it has managed to scare the majority of Americans, and their so-called representatives in the House and Senate, so much that they are willing to give up the freedoms that our forefathers fought and died for in the Revolutionary War and again in World War II. Amazing.
Posted in: Senate bows to Bush and approves surveillance bill
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taikan
There is a certain amount of irony to this story. The history of intellectual property law is rife with examples of countries, including Japan, that either lacked patent or trademark laws, failed to enforce them, or interpreted them very loosely at a time when most domestic companies did not have significant amounts of valuable intellectual property. Then, as domestic companies developed patent portfolios and valuable brand names and other trademarks, IP enforcment would become ever more stringent. China today is similar to Japan 30-35 years ago in that respect. And, as Chinese companies begin to expand their patent portfolios and as Chinese brand names begin to achieve greater recognition as signifying quality goods that can be purchased for a reasonable price, you can expect the Chinese to begin enforcing their IP laws with much greater zeal. The Shiseido case will be a good indicator of whether the Chinese government thinks that China has gotten to the point where IP protection is more important to the success of the Chinese economy that allowing Chinese companies to violate the IP rights of foreign companies.
Posted in: Shiseido sues Chinese firms for trademark violations
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taikan
Aside from the fact that Toyota is just as much a "global" company as Nissan, as reflected in its world-wide sales figures, this statement essentially is an indictment of the executive pay structures of many of the so-called "global" companies. Nissan, which is far less successful than Toyota, pays its executives far more than Toyota pays its executives. Ghosn attributes this to the need for Nissan to satisfy the demands of non-Japanese corporate executives for higher pay. Instead, he should examine whether the higher pay given by Nissan and so many other companies to their executives, compared with the executive pay given by Toyota and other highly successful Japanese companies to their executives, has resulted in commensurately higher return on investment (or, if you prefer another measure of success, profits or share price). If not, then the shareholders are being cheated as a result of the board of directors' approval of excess executive compensation.
Posted in: Nissan chief says price hikes likely in Japan amid soaring material costs
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taikan
usaexpat
Not only does Saudi Arabia strictly control drilling, it also keeps its actual oil production at least .5 to 1.5 million barrels per day less than its production capacity. The whole purpose of the OPEC cartel is to limit, by agreement between and among its members, the amount of oil that actually is brought out of the ground on a daily basis.
In addition to the high price of oil, the public should be paying attention to the "refining differential," which is the difference in price between the crude oil that enters the refinery and the finished products that come out of the refinery. By blaming the high cost of gasoline on increases in the price of crude oil, the oil companies have been able to raise the amount they charge for refining, with the difference being pure bottom-line profit.
Posted in: Obama details plan to tax excess oil company profits
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taikan
One of the true ironies of the past 50 years is the change in the definitions of "liberal" and "conservative." The very police powers that Sarge (and others who think of themselves as conservatives) support are the same police powers held by the Soviet KGB that were so strongly opposed by Barry Goldwater, William F. Buckley and others who started the "modern" conservative movement. Now, so-called conservatives argue that we should expand the powers of the government to make sure that it can peer into every aspect of our lives. And for what? Simply because of a fear that a few terrorists might do us some harm. Imagine how small the United States would be today if the early settlers had been as afraid of possible danger as Sarge and his ilk seem to be.
Posted in: U.S. House passes spy bill
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taikan
OssanULTRA -- The death penalty is applicable only to first-degree murder. As the article plainly states, he pleaded guilty to charges of second-degree murder, and thus the judge could not sentence him to death. One can only assume the prosecutor decided to accept the lesser plea because there were no witnesses to the crime, and therefore the prosecution could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt the elements necessary to obtain a death sentence. This is evident from the fact that the initial charges included kidnapping, but the story says she was "lured" from the path. That is a strong indication that there was no witness to contradict the guilty party's story about how the crime occurred. And, no doubt, the guilty party's story was designed to avoid conviction for first-degree murder.
Posted in: Man convicted of murdering Japanese tourist in Grand Canyon sentenced to life in prison
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taikan
chardk1 -- I cannot disagree with your statement that many persons appointed as federal judges were not particularly distinguished lawyers, but I challenge you to name a single individual appointed to a lifetime (Article III) federal judgeship in the past 50 years (or, for that matter, the past 100 years) who was not an attorney.
As for Obama's hypocrisy in committing to accept federal funding (with its concomitant spending limits) if his opponent did so, and then reneging on that commitment, I think this displays Obama's skills as a politician. Against Hillary, he needed to portray himself as the "agent of change," and he did so quite successfully. Against McCain, he will need to retool his image in order to avoid being portrayed as being too "naive" or "idealistic" to protect America's interests as President. By showing that he is willing to take whatever advantage he can in order to beat McCain, he has shown that he is neither naive nor unrealistically idealistic.
Posted in: Obama says he won't take public campaign funds
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taikan
Youdontknow -- According to MOJ, the total budget for penal systems for 2007 was approximately ¥196.4 billion. The average daily population was 80,335 inmates. If you divide ¥196.4 billion by 80,335 you get ¥2,444,763 per year as the average cost per inmate. Divide that by 365 and you ¥6698 per inmate per day as the cost of the system.
Posted in: Growing number of offenders unable to pay fines, end up in jail
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taikan
According to MOJ, the cost for an inmate is only ¥1310. However, based on other information available on the MOJ website, it appears the actual cost is closer to ¥6700 per day. Either way, that is far less than $300 per day.
Regardless of the actual cost of imprisonment, the fact that there were more than 7,000 people who could not afford to pay their fines in 2006, when the average fine was only ¥350000 (at 2006 exchange rates, less than $3,500) is evidence of serious problems with the Japanese economy and/or the Japanese social welfare structure.
Posted in: Growing number of offenders unable to pay fines, end up in jail
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taikan
Most of what McClellan has to say is self-serving and not particularly revelatory. Indeed, those who read papers published by the now defunct Knight Ridder chain were aware the administration was lying even before the attack on Iraq began. Nevertheless, McClellan's book will have served a purpose (other than enriching McClellan) if it causes people who pay attention to the news to demand that those who call themselves journalists actually investigate the facts and report the results of those investigations, rather than merely parrot the propaganda fed to them by the government.
Posted in: Washington's culture of deception
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taikan
You might as well ask whether the average JT reader is competent to judge the competence (or lack thereof) of the Japanese police. Many foreign governments have one or more law enforcement liaison officials in Japan. In addition, the respective branches of the U.S. military with bases in Japan all have CID or CIS officers/agents who work in Japan and frequently deal with the Japanese police. If JT really is interested in assessing the competence of the Japanese police, why not ask for the views of some of the non-Japanese law enforcement personnel who have either worked with the Japanese police or who have observed the Japanese police at work?
Posted in: Are Japanese police really as incompetent as readers on Japan Today make them out to be?