JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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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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- Translator
- ZAIHON, Inc. (日本財務翻訳株式会社), Tokyo
- Salary: ¥6.0M / Year Negotiable
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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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timorborder
Interesting question this. With devices such as smart phones, it is possible to install applications and then get books for free courtesy of various websites (the one that readily comes to mind is Gutenberg). At the same time, however, reading large volumes of material on a small screen for long periods of time is a bit too stressful for the eyes.
Posted in: Do you think paper-based books will eventually become a thing of the past as digital books become more popular?
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Couple of quick comments: Based on what I have heard from friends who are currently serving in the Afghanistan (both US and Australian), the situation is actually getting better. This is because the current administration has tried to actually deploy more combat troops and take a more aggressive attitude vis-a-vis CRW strategy, etc. There has also been a downplaying of micro-management of the conflict for the purposes of political point scoring. At the same time, however, on a political front things have deteriorated with Karzai as the US has begun to wise up about some of the shenanigans that used to occur when GW was still in the White House.
Moreover, I must say that my attitude to the conflict in Afghanistan has not changed. While I was strongly against the US invading Iraq with no real aims to achieve a victory of the peace in addition to the war (remember folks, Eric was right!), I am still very much in favor of the aggressive prosecution of the conflict in Afghanistan. Indeed, as recent developments have shown (this US bombing attempt, etc), both the Taliban and Uncle Osama are far from a beaten force. As such, the further they (and their supporters) can be blasted into oblivion, the better.
Finally, being a former a soldier, I am largely apolitical when it comes to topics such as this. At the same time, it has to be realized that war continues to be a dirty business, it involving the bringing of enemies to close proximity and slugging it out with them as necessary. Indeed, one of the issues that has annoyed me about both Afghanistan and Iraq is the amount of bitching that has happened just because some folks are going home in a pinewood box. For god sake, what do people expect? For all the high tech equipment that the military uses, at the end of the day there still has to be the willingness to get your enemy at arm's length and beat the XXXX out of him. As such, the continuing prosecution of this conflict is going to get a lot of people killed. Then again, if you cannot stand the heat, you should not be playing with fire.
Posted in: Obama: Afghan war will worsen before it improves
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timorborder
Of course this war is going to get worse before it gets better. That just goes with the territory, because at the end of the day, bombing people from a distance will only do so much. What is needed to break the will of the Taliban (in a specifically military sense) are large numbers of infantry soldiers who can close with the enemy and kill them. Unfortunately, however, one of the downsides of such a strategy is having to send a certain number of people home to their NOK in coffins.
Posted in: Obama: Afghan war will worsen before it improves
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timorborder
What a combination.
Posted in: Tomato base
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Hope everybody had a nice holiday. Now for my two cents worth.
Cleo brought up the Christopher Savoie case. As I pointed out so many months ago, there is no way that this case should be used as the litmus test by which to apply pressure to Japan. All of the parties in that case have seen want to break laws. You had Savoie (apparently a naturalized Japanese national) flagrantly break the laws of this country in failing to renounce his US citizenship. He also kidnapped his own children (if you apply the litmus test of him not having had day-to-day contact with them for a defined period of time). You might also question his motives in luring his Japanese ex to the US for the purpose of using the US legal system for his own benefit.
Meanwhile, there is his wife, who has absconded from the US in breach of a court order. This makes her a felon under US law. Anyway, the whole situation is a mess and not really suited to driving home this issue with the Japanese government.
Now turning to the issue at hand, in taking the lead on this issue, the US should go for the jugular in dealing with Japan. While coordinating with traditional allies (the UK and Europe), some elected US official should introduce a private members bill (sponsor legislation) that would seek to severely punish Japan for its harboring of numerous felons (have a look at the FBI homepage and check out the names). That would probably get Japan moving on this issue. Furthermore, the US should link resolution of this issue to others that are currently on the table with Japan. This linking of diverse policy issues is actually an old Japanese foreign policy tactic. So Japan wants to find this Sea Shepherd guy? The US (and Canada) should block all Japanese attempts at whipping up international support. And what about the bases issue? The US should ratchet up the pressure on the Japanese government by dragging its feet. The list of ways in which the US (and its allies) could tighten the screws on Japan regarding this issue is endless. All that is required is a bit of political will.
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timorborder
The first 20 minutes of Private Ryan was rather interesting.
Posted in: What do you think are some of the most spectacular scenes ever filmed in movies?
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timorborder
I wonder if there are any pressure groups in the US that would like to place an advertisement in major Japanese newspapers (do you think Japan's press would have the guts to do it?). Maybe you could run an advert with Haiti-like scene, with a message about the economic injection that Okinawa receives courtesy of the US presence.
Indeed, in all these arguments about the bases in Okinawa, there has been little information provided as to what the Japanese government intends to do if the US bases are kicked out. Are we talking about a massive wave of public projects (as the LDP used to do to shore up its voter base)? As many people have pointed out, the sheer volume of base-related money flowing into the prefecture is huge. What do these anti-base groups think should happen after the US goes?
Posted in: Anti-base ad
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timorborder
Chalk one up for the cops and give this scum life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Posted in: Serial purse snatchers nabbed in Hachioji
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timorborder
I like Matsui he always has a smile on his face.
Posted in: Mickey and Matsui
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The issue of safety and how it is perceived is very much one of personal opinion. In many respects, I believe that the level of civility within Japan on a day-to-day basis (people generally not being confrontational) does make the society rather safe in general terms. At the same time, however, there is a social dynamic in this country that sees the strong (or the group) prey on the weak. As such, you have well-publicized cases of bullying, etc. both within the education system and also wider society. Moreover, I don't really go for the Japanese sexual objectifying of women. On any given day, you can sit on a train and be amazed by what the person next to you is reading. In line with this, I am inclined to believe that a rather high percentage of assaults carried out against women in this country go unreported.
On a personal level, given my own physical stature and forceful personality, I must say that I have never really felt threatened in this country. Then again, I am not the sort of person who puts myself in a dangerous position. That being said, however, I should point out that I have had a couple of interesting run-ins with the locals over the years, all being the result of the other party being inebriated.
Posted in: How safe do you think Japanese society is, compared to other countries?
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timorborder
Baseball had its chance and failed on the Olympic stage. Despite the efforts of a great number of people, having baseball at the Olympics failed to expand the sport into new markets. If the IOC is thinking about further expanding the Olympic schedule, I believe there are a lot more deserving sports than baseball.
Posted in: Baseball campaigns to return to Olympics
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timorborder
Anyone remember a young woman being arrested in Nishi-Kawaguchi for not having her papers, a couple of years back? Luckily her mother eventually found her in jail. Turned out she was an autistic Japanese and not an immigrant, legal or otherwise.
There were a couple of similar cases in Australia as well. The fact of the matter is that having this law on the books and actually implementing it are two different issues. While I agree that the US (as with all countries) has a right to take a firm stand against illegal immigrants, I think it is just a matter of time before something goes wrong and they either jail a US citizen, or worse, deport some US citizen to climes south of the border.
Posted in: Furor grows over Arizona's new immigration law
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timorborder
Absolutely sickening. Pity the passersby did not have the moral courage to do anything.
Posted in: Homeless man left to die on New York City street
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timorborder
Against animals being caged for the entertainment of monkeys like us. However, I do believe that zoos play a role in breeding endangered species.
Posted in: How do you feel about wildlife being kept in captivity in facilities such as zoos and aquariums?
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timorborder
People should not be discriminated against just because of their sexual orientation (or there religious beliefs for that matter).
Posted in: Should same-sex couples be entitled to equal social security benefits?
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timorborder
Although rather partial to the plight of the socially downtrodden, I must say that in all first world countries there need to be steps taken against the problem of blatant illegal immigration. At the same time, however, this new law in Arizona is asking for trouble. It will just be a matter of time before some overzealous police officers either start blatant racial profiling (with Hispanics being the target) or somebody who is an American citizen gets accidentally deported. Indeed, it is just a matter of time before there are lawsuits resulting from this little statute.
Posted in: Arizona governor signs immigration enforcement bill
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One likely possibility is that China does not want to see Japan rearm itself. Japan does not need to rearm itself as long as the US Japan Security Treaty is still functional.
This is a good point. With the US out of the way, I think some countries would be rather worried about the combination of a well-armed Japan and sometimes shallow nature of Japanese democracy.
Then again, such concerns are no excuse for China to act as a bully boy.
Posted in: Chinese navy chopper approaches Japanese destroyer near Okinawa
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timorborder
Don't see why everybody is complaining. As the BA incident over Indonesia many years ago demonstrated, having a plane end up in a volcanic ash cloud can be very serious.
Posted in: Recriminations erupt in ash-fueled aviation crisis
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And for those of you in Japan, you can actually go over to the South Park website and watch the episode for yourself.
Posted in: Muslim group warns 'South Park' creators of death
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Worrying development this both in terms of it being a provocation and the fact that Japan did not react in any way. Indeed, what is the SOP regarding such incidents, wouldn't Japan at least be within its rights to light this helicopter up with a targeting radar or possibly squawk the crew with a bit of radio interference?
Posted in: Chinese navy chopper approaches Japanese destroyer near Okinawa