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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tkoind2
The last thing anyone needs is a new war. I hope for a peaceful solution. After all Iran's government is crazy, but the people of Iran have been trying for some time now to change. I don't want to see people die on either side over something that may be resolved in a peaceful manner. Iraq and Afghanistan should teach us how well wars work out. They don't.
Posted in: West displays Gulf military power to defiant Iran
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tkoind2
Why risk a child's well being? I am with Miki, leave if you can. The government and TEPCO have both proven that they cannot be fully trusted. So again, why risk it.
If the husband was unable or unwilling to address her fears and worries, then he must accept her decision to relocate. That simple.
We don't have kids, but if we did, we would be gone to the US to avoid issues with the food chain in Japan.
Posted in: 'Radiation divorce' enters Japanese vernacular
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tkoind2
Ask the creepy guys in their 30's and 40's who make up a large percentage of their fans. Ask the designers of their book, cd and other covers with suggestive poses and clothing. Ask the video makers who make vidoes of them frolicking in lingere. And ask the marketing group behind them who clearly see the money making opportunities in dressing kids up in this manner.
If AKB48 and others were really marketed to kids I wouldn't care about it. But clearly it isn't targeting only kids there is a strong branding and marketing effort to sexualize these children to adults.
Posted in: Do you think all-girl groups like AKB48 are being marketed as sexualized little Lolitas or is it just harmless fun?
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tkoind2
Sadly I think the area will just die off as working age people leave for areas where there may be at least some work. This is tragic.
Long term Japan should consider opening a free trade zone. Allow businesses from anywhere to come into the area and build companies, factories etc... tax free for a designated period. Even make small and other business loans and financing available to help kick off new business. And extend invitations abroad to companies who may be interested making visas etc... fast and easy for people who come to set up and run businesses in the area.
One very good idea is to make the area a Silicon Valley for new energy development. Heavy investement and promotion here could mean permanent growth and stability in the region.
Posted in: People in disaster-stricken areas are worried about the lack of stable employment. Once unemployment benefit payments end, they may leave the local areas en masse to look for work.
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tkoind2
Utilities and basic necessities should not be profit driven. Nor should things that put society at risk. Too much of the world is driven by decisions based on profits. This is responsible for all kinds of calamities and problems.
Nationalize them and take the profit equasion out of the discussion.
Posted in: Do you think Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) should be nationalized?
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tkoind2
I apply most of these habit changes to Tokyo and not Japan in general.
Upsides I stopped driving. I love the trains here. I was eating fairly healthy stuff before Japan but now much more so. I have managed to retain the Seattle habit of regular house gatherings. Swapping BBQ or wine tasting parties for Nabe and Umeshu parties.
Downside I stopped having a vibrant social community to tap into that sincerely cares about everyone and that prioritizes spending social time. Tokyo's social lifestyle standards pale by comparrison to Seattle and everyone is too busy to meet with any regularity.
I stopped having access to affordable fine arts. Everything is insanely expensive here. I used to see the ballet two or three times a year, a symphony quite regularly and plays quiet often. But reasonable seat charges are very rare here. Crazy expensive for 2nd or 3rd tier performances is common instead.
I stopped having free time. Life here is crazy busy year round. Not a habit I enjoy.
I do wish people here would take something other than work seriously. Politics, social issues, world concerns, economics are all pressing issues for Japan. And yet the silence on these issues is deafening. I for one refuse to give up my American sensibility to talk about and face real issues. The head in the sand thing here is sad and selfdestructive for the nation. Maybe this is something we can share the other way and inspire people to speak out for badly needed change.
Posted in: How foreigners’ daily lives change when they live in Japan
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tkoind2
"... though for the most part it does sound interesting and a possibility to truth."
Truth? This is the problem with this theory. People really want to believe it. It ties in with the obsession Japan has with putting everything and everyone into a neat little definitive box. "Sato-san is type B so you can expect him to do this....."
It is utter and complete rubbish. And to be fair so are most other mystical, pseudo-science ways of categorizing people. The truth is you can grab any two people off the planet earth and put them in a room and find some ties to legends, astrology, blood type myths and whatever have you if you want to do that. The more you believe in it, the more you will create exceptions to prove the rule. When in actuality what you are seeing is nothing more than coincidence.
Posted in: The importance of blood type in Japanese culture
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tkoind2
I have heard many people say that Japan is very polite but not very hospitable. Hospitality "prowess" will not solve problems. What you need is genuine "Hospitality" to make people feel welcome and happy when visiting Japan. So far I see very little hope of realizing that goal with how much of the country behaves.
Posted in: We hope to help recover tourism demand in the region by equipping the area with unmatched hospitality prowess.
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tkoind2
DJP and LDP weeding out the competition sounds like. Sure we need greater economy of leadership. But it must be done in a way that does not undermine what little representation there is out there.
From my point of view, it is not the number or representatives that qualifies as priority one. It is the nature of the political system that fills those seats with people who represent their parties and themselves and not the people.
So expect only greater concentration of inept power from this change.
Posted in: DPJ to submit legislation on cutting number of Diet seats
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tkoind2
When will Japanese accept that this is utter nonsense? And how many of you know that this theory of blood type personality is based on Nazi racialist pseudo-science from the WWII era? Or doesn't it matter?
The German scientists were trying to prove their point about racial purity and superiority. To do so they dreamed up a lot of practices to assign greater meaning to specific human attributes. Some examples include extensive measurements of human head shape to define superior vs inferior people.
Assigning personality meaning to blood type was just one other way of separating people into classes. When you recognize that some blood types are more common in certain regions than others, the racialist thinking starts to become more clear.
The bottom line here is that there is truly no science at all here. Blood type does not drive personality or temperment. It is fiction. Since people are so eager to believe this fiction, they look for validations of the categories while ignoring the obvious discrepancies. Meanwhile society then pressures you to adhere to the expected personality for your blood type, making this almost self-fulfilling.
Silly. And sick when you think of the origins.
Posted in: The importance of blood type in Japanese culture
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tkoind2
NetNinja, did you actually read my post? Try again.
Posted in: Towering legend, flawed man? King's image evolving
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tkoind2
nigelboy. Nonsense. You have been sold a load of BS propaganda that job creation = pork barrels.
Clearly history has illustrated that it is job creation that offsets major economic declines. The New Deal was a key factor in the US recovery from the great depression. The same applies to nearly every other example where economic depression was addressed with job creation.
Some of the leading economists in Japan and in the US have made similar statements that the concentration of wealth in the world today is an issue. For economies to thrive money must move not reside in isolation. Job creation does diminish social burden while contributing to tax base. If you can prove otherwise have at it.
Posted in: No one is saying we don’t need sales-tax hikes in the future. If you’re a politician, you know the fiscal situation.
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tkoind2
Oginome "I think Japanese people are funny."
Funny like the creepy uncle you don't leave alone with the kids? Or funny like bust a gut funny? Please I see a lot more of option one than option two here.
Other than the twisted antics of Downtown Boys, I really don't see anything but juvenile and slapstick here. And much of that is the same recycled goo that others have flogged our way. It is kind of sad and pathetic that intellectually stimulating humour is so very rare here while hitting people with things is so common.
Posted in: How to be funny in Japan
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tkoind2
dear Nigelboy.
To prevent any other pointless commentaries let's cover the rest in advance shall we?
I am perfectly aware of what constitutes crowded based upon the ability to breathe, move or otherwise remain firmly standing on the floor in contrast to floating off center due to crowd shifts.
I am equally aware of what times I frequently take trains. 7pm, 8pm, 9pm, 10 and 11 being the frequent late work evenings.
I am equally aware that my friends and family experience similar issues on their trains.
Now, perhaps your train, in particular is not crowded at night due to the reduced number of runs per hour. But I can assure you that the crowds on my line exceed the mash of the morning commute at peak hours even at 10pm on most week nights and beyond imagination on Friday nights.
So rationalize all you want, trains can and should run more frequently during obvious peak times. Just as it is bloody well obvious that trains should run later than they do as the hoards of people trying to take late trains clearly illustrates.
Posted in: What do you think are the good and bad points about the subway systems in Japan's cities?
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tkoind2
Nigelboy, and yet the trains remain packed to the point of not being able to breathe. A rational company would address this problem.
Posted in: What do you think are the good and bad points about the subway systems in Japan's cities?
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tkoind2
Jp4 "I don't think it's possible for non Japanese to truly understand KIZUNA (a special bond shared between Japanese people),"
With going on 7bil people on earth in countless nations, tribes, religions, cultures, age groups, demographics etc... why the hell do Japanese insist on thinking that they are the only mysterious impossible to understand race on earth? I mean what arrogance and self-delusion is required to arrive at such a conclusion.
Well shocking news Jp4. Japanese are no more mysterious than Americans, Uzbeks, Iranians, Turks, Chinese or any other group of people.
I mean the only things that really mystify me about Japan and the culture here are why you think SMAP is talented, how can there be so many drunk people on the trains every day and no national recognition of the alcoholism problem here and why you have lost the political will power that the post war generation had to do something about your government.
But even these points are not grand "Stonehenge" level mysteries.
Get over yourselves, you are just as brainwashed by media, self centered, isolated, neurotic and crazy as the rest of the world and no more special than any other place or people on earth.
Posted in: 'Kizuna' takes many forms in post-disaster Japan, including marriage and infidelity
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tkoind2
I believe that humanity suffer collectively from one epic delussion that transcends history, culture and common sense. We human beings want to believe that our admired ones are god like. Pure, perfect beyond ordinary standards.
All societies go to great lengths to diefy their notable people. Applying unreasonable expectations and twisting reality to fit our expectations.
I think this is profoundly sad. Why? Because every notable person in history has been human, filled with flaws, subject to the same pitfalls as the rest of us. And sometimes even more so because greatness often comes with more pressure and flaws.
I find it more inspiring that Dr. King was imperfect like the rest of us. It makes him more ordinary like all of us. And therefore better challenges us to overcome our ordinary lot in life and to aspire to doing great things with out own abilities. It is this inspiration and this call to responsibility despite our weaknesses that makes Dr.King all that much more admirable as a man, as a leader and as one who continues to inspire us today.
Posted in: Towering legend, flawed man? King's image evolving
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tkoind2
Posted in: What do you think are the good and bad points about the subway systems in Japan's cities?
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tkoind2
Stop fleecing the working people and start being smarter about how you spend. This sales tax may well be the final nails in the coffin of consumer spending in Japan. It is simple.
Higher sales tax + low consumer confidence + increasing unemployment and poverty = depressed or diminished consumer spending.
drepressed or diminished consumer spending = increasing job loss and increasing unemployment
increasing unemployment and job loss = more people tapping public funds to survive and less people paying taxes.
more people on public funds and not paying taxes = more burden on debt.
So how does this plan help anyone or solve any problem? Answer = it doesn't. A more radical approach for Japan is required. Find ways to cut spending and improve efficiency in how funds are used. Start there first. Then find ways to create jobs so you also create more tax paying citizens while reducing dependency on public funds. Call it a Japanese New Deal.
Posted in: No one is saying we don’t need sales-tax hikes in the future. If you’re a politician, you know the fiscal situation.
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tkoind2
The obsession with this group is really sad. Over produced, over marketed sometimes creepy promotioned project that should be for kids, but is frighteningly embraced by older people and dripping with the worst qualities of fluffy J-pop. I mean how much sugar can a society eat before it gets sick or dies from kawaii overdose?
Posted in: Fans connect with AKB48 on Google+