JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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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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- Part Time Assistant Language Teacher - Kanagawa Prefecture - late-March start
- Interac, Kanagawa
- Salary: ¥9,000 / Day per 4 class shift
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tranel
Newsflash to all Japanese cyclists: the RING BELL is there for a reason. Use it! Especially when approaching someone from behind!
Posted in: Not all cyclists are mindful of pedestrians and fatal accidents involving bicycles are on the rise. As the number of elderly pedestrians is expected to increase in the future, we decided strong action was needed now.
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tranel
Dogs have more honor, dignity and courage in their rear left paw than all of the human race together. I feel precisely zero compassion for the drunkard girl in the story, but the dog died patiently waiting for its master to come home - and probably showed 100% love and affection up until the very end, even as it didn't receive any back. Heartbreaking.
Posted in: Why the increasing number of alcoholic women in their 20s?
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tranel
Oh, japanbashing... Actually if the europeans could just get their overpaid behinds together and resolve the problems that are unnecessarily weighing on Japan, Japan would be in a different situations. Not all of Japan's woes are created by Japan - far from it.
The other day, a German bank/finance/somesuchsort minister appeared on the BBC saying that the fate of the eurozone - and hence the little global financial stability we have - now rests in the hands of the Italian (cough, smirk) "government." Facepalm.
Again, not all of Japan's problems are created by Japan.
Posted in: Japan economy faces 'severe situation,' warns BOJ chief
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tranel
Turning off the TV is a hallmark of a more refined, intelligent and enlightened human being. Unfortunately, making up for the non-TV time by mindlessly browsing your keitai internet is pure idiocy. One step forward, two steps back.
Posted in: Japanese viewers tuning out, turning off their TVs
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tranel
This idea is pure genius! Please tell me where I can buy this "book".
A sidenote to the writer of this article: Tokyo is not a cosmopolitan city, not by a stretch. For a cosmopolitan vibe try London, New York, Paris, Berlin, Copenhagen or Stockholm.
Posted in: 'You lookin' at me?' Fake book soothes race relations
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tranel
＠hoserfella: This is precisely what is wrong, one day you'll tell off the "wrong person". Well if that happens, too bad. I agree with you, it is better to just clam up and be pestered by ignorant morons rather than taking action and resolve the problem.
The whole of Japan works that way: Better to clam up and hope the problem goes away by itself. Well, you can see for yourself where that got Japan can't you.
Posted in: What do you think of people walking along, engrossed in their cell phones or smartphones, not bothering to look where they are going? Is it a problem for you?
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tranel
@hoserfella and Munya Times: I've actually done it on a number of occasions. Yes, people around me only notice the loud-rude gaijin in their midst (and most likely not the idiot with the cell phone), but I don't care. If I get a "sumimasen" from the zombie in question, I am happy. Maybe the person will think twice next time?
A few good phrases to growl at keitai zombies:
そこに止まるのはばかじゃない？
周りの人にちょっと考えて下さい！
周りのことぜんぜんなにも気づかない！危ないよ！
Posted in: What do you think of people walking along, engrossed in their cell phones or smartphones, not bothering to look where they are going? Is it a problem for you?
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tranel
Can't help agree with Benisen. I wonder how much it costs each year to provide healthcare to prison inmates? Cut, cut and cut.
Posted in: Prison inmates' illnesses, injuries go untreated
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tranel
Whatever happened to "be happy with who you are"? If you *have *a health problem because of your weight, fix it by eating better and exercising more.
If you feel healthy and energetic but you have a higher BMI than magazines and marketers tell you you should have... well screw them. Be happy with who you are, end of story.
Oh, and another thing aimed squarely at teenage girls everywhere. Beauty does not come from your clothes or your accessories, nor does it come only from your body shape. It is about 5% looks, 30% posture and facial expression (as in, do you stand straight and look intelligent, or do you subscribe to the oh-so-common neanderthal hanging-arms/slouching back look with the vacant half-open-mouth expression), and the rest is your attitude to life and other people.
Posted in: Here are some dieting methods you might not have thought of yet
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tranel
idiots, that's what they are. Bloody zombies. Whenever one is blocking my way, I make sure I take the time to give the idiot a hard shove and a blistering stare, and if time allows it, a telling off.
I know that The Japanese Way frowns on this kind of "rudeness", but the standard Japanese Disapproving Stare isn't very effective with people who don't notice that you're there in the first place. More loudspeaker admonitions isn't going to help either because people filter them out, so the only way is to physically stop the person and tell him/her off.
Posted in: What do you think of people walking along, engrossed in their cell phones or smartphones, not bothering to look where they are going? Is it a problem for you?
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tranel
If I may be so bold.... If you want to get the US growing again it's time to rid your political system of people like Eric Cantor. "We must obstruct everything Obama does so that he becomes a one-term president! Whaddaya mean political gridlock hurts the economy?? Of course it does!! That's the point, that hurts Obama see!"
Oh, and maybe also rid the country of people who think dinosaurs coexisted with people 6000 years ago.
Posted in: Obama to GOP: Act on jobs or get run out of town
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tranel
"the government has struggled with the issue of how to encourage women to have more kids."
This is not a difficult problem. Two things are needed:
a) investment into flexible daycare with LICENSED personnel. Please feel free to divert funds away from old people for this purpose. And close the idiotic loophole that says that you can only get daycare if you are actually working....
b) make all prenatal medical procedures, all check-ups and tests as well as the delivery itself, entirely insurance covered. How many people will opt to have kids when just the prenatal procedures cost a small fortune?
Any society that ignores the importance of having babies and nurturing them, instead diverting all resources to its old, will fail. As for work/life balance, if you have a baby in Japan you're actually doing society a favor and should be gladly commended for it by your company.
Why is this so difficult for the Japanese to understand? It is not something that requires deep thinking or weighing of options. But it takes action, and that is something that people here abhor.
Posted in: 'Mad Men' 2011: Japan’s gender equality debate
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tranel
Oh, these too:
10) Tax relief for companies contributing to either NGOs working to help young people, or to a government account set up to support young families.
11) ALL prenatal care + baby delivery should be fully insurance-covered, not just your regular check-ups.
Posted in: The political conundrum
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tranel
Gaijininfo: You're right, but let me add a few more points.
1) Reduce the salaries of politicians by at least 50% (the average salary of a Diet member is 20 million yen/year)
2) Outlow reikin in all forms.
3) Launch a drive in which all ministries are required to simplify at least 20 administrative processes according to set criteria - handling time, number of steps involved etc.
4) Make one year abroad mandatory for all high-school students
5) Lower tax rates in areas outside the major cities and rural areas + tax relief if you start a business there + additional tax relief if you hire people.
6) Outlaw seniority systems. Your pay should not be dependent on your age only.
7) Outlaw amakudari tomorrow. Not "phase out" over a number of years. Kill it now.
8) Bring in debating classes and "express your opinion" exercises in the national curriculum. These should be held at least twice a week.
9) Set up a "citizens' panel" (say 100 members, randomly selected every year) tasked with monitoring whether politicians act in the best interest of the nation. If found not to, this panel should have the power to oust them. Looking at you Ozawa, looking at you Tanigaki.
Posted in: The political conundrum
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tranel
Basically, this whole situation reflects a simple fact : The vast majority of Japanese (people and businesses, granted there are well-known exceptions) are completely unable to even image a non-Japanese point of view. You create things for (and only for) the domestic market, because that's what you've always done, that's the market you know and understand and you will not need to "change" anything. THIS, not earthquakes or fukushima or yen appreciation or bad politics or poor English, is Japan's single largest competitive drawback in the globalized markets of today.
I notice it every day in my work in kaigai-muke communications - "... but this text/design works for the Japanese audience! Why doesn't it work for foreigners?".
Posted in: Can J-Pop replicate success of K-Pop?
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tranel
How can people actually for a moment believe that Tycoon Senior and Tycoon Junior and their red-haired poodle knew nothing of these phone hackings? OF COURSE they knew - and condoned it.
Posted in: James Murdoch 'knew about' News of World phone hacking
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tranel
Decent article, if a bit meandering. "Gai-jin" is just a word that reflects the uchi/soto mentality, and simply means "not from here" ie "non-japanese."
I think most of those who take offense are either in the Nama-Gaijin Phase or the chakuhachi-playing Wabisabi-Gaijin Phase (as indicated by the article).
Posted in: Gaijin -- just a word or racial epithet with sinister implications?
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tranel
Regardless of where one stands on whaling, it just costs too much for a nation that has no money and is drowning in debt. I don't want to subsidize it with my tax money and neither should anyone else.
Oh, and I don't want to subsidize politicians' inflated wages either (20 million yen / year is the AVERAGE salary for Diet members)... just imagine how much money Japan would save if politicians' salaries were cut by, oh, 70% or so...
Posted in: 52% of Japanese favor whaling, poll shows
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tranel
The right move for Japan, no question about it. Many of Japan's high-tech companies are already very competitive in this field, not just when it comes to "new energy" but also other environmental tech.
But, please please please Japan, this all rings a bit hollow unless you get people to stop IDLING!!
Posted in: Japan to focus on clean energy exports
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tranel
And who is Noda? Yes yes... I have read newspaper articles etc. but now that he is PM he should make an effort to introduce himself to ordinary people. Go on a nationwide tour, talk about his own vision for Japan (if he has any.... which is unlikely), establish (dare I say it!) an IDENTITY among all the other suit-clad clones.
But alas no, none of this is going to happen. Don't worry guys, if Noda doesn't cut it, will have another PM in six months time.
I wonder when Japan will understand that this circus actually hurts the economy?
Posted in: Noda to become Japan's next prime minister