JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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- English Instructor (Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe)
- Berlitz Japan, Inc. (ベルリッツ・ジャパン株式会社), Kansai
- Salary: ¥125,000 ~ ¥250,000 / Month
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- FT English Teachers for Kids - Osaka
- Kohgakusha Co., Ltd. （株式会社興学社）, Osaka
- Salary: ¥255,000 ~ ¥275,000 / Month Travel Expenses, Encouragement of Japanese learning*
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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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zentraedi
Ah yes, let's blame a big faceless entity. That's an easy way to shrug off responsibility.
What a coward.
Posted in: Hatoyama blames bureaucrats for his failure on Futenma issue
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zentraedi
I find the grandmother to be morally reprehensible. She just makes up lies in order to manipulate others into serving them. I've seen quite a few women here try to pull that. Sorry, I don't care about that Kami-Sama you just made up. I'll do the job based on honest and logical reasons... ...or we can have it your way, "There's a Kami-sama that brings good luck when you give money to foreigners. 10,000 yen notes especially make Kami-sama happy!"
Posted in: 'Toilet God' song makes a star of songstress
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zentraedi
@JA_Cruise Her English isn't that bad. I've seen an CNN Asia interview with her and she's more fluent than many English major university grads and Japanese English teachers.
Also, if I remember correctly, she lived in NYC early on for singing lessons.
Anyway, I hope the new couple is happy.
Still, I can't shake the suspicion that this is all pre-planned and part of a setup for an eventual "divorce comeback" album and/or tour.
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zentraedi
Doesn't change the fact that it's still Western New Year.
French bread is still french bread, even if you eat it in Japan.
Posted in: Happy New Year
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zentraedi
Not really. The traditional New Year, will fall on the 3rd of February, 2011 though. ;)
Posted in: Happy New Year
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zentraedi
Wow, so many people here rushing to celebrate the Western New Year.
Posted in: Happy New Year
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zentraedi
Point of order: The real, official name is "Côte d'Ivoire", for all languages using roman characters.
You wouldn't go around referring to Australia as, "Kangarooland" in this type of article, would you?
Posted in: Mediators try to intervene in Ivory Coast chaos
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zentraedi
LOL, that's such a Filipino thing. That happens every single time I land in Manila. Yes, even when it comes to short domestic hops.
Posted in: 10 ways to stop being an annoying airline passenger
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zentraedi
Don't expect to find any hotties there. Was watching this on TV the other night with my girlfriend. After they introduced the girls, we were both like "ブス、ブス、ブス".
She then asked me if the girls were actually supposed to be attractive at Hooters in the US.
Posted in: Hooters to open first Japan restaurant in Tokyo on Oct 25
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zentraedi
This "flexible" thing might depend on the person asking. Seriously, my girlfriend asks for 割引 EVERYWHERE and sometimes gets it at places you would never imagine, such a Bic Camera. It's a lot easier to say no to some random foreigner than a super pushy and aggressive local.
Anyway, one thing I really appreciate is the quick service you can get in China. Every thing is just BAM, next customer, BAM, next customer.... That is until a Japanese national comes along and gets all picky, and takes 5 min just to pull money out of their wallet.
Posted in: In Japan, the customer is not king
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zentraedi
Nail on the head. Huge difference between mindless バイト work and 正社員.
Posted in: In Japan, the customer is not king
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zentraedi
borscht,
Nope. Windows is the formal name and those are normally butchered in every language, using the local phonetic equivalents. Seven is just a version number. They wouldn't say Linux kernel 2.6.32 with the version number Japanese.
Posted in: Too much katakana contributing to Japan's malaise
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zentraedi
I'm not so upset the service industry workers as I am appalled by the customers. I've Japanese customers rant and berate service staff for the tiniest mistakes--in fact ESPECIALLY for tiniest mistakes. Even with when they are at completely fault, they seem to get their way.
There have a few times when my girlfriend has messed up or broken sometime I purchased. As it was her fault, I'd expect her to pay. Instead, she tells me "Take it back to the store and get a replacement". Huh? They weren't at fault. "OK, then I'll do it." And she does get the replacement--for free. WTF?
Posted in: In Japan, the customer is not king
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zentraedi
OMG, this annoys the hell out of me. It's not so bad with average Japanese speaker, just people who think they're in "cool" industries.
For example, my girlfriend is in fashion industry and whenever we go into a high end boutique, more than half of the words that come out of her mouth are katakana English. It's just so bizarre. She thinks it's cool and uses the excuse "this is how people in the industry speak". Well, my response is that it doesn't seem cool or fashionable at all. My impression is that I'm hearing either deaf or mentally handicapped English speakers.
If you're gonna throw English words to look cool or worldly, why go half-assed about it, butchering the pronunciation?
Happens in the computer world all the time too. Try saying "uindozu nana", those snide sales staff will correct you saying "uindozu seh-bin". Oh you mean "seven"? If you're gonna pull that crap, then actually say "seven"...
Posted in: Too much katakana contributing to Japan's malaise
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zentraedi
Well, what do you expect? That sort of thing is seen as desirable by the majority of men here. If that weren't the case, there would probably be fewer parents raising their daughters like that and more women realizing they need to grow up if they want a decent man.
Posted in: Woman arrested over 5-year-old daughter's death
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zentraedi
"No! Drugs."
Wait, so you want drugs?
Posted in: What are some of your favorite examples of the way English is misused in products, advertising and pop culture in Japan?
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zentraedi
I wish the taxis everywhere were like New York. Touchscreen computers with the weather, GPS maps and TV, plus several payment options.
Posted in: London taxis ranked world's best; Tokyo 3rd
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zentraedi
The thing I notice the most is lots of Japanese customers stuck in the "全国一律" mindset. "Table check? I've never heard of such a thing! We don't do that in Japan" OK, maybe not at the ramen shop in your inaka, but head to a nice french or italian place in the city.
Posted in: What are some differences you have observed between waiters and waitresses in restaurants and cafes in Japan and other countries and also the way in which customers treat them?
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zentraedi
This would be nice. Seems like at quite a few places here bosses are somehow averse to giving proper orientation and would much rather get their jollies from watching subordinates fumble about in the dark.
Now, I would agree that asking "why?" is sort of back talk, but in Japan, asking "how?" is also taken the same way. That's what's absurd.
I would think upper management should hold these middle management types responsible for their poor communication skills.
Posted in: Bosses uptight over newbies' ignorance of phone protocol
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zentraedi
Many of you are approaching this from a non-sensical standpoint. Japan is a sovereign nation and doesn't have to respect the laws of other countries. The real problem is reciprocity. Japan shouldn't expect to have things only one way. Take for a example the recent case of a Czech father taking his half Japanese child out Japan against the wishes of the mother. The Japanese side deserves no sympathy if they're not willing to deal in the reverse situation. Holding them to their own standards, is the only way you get them to question their position.
When someone kidnaps a person from Japan, Japan should only expect the cooperation of the destination country if Japan would cooperate in the reverse case.
Posted in: U.S. warns Japan child custody laws could harm bilateral ties