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Old 2011-01-28, 23:55   Link #1701
ZephyrLeanne
On a sabbatical
 
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Wellington, NZ
Age: 43
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vexx View Post
Food is good.... festivals are good... street vendor food at festivals are great. Praise the kami and pass the taiyaki.
And the takoyaki.
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Old 2011-01-29, 02:31   Link #1702
Tri-ring
Senior Member
 
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Land of the rising sun
Now, Now where has all the tranquil fineness of traditional stalls at "Ennichi" like "Hiichimi uri" who will blend the seven herbs and spices to your liking. (I like mine with a strong aroma so I had chinpi(orange peel) added more) or "Gama no abura(bull frog ointment) uri" with an unique sales demonstration. I also loved hit the bull's eye with a bow and arrow and win a prize and/or pull the winning string from the wad and be a lucky winner attraction.
You just don't see much of them merchants any more.
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Old 2011-02-13, 14:13   Link #1703
Vexx
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Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: On the whole, I'd rather be in Kyoto ...
Age: 66
I decided to put this in Japanese Culture because its an example of Japanese cultural difficulties with mental health and coping with it. The non-confrontational personal behavior is an obstacle to intervention and the healthcare system (as a result) doesn't "prevent" well. In psyche terms... his threat is sometimes thought of as a "cry for help" ... unfortunately (as in the US) he's going to be treated in the criminal system.

I'm impressed the police actually pro-actively responded to this.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-b...0110213a1.html

Quote:
Boy, 15, held for Shinjuku murder threat on Web

Kyodo News
A 15-year-old boy was arrested Saturday after posting several threats on an Internet website that he would commit mass murder near Tokyo's Shinjuku Station on Friday night, police said.

The junior high school student from Yokohama was arrested on suspicion of forcible obstruction of business. The messages said the murder spree would take place near the long-distance bus stop outside the station.
The boy used a Nintendo DSi game console at a supermarket in Kanagawa Prefecture to access an Internet bulletin board on the afternoon of Feb. 6, police said. He allegedly wrote: "At exactly 21:00 p.m. on Feb. 11, I will randomly kill people in front of the entrance of the Shinjuku highway bus terminal. If you don't want to die, don't join the game."
Police analyzed the postings and determined the location of where they originated. Officers Friday afternoon spotted a boy in an electric appliance shop in Kawasaki who was using a game console to read the postings on the Internet bulletin board and asked him to voluntarily come to a police station.
The youth admitted to posting the threats and told police he did it alone. He reportedly said he wanted to see what sort of reaction he would get.
The boy had a ticket for a bus that was to leave for Osaka at midnight and planned to board it after seeing what happened outside the station. Around 80 police officers were deployed to the station Friday night.
In separate news, the Japanese legal system continues to struggle with women's rights:
http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking...ry_634511.html

Quote:
TOKYO - FOUR Japanese women will go to court on Monday to challenge a law that now compels almost all females to drop their maiden names and assume their husbands' surnames when they marry.
The group - plus one of their husbands - want a civil code clause from the late 1800s declared unconstitutional and are seeking financial damages for their emotional distress at the Tokyo District Court.
The legal action comes after the centre-left government in power since 2009 failed in a push to revise the civil code because of stiff opposition from conservatives, including a minor ruling coalition partner. It is part of a drive for greater gender equality in Japan, where women still face strong social pressure to leave their jobs when they marry to handle household chores and raise children.
But the country's prolonged economic slowdown has prompted more women to continue their careers after marriage, often without changing their maiden names in the workplace, leading to growing calls for a dual-surname system.
One of the four women among the plaintiffs, Kyoko Tsukamoto, 75, said that having been forced to use her husband's name officially for more than half a century had caused her 'psychological trauma'.
'My name is a reflection of my self,' said Ms Tsukamoto, a retired school teacher who uses her maiden name for private purposes but must use her husband's surname on legal documents, her passport and her credit card. She declined to disclose that name to AFP. -- AFP
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Last edited by Vexx; 2011-02-13 at 14:39.
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Old 2011-02-13, 23:45   Link #1704
SaintessHeart
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Join Date: Nov 2007
Age: 35
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vexx View Post
I decided to put this in Japanese Culture because its an example of Japanese cultural difficulties with mental health and coping with it. The non-confrontational personal behavior is an obstacle to intervention and the healthcare system (as a result) doesn't "prevent" well. In psyche terms... his threat is sometimes thought of as a "cry for help" ... unfortunately (as in the US) he's going to be treated in the criminal system.

I'm impressed the police actually pro-actively responded to this.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-b...0110213a1.html
I suppose that website is 2channel?

Before the Akiba slashings, the police wouldn't give a shit. And now, they have gone completely nuts over these kind of issues. Seriously speaking, they need to do something to that "bullshitto" culture and give their kids a break. And also, work at the psychological dept of their healthcare sector while they are at it (Immediately diagnose a kid with GID because he dresses the opposite way? Why not try counselling first?).

Besides....

Japan economy shrinks in Oct-Dec quarter

Quote:
TOKYO (MarketWatch) — The Japanese economy contracted in the latest quarter as exports and domestic demand slumped, government data showed Monday, and data for 2010 officially showed China’s economy has surpassed that of its Asian neighbor.

As expected, the yearly data showed that Japan has fallen in ranking to become the third-largest national economy in the world, ceding its No. 2 position to China, with the U.S. still in the lead. China’s economy had already surpassed Japan’s on a quarterly basis.

Japan’s nominal gross domestic product for 2010 was 479.223 trillion yen ($5.474 trillion), below the $5.879 trillion that China reported last month. But Japan’s real GDP expanded 3.9% for the year, despite the fourth-quarter contraction.

Japan’s GDP fell 1.1% in October-December on an annualized basis, the Cabinet Office reported, beating forecasts but also marking the first economic contraction since July-September 2009, when the economy shrank by 1.2%.

It was a sharp turnaround from the previous quarter’s revised 3.3% growth.

GDP was expected to fall by 2.4% for the quarter, according to a Dow Jones Newswires survey of economists, and was tipped to drop 2.0% by separate surveys from Bloomberg News and FactSet, and 2.1% according to a Reuters survey.

Compared to the previous quarter, GDP contracted 0.3%, after growing 0.8% in the June-September quarter from the three months before that.

Private consumption, which accounts for about 60% of economic activity, decreased 0.7%. Government incentives to help consumers purchase ecologically friendly, lower-emission vehicles expired in September.

External demand shaved 0.1 percentage point from GDP as exports fell 0.7% from the previous quarter.

Economics Minister Kaoru Yosano told reports that some weakness remains, but Japan’s economy is expected to pick up from its lull.

“Risks from overseas economies and currency moves need to be closely watched,” Yosano told a news conference, according to Reuters.

Capital expenditures were up 0.9% in the latest quarter, the fifth consecutive quarterly rise but slowing from the previous quarter’s 1.5% increase.
Given how WSJ writes, I wonder if the capital expenditure includes anime figurines. Being plastic and almost resistant to degradation, I would say that they make good fixed assets...not!
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Old 2011-02-19, 19:41   Link #1705
Mystique
Honyaku no Hime
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Join Date: May 2008
Location: In the eastern capital of the islands of the rising suns...
Answering from a post in the 'Visiting Japan' thread that got long and is more appropriate for here:

Quote:
Originally Posted by -Mad Skillz- View Post
Sorry to burst your bubble, but Japanese culture is very racist. Taking the 'Mexican' analogy further; at least in America a fluent Mexican immigrant will eventually be accepted into society if they choose so....in Japan no matter how fluent you become, how long you've been there, you'll always be a Gaijin on a wide-scale level. Go look up some Youtube channels of people that have been living there for years; most of them are very fluent and adapted into the culture and yet still face discrimination.
It's not so much a racist thing (since they discriminate on all foreigners, lol)
I mean who else has a freaking seperate script in their writing system for all thing 'foreign' in this planet?
(If there's another, please show me)

Perhaps on a 'shitlist' rating, from highest to lowest it'd be:

Chinese/Korean or any other Oriental looking foreigners.
Black, Indian, S American or other non white ethnic minorities.
Whites
Blonde hair/blue eyed whites (Ie, Russians or Scandinavians)

It's more a closed minded, reserved, shy and awkward major complex going on here.
Toss into the fact that they suck at speaking English despite studying it for 8 years, thus unable to communicate with foreigners more and broaden their minds and exposure, yeah you have a close knit bunch of nervous peeps who realise that the world is going ahead without them on a international/business level through the use of English.

The first thing the teachers and students all asked me no matter the new school I went to teach for (even for a day) was
'Can you speak Japanese?'
Of which I lie and go 'just a little'
And (I'm not kidding) they literally breathe a massive sigh of relief, relax and go 'yokatta', like everything is alright with the world.

After that, you find they open to you more just cause they know they don't have to deal with struggling with English.
I have mixed feelings about it tbh, esp since I'm totally weak at speaking myself, there are plenty of times that I cannot express myself so I toss in an English word in hope someone will meet me in the middle.

When no one can, it's a frustrating and lonely world on my end. :\

But yes, no matter if you've lived there for 6 years, you'll still get asked 'can you use chopsticks?' or ‘your Japanese is freaking amazing’.
I get expressions of massive shock at work everyday because I can write my name in katakana, let alone read and write in kanji.
(Insulting to me cause I learnt this during my first year at uni over 6 years ago, lol)

I'm also at the stage of being here for 2 years (which apparently is too short a time to be speaking and understanding the level that I do) - so natives go all crazy and confused at why I can understand.

"Because I studied it at uni back in the UK first".
Apparently, if you've not lived in Japan for at least 5 years, it's impossible to speak, write or understand it.
Get used to that.
I'm curious to see how the natives act when I hit my 3 or 4 year mark, maybe they'll be like 'ah, that's why, ok' and freaking chill. xD

The only way to lessen this is to expose them and tell them otherwise. The more foreigners they meet who are serious, who can learn the language outside of Japan, who break their preconceptions; the more they have to rethink.
I've noticed lately, they've gotten better at approaching new gaijin. Instead of instantly assuming that I'm American, they ask 'where do you come from?', which is nice cause then I come out with UK, and I just see more confusion sometimes. xD

Times are changing, slowly but surely, a lot of the (wealthier) educational boards are trying their best to expose Elementary kids to English more and more as well as create special rooms and decorate the schools more to expose them to a world outside of Japan. I’m seeing a major difference in level and speaking ability between 10 year olds and 14 year olds now from because of the new law that came fully into effect last year (2010), so yeah, here’s hoping.

As long as you’re aware that they (subconsciously) consider ‘ethnic lineage/bloodline’ to define a person’s ID over their nationality, mentality and place of birth, then you’ll be fine with the:
‘I’ve been here 5 years, speak it fluently and adapt to all their social rules but still face discrimination or lame ass questions’.

It’s not the West or America which is a country of immigrants from the start anyways, where the ethnic minority are considered the ‘same’.
(Even in the UK, from the 90% odd white natives compared to the rest of us, it’s still tough times in some aspects in terms of acceptance as a Brit.)

Japan wise, you’ll never be fully accepted, which is fine with me, I just enjoy breaking their preconceptions with my very existence and forcing them to rethink through exposure and education

As a holiday, Japan will be one of the best times of your life.
To live and work here, think very, very hard about the disadvantages (and there are many) and if you can handle it before you move over here.
It’s a totally different ballgame.
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Old 2011-03-06, 04:27   Link #1706
TinyRedLeaf
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Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Singapore
Age: 49
Family sues Japanese firms for working Chinese intern to death
Quote:
Mito, Ibaraki (March 6, Sun): The bereaved family of a 31-year-old Chinese intern whose death in 2008 was recognised as resulting from overwork has filed a lawsuit against his employer and an agency that supplies foreign trainees to companies in Ibaraki prefecture.

The lawsuit, filed last Friday with the Mito District Court, seeks 57.5 million yen (US$698,000) in damages for the death of Mr Jiang Xiaodong. It is the first civil suit to be filed in which a foreign intern or trainee allegedly died from overwork.

Mr Jiang, who worked at Fuji Denka Kogyo, a metal-processing company in Itako, Ibaraki prefecture, died of acute heart failure in June 2008 while sleeping in the firm's dormitory, according to the complaint.

Last November, the Kashima Labor Bureau recognised that Mr Jiang had died from overwork as his overtime exceeded 150 hours a month. The plaintiffs claimed that long hours of work imposed by the company resulted in his death.

A government-sponsored training and internship programme for foreigners began in 1993, under which they were permitted to stay in Japan for up to three years. Over the past five years, 40,000 to 70,000 trainees have been permitted to work in Japan annually.

Most of them are given medical checkups before arriving in Japan. However, according to a survey by the Japan International Training Cooperation Organization, which handles part of the programme's operations, 16 foreign interns or trainees died of brain or heart diseases in fiscal 2008, while nine similar deaths were reported in fiscal 2009.

All of the interns were in their 20s to 40s.

The aim of the programme is to have foreign workers acquire skills, but many of them are believed to come to Japan because they earn more money here than in in their home countries. Companies have therefore found it easy to exploit them.

Mr Jiang, who hailed from an impoverished farming village, was no exception. He came to Japan in 2005 in the hope of earning enough to provide his daughter with a good education.

THE DAILY YOMIURI
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Old 2011-03-06, 12:36   Link #1707
ChainLegacy
廉頗
 
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Massachusetts
Age: 34
What a sad story. Still, I can't help but wonder why he allowed it to happen. Not to say he would've had a rosy time if he quit that job, but it wasn't worth it.
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Old 2011-03-06, 12:48   Link #1708
LeoXiao
思想工作
 
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
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Age: 31
That is rather tragic. But he probably had better chances in Japan than in China, where this kind of thing happens even more often.
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Old 2011-05-14, 07:42   Link #1709
Mystique
Honyaku no Hime
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Join Date: May 2008
Location: In the eastern capital of the islands of the rising suns...
モノマネ - monomane is the term, something that I didn't realise was embedded in their culture until i worked at primary schools and saw teachers let the kids do impersonations either as punishment for losing in a game (like making the girls do monkey ones, lol) or simply for comic value.

Was browsing TV tonight and came across this dude 'Korokke', perhaps one of Japan's greatest impersonators.
His deal for lasting as long as he has is that he impersonates enka singers but with a physical twist, this guy can move, like proper bodypop and everything.
So this enka/robot combo sounds bizzare and surreal in theory, but in practice it's pretty damn amazing to see how far the human body can physically express itself if we train ourselves enough for it




And if you liked what you saw, here's Korokke teaming up with another impersonator for an amazing double trouble act, watching it once isn't enough
Link here, embedding is disabled.
(And yes, SFX usage on JTV does rock!!) xD

PS:You did Solace by giving me that hint, thankies
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Last edited by Mystique; 2011-05-14 at 08:42. Reason: Hrm. Thought I fixed it. ><
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Old 2011-05-14, 08:22   Link #1710
ronin myael
lost ronin
 
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: in the recesses of my convoluted mind...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mystique View Post
Japan wise, you’ll never be fully accepted, which is fine with me, I just enjoy breaking their preconceptions with my very existence and forcing them to rethink through exposure and education

As a holiday, Japan will be one of the best times of your life.
To live and work here, think very, very hard about the disadvantages (and there are many) and if you can handle it before you move over here.
It’s a totally different ballgame.
i have a question. i have plans on working in japan as a teacher. i have been teaching english to japanese and korean students for 4 years now but i'm not caucasian rather i'm asian. i'm learning nihongo as well. do they also discriminate against other asians? just wondering. i have some concerns about the living environment in japan for foreigners like me.
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Old 2011-05-14, 08:33   Link #1711
Mystique
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ronin myael View Post
i have a question. i have plans on working in japan as a teacher. i have been teaching english to japanese and korean students for 4 years now but i'm not caucasian rather i'm asian. i'm learning nihongo as well. do they also discriminate against other asians? just wondering. i have some concerns about the living environment in japan for foreigners like me.
It depends on the companies you work for and the kind of contract that you'll have.
If you're on a 'itaku' contract (work labour laws, what laws?) where you'll most likely be exploited by the ALT company, the education boards that use these contracts accept anyone of any race or level of English even.

However if you're on a 'hakken' or direct contract to the education board of the area that you're working in, depending on how much money they have and the quality of english that they want, going by my experience anyways, they will ask for native English speakers only. Race doesn't matter (it shouldn't but are you ethnically Chinese by any chance?) but if your mother tongue isn't English, they won't accept you.
(US, Canada, UK, Aussie)
So it depends which ALT company you work for and which area you're sent to which you'll follow that area's education board's wishes.
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Old 2011-07-01, 08:43   Link #1712
Vexx
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Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: On the whole, I'd rather be in Kyoto ...
Age: 66
yeah, this needs no reason but it improved my outlook 200% this morning. Young japanese ladies doing what the pop culture loves.... dancing.



Solo meido version for the twin-tail crowd...

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Old 2011-07-01, 18:20   Link #1713
Mystique
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Sorry Vexx, the squeaky voices were bleeding my ears dry, I only lasted for about 10secs for the first video x.x;;;
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Old 2011-07-01, 22:42   Link #1714
Vexx
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Age: 66
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mystique View Post
Sorry Vexx, the squeaky voices were bleeding my ears dry, I only lasted for about 10secs for the first video x.x;;;
rofl good gods, how do you survive in the "land of tiny high-pitched voices"?

Seriously... yeah the song is some "15 minute fame" fad thing - there are literally hundreds of youtube clips of people doing this dance rather like "carameldansen" or "haruhi".
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Old 2011-07-01, 23:38   Link #1715
Endless Soul
Megane girl fan
 
 
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Diagonally parked in a parallel universe.
Age: 55
Actually, I rather enjoyed those, Vexx. Interesting energy they have.
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Old 2011-07-02, 01:26   Link #1716
Magin
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I was first thinking, "is this carameldansen?"... obviously not. However, I do see it as a "fad dance". And I can never get enough of dancing girls in skirts (as long as they're good looking, that is)

and I definitely like the first video better than the second... having a hard time choosing whether I like the girl in the white t-shirt or the pink shirt better (sad that I'm trying to choose which I like better, isn't it? ). And once you get past the insane fast-paced chorus, it's a fun song
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Old 2011-07-02, 03:26   Link #1717
FDW
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Join Date: Aug 2009
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vexx View Post
snip
Shit, I have this on my Ipod as "Fukkireta Parade" and I've listened to it 26 times since I downloaded it.
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Old 2011-07-03, 00:43   Link #1718
Magin
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Well, it's official: I'm addicted to that song (and the first video), and I can't get it out of my head, either...
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Old 2011-07-04, 18:20   Link #1719
Vexx
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Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: On the whole, I'd rather be in Kyoto ...
Age: 66
I'm liking this move by the music industry in Japan and hope it pans out: they've created a group of Morning Musume graduates called Dream Morning Musume. Actual grown women (so to speak, 20-somethings). Their first dvd/blu-ray release is out in September - http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=EPBE-5417

http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=EPCE-5777

Quote:
a dream idol unit formed with 10 Morning Musume graduates including Yuko Nakazawa, Kaori Iida, Natsumi Abe, Kei Yasuda, Mari Yaguchi, Rika Ishikawa, Hitomi Yoshizawa, Makoto Ogawa, Miki Fujimoto, and Koharu Kusumi. They have already released their new album "Dorimusu 1" right after the unit's reunion on January 28, 2011 and held a film concert at Japan Expo 2011.
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Old 2011-07-04, 21:18   Link #1720
Guernsey
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I know ther Japanese are all about being polite even when they are being rude but is it true that 'cruse words like s**t or f**k don't exist in the language? I may had unknowingly used semantics but still.
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