[CLOSED] Another newbie reporter "discovers" Japan

[Taro Toporific]

NEWS from the FUTURE!

Thu Jun 3,12:24 AM ET
Reuters
Japan's Crown Princess Masako, seen holding her daughter Aiko during a first homecoming to introduce the young princess to her grandparents at their Tokyo home. Picture taken September 4, 2004 .REUTERS/Eriko Sugita

[Ol Dirty Gaijin]

[Taro Toporific]

[GargoyleTS]

Cranial Rectitus anyone?

Basic google search shows Japan's PM Koizumi is not that old, nor "Ailing".

Hell, I'd put my money on Koizumi versus Bush any day of the week!

Eating gravel cause of your own lack of grace does not make you tough.

And when is the last time you heard of a fist-fight/all-out brawl in the Oval Office?

[Blah Pete]

Before the Koi man was Mori who was anything but weak (still played rugby).
Maybe the writer was refering to Obuchi who was over the hill. Didn't he die while in office? I forget. It used to be hard to keep up who was the PM of the month. Koizumi must he heading for some kind of record for holding the seat.

[Taro Toporific]

[gomichild]

How cutting edge

[Taro Toporific]

This wai guo ren is confused on FG eating.

The Gaijin Girl's Guide to Chinatown
5/31/04
I love Asian food.
Exotic, authentic Asian food.

No standard Chinese food for me - the stranger, the better. I've recently discovered that there's a whole world of Asian cuisine that I know nothing about - and it fascinates me. Lucky for me, I'm not squeamish. As a matter of fact, I'd be a prime contestant for Fear Factor. I'd eat bugs if they were part of an authentic dish (to my husband's horror.) And as a New Yorker, I'm blessed to have Chinatown only a subway ride away. ...


Udon's Corp - Thai and Indonesian Grocery - 81A Bayard (Thai)

Chestnuts (Peeled) - Japanese.

[/i]

[Socratesabroad]

[Marked Trail]

[Taro Toporific]

[Taro Toporific]

... One of the biggest foot trends of the past few years has been the flip-flop. The opened toed shoe, which was originally named the "zori" or traditional Japanese flip-flop, has been around for centuries. They're still popular now and many people in Japan wear them during the winter season. The zori is made of hard rubber bottoms and a velvet strap

An old sole with a bright future
The flip-flop has been around for a long time and is still going strong
Sunday, June 13, 2004
By JENNIFER OLSEN
STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE

Maybe this is jusr New Years day for women but *many* people in Japan wear them during the WHOLE winter season..... nah.

[gomichild]

*wonders where those many people are too*

[Taro Toporific]

Random Curiosities
Fulbright Memorial Fund, Boris Korsunsky, a science teacher, Weston, Mass. korsunbo@post.harvard.edu
I feel very strongly that, in order to feel the spirit of another country, one needs to look at the little things and the people - rather than at the pre-packaged and oversold "official tourist attractions". When in Japan, I tried to take photos of strange little moments, little things, etc....


"The Van and the Slippers. Photo taken outside the Washington Hotel in Fukui. The construction workers change into slippers before entering their van. Somehow, I feel that someone who does that, would not leave a pile of trash behind once the job is done..."

Notice this is an X-ray van for the workers' annual check-up. Yeah, they have to take their muddy shoes off for the exam, duh.
And no, they "not leave a pile of trash behind once the job is done": They start huge fires of burning tires, trash and toxic waste to be neat.

"Well, what can I say... It was hard not to take a picture. In general, Japanese are very discreet about anything that is related to physical intimacy: even holding hands in public is a no-no. This cheerful store is, apparently, intended for the Westerners: English prevails, both inside and outside."

Gee, I always kind of figured Condomania is for Japanese, although Westerners do take photos of the place since it's a prominent place where they can actually read the signs.

[Caustic Saint]

Gee, I always kind of figured Condomania is for Japanese, although Westerners do take photos of the place since it's a prominent place where they can actually read the signs.

I took almost the exact same picture last time I was in town.

[Taro Toporific]

[Taro Toporific]

[Instant Ramen]

http://www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/08/13/Debrief.MacKinnon.otsc

This 'journalist' left Japan about a year ago now... or at least I don't think she's around anymore. Though who could ever forget her crappola reporting on Japan. The bird had the illustrious title of 'Tokyo Bureau Chief' and yet she was utterly clueless when it came to understanding Japanese or Japan.

One of her more memorable news vignettes was one that she did on 'hostess bars'. Throughout the story she, obviously relying on a translation which she read/hear with out processing, referred to them as 'hooh-stess' bars; ie not the drawn out correct pronunciation in the 'hou' style, but a strong Amerian 'who' variety. The end result... she came off looking like a complete and utter moron.

With fundamental failures like this, how could anyone expect her to report accurately on matters of weighter proportions in the fields of economics and politics? Little wonder that America, in particular, is clueless about the world outside with only CNN to rely on.

[Taro Toporific]

Short of story ideas, this reporter combines two favorites, Japanese TOILETS and ATMs.


JAPAN: HOME OF HIGH-TECH DEPOSITS AND HARD-TO-FIND WITHDRAWALS
07.07.04 / The Black Table, NY, By James Roth
....Tokyo is a city of 8 million with 100 24-hour ATMs that accept foreign bank cards. Bangkok, a city of about the same size, has several thousand. Where I live, Sendai, a city of 1 million in northern Japan, there is not one 24-hour ATM that takes foreign bank cards. The government, to its credit, has overhauled the ATMs at post offices. Though there is always one nearby, none are open for 24 hours. On weekdays they close at 6 p.m., on Saturdays at 2 p.m., and all day Sunday.
To those who think of Japan as the world's showcase of high-tech doodads, this enigma of amazing gadgetry -- such as toilets -- alongside inconvenient, throwback ATMs, will undoubtedly confound them. The confusion will set in after leaving their hotel room with an ass cleaned by technology, a smile on their face, and an ATM card in their pocket. By the time they get to an ATM, it will be closed. Grocery stores have no ATMs, and most only take cash.

[GomiGirl]

JAPAN: HOME OF HIGH-TECH DEPOSITS AND HARD-TO-FIND WITHDRAWALS

Actually, I kinda agree with this article.

[Taro Toporific]

JAPAN: HOME OF HIGH-TECH DEPOSITS AND HARD-TO-FIND WITHDRAWALS
Actually, I kinda agree with this article.

We've all had that where-the-hell-can-I-get-money moment, for sure.
Surprisingly, NO gaijin report in English has ever mentioned that HARD-TO-FIND-WITHDRAWALS is an intentional national policy to encourage savings.

[GomiGirl]

We've all had that where-the-hell-can-I-get-money moment, for sure.
Surprisingly, NO gaijin report in English has ever mentioned that HARD-TO-FIND-WITHDRAWALS is an intentional national policy to encourage savings.

Didn't read that far.. no that is crap.

[Ol Dirty Gaijin]

[Taro Toporific]

No "foreigner ever coming to own agricultural land in Japan" except Taro---farm land purchases are "subject to permission" which is a just a trival formality nowadays unless you are planning to convert farmland to industrial/condo uses.:rofl:

Breeder who achieved his Japanese dreamThe Financial Times / by Rachel Pagones Jul 13 2004 16:57
....Sweeney, a veterinary surgeon who came to Japan 14 years ago, newly married and not speaking the language, calls the JRA licence "the holy grail" of Japanese breeding. There are only 2,400 licence holders among a population of 125m. While there is a lesser racing body, the National Association of Racing, which did grant Sheikh Mohammed's outfit a licence, the two associations are "like Premiership compared to first division", says Sweeney.
.... The JRA [Japan horse Racing Asso.], effectively a subsidiary of the Department of Agriculture, jealously guards the treasure with basic requirements for prospective owners that are as steep and forbidding as Hokkaido's mountains.
"For a start you have to have permanent residency," explains Sweeney. "To achieve residency you have to live here for at least 10 years, and spend six months of the year here. Then you need to show close to $250,000 taxable personal income for two consecutive years and assets in Japan of more than $1.5m.
....Buying land was another challenge. "There would be no precedent to a foreigner ever coming to own agricultural land in Japan," Sweeney says. "Land ownership falls within the same category as nuclear fuel and missile technology. In other words, things that are of strategic importance to the country. Consequently there is government permission involved."



...A sublime disregard for obstacles including earthquakes and typhoons, along with separation from his wife and their four sons, who now live in Ireland, for a third of the year, has characterised Sweeney's road to success in Japan.

[Charles]

"For a start you have to have permanent residency," explains Sweeney. "To achieve residency you have to live here for at least 10 years, and spend six months of the year here. Then you need to show close to $250,000 taxable personal income for two consecutive years and assets in Japan of more than $1.5m.

WTF is this guy talking about? The requirements for naturalization aren't even that stiff. It's just 5 years residency, and a demonstrated ability to support oneself (no fixed amount of income or savings is required).

[Taro Toporific]

"For a start you have to have permanent residency," explains Sweeney. "To achieve residency you have to live here for at least 10 years, and spend six months of the year here. Then you need to show close to $250,000 taxable personal income for two consecutive years and assets in Japan of more than $1.5m.

WTF is this guy talking about? The requirements for naturalization aren't even that stiff. It's just 5 years residency, and a demonstrated ability to support oneself (no fixed amount of income or savings is required).

Five years is the MIMINIUM to get permanent residency, but on average its little more than the 10 years for an FG to get permanentresidency.* That is, a temp visa, one or two 1-year work or spouse visa(s), then one 3-year visa work or spouse visa

Yes, you very right about there is "no fixed amount of income or savings is required" for permanent residency. The reporter mixed up the requirements for getting a horse breeder licence from JRA [Japan horse Racing Asso.] and the requirements for permanent residency.


* I've been here 20+ years working in a large Japanese company, married to a Japanese, and own farmland but my permanent residency application was rejected again last month. On the other hand, other FG have received a Japanese Passport in 7 years.

[Taro Toporific]

Get ready for silent selling
The Hindu Business Line, 22 July
THE on-the-move culture is here. Almost here, if we are to believe the numbers doing the rounds in the more developed parts of the world.
Selling is on the move, it seems. Everybody is on the move. More so now than in the past....
Products, services and their peddlers will therefore have to morph their offerings to cater to the mobile needs of the mobile consumer. Take-away petrol cans of 20 litres sold out of bunks to avoid the long waiting time at these retail points, take-away things to eat, to drink, even take-away things to defecate in (as Japan has actually offered in its super-markets; mobile toilets to bide your time through all those traffic jams)! The take-away culture is here!



I don't remember ever seeing "mobile toilets" to poop in being sold in Japanese super-markets, have any of you?There ain't no
PWP GO BAG being sold here, is there?

[Mulboyne]

[Taro Toporific]

[Taro Toporific]