Dead Gaijins

[dimwit]

• Japanese labor was/is more docile than American labor – fewer strikes, more loyalty to their companies. Completely untrue.

I don't know labor market very well in the states so I can't compare the two, but every summer I visit Canada some public service union is on strike. In Japan, I personally can't remember the last time anyone actually went on strike.

[Mulboyne]

In Japan, I personally can't remember the last time anyone actually went on strike.

This probably isn't the right thread to go into detail but the riot videos give you an idea of the kinds of conflict that took place. The last big strikes were probably the 70's Seamen's Union and JNR workers. JNR strikes continued until privatization. There are still a number of "kabuki strikes" today which involve a pre-announced work-to-rule or some such. Airline pilots and teachers in particular.

[GuyJean]

In Japan, I personally can't remember the last time anyone actually went on strike.

Hey! The baseball players went on strike in 2004.. for two days... You should've seen the carnage in the streets!

On September 18, 2004, professional baseball players went on a two-day strike, the first strike in the history of the league, to protest the proposed merger between the Orix BlueWave and the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes and the failure of the owners to agree to create a new team to fill the void resulting from the merger. The strike was settled on September 23, 2004, when the owners agreed to grant a new franchise in the Pacific League and to continue the two-league, 12-team system. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_baseball

GJ

[Captain Japan]

This probably isn't the right thread to go into detail but the riot videos give you an idea of the kinds of conflict that took place. The last big strikes were probably the 70's Seamen's Union and JNR workers. JNR strikes continued until privatization. There are still a number of "kabuki strikes" today which involve a pre-announced work-to-rule or some such. Airline pilots and teachers in particular.

I think it is difficult though to find a strike where there was actual meaning behind it recent memory. Guy Jean mentioned the baseball strike. I remember a post here for a JAL strike that never happened.

At my former construction company, the union heads were members of upper management. Upper management did as they pleased. Sure, there was a union but it's not as if anything could have ever been accomplished in favor of the employee. There wasn't even a remote chance. As my friend, who represented his section at the meetings, nobody stood up at the meetings to object to anything either.

Like the baseball and JAL strikes I get the feeling that it is just a matter of going through the motions.

[Mulboyne]

This guy had a heart attack at Narita airport.

Philstar.com: Max Soliven Passes

Maximo "Max" Soliven, veteran Philippine journalist and publisher of The Philippine Star, died on November 24 in a hospital in Japan due to cardiac and respiratory arrest. He was 77. Soliven, the publisher, columnist and board chairman of the broadsheet The Philippine Star, was described as one of the Philippines' most active journalists, having covered eight presidents and reported on events for more than 50 years...he made a name for himself when he earned the exclusive of reporting on the detonation of the first atomic bomb in the People's Republic of China...more...

[Jack]

I don't know labor market very well in the states so I can't compare the two, but every summer I visit Canada some public service union is on strike. In Japan, I personally can't remember the last time anyone actually went on strike.

You're right about that. In Canada everyone wants to get paid but not do any work.

A female friend of mine in Japan told me that her company was going on strike. They were going to refuse to work past 5 p.m. That was the cutest labout action I have ever heard.

[GomiGirl]

[floatr][/floatr]
John Toler, 75, unlikely Zen abbot bridging East, West, dies at Temple by Alex Kerr via The Japan Times.

John Toler, abbot of Seisen-An Temple in Ouda, Nara Prefecture, died of heart failure on Nov. 14 at the temple. He was 75 years old and a key link in the history of foreigners living in postwar Japan.

News photo
Zen abbot John Toler writes the kanji for pleasure at the home of Alex Kerr in Kameoka, Kyoto Prefecture, in 1995. PHOTO COURTESY OF ALEX KERR

Toler was an unlikely choice to end up as one of the only Westerners ever to become a Zen temple abbot.

Born Sept. 3, 1931, in Idalou, Texas, Toler graduated from Texas Tech University majoring in journalism. He was drafted for the Korean War and sent to Japan in 1954. After a stint in Sendai, he moved to Tokyo and began studying Japanese.

Although Toler loved Japan fiercely all his life, merely being here did not answer all of life's questions. Like many foreigners in Japan, then and now, Toler spent a number of years in "seeking mode."

For a time, he wrote a column for the Mainichi Daily News called "Mostly Cabbages," covering events in Osaka, foreigners and amusing anecdotes. By the mid-1970s, Toler was well established in the advertising world and moved to Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture, with his partner, Koji Mori, and was making good money.

Meanwhile, Toler had made friends with a band of notable expats: classical Japanese and Chinese translator Burton Watson, writer Donald Richie and antique dealer David Kidd, with whom he once shared a house in Kobe.

However, such daily dealings were unfulfilling. Toler began doing Zen meditation, attending Daitokuji Temple in Kyoto as a lay participant. In 1976, he decided to enter the monkhood. He approached the head of the Daitokuji novices ("unsui"), a monk named Soeki Urata, who, struck by Toler's elegant Japanese, took him to meet his venerable master, Daiki Tachibana.

Tachibana, who died last year at age 105, was one of the most flamboyant and feared monks in the Zen world. Tachibana agreed to sponsor Toler, and thus at age 45 he quit his job and entered the Sodo meditation hall of Daitokuji.

It was a tough physical regimen right from the start. Toler had to prostrate himself at the foot of the Sodo hall's entrance for three full days begging to be accepted. Once inside the hall, Toler entered the path of a traditional novice monk, meditating daily for long hours, walking through the snow to collect alms, taking part in temple chores and chanting sutras. After about three years, Toler became a Daitokuji monk and Tachibana sent him to manage Shogen-In, a temple in Ouda in the mountains of Nara Prefecture.

Toler was about 50 then, and it was in Ouda that he came into his own. Attired in flowing robes, amusing, worldly, a great raconteur with a Texas accent, he was the perfect host.

He also had clear and striking ways of explaining Zen. With his door open to people of all nationalities and walks of life, Toler's temple became an international gathering place. You could meet an American saxophonist, Caroline Kennedy on her honeymoon or even the terrifying master Tachibana himself.

Finally, in his 60s, he was appointed head of nearby Seisen-An hermitage and allowed to carry the coveted red lacquer abbot's fan.

Eric Putzig, Toler's friend and disciple, sums it up: "John was of a generation prior to the Internet and mass communications. And yet, without the trappings of modernity, he sat inside his hilltop temple in the Japanese countryside and for 25 years -- from that remote location -- brought together East and West, navigated seamlessly among the two and nurtured a mutual understanding of culture and religion. Even those who do not know him owe their gratitude."
The Japan Times
(C) All rights reserved

I knew John personally. I had visited his temple in Ouda in 2001 and he subsequently stayed at my apartment in Tokyo and had dinner with my family and I had kept up an email conversation that spanned many years.

I remember him as a sparkling conversationist, prolific email writer and Mac Computing fan. He got me drunk on more than one occassion on his fave sake surrounded by his local friends - many of whom regular Japanese would consider untouchable as they were classed as "Burakumin". He showed me photos of the number of famous and interesting people who had also stayed at his temple - Caroline Kennedy on her honeymoon, a Rolling Stone member or two and he was trying to arrange a visit by the Dali Lama. The stories flowed with the sake, the names were dropped without fanfare and he showed his collection of ancient scrolls (some dating back to the Kamakura period) and sake cups (some from Meiji period) that he had picked up at flea markets for next to nothing that are probably worth a fortune. But of course everything he owns belongs to Daitokuji Temple in Kyoto. He did live the life of a monk afterall and survived on donations and patrons and fees for any ceremonies he performed...

I tried to visit him again not so long ago but was told by friends that he really wasn't well enough to accept visitors. He always seemed frail albeit with an energy and determination that many 20 year olds would envy. Sadly I understand that his favourite sake was the cross he had to bear (sic). I was reading through some of his emails to me just a few days ago and I wondered how he was, whether he was still alive or not and then I was shown this article in the Japan Times just this morning. I will dig out some old photos and scan them as it was before I had a digital camera.

Rest in Peace John, you are somebody that I will always remember fondly.

[Tommybar]

They have union strikes at the front gate of Yokosuka every 3 or 4 years for pay raises.

[Mulboyne]

In Japan, I personally can't remember the last time anyone actually went on strike.

Here you go:

Kyodo: Odakyu Bus suspends services in Tokyo, Kanagawa due to strike

[Cortana]

I don't know how I forgot FG.. I guess I've just been too damn busy doing other stuff... I guess I'm back from the dead now though.

[Taro Toporific]

... I guess I'm back from the dead now though.

Heh, welcome back. I bet it's like nothing has changed since you were last here (11-12-2004, 10:57 AM).

[Mulboyne]

Yomiuri: 4 Chinese held over Ikebukuro fatal assault

Four Chinese men in their 20s have been arrested on suspicion of confinement resulting in death of a Chinese student in April in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, according to sources. The Metropolitan Police Department and the Ikebukuro Police Station, which have also obtained arrest warrants for four other Chinese nationals who left the country immediately after the incident, intend to seek help from Interpol to put them on an international wanted list, the sources said. The four arrested allegedly belonged to a group that tampered with pachinko machines to generate jackpots. The police also suspect the group was responsible for a spate of thefts in the metropolitan area, according to the sources. On April 1, the group allegedly assaulted 25-year-old Xing Hao, who was attending a private university in Saitama Prefecture, on a street near JR Ikebukuro Station, the police said. They then dragged him to a restaurant on the second floor of a nearby multitenant building, confined him and beat him to death, the police said.

[rooboy]

that makes it okay for gays to do their thing (I'm straight btw) there and achieve fame like John Toler, Alex Kerr, Donald Ritchie,etc?

I've heard a lot of homphobic stuff from Japanese friends along the lines of gay Japanese (men and women, mostly women) losing their jobs when their preference was found out. That's why I'm surprised when you hear Japan lavishly praised as a place where gays can do their thing and not get discriminated against 'because there's no Judeo-Christian ethic'.

Maybe Toler's not so surprising because Japanese monks have never been known for celibacy and heterosexuality (yep, I bet his mentor was 'flamboyant' and his introduction to life as a Zen monk was not without its sexual comforts even tho he had to give up other things), but in the case of the aforementioned writers plus various uni academics I hear of, they seem to get a free pass that would be revoked in the case of Japanese gays.

Do gayjin get a better deal?

[Captain Japan]

U.S. man on quest to find cause of brother's death
Japan Times

OSAKA -- Charles Lacey's brother died mysteriously 2 1/2 years ago in Fukuoka and he's still trying to learn the cause.

He believes police bungled the investigation, wrongly concluded the death was due to an accident and are, like prosecutors, purposely withholding key information that could suggest foul play.

On Aug. 16, 2004, Lacey, who lives in Nagoya but was visiting family in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., received a fateful call. The director of the Fukuoka YMCA was calling to tell him that his brother, Matt, 42, a language student at the YMCA, had been found dead in his apartment....more...

[Mulboyne]

[Greji]

Japan Probe summarizes this Japanese report

Ahh, it's just them damn FGs again. They'll tie themselves up in a blanket and jump in the ocean in a flash. Clear case of accidental drowning. If there ain't any other FGs on a bicycle in the vicinity to investigate, case closed.

[GomiGirl]

Ben Miller

Just received an email from Andrew Shuttleworth.

Ben was a well connected person and a passionate researcher, most recently spending a lot of his time on Web. 2.0, SNS and other online services - many of which he posted about on his site:http://www.benmiller.com/

Sadly it seems that Ben passed away at the end of February after suffering from two brain aneurysms.

I would have liked to have gone to the funeral as I had met Ben a few times when he was working at Hikari Tsushin. He was a lovely guy and well respected as an analyst in the tech sector.

[Hokuto-shinken]

[Mulboyne]

Mainichi: 2 U.S. soldiers killed in Japan car accident

Two U.S. soldiers died and one was injured when their car slammed into a signpost on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa on Saturday, police said. Richard Thomas Smith, 27, and Kenneth J. Thomas, 25, both U.S. army sergeants based on Okinawa, died of injuries sustained when the car they were in swerved into the signpost in the south of the island, local police official Hirokazu Okuhama said. A third soldier, 39-year-old Byron Anthony West, was injured, Okuhama said. Authorities suspect that West was driving under the influence of alcohol, he said. The soldiers' hometowns were not immediately available.

[Mulboyne]

Kyodo: Woman dies after falling from Russian trade representative building

A woman apparently fell from a building of the Russian trade representative office in Minato Ward and was taken to a hospital Tuesday afternoon but died there due to a skull fracture and other injuries, police said. The woman is believed to be a Belarusian in her 40s who was living in an eight-story residence building within the compound of the Russian trade representative office in Japan, according to the police. A staff member of the office said it was an accident. Japanese police inspected the scene of the fall on consent from the trade office, affiliated with the Russian Embassy, which is granted extraterritorial right.

[Charles]

A staff member of the office said it was an accident.

They always say that.

[IkemenTommy]

They always say that.

While they initially declared that Zard singer's death as a suicide when they ruled out later that the cause was from an "accidental fall".

[Taro Toporific]

[floatr][/floatr]Biff Wellington dead at 42
CANOE -- SLAM! Sports - Wrestling - 007/06/24/
Calgary's Biff Wellington (Shayne Bower), who was a major player in the '80s Stampede Wrestling and a regular in Japan for years, has died. He was 42.
Bower had major health[color="Gray"] [drug] [/color]problems over the last few years, mostly related to his back, as he talked about in a 2004 interview with SLAM! Wrestling. "I did all my best work in Japan, by far. I had some great matches with Liger, Jushin Liger. That would probably be the highlights," he explained to SLAM! Wrestling in 2004. "Actually, one time me and Chris Benoit [color="Gray"] [champion and of today's fame for DOUBLE-MURDER SUICIDE] [/color]had a match. We were always tag partners. We were on TV and something happened in Sapporo, Japan, and they put me and Chris against each other and gave us 15 minutes of live TV. I'll tell you, that was probably a highlight. We had a hell of a match."

[Greji]

"....."Actually, one time me and Chris Benoit [color="Gray"] [champion and of today's fame for DOUBLE-MURDER SUICIDE] [/color]had a match....."

Here's another tag on Benoit from ESPN Sports.......

[kurohinge1]

[SIZE="4"]Benoit mystery's Wiki twist[/SIZE]

Police investigating the double-murder suicide involving pro wrestler Chris Benoit are reportedly examining Wikipedia updates from a US and a Sydney-based computer which revealed the death of Benoit's wife 14 hours before police discovered their bodies.

. . . Police believe the 40-year-old - whose nicknames included the Rabid Wolverine and the Canadian Crippler - strangled his wife and son on either Friday or Saturday and placed Bibles next to their bodies before hanging himself from a cable on his weight machine.

But in a bizarre twist, reports have surfaced that Benoit's Wikipedia page was altered to include details about his wife's death well before police knew about the crime.

. . . The first edit to Benoit's Wikipedia page regarded a competition he had been due to take part in at the weekend.

"Chris Benoit was replaced by Johnny Nitro for the ECW Championship match at Vengeance, as Benoit was not there due to personal issues, stemming from the death of his wife Nancy," the anonymous editor wrote.

That post has since been traced to a location in Connecticut where WWE has its headquarters . . . more

Maybe Benoit's murdered wife found the machine up there with free internet access.

[Mulboyne]

Maybe this thread should do a joint venture with these guys:

Air Hearse.

Our company specializes in the management of procedures that arise when a Japanese citizen has passed away overseas as well as those involved when a non-Japanese citizen has passed away in Japan...Filing for documents can be an extremely complicated task for families of that individual to make. Our company, with its accumulated know-how in obeying national standards as well as laws and ordinances, takes swift actions to repatriate deceased individuals (or ashes) back to their families as soon as possible.

They have their own version of Dead Gaijins:

This page is a report of accidents, misfortunes and other such incidents that have occurred to our fellow countrymen while abroad and to foreigners within Japan. At all times, these reports will protect the personal information of those involved.

[GuyJean]

They have their own version of Dead Gaijins:

Interesting.. But they call it 'Head Lines'..

GJ

[Taro Toporific]

[Greji]

This company is located a couple of kilometers south of my house. They are ALWAYS having an impossible time finding employees and I see the strangest logos and graphics on their help wanted signs hanging in front of their office every time I drive past.

Taro, you don't happen to know who is running that company do you? Had an old mate that kinda dropped from the lime light years back and I heard he was making a living stuffin stiffs. Might be my man.

[Mulboyne]

Joe FitzMorris:

Legendary Editor Joe Fitz-Morris Dies at 89

...When the war ended, the 27-year-old infantry captain was ordered to serve as manager of Tokyo's Imperial Hotel, where senior U.S. officers were billeted during the occupation. He showed up with his duffle bag, little knowing that he would be there until 1952, both as a soldier and a civilian. On his first day at the hotel, Fitz-Morris stepped out of the shower naked to find a maid waiting for him. Embarrassed, he told the Japanese manager that the maids should knock before entering his room. Not knowing that Fitz-Morris understood Japanese, the manager told the maids to look through the keyhole and make sure the American was clothed before entering. Episodes like that became the basis for "The Wise Bamboo" (Lippincott, 1953), Fitz-Morris' comedic account of his time at the hotel...