Japan at a Crossroads

By Brent Sutherland



It's typical journalese that any given election is referred to as the most significant election in quite some time. In the case of the incipient Japanese election it's entirely accurate. Since its founding in 1955, the Liberal Democratic Party (some say that it is neither) has run Japan. Aside from brief periods with coalition governments over the years, the LDP has run the post-war system. Now it looks at last as if the LDP might suffer a truly decisive defeat in the Diet election that they must call by September, 2009.

The point at which the LDP jumped the shark would have to be former Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa's February G8 news conference in Rome where he appeared to be intoxicated. Mr. Nakagawa followed up his apparently ethanol-fuelled news conference with a visit to the Vatican Museum where he engaged in Mr. Bean-like shenanigans such as climbing over a barrier protecting a statue of the Trojan priest Laocoon, and then literally getting a feel for some of the paintings. Needless to say the footage of the news conference became the first, and likely last, time that Mr. Nakagwawa obtained so many hits on YouTube. Despite the fact that he explained his condition was caused by an amalgam of cough medicine, jet-lag, and a single glass of wine, his resignation was immediately accepted by Prime Minister Taro Aso. It seems Mr. Nakagawa's reputation as an imbiber preceded his Roman binge.

Aside from the Nakagawa debacle, the LDP has much more fundamental problems. The LDP has succeeded over the years because they have persuaded a lot of people to vote for them. That might seem like an obvious point; but to perennial constituencies such as farmers and business people both large and small - they are the natural ruling party. As long as Japan was prospering, and there was plenty of pork to go around, the LDP did well. Now that Japan is mired in seemingly terminal economic decline and huge deficits constraining spending, the entire party feels like Mr. Nakagawa must have felt the morning after his aforementioned outing. During the 2001 to 2006 period that Junichiro Koizumi was Prime Minister, he was able to carry the party along with his personal popularity. In fact, in the 2005 election the LDP gained one of its largest majorities ever. If it weren't for the term limits imposed by the LDP charter, it's concievable that he would be still be Prime Minister to this day. However, being a wealthy bachelor bon-vivant, he likely wanted out of the spotlight, and so he declined asking the party to amend their charter.

In contrast, Taro Aso has earned opprobrium by sticking the taxpayer with an expense account that James Bond would be ashamed to submit to Ms. Moneypenny. They both patronize many of the same decidely upscale eateries in Tokyo on a nightly basis, but being a jet-setter happened to look good on Mr. Koizumi whereas the public wonders why Mr. Aso can't have his wife fix him a meal once in a while. Mr. Koizumi was able to display true leadership in a, regularly, consensus-driven Japan by way of sheer charisma. His free-market based reforms such as privatizing post-office savings went against the grain in a society that may now be capitalist, but has always been paternalistic.

Now those reforms have mostly been abandoned in favour of the traditional LDP style of status-quo, pork, and cronyism. While Mr. Hosokawa pursued his reforms, he could plausibly claim to be displaying leadership, ideological coherence, and a willingness to deal with budget deficits. Now that the LDP has fallen back on old ways, the main opposition party shows in sharp relief. The Democratic Party of Japan was formed in 1998 by the merger of several smaller parties. Over the years several prominent LDP members such as Yukio Hatayama (the present DPJ leader) and Ichiro Ozawa (long time controversialist) have crossed the floor with the explanation that LDP dominance was unhealthy for the nation. It's presumable that personal ambition also played a part in that, but many of those who had taken part in that self-selected "equalization draft" are now prominent members of the, presently, very competitive DPJ. As per the DPJ's home page, "First of all, we shall build a society governed with transparent, just, and fair rules. Secondly, while the free market should permeate economic life, we aim for an inclusive society which guarantees security, safety, and fair and equal opportunity for each individual."

Thus the DPJ has staked its territory firmly in the centre-left. Its primary appeal is to urban workers who feel their interests have been sacrificed over the years to perceived special interests such as farmers and the construction lobby. Indeed, a large part of Japan's budget goes towards ever more grandiose public engineering projects, such as the underutilized bridge-tunnel crossing Tokyo Bay. Ideological moderation and pragmatism combined with an avowed willingness to confront vested interests has an obvious appeal to people who work for a living. Over the years the Liberal Democrats have actually done things that are both, but they have also successfully co-opted all but the nuttiest fringes of the right while occasionally forming a coalition with the Socialist Party when that was necessary to cling to power. In the case of the former the visits to Yasakuni shrine (resting place of 14 Class A war criminals) seem to have sufficed, and in the latter it seems a mere taste of power was enough to entice the left into coalitions dedicated to upholding the status-quo. That is partly what has made the present-day Social Democratic Party an essentially spent force, although their wooly-sweater variety of rhetoric and ideology makes them seem out of touch to many voters. For example their implacable opposition to US military bases in Japan is a non-starter at a time when relations with North Korea are so tense.

Given that the summer is likely to be the first time that the DPJ will have a chance to win an election, it would only be speculation to extrapolate from what they say they stand for, in terms of predicting how they might actually govern. However, given that Mr. Hatoyama is now the odds on favorite become the first Prime Minister in a long time who is neither LDP nor part of a LDP coalition , it is worth speculating on the point. Mr. Hatoyama himself is the grandson of a former Prime Minister and the son of a former Foreign Minister. At 62 he is youngish by the standards of Japanese politics and he holds a Ph.D. in engineering from Stanford. That likely gives him a broader perspective than the typical Japanese politician. His background enables him to pose as both a political insider and outsider concomitantly. Another DPJ member; Marutei Tsururen, became the first European member of the Diet in 2002. He may be a bit of a token, but this does bode well for the DPJ's stated policy of accommodating immigration and being more internationalist in general.

In terms of China-Japan relations, it seems like that could only help. It's reasonable to conclude that the sticking point of the Yasukuni visits could be resolved by just not going there. The people to whom the visits matter are never going to vote DPJ in any case. Improved relations with China would lead to the expectation that China would be more encouraged to pressure North Korea to behave. As far as the USA goes, the DPJ's centre-left ways would seem to be a logical fit with Mr. Obama's outlook. It's unlikely the domestic-policy orientated Obama administration will ever be as interested in Japan and Asia, in general, as some other Presidents were. However, as long as Mr. Obama does not vomit on Mr. Hatoyama they should get along fine. Once you get past China and the USA, everything else is more straightforward for Japan's foreign policy. Japan's financial condition may be questionable, but funding will likely be found to continue money diplomacy.

It's in domestic policy that differences between the LDP and DPJ get more interesting. Part of the DPJ's platform is trimming the bloated bureaucracy. This is a laudable goal, but it's a fact that the LDP would be unable to govern without the close cooperation of the civil-service. Diet debates are notoriously stilted because "I'll get back to you on that after I do some research so I can give you a thourough reply" is a very typical answer for any given question that comes up. What that often means is "I need to get back to my assistant minister to get an answer written up on what my department has already decided but I don't know myself". If the DPJ is truly seriously about trimming the bureaucracy both in terms of headcount and influence, then they might not receive such close cooperation. It's easy to say ministers should know their own portfolios, but the reality of Japanese political culture is that networking/fundraising/infighting takes priority over research/policy making/debate for most legislators. In Japan it may be more important for elected leaders to obtain the consent of the civil service than the public that they both ostensibly serve.

In terms of social spending, again, the DPJ proposes to trim the fat while retaining the meat. Given Japan's huge budget deficits, this will not be easy. In fact, the only realistic hope for public health and pension plans to continue at their present relatively generous levels is for Japan to have a fresh batch of young taxpayers. Japan has the lowest birthrate in the developed world at present and 21% of the population are over the age of 65. Unfortunately all exhortations to go forth and multiply, emptiomized by generous baby bonuses, etc., haven't had much effect - which brings us back to Mr. Tsururen. Ever since the economic boom of the 1980s Japan has had de facto immigration of unskilled workers. Brazilians with even the most seemingly remote Japanese ancestry were admitted as guest workers. The visa exemption that was a holdover of the Shah's reign allowed any number of Iranians to enter Japan for whatever combination of economic and political reasons they had. In fact, Japan's best starting pitcher during their 2009 World Baseball Classic victory is the son of an Iranian émigré, Yu Darvish of the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters.

Mr. Darvish and Mr. Tsururen have obviously found their places in Japanese society. However, it remains an insular island nation where it's not easy for newcomers to fit in, and unemployment is rising. The government has recently come up with a program where these Brazilian guest workers are paid 300,000 yen each, plus 200,000 for each dependant, to go home. For some of the dependants, though, Japan is the only home they have ever had. No matter what economic problems Japan has at the moment, a labour shortage is coming sooner or later. The LDP has recently taken baby-steps towards developing a comprehensive immigration policy, such as granting visas to foreign nurses and mulling the idea that Japanese language ability be a criterion for residency. That being said, the biggest problem remains the idea that most Japanese people can't see their nation having either a multicultural or melting-pot paradigm. Those who do try their best to assimilate are often regarded, at best, as eccentrics, and at worse, as "sell-outs". The Japanese might tolerate the strangers in their midst, but they still tend to ask them, "When are you going home?" Given the demographic imperative, changing that will likely be the DPJ's greatest challenge.

Brent Sutherland is a freelance writer living in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Those Who CAN...Teach!

by Kevin Burns



Teaching is a sometimes maligned profession, especially by some of the non-Japanese living in Japan. However I feel otherwise.


Those who can....Teach!

The Little Schools

Why does English teaching have to be systemized and run by a large company, anyway? The collapse of NOVA is like the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs. The little schools are picking up the crumbs of NOVA and thriving. There's nothing wrong with this. There is something to be said about learning English at smaller, more personal schools--they generally pay better attention to their customers.

Shawn Thir, Let`s Japan!

H1N1 Flu

Why is this strain of flu causing so much concern?

It's a brand new mutation that's never been seen before. That's why it's not just hitting people in the highest risk groups — those over 65 and younger than two.

Flu is not usually a huge worry among the vast majority of healthy people because over the course of our lives, we are exposed to several flu strains. We develop some immunities. When we get the flu, we'll normally just feel really awful for a week or two. But when you have no immunities at all to a new strain, normally healthy people face as much of a risk as higher risk groups.

How does swine flu kill?

Swine flu — just like any other flu — is a respiratory infection. It exploits a weakened immune system to attack major organs — especially your lungs. When it gets into your lungs, it can lead to pneumonia, which can kill you. The flu can also cause secondary infections in your body — any of which can lead to failure of vital organs and death.

--from CBC News

List of famous Koreans in Japan

[edit] Business and Economics

* Han Chang-Woo, CEO of Maruhan
* Son Masayoshi, CEO of Softbank
* Shin Kyuk-ho, CEO and founder of Lotte

[edit] Entertainment

* Arai Hirofumi, actor
* Ihara Tsuyoshi, actor
* Jyongri, singer
* Crystal Kay, singer
* Kim Hong-Jae, conductor
* Lee Sang-il, Japan Academy Prize winning film director
* Minami Kaho, actress
* Miyako Harumi, singer
* Miyavi, musician
* Romi Park, voice actor
* Sai Yoichi, Japan Academy Prize winning film director
* Sonim, singer
* Tei Towa, DJ
* Verbal, singer
* Wada Akiko, singer

[edit] Literature and Poetry

* Lee Hoesung, Akutagawa Prize winning novelist
* Lee Yangji, Akutagawa Prize winning novelist
* Tachihara Masaaki, novelist
* Yang Sok-il, novelist
* Yu Miri, Akutagawa Prize winning novelist

[edit] Science and Technology

* Woo Jang-choon, agricultural scientist and botanist

[edit] Politics and Law

* Arai Shoukei, politician, House of Representatives
* Haku Shinkun, politician, House of Councillors
* Kang Sang-jung, political scientist, professor at the University of Tokyo
* So Man-sul, politician, Supreme People’s Assembly of North Korea, chairman of Chongryon
* Togo Shigenori, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Greater East Asia

[edit] Crime

* Hayashi Yasuo, terrorist in 1995 sarin gas attack by Aum Shinrikyo
* Jo Hiroyuki, uyoku assassin
* Machii Hisayuki, yakuza godfather
* Mun Segwang, failed assassin of Park Chung-hee
* Obara Joji, serial rapist
* Sin Gwang-su, North Korean spy, involved in North Korean abductions of Japanese
* Takayama Tokutaro, yakuza godfather

[edit] Sports

* Akiyama Yoshihiro, judoka
* Ahn Young-Hak, North Korean soccer player
* Arai Takahiro, professional baseball player
* Chong Tese, North Korean soccer player
* Morimoto Hichori, professional baseball player
* Harimoto Isao, professional baseball player
* Hiyama Shinjiro,professional baseball player
* Kaneda Masaichi, professional baseball player
* Kinjoh Tatsuhiko, professional baseball player
* Kanemoto Koji, pro-wrestler
* Kanemura Kouhiro, pro-wrestler
* Kim Chae-Hwa, South Korean figure skater
* Kim Jong-Song, North Korean soccer player
* Kim Yong-Gwi, North Korean soccer player
* Kin Taiei, mixed martial artist
* Lee Tadanari, professional soccer player
* Maeda Akira, pro-wrestler
* Maenoyama Taro, sumo wrestler
* Momota Mitsuhiro, pro-wrestler, also known as Rikidozan
* Okayama Kazunari, professional soccer player
* Ōyama Masutatsu, martial arts expert
* Ri Han-Jae, North Korean soccer player
* Ryang Gyu-Sa, North Korean soccer player
* Ryang Yong-Gi, North Korean soccer player
* Ryouji Sai, pro-wrestler
* Tamarikidō Hideki, sumo wrestler
* Tokuyama Masamori, professional boxer, former WBC super flyweight champion
* Tatsuhito Takaiwa, pro-wrestler
* Yoshida Mitsu, pro-wrestler, also known as Riki Choshu
--Wikipedia

On Japan`s Future: Is it too Late Anyway?

I think in a way it is too late. Yet I don`t think countries should ever
throw in the towel.

Japan`s waffling about whether to become multicultural or not, is in itself,
hurting the country. Recently Brazilians and people with Japanese blood
from abroad, are being essentially bribed to return to their country of origin
(the country on their passport).

They should be encouraged to stay in Japan and supported. However that is
just my opinion. I am obviously not the prime minister of Japan.

Japan needs to come up with a well thought out, long range plan for her future. Is she going to become a multicultural nation or not?

The issue still seems to be so much up in the air.

However, if the answer is yes, we are going to be like Britain, Canada and America for example, then how can we best accomplish this?

ie) Help newcomers to settle in well and learn Japanese, limit racism,
insure a safe and fair employment system for all ie) tenure not based on
race would be one example.

Also, how can we prepare the Japanese people for this--how can we promote the positive points of multiculturalism.
In Canada it was everywhere when I was growing up--on
TV and other forms of media. It was taught in the schools
--the benefits of being multicultural.


Or if Japan chooses to go it alone. What are the benefits and costs of that.
How can we limit the costs? Are we going to be satisfied with
a much poorer standard of living, as we must pay more taxes to
support the elderly for example.

For me, being a Canadian. Although I like Japan and I like living
here. I always have a way out should things get too difficult.

But for the average Japanese, they are stuck here depending on the
government to make the best decisions for the country.

However, waffling and no decision making is even worse
than choosing one of the above ways to the future.

I truly hope Japan becomes multicultural however. I think the benefits
far outweigh the demerits.

Brown Rice: Tell this to your Japanese Partner

"Brown rice has 400% more vitamin B1 than white (B1 converts carbohydrates to energy); 300% more fiber, for bowel health; and you can also receive various essential oils through consumption as well. Many people complain that genmai is hard to digest. The trick is to cook it with some crushed barley, which is sold for the purpose, and causes the grain to soften up and become almost puffy. The resulting rice tastes great."
--Daijob.com

President Obama puts science in its rightful place

by David Suzuki



Science has taken a beating over the past few years – especially in the U.S. and Canada. We’ve put up with incessant braying from climate change deniers who, in the words of Guardian writer George Monbiot, "ignore an entire canon of science, the statements of the world’s most eminent scientific institutions, and thousands of papers published in the foremost scientific journals" just so they can "pick up a crumb: a crumb which then disintegrates" in their palms.

George Bush’s administration was so anti-science – blacklisting and purging scientists and suppressing or altering scientific studies – that 60 top scientists released a statement in 2004 accusing the administration of distorting scientific fact "for partisan political ends".

Science hasn’t fared much better here in Canada. A year ago, an editorial in the scientific journal Nature criticized our government for its skepticism about the science of global warming, and for muzzling federal scientists and closing the office of the national science adviser.

How refreshing it was, then, to listen to U.S. President Barack Obama’s inaugural speech on January 20.

"We’ll restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost," the president said. "We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories."

What’s even more refreshing is that President Obama is backing those words with action. He has appointed top scientists to key positions, including Nobel Prize-winning physicist Steven Chu as energy secretary, leading marine biologist Jane Lubchenco to head up the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, and Harvard physicist John Holdren as head of the White House Office of Science and Technology.

These appointees understand and take seriously the science of climate change. President Obama also understands the geopolitical ramifications of policies that help fuel climate change, as he made clear in his speech when he noted that "each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet."

It was refreshing also to hear the new president talk about choosing "hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord" and about "what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage."

That common purpose and need for courage, as the president knows, extends beyond U.S. borders. After all, migratory Pacific salmon don’t recognize the line between our nations, nor do rivers like the pristine Flathead, which flows from B.C. into Montana and forms the western boundary of Montana’s Glacier National Park, or threatened and endangered species like grizzly bears that breed, feed, and roam across our common border. And the winds that carry pollution and greenhouse gas emissions don’t get turned back at the border for endangering citizens on either side.

Here in B.C. where I live, most of the species at risk – from grizzlies to monarch butterflies – cross back and forth regularly between the two countries. We can’t hope to protect them without strong and complementary habitat-protection policies in both countries. We also need agreement on policies to protect the waters that flow between our two nations. President Obama said during his campaign that he opposes industrial development in the headwaters of the Flathead. "The Flathead River and Glacier National Park are treasures that should be conserved for future generations," he said in reaction to a push by the B.C. government for development in the region, including an open-pit coal mine 40 kilometres from the Canada-U.S. border.

Climate change is another issue that must be addressed quickly and effectively by both nations. President Obama has proposed an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Scientists and economists around the world know that putting a price on carbon emissions, through cap and trade and carbon taxes, is the best way to bring our emissions under control. And while a number of Canadian provinces have joined with U.S. states to implement cap-and-trade programs, our federal government has yet to act.

It’s great to see a U.S. administration that isn’t afraid of real progress and change. But, as President Obama noted, it isn’t just up to the American government to create that change; it’s up to all of us. And while he was referring to American citizens, we Canadians must also join to confront the challenges that both our countries, and indeed, the entire world, face. It’s time to realize that, when it comes to finding solutions to our common problems, science matters.

Science Matters has been running weekly since 1999. To read past columns, please visit www.davidsuzuki.org/science_matters/.

Japan by the Numbers

The “Wide” feature in the current Shukan Shincho (Jan 15) presents a baker’s dozen of stories under the collective title of “Scary Numbers for Japan.”

The first touches on how one married woman out of three is on the receiving end of physical abuse. Another shocker concerns rampant food waste: each day, the magazine reports, Japanese discard the equivalent of 30 million servings of food. And Fukuoka Prefecture is the top-ranking prefecture in dispose of dogs and cats, which are euthanized nationwide at the rate of 350,000 a year.

Meanwhile, prosecutions for possession of marijuana are soaring, and headed for 15,000 cases per year. Despite the use of more women-only cars, during 2007, 1,600 “chikan” (gropers) were caught in the act on trains in Tokyo alone. And statistics of runaways from home show that only the segment that’s been increasing are those aged 60 and over.

The weekly also takes note of the rapid surge in registration of Chinese nationals in Japan. From just 84,397 in 1986, their numbers had climbed to 424,282 by 2002, and at the end of 2007, reached 606,889, accounting for 28.2% of foreign residents in Japan and for the first time surpassing Koreans, who numbered 593,489.

“More students have been coming here from China,” an immigration official explains. “More IT-related technicians are coming to Japan to work or for training. And marriages between Japanese men and Chinese women have been increasing.”

While the aforementioned official pointed out that by admitting them Japan is able to secure high-quality labor and activate its academic institutions, the magazine does not shirk from noting the downside, that is, how these newcomers have affected law and order. Of the 14,787 crimes by committed by foreign nationals, those by Chinese were roughly proportional to their numbers—about one out of every three.

On a related note, proposals to establish “Chinatowns” in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro district and commercial centers in Nagoya, Sapporo and other cities have been made, causing anxiety among local residents—not so much over crime, but toward food-related problems, such as sanitation and abnormally high levels of agricultural pesticides in imported items.

“Last January, three Chinese approached me about declaring everything within a 500-meter radius of Ikebukuro Station to be Chinatown, which I felt was preposterous,” says Mitsuru Miyake, chairman of the Ikebukuro West Exit Merchants Association. “My biggest concern would be safety. Both the police and I are saying they have ties to gangs. And they’re also impolite; they scatter parts of Shanghai crabs and the stinky remains of fish all over the street around here.”

“Even with a part-time job at an izakaya (pub), Chinese manage to send money back home,” a Japanese journalist based in China warns. “So the Chinese who come to Japan to study bring their families over. Anyone can find work as waiters or in convenience stores, or as a janitor, so if a Chinatown can be established, they’ll wind up bringing in their whole family one at a time, including by illegal means.”

--Japan Today

Compassion

Charter for Compassion in English with Japanese subtitles

Do Teachers Unions do more Harm than good in Japan?

One percent of Americans claim they have been abducted by
aliens! Isn`t that amazing!



Do you believe them? If so, where are these aliens?


You have to wonder about whether the hype that many
English schools are bad, that is promoted on the
internet forums, is not simply a way to try to get
more union members.



The unions will tell you there are hundreds of complaints about
English schools every year. How many are valid? What percentage?
What percentage is simply whining? How many of these people
complained about their employers in their home countries?
Why do they stay with their schools?



As a young man and being rather left wing, I scoffed at the suggestion that unions were not all good. My father pointed out how they can try to intimidate employees to get their way.

Being young and inexperienced, I refused to believe him, but it seems to be true. In spite of the hype, unions are not always good for you and don`t always do what`s best for you. Even if they think they do.

Some unions are great and represent their members well. Others are not.

"

One of the reasons I enjoy teaching at my English school is because of the stress-free environment. But that relaxed feeling has recently changed. This has occurred not because of the students, the management, the company or the location. Surprisingly, the dissent among instructors is due to the new teachers union, which has created a hostile workplace. And as if erecting barriers between coworkers isn`t enough, the union is damaging the entire English-teaching profession here in Japan.

"

--Joseph Barker, is an English teacher in Japan

Originally published in Metropolis Magazine

Wow! Strong words from Joseph Barker (a pseudonym). I have never had problems with unions myself. In my case, when I have been a member, I think on the whole I was represented well. I sympathize with unions on the whole, being rather left in bent, but I also have come to sympathize with managers, having been one myself now for nearly 20 years. I think if you are working for a company that is not fair, having a teaching union available to back you up in case of a grievance, is a great asset.

However, you need to ask yourself if the union works for your best interest. Every school is different. Some employers are very good--very fair. If your employer is one of the kind ones, is it worth it to join a union?

Can there be potential problems as alluded to in the above quote? Unions can sometimes lead you astray.

Sometimes what unions do in the spirit of improving the situation of the employee, ends up backfiring and hurting the teachers, as the actions of the union, incur unimagined consequences.

"

I don`t understand how unions can say that they are fighting for all teachers` rights while encouraging union members to bully non-union workers.

"--Joseph Barker again, in Metropolis Magazine

The above is what my father was warning me about. He had been a member of a union while working in an airplane factory. Unions often feel they know best, which doesn`t necessarily agree with how you feel about things.

"Our union representative posted a bulletin in our teachers`room stating that instructors who covered a striking teacher`s shift were betraying their family, their country, and even their God. The newsletter compared so-called "scabs" with Judas Iscariot, betrayer of Jesus."

--Joseph Barker, in Metropolis Magazine

Indeed some unions can be just as bad or worse than undesirable employers. Unions the world over have gone to extremes for their cause.

And is it your cause though? You need to answer that for yourself. If it is, then join the union.

In certain instances, I would think joining a union would be a great idea. But you need to decide for yourself.

A good union should never bully you to join it. It should have the integrity and respect of the employees, and workers join because of that respect for the well earned reputation.

So refuse to be bullied. But decide for yourself.

About the Author

Kevin Burns edits the website How to Teach English in Japan.

Happy People

"Happy people live secure in the knowledge that
the activities that bring them enjoyment in the present
will also lead to a fulfilling future."

-Tal Ben Shahar, Ph.D

We learn, We Grow, and We Move On Hopefully Together

We learn, We Grow, and We Move On Hopefully Together

Posted by preparedcitizens on October 16, 2008

I can not stop talking about pandemic preparedness any more than I can stop breathing.

The fact is that this virus is still marching on, changing, drifting, shifting and becoming more adapted to the human respiratory track. So please do not punish yourselves because of my ineptness.

The truth is, none of us know the future with any certainty. We could be preparing for a pandemic of H5N1 and find ourselves responding to some other catastrophe. The prudent course of action is all-hazards preparedness. But pandemics require a more specific type of preparedness. Medical emergencies usually do. The length of time that we will need to shelter in place is quite long compared to a hurricane or tornado emergency. They blow by us rather quickly but not a pandemic with waves and waves of illness.

We do have to be concerned about the continuity of our town government. The best thing that we can do for our town and our neighbors is to be prepared at home. We should be SO prepared that if our town departments need to close shop for a time, we are able to respond to emergencies within our own homes.

That means that our smoke detectors should be not only hardwired but battery operated (in case power is out)and they should be in good working order. Other ideas for self reliance:

* Have enough fire extinguishers and of the proper types for the different fire emergencies. Fire extinguishers of the proper type should be located in the kitchen, the laundry room, the basement, garage, and any workshops. Firefighters become ill during pandemics just like the rest of us. Extinguishers should be serviced each year.
* Clean and service water heating system and furnaces.
* Sweeping chimneys to reduce chimney fires. If the power is out we will be putting extra strain on our chimneys while heating with woodstoves.
* Install battery powered smoke detectors in proper locations and make sure to have extra batteries. If the power is out, our hard wired smoke detectors will be as well. Rolling brown outs and black outs make be more frequent during a severe pandemic as employees and repairmen also become ill. Smoke detectors should be on each floor of a house and outside all sleeping areas. Batteries should be changed every spring and fall when we change the clocks as a good reminder.
* Escape plans in case of fire for all family members. Making sure that there are two ways of escape and that there is a meeting place outside of the home is crucial. As a parent I know how we typically overlook this advice.
* Practice Stop, Drop, and Roll with your children. Good advice for any time.
* Always use a screen in front of the fireplace to reign in hot embers.

The next subject I approach with some trepidation. Discussing how we should best protect ourselves in our homes from home invasion and other threats during a pandemic when the police may not be available to respond to our calls is a touchy subject.

And this is where there simply must be a discussion in town about what residents should be expected to do. A neighborhood watch may be crucial in ensuring the safety of the residents of this town when absenteeism may be high.

SophiaZoe of A Pandemic Chronicle wrote a post “Law Enforcement and Panflu” that addresses this topic far better than I ever could. As a former LEO she has a much deeper understanding of the problem.

As for EMS and ambulance personnel in town, they will succumb just like the rest of us. Maybe even more so because they will be exposed more. Calling an ambulance is a moot point if the surge of patients and lack of supplies has closed our local hospitals. Having a heart attack during a pandemic will not usher you through the emergency room that has closed because there aren’t supplies to treat the patient.

At this point you may be saying to yourself that I just have an overly glum outlook, that I am overly pessimistic about the outcomes. You may be thinking that I am overstating the impact of a pandemic. That H5N1 will be the flu as usual and there is no need to plan. You may be saying that “its just flu” how bad can it be? You may be saying that “so people become ill, a week or two and they will be back to normal”. And you may be saying “there is nothing that we can do so why bother thinking about this or planning for it”.

All I can say to this is that there is a whole lot of planning going into pandemic preparedness at the federal and state levels. A lot has been done at the community level as well. Our town government cannot do this alone. Continuity of government means continuity of the services that we rely on now. We need a very deep bench to be a resilient community. Don’t take my word for this alone. Search out what others have to say about the issue. Ask the board of health if what I say is true and worthy of your concern. Planning is being done and volunteers for the medical reserve corps are welcomed with open arms - even when not from a medical background.

As Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael Leavitt has stated

“Any community that fails to prepare with the expectation that the federal government or for that matter the state government will be able to step forward and come to their rescue at the final hour will be tragically wrong, not because government will lack a will, not because we lack a collective wallet, but because there is no way that you can respond to every hometown in America at the same time.”

Prepare for your family first - then let’s prepare this town - YOU are needed.

On Teaching English in Japan

*Teaching English in Japan*

"There are those who delude themselves into thinking that universities and
publicly owned institutions don`t care about the bottom line. I know that they do.

To say that English schools are not good places to work because they are
for profit is fallacious. All institutions base decisions on the bottom line.
Unfortunately, many university professors in Japan know exactly what I`m
talking about.

The money has to come from somewhere, even at publicly owned
educational institutions. What matters more is who your boss is
and do you agree with the educational philosophy of the institution in question."
--Kevin Burns
How to Teach English in Japan.com

Will saving a forest save us money?

Pictured: Saijoji Temple in Minami Ashigara, Kanagawa
by David Suzuki with Faisal Moola.


Do you enjoy David Suzuki's weekly article? Did you know that the David Suzuki Foundation is funded by readers like you? Make a donation today to support this important work.
How much is a forest worth? And how do we calculate that value? Do we simply count the trees and figure out how much we could get for them if we were to cut them down and turn them into logs, lumber, and pulp and paper?

That’s been the traditional approach, but it hasn’t served us well. A forest is much more than the timber it holds. A forest provides habitat for wildlife, recreational opportunities for hikers and hunters, a place for quiet contemplation, and filtration and storage of drinking water. And because forests scrub carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in their trees and soils, they are a critical "hedge" against global warming.

When we take into account all of the ecological benefits, or services, a forest provides, we have to reevaluate the way we make decisions about how we manage them. Clear-cutting an old-growth forest may provide temporary jobs and profits, as well as two-by-fours to build homes and furniture, but if it also results in the release of carbon stored in the trees and soil, thus contributing to global warming, or if it wipes out the habitat of an animal that is crucial to the natural order, then the short-term gains may not be worthwhile.

Two new reports illustrate the idea of taking into account the full suite of values that a forest represents, or its "natural capital", when making decisions about resource management. Dollars and Sense: The Economic Rationale to Protect the Spotted Owl Habitat in British Columbia and The Real Wealth of the Mackenzie Region: Assessing the Natural Capital Values of a Northern Boreal Ecosystem both argue for a more holistic approach to managing our natural ecosystems.

For a long time, we’ve only considered the immediate market value of resources when making forest-use decisions. In doing so, we’ve ignored the enormous value of the ecosystem services that are critical to biodiversity, human health, and community well-being. Although it’s not easy to put a dollar value on things such as carbon sequestration and storage, water filtration, clean-water availability, and species diversity, it’s foolish to leave them out of the equation.

For Dollars and Sense, researchers looked not just at the value of timber in old-growth forests in B.C. inhabited by the endangered spotted owl, but also at the value of recreational uses, non-timber forest products, and the role the forests play in storing carbon. They concluded that "in 72 of 81 scenarios, increased forest conservation yields better economic returns than does status quo logging and limited conservation."

The Mackenzie report concludes that the non-market value of that region is 11 times greater than the market value. The researchers estimate that the market value, based on gross domestic product, is $41.9 billion a year, while the non-market value, based on 17 ecosystem services, is $483.8 billion.

The outcome in the Mackenzie region has been positive. Under the Northwest Territories Protected Area Strategy – a collaborative effort between the governments of Canada and the Northwest Territories, First Nations, conservation groups, and industry – the federal government announced earlier this year that it plans to protect 10.1 million hectares of northern boreal forest. The goal is to create a culturally and ecologically representative network of protected areas, ensuring that communities benefit from both conservation and development. The areas will be protected from industrial development, including oil and gas exploration and diamond and uranium mining.

The spotted owl habitat hasn’t fared as well. So far, the B.C. government has not announced any plans to increase levels of protection for these areas. But it’s not just about saving the spotted owl, as important as that is. It’s about finding a balance and about ensuring that we derive the greatest benefit for all from our forestlands.

Taking into account all the values of a forest doesn’t mean an end to logging and mining; it just means finding better ways to manage all our activities in these ecosystems – and it means putting a value on the very real services they provide. If we don’t address the serious problems of global warming and biodiversity loss, as well as issues such as access to clean air and water, we may well join the spotted owl on the endangered list.

Don`t Touch that Whale Meat

"Factories, apparently, dump lots of mercury in the ocean. What's up with that? In a worst case scenario, Japanese scientists found that one piece of legally "harvested" whale meat potentially contains a shocking 5000 times the legal limit of mercury. But if you can't afford whale sashimi, you can work your way up to it by eating lots of dolphins (not the Flipper kind, though). A single exposure to mercury saturateed whale meat could be hazardous even for an adult, by the way. For the little ones, mercury can (and does) lead to irreversible brain damage among other things.

The good news is that salmon, the fish we eat most in Japan, is generally lower in mercury than other kinds of fish. The bad news, I learned, is that the orange colored water that washes off cheap salmon is dye. Apparently, krill don't naturally swim into the net enclosures where farmed salmon spend their lives, so they eat pellets instead. Salmon that eat krill have nice, pink meat. Salmon that eat pellets have pale meat which consumers don't like. To solve the pale meat problem, dye is added to the pellets. Wellah, oishii pink salmon!"

--Andy Gray--from Japan Window.com

English Schools Being Tainted by Sleaze

by Kevin Burns

Some websites are being slandered by sex sites and many of them
happen to be English schools all over Japan!

Sadly its part of the Google world.
They (contemptible websites) look for popular sites, and then snatch the keywords to put in their sleazy place and pop up when people are really looking for you.
I don`t actually know what you can do about it - except demand Google do something about them hi-jacking keywords and Google effectively promoting this kind of behaviour and sleaze. Some gentle hints about exposing the problem in the press - such as your regular column in Japanese media - may assist them in their actions.
--JL a computer programmer in the UK

One example of this kind of unfortunate sleaze takes place at this
undesirable site: Adult Videos Klikfeed Info

If you check the sourcecode of the above site, you will find
many English schools with their addresses and telephone
numbers right in the source code. Some popular
children`s textbook titles are also in this site`s
sourcecode!

It`s amazing that Google
allows this to happen! I should think that a lawsuit
against the website or Google.com would be pursuable based
on damage to reputations.

Apparently people sell the above information to sites like
this sleazy adult video site, and then they put
it in their sourcecode.
It supposedly helps improve their internet rankings,
but damages the reputations of decent businesses,
and Google is allowing this to go on.

Requests for interviews with Google have met with
silence so far. I think teachers and school owners
should know however.

A month after it was raised during a session of the Search Engine Strategies show, and even longer since it was raised on various search forums, a bug allowing people to hijack listings at Google continues. Pandia has a nice summary: Spammers hijack web site listings in Google...Google bug allows 3rd party hijacking.--Search Engine
Watch.com

Hopefully Google will correct the problem before too many businesses
and people are hurt, and before I will add, Google looses more money
and prestige.

The Kanagawa Police Force

by John Ward

"Hi Blog. Developing a case for police patterns of behavior. If it’s a foreigner allegedly committing a crime against Japanese (as in the Idubor Case), the police go after it even if there is no evidence. If a Japanese commits a crime against a foreigner, it’s either not pursued (see the Valentine Case, for the time being) or handled with different standards (see the Lucie Blackman Case).

And when it’s a foreigner on foreigner crime, free pass."

--Arudo Debito (Dave Aldwinkle)

From the Official site of the Kanagawa Police:

"How was your day?" Smiles appearing on faces of a family. Pleasant dinner with family members. Lively conversations at the table.
An everyday affair at home.
Day after day, we patrol in the community hoping smiles of the residents never vanish.


One Japanese friend living in Kanagawa complained
if you call the local police:


They will ask you if it`s an event.
If it isn`t they won`t come.


For a comic take on the Japanese police go to Kevin`s
Strait Jacket.

Just don`t make the mistake of asking them to stop
the bosozoku like I did.

The police routinely visit the houses of the area
to pay a visit and get to know
the local residents. Two officers showed up at our home
one day to say hello and ask about who lives in our home,
which was fine. All was very friendly and cordial until
they asked if there was anything I was troubled
by. If there was to just let them know.

I thought, what better time than right now.
They were right in front of me afterall...

I proceeded to mention that cars travel very quickly
up and down our street and the bosozoku too make a racket
often on Friday and Saturday nights.
It`s dangerous.

You should have seen their faces drop...

Their smiles and friendliness instantly vanished. I had
been very polite all the way through, and friendly
to them as they had been to me, but as soon as
I mentioned that something might be amiss or
that things were out of sort, they immediately
became obviously uncomfortable and bid a hasty farewell.

I talked with several Japanese friends about it
afterwards, and they all agreed that the police don`t
like to be told what to do even in a polite
manner. Moreover, they feel embarrassed if
it seems they are not doing their job.

I think too, it is often unstated, but some Japanese
have a tendancy to feel inferior in front of Westerners.
It is silly but it still happens too often. So my
telling them the above, may have been too much for them.
Instead of taking me as a fellow citizen of the community,
I might have sounded like an arrogant Westerner.

It certainly wasn`t my intention to offend or cause
discomfort. I worry about my children and the children
of the neighbourhood. If bosozoku are driving
crazily down the street or people are rushing
to work in the morning when children are going to
school it is dangerous.

I think Canadian police--many of them anyway,
would have listened and perhaps commented on the above.
They probably would have made a comment to the fact
that they would do their best to stop it (of course
depending on the police person you were talking with).
My father would probably have disagreed but that is my take.

So to make a short story long, I found the
reaction of these two Kanagawa police quite
surprising....Oh well, another cultural difference?

At least I don`t see the Kanagawa Police spending
hours hunched over their gut horking down Tim Horton`s donuts.

We won't absolutely forgive the extreme left wing groups for their violent acts such as burning down or blowing away public buildings and private houses. They tend to go underground these days hiding in their friends' houses, private apartments, rented houses, company dormitories, and so on. When your neighbors act strangely, for example, being secretive more than necessarily or suspiciously looking around when entering or exiting their houses, let us know.
--from the Official Site of the Kanagawa Police

Note that in the above quote, they make no mention
of right wing groups. Groups for example, that have
shot at elected officials and the like. Interesting.

Does the above quote sound a little too eerily like
"1984" by George Orwell? I often look around when I
leave the house. I just think it is good sense.
There are breakins in the area so I take a look as I
leave. But according to the above quote, that could
look suspicious.

I made the mistake of noticing the flashing lights of
a police car in southeast Kanagawa one night walking
back from a jog. I merely glanced at the car as it
pulled up next to me at a stop light. I must have
looked surprised, which I was by the flashing lights.

Well they stopped in my path two times. Once they pulled
into a 7-11 parking lot and so I figured they were checking
out some problem there. Then they pulled out and stopped
in front of a liquor store (No joke!) and proceeded to
banter away about the prices of different kinds of beer in
the beer machine. Ostensibly they were checking me out
I surmised as I had looked surprised. But frankly who
wouldn`t be a little surprised at seeing flashing lights
right next to them when you are not expecting it.

To their credit they never stopped me. But it felt
intimidating to say the least. I felt that this
must be how some African Americans must feel in a
city fully of white folk. Some of my friends in Tokyo
have been stopped by the police and questioned. I never
have thankfully. Arudo Debito has written extensively
about this topic and what to do if stopped.

Now I know that the police of the area routinely drive around
with lights flashing, and if you look a little concerned
that makes you an "event." So I ignore the police cars.
Whereas before I might gaze at them out of interest--wondering
what`s going on.

Now I know better.

"One day I went for a walk in Odawara
and I came down this street. A couple of police on motorcyles stopped in my
path on the sidewalk and really stared me down. I hadn`t done anything
but the effect of these two police with guns staring at me very coldly
was chilling. I almost wanted to run away. But I had done
nothing wrong. Strange. They didn`t stop me. Another time a policeman
drove right at me with his motorcyle--also in Odawara. I was handing
out pamphlets for my boss for our school. I got out of the way but
I was angry with the policeman. These kind of tactics are dangerous
and offensive. I imagine they are against the law too!"
-Name Withheld Upon Request

The Kanagawa Police Force`s Official Site in English

Debito`s take on the Kanagawa Police

Kanagawa Governor Shigefumi Matsuzawa on Foreigners

"Foreigners are all sneaky thieves."
--Kanagawa Prefectual Governor Shigefumi Matsuzawa. This gets a bronze because there is some disagreement in press accounts about whether he said “all” or “those” foreigners. Either way, he later corrected it by saying he’d meant “some.” The truth is, he probably meant “All Chinese are sneaky thieves.” At the time he was commenting on Kanagawa’s increasing crime rate which he said is caused by Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara’s crackdown on Chinese crime syndicates in the Kabukicho red light district. (In order, your humble editor presumes, to make room for Japanese crime syndicates.) The Chinese syndicates are thus fleeing to Kanagawa and setting up shop there.

--from the Crazy Japan Times

More on Shigefumi Matsuzawa

Matsuzawa`s Official Homepage (in Japanese)

Expats in Fear of the Japanese Language Requirement

by Kevin Burns

How many Japanese can speak English well in
spite of years of study? Admittedly most of them
have never lived abroad.

I think it is fairly common
not to speak the language of the host
country well in spite of living
there for years--unfortunately.

Some people are simply not that good at
learning languages. Just like some people
can`t hit a tennis ball for the life of them.


We all get to a point where we are pretty comfortable and then stop
studying. This is regretable but understandable. If you work where
many people can speak English ie) at an English school or a university
you may stop studying for lack of need. If your
partner is fluent in English it further reinforces this.

I worked with many people in Canada who had lived there for years
but couldn`t speak English--Germans, Italians, Portuguese and Chinese
for example. They would go to work, could get by well enough with a
smattering of English, then go back to their family and speak the
language of their homeland. When they went out they went to enclaves
of their own language speakers--the Portuguese Residents Association,
the local Portuguese restaurant etc.

I think the expats that work in Japanese companies tend to be the best
Japanese speakers. They have to use it every day. I know people who
work for Hitachi and are amazing Japanese speakers. They have to be.

My Japanese was improving very quickly until we had children.
It stopped improving then because my focus became exposing them to
a lot of English. I would speak English to my wife in order for our
babies to hear it spoken.

My Japanese has started to improve again of late. My children are
learning English at a good pace so I feel I can again start speaking
Japanese with my wife. Moreover, at the university I get the
opportunity to speak Japanese with staff members, the university
restaurants and shops and I hear Japanese
all around me in the hallways and in the teacher`s room.

I am also making an effort to be more in the Japanese world. One way
is simply watching Japanese TV with my wife and children. And joining
in the local activities.

Yet it really is a shame that you
live in a country and don`t take part
in the local life of that nation.
I think we should all make an effort in that way.

I guess my point is that other real world concerns (like the ones I`ve
outlined above) can take precedence at times.

Regarding the proficiency test: I doubt anyone already living in Japan
is going to get deported for lack of Japanese ability. However,
they seem to be wanting to encourage people to study Japanese, in
order to come and live here. Basicly the analysis I`ve read is that Japan
is very quietly promoting immigration.

When I lived in Canada, multiculturalism was everywhere--on the
billboards, on TV, in commercials and was official government policy.
In Japan as always, things are much more subtle and quietly done.

How do People from Asia Emigrate to Japan?

Pictured: An old bridge in Kamakura from days gone by.

How do People from Asia Emigrate to Japan?

The two negative examples I remember are Japayuki san (Phillipina "hostesses" and "entertainers") and the Asian "interns" who have really been exploited badly. I remember the nurse story but I don't know if they went throuigh with it or not. The bottom line is that the Japanese government has to really recognize that in an aging society like this the best choice is to allow other Asians to come to Japan and not just for a short term. Among other things, the government will have to help these people adjust to Japan in terms of language, schooling, and other welfare items.

How can Japan remain competitive with other countries such as India or China without doing this? Excuse me for being skeptical but I think that the government"s action/non action is based on the idea that there is a steady supply of naive people who are not planning to stay here for good. I think that bringing this out in the open is great. I don't necessarily agree with everything that activists like Arudo Debito (check out his website) say and do but I believe that this kind of prejudice will become less the more it's brought out into the open (on the internet, in the press). This country doesn't want to lose face. At least that`s my view in my humble opinion.

Tom Anderson

Does Japan downplay sex crimes?

Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Jun 29, 2003 by Howard W. French New York Times News Service

HAYATO, Japan -- Two years ago, a 16-year-old high school girl who lived near here was hospitalized with a high fever. After doctors found that she had an acute case of genital herpes, she told her parents that her teacher had had sex with her.

When approached by the parents, the teacher denied the claim, warning them that their daughter would be expelled if they reported him.

Experts say molestation and statutory rape are commonplace in schools across Japan and that victims rarely come forward. To do so would violate a host of powerful social conventions, said Akiko Kamei, a retired teacher who is the country's only nationally known expert in classroom sexual abuse.

"In Japan there is a rape myth, which says that the victim of a rape is always to blame," Kamei said. "Moreover, women are told that if you suffer molestation or groping, you have to be ashamed. If you talk about it to anyone else, you are going to be tainted for the rest of your life."

Beyond that, even when they are identified and caught, molesters rarely receive more than a slap on the wrist.

Speaking at a public symposium, a member of Parliament, Seiichi Ota, recently made light of reports of gang rapes at a Tokyo university. "Boys who commit group rape are in good shape," Ota said. "I think they are rather normal. Whoops, I shouldn't have said that." (The legislator's comments were carried in many Japanese newspapers.)

Recently, however, the public tolerance for rape has begun to change as a handful of victims or their families have pressed charges against classroom molesters. The mother of the girl infected with herpes, for example, went to the police, which led not only to the dismissal of the 49-year-old teacher but to a one-year prison sentence for him as well.

In an interview about the incident, the mother requested anonymity, as do most people involved in such cases. She said that if her identity were revealed, she would be ostracized and could even lose her job.

As if to underline the family's concern, the daughter has left Japan, fleeing the taunts of fellow students and the cold shoulder of teachers at her former school.

"Whose interests would it serve for us to go public?" said the mother, who asked not only that her name not be used but that the name of her town, which is near Hayato, in western Japan, not be revealed. "We would have liked to receive solidarity from other people, but that is not how it works in Japan. I grew up in this community, and although a foreigner might not understand, it is a fact that the victim is always cast in a negative light."

The number of reported molestations in Japan schools rose from 27 in 1992 to 122 in 2001, the most recent year for which data are available.

Copyright C 2003 Deseret News Publishing Co.
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.

LDP lawmakers oppose voting right for foreigners

This article is old, yet shows you the thinking of many
in the Liberal Democratic Party in Japan. Perhaps long-term
foreign residents in Japan should be allowed to vote?
What about those born in Japan but having Chinese or
Korean nationality, shouldn`t they be allowed to vote?
What do you think?


Japan Policy & Politics, May 21, 2001

TOKYO, May 15 Kyodo

(EDS: UPDATING WITH RESULT OF MEETING)

Members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) failed Tuesday to reach a compromise on a pending bill to grant permanent foreign residents in Japan the right to vote in local elections, party members said.

They said the LDP members failed to reach agreement because many lawmakers expressed opposition.

About 15 lawmakers aired their opinions at a meeting of the LDP's Research Commission on the Election System, held at the party's headquarters in Tokyo. Some spoke strongly against the measure, saying giving non-Japanese residents the right to vote would infringe on Japan's national sovereignty.

Another opinion to surface during the meeting was that non-Japanese residents should acquire Japanese citizenship if they wanted to vote, and that the Diet should move to relax the conditions for obtaining Japanese citizenship to promote this course.

Only a handful of lawmakers supported the bill, advocating a full discussion be held on the issue. They said permanent residents should be given the right to vote in local elections in the communities where they were born and raised, but stopped short of supporting granting them voting rights in national elections.

The LDP leadership had hoped to nurture a consensus on members' opinions as soon as possible because the New Komeito party -- one of the LDP's two coalition allies and a major sponsor of the bill -- is hoping the Diet will vote on the matter before the end of the current 150-day ordinary session in late June.
Advertisement

The LDP leadership was seeking a compromise by which the Diet would vote on the bill in the current session, with party lawmakers given a free vote.

However, that idea was rejected by some LDP members at the meeting who said a free vote would cause an unseemly spectacle by openly splitting the party during the Diet session.

Former Construction Minister Masaaki Nakayama who chaired the meeting, told reporters after the meeting that he will convey the results of the debate to the LDP's allies -- the New Komeito and the New Conservative Party (NCP). He said another meeting will be held soon to try and find a workable compromise.

Meanwhile, the LDP has approved a bill to scrap the current screening process used in granting Japanese citizenship to permanent residents and instead accept applications via the justice minister.

The ruling coalition parties will jointly submit the bill to the current Diet session.

The amendment will simplify the complicated application process for obtaining citizenship for permanent residents hailing from former Japanese colonies on the Korean Peninsula and Taiwan as well as their descendants.

Some LDP members are calling for the bill to be presented as an alternative to the New Komeito's proposals to give permanent residents the right to vote in local election. The New Komeito, however, insists its bill should be considered separately.

There are 630,000 permanent foreign residents in Japan, most of them Koreans born in Japan.

Two separate but almost identical bills to grant permanent foreign residents the right to vote in local assembly, mayoral and gubernatorial elections were proposed to a previous parliamentary session last July, one by the New Komeito and the NCP, the other by the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan.

The Diet did not vote on the bills in the previous session, carrying over them to the current session.

The South Korean government and the pro-Seoul Korean Residents Union in Japan are both strong backers of the legislation.

COPYRIGHT 2001 Kyodo News International, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group

Buraku Liberation League

Buraku Liberation League is a movement demanding a national policy on Buraku problems. Email: honbu@bll.gr.jp Web: www.bll.gr.jp/eng.html

Buraku Liberation and Human Rights Research Institute (BLHRRI) aims to eliminate all forms of discrimination, particularly against the Buraku, in Japan. 1-6-12 Kuboyoshi, Naniwaku, Osaka City, Japan 556-0028. Tel: +81-6-6568-0905; Fax: +81-6-6568-0714. Web: http://blhrri.org/index_e.htm

COPYRIGHT 2005 New Internationalist Magazine
COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group

Kierkegaard & Japanese Philosophy

The Danish Philosopher Kierkegaard (1813-1855) is an enigmatic thinker whose works call out for interpretation. One of the most fascinating strands of this interpretation is in terms of Japanese thought. Kierkegaard himself knew nothing of Japanese philosophy, yet the links between his own ideas and Japanese philosophers are remarkable. These links were spotted quickly by Japanese thinkers and Japanese translations of Kierkegaard appeared long before English translations did. Yet, strangely enough, the Japanese relation to Kierkegaard has been all but ignored in the West.
--James Giles, author and University Professor
http://www.palgrave.com/products/title.aspx?PID=280542

Naoko Hashimoto on Japan & the Future of Japan

Pictured: Asakusa Gong

"I think one of the issues is going to be environmental issues. Right now Japan is doing a lot of work trying to find ways to save energy and also to recycle. And recently, there's been a car that was a project by the Kao University and it's called Eli-ca and it doesn't use any gasoline, it just operates on battery. And so there's been a lot of research on finding out ways to save energy."--Naoko Hashimoto
http://worldnews.about.com/library/worldpublicopinion/bl_japan_world.htm

"I recently read Iris Chang's Rape of Nanking, and there were things in that book that the Japanese people probably don't know about, and so I think that the majority of Japanese people are almost oblivious and they don't know the kind of violence that took place in the Rape of Nanking. I can understand and sympathize with a lof the Chinese people's anger after reading that book, but before, because the Japanese people aren't told what happened exactly at the Rape of Nanking, we don't know why they are so angry, and so now I think I can sympathize with the Chinese."--Naoko
Hashimoto

"Well technologically speaking, [Japan is] getting better, but spiritually, it's not so strong. A lot of people have a lot of emotional problems, there are a lot of people committing suicide, and there are a lot of students who are too stressed out about entrance exams for college and there seems to be and also now we have a problem where there's not enough...babies being born and so I think that's saying something about the situation in Japan and that young people find it hard to live in Japan."
--Naoko Hashimoto, About.com

Is this Japan?

Pictured: a temple in Japan


by Robert Upland

Mariko Suzuki shivers as she teaches at a local Japanese
junior high school. She isn`t allowed to turn on the heater.
That costs money. The students bundle up as best they can
and try to concentrate on the lesson. It is difficult
to write kanji when your fingers are blue.

At a junior high school in Odawara, the children shiver.
The small stove heater in the room is not strong enough to
heat it. Several children will go to hospital that day
suffering from frostbite.

Mariko gazes out the window at the expanse of dirt where
the children play. A grass
field too, costs money it should be assumed.
Yet this spartan existence is touted by the government
as building strength and sacrifice in Japanese youth.
I see it as short changing the people who will be the
future of this country.

It is interesting that in one of the richest nations
of the world, the conditions
one finds at times for students and teachers, smacks
of less advantaged nations like
North Korea.

Further, it is notable what our politicians choose
to spend our tax money on. Routinely it would seem,
the banks of rivers are cemented. Police are paid to
stop motorists for seatbelt violations, but not to stop
the motor cycle gangs known as the bosozoku, who routinely
terrorize and endanger the populous by their
actions. (Note: See our other article about bosozoku,
"The Tribes of Midnight," also at Japan Living)

Japan routinely places in the top ten in military
spending amongst nations. She is often in the top 6
and a large exporter of weapons as well. Again, what
this says to us is arms are more important than our youth.
Of course you will never hear a Japanese politician
actually say this,...
but actions do speak louder than words.

Japanese Idiots

"Gang rape shows the people who do it are still vigorous, and that is OK."
--Seiichi Ota (BBC News)

Kiichi Inoue, minister for disaster management, suggested that the murder of a classmate by an 11-year-old schoolgirl indicated a sign of women's progress.

"Men have committed thoughtless, harsh acts but I think this is the first for a girl," Mr Inoue told reporters. "Recently the difference between men and women is shrinking." He said "vigorous" women were increasing in society.

He joins a long list of Japanese politicians who have succeeded in inflaming a painful incident by making inappropriate comments.--BBC News

"Yoshitada Konoike said the parents of a boy suspected of killing a small child should be beheaded as a warning to parents who do not control their children effectively.

"The parents (of the 12-year-old boy) should be pulled through the streets and their heads should be chopped off," Mr Konoike told a news conference."
--BBC News

"…senior politician Takami Eto sparked complaints from China after suggesting that the Nanking massacre during World War II was a "big lie".

China says that 300,000 Chinese died at the hands of Japanese troops in Nanking, but some Japanese nationalists contest whether the massacre happened at all." BBC News

"Seiichi Ota, a lawmaker with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), said at a debate on Japan's declining birth rate that at least gang rapists had a healthy appetite for sex.

Then Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda, commenting on Mr Ota's remarks, suggested women who are raped are "asking for it" by the way they dress."--BBC News

"Possibly the most gaffe-prone of all Japan's politicians, former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, also drew fire… for suggesting childless women should be denied welfare payments in old age."--BBC News

"Hosei Norota, senior lawmaker and former Defence Minister, sparked controversy in 2001, when he said his country was not to blame for its entry into the war, and had been forced into action by the US."--BBC News

Mr. Norota obviously believes nations should shoot first before negotiating.

30 Years After Abductions, Questions Haunt Japanese

NIIGATA, Japan -- Megumi Yokota was walking home from badminton practice here in Niigata, on the northern coast of Japan, when North Korean agents grabbed the 13-year-old and packed her off to a waiting ship.

That was 30 years ago.

North Korea says she is long dead, a suicide. But her parents -- and millions of Japanese -- refuse to believe it. They regard Yokota as very much alive, a woman now in midlife, deprived of her freedom in a closed communist state.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/15/AR2007121501669.html

On Fingerprinting Foreigners.....

by Kevin Burns

How is fingerprinting me or anyone for that matter going to prevent terrorism in Japan? As well, the worst terrorism in Japan has been committed by Japanese. Yet Japanese will not be fingerprinted.

The Aum Shinrikyo of course were largely a Japanese group--the vast majority were Japanese. Indeed in Japan, all the members were Japanese.

Further, I think blindly following in the footsteps of George Bush is not a good idea. I hope the Japanese leadership will start to think for themselves soon.

Plus the paranoia we see about foreigners is a shame. I see it slowly
ending but things like this make me realize it is far from dead.

Back to the fingerprinting: you fingerprint a terrorist then let him into the country? Is that the strategy?

I think a better one simply is to do background checks and to realize you will never be able to close the borders totally. And why would you want to? Most of the people coming in and out of Japan are good people. With background checks and intelligence, hopefully you can catch a few of the undesirables before they come into the country.

Moreover, I think if your nation acts well, and doesn`t upset other
nations or religious groups to a large extent, then probably you
are pretty safe. If you go around attacking other countries and
rattling the sabre as Bush has done the last eight years, it leads
to the potential for more terrorism in America. I think Japan should
follow her own heart and not blindly follow Bush.

Kevin

Why DO the Japanese Have The Longest Lifespan?

Pictured: English class in Japan

by: Peter McGarry

A recent statistic in the World Bank Group states that the Japanese have the longest lifespan in the world. Japanese men live be 78 years old on average while the average lifespan of a Japanese woman is 85. How do the Japanese do it?

After personally experiencing the Japanese lifestyle in Tokyo for five years, I learned a little about why Japanese people live so long and will share a few of their secrets. This month will feature Part 1: It’s All in the Food. Part 2: Live the Lifestyle will appear in the April edition of eNews at www.magneticrevolution.com

Part 1: It’s All in the Food

The Japanese diet does not center on delicacies eaten solely for taste. In fact, most dishes are consumed based on the health benefits people gain from them. Conscious decisions are based on ‘What would be good for me?’ as opposed to ‘What do I feel like eating?’ This leads one to contemplate what is the diet for the average Japanese person and what are their secrets?

Secret #1: Eating fish instead of red meat lowers the risk of heart attacks.

For a source of protein, fish is a common staple in most meals. Red meat is significantly more expensive and less frequently consumed. Fish is healthier and the fresher it is the better. Keep in mind that not all fish in Japan is consumed raw, there are many ways that fish is prepared (grilled, baked, fried, poached, etc) and served. Furthermore, Japanese women believe that the skin on fish helps bring out the natural beauty of their skin and improves their complexion.

Secret #2: Soy products help reduce heart disease and high blood pressure and are a great source of protein.

Tofu and soy products are also staples in the Japanese diet. Considering that saturated fats from meat and dairy products increase cholesterol, it is encouraging to know that foods derived from plants such as soy actually have the opposite effect. Soybeans provide adequate protein without the saturated fat and cholesterol of meats and high-fat dairy. Soy sauce, tofu, and natto (soy beans mixed with raw egg served over rice) are a few examples of soy products consumed daily.

Secret #3: Wheat and buckwheat flour helps in the digestive process.

The consumption of starches is at a minimum and usually contains no white flour. Japanese noodles are made from wheat flour or buckwheat flour. Both are significantly healthier than enriched white flour. Rice is a staple in the diet but consists of a small bowl at meals. The significance is to cleanse the mouth when changing dishes. Rice will remove the flavor in one’s mouth much like cheese and crackers when sampling wines.

Secret #4: Smaller portions reduce the opportunity for excessive eating.

Traditional Japanese meals are about half the regular portion of western dishes. Even though most dishes are viewed as healthy, portions are still relatively small.

Secret #5: Oolong tea counter balances some of the effects unhealthy food has on the body.

Finally, the consumption of Japanese green tea or Chinese oolong tea, served hot or cold, has numerous health benefits. Tea has half the caffeine of coffee. Oolong tea, in particular, helps to break up oil in the digestive system and is usually consumed at mealtime, particularly when fried or breaded foods are being served.

These five secrets help to explain why the Japanese are so healthy and have the longest life expectancy. Part 2: Live the Lifestyle will appear in next month’s edition of eNews at www.magneticrevolution.com, and will describe daily life habits in Japan. If you have any comments or questions please send them to: info@magneticrevolution.com.

Here’s to your health!

Peter McGarry
info@magneticrevolution.com

About The Author

For additional free information on health issues regarding fitness, nutrition, environment and financial well-being please visit www.magneticrevolution.com. This site is a guide to improving your quality of life.
info@magneticrevolution.com

Why DO the Japanese Have the Longest Lifespan? Part 2: Live the Lifestyle

Pictured: Octoberfest in Chigasaki, Kanagawa


by: Peter McGarry

Why do the Japanese have the longest lifespan? Last month you learned to eat the things Japanese people eat, and now you will learn how to live like they live. Fast, long, and lively best describes a usual day in Japan. The country is geared towards an active lifestyle, as the ‘couch potato’ concept is completely foreign. This lively lifestyle centers around three key aspects: work, socializing and recreation.

The workday begins early due to the commute by train that most people endure. This can range from 20 minutes to over two hours with the majority of people standing, as there are not enough seats. Walking is the focal point in the daily exercise regime. On average, people walk one to two kilometers to the train station in the morning. After arriving at the closest station to their office, people typically walk another one to two kilometers to their place of business. At the end of their long day, workers go through the same routine. All in all, the average Japanese individual will walk between three to five kilometers per day. Interestingly enough, these walks generally occur immediately or soon after meals, which helps with the digestive process.

Socializing is also different than that for western culture. As homes and apartments in Japan are considerably smaller, people opt to entertain outside of their home. This is one of the primary reasons clubs; hobbies and leisure activities play such an important role in the culture. In fact it is very uncommon to have dinner parties or get-togethers in Japanese homes. A popular alternative is to meet at public establishments for events and parties.

Automobiles do have some purpose, however they are viewed as a hobby or a luxury. Parking in Japan is costly and limited with simply not enough parking spaces for everyone to park. Cars are used for longer excursions to other cities or the countryside. The most common recreational activities are active ones. Trips to the mountains, lakes or open spaces are most popular.

Although the pace of life is fast in Japan, we can learn from certain aspects. Changing our eating habits is an important first step and combining low impact exercise after eating, such as walking, will have a greater impact. Involvement in clubs or activities that are active will also create an opportunity to engage in activity. Finally, being less reliant on our vehicles will require more effort for some daily physical activity.

So perhaps if you do what they do and eat what they eat you could be extending your lifespan. Your life is what you make it.

Here’s to your health!

Peter McGarry
info@magneticrevolution.com
For additional free information on health issues regarding fitness, nutrition, environment and financial well being please visit www.magneticrevolution.com. This site is a guide to improving your quality of life.

About The Author

Peter McGarry, BASc, is the Editor/Publisher for Magnetic Revolution's monthly newsletter.
info@magneticrevolution.com

Tokai University Ranked 3rd Best Private University

Tokai: Tokai University ranked third best private university in Japan.
Friday, 26 January 2007
The THES (The Times Higher Education Supplement) QS World University rankings released World Top University Rankings 2006 and ranked Tokai University as the third best private university in Japan, following Keio University and Waseda University. Tokai University was ranked the 322nd of top 500 universities and 33 of them are from Japan (26 public universities and 7 private universities)

Robert A. Burns was a Good Man and my Father

OBITUARY

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Dylan Thomas



On October 6th, 2007, Dr. Robert A. Burns (known to all his friends as "Bob"), passed away at the Delta Hospital after a long struggle with Parkinson’s Disease. He was 86. He was a gentle soul raging for a time but accepting the dying of his light with characteristic grace and dignity.

He was born in Wilkie, Sask., in 1921. He grew up and attended high school in that small prairie town along with his sister Eunice, brothers Gordon and Stan. During his childhood, he developed a love of hockey which he continued well into his later years. When war broke out in Europe, he took flight training in Manitoba and became a flight lieutenant with the RCAF. For most of the war he was stationed in Gibralter piloting a Hudson bomber out over the North African coast in search of German and Italian submarines. Toward the war’s end, he was transferred to a base near Prestwick, Scotland, where he met his future wife, Sylvia Kathleen Ludgate from Ayr. They were married in 1944 and returned to Canada shortly thereafter.

They took up residence in Saskatoon, where Robert began studying Pre-Med at the University of Saskatchewan. In 1946, their first son, Wayne was born. On completion of his Pre-med studies, Bob with Sylvia and baby son, moved to Toronto where he built a small house and buckled down to complete his M.D. at the University of Toronto.

Because of a long affinity for British Columbia, he and Sylvia decided to move to the coast and Dr. Robert Burns interned at the Vancouver General Hospital. In 1951 their second son, Graham was born and the young family moved to Port Alberni, a bustling pulp, paper and sawmill town at the time. Over the next thirteen years in Port Alberni, Dr. Burns practiced family medicine, became a respected member of the local medical community and participated in various community organizations, the PTA, the Boy Scouts and Alberni Valley Rotarians. He became a vocal member of the School Board. The family had a cottage on Sproat Lake where they spent memorable summers. There were vacations in Parksville, Qualicum Beach and Hornby Island with their many friends. In 1963 his third son, Kevin was born.

In 1964 after a long search for a place to further his studies toward a specialty in skin diseases, Dr. Burns and family embarked on the next four years for further studies in Dermatology at a Veterans’ Administration Hospital in Long Beach, California. While the work was intense, the four years were productive. But with the war in Vietnam, race riots in Watts and the political situation in the USA seeming more and more precarious, the family decided to return to the sanctity of Canada in 1968. They settled in Tsawwassen. Dr. Burns began practicing Dermatology in offices in both Richmond and later, Tsawwassen. He quickly built a thriving practice which he continued until he was 77 when he retired. He loved the daily routine of his office and was a reluctant retiree. Throughout his active years, he was an enthusiastic member of the local golf and tennis clubs and a proud Rotarian. His other loves were listening to jazz, playing the piano, traveling around the world on frequent trips with Sylvia, charting the ups and downs of the stock market, telling a good joke, and plying the local waters in a boat he co-owned with another doctor. He was a compassionate, caring and generous doctor all his life, delivering hundreds of babies in Port Alberni, administering to the needs of the native people on the reserve in Alberni, and frequently going out on call at all hours of the night. In Richmond and Tsawwassen he built up a large and loyal patient base as a Dermatologist, receiving referrals from most of the general practitioners in the two communities.

He is deeply missed and remembered by Sylvia, his wife for 63 years of marriage, his three sons, Wayne, Graham and Kevin and his six grandchildren. The Burns family would like to thank his caregivers at the Waterford and the staff at the Palliative Care ward of the Delta Hospital. A Memorial will be held in his honour for friends and family, on Sunday, October 14th from 2 to 4 PM in the reception room at Fairway Estates on Hunter Road in Tsawwassen. Anyone who wishes to attend is welcome and should call [604] 731-6317 for details and directions.

Obituary written by Wayne D. Burns

On Being a Teacher at Public Schools in Japan

"Is it any wonder there is a teacher shortage, when teachers are forced to teach lies and half-truths by the government? And why are teachers forced to attend school during the holidays? Daft rules, low pay and government meddling combine to make teaching an unnatractive career to many."
-SJG at Japan Today Forum

The Truth about AEON

A former Aeon teacher has compiled some articles on his experiences of teaching there:

http://www.japanprobe.com/?p=2189

On the Blacklist of English Schools

by John Foster

I`m not in favor of blacklists. I think Senator McCarthy showed clearly how they can be abused. Moreover, you will find that invariably, the people who engage in blacklisting on the internet, will not tell you their name. They don`t have the guts to stand up for what they believe by even telling you who they are. So it is difficult to trust what they state.

Arudo Debito (Dave Aldwinkle) is one of the exceptions. He tells you who he is and stands by what he says. I respect him for that. He has a blacklist of Japanese universities. He points out some of the problems at this site.

I think if you are going to have a zine, you need to have the courage to tell others
who you are and what you stand for. Anyone can hide behind an internet nickname.
By telling people your real name, you lend credibility to your site.

There is a blacklist of English schools in Japan, but predictably, the owner doesn`t list his or her name. He or she uses a pseudonym. It is difficult to believe what is said at such a list.

Who are you? What are your credentials? How are you going
about blacklisting schools?

Chinese and Japanese

"I feel that a lot of the time, generation after generation — for us and for Japanese young people too, we seem to have a hard time understanding each other. It's like we don't want to understand each other because of this history, so we stay on the superficial level."
--Violet Du Feng, a Chinese co-producer of "Nanking," a U.S. documentary about the 1937 Japanese occupation of the city, now known as Nanjing. She said she hopes that the film, which uses only firsthand accounts to tell its story, can help jump-start stalled communication between young Japanese and Chinese. (Kyodo)

Announcing the Games Workshop Club for Japan

An unofficial club for arranging to play Games Workshop games in Japan.
Post what games you like to play and arrange to play with others. We will announce GW events in Japan as well!

If you are new to GW, our members can teach you how to play. If you are a veteran of
GW games then come and enjoy!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Games-Workshop-Japan/

Kevin Burns

Genetic Diversity

They tell me that there is more genetic diversity among the chimpanzees on a single hillside in Gombe than there is in all the human race, worldwide - features and skin color notwithstanding!

I think that there is a semi-instinctive urge to divide people into "us" and "them" groups - it seems to have been done by every tribe and civilization from the dawn of time. In the case of people who exist in smaller, tribal communities, the name of the tribe often simply means "the people" in their language. As though the "other" group, if their existance is known, were something - less than people. Of course, this trait is capitalized upon by our leaders when they wish their people to make war or to compete in some way . . .

I should think that living on islands would make the "us" group seem tighter and more homogeneous, and the "them" group seem farther separated from "us", and perhaps by extension, less "human".

I do think that as the world grows smaller, and we travel and meet people of other cultures, their humanity and their sameness will become more evident - and as we meet and make friends with people around the world through the internet, the world's communities will change - for the better!

My $.02 - YMMV.

~Bruce

Genetics

Japanese often cling to the view of being unique. We Japanese can
often be heard, as if all Japanese are the same. A good friend of
mine recently commented that we are 99.9% the same genetically. In
terms of that does race even exist? Does it matter except in the
realm of diseases where certain groups of people are more prone to
sickle cell anemia and diseases like that?

My philosophy is all about bringing people together, as opposed to
emphasizing small or false differences. What do you think?

Kevin Burns

Japan and Obesity

Author: James Kirby

Japanese food conjures up images of fish, rice, miso soup and tofu but recently fitness in the Land of the Rising Sun appears to be deteriorating. Unfortunately, an increasing number of Japanese are adopting unhealthy eating patterns and eating like Sumo wrestlers. The Japanese used to eat food high in protein, but over the past few decades there has been a shift towards eating more animal fat, and western fast food. Experts warn that Japanese children are leading increasingly sedentary lives, and foregoing tofu for burgers and instant noodles.





The Japanese are traditionally known for their restraint: their old adage is Hara Hachi bunme or “stop eating when your’re 80% full” . This restraint has led to it being the country that has had the world’s longest life expectancy: 86 years for women, 79 for men. The new trend of eating could one day jeopardize Japan's status as the home of the world's longest-living population. If eating habits change, life expectancy will shorten and this has already been made clear. According to the WHO, globally, there are more than 1 billion overweight adults, at least 300 million of them obese. Obesity and overweight pose a major risk for chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and stroke, and certain forms of cancer. The key causes are increased consumption of energy-dense foods high in saturated fats and sugars, and reduced physical activity.





While Japanese waistlines have a long way to go before they start to overtaking the Americans: about 24% of people aged 15 and over are considered overweight, compared with 65% in th US, this change in eating patterns has led to an alarming rise in obesity. As the country leaves behind traditional food habits people in all age groups have grown heavier in the past two decades. The highest rate is among men in their 40s: 34 percent were overweight in 2003, up from 23 percent in 1980, according to the National Health and Nutrition Survey. While older women are growing fatter, younger fashion-conscious women tend to be underweight. Among children, 8 percent were obese or at risk of obesity in 2004, compared with fewer than 6 percent in 1980. Diabetes is a leading concern. While the number of deaths from the disease has fallen in the past decade, more than 2 million people are being treated for it -- an increase of about 53 percent from 15 years ago.The number treated for high blood pressure has also grown about 9 percent in the past 10 years, the Health Ministry says.





People in the Far East want to get anything American -- including all the fast food chains, With their adoption of the Western diet, their plant food intake tends to go down while fat and animal protein intake has gone up.This rise should serve as a wake-up call for Americans and the Japanese to rediscover what helped make Japan lean and healthy in the first place. The Japanese government have released a new nutrition chart recently that encourages eating more carbohydrates -- such as rice -- and vegetables as main sources of energy, while cutting down on meat to reduce the intake of fat. The chart specifically targets overweight men, singles, and those raising children. The government has set aside about 72 million yen in the 2006-2007 budget to tackle child heft. The Health Ministry also plans to research the link between parents' lifestyle and overweight children, and support selected towns to promote healthier eating habits.

Source: Submit Articles at ArticlesBase.com

About the Author:

A look at the changing face of Japanese food culture and an increase in childhood obesity. Firstmed is the leading online male impotence clinic in the UK and specialises in genuine, prescription Viagra, and other leading erectile dysfunction medications.

http://www.firstmed.co.uk/

Work Abroad In Japan: Working At An Eikaiwa

James Allen

If you do a search on all the major eikaiwa - chain English cram-school companies, you'll find their websites, and then you'll find endless websites and forums totally SLAMMING them. It seems like every English teacher in Japan hates those guys. But should you pay attention?



Actually, take everything you read with a grain of salt. That goes for the websites, but also the haters too. I worked for an eikaiwa a long time ago, and I have some friends who work for them. I want to give you a little run down, considering the pros and cons, which I hope will help you make an informed decision.



I worked for one of the more famous one - which I won't name here. (But it shares the same name as a famous model of Chevy car from the 70's). I can't totally hate them, because they hired me and set me up in Japan. I also got paid pretty well, and got lots of experience teaching in a short period of time, much more experience than if I'd gotten an education degree back in the States. So, if you look at it from a totally utilitarian standpoint, those big eikaiwas will get you here and get you set up. When people back home say they want to teach in Japan, I always say it's a good way to get over here.



Basically, at an eikaiwa, you will teach 6-8 lessons a day (depending on the company). You will have tiny 10-15 minute breaks between lessons, but you have to use that time to write evaluations and get the next lessons ready. I don't know about other schools, but mine had it streamlined so that you didn't really have to do much evaluation or preparation. The hours are usually afternoon or evening, which is great if you're a night person.



Eight lessons a day is ridiculous, but you get used to it. It's amazing how quickly you get used to it. If I had to go and do eight lessons tomorrow, I probably couldn't do it, but when I was working for that cram-school I never even felt it.



It's tough, but on the positive side, you get tons of teaching experience. Not only do you learn about students, you also learn what kinds of activities and lessons work and don't work. I use that knowledge all the time to this day.



Now that I teach on my own and prepare all my own lessons and do all my own scheduling, I kind of appreciate that the school I worked for did all that for me. At those big companies, you just walk in, do your lessons, and walk out. You never have to take anything home with you, or worry about what you're going to teach the next day.



On the down side, these schools often use lousy teaching materials and have little concern for students' progress. In spite of that, if you are a good teacher, you can make the lessons valuable for the students. You can still care about students, even if the company doesn't.



At the end of the day, these companies are interested in MAKING MONEY, and little else. If you really want to be a teacher, this can be depressing. The lessons, the teachers, the students, the staff, are all interchangeable. This is why it's called "fast food English." For me, eventually this became a really negative environment and that's one of the reasons why I finally left.

Source: Submit Articles at ArticlesBase.com

About the Author:

If you teach abroad at a large chain English cram school like I did, try to get the most out of it you can. Get ideas, learn about teaching, and have fun. If you think something's not right, figure out why, and keep that in mind for future English teaching jobs. Then, when you're ready, you can learn about decent non-eikaiwa positions at sites like: http://www.Teach-Abroad.net