The Cost of Living While Working in Japan - What Can You Expect?

The Cost of Living While Working in Japan - What Can You Expect?

By Adam Claydon-Platt

(Photo of drying onions by Ian Griffin)

Working in Japan can be an exciting adventure where you live out some of the most memorable moments of your young life, but how do you know if you have enough money saved up to live comfortably while you are there? How much money you need ultimately depends on the type of lifestyle you are accustomed to, how you plan to live while you are there, and of course how long you are going to be working in the country.

To give you a rough estimate of what the cost of living in Japan may be, let's consider some of the more common expenses that people who vacation and work in the country typically have to pay. There of course may be some other things not listed here that you will want to spend money on yourself, but these basics should have you covered.

Food

Eating is a universal need, and is something you will need to concern yourself with every day that you live and work in Japan. The expenses in this area vary from person to person, but you will generally save a lot of money if you cook most of your meals at home for yourself, as many of the restaurants can be pricey.

For a single person cooking meals at home every day, you should expect to spend around 50,000 yen every month you are in the country. This will go up quickly if you eat out with others occasionally, or if you decide to eat your lunch somewhere near your work.

If you enjoy dining out while in Japan you can expect to pay around 3,000 yen for an average meal out. Fine dining restaurants that serve the best will be considerably higher, so that might be an extra expense that you save for if it interests you.

Transportation

What makes working in Japan so exciting is the ability to leave your ordinary life behind for a given period of time and live in a new environment. This of course has its downfalls, such as relying upon public transportation, since your vehicle will be back at home, and Japan's streets are too crowded to even think about purchasing a car.

Commuting to and from work, you can expect to pay approx. 20,000 yen for each month you are in the country. This can be reduced drastically if you live close to your work and can walk or ride your bicycle back and forth. It can also be considerably higher if you are going out shopping, dining, or mingling with others on a consistent basis.

Entertainment

Of course, you are going to want to explore Japan and experience the entertainment industry while there, and the prices are not unreasonable. A day of sightseeing and touring may cost around 5,000 yen while a single beer runs around 500 yen.

If you enjoy shopping and want to purchase Japanese fashion, items for your home, and gifts for your loved ones, the prices will vary depending on where you shop and what items you are purchasing. Contrary to what you may think, not all stores in Japan are expensive - in fact many are quite cheap compared to other countries.

Living Expenses

Finally, you will need to plan for your basic living expenses while in Japan, just as you would back home. Most visitors working in the country pay around 70,000 yen per month for their living space, with an extra 10,000 yen each month being due for utility bills. The housing amount can be lower or higher depending on where you live, if you live alone, and how much space you need to have.

I hope this article has been informative in teaching you of the potential costs of living and working in Japan.

If you're looking for Work in Japan, try something different, and work in a Japanese Resort this year! Resort jobs allow you to experience the culture, learn about the Japanese workplace, and have the time of your life!

http://www.boobooski.com/jobinfo.html

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日本で車を運転するときは

　
南足柄市で車を運転するときは

南足柄に住む人たちへ

あなたがしなくてはいけないことは何でしょうか。
運転しているときに、人以上に重要なことはあるでしょうか。
いつもゆっくり通り過ぎていますか。何でそんなに早く走らなくてはいけないのでしょうか。

ある一人の小さな女の子が南足柄の横断歩道で殺されました。
彼女はまだ４歳でした。ある一人の老年男性は、彼女が横断歩道で待っているのが
視界に入りましたが、止まらなかったのです。Read More

Eco Life party at Tokyo HackerSpace

Eco Life party @ Tokyo HackerSpace

10 October 2010 - 10:00am - 9:00pm

On 10/10/10, TokyoHackerSpace will be hosting a DIY party!
Our site is http://www.Tokyo350.org
Go there for all the latest info.

If you would like to register to come to our event, please go to the Tokyo HackerSpace event page to reserve:
http://tokyohackerspace.org/en/event/eco-life-party-for-350org-a-day-to-...

Here is a brief outline of our schedule:

DIY schedule
Window Farms
10:30 a.m. - 2 p.m.
2000 yen / limit 6 students
In the morning, we will be offering a class on window farming. Take a look at http://www.windowfarms.org/
A window farm allows you to grow small vegetables in a window. It's perfect for small Tokyo apartments! You can grow lettuce, herbs and spices (such as basil and mint), and even cherry tomatoes!

The class fee is not set, but will include all materials to build your first tower. I will update this site soon with final costs, but I imagine it to be about 4000 yen.

Garden Solar Lanterns
2 p.m. - 3 p.m.
1000 yen / limit 6 students
Akiba from Tokyo HackerSpace has been hard at work designing a cool circuit board. It fits inside the lid of a Mason Jar! On top sits a solar cell. Inside the lid sits the circuit, with battery storage, and a multicolor LED.
When assembled, you have a very attractive garden or table lantern!During the day, it charges up the battery via the solar panel. Once it is dark, the LED automatically turns on, and illuminates the jar with beatuful transitions of red, blue and green. Fill the jar with gel or rock salts for a stunningly attractive light.

He will teach a one hour DIY kit building class from 2pm to 3pm.
(additional classes may be added later)

Presentation schedule
Solar Car Racing
2 p.m. - 3 p.m.
John Helwig is chemist and hacker. Before moving to Japan, he took part in the college solar car racing league. He will give us the inside scoop on how it all got started, how a team works, and the nuts and bolts of a competitive solar racer! This media rich presentation will appeal to and inspire enviromentalists and hackers alike.

Facts about Global Warming: All the things you never knew
3 p.m. - 4 p.m.
John returns with back to back presentations. This time around, his chemist side shines through, as he reveals a lot of interesting points that most have never stopped to consider. John will take you on a guided tour of thought experiments, which explore the hidden contributions to global warming. Many of them can easily be controlled or stopped outright, once we become aware of them.

Keeping an Energy Journal: How to monitor your usage
4 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Emery and Akiba will present several tools available on the market for monitoring electrical energy usage. Using such tools, we can develope a strategy of monitoring, predicting, and ultimately REDUCING our electrical energy usage. If everyone in the world were to reduce energy usage by 10 percent, we could all litterally SAVE THE WORLD.

For those of you willing to get to work, today, we will provide energy monitors for purchase.

ECO Bar-Camp
6 p.m. - 8 p.m.
A Bar-Camp is a sort of "un-conference." Essentially it works like this:
1:) The time will be divided into blocks of 15 minutes, on the white-board. (8 slots)
2:) Anyone who wishes to talk, present, or lead a group discussion may write their name and topic in the block/s
3:) When it is your time slot, you have the floor for 15 minutes!
4:) You may yield the remainder of your time to allow for additional topics on the side bar.

Our only rule is that we keep with the overall theme of 10/10 (Environment, aid, education and community organization). It is not just about the environment (although that is a primary topic).
* Environment
* Grass-roots organization methods
* The future of Tokyo350.org
* Ways to help local community organizations
* Disaster relief
* cool projects that somehow relate
* A presentation on your group and what you are about

Event Website: http://www.tokyohackerspace.org/en/event/eco-life-party-for-350org-a-day-to-cele...

How to Get Involved Planning the Event: We have weekly meetings at the HackerSpace, which are open and free to all. Come to THS on Tuesday nights, from 7 pm to 10 pm.

Event Host: Tokyo HackerSpace is a multinational technology and art collective focusing on creating projects that help communities and people. We focus on education, green technology, and social art. We encourage multinational membership, seeking to bridge social gaps between MAKE cultures.

Teaching English in Japan

If you are interested in teaching English in Japan
be sure to check out our main site which is all about teaching
here: where to get a great job, how to teach well, great resources
and advice for teachers.

Teaching English in Japan

Nuclear Blast History of the World

Being Fat in Japan

The trials of being overweight in this slim conscious Asian nation:

Being fat in Japan

"I'm Not Color Blind!"

"I'm Not Color Blind!"

by Kevin Burns


Photo by Devanshe Chauhan


"We understand color-vision deficiencies better than we used to," a school official explained. "It's no longer necessary to test all children because most educational and occupational restrictions have been eliminated."*

*From the article, "Ending Discrimination, Colorblind schoolkids can see clearly now," The Japan Times

Me at 13: "Dad, that carpet down there is brown. See I`m not color blind!" Dad shakes his head, "Kev, sorry but it is green." Looks disappointed. There is something unstated, some kind of unstated tension.

Damn! Even logic won`t lick this thing I think. Why would a carpet be green? My attempt at proving I wasn`t color blind (or somehow deficient in some way) had failed again. "Dad what is the big deal? Does it really matter if I am color blind or not?" "No not really, just your life will be a bit tougher is all."

Maybe that was all there was, but I felt there was a shame attached to it. I failed the tests. Everyone elementary school could see the thing in the ink blot except me. It seemed so anyway.

It started in grade one, I was drawing Mauro Grespan a Canadian of Italian descent, and I drew his face light green. All the kids laughed at what a great joke I had pulled. It was no joke. That light green crayon looked light brown to me. Mauro Grespan never looked green (except perhaps) in his college days. But that day he looked brown to me, but so did that light green crayon.

That was how I found out I was somehow different. It isn't such a big deal as some things are, yet it was a shock just the same and it has been with me throughout my life. It is a funny kind of unstated thing where in a way you pretend to be something you are not--to hide the fact.

In Japan where I live and teach English now, I was told to never tell anyone I was color blind. My first employer in Nagoya, told me to never mention it to anyone other than him. He was a Scotsman and told me to not mention it to the Japanese staff. He said I shouldn't teach any units on color unless I was sure about how to do it, without making mistakes. Fair enough.

It had been seen as a major "handicap" here. I think things are changing but it happened partly at least, due to an incident concerning the Japanese royal family:

"In 1920, Field Marshall Yamagata Aritomo tried to block the engagement of Hirohito, then crown prince, because colorblindness ran in his fiancee's family. Ultimately, the effort failed, and the couple married in 1924. But the publicity left the general public with the impression that colorblindness is a grave disability, according to Motohiko Murakami, professor emeritus at Keio University School of Medicine and author of a book on color blindness."*

*From the article, "Ending Discrimination, Colorblind schoolkids can see clearly now," The Japan Times

Indeed Japanese place emphasis on bloodlines and any kind of abnormality is cause for shame. But let`s be honest, us western folk are not beyond that kind of thinking either. There is a lot of toxic shame all around about various things. I'm not bitter. I'm just being honest.

In my twenties; though I well knew I was colorblind, I decided to give it a shot and see if I could be a commercial airline pilot. My father had flown a bomber during World War 2, and two of my uncles had been pilots as well, one of whom captained for CP Air.

I took CP Air's pinhole test where they test you with different colored lights in a huge room. You have to identify green and red lights. I knew I was green/brown color blind, but thought I might have a shot with green/red and I knew if given the chance, I would be a great pilot.

I seemed to get through the first half of the test, but was taken into a huge room and asked to identify the colors of various pinhole lights. I failed. Failing wasn't fun, but the look of disgust by the tester was annoying.

I think colorblind people face that. It isn't like being called a bad name. But there is this undercurrent that not just your color vision is deficient, but YOU are.

Perhaps the tester was just hoping I would pass. Perhaps he knew my uncle. Who knows?

Indeed color-blindness rarely affects job performance. In some cases it is actually an advantage. Colorblind recruits are prized in the military as they are not confused by camouflage. They pick out objects by shape and not color--these are some of the skills of a good sniper.

Sports: I am a good amateur tennis player. I occasionally play with Canada's former number 1 singles player Tony Bardsley. I am known for my exceptional volleying ability. Green ball--green background. Are there any studies about how many of the world`s top tennis players are color blind? How about some of our war heroes?

As a teacher, I have had to be sure I can teach a unit on color. One way around that has been to have another teacher write the names of the colors on the back of the color cards, so I can read which color it is as I am showing the students. Plus if they say green when it is brown, I can quickly note that and correct them.

When dressing I like to have my wife confirm that what I am wearing looks good. I have had some horrible experiences of wearing green socks with brown pants and things like that. Now my wardrobe is pretty simple and I am known for being a good dresser. I have worked at it though. Yet I still have a lingering doubt about how I am dressed.

I don't feel that being colorblind is a big deal. I don't feel I am color deficient. I feel that we simply see the world in different ways. There are many people who see the world in exactly the same way that I do. Another way of naming us, if you want to, is simply calling us a minority, or a vision minority.

What gives the majority the right to call us deficient? Perhaps in fact, being "colorblind," is a gift.

Colorblindness an Evolutionary Advantage?

It could be that in evolutionary terms, people like me were necessary to spot the saber toothed cat more easily. Having 5% of us, protected the other 95% from being cat food! &nb sp; I think my theory has potential, yet I am not aware of anyone else espousing it. I think that we should think outside of the box a bit more about all of these things.

Sometimes what we call a deficiency, a challenge, or God forbid--a handicap, turns out to be an advantage. In 100 years will we even be discussing this? I wonder. I hope not.

To see how color blind people view colors see: www.vischeck.com

About the Author
Kevin Burns is married, has three great kids, teaches English in a Japanese university, and owns an English school in Kanagawa, Japan called Kevin's English Schools, www.eikaiwa1.com.

He loves to write and does this at his many websites. You can visit Kevin's sites:

# How to Teach English in Japan www.how-to-teach-english-in-japan.com
# Japan Living at www.japanliving.org
# A site he does with his two young sons on his love of Lego at www.burns-brick-country.com

Afterword: In Japan at least, while discrimination at universities has greatly lessened, 94 universities were found to restrict entry by colorblind applicants in fields of study such as dentistry, my very own--education, and engineering.

Why? If I am not sure of a color I simply ask. Just as you do about certain things. Totally blind applicants could enroll while colorblind could not!

While I can understand not wanting me to fly your commercial airliner in case an emergency light goes on, I don't see why I cannot be a dentist, teacher or engineer. Let's not go too far with this.

Discrimination in hiring still persists in Japan: colorblind are barred from certain public service jobs such as the police force or fire department, and some private companies.

"If you ask them why, they have no scientific justification."--Yasuyo Takayanagi, opthamologist and activist (conducted survey on colorblindness and Japanese universities and employment)*

--The Japan Times, Alice Gordenker*

Glean some Lessons from other Countries and Start Thinking Outside the Box

Glean some Lessons from other Countries and Start Thinking Outside the Box

by Kevin Burns
(Odawara, Japan)




The smog warning had been broadcast on the radio, Mom called me in. I would not be playing outdoors that afternoon.

A vision of the future? No, just routine life in Long Beach, California (a suburb of LA) in 1966. I was too young to know what a "smog warning" meant, but it bothered me just the same.

I wake up to telephone poles. I am lying in the back of Dad`s 1963 Chevy Impala and I see miles and miles of telephone poles. We are back in Canada, Delta, BC to be exact.

Our town, Tsawwassen is approximately 45 minutes by highway from Vancouver. The summer is hot but dry. I remember a few summers like that back in the late 60's and early 70's.

Now in Vancouver it can be sweltering and seems to swelter every summer. When I was a kid that summer, no-one owned an air conditioner in Delta. Few cars even had them. Yet, some people now have air-conditioners in their apartment or condominium.


The weather has definitely changed. Palm trees now proudly grow in downtown Tsawwassen, where none could have survived 42 years ago.

Al Gore is right, things have changed.

I`m 47 now, and I suffer from allergies and asthma. Is that related to our time in "smog city?" Who knows?

In L.A. and Long Beaches's defence, they have cleaned up their act big time. The air is much cleaner now than we remember it. I think increased filtering of factories and cars, plus some of the new hybrids have done that, and I am confident it will only get better as green technology comes more to the fore in the 21st century.

This really will be our green century, I feel.

Indeed the weather changes naturally, but if you put so much carbon into the air, an amount of carbon never seen in the history of the earth, it has to affect us somehow.

I get a kick out of Canadians in so many ways. Though I am a Canuck myself, I have lived in America, and for almost half my life in Japan. I have travelled to many countries too. What surprises me, is a certain kind of thinking that occurs. I think this is natural.

If you are surrounded with many people who like ice hockey, you probably will too. Some don't, but many many do. Group think occurs and this often involves the car in Canada I feel.

In Japan we have electric train lines everywhere. I think they are a very practical and efficient, and much more environmentally friendly way of moving people than the car. More efficient and better for nature than even hybrid cars I will argue.

British Columbia, Quebec and other provinces are rich in electric power, power that can be used to power trains. Even solar powered trains should be explored. We have solar cars, why not solar trains? The Prairies are very sunny places, for example.


When I went back to Delta one summer, the people there were up in arms over the fact that traffic had gotten bad again, and they wanted another ring road, and another crossing of the Fraser River. What blew me away however, was that no-one in the newspaper even mentioned the possibility of a train line. Even the intelligent friends and relatives around me argued it couldn't be done, that it couldn't make a profit.

And yet not five minutes from my home in Japan, is a train line. It is in a very small city much like Tsawwassen, and it has less people than Delta, and yet we have a privately owned and operated train line, that makes a profit every year.

They have advertising space at all the stations, they of course sell tickets, and the train line even stimulates business along the line.

I think if a concept works in one country, you cannot argue it won't work in another. True, maybe it will need some tweaking for the Canadian context, but it can be done.


Indeed in Japan the roads are narrow, and this encourages train use. And we could try that in Canada. Or, we could simply refuse to build new roads in favor of train use. Train lines also create jobs, so you will get the business-minded types backing an environmental initiative.


I think some of what we need to do to make this world a better place for our children and grandchildren, is to get our head out of the box. We need to open our eyes and ears to new ideas from other countries, as ideas that work there can work in ours--think outside the box!


I too have been concerned about the change in the weather. I used to find the thunderstorms and even the typhoons of Japan exciting, however things have changed and the power of these storms is much scarier than twenty years ago. I don't call them exciting anymore. I am now concerned for the safety of my family.



Japan has few natural resources. However, she has a vast knowledge about technology and robotics, not to mention is an expert train making country. Canada can learn from Japan. Canada can learn from Europe and other countries too.

Even "so-called" third world nations have ideas we can benefit from, if we stop thinking we are superior and know it all already.

Your children, and their children, will thank us for thinking of them, and for doing all that we could.


About the Author:

Kevin Burns takes the electric train to the university in Kanagawa, Japan, where he teaches English.

He owns Kevin`s English Schools, the Canadian schools in Japan!
http://www.eikaiwa1.com

He writes for his website Japan Living, "Learn about living and working in Japan from those that do!"


Japan Living http://www.JapanLiving.org


How to teach English in Japan, "The straight story on getting a good teaching position, in this very exotic country."

How To Teach English In Japan http://www.how-to-teach-english-in-japan.com

Japan and her Standardized Test Based Education System

Japan and her Standardized Test Based Education System



For some positives in Japanese education, one need look no further than the
local　kindergarten or the local elementary school. For everything other than
English education,　they are doing a good to great job of educating the children of Japan.
Classes are　creative, teachers are caring on the whole, and students are happy and learning.

Were the whole education system to be like this from kindergarten to the end
of university,　the Japanese people would be happier, healthier, and more productive, both in
GDP　and creative terms.


Unfortunately this all ends at age twelve. Those are the years that exam
hell starts and　students never really recover. The standardized test based education system
of Japan that　starts in the junior high school years kills any kind of initiative, creativity
and especially　thinking outside of the box. Unfortunately, these last three are what Japan
especially needs in the 21st century; perhaps Japan`s most challenging 100 years
yet.



For many years now Japan has employed this test based education system and
passing　the all important tests is what educators and students―not to mention parents,
are focused on. The result of all this test taking and stress, is a nation
of order takers who have　trouble making decisions, let alone stating an opinion.



Don`t believe me? When you next meet a Japanese, just for fun, ask them
their opinion on something. If they are able to give an opinion then do this:
Ask them why?

Why do they feel that way? 　　　　In many cases, they will be stumped.



In spite of this standardized test hell that most Japanese find themselves
in during their　school years, a few would be Michael Angelos manage to slip through. Most
however　have their creative thoughts stripped from them or numbed into oblivion.



Recently, one of my bright, light Japanese students returned from North America to
once　again study at his old university in Japan. He was shocked at the passivity of the
students. He　hadn`t realized how passive, non-responsive, and void of opinions Japanese
university　students were.


He said that in America, he studied with students from all over the world
and he enjoyed hearing and expressing his opinion with others. He couldn`t
understand how the students of Japan were so passive and quiet. He expressed the desire to
go back to America as soon as possible to study there. Many Japanese who have lived
abroad have said the same thing.



In the news, Japan`s prime minister Hatoyama has been dubbed "loopy," by the
American press and his lack of decision making on the Okinawa bases issue.
Once he made a decision, he then turned around and reneged on it, and apologized to
Okinawans for his backslide. The lack of decision making ability is not restricted to
the general populace, it occurs in all ranks of Japanese society. Hatoyama of course is
a product of this education system.



It is not only the students who are having a difficult time, the teachers
are too. Many have to be off work due to stress, the stress of having their students do well
on the test. Many teachers teach to the test, in order to keep their jobs,
but they create a life of drudgery for their pupils. Many Japanese seem to have lost their love for
education and learning once they enroll in junior high school. Indeed too
much test taking may result in shallow learning and a negative feeling towards
school.



For the future, Japan needs to ask herself:

Are we creating the people we need to solve the problems of the future?

If the answer is: No!

Then this is a recipe for disaster.


I feel that Japan needs creative thinkers, people who can think outside of
the box. These will be the people who will solve Japan`s problems of
immigration, an aging population, unemployment, off-shore employment, trade,
and of course the environment. However,
perhaps the most pressing problem is the psychological health of her citizens.



For this latter, and the other problems mentioned above, I think there are
valuable lessons held in kindergarten.

For more articles on ELT in Japan visit our homepage:

http://www.how-to-teach-english-in-japan.com

Are we preparing young Japanese for tomorrow?

Japan Update: Are we preparing young
Japanese for tomorrow?
Are we helping them to be creative, flexible, imaginative, computer
and internet savvy, and all the other skills that will be necessary for
their future?
http://www.japanliving.org/japan-update.html

The Sakura Blog

Our Sakura Blog has been updated plus the homepage has received a complete
makeover. As well we will have a professional designer redesign the site.
So check it out!

Japan Living

Bullying and Violence by Students

A junior high school teacher was beat up by his student in our area recently.


Kaisei area, sorry to say it, seems to be the worst. I don`t know what it is
about Kaisei Town. It is a beautiful area and I have taught many of the kids there
while they were in elementary school or even at my English school but some of the junior high school students are very difficult. The kids at the elementary
school were great!


These days it seems:
The junior high students think nothing of swearing at their teachers. We have
monster parents coming into schools and kicking over chairs in the staff room
or screaming at teachers over the phone for forty minutes.


What is it about Japan these days?

So much has changed since I arrived twenty years ago now.

It is a much more violent and angry society. Is it simply
economics?

Japanese often seem to have a disdainful attitude towards spiritual
study or religion, however I think we need a good dose of something
spiritual, especially now.

I think Japanese need to practice being kinder to one another.

I just saw a high school boy kick another boy in the stomach
on the Odakyu line and then grab his private parts and attempt to take
a picture with the boy`s cell phone. The smaller boy had been complaining to the bigger boy, why do you always bully me?

Of course no one did anything except me.

I got up and asked the bully which school he went to. He mumbled something. Then I took a look at his school symbol on his jacket.
He was a high school student judging by his uniform. Maybe I should
have done more--stopped the train--flagged down a station attendant.

I asked my wife to try to track down the boys school. He obviously lives in
Matsuda, and the letters on his jacket were stylized either NA or MA. I think
they were the former.

What has it come to that people here tolerate watching another boy kicked in the stomach in front of them and pretend not to notice?

The announcements at all the stations say that we should report anything unusual at the train stations.


But when I reported rough-housing, a chimpira-looking punk was
slapping and pushing a high school boy at Shin Matsuda Station on the platform, the station man refused to look in spite of my explanation in Japanese and pointing at the altercation only five metres away--just across the platform.

In exasperation I finalled yelled:
"Nihongo ga wakarimasuka?"

To which of course, he pretended to not understand.

"Eh..eh???!"

I told a friend the stories above and he said:

"Oh yah, I see the junior high kids hanging from the rings on the
Daiyuzan line and kicking each other in the stomach all the time."

Sometimes I don`t understand this country.

"Gaijin ga Kusai"

I often go for a walk. I don`t smell (to my knowledge) I am clean enough--showered that day. I don`t wear cologne. And as my Japanese
listening ability has gotten better, I swear I hear the word "kusai,"
often right at the moment when I am passing (usually two) young guys either in their teens or early twenties. The word is usually said
in a kind of muffled manner and it is said suddenly, right when I am
abreast of them (right when I am passing them).

The young guys are usually very small. I don`t usually hear it from
young big guys. It is usually young tiny guys that say it.

This phenomenon doesn`t seem to occur when I pass men in their thirties or older, tall men, and I have never heard a Japanese woman utter it when I pass them. I have never heard children utter it
when I pass either.

But it does happen once or twice a year when I pass young Japanese men
often in a pair or more--never alone, and they are usually under
5` 7."

Do young tiny, Japanese men have especially sensitive noses? Or could I be all wrong? Does the particular gaijin aroma waft downwards to the noses of petite Japanese men?

Does anyone else experience this interesting phenomenon?

My Japanese wife doesn`t mind my odor unless I have eaten Mexican
that day, then the whole house minds.....

7%

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer,
Cleveland , Ohio

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught
me.. It is the most-requested column I've ever written.

My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once
more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone...

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and
parents will. Stay in touch

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their
journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret,you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God
never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful,beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19.. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one
is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no
for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie.
Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words'In five years,
will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you
did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone
else's,we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come.

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

Its estimated 93% won't forward this. If you are one of the 7% who
will, forward this with the title '7%'.

I'm in the 7%

Friends are the family that we choose for ourselves

Results of Japan Living`s Poll on Teaching English in Japan

What`s your opinion about working for English schools here?

What is or was your experience working for English schools in Japan?

Responses

Positive 33.33%

Mostly Positive 28.57%

Average 14.29%

Below Average 19.05%

Poor 4.76%

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