Geeter Mckluskie comments

Next to meth and heroin, alcohol is the worst drug on the planet.

Make a reservoir and provide that water supply to politicians and TEPCO managers who make such decisions as "dump it in the sea"

Problem solved

"I worked in a pub as a student and the manager sometimes had to ask undesirables to leave, or “throw the sh#te out” as he put it in that beautiful Dublin accent."

Good for the manager. Now, if the government started sending in armed police to "throw sh#tes out" for saying things THEY deem as unsavory...We'd have the beginning of the end of democracy

"Musk has been complicit with authoritarian governments (Turkey, India) in shutting up their political opponents and does so citing that it’s the law in those countries, so I don’t want to hear any more about him being a free speech warrior

He shouldn’t have a problem following Australia’s laws unless - as many of us suspect - it’s only certain types of speech he seeks to protect."

Then you're all for free speech! Awesome! I'm with you...not Elon

"You know the story of the frog in the frying pan?"

I know the story of St.Marianna University, a Catholic institution in Tokyo being caught favoring male candidates. I know the story of how other universities were rooted out for doing something similar. Good thing Japan is a nation in which such things don't go unchecked, rather it's one in which there is recourse for such abuses. On a personal note, I came to Japan after being told flat out in my interview for the education programme at York University in Toronto that "We're currently not accepting applicants from white males". Not only does such a racist policy not get rooted out and corrected, but it is lauded and supported by the government. I wonder where Canada stands on the "racial justice" scale. Speaking of Catholic institutions, look up "Residential Schools Canada" to see how well Catholic institutions to care of the children they took from their crying mothers' arms because the native culture was deemed "too savage" to bring up their own children. While you're looking that up, look into how many First Nation's young girls are trafficked into prostitution. Where is Canada on that "gender-gap" scale? How many First Nation's women are in medical school?

"You know that several Japanese universities have accepted charges of refusing to take on women students? How many other universities and organisations are doing the same thing?"

If this had gone on you'd have an argument. The fact is this malpractice was rooted out and exposed. Good for that. My daughter is in micro-biology, in a STEM field.

"Broad generalizations never add value to an argument."

True...Which is why surveys about such things are helpful. They provide us with pervading views about certain demographic groups. I'd say a survey of 5000 is a large enough sample size to make such a generalization.

"He's the perfect voice for young women in Japan (lol)."

You just mocked a survey conducted of Japanese high school girls about what they'd like to be in the future. It was 5000 girls to be exact. You assumed that YOU know better than THEY about what they SHOULD want to do. Perhaps you should listen to more closely to what young women in Japan actually want. 2/3 of those young women said they want to become homemakers.

"Yes, but WHY are Japanese girls saying they want to be homemaker Geeter?"

Because they VALUE the role of homemaker...the MOST crucial role in society. If homemakers raise healthy, happy children who have an emotional and moral sense of well-being as well as a sense of responsibility then society will function much better than if a homemaker is negligent in his/her duties to his/her children and society.

Japanese women understand this...Westerners...not so much. Which is why you sigh...

The thing is this, Japanese girls CAN do "whatever their hearts desire". My eldest daughter is currently on full scholarship at University of Tsukuba. Nothing prevented her from pursuing her goals. Nothing whatsoever. That's her desire. Others DESIRE becoming a homemaker. You think that is a bad thing? Sigh...

"Why? What would it prove? You want to fix it so Japan doesn't;t look so bad?

That's a weak way to address a problem.

These things you write about are not really related to a gender gap and say nothing about opportunities for women in their lives (e.g. career, social influence)."

A survey was conducted by the Japan Times in 2015 in which high school girls were asked what they want to be in the future. 2/3 of the respondents answered "homemaker". On the surface, the gender gap in the workplace looks like a matter of "patriarchal oppression". A closer look reveals that women's choices have more to do with it than anything else. This from an article published by the Economist:

"“Female participation in the labor force is 63%, far lower than in other rich countries,” wrote The Economist in an article last year. “When women have their first child, 70% of them stop working for a decade or more, compared with just 30% in America. Quite a lot of those 70% are gone for good.”

Your supposition is about a lack of "opportunities", while the facts say that "choices" have a greater impact on outcomes in the workplace, in politics etc.

“Female participation in the labor force is 63%, far lower than in other rich countries,” wrote The Economist in an article last year. “When women have their first child, 70% of them stop working for a decade or more, compared with just 30% in America. Quite a lot of those 70% are gone for good.”

This from a recent article. I hope people understand that women are free to make such choices in Japan. A similar survey was conducted by the Japan Times in 2015 in which high school girls were asked what they want to be in the future. 2/3 of the respondents answered "homemaker". In Japan, the homemaker rules the social world. Japanese women understand this. Westerners...not so much.

"These types aren’t worth hearing or reading. Insincere and looking fur attention.

No use to any discussion. Nothing to offer. Often just trolling."

Might I suggest the scrolling function

What's the "gender-gap" in terms of who controls the household's banking, who in the household makes decisions about major purchases like cars, washing machines, vacations, houses etc. who in the household makes the decisions concerning the children's education. Who in the household works longer hours. Who is more likely to retain custody of the children when there is a divorce.

I'd like to see a survey regarding Japan's "gender-gap" regarding these questions.

"I’m all for free-speech but booting the dregs off is a good thing."

Unless you're for allowing the dregs to speak freely, you're not ALL for free speech.

"Now ya want me to believe the train cameras gonna block a guy with a knife or scare some low life sex crime doers?"

No, but the cameras will protect you from false accusations of groping.

"So Belgium is number one. That’s not what you said

Japan is the oldest society in the world due to genetics, diet, seniors being active...and having the best healthcare system on the planet

So you were wrong"

Yes, I was wrong...It's #2

"Funny you didn't cite teachers. There have been countless articles here on JT stating that the most overworked people and the most Karoshi experienced is by SCHOOL TEACHERS so you might want to do a little more research before posting so fast"

I didn't cite teachers, because I'm a full-time licensed teacher (not an ALT nor a shokutaku). As of 3 years ago MEXT made it mandatory for teachers to have 2 full days off a week above and beyond their 40 days off a year, not including sick days or national holidays. We are remotely monitored and have had to log in digitally since MEXT updated the LAW.

I work 40 hours a week...like MOST Japanese

@ Fredrik wrote:

"Why not compare with welfare countries, where people live in happiness and prosperity? Here are these numbers, rounded to millions:

Sweden: 10 million

Switzerland: 8 million

Finland: 6 million

Norway: 5 million

So, between 5 and 10 million seems more like it."

Bang on, Fredrik

However, that likely won't sit well with politicians who are bent on their cash cow grift of bilking the public for tax revenue to prop up their "projects"

Japan is the oldest society in the world due to genetics,

seriously??

Yes...quite seriously.

diet, seniors being active...

right. Nowhere else are seniors active.. sure.

"Nowhere else" is your strawman...not mine. I said "due to being active"

and having the best healthcare system on the planet

France and Australia have better healthcare than Japan. Both have consistently ranked higher. Again do your homework before posting.

I did. Here's what I found:

1 Belgium with a health score of 83.8 2 Japan with a health score of 83.2 3 Sweden with a health score of 83.1 4 Norway with a health score of 82.2 5 Germany with a health score of 81.1 9 France with a health score of 80.4

Australia isn't in the top 10

"On a medical level, the US is probably the best."

Tell that to the 30 million Americans without health insurance

Japan is the oldest society in the world due to genetics, diet, seniors being active...and having the best healthcare system on the planet

"And since we are talking about Japan, we need to address the reasons for Japan's low fertility, and the fact that Japan is the OLDEST society in the world"

Affluence, women entering the workforce, the advent of the Internet (which enables people to withdraw from society and stay in the comfort of their cocoons), attacks on the concept of "the nuclear family", consumer driven society in which the accumulation of nice things is presented as "winning" at life, etc.

The fact is Japanese worked on average longer hours in the 1950s and 1960s when the fertility rate was almost double what it is now.

"Funny. Who said...

It’s estimated that roughly 70% of Japanese employees commute to work by public transit. Shinjuku Station has 3.6 Million commuters per day.

???"

These stats can be corroborated by the actual number of commuters RECORDED daily.

"Japanese overtime is a serious societal problem whether you want to admit it or not."

Yes, it's a problem...in the sectors I've noted.

The FACT remains, MOST Japanese are heading home between 5 and 6pm. That verifiable fact dovetails with, OECD's numbers that put Japan as 27th in the world for hours worked per annum.

Certainly, finance, marketing, agriculture have an issue with rampant overtime...which is the case throughout the world.

That said, on average, the Japanese work 40 hours a week, by any reliable, verifiable metric.

"NONE of which fits the JAPANESE GOVERNMENT'S claim that insane amounts of overtime is one of the MAIN REASONS for the low fertility rate- But hey- guess you know more about THAT the J GOV???"

Here are the lowest fertility rates by country:

South Korea - 0.9

Puerto Rico (U.S. territory) - 1.0

Hong Kong (China SAR) - 1.1 (tie)

Malta - 1.1 (tie)

Singapore - 1.1 (tie)

Macau (China SAR) - 1.2 (tie)

Ukraine - 1.2 (tie)

Spain - 1.2 (tie)

Bosnia and Herzegovina - 1.3 (tie)

San Marino - 1.3 (tie)

Moldova - 1.3 (tie)

Italy - 1.3 (tie)

Andorra - 1.3 (tie)

Cyprus - 1.3 (tie)

Luxembourg - 1.3 (tie)

How rampant is overtime in Luxembourg?

"I'm not talking about one sector. I'm talking all society."

All except the bulk of commuters heading home @ 5pm

"it looks like the average monthly overtime in Japan is 24.3 hours."

The average of "overtime hours"...which doesn't include regular hours, meaning it doesn't include those who don't work overtime.]

So, among those who do work overtime, they work an average of 1 hour overtime a day. They're the ones on the 6 o'clock train...not the ones on the 5:15.

"AI hasn't made work obsolete yet."

This headline from CNN, dated March 29th, 2023

"300 million jobs could be affected by latest wave of AI, says Goldman Sachs"

"As many as 300 million full-time jobs around the world could be automated in some way by the newest wave of artificial intelligence that has spawned platforms like ChatGPT, according to Goldman Sachs economists."

"Here's an even BETTER experiment: go to Kasumigaseki and talk to some politicians about the overwork problem. Tell them that dribble about Most Japanese work standard 40 hour work weeks and that overtime is not an issue in Japan and see what their reaction is"

My guess is they'll refer me to the corporate sector in fields such as finance, marketing etc. in which overtime is rampant throughout the globe. I wonder if we tried your experiment on Wall St.. Do you suppose overtime isn't rampant there?

You could come and talk to all the fathers watching their kids play hockey and ask them why they're not at work. OR...you could try to twist your pretzel logic into coming up with how is it the train stations throughout Japan cite the hour between 5~6 as the busiest...other than, that's when people are returning home. "They're mostly students" doesn't hold up when you see any video footage of train platforms @ 6pm.

Figure it out

"The numbers are made up of schoolkids coming from school, people heading home from shops"

Here's a fun experiment. Go to YouTube and input "Shinjuku, the world's busiest station". You'll find a video of a platform showing the time of the next train, 18:00. The platform is packed with people wearing suits, holding briefcases. The trains on either side of the platforms...the same. There's not a single school uniform in the entire duration of the video. Not a one...among literally hundreds of commuters.

Have at it...enjoy