Ierathel comments

Twenty years ago - or about - an American business man of japanese origin wrote a very good book on the "japanese business way". He looked like a Japanese and was fluent in the language of his ancestors, but his way of thinking was totally westernized. Then, when his career led him to work in Japan, he was often misled with a "real Japanese" and was then horrified to discover what Japanese business men did and said sometimes in front of their foreign employees/partners while smiling in a friendly fashion. In this good book, the author explained that was a reason why japanese companies were used to refuse to hire japanese speaking foreigners who could have been able to discover their numerous frauds. When I was young and student in economy, among others I read that book that I've bought for one or two dollars in a paperback shop, and while I found it well written and entertaining, I thought it was a little exargerated.

Several years after, I managed my own little company and worked with several japanese customers, some little, some bigs. All were unstoppable cheaters and tax defrauders. After the sell of my company, I went to Japan where I learned on site that the "samurai's country" was not that "honor country" that is sold to naive foreigners... By the way, even samurais were not what we say about them...

Nothing's new under the sun. And I know it's a little childish, but I feel happy I bought a new camera made by Fujifilm instead of Olympus, last week. I hesitated, but maybe my sixth sense prevented me to give my money to a company like Olympus.

More about this case: http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110826p2g00m0dm004000c.html

These men have been killed, and you have already estabilished that it's probable that they weren't the victims but the guilties based on their japanese nationality. Great. =_=

Where did I pretended such a thing ? I just said not always but very often, japanese claim they are victims although they are in a way the cause of the problem they end to be the victims. If you have problems to read english, please, avoid jumping to conclusions so fast (and to extract a sentence from its context to make it tell what it is not telling).

Whereas I'm French (so supposed to be a pro-nuclear) I'm with you, Alex80, for a nuclear-free world. The problem is to know if it's possible in the short term, in our all-technology world ?

There are a lot of new ways - probably on purpose still unused - to generate electricity, and before being able to efficently use it, everybody all over the world should not have another more urgent task than to find new means to drastically reduce the amount of energy required by our telephones, computers, air con, ovens, bulbs, elevators etc. Nothing should be more important than that, nothing should be rewarded by subsides or international prices. Reducing the spent of energy should be as important as the development of new ways to produce it. For it's no use to bale out when the breach is not sealed.

Nowadays, many Japanese just stare at their smart(er than their owner)phone while walking in the street, riding fast their bike with their toddler in a basket, driving their 10 tons truck etc. With this new system, be ready to have to turn yourself in sort of Indiana Jones when you will have to walk in the street ! What Brother Industries have created are not the world’s first liquid crystal head-mounted imaging display, but the brain-dead-no-eyes killer of human targets (us).

I understand well what some14some said. That issue reminds me a story like that, that happened some months ago. Some "japanese tourists" were shot dead by their evil Thai guide.

That was the way the crime was reported in japanese press. At the same time, a Thai newspaper in english gave more details. The men were yakuzas, assassinated by thai shotmen on a dead warrant launched by their former godfather they betrailed in a way or in another. The story was totaly different. It took almost a week for the japanese press to dare to give some more details about this case that was NOT the story of poor japanese tourists cowardly killed by their so-trusted thai guide, but a totally criminal affair where, by the way, the guide was maybe a tool that didn't shot anybody.

Beware to what is said when some talk about a "poor tourist" or a "simple businessman" randomly assassinated by a cruel indigenous robber. The same about these "salarymen" coming back from abroad, who claim their wallet was stollen after they were drugged in a bar, while in fact they have been, often, pickpocked by a prostitute they had any good time with. That's one more reality of japanese, the habit to turn themselves in victims while being somehow guilty of somthing that failed.

In France, we have a little story that sums up everything in Japan. This is the story of a barber who wants to increase the number of people visiting his shop. He wonders how to proceed, again and again. And suddenly, eureka ! He takes a big sheet of paper and writes down on it: FREE TOMORROW ! He sticks the sheet on the wall outside of his shop and waits. The first customer comes upon, and asks: is it free today ? NO, answers the barber. It will be free tomorrow. A second customer comes and asks the same question. Same answer. There had never been so many customers in a raw, and the barber comes back home, very happy but very tired. The day after, still a little bit tired, he goes to his shop and soon after, comes in a customer. Is it free, today ? No, answers the barber, free tomorrow, it's written down on the board outside ! He shaves the customer, who pays his due and leave claiming "So, see you tomorrow !". At that time, the barber, finally waken up sees his mistake: yesterday, it was tomorrow... but tomorrow is always tomorrow for today !

That's how was born the expression "Tomorrow, we shave for free" (Demain, on rase gratis) that means that tomorrow will always be an unreachable word given. Here, the japanese government has said, once again: we will do but as always, this too-good-to-be-real thing is not for today, nor for tomorrow, nor for this year. No, it's always for in two years, in ten years, in twenty years.

Who can believe their words anylonger ?

To Alex80A: I understand well your position but remember two things, that are very important: 1) your country, Italy, has let down nuclear production. Good ! But don't forget your people, like in Germany and a lot of country in Europe, import a lot of energy - of nuclear energy ! - from France. It's not enough telling "hey, we don't produce any nuclear electricity" every oponent to this kind of energy MUST ban it from their country. Otherwise, that's called a big hypocrisy. 2) Japan is said to have started to THINK to REDUCE its dependance to nuclear energy. Good ! But everybody here knows what it means. Starting, in Japan, is another word for "muzukashii" (difficult) which often means "I do what I want". Secondly, the same country - Japan - that is supposed to aim to reduce its dependance to nuclear, have restarted with all its effort to sell its superb "nuclear technology" to third countries like Vietnam, Turkey and Lituania. Not good enough for them, but good enough for others...

As for the new prime minister, it will be another puppet, another Pinocchio who last six month or less. The big deal nowadays is to know who will control (and dispatch) the HUGE amount of money that has been prepared for the so-called "recontruction". Take my word, folks, a very big chunk of this money will end in the Jiminto and Minshuto politicians pockets in no time, as soon as they will have choose the perfect man of straw.

Previous post, is my comment to what Smorkian said at 10:26PM

Smorkian: that's right. But the problem in Japan is that there is no "trust level". Who controls the controllers ? Often nobody, otherwise lazy civil servants, if not corrupted ones. How the samples have been chosen ? Who knows, everything is a "breach" of trust, according to the "ones who have the right to speaks in the name of the Nation" and then, if you begin to ask who and how and why, you are instantly labelled an enemy to Japan, or an enemy to the so-called "social harmony" which is a false concept becreated to make people shut their mouth.

Anyway, the worse is to come, as the corium has surely melted through the surface of the earth. Where is it now ? Nobody knows, or tells. This melted super-hot/super-radioactive uranium is polluting anything it meets, water going to water, steam blowing to the sky as it has been revealed on R.T (Russia Today)... and maybe in a soon future, will occure a super-strong earthquake ! Just remember in 1953, a group of japanese "scientists" made a hole down in the earth, near Nippon Steal in Kamaishi, and descended inside this hole 40 tons of TNT in order to create a 1-2 strong artificial earthquake "just to know". In fact, the explosion generated a 6 strong earthquake, which was huge in this time when countryside houses were often in wood... Imagine, then, this corium reaching a large groundwater under our feet... The H2O would be instantly vaporised, turned in explosive hydrogen and burning oxygen. The effect of the explosion may be tens of times (or more) worse than what happened on the 11th of march, 2011. Where do you want to be if it happens ?

Ivan Couffhanoffalot has perfectly summed up my feeling: oh, no ! Not a parody anymore ? Are japanese artists able to produce really original pieces of art, without copying or parodying others work ? Well, after more than 15 years living in Japan, I can say a big NO ! Parodying Mozart, parodying Dali, parodying Bruce Willis, Barack Obama or Adolph Hitler, here is their "number 18". By the way, isn't that the producer of these SMAP who recently made Lady Gaga's Youtube account suspended, because she "illegally" showed on her channel an extract of the SMAP's program where she was the guest star ? So talented, so friendly...