JaneM comments

@tessa: I am going to be kind here and assume that you don't do that for a living. I have never in my working life poured a drink for a man, and I hope I never do.

For a living? No. But as Strangerland and Fishy said, there is nothing wrong with filling your colleagues' glasses. They do the same for me. I have realized that getting over your cultural biases helps a lot in establishing long-lasting and mutually enjoyable relationships, be it at work or otherwise.

... when you do not mind pouring the drinks of your male coworkers despite being a woman of European origin (but then, I know that when I do this they become much more cooperative when I need help :)

Great story. What is equally important to knowing the mindset of European fashion brands is understanding how the Japanese (fashion) market functions and therefore how to navigate it successfully. It seems that Mr. Webb knows what he is doing.

＠Igloobuyer

That's very nice for you Jane, but you are hardly the average Japanese worker now are you. Let the statistics speak for themselves: - See more at: http://www.japantoday.com/category/politics/view/ldp-to-tackle-taboo-of-expanding-foreign-labor-force#sthash.6W85sr0q.dpuf

Thank you for the link. No, I am not the average Japanese worker because 1) I happen to be a foreigner and 2) the native Japanese workers in my Japanese company get higher salaries than I do (of course, I also happen to be younger than most of them with a shorter work career). If you look only at the figures in that wiki article, you might think that the disposable income is the only factor which makes people stay & work in a country (be it their native or a foreign one). However, Sweden, Finland and France, for example, rank lower than Japan but they are considered by many desirable places for life and work. And what is it with the condescending attitude towards the experts from Asian countries? Oh, and why do so many of the posters commenting here who have obviously chosen to live in Japan happen to come from the countries ranking higher than Japan in the link you provided?

@igloobuyer: Sadly, given the decline in Japan's economy, the yen and deflation Japanese incomes are not as high as in Europe, North America, AU and NZ etc. (yes even with the bonuses which are going down and travel expenses) and this trend is very unlikely to reverse in the near future. Not forgetting Japan has one of the lowest minimum wages and few people take all their paid holidays so they work more hours for less money.

I thought we were talking about highly skilled foreign workers in Japan and not about people who work for the minimum wage. As a foreign worker in Japan, I make sure to take all my paid holidays and nobody has objected to this so far. I seldom stay after the end of the working day and nobody has objected this either. My yearly package includes the 18 monthly payments mentioned by another poster, commuting expenses paid by the company, and a number of other additional allowances. Not to mention that the salary is raised every year (if you are not working on a fixed contract, your salary is raised somewhat every year, believe it or not) and though the yen has indeed been depreciated for several months, the sting has hardly been felt as I spend my money in Japan now. I am sorry to disappoint you but the bonuses I received last year were not decreased (to say the least) either.

Well desrved. The French wine began to be marketted worldwidely before there were any attention-worthy competitors and for several decades it was considered the best for lack of good competition. "French wine" has been (very successfully branded) by the French wine industry but great competitors have entered the market and have learned to make better wines, which also happen to be more affordable. In addition to Chille, South Africa, California, Some parts of Europe import wine which in its more part is way better than the French wine.

@Triring: Basically all affordable wine tastes the same no matter where they come from with their fruitiness but have little to offer in other nuances that makes great wine great.

Wow. And some people talk about Japan as a country where the popularity and sales of wine depend on the brand and the price!

Ebisen: Sfjp, because the know nothing hoi-polloi will buy even vinegar if it says on the bottle "chateau whatever"made in France.

While that may have been true when wine entered the Japanese spirits market and until about a decade ago, the Japanese have developed a taste for wine and have learned that while if you pay an obsene amount of money for a "Chateau something" you might enjoy the taste, there are equally and even more enjoyable wines which do not make you think twice when you see their price tags.

The other day I opened a bottle of (not so pocket-friendly) Bourgogne which cought my attention with the expalanation on the label that it was made using the Chillean wine-making methods. Compared to the authentic Chillean wines, the wine offered nothihng special in terms of taste and flavour so I think I will not experiment again.

@garfield: Come on people, lets be realistic. The new found love for japan by tourists is only due to weakening yen currency year after year.

While the devalued yen is indeed a big factor, it is only one of the many reasons for this upsurge in popularity. Deregulations of entry visas, continuous promotion in major source markets, safety, an increased number of direct and connecting flights, tax-free shopping opportunities, etc. have contributed a lot to this boom. All of this requires huge efforts by both the private and public sectors and hundreds of thousands of people have been working to get more foreign visitors. And let’s not forget that Japan is still the new kid on the block and as such attracts a lot of tourists looking for new places to visit. In addition, its long history, incredible cultural heritage, well preserved sites, food, etc. are huge assets to a country which is working to become a major travel destination in the increasingly competitive global market.

So, Garfield, open your eyes and widen your horizons. Give acknowledgment where it is due and be happy!

@MarkX: What I would be interested to know is how many of these tourists plan to come back again? That is the big question. One time visitors are great, but it is the repeat tourist that you can start to bank on.

I have several friends from different Asian countries who have made Japan the destination of choice for long and short holidays. My European friends have come once each and half of them plan to visit different parts of Japan in a couple of years again. Distance from home and good connectivity plays a huge role and it seems that the larger part of the repeaters at present come from other Asian countries rather than more distant parts of the world.

Mmm. This dog looks more like a stuffed animal than a living thing.

@Utrack:

Yes, I was on JT and I was in Japan during the crisis and the months after it. Being on JT at the time has nothing to do with what happened and what I got to know from the people who worked without break to solve the crisis after Kan quit. I was reading the Japanese and foreign newspapers and listening to the Japanese news. I can guarantee that what we read in the media did not cover the fact that (despite the information released by relative ministries) several teams were working night and day and many of the problems would have gotten much worse and even out of control had they not put pressure on TEPCO’s management or cooperated closely with Noda’s caretaker government.

And though I do not like LDP, I would not use my dislike for them to make conclusions like “Kan’s being a good PM and doing really well in dealing with the disaster.” I prefer to form my opinion while taking into account also what I know from first-hand accounts of the events.

@cleo: This - the refusal of the LDP to cooperate in saving a large part of the country until their own political demands were met - is one of the things I remember most vividly from the crisis. I was appalled.

Me too.

@Just his bad luck that Fukushima happened on his shift. He tried to take a hands-on approach to it at the time but hey bureaucracy rules!

Wish you had been closer to the people who got involved in solving the crisis. Kan was unprepared. The METI division in charge of the crisis was unprepared at the time the disaster occurred. This resulted in a nightmare for the general public and failure to collect factual information, in release of mistaken information, in lack of communication of information when most needed and in lack of proper communication between the government and METI at least during the first several days of the crisis. Blaming the bureaucrats is a well reversed line and it is justified when we think about the terrible handling of the crisis in March. But it is not only them. The PM and his cabinet are equally guilty of incompetence. However, thanks to the efforts of the team which took over in April and their work with the interim cabinet of Noda, a lot of information and data about the disaster was collected and released and many problems were dealt so that they did not get worse than they already were. Unfortunately, the data release came too late for the people in the disaster-hit areas and the general public and once again proved that nobody was prepared to deal with the crisis, not the government, not the relevant ministries. Hopefully, they have learned their lesson but it is better not to hold your breath.

@marcelito: Kan did his best during the crisis and wanted the reactors cooled despite Tepco,s incompetent upper management in Tepco worried about sea water corrosion and the potential cost and ordering a halt.

Only that it was Yoshida, the professional who had enough knowledge and experience to be aware of the guaranteed corrosion and the possible worsening of the disaster if the reactors were not cooled at whatever price stood his ground against Kan’s histeric reaction over the phone. Kan was too afraid of later criticism by TEPCO’s HQ and the industry in general for rendering them unusable by pouring over sea.

@marcelito:Anyone who believes that LDP with Tanigaki at helm could have done any better during those days is delusional. The same LDP whose corrupt rule created the culture of cover ups and shortcuts that contributed to the Daily ichi fiasco.

I do not think anybody believes that. The point though is that people who say that Kan handled the crisis much better than LDP would have, does not mean that just because LDP would not have handled the crisis better, Kan’s actions were good or his lousy handling of the crisis could be justified.

@marcelito: The same LDP whose corrupt rule created the culture of cover ups and shortcuts that contributed to the Daily ichi fiasco.

True. Yet, let us not get idealistic and give in to the belief that Kan and his party are as innocent as a new born baby. Politics is a d---y business and everybody who believes that there are any politicians without skeletons in the closet, is delusional.

article: Kan faced significant criticism at the time of the accident over his clumsy handling of the crisis, but did not issue such an order to TEPCO.

He did not issue a written order. At least, such an order has not been preserved in the archives. In one of his conversations with the person in charge of handling the crisis at Dai ichi though, Kan tried to issue such an order over the telephone fearing (presumably) the worsening of the situation and damaging the reactors further due to the corrosive effect of sea water. Fortunately, Yoshida’s judgement of going ahead with the sea water plan was successful in preventing the crisis from going from bad to worse.

Kan was unlucky to be a PM at the time which called for decisiveness and prompt actions (two things which he did not have in sufficient supply). This, however, does not excuse him or change the fact that he was unprepared and did handle the crisis in the lousiest possible manner. No matter what he says to save face, people will remember him for the obvious incompetence in dealing with the disaster and his deplorable attitude to the people in the shelters he visited before he eventually quit as PM.

@Aly R: “Religion has spawned the most hate and has killed more people than any military campaign has” => Democracy has. how many wars have been fought for it?”

I think that you have failed to consider the wars fought in the name of religion throughout the centuries. While many wars have been fought for democracy in the recent decades, the number of people killed and the amount of hatred created by those wars is hardly comparable.

@Aly R: “Islam is the religion which has been drawing the most attention thanks to the attacks on innocents throughout the world.” =>Who themselves happen to be Muslim. Which tells me that it is not a problem with the religion but with extremists.

It tells you so because you dismiss the fact that while many of the people killed by Islamic extremists are indeed Muslim, many others are “infidels” for those same extremists. While your point might have been stronger had the non-Muslim countries not been targeted, saying that the attackers have nothing to do with religion cannot get any farther from reality.

As somebody who comes from a country which has had its fair share of hardships thanks to invasions by a country of different religion, I can assure you that religion has been used to divide people, communities, and nations long before the appearance of WMD and the lies about them. At different times in history, Christianity as well as Islam have been the reason for invasions, mass killings, suffering and whatnot. And as Jimizo says, at this exact point of time, Islam is the religion which has been drawing the most attention thanks to the attacks on innocents throughout the world. Certainly, you are not going to say that people have become apprehensive for nothing?

While invading countries and destabilization are certainly two of the reasons for the current crisis, most of the problems in the ME have long been based on religious differences and the lack of tolerance between the different teachings in Islam.

@Doo Bop: As long as we do not address the root causes on top, the problem will always return, but with a different name. And no, the root cause is not Islam, or even “radical” Islam.

Pray tell us what the “root cause” is in your opinion. Please enlighten us because I think most of the people here are getting tired with your implying that there is some grand conspiracy going on. Who is the conspirator and what does he want? Why does he keep our attention on radical Islam by sending radicals to kill innocents throughout the world?

@osaka_Doug: Countries, societies, UNHCR which are open to accepting refugees believe a more diverse society is beneficial to the country. Others, such as Japan it seems, disagree.

Well, every country has the right to disagree and decide on what it thinks is best for its people. It seems that UMHCR is pushing Japan to accept refugees without considering that the nation is not ready to accept large numbers of people from other cultural backgrounds (high societal and legal hurdles and whatnot). And let’s be honest: European countries, which are much more open to other cultures and have done quite a lot (much more than Japan will be able to do) to accommodate the immigrants so far, are now facing problems with Islamic radicalization. How do you think immigrants and later their children will assimilate into the Japanese society?

@ Gary Raynor: Nobody's talking about freedom of movement and habitation, we're talking about a couple of million people who at present find them themselves in a nightmare not of their own making and that nightmare cannot be resolved, at the moment by relocating them a couple of hundred miles from the area of crises and throwing them a few dollars in the form of aid.

But still… why are most of the migrants young men? In all the coverage in the media, I have seen so few women with children? Why do those young men feel that they can go out and settle anywhere they feel is good for them and leave the women and children in the country tortured by war? How is their leaving their homes going to resolve the nightmare of their mothers, wives, sisters and daughters? Are the women and children going to fight to defend themselves?

@smith: But if Japan did that they might actually have to HELP instead of just throwing money

Yeah, because giving money where it is much needed is no help. Actually, such acts are worth of ridiculing and demeaning while the people who sit at their PC and write statements like the one above have probably done nothing to contribute at all to the solution of the problem.

@doo bop: Oh, I don't think Islam was behind the Madrid and London attacks. That is why I am very hesitant to implicate Muslims in this latest Paris attack, just because someone is alleged to have said Allahu Akbar.

Wow. The above statement has taken "denial" to an entire new level.

The irony. The organization responsible for a lot of crimes in the country takes a responsible decision re safety of children and ordinary citizens. I have to give them that. But then, I have also heard stories about the Yakuza being the first to respond with food and blanket supplies after the Hanshin earthquake. Ironic as it is, they have certainly worked well to secure the tolerance of the local communities.

Hehe, Cleo. I hear you :-)

@flowers: Both China and India will continue to grow while the US and EU continue to decline.

That is a very simplistic observation. As other posters mentioned there is a number of factors which have to be considered when comparing the growth (present and future) of China to other developed economies. 1. China and India are still developing, and thus theirs growth is faster than that of developed economies. 2. Since the Chinese & Indian economic growth is quite a recent thing, there have been no major shortages of resources to sustain this growth. This might change in the future though, if, by some fortunate turn of events, not only the commercially/industrially developed cities but also the other areas which are home to the remaining one billion of the Chinese and Indians get to develop at the same pace. 3. Again, as mentioned by another poster, the income disparity between the industrial/commercial centers and inland areas is huge. 4. China’s one-child policy is likely to lead the country to the same demographic problems which Japan and other developed economies face at present. As, similarly to Japan, China is not particularly an immigrant-friendly country, its future development will depend on the ability of the government and the Chinese as a nation to find peaceful solutions other than immigration. 5. Environmental problems, particularly in China, are still somewhat overlooked but as the situation gets better, the human life cost might grow, leading to further distrust within the country and out of it.

Easy to boast in times of growth. Difficult to find solutions when the growth is stemmed. It seems that the neighbor-countries of China are worried about all the possible problems it might face because there is no guarantee at present that the Chinese government will choose to look for peaceful solutions.

High Bridge will close Oct. 31, Alcairo said.

Good riddance.

“Anything that makes San Francisco safer, I support,”

Glad some people have common sense and are not afraid to stand up to the lobby of gun-producers, distributors and users.

Alcairo grew up near the store and says he is angry and disappointed with San Francisco.

Hopefully, he will not turn out to be the next nut who decides to take revenge on innocent people to express his anger.

In the end, Alcairo said, he and the High Bridge Arms owner tired of the continued opposition and mountains of paperwork required by the San Francisco Police Department, state Department of Justice and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

And

“I’m not doing that to our customers. Enough is enough,” Alcairo said. “Buying a gun is a constitutionally protected right. Our customers shouldn’t be treated like they’re doing something wrong.”

Yeah, because guns make you more secure. Your constitutionally protected right to carry a gun guarantees that the more you buy the smaller the chance is of getting killed by a gun? Haven’t we seen this argument invalidated so many times so far? Journalists, church-goers, cinema-goers, students… How many of them were saved by their carrying a gun? And how many children, parents, etc. were injured/killed in accidental firings of guns?

Supporters of GM products and the manufacturers had argued that if the EU found no health reason to ban them, then individual member states should have no reason to prevent their cultivation.

This sounds like the GMO producers have lobbied seriously and are really intent on selling their products even to those who have reservations.

One is sure though, the GMO have not been around long enough for research that they have no adverse effect on human health in the long term.

@skinnee

Hmm, there is no accounting for taste. Just a girl's opinion, but from my personal observations, Japanese women are no weaker than their western sisters. Generally speaking, the difference comes from them being more accommodating to men's everyday needs (except for sex as it seems), not demonstrating their strength and their ability to make men feel appreciated. However, a couple of my girl friends in Japan are open and strong and their guys love them for that.

@anotherexpat: Interesting consensus from a group who are themselves essentially economic migrants and who seem to feel they deserve a place here because their skill set includes speaking their mother tongue, something they wouldn`t be paid for back home.

Well, nobody has ever welcomed me in Japan because I speak my mother tongue. But I can tell you why I feel I deserve a place here: because from the very first day, I began contributing to the welfare of the country. I (and many other expats) do not demand that the locals accommodate my religious believes, pay for my learning the local language, etc. I have worked hard for what I have achieved in Japan. This said, I do believe that asylum should be given to mothers (families) with children who are trying to escape war and permanent stay permission should be granted to everybody who does not abuse the system. Anybody else’s “application” should be subject to strict screening.

@igloobuyer: What difference does it make where they are now!?

It should not as long as they are in a place not threatened with war. Most of the refugees who are flooding Europe now, however, want to choose their destination and are heading to Germany, Austria, the UK, Sweden, etc. (as it seems) for the generous welfare benefits promised to them, I guess, by the people who got their money to get them to Europe.

Quite a few small countries in Europe (my home country among them) provided shelter and aid to the refugees of the “first wave.” Nobody questioned their right to escape the war in Syria and to look for a place where they do not have to live in constant fear of being bombed, raped or killed by random (and not so random) gunfire.

@ kabukilover: Japan has cheerfully accepted the world's help when it has been in trouble but is parsimonious in helping people seeking asylum.

Well, Japan is always one of the first countries to send volunteers and aid to any disaster stricken nations. The present humanitarian crisis in Europe, however, is a very different cup of tea. Wanting to protect its borders is every country’s right. Strict screening of asylum seekers is only in the interest of the nation whose interests the authorities should protect first.

We "expats" are accepted here because we are Westerners and really for no other reason.

Really? How about the work these expats are doing? I doubt I would be accepted (despite being a westerner) if I did not have the skills which keep me in the company I work for.

＠moonraker:　11 just shows its characteristic avoidance of responsibility and general meanness.

It depends on the point of view doesn’t it? Not accepting refugees into a society which is not generally prepared to readily and open-mindedly accept other cultures sounds (to me personally) more like preventing possible problems before they even become possible. As for the general meanness, would you please enlighten us what that means?

But doesn't Japan believe itself better than that?

Is it really a matter of what Japan thinks of itself in this case? I personally appreciate the low crime rate in this country and the fact that I do not have to worry about personal safety when I walk in the street of one of the most densely populated metropolises be it in day time or at night.

@sfjp330: On the contrary, it promotes the feeling in wide parts of the international community that Japan is a nation without principles and lack of responsibility.

Yeah. You see what you want to see. But I would take “this” Japan rather than Australia whose PM said that the country would take 13,000 more Syrian refugees and will strengthen its participation in the bombings of Syrian towns.

@its me

I paid taxes there and made donations when donations were needed when I lived and worked in Europe. I pay taxes in Japan now as I live and work here. My relatives and friends, who still live and work there would appreciate everybody who tries to contribute to their community. I am sure that hospitality has limits and if you want to continue to be welcome you have to learn to deserve to be appreciated. What is your point??

Temporary shelter and aid should be provided for those who have reached any point in Europe. Job training and other educational programs should be put in place to ensure that the people (be they economic migrants or war refugees) get the necessary qualifications to find work. It has to be made very clear that once the initial period for job training is over, they have to become tax payers, contributors to the welfare of the country they eventually settle in. I believe that those who contribute to the community they live in will be always welcome regardless of faith, cultural background, etc.

@dcog: There should also be more programs in mid-income countries and developing ones too. I can easily see the world going to hell if the migration issue spirals out of control, so rich countries should sanction others to force them to open up.

First it is the world going to spiral out of control because rich countries cannot deal with the crisis. Yet, you think that developing countries will be more adept at solving it? And why do rich countries have the right to sanction the not-so-rich ones given the fact that the “rich” ones were the ones who poked their finger into the region’s affairs and created the crisis many years ago in the first place?

@plasticmonkey: It's noteworthy that the government and people of Japan commemorate the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but not Japan's surrender.

Really?? What does Japan commemorate on August 15th then?

From the article: “Indonesia is leaning towards China because their proposal is less financially burdensome on the Indonesian government and because the issue of safety has been adequately addressed,”

I certainly hope this is the case. However, when I compare the safety records of the bullet trains in China and Japan, the picture seems to be somewhat different. I think there was also an article in JT some time ago comparing the interest on the loans which China and Japan have proposed…

A second government source said Indonesia wanted to strike a balance between the two powers in handing out high-profile infrastructure projects.

This is understandable and, at least to me, sounds more honest than the reasons regarding safety.

@Clamenza, I am sorry if you felt offended by my comments. I do not expect people around me to share my opinions and I do not lose sleep over JT posters’ disagreement with me either. Everybody is entitled to their own opinion and I respect that. However, it is indeed tiring to see here the same comments about the Japanese who “always stereotype foreigners, do not understand foreigners,” etc. This, in itself is also stereotyping and does not put the person expressing such an opinion at a higher level than the behavior he/she tries to criticize. Unfortunately, this time the vile was also addressed to a fellow foreigner who, despite being described as an “apologist” and what not, got the best of the situation thanks to his understanding of the locals’ ways. I sure very much hope that you look to other posters for insight and hope to see some more understanding of why certain things in Japan are done in certain ways.