kimachi comments

Not to mention how Bitcoin is grown in business and consumer adoption. I was able to enjoy beer and sushi in Ginza last week - paid bitcoin with my phone.. no currency conversion. super easy.

"...offered the workers little praise, unlike the Western media, which during the height of the crisis portrayed the remaining band of workers at the plant as the heroic "Fukushima 50."

What?

All I heard / saw / read in the "Western Media" was references to Tepco's incompetence and asleep-at-the-wheel rendition of the Springfield Nuclear Plant of Homer Simpson.

Western media has been scathing of the outright lies, negligence and corruption at Tepco.

Oh oh... I know - Bottle that water! We already know JP Politician's love drinking it.. Tepco can add a funky name an a cute anime character to the label too... How about FukiMizo - Japan Recovery Water... Serve with School lunches... Seriously - How can such stupid ideas as dumping more radiation into the food chain (eaten any sashimi recently folks?) still find favor with Tepco management.. These people need to have the force of law applied to there activities before they give us all cancer.

And in news just in... Siri also stumbles on Pigeon, Elvish, Klingon and possibly parts of 1984 Newspeak. Seriously.. No news story here than a bunch of people who thought they were using something akin to English are facing a moment of clarity.. That just maybe, they aren't as down with it as they thought. There's nothing wrong with that (I am still studying my Joyo, and picking up a newspaper reminds me how far I have to go) but blaming Siri sort of misses the point.

Wow you can tell from the comments who's a got a western Christian guilt complex. It's normal and healthy and productive to have affairs and it's sensible to maintain an arms length separation between your spouse and family and your lover.

What?, like this: http://www.blind-film.net

This article is a discussion (as I read it) about commentary on Japanese society. This is not (as I read it) a discussion about an the specific and abhorrent act of mass homicide. My comment should be read in that context.. the discussion of ideas not as an endorsement or justification for the other. These observation on Japan are ideas which stand on their own merit and the author could be attributed to "-anon" and still bear civil discussion. But for any JT readers / forum contributors that take it upon themselves to attribute more than this to my comments let be quite clear: I don't condone the acts of violence perpetrated and hold a heavy heart and feel very sad for the victims, families and people affected.

Another interesting and arguably valid observation Breivik makes about Japan is the successful maintenance of patriarchy in contrast with most western nations the benefit of society and nuclear family structures

It's interesting that this very trait is today under increasing pressure in Japan as is the expectation Japan should embrace multiculturalism.

When I (gaijin) first experienced structural exclusion in Japan I felt like it was unfair. After a while I realised part of what makes Japan the admirable culture it is, is this very exclusion. The fact Japan favors those who grew here rather than those of us that flew here is an asset not a deficit.

Quote:

To illustrate this, look at Japanese and South Korean policies. They do not have any laws directly banning women from attaining positions of influence (becoming prime minister or president of a corporation). Yet they are traditional, patriarchal and very successful societies.

Yes - 7 Years.

@mrsynik -

I'd prefer to see them gone and their money gone to help the hobo's around Ueno Koen for example. From my reading of the constitution - all it would take is an act of parliament to disband the monarchy in Japan.

@MisterCreosote - and yet the US millitary and political leadership sleep ok at night do they?

Well one reason is to not sit in a pool of your own cheek sweat. The investment in office environment is poorly lacking in many offices in Japan that look more like some sort of Faustian version of a clerical feed-lot. The lines of IDC, hhstyle and others may cost more but bring a value that is lacking in a cheap equivalent. Case in point there are some other chairs that extend a similarly high level of utility as the HM Aeron - But these are also going to be at or around 20万円 ... There are many chairs at around 1万円 - This is not going to deliver the same or similar feature set. Picking up an Aeron at a furniture dealer is a great way to save money if the 25 year warranty isn't required (something issued with first purchase) and should run you anything from ¥50,000.

The article points out that the business is growing and this isn't surprising - The bar on office design in Japan needs to be lifted as there is a good case to be made that it is hurting productivity and innovation. Any look into a common office in Japan lacks a lot of the design elements that are conducive to low stress, healthy and open communication that is critical to maximising the performance of the people within a company. Good office design needs good ventilation, a deliberate mix of direct and bounce lighting, break-out spaces from informal and impromptu meeting and collaboration and ergonomic consideration to down to the individual workspace.

I am rally not surprised there is a pent-up market demand to tackle the current OH&S nightmare that is the typical Japanese office in favour of something more friendly for staff and yielding greater short, medium and long-term benefits for the companies relying on their staff to deliver performance growth, autonomy and innovation.

Wow... I never thought I would see the day that I would actually agree with Ahmadinejad. A great friend of mine is an Iranian abroad [ andone of the green revolution movement] so I appreciate just how *less-than-ideal the political regime he heads is. As for the whole Zionist accusation - Well it's an extraordinary claim that would carry a commensurate burden of extraordinary proof. However as far as 9/11 being an inside job - Well Yes.. a growing number of us a learning how 9/11 was an inside job and noting the growing body of evidence with respect to same. Probably a UN/International body (like a war-crimes commission) being established to find out who is culpable is actually a great idea.

No Income Tax is fair.

This re-branding and re-positioning is simply a cynical attempt to distract attention from the recent findings of a causal link between mouth-cancer and mouthwash (see: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/01/11/2463113.htm)

@Marius2 - Firstly that unchi-box in the background ain’t the Australian Embassy Tokyo. This is: http://bit.ly/ckBZG0

Japan is allowing this meat into the market via (sneeze,...bullsh#t,..cough) allegedly 'scientific' research fleet. In essence it boils down to an over-reach to kill wail in international (and Australian Antarctic) waters in this way.

The program (and the black market in whale meat) need to be abolished forthwith or there will be on-going disagreement which will ultimately be resolved within international fora and be an impost on the Japanese tax payer if the government continue to provide safe harbour for the activity. This is a serious issue and one which is untenable in this century.

No.