MeJapanese comments

no not at all. It saves electricity and no aircon.and people work better when they are not under heat exhaution(sic). What's the big deal about cool biz. Go to Silicon Valley. all the workers(software and IT employees) come dressed in Jeans and california casual and ,they work hard, cause it is omfortable .Thy have tremendous productivity.

"He/she who lives by the sword will die by the sword", "If you play you pay", "What goes around comes around". Just simple logic.

Drunks are disgusting.....

What's the big deal about China emerging as a global superpower. If they buy Japanese goods, property, that's better for the Japanese economy. The last thing we need is an agitator, because then everybody loses. Just look at the positive side of it. Peace!!!!

I wonder y he didn't put up a good fight with the punks. If I was gonna go down, I would like some company. It doesn't matter how old u r. If you get jumped, just fight for ur life. U'll be amazed how strong a person can be at any age if they r attacked physically.

Dear Jeff Lee: Ur comment/post was most interesting. I have always wondered y a third of the most cutting edge/state of the art medications are not available in Japan. Since the early '80's, the most advanced antibiotics that have taken over the greatest market share in the world have been made in Japan. Furthermore, since the '90's , the Japanese have taken over a huge market share of the cutting edge anti-hypertension medications in the States. The list goes on till the break of dawn. It was always strange that a lot of the anesthiologists(sic) over here knew a lot about anesthigia(sic)at the textbook level, however they were only trained in just a few of them in an actual surgical procedure. Of further interest is the in the field of biomaterials or even dental materials where they have the cutting edge products sold in the States but are not available over here. During the '60's , the Japanese started to hold a major share of the scanning electron microscope market. Now most of the CT scans and MRI's in the States are made in Japan. I see a few of them here at teaching hospitals but many of the health care providers don't even know how to interpret them. Needless, to say, many cardiologists don't even know the basics of how to read an EKG. I don't want my posting to become an endless criticism of medical and dental care over here because it is a waste of time for me, but y is it that these cutting edge medications and medical/dental instruments made in Japan are not available to the the Japanese patient population???????? I am currently udergoing a study of the health care system over here before I return to the States, so any info shall be highly appreciated.

Wow.... we should all buy a horse for commuting purposes over here

tkoind2- gee u've figured out the system very well over here. R u a health care provider too?

Health care industry in US is exploiting people like you. Why do they have TEN times more of H1N1 death per 10,000 people in US than that in here? Fortunately no “HMO-Atrocities’” or “Managed Care horror stories” here. According to the international comparative survey results done by OECD, the performance status of Japanese health care system is the best among the member countries; the rich countries in the world. US consumers should be let known that, in spite of huge money they pay into the insurance or to the drugs, they don’t get medical care of those money worth. For example, the survival rate of breast cancer and colorectal cancer, which are the most common form of cancer now, of US patients are inferior to those in Cuba (Cancer survival in five continents: a worldwide population-based study(CONCORD). Lancet Oncol 2008;9:730-56 ) Michel Moor is not exaggerating facts, “inconvenient” facts for medical industry in US.

Well that is true. The best and the brightest in the States since the mid-1980's are not going for their MD/DDS degrees anymore. U're far better off financially by going for an MBA degree in health care management. Insurance companies run the whole show now. Maybe that is the reason y 40% of the health care providers in the States r foreign medical graduates. Gone r the days of Marcus Welby M.D. Also, I am of the belief that National Heath Insurance provides every man, woman and child w/basic primary health care, regardless of past medical histories or the ability to to pay for a good heath insurance provider. However, the National health insurance system is a breeding ground for corruption. With the type of pay MD'S and DDS'S get over here, no wonder they are constantly angry, thus taking out their frustration on the patients. Most of my MD colleagues have some type of scheme going to keep their private practice afloat. I know one MD who has to see over 120 patients per day. Dentists are infamous for taking several visits to finish a simple procedure such as a root canal treatment.(pulpectomy). That way they can rack up the points and bill more from the govt. It is indeed a complex situation. Due to the National Health Insurance system, health care providers have to do sloppy work. How can u offer quality care when u r paid only 1700 yen for a root canal treatment when in the States endodontists will charge you at least a thousand dollars. But human beings are creatures of habit, and if u continually do the same type of sloppy treatment, u kinda forget to do it the proper way. In many ways, the health care providers are embezzling the govt. No wonder so many patients over here bring wads of bills wrapped in white paper to ensure that they receive the proper care/attention that they should receive. In terms of research, iPS is not everything. And Japanese researchers have to be more creative rather than just publishing papers which instantly goes into the waste basket for many researchers around the world. The residency training over here is godawful. More time is spent polishing apples for the prof. rather than actual training. However, I will not back down from the fact that a statistically significant amount of med and especially dental school students don't have the proper IQ to have gotten into med/dental schools. Many private schools think that it is ethically OK, due to the tradition of heirs following up on the family line of business. When u have spoiled rotten kids becoming doctors/dentists by way of gaining admission through the power of the yen, how can they understand the sufferings a patient is going through. I may receive a lot of flack for this, but if u have to see a physician/dentist over here, try to seek one who graduated from a public school, whether dental or medical. I have seen many fine health care providers over here, and more often than not, they were graduates of public rather than private med/dental schools.

Don't have NHK BS 1. Don't watch NHK anyway.

OneManUN-hey that was a great comment. I guess if u r in their ballpark, u gotta play by their rules. I've been told by many Japanese friends, "When in Rome, Do as the Romans Do". Makes life easier for us non-Japanese...however I will be leaving soon back to my homeland.

Fishy..just gave u some advice from past experiences, not only in marriage but in any type of engagement u get into over here. Be it a business contract, alliance contract, et. al. Please don't fly off the handle......

Basically, I think it depends on the goodwill of the health provider. In that sense, HMO's r great. They are more into preventive health care rather than treatment health care. However I have to say that the Japanese heath care providers needs to have better bedside manners(M.D.'s) and chairside manners(DDS's). Being too authoritarian can initiate labcoat hypertension, leading to a battery of tests as to the etiology of your hypertension. However, HMO's r a pain in the neck for us health care providers.

Medical tourism will never take off over here. The training system is too feudalistic, the doctors, especially the dentists are totally incompetent. With malpractice lawsuits growing exponentially, maybe the Japanese healthcare providers are scared of Gaijin patients. I am an American M.D./DDS here in Japan, however, the common motto among them are"外人の患者はうるさいね。。。。。i.e. non-Japanese patients are too inquisitive about the their medical conditions and ask too many questions. Get a second opinion from a Thai /Indian doctor , and they will salami you. Question their authority, and run like HELL!!! Many lawyers will not even take on a malpractice case because they know they will not get anywhere. BTW, most of the private medical/dental school students get in by making huge donations. When I gave a lecture, most of the residents were sleeping or talking amongst themselves about the foxy hostess that they frequent at Ginza clubs paid by u know what companies. However, I found Japanese M.D's/DDS's quite good at research....but only in the field of tissue/culture methodology and electrophysiology, due to the fact that u have to be a very patient technician to conduct good research on it. But then again they have the manpower to do so. It is amazing that on one publication they will have about 12 researcher's name on it. In the States, it is usually about 2~3 reseacher's name on the publication.. However, the original ideas(research methodology) came from other countries and they would do a juxtaposition of their publications out of it. They r good at manipulating data, and kaizen at it's BEST. Food 4 thought.

gogogo: In Japan , contracts don't mean anything. Further exacerbated by the fact that ur a gaijin. The best way is to go the press and shame them.

Japan is too self centered. It is just too much......so I don't watch. I wonder if it is the same in other Asian countries???

I fully agree with BBleo. Unless they r severely punished at this stage, they will become a gang and start terrorizing the whole neighboorhood. A few rotten apples spoil the bunch. I saw acts of this nature with my own eyes among street gangs in the States. Before u kow it, the few rotten apples will instill fear among the good 99% of the students resulting in good schoolchildren not attending school for fear of their own safety. Kids who act in this manner know exactly whaat they r doing and how the system works. An approach like, "Oh they r juveniles so lets go easy on them" will further exacerbate the problem. Teens who engage in this type of activity will have only two paths when they reach the age of 20, in Japan and 18 in the States.The crafty ones will realize that if I am tried as an adult, I will really do some hard time. The nuthead teens will have only one other pathway to tread...namely become an Organized Crime Member. Those kids know exactly what they can get away with and what they cannot get away with. Don't let sociologists get in the way by their munbo jumbo logic. They just want to justify themselves.

Had never heard of he but she is a cutey and looks charming.

To Shaolin7 & tkoind2: I fully agree with you. .

Can't they be fired? What's a big deal of answering a call, especiaaly if it is a businees line. I can understand someone not answering a cll made to their home phones or mobile telepdohe..How bizzare!!!!

KyokoSmile......What ur wife told u is true. If is kept within the family anything goes over here. Have had experience with that!!!!

It never ceases to amaze me about certain aspects of Asian culture. Just because you gave birth to a child does not mean that the parent has the right to end the chid's life. Anybody can give birth to a child for obvious reasons, but being a loving and caring parent is far more important. But then again it is a different culture and if I live here I have to respect some aspects of it, and some aspects of it are nice.......it is just too confusing at times for me. I guess it is more about family than the individual where the emphasis is placed. Just my 2 cents...still learning

there r jobs in Japan. If not, then y r there so many non=japanese flocking over to work the three K jobs. Listen, I have friends who were engineers, dentists, architects, stock brokers who have gotten laid off ad they work at 7/11, security guards, constriction workers......and yet not whine and try to cheat the system

BTW, I know some Japanese(probably a small minority)who r 50 deep in debt, live in a 6 mat tatami mat room, eat cup noodles everyday, but yet drive a Porsche, BMW, or a Mercedes. I wonder where their priorities lie.

My brother worked as a psychiatrist in Nishinariku. He involved himself in a lot of hanky panky.......then moved out of there and started a practice somewhere else with the help of my mother.I guess there r good doctors and bad doctors. He is of the latter unfortunately. There are jobs in Japan if they r willing to work I realized. Some just want to live off the dole, by hook or crook!!!.

Betting...I fully agree with you.

"The Buck Stops with Me". More Power to President Obama. How refreshing.

To Cliffworks: R u for real? Did that really happen to u? U're scaring me. I am married to a Japanese lady now, nd I guess I have to live the remaining yrs. of my life here.

There should be more pubic toilets. Furthermore, I don't know why merchants(Dept. stores, convieneince(sic) stores , boutiques, medical clinics, hair salons,etc.) are so paranoid or narrrow minded to let a stranger who has to go when nature calls to be able to use thier restroom. A lot of men/women are on diuretics due to hypertension. I wonder if he had urinated in his pants, they would have arrested him for immoral life.

Please everybody in the world, Stop the Violence!!!!Love Conquers all!!!!