PT24881 comments

"Good Bad Don T ScreefOCT. 04, 2012 - 06:06AM JST Japan should contract the seabed if they think there's oil and gas to a British/American company and just get royalties without dirtying their own hands. If China attacks a western oil platform, all hell will break loose and Japan can just sit back, crack a beer and enjoy watch China get a butt kicking courtesy of a US naval fleet."

All major oil conglomerates operate some giant petrochemical - Oil Refining JVs or other forms of business interest in China... And that no one will explore oil on disputed waters taking into account of the political risks incurred.

A small battle won by Romney.. Indeed the war remains ahead ! Barack Obama, given his track record in past 3.5 years, appears less convincing in securing 4 more years. Poll outcomes can be indeed misleading, both have now a 50-50 chance on the way the throne !

Sincere thanks to droves of J supporters in protecting the whales ! Japan has good hope to demolish the 'bad taste' culture by referendum ?

@minello7

You have pointed out the issue..both J & C media have been behaving quite similar with rather 'good' effect on provocation in the name of nationalism. The surprising difference identified is : Chinese media are state controlled -- hence 'propaganda' type of news reporting is more or less expected whereas the J media should normally be 'free' & diversified in term of ideology they represent -- the outcome seemed to be one-sided in J reporting & C media, despite the majority voices in line with Beijing directives, found reports on the opposite direction ( maintain hard earned relations with Japan ).

Better off launching the Renault Qatre refit with contemporary safety equipments ? If not cheap enough then the 2CV ( licensing from Citoeon.

"Jojima says it is too early to decide on fiscal stimulus" that "require careful consideration" Too early ? Until future PM takes over ?

Health concerns : We are exposed to numerous wave fields with radioactivity ( though weak ) resulted from endless list of wireless devices. The idea of a charging table ( all gadgets ) is not a revolution I presumed but it needs to be accompanied with a charging SEAT for the exhausted human owners !

Price list presented exactly as a scorecard for Olympic Games Gymnastic competition ? Each movement ( Compulsory or optional ) scores a certain points ( in yen ). Sleeping in the arm ( 3 mins ) followed by staring at the girl ( 1 min ) = 2000 yens ! Is there a video camera for 'challenges' just in case if one slept only 2 mins in the girl's arm instead of 3 ?

The Philippines, with most renowned reputation of export of maids ( home assistants ...if some find it too irritating ) & vocalists / musicians, has never honnestly made an effort on infrastructure and no industrial plans -- This is by far the only country in S.E. Asia ( well except Borneo too ) that has not built up even a primitive form of petrochemical industry -- without these basic raw materials -- No one will be able establish a basic processing light industry if any kind. Investors ( especially the smart Japanese ) make decisions according to objective analyses but not on certain the verbal advertising of Aquino & team ( Only side-walk hawkers keep shouting to lure passbys. ) !

RIP !

Mergers, by definition, generate synergies that help strengthen both ( or more ) partners involved. Nippon - Sumitomo Steel's merger highlights the goodies to be brought along, but what they did not tell us are the painful repercussions : redundancies, less admin / management team to gain efficiency ( = high value creation by less people ).

"While we are discussing allies and China, please now name one country that will come to China's aide over these disputed islands. North Korea? Maybe they'd mumble something anti-Japanese again if they recieve enough food or weapons. But military aid? Not even they are that stupid. So who are you left with? Pretty sure the Russians would laugh in your face. South East Asian countries don't like China either, and they'd sooner grow two heads than assist China in taking sides against Japan."

When it comes to actual fight, not a single country will explicitly take side but too happy to see the second & third largest economies to hurt each other. Interestingly J-FM kept self insuring numerous times that the US 'will' protect Japan under the security pact ( the real US move would only be proven when war breaks out ) as this is not in the US interest at all. History will tell how many times such treaties / pacts are lip services.. The ONLY thing that remains eternal is INTEREST ! By the way, caught between the cross fire between the J-bashing & C-bashing camps here, may I suggest the choice of language used to remain 'clean' as it used to be my pleasure to 'meet' friends at JT after eight, please don't spoil the platform. Thank you !

All the R-Wingers are queueing up : Noda, maehara, Abe.. And prepared to take on the Chinese head on. Banging the fighting drum & marching ahead ! This is the only chance to show you are a man standing for Japan !

Don't really think this is a serious concern, no ? Why should Japanese be fluent in Foreign languages ? Most of them may not need to contact foreign counterparts ? Language is part of the cultural sovereignty that needs to be protected. The Philippines proudly claimed that the nation is the world's third largest English speaking nation after the US & India..just listen to speeches ( supposed to be in native language ) by Filippinos & Indians politicians -- English words frequently heard in each sentence.. One almost takes the speech as done in English ! Language, like culture, has to be protected.

How much does it cost per piece ? Why the US kept hard selling it to Japan ? ( deployment at the end of the day is paid by taxpayers )

@yuriotani "In Japan there is a chance another party will get in power. In the Peoples Republic of China there is only one party the communists. There is no election just shut up and follow orders. If it is not from the party it is from the new rick."

Not entering into debates on big ideological doctrines, Japan will definitely need a few 'dictators' ( not R-Wingers ) to revamp the nation's economy & wipe out all chronic symptoms of the current politics. Too many opportunists around.

"Noda said he wanted Maehara “to use his ability to develop strategy for reviving Japan and to implement economic measures as commander of the entire government.”

Madame Makiko Tanaka's appointment remains a 'half face losing' choice given the fact that she is offered a strange job ! With the duo Noda + Maehara,, donot expect miracle. Japanese will still be driving on the right seat And on the right lane of the road !

Seriously, all options ( except hydrocarbon based energies -- the most conventional but bring along pollutions ) are examined : (I) wind; (ii) solar; (iii) ocean waves; (iv) tidal; (v) geothermal; (vi) hydro etc.. Nothing could match the need of that scale should one tries to avoid nuclear power ? Natural gas is a good compromise with least pollution than other thermo power options.

Japan has been doing remarkably on energy saving & renewable types of new energies... But it takes time & investments to generalize them. Safer versions of nuclear power station designs may be a good compromise

Thinking out of the box, Japanese elder population could migrate on a massive scale to countries that provide both cheaper land & energy as a means to reduce needs for energy along with high energy consumption industries ( both have been implemented but on a modest scale )..

Japan's share of export within its overall economic base remains small ( example vs that of Germany ), hence, softened demand from overseas cannot be exaggerated, the key lies in Japan domestic demand. Agreed with Saidani on the restricted sustainability of deficit spending but it seems that choices are limited -- in the short run, think this is the only magic to support J economy given the fact that J- debts are mainly backed by J-public & institutional investors within Japan instead of foreign investors -- this turns out to under control even with slight 'abuses'. Another idea is to launch 'new deal' type of mega projects to strengthen Japan's resistance against tsunamis.

SAP supplies are ample but most companies cut operating rate of their facilities during the low season.. the company Nippon Shokubai invented this product & produces by far the best quality SAP. Its competitors will ramp up production to meet the supply shortfall resulted from the accident.

Choices are : (I) back to stone age with limited power needed; (ii) ask the big brother -- instead of building the most powerful aircraft carriers to kill, build floating nuclear power stations to feed Japan with 7th fleet power station on floating platforms !

"Good Bad SuperLibSEP. 27, 2012 - 05:25PM JST Everyone is going to lose if we let the emotions of mob rule dictate business terms. Japan will lose and China will lose. China needs technology transfer and business expertise in order to be competitive in the future. Both sides need to start thinking long term."

Agreed with you on the statement. Concern is 'Both sides need to start thinking long term" -- raising this point to PM Noda -- response : good advice, but how about my next election in weeks ? Potentially the next PM Shinzo ABE -- response : we are long term people, I dropped out last time, I'm back, can you call it long term ?

Yes, do support the Philippines Govt's rather 'bad taste' candidacy given the conflict has just started since weeks & experts from both sides strived to fix the issue. The think-tank of the Aquino administration has to be fired for having come up with such a proposal at the very moment. Stay where you are, the Philippines is best positioned to be ideal destination for Casinos, entertainments ( music & exotic ) & call centers.

Most Japanese companies implanted on Mainland China are meant for taping market potential & accessibility, when Nissan - Toyota's money earned in China amounted to 2 digit percentage of their global operation, it has become nit so negligible.

" 0 Good Bad overchanSEP. 30, 2012 - 10:00AM JST Maybe the Very old generation in China had their Hate towards Japan. But after 70 years. How pity is their government."

This is unfortunately what the majority of average Chinese & Koreans think the J Govt has been trying to avoid the 'embarrassment' by not telling the younger Japanese. I came across some Koreans / Chinese born in the 70's & 80's -- they are friendly towards Japanese people but keep remembering the part of history especially when innocent Japanese of their age have been selectively educated on the chapter. Hence, if these young neighbors have been 'brain washed', the Japanese counterparts have also been selectively 'brain washed'. When the German troops joined hand in hand military parade along side with the French soldiers on July 14 on the Champs élysées. Dream like this could hardly take place in the near future, unless...

" vanspeaceSEP. 28, 2012 - 10:52AM JST Will Chinese firstly consider Chinese cars in the future like the Korean do nowadays? It is not currently cause Chinese cars' quality is nowhere close to Japanese cars."

One the former Toyota Motor presidents highlighted a few years ago : no matter what Japan does, the SK will NOT buy Japanese cars, and no matter what Japan does, the Chinese will keep buying Japanese cars..

In the 1960's the Americans openly insulted on quality wise the first wave of Corollas exported to the US market. 20 years ago, Toyota Crown was the most wanted sedan among high rank officials.. Yeah 'was' --> over the years, Toyota Motor overtook the Big Three of Detroit, Toyota could well be overtaken by Hyundai then so on.. The relentless process of ' learn & overtake' help the world to progress.

Except Nissan, Honda & Toyota, smaller J brands' reputation seemed not as good as some models from the Chinese domestic leaders Greatwall, Geely & BYD.. Meantime, German & US JVs offer a whole spectrum of choices ( even without one single J brand ) . However, patent loyalties & key car parts from Japan are the main politically correct business, as they 'made-in-Japan Inside' !

Put aside the usual 'accusing finger' exercise pointing at each other on he headlines, fair to say that the majority of average J-citizens have not followed attentively news about the disputed isles with SK & China ( probably even less about history on how & why Japan's military machines 'entered' neighboring nations ). On the contrary, people in these countries, given past history, focused attentively on the disputes -- very special attention because the key country within the context is JAPAN..

Have no idea why Japan, skillfully promoting itself as an advanced, civilized & peace-loving country, deserves this SPECIAL TREATMENT. If the WWII history cannot fully explain this unfortunate interaction, what else ? Sometimes, we talk to SK & Chinese friends about Japan -- Tourists with good manner, high quality products, delicious sashimi, pop culture, environmentally friendly country etc are almost the 'standard' impression, what do these neighbors want ? Anyone can explain this subtle phenomenon ?

" Doing business with Communist China is making Crazy woman wife. You don't know what time she will squeeze your balls."

You are right, just cut off all business link with China, shut down factories !

Shinzo Abe again ?! The soldier of fortune.. A white-bread man with no skill in getting things done despite his firm conviction in rebuilding the glory of a strong & grand Japan !

"I don't think it's that cut and dry. China is still a developing country. If they set a precedent of harassing Japanese companies to the point of where they have to leave, I'm not sure why you think other countries would be so eager to jump in and fill the void. My bet is that countries would be more cautious in dealing with China, not the opposite. China is mapping out a policy on how they deal with disputes. The Japanese situation might not affect American or European countries specifically, but right now they have to be asking themselves what could happen if they have a future dispute with China. How would you feel if you were a business owner?"

Interestingly, "other countries" you cited seem too excited to see the absence of J companies as cars sales in China jumped +10~> +20% these days including the US, German, SK and...even French ( not so popular brands ) whereas the J brands suffered sharp falls. Clear enough, J brands will not quit & the top manager of Toyota took the first flight rushing to China for meetings.. The only chance when these profit oriented multinationals make up their mind to quit is when there is no market anymore.. You are right if you implied low end gadget manufacturing ( many had moved to Vietnam since a few years..in sum, implanting in a country would not only be granting a precious favor to so and so country..it is for the domestic market & getting round the tariff levied on imported goods.

"As I earlier stated, this meeting was more or less just an exercise in pointlessness. What did they really hope to accomplish? China certainly knew what they were going to say; did Japan just hope they might get a different response because they bought islands they already owned? All this meeting REALLY accomplished is showing how dubious Japan's stance is."

Like a few other J officials sent to China, just a trick or posture of doing something..the rank of these officials kept degrading given the neighbors ( SK & China ) understood the way Noda does : sending someone to talk & doing something just the opposite or even worse : sending someone to talk that becomes a systematic signal of launching tougher measures -- they learnt how to read this childish tactics. Hence, sending some to talk as a camouflage, Noda will stage a BIG talk at the UN gathering on September 25.. Donot need a sophisticated decoding technique to understand his next move. At the end of the day, JAL will thank him for buying a few tickets on empty flights to China !