Supey11 comments

the few select movie titles that get released in the format.... viewing options are likely to remain scarce for the immediate future

Ha, at first I thought the article title was referring to actual Japanese TV shows.

The J-TV paradox: producer of some of the world's highest-end TVs but also the lowest-end content.

I agree @gogogo that they are great for learning. Yes, the testing/cheating is a challenge if you are looking to pad your CV and/or an employer is looking to assess an applicant. But if a person is simply interested in bettering themselves and becoming knowledgeable on a subject, then honorable the testing is wouldn't matter (actually, the testing would facilitate the individual -as it should do- so that they know what they may not fully understand yet. And with MOOCs you can actually re-take the class at no cost).

Too bad the article didn't mention EdX. Great class selection all given by top universities (Harvard, Berkeley, MIT, Princeton, Columbia, etc) with videos from the actual professors. Very well produced and nearly every class is available free to audit, which is great if you simply just want to learn from the best: edx.org

.

One woman said she would follow the government’s lead, while another vowed to ignore the accord because Tokyo didn’t consider the money to be formal compensation.

So then, according to some of those involved, I guess it still ain't over.

Throw a dart at a world map. Chances are that it was named somewhere above as a place you 'must' go in 2016.

12,000 since 1988 is 450/year. That at least one girl every day (plus two per day on weekends), everyday for 27 years!

the agreement would be the final settlement so that the issue would not be brought up again.

After reaching this historic milestone, Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida will then head to Jerusalem to broker a final settlement between the Palestinians and Israelis, which many consider to be a much more simple task than the agreement he'll be creating with Korea.

@Aly Rustom "when did I ever say they never apologized? I said they should. Don't put words in my mouth."

Yes, you are correct to state that you never said that Japan has never apologized. So I do not wish to put words in your mouth. But, to state "Japan should apologize" and "If Japan gave an apology" would pretty much imply that you think an apology has not ever been made. So I apologize for not understanding your sentiments.

Therefore, if you wished to be unambiguous, maybe you should have said "Japan should apologize again".

And then, if someone were to question why Japan should apologize yet again, you could clarify by stating: "Even though the Japanese government has repeatedly apologized in the past in public forums, including in the National Diet and while physically in South Korea in front of their media outlets and standing next to their elected representatives, it is my belief that these people apologizing did not actually hold a true sentiment of apology, regardless of the fact that several concurrent Japanese government leaders have done so while using words such as "heartfelt" and "apology", and any true apology would include nothing short of collecting together every known survivor of a war that ended over seven decades ago and kow-towing at their feet while paying them a lump of cash that will probably never be considered enough even though war payments were accepted by South Korea fifty years ago and a fund has been established by Japan to aid comfort women survivors, and even though much of the general public of Korea ignores how any of these apologies and payments have ever happened, this new round of apologies should now be done by the current leaders of Japan, even though few were even alive when the war occurred."

But again, I wish not to put words in your mouth, so I'll let you say what would be an acceptable form of apology given the situation.

@Aly Rustom "..those so called apologies"... "There are a tiny number where the word apology was used and it was mostly made in private."

So you A: admit the apology was indeed made (though this contradicts your initial thinking, but its a good start), However you then B: go on to cherry pick the ones that suit your obstinate view (and you need to go back 50 years to do so).

Again, this illustrates the cognitive dissonance I mentioned that is the root of the problem

Seriously, to say "so-called", "tiny number" and "mosty private" ignores reality. So again, please read this:

"Concerning the comfort women, I apologize from the bottom of my heart and feel remorse for those people who suffered indescribable hardships." 1992 PM Miyazawa at a policy speech on a visit to South Korea

"The Government again would like to express its sincere apology and remorse to all those who have suffered indescribable hardship as so-called 'wartime comfort women,' irrespective of their nationality or place of birth." 1992 Cabinet Chief Kono

"The Government of Japan would like to take this opportunity once again to extend its sincere apologies and remorse to all those, irrespective of place of origin, who suffered immeasurable pain and incurable physical and psychological wounds as comfort women." 1993 Statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Koichi Kato

"We would like to express our deep remorse and apology for the fact that invasion and colonial rule by our nation in the past brought to bear great sufferings and sorrow upon many people" PM Morihiro Hosokawa said, at the 127th National Diet Session

"I used the expression war of aggression and act of aggression to express honestly my recognition which is the same as the one that the act of our nation in the past brought to bear unbearable sufferings and sorrow upon many people, and to express once again deep remorse and apology" PM Morihiro Hosokawaat the 128th National Diet Session

"On the issue of wartime 'comfort women,' which seriously stained the honor and dignity of many women, I would like to take this opportunity once again to express my profound and sincere remorse and apologies." 1994 PM Murayama

"I offer my profound apology to all those who, as wartime comfort women, suffered emotional and physical wounds that can never be closed" 1995 statement by PM Murayama on the occasion of the establishment of the "Asian Women's Fund"

"Nothing injured the honor and dignity of women more than this and I would like to extend words of deep remorse and the heartfelt apology." 1996 PM Hashimoto at joint press conference at summit meeting with President Kim Young Sam in South Korea

There are at least a dozen more very public statements, in open letters, press conferences, speeches and joint declarations given by Japanese Government officials while physically inside of both Korea and China. So @Aly, please, learn the facts, and don't gloss over reality by ignoring it or resorting to cherry picking.

@Aly Rustom "If japan gave an apology..."

"If"? You realize that to say this after being presented with an extensive list of official apology statements is the root of the problem between Japan and Korea. Its not the lack of apology but rather the unwillingness to accept the fact that apologies have repeatedly been given. Such a mindset says that if Japan apologized again tomorrow then a decade from now it will probably be conveniently ignored too.

@Aly Rustom "Japan needs to give an official apology..."

Giving an apology and accepting it are different.

Nearly every Japanese Prime Minister / Cabinet gave a statement of apology since the 1970s. While many are general apologies, after the 1990s many are very specific about the issue "comfort women", including such official statements as:

"Concerning the comfort women, I apologize from the bottom of my heart and feel remorse for those people who suffered indescribable hardships." 1992 PM Miyazawa

"The Government again would like to express its sincere apology and remorse to all those who have suffered indescribable hardship as so-called 'wartime comfort women,' irrespective of their nationality or place of birth." 1992 Cabinet Chief Kato

"The Government of Japan would like to take this opportunity once again to extend its sincere apologies and remorse to all those, irrespective of place of origin, who suffered immeasurable pain and incurable physical and psychological wounds as comfort women." 1993 Chief Cabinet Minister Kono

"On the issue of wartime 'comfort women,' which seriously stained the honor and dignity of many women, I would like to take this opportunity once again to express my profound and sincere remorse and apologies." 1994 PM Murayama

The list just continues up to Abe, who stated in 2013 that maybe Japan should "reconsider" its previous apologies. Though many Koreans freaked out over such an idea, it was a rather skillful political ploy by Abe because it pointed out how Japan did indeed repeatedly apologize to Korea, even though 24% believed Japan never did so and another 58% think any apology was insufficient.

Want more? Here's a list of official apologies: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_war_apology_statements_issued_by_Japan

Many Japanese think that making things cheap is important for increasing customers and winning over rivals, but that’s not necessarily the case.

Sounds intuitive, until you realize that this pretty much sum up the business plan of Don Quixote?

I adjusted the quote to be both broader and more accurate:

"Most Japanese workers tend to keep quiet because they don't understand Japan's legal system."

(including the ignorant submission to unpaid overtime, harassment, unused or unknown of paid vacation time, overpaying tax, pressure to quit when pregnant, failure to apply for unemployment benefits...)

@Doo-Bop, @the refugee

It was 5 Israeli's who were taken in on 9/11 because someone called the cops on them. This is the story that Trump now has quoted from the NY Times (and then made fun of the handicapped reporter for). The current coverage of that story fails to mention the very incriminating details. The woman who called the police that morning saw them celebrating as they filmed the WTC burning. They were later arrested, found to have lots of high-end cameras, thousands in cash, multiple passports, and were deported back to Israel a couple months later (they were not Palestinian). It was almost certain (but not publicly stated) they were with Israeli intelligence. They went on a talkshow a few months later and admitted they were there with cameras but were only interested in "filming the event", though how they knew to be filming it at that given place/time wasn't asked, let alone how this corresponded little to the jobs they had with a moving company. The Israeli owner of their company fled the US soon after international flights resumed.

See more info here at America's reputable ABC News: http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=123885

Finally, someone talking sense.

What growth per se does not reveal is the nature and quality of that activity.

I've always felt that the best type of person for GDP growth would have several maxed out credit cards, be severely obese, suffer from cancer, and be going through a complicated divorce, while the worst for GDP would be a happy, healthy, person who saves part of their income and wears clothes longer than a single season.

Thousands, maybe not, however there were some. The only known people celebrating were the not-very-well-known (but clearly documented) "five dancing Israelis" who were filming the 9/11 WTC event from over the river in Jersey City from a rooftop. They were eventually arrested due to their suspicious behavior (yes, someone called the cops because they saw them cheering and giving high-fives and speaking what was thought to be Arabic) and it was determined that they were probably spies (they had multiple passports, lots of high-end photo equipment in their work van, and they "worked" for a most-likely fake moving company. The Israeli owner of the company fled the US as soon as flights resumed a couple days later). This is not conspiracy BS, it is well documented. They were released after a couple months and eventually were on an Israeli talk-show later, where they stated they had nothing to do with it, and were only there to "film the event." (Exactly how they knew what to be filming was never publicly asked).

Vote me down if you don't believe me, or research it yourself: http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=123885&page=1

The whole poll results are more interesting. Germany (Japan's WW2 counterpart) also scored near bottom at 18%, and most of Europe was less than 30%. Even the US was only at 44% (meaning well more than half of the US would not fight for their country, regardless of what Donald Trump intends), and quite interestingly was South Korea at 42%, which not only has the looming threat of the North, but also a constant bombardment of nationalism they get from birth (as well as required conscription). Actually, when comparing the under/over 50% it becomes a clear divide of developed and developing countries. (Maybe as living conditions get better, one has less desire to die?)

See the whole poll here: http://gallup-international.bg/en/Publications/2015/220-WIN-Gallup-International%E2%80%99s-global-survey-shows-three-in-five-willing-to-fight-for-their-country

So there was a 42% increase in the number of foreign visitors this year. Hey, wouldn't that explain the "increased spending" the government claims is happening in Japan (even though the economy shrank for the past 2 quarters). Yeah, there may be more spending, but the actual Japanese citizens aren't doing it.

Well, at least the additional spending increases the amount of consumption tax collec.... oh wait, for big purchases foreigners don't need to pay the consumption tax. So then that increased spending is for a large part tax-less!

"the cheap yen..." has given Japan "a perk it’s not really even counting on."

As if the devaluation of the yen through QE wasn't ever expected by businesses? Does this reporter actually believe this?

Strange that I am only seeing this story here. Other news sites are silent, even though it came out yesterday. I just did a Google news search for TPP, and JapanToday was actually the top (and just about only) article.

Why no other press?

Funny that nobody ever considers giving them back to the Ainu, who were the original inhabitants.

The LDP was re-elected last December with this issue clearly part of their platform. Live with it Japan, this is what you chose.

"Every nation gets the government it deserves." -Joseph de Maistre

Ultimately, all steps will probably lead to a landfill.

Voting age reduced to 18, and soon smoking and drinking too. Same thing done in the US 50 years ago during the Vietnam War draft. Any surprise how all this may have been planned?

The final nail was J-bloggers busting him for directly copying deceased designer Jan Tschichold, who's promo poster for a Ginza exhibition in 2013 exactly matches the original "T" logo Sano submitted to the Olympics (which he then altered later by reversing one of the triangles to the bottom, and only then maybe unintentionally copying the Belgian theatre). A second nail was driven in when they also found that Sano went to this exhibition in Ginza because he blogged about going.

see it here: http://deliciousicecoffee.blog28.fc2.com/blog-entry-5940.html

The whole story is pretty funny. The monk has a long history of such action according to his wife, and he was caught this time while dressed in ladies clothes. It seems his clacking high heels alerted the bra owner's husband inside. When called out to, the female-appearing monk was walking away and stated, "This has nothing to do with me!", but in his apparent nervousness he said "ore" which is only used by men when saying "me". This made the owner super suspicious, so he called the cops on the guy.

@TrevorPeace

Contrary to what you've said about rates in the 2010-2013 period... I can unequivocally state your opinion is wrong

Sir, please refer to the chart link provided by @Strangerland (not my "opinion"), and input the timeline parameter on the side of the chart for either 5 years or 10 years (5Y or 10Y). You will clearly notice the pumped up Yen value during those years. You can then see the same type of pattern during that same time period with the Euro as well as the Canadian Dollar if you change the currency parameter above the chart.

Furthermore, as I also stated above, (as it seems you missed it): "If you are coming from another country (non USD or Euro based), then your exchange rate woes probably aren't due to the yen, but rather the situation with that currency". The Canadian dollar fell from about 100/yen to 93/yen (7% drop) in the previous 2 months before the market turmoil this article speaks of (that is, between the end of June and last Friday, during which time the USD and Euro were relatively stable, even with the whole Greece debacle). As of now, the CAD/yen rate is just 3 % off last Friday (again, the time period this article speaks of). But if you'd like to cancel a future trip because of this sudden 3% decline, that's up to you.

Additionally, with these charts (not my "unequivocally wrong opinion") you can also note that the Canadian dollar bounced even more drastically from 106/yen to 92/yen in the 6 weeks between mid-December to end-January, while during the same period the USD/yen rate was fairly stable. So from this (as @Strangerland concurs) it can be seen that its the Canadian dollar which has the volatility issues, probably since its so strongly linked to oil and precious metal prices (all of which have tanked in the past several months). Yes, I do "READ THE NEWS", but excuse me for not being so overtly concerned with the dramatic swings of the somewhat insignificant Canadian Dollar.

And BTW, just because you visit so often and have family on either side of the Pacific doesn't make you an authority any more than myself (regardless of the nearly 2 decades I've continuously lived and worked in Japan in finance). Let's just let the facts within the economic charts speak for themselves.

@TrevorPeace

if the exchange rate stays as it is now, I won't be back for several years

Umm, do you even know the current rate? If you've been coming for the past 10 years, you'd know that the current rate (119 - 120 per dollar) is about the same as it was a couple months ago, and still a whopping 50% lower than it was from 2010 - 2013 (80 per dollar). Its the same thing with the Euro (which actually has barely moved in the past week of "turmoil")

If you are coming from another country (non USD or Euro based), then your exchange rate woes probably aren't due to the yen, but rather the situation with that currency.

As @Guy_Jean_Dailleult pointed out, its a fallacy to merely say forcing the raise of wages means greater unemployment and/or number of hours offered since "wages are determined primarily by the market." Yes, that is correct, but look at how 'the market' functions:

-all companies (that is, the employment 'market') strive to make as much profit as possible, and therefore that means pay as little as possible. This is in both good times and bad.

-regardless of wage increases, companies (again, 'the market')are constantly trying to offer the fewest hours possible and hire the least number of workers. This is efficiency, and if a company is not practicing it, then they deserve to fail, as prescribed by 'the market'.

-when prices are forced (through tax and currency devaluation) to increase and the wages offered do not match this rate of increase, then people will have less to spend, and therefore companies will have fewer sales and less profit (so 'the market' suffers). So the lack of wage rise is creating the lack of profitability in this case, not the opposite.

So companies complaining that they can't afford wage increases would need to charge more for their product/service (as in the goal of Abenomics) And if a company can't do so, they collapse. Isn't this all the reality of 'the market'?

And by the way @sangetsu3 -"70% of Japanese companies reported a loss last year". Accountants work rather hard to achieve this in most cases since it means they paid no tax. But what it doesn't mean is that the employees did not get paid, nor does it mean the boss didn't get his huge salary.

I should also mention that the minimum wage was raised last October by a whopping 13 yen on the low end (from 664 to 677) in about 15 prefectures, which represents a 1.9% increase, and on paper and in the conference room that seems in par with the economic policy of 2% growth. However, it fails at confronting reality, since I believe those people making these policies have little grasp about the life of the vast majority of Japanese and the true cost of living (and ignores that its still 35% less than the mandatory 3% rise in all costs the installed last year with the consumption tax rise).

And it should also be noted that there is a plan to again raise the minimum wage in the works for this year, but its an equally pathetic 'average' of 18yen, which would mean as low as 12 or 13 for the bottom end prefectures.

From JapanTimes a couple weeks ago: "Labor unions initially sought an increase of some ¥50 in line with price trends... By contrast, employer representatives claimed that an increase in the minimum wage should be limited to around ¥10"

So when the unions aren't even pushing for a living wage, don't expect it to jump into reality anytime soon.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government has nudged major companies into raising wages for the past two years in the spring...

Somehow six sentences after that came this:

Real wages fell 2.9% year-on-year in June

This isn't bad reporting, its actually quite accurate reporting as it presents the precise thinking of the government and business. On the one hand there's a claim to have raised wages, but on the other is the very apparent reality they either haven't done enough or haven't done it at all.

If the government wants to "nudge" businesses into paying more, they can do so very easily by raising the minimum wage, which can be as low as 677yen in many prefectures (that's $5.40) to something that people can actually live off of. Make it 1000yen (which is still 20-30% less than most OECD countries) and you will see a ripple effect on the majority of wages move right up from the bottom.