Posted in: Can Japan’s automakers survive China’s EV threat? See in context
In developing countries like SE Asia or Latin America, Chinese EVs is selling like crazy, outcompeting Japanese EVs which are sold at much more expensive price, but with less features. Honestly, I still doubt the longevity for these Chinese EVs, if they can withstand worse infrastructures (potholes, floods) compared the already tried & tested Japanese cars. But in terms of sales, sure, Chinese ones have beaten Japanese EVs
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Posted in: Shibuya Scramble Square high-rise complex to open Friday See in context
Or just go to the free observation deck at Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building instead.
There, I saved you ¥2000
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Posted in: Starbucks vs two popular Japanese coffee shops: Which gives best value? See in context
Well, there is always konbini coffee though
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Posted in: Japan hopes to avoid trade battle by wooing Trump with pomp See in context
Ganbare Japan! : Trump loves ceremonies, formal occasions and huge banquets. Compared to Obama who was too casual, in my opinion. This welcome which includes being the first foreigner guest of the new Emperor, will really honor Trump. The trade deal will be smoother because of this. The Sumo and Golf will be a chance for PM Abe and Trump to develop their famous relationship.
Trump will be very warmly welcomed in Japan.
Thanks a lot for reminding me that their relationship is famous!
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Posted in: Japan's economy expands for 2nd straight quarter See in context
Ganbare Japan!: Superb news, but not surprising. Thanks you PM Abe, thank you Finance Minister Aso.
I knew it! That this comment will surely appear for news like this
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Posted in: Man arrested for opening door and jumping off bullet train in motion See in context
West Japan Railway Co officials detained him and brought him back on to the train, and 45 minutes after stopping the train resumed its course. At the next stop, Shin-Kobe Station–which, by the way, is only 12 minutes from Shin-Osaka Station–the man was arrested by police for obstructing the operation of the train.
I thought it was a Nozomi from Shin-Yokohama bound to Osaka, since the next stop (Nagoya) is a good 80 minutes away, so a u-turn would likely take almost 3 hours total.
But it was only Osaka to Kobe! A u-turn would only take 30 minutes max...
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Posted in: Olympic meeting in Tokyo gets off to chaotic start due to corruption case See in context
Corruption in IOC or ANOC? Why am I not surprised?
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Posted in: Imperial couple visit support center for foreigners in Shizuoka See in context
Japan is really gearing up to welcome more foreigners, even the Emperor seems to support the idea
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Posted in: Supporters of foreign workers call for same pay, permanent residence See in context
Useful idiots right out of the globalist play book. Don't fall for it Japan.
So, what's your solution then?
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Posted in: Starbucks Japan unveils new White Chocolate Snow Frappuccino for Christmas See in context
Just buy and eat refined sugar from a supermarket; will be much cheaper and tastier
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Posted in: Suicide bomber kills over 50 at religious event in Kabul See in context
I can see what PTownsend above is saying, that extremist Wahabis (think ISIS/ISIL, I am guessing) might make a public display of disapproval of this festival, which does seem to be for all Muslims around the world, regardless of the Sunni/Shiite split.
Even in many Sunni countries this festival is made into a public holiday
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Posted in: Mitsubishi CEO says it will be tough to manage car alliance without Ghosn See in context
Ghosn really did good job for years, but Crime is crime whatever. Crime can't be ignored in law-abiding country.
I agree that crime is crime and if he did anything wrong then so be it. My question is the difference in treatment to other Japanese managers of the companies that were involved in scandals.
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Posted in: Instagram ousting fake followers from accounts See in context
Instagram said it is booting fake followers, likes, and comments generated by applications tailored to make accounts appear more popular than they actually are.
Then it will be nothing left since most likes and comments are fake and shallow anyway...
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Posted in: Mitsubishi CEO says it will be tough to manage car alliance without Ghosn See in context
You can bet other non-Japanese in upper management are now assessing their situations & non-Japanese will now possibly avoid any high level jobs if Japan based
This is gonna be interesting. As Japan is now opening up to more foreigners, things like this happened and gonna be a big turn-off for many high-skilled gaijins. Only blue collar gaijins are still willing to come.
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Posted in: Ghosn arrest shakes Franco-Japanese alliance See in context
It's Nissan, short for 日本産業 (Nippon Sangyo) which means "Japan" Industries. As trivia as I might say, it's probably an embarassment that "Japan" Industries is headed by a non-Japanese, so this explains why things are moving so fast. Even in NHK news this morning, the group panel brought for live interview repeatedly referred to him as "gaikokujin" and they said that being a foreigner that has a different leadership style, there seems a resentment within the company and an internal coup is likely.
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Posted in: Arrest of Ghosn and another top exec sends shockwaves through Nissan See in context
It's Nissan, short for 日本産業 (Nippon Sangyo) which means "Japan" Industries. As trivia as I might say, it's probably an embarassment that "Japan" Industries is headed by a non-Japanese, so this explains why things are moving so fast. Even in NHK news this morning, the group panel brought for live interview repeatedly referred to him as "gaikokujin" and they said that being a foreigner that has a different leadership style, there seems a resentment within the company and an internal coup is likely.
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Posted in: Mitsubishi CEO says it will be tough to manage car alliance without Ghosn See in context
If it was a Japanese at the head that got arrested things would not be moving this fast!
It's Nissan, short for 日本産業 (Nippon Sangyo) which means "Japan" Industries. As trivia as I might say, it's probably an embarassment that "Japan" Industries is headed by a non-Japanese, so this explains why things are moving so fast. Even in NHK news this morning, the group panel brought for live interview repeatedly referred to him as "gaikokujin" and they said that being a foreigner that has a different leadership style, there seems a resentment within the company and an internal coup is likely.
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Posted in: 4 killed, including gunman and police officer, in shooting at Chicago hospital See in context
What a sad incident, but the sadder thing is that I've become numb to such incident happening in USA...
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Posted in: Cuban ambassador denied room at Hilton hotel in Fukuoka due to U.S. sanctions See in context
Just stay at a Japanese hotel chain. How about APA Hotel?
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Posted in: Nissin comes out with new Cup Noodle using … 'almost real sea urchin' See in context
The “almost real sea urchin” looks pretty yummy in that creamy thick creamy broth. And see, there are little broccoli pieces in there, so you get your vegetables too!
I bet it won't look as good as the picture when I make it
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Posted in: 340,000 foreigners may flow into Japan in 5 years under new visa system See in context
They are mostly coming from other Asian countries. It will not become a big issue. Their mentality is more or less similar to Japanese people. No serious problem will happen due to cultural or religious differences.
True. And for those afraid of Muslims coming from Indonesia, don't be, and I can assure you that they are different from Muslims from Middle East, especially the refugees.
From what I see on several Indonesian communities in Japan, they are well integrated with good level of Japanese proficiency and since they share many simliar aspects regarding culture and behaviour (like respect for harmony, respect of senpai, and rather reserved personality), they get along well with Japanese people.
I know one Japanese dispatch worker company that previously recruited Chinese people now end up recruiting more Indonesian people because of this very reason, regardless whether they are Muslim or not.
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Posted in: 340,000 foreigners may flow into Japan in 5 years under new visa system See in context
The beginning of the end for Japan.
Let me rephrase: The beginning of the end of Japanese isolation
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Posted in: 340,000 foreigners may flow into Japan in 5 years under new visa system See in context
I see many more Chinese restaurants around than Vietnamese, I wonder if we start seeing more people from India come in, whether we'll start seeing a rise in the number of Indian restaurants too ?
I really welcome this! I love curry but the Japanese version seems like a watered down version and it's just too sweet.
Yubaru: Far too many Japanese (sadly) have the idea that "only" Japanese can understand, truly understand, and communicate in Japanese, no way a foreigner can learn or master the language!
This results in countless reply of "Nihongo wa jouzu desu nee" (Your Japanese is great!) when I speak even basic conversational Japanese to many shop clerk or anyone in that matter. It's nice and encouraging, but it gets old really fast. At least I suppressed my urge to reply with "Gaijin mo Nihongo hanaseru yo, shiranai no?" (Foreigners can speak Japanese too, don't you think?) (forgive me)
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Posted in: Driver found guilty of murdering six in Australia car rampage See in context
James Gargasoulas, 28, pleaded not guilty to the January 2017 rampage on Melbourne's Bourke Street, which police determined was not terror-related.
Bourke street, a popular shopping and restaurant area, was the scene of a deadly knife attack and attempted car bombing last Friday which police called a terror attack and which left two men dead, including the attacker.
Why is the former treated as not terror-related, while the latter does? Oh right, because the latter was perpetrated by Hassan Khalif Shire Ali, an Arabic sounding name...
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Posted in: After back-to-back mass shootings, America grows numb See in context
" ... mass shootings still represent only a tiny portion of U.S. homicides." 307 mass shootings and at least 1,250 dead because of them are a "tiny portion" of all US homicides. How sick is that fact?
Yeah, and that's "only" the mass shooting. When I watched local TV news in USA, there seems always a smaller shooting incident everyday somewhere, usually related to domestic violence or mental health issues.
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Posted in: 'Ababis' and 'Star Wnrs': Knockoffs thrive in China e-commerce See in context
Reminds me of this quote:
"God made Heaven and Earth, the rest was made in China"
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Posted in: 2 megabanks in Japan to share ATMs to cut costs amid fall in users See in context
Under the plan, users with accounts at MUFG Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp will be able to withdraw money from either banks' ATMs free of charge on weekdays.
Only weekdays?
And why is there still a transaction fee on ATMs during nighttime hours (21.00-08.45), even though I'm using the same bank? ATMs in so-called "third world" countries are better in this regards, always open 24/7 and always free of charge.
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Posted in: Trump says Japan treats U.S. unfairly on trade by not taking more American cars See in context
Interestingly enough I seem to see more U.S. made vehicles in Korea than in Japan. Perhaps it is related to the location of the steering wheel. I do not think it is an issue with tariffs.
Steering wheel location doesn't affect at all. It's due to GM having big manufacturing facilities in Korea and their willingness to invest a lot there in terms of job creation, advertising and large dealership network. They even developed a car suited to Korea and Asian environment such as the small hatchback city car Chevy Aveo and Spark, which are in turn exported to many countries such as SE Asia and India, a primarily right hand drive market. And they're not US made, they're Korean made American cars.
This mirrors the strategy used by Japanese carmakers in the USA; build a big manufacturing facility there and make cars suited to local taste. That's why there are big Toyota Sienna or Tundra which are not even sold in Japan because they're too large, but they are popular with American buyers.
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Posted in: Trump says Japan treats U.S. unfairly on trade by not taking more American cars See in context
I know friends here who own Caddillacs, Teslas and the same Camero from Transformers here.
The problem is that those are luxury cars, not many people buy those, and since it is a niche market, the market is always present, no matter how small they are.
What American carmakers need is the good strategy to market good normal American cars such as Chevy Cruze, Bolt, or Ford Fiesta, Focus, etc., which will suit to Japanese environment since those cars are quite popular in Europe. And the marketing is just not enough since "American cars" word often evokes big and gas-guzzling large pickup trucks, although sensible American cars do exist.
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Posted in: Trump says Japan treats U.S. unfairly on trade by not taking more American cars See in context
I've driven American cars and they were just fine; plus there are actually several models that are smallish and suited to Japan with great fuel economy such as Chevy Cruze or Ford Focus; even there are hybrid ones like Chevy Bolt.
Probably the problem is due to the carmakers themselves? German makers are aggresively marketing their products here on TV, newspaper ads; even non luxury brand such as VW is doing well here with routine test-drive ads. Jeep & Chrysler is still selling car here after Ford pulled out the market, but I don't recall ever seeing their ads and have no idea about their models or features. So most Japanese consumers have no idea about American cars, and most will probably associate them with big gas-guzzling Ford F-150 or Chevy Suburban.
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Trump need to grow ,you know what up, Trump has opened the gates of hell on the US economy and…
Posted in: Japan is test case for Trump's tariff deals, but talks may be tortuous
I don't know. When I imagine flying cars, it's not like this. This is a small helicopter.
Posted in: 'Flying car' demos at Osaka Expo halted after part falls off in mid-flight
Japanese society has deep-rooted custom as if rest is bad.
Posted in: Do you think Japan has too many or too few public holidays, compared to other countries?
Will he repeats to flatter US president again ?
Posted in: Japan is test case for Trump's tariff deals, but talks may be tortuous