Joined: 15 Jun 2004 Posts: 46182 Location: Los Skandolous, California Country:
Posted: Thu Dec 01, 2011 9:05 am Post subject:
I thought this was a very interesting article.
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Zen and Loneliness in Japan
I thought it was an inspired idea, sure to be met with keen interest, if not giddy anticipation. When the reaction was blank stares, trepidation, and dismissal, I was nonplussed.
The place was Citibank�fs commercial banking branch in Nagoya where I was a newly-installed branch manager, conjuring ideas to
raise morale and productivity, especially among the young unmarried men and women staff, as well as to score political points with higher ups by fostering communications�\and �gcross-selling�h potential�\with Citibank�fs commercial finance affiliate in Nagoya.
The idea was a �gsocial event�h�\a party with food, drinks and karaoke�\particularly for the two dozen or so young, single staff
members of both companies. Part �gsingles�h party; part �gteam building�h exercise.
We did hold the event, and it was a flop. What surprised me most was the timidity and diffidence, and maladroitness, of the young men, who basically huddled in a corner by themselves and stared at their shoes, while the young women were waiting to be approached. As a business manager, I asked myself how people so unaggressive in personal situations could possibly be successful in sales (turns out they were not, and Citi later closed the office). But was there a greater social and societal problem here?
At the time I was finding it necessary to evaluate my cultural biases on a host of issues�\ceding superiority in most cases to the �gJapanese
way.�h Was this another such case?
I was reminded of this long ago experience by a November 25, 2011 Nihon Keizai Shimbun article on a survey showing that the percentage of 18 to 35 year old unmarried Japanese men reporting that they were without girlfriends has topped 60 percent. For unmarried women of the same age, the share of those without boyfriends is approaching 50 percent, a historical record. Further, nearly half of the 7,000 survey respondents said that they had given up seeking romantic relationships.
A chart from the article is posted above. The top section presents the percentages of men and women reporting no �gsignificant other.�h
The lower sector gives percentage responses for men and women relating to their social situations involving the opposite sex. Amazingly, for unmarried men, only 1.8 percent reported being engaged. 22.8 percent reported having girlfriends, while 9.4 percent said that they socialize
with or have friends of the opposite sex. For women, 3.1 percent were engaged; 30.9 percent had boyfriends; and 11.9 percent socialized with or had male friends. This left 61.4 percent of the men with no relationships or socializing with women, and 49.5 percent of women in the same
situation with respect to men.
The survey has been conducted at five year intervals by The National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, an agency of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare–one of the many official or quasi-official research institutions in Japan that study societal trends, and
whose reports make absorbing reading. Since the last survey, in 2005, the biggest change was that of men reporting no girlfriends, a jump of 9.2 percent points. For women, the rise in friendlessness was a steep 4.8 percentage points.
The Japanese government�\reflecting the mood of the country�\is worried about family formation (slowing) and population decline (in
process). With the percentage of unmarried young people at historically high levels, the psychological and social circumstances of these people are of great interest.
Some 86 percent of men and 89 percent of women responded that they �gplanned to marry eventually,�h a rate only slightly down from the previous survey. But there was a significant uptick�\up 2.3 points to 9.4 percent for men, 1.2 points to 6.8 percent for women�\in persons saying that they would never marry.
Reasons for staying single were mostly �gdon�ft feel the need to marry�h for 18 to 25 year olds, and �ghave not met a suitable person�h for 25 to 35 year olds. Number of children desired after marriage was 2.12 (up 0.02) for women, 2.04 (down 0.03) for men. Age at which they desired to be married was 30.4 years (previously 30.0) for men, and 28.4 (previously 28.1) for women. Most men and women feel that a two year age difference in favor of men is the marriage ideal. But the survey revealed a big jump�\to 35.8 percent from 29.4 percent�\in men saying the couple should be the same age.
One of the strengths of Japanese society is the �gzen�h stoicism of Japanese culture. In most of its manifestations, this stoicism is both admirable and beneficial. But in some respects it is decidedly unhelpful, even tragic. Would the plight of so many lonely people not be one?
Joined: 26 Mar 2007 Posts: 2061 Location: Melbourne Country:
Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2011 5:10 pm Post subject:
The operator of Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant says at least 45 tonnes of highly radioactive water has leaked from the facility, possibly into the Pacific Ocean.
A statement by the operator TEPCO said workers noticed a leak in a purification device, with radioactive water escaping through a crack in a catchment wall.
The leaking water contained about 1 million times as much strontium as the maximum safe level.
Strontium is easily absorbed by living tissue and can cause cancer.
TEPCO says some of the 45 tonnes or more of contaminated water may have reached the Pacific Ocean.
Last week, TEPCO reported that molten fuel rods at the plant may have eaten two-thirds of the way through a concrete containment base.
The statement was based on a new simulation of the March meltdowns.
It said the latest calculations suggest the nuclear fuel inside the No. 1 reactor has melted entirely.
Simulations predict the molten fuel has eaten through 65 centimetres of concrete in a containment base below, stopping just 37 centimetres short of an outer steel casing.
It is also believed the molten core has eaten part of the way through the concrete bases of the No. 2 and 3 reactors.
The findings indicate the facility came much closer to a cataclysmic meltdown than previously thought.
---
And on a lighter note:
Supercars crash on Japanese highway
There has been a pile-up with a difference on a highway in Japan - involving a small fleet of expensive supercars.
Japanese police say eight Ferraris, two Mercedes Benz and a Lamborghini crashed into each other when the lead car hit a central barrier as they drove through the country's west.
Joined: 15 Jun 2004 Posts: 46182 Location: Los Skandolous, California Country:
Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2011 7:54 am Post subject:
Report documents Japan's epic fail.
===========
Japan Fukushima Disaster: Probe Finds Response Failed
By YURI KAGEYAMA 12/26/11 AP
TOKYO -- Japan's response to the nuclear crisis that followed the March 11 tsunami was confused and riddled with problems, including an erroneous assumption an emergency cooling system was working and a delay in disclosing dangerous radiation leaks, a report revealed Monday.
The disturbing picture of harried and bumbling workers and government officials scrambling to respond to the problems at Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant was depicted in the report detailing a government investigation.
The 507-page interim report, compiled by interviewing more than 400 people, including utility workers and government officials, found authorities had grossly underestimated tsunami risks, assuming the highest wave would be 6 meters (20 feet). The tsunami hit at more than double those levels.
The report criticized the use of the term "soteigai," meaning "outside our imagination," which it said implied authorities were shirking responsibility for what had happened. It said by labeling the events as beyond what could have been expected, officials had invited public distrust.
"This accident has taught us an important lesson on how we must be ready for soteigai," it said.
The report, set to be finished by mid-2012, found workers at Tokyo Electric Power Co., the utility that ran Fukushima Dai-ichi, were untrained to handle emergencies like the power shutdown that struck when the tsunami destroyed backup generators – setting off the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.
There was no clear manual to follow, and the workers failed to communicate, not only with the government but also among themselves, it said.
Finding alternative ways to bring sorely needed water to the reactors was delayed for hours because of the mishandling of an emergency cooling system, the report said. Workers assumed the system was working, despite several warning signs it had failed and was sending the nuclear core into meltdown.
The report acknowledged that even if the system had kicked in properly, the tsunami damage may have been so great that meltdowns would have happened anyway.
But a better response might have reduced the core damage, radiation leaks and the hydrogen explosions that followed at two reactors and sent plumes of radiation into the air, according to the report.
Sadder still was how the government dallied in relaying information to the public, such as using evasive language to avoid admitting serious meltdowns at the reactors, the report said.
The government also delayed disclosure of radiation data in the area, unnecessarily exposing entire towns to radiation when they could have evacuated, the report found.
The government recommended changes so utilities will respond properly to serious accidents.
It recommended separating the nuclear regulators from the unit that promotes atomic energy, echoing frequent criticism since the disaster.
Japan's nuclear regulators were in the same ministry that promotes the industry, but they will be moved to the environment ministry next year to ensure more independence.
The report acknowledged people were still living in fear of radiation spewed into the air and water, as well as radiation in the food they eat. Thousands have been forced to evacuate and have suffered monetary damage from radiation contamination, it said.
"The nuclear disaster is far from over," the report said.
The earthquake and tsunami left 20,000 people dead or missing.
Joined: 13 Apr 2007 Posts: 12123 Location: It was fun while it lasted. Country:
Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2011 10:46 pm Post subject:
Wendy's returns to Japan
Dec. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Wendy�fs Co., the third-biggest U.S. fast-food chain, added goose-liver pate and truffles to burgers as it invests as much as $200 million on a return to Japan two years after leaving the country.
The Japan Premium sandwich sells for 1,280 yen ($16) at Wendy�fs in Tokyo�fs Omotesando luxury shopping district, the first of a targeted 100 shops. �gWe think the fast-food market here is ready for something different,�h Ernest Higa, chief executive officer of Wendy�fs Japan LLC, said in an interview at the restaurant�fs opening yesterday.
Wendy�fs is re-entering Japan under a plan to expand outside the U.S., where it got 92 percent of revenue in 2010, after posting losses in six of the past eight quarters. The Dublin, Ohio-based chain is focusing on the world�fs second-biggest fast- food market first as it looks for operating partners in China and Brazil.
Joined: 15 Jun 2004 Posts: 46182 Location: Los Skandolous, California Country:
Posted: Sun Jan 01, 2012 2:01 pm Post subject:
bmwracer wrote:
Depends on how buzzed they are.
Hehe. Very true. They could still be stone cold drunk and knocked out, but I for one think a 7.0 magnitude would sober your a$$ up more effectively than a 12 step program.
Joined: 08 May 2007 Posts: 2331 Location: in South Atami Country:
Posted: Sun Jan 01, 2012 4:11 pm Post subject:
Tu_triky wrote:
Hehe. Very true. They could still be stone cold drunk and knocked out, but I for one think a 7.0 magnitude would sober your a$$ up more effectively than a 12 step program.
I think I am the expert here when it comes to being knocked out by new year's boozing. Despite this one could not help but noticing the quake.
This one was still the strongest one I have ever witnessed but it was not as terrifying as I imagined. Still, scary stuff.
Joined: 13 Apr 2007 Posts: 12123 Location: It was fun while it lasted. Country:
Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 10:52 am Post subject:
Double A-bomb victim dies at 91
January 03, 2012
Akira Iwanaga, a survivor of both atomic bombings in the waning days of World War II, died on Jan. 2. He was 91.
Iwanaga, a, former general affairs division manager for the Nakagasaki city government, was in Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, and Nagasaki on Aug. 9.
He was featured in the documentary "Twice Bombed, Twice Survived" by Hidetaka Inazuka, a film released in 2006 that depicted stories about victims present at both bombings.
Iwanaga worked with Tsutomu Yamaguchi, another victim in the attacks, at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.'s Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works. After being exposed to radiation in Hiroshima, Iwanaga rode the same train as Yamaguchi to Nagasaki where they were both present for the second bombing.
Yamaguchi, who played a major role in the film, died in 2010 at 93.
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