We Heart Japan!

JAPAN SAQ (SELDOM ASKED QUESTIONS)
http://www3.tky.3web.ne.jp/~edjacob/saq.html

In general, Japanese become friends not through “opening up” to each other (although that’s never ruled out) but through going through the same rites of ceremony together, i.e. classmates you graduate with, people you start at a company with, people you study overseas with, etc. Those are friends for life in Japan.

This is also why it makes it difficult to become friends “at random” without sharing some common experience. It’s all built on commonality. DOesn’t matter about nationality, but sometimes this can cause commonalities to be sparse. All depends on how you and the other person look at it.

Anyone who’s been to Japan will be familiar with the Koban　（交番）, or “police box” as they are known, a place where police officers are stationed throughout town in order to help citizens and keep an eye on things.  Koban are the ideal place to go for directions as they are stocked with maps and usually two officers with a bit of time on their hands.

However, police security is not limited to these local means.  You can also see patrol cars out and about, as well as “motorcycle cops” that are quick on the draw to pull over traffic law offenders.  But most interesting is the security surrounding the embassies located in Tokyo.

One of the more heavily protected is the Russian Embassy in Tokyo, located near Tokyo Tower a short distance from the Kamiyacho subway stop.  Like other embassy security, the intersection is equiped with a retractable gate (such as one might use to keep their dog or a small child from going into certain rooms, only larger and somewhat sinister looking) that is pulled across the street during security drills.  Another addition is a large patrol bus (paddy wagon) that can be manuvered to block traffic across the intersection in various ways; also drilled frequently.  The intersection is manned by at least two officers at all times, and this is apart from the actual security at the Russian Embassy itself, which can boast of countless guards along the perimeter and no doubt the inside corridors.

The feature that stands out most, however, is not the gate or the paddy wagon, but the security outlook tower that redifines the word “police box” altogether.   This aluminum-can tower oversees the intersection from a vantage point of about 1 meter above the crowd.  It provides enough space for one officer to enclose himself, or two thin officers to get to know each other on a “beat”   By any standards, this resembles something off an old sail boat at the top of a mast, or at best something tourists would use to look through binoculars for a dollar worth of quarters, rather than police security for the Russian Embassy in Tokyo.  Then again, who knows, maybe this is just police training for claustrophobes and those greedy with personal space.  I’ll leave it up to you to decide if this constitutes police brutality in any way, shape or form.  -JWalker

yes, believe it or not, there are TWO officers in “the box” in the picture below.  geez, I’ve seen fraternaties with more discreet practices to break in new members.

Scissors in a 100 yen shop are no rarity, but haircutting scissors with the promotion to “LETS HOME BARBAR” could result in a child’s ruined rep at school. Parents shouldn’t get any bright ideas from cheap packaging at the 100 yen shop in my opinion. What really cracked me up is the child’s shit-eating grin as his dad - complete with vest! - gets ready to put him through the chop shop. They should have included the picture of the bowl the dad uses as a guide in the copy.

It’s always nice to see a mother out on the town with her daughter. However, this picture was taken on a Wednesday evening in Yurakucho near the International Forum. Plenty of heads were turning and many hushed voices were overheard, “What is THAT?!”. Yes, what indeed. Looks like mom had to drop of her daughter at daycare on the way to “work”. Either that or a customer couldn’t pay, so she collected his child for ransom?? The wife is sure to find out!!  Mysteries abound at the International Forum in Tokyo :p

Is that a pencil in your pocket or…?! :p

(sold at the 100 yen shop)

Of all the things to name a building… :p

A recent survey announced the Japanese population aged 65 or over stands at 20.7%. The survey was carried out prior to Respect for the Aged Day, a national holiday on the third Monday in September. The number rose 0.7% from a year earlier, or 830,000 Japanese who have celebrated their 65th birthday. There has been no shortage of predictions for what this top-heavy population will mean for Japan.

For someone who lives in Tokyo, this poses one very serious, yet never discussed, challenge. Every train in Japan features a few seats on each car reserved for seniors, pregnant passengers, or those with injuries, etc. In fact, there are probably no more than 12 “silver seats” per train carriage. It doesn’t take much to realize that 20.7% of the nation will be unable to get a seat on the train - not to mention those on crutches, or carrying small children. With the falling birthrate, as long as injuries are limited, the competition will be mainly among the aged to fight for that last seat on the train.

Fast-forward a decade: The train is filled with seniors clinging to the center poles, propped up against free walls, hanging desperately from the aisle straps, and glaring at those sitting down, possibly fighting over who is older, more decrepit, more aged, more respected. Respect for the Aged Day will likely become limited to those over 85, as will categorization for silver seating on the trains. A centurions-only car may be reserved during rush hour, replacing the women-only cars we see today.

Japan must deal with a slew of effects from its aging nation and falling birthrate; however, the rail companies are best off thinking of some strategies now to relieve an already difficult situation. Speaking of relief… they may need to install more water closets, not to mention kiosks that stock adult diapers

Recently, the Japanese telecommunications company NTT Docomo has released a video commentary about their services, which they term as “Lifestyle Infrastructure”.  Japanese mobile phones, commonly known as keitai (lit. mobile), have been advancing at a rapid pace since the early 90’s, and this has been led by Docomo.  Their i-mode service, launched in 1999 revolutionized the services offered from voice communications to information provider services similar to that of an information desk at a hotel front desk (where the service originally got its name).  In 2001, a high-speed connection made it possible for a variety of options, including video-phone capabilities.

However, that is only the beginning in terms of lifestyle infrastructure, for Docomo, and other telecommunication companies, are determined to integrate other services, namely credit card capabilities.  In comparison with the U.S., credit card use in Japan is considerably lower despite efforts by numerous credit companies to increase credit line availability and security.  However, with the introduction of e-wallet services available with certain handsets offered by Docomo, that seems to be changing.  Docomo was able to tie up with a number of companies, the most visible being the Suica card that enables Japan Rail passengers to charge a reusable IC chip card to be used instead of a paper ticket when passing through the turnstiles.  In addition to the Suica card, passengers can also use their Docomo handset with an IC chip built into the back of the phone.  This has been expanded so that customers can add a certain amount to the account and do shopping at convenience stores, vending machines and other locations using their keitai as “legal tender” per se.

Watch the video linked below for more details, and you’ll also see Docomo is pushing as an innovator to provide tracking services for trucking and transportation, security entrance key functions, and a number of other services closer to the infrastructure in what goes on around us everyday.  No other industry carries quite the future promise as mobile communications in Japan if for no other reason than the frequent glimpse we are given of newer and newer services constantly pushing forward into the future.

See the video HERE (links to Docomo English site)

Have you ever used the popular website YouTube?  Chances are you have.  I just read an article in Newsweek (link) that  cites the number of Japanese users of YouTube at 6.4 million per month.  The problem is that, although it’s convenient to find content on YouTube, there are a whole lot of television shows that appear illegally.

According to the Newsweek article, Fuji Television Network has two members of staff surfing YouTube for content in violation of copyright and sending hundreds of complaints every day.  However, at the same time, Fuji Terebi says YouTube is a pioneer, and has launched their own service called “Watch me!TV”（ワッチミー・ティビー: link in Japanese） which will be available for free use starting this October.  Fuji TV CEO Tadashi Tokizawa says that Watch me! TV is careful to respect copyrights, and doesn’t see YouTube as a rival, hinting at the legal battles that likely lie ahead.

Personally, I use YouTube every so often and find it fun and convenient to use.  It’s obvious that it has introduced the beginning of a new way to view television content online, largely due to its popularity.  I suppose these days technological leaps are made ahead of the laws, and then the mainstream flows in with lawyers at its back.

Amakudari originally meant a god coming down to earth from the heavens, but today is used to refer to the common practice of retired senior public officials once they take up an executive post in a private company.

Due to a loophole in Section 103 of the National Public Service Law, which bars the employment of a public officer after retirement in a private company connected with their former post for at least two years, and the fact that budget constraints for public offices encourages the retrenchment of senior bureaucrats, Section 103 is often overruled when an application is given special permission by the National Personnel Authority.

The problem is further exasperated by the fact that after about three years in their new job, those that land amakudari positions often receive a huge retirement payout and then roll on to a new firm.

The public officials that most often “descend from heaven” are those who served as directors-general of ministry bureaus who go on to post-retirement positions in public corporations dealing with housing, river works, and road construction.  Likewise, former chiefs of regional construction bureaus or councilors at the ministry land jobs in private construction firms.  It is not uncommon that these retired bureaucrats become senmu torishimariyaku (executive director), or joomu torishimariyaku (managing director) at their new firm, and are well positioned to obtain information about construction projects than the sales specialists who have worked their way up the ladder with a construction firm.  While they may not be privy to ministry secrets, per se, the former bureaucrats’ friendly relations keep their ear to the rail, so to speak, about long-term plans that have been brought forward and open for tender, or a certain project that will be going ahead that year, effectively making the former official an “entrance ticket” (or nyuujyouken) into the ministry for the company.