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American in Japan
@
2012 May 15, 3:58pm
Vicente,
Yeah, not a good situation even now. I have been talking to a friend that teaches at a university and is an expert on nuclear power.
I am trying to follow up on reports of health of children (and adults) living in Fukushima, Ibaraki and Tochigi Prefectures. Also I am looking for information on "hotspots" in Tokyo.
Thanks for your entertaining (yet often informative comments)!
American in Japan
@
2012 May 18, 6:51pm
I am concerned about the #4 Reactor spent nuclear fuel sitting at the top of that damaged building.
zzyzzx
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2012 May 22, 12:40am
How's that Fukushima thing going these days? Watched a Frontline episode on it last week.
“Eagles are dandified vultures†- Teddy Roosevelt
I think the worst part is that they have shut off all their other power plants. I imagine that they will have rolling blackouts all summer long.
American in Japan
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2012 May 22, 12:50am
Kansai (Osaka, Hyogo & Kyoto) will be harder hit. There should be few if any blackouts in Tokyo.
Japan has no energy so they can't turn off their nukes for very long.
Anyone remember why WWII turned into a shooting war with Japan? The USA cut off their access to oil was one aspect of it.
Japan is interesting, they have a pretty good standard of living and etc. yet the country has no energy, no arable land, and no resources.
For starting out with almost nothing they're doing pretty well.
Chicks are cute but you already knew that.
Vicente
@
2012 May 22, 4:28am
no arable land,
Oh come now, they are on the low side at 11-16% but it's not zero. Plus there's fishing.
zzyzzx
@
2012 May 23, 12:17am
no arable land,
Oh come now, they are on the low side at 11-16% but it's not zero. Plus there's fishing.
Yeah, but overfishing has already ruined that worldwide.
For the number of people Japan's arable land is insufficient.
The lack of protein this caused in their diet is easy to see in the older generation over there.
Older people are about 4'5" or so.
My Japanese friend is about 5'6" but she is afraid to wear heels "I will be very tall".
The younger people are larger since they had more calories and protein when growing up in the 60's than in the 30's.
They however are productive with fish and shellfish farming and the indented coast is perfect for this activity.
If you think Whole Foods is expensive you have never been in a Tokyo grocery store ;)
American in Japan
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2012 Jun 11, 12:05am
>If you think Whole Foods is expensive you have never been in a Tokyo grocery store...
True! At least they have Costco here now.
American in Japan
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2012 Jun 12, 12:59am
One reason, but there are bigger reasons... Japan puts its effort and financesin keeping a good standard of living for those over 60, but things are hard for those in their 30s and 40s because of the high not discretionary expenses.
I of course would NOT try to live there because you are not Japanese pal. You will never be Japanese and you will be constantly reminded of it.
25-year resident of Tokyo here, I arrived from Sydney in 1988, and apart from 6 months living in Kansas have been here ever since. I have experienced very little racism here, almost none. I am CEO of my own company and have participated in Japanese life to the highest levels, and there are many others like me. Day to day, people are almost unfailingly polite, courteous, diligent and respectful. For those of you reading this list who are curious, I hope you have a chance to visit.
BayArea
@
2012 Jul 4, 1:10am
I just returned from a week long business trip in Tokyo last week.
The rail system is incredible and the people are hard-working, respectful, curteous.
It was interesting to see how late the railways are packed with people. It's very common to see the traffic not ease up well into the night, 9PM, 10PM, 11PM...
There is certainly no shortage of professional, family, and social pressures and I guess it's not a major surprise that the suicide rate is high here.
If you look at the suicide list by country on wiki, it's equally interesting to see countries like Haiti, Jamaica mon (I do to lol), he Bahamas with nearly 0.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_suicide_rate
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There is some interest here so I will post this side.
(1) Japan doesn't honor the UN convention on childhood abductions (but this *might* change).
(2) Forced confessions by police. They can keep you for 21 days without even allowing you a single call.
(3) People (especially in Tokyo) are either way too busy (usually with work or studying) or they have too much time on their hands (few are at a happy medium).
(4) Dangerous cyclists on sidewalks...it has really gotten worse since 2005.
(5) The suicide rate is one of the highest in the world. In terms of numbers over 30,000 per year.
(6) Too much complaining by people without any accompanying action, just getting drunk.
(7) Still too many smokers (most of which have bad manners). Finally fewer than 50% or men now smoke here (but the rate was 60% in 1995)...
(8) Soft punishment for those under 20 who commit major crimes. They can literally get away with murder.
#crime