Tag: opinion | RocketNews24

opinion

What Keeps Japanese Schoolgirls Up at Night: Constipation, Bad Karaoke and Chapped Lips, Apparently

Apr 2, 2013 by Jessica
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Ah, elementary school! The carefree days of youth when my biggest concerns were the ingredients in the cafeteria’s “special” lunch and whether the boy sitting next to me did, in fact, have cooties. Sure, those concerns seemed weighty at the time, but with the benefit of hindsight, I know those were halcyon days indeed.

At the risk of sounding like a old crank, I have to wonder if young girls today are missing out on those years of blissful ignorance. A new book, published here in Japan, suggests that the weight of the world may be falling on the shoulders of elementary school girls much earlier than it did for girls of my generation.

Being a Girl collects a variety of concerns expressed by elementary school girls and offers advice from doctors and other specialists, and you might be surprised what secret worries burden young girls’ hearts. Read More

Taiwanese Supporters’ Zeal During WBC Game Causes Outrage in South Korea

Mar 7, 2013 by Philip Kendall
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Taiwanese baseball fans have been condemned in the South Korean media this week for their unsporting and antagonistic behaviour during a game between the two countries held in Taipei on Tuesday. Brandishing signs and banners depicting the leader of North Korea – with which the south remains technically at war - Taiwanese fans began provoking the Korean players.

Feb 27, 2013 by Philip Kendall
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Women-only cars on Japan’s railways have existed in some form or other for more than 50 years, with “hana densha” (lit. “flower train”) carriages originally being introduced as a way of keeping female students safe from the advances of lecherous men during the peak hours. Now considered by many to be a vital part of many inner-city rail services, the train car closest to the driver’s cabin is often reserved for females only and is clearly marked both at boarding locations on the platform and inside the train itself.

Many unwitting foreign males have no doubt hopped on board these carriages during rush hours without realising it. Although foreigners usually escape relatively unscathed, when native Japanese men dare to cross that pink line and invade the sanctity of the josei senyou sharyou (women-only carriage), more often than not they are berated by the women on board until they alight or switch cars.

But is it actually illegal for a man to ride in the women-only car? Surely when other carriages are packed to the rafters, men shouldn’t be forced to squeeze in when the first car would be much less tortuous? Yahoo! Japan News spoke with legal professional Ikki Hashimoto as well as representative from Japan Rail to get the facts about men’s rights when it comes to riding the pink car.

Feb 1, 2013 by Kay
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If you hadn’t already noticed, “cute” is a huge part of Japanese culture. From franchised characters known around the world (yes, all the usual favorites like Hello Kitty and Pokémon, to name but two) to local government mascots, Japan is full of cute in various shapes and sizes. But when it comes to passing judgment on what constitutes cute behavior from girls and what doesn’t, there seems to be a significant difference of opinion between the sexes.

See what you think of the opinion of some Japanese men collected on Japanese summary site NAVER Matome. Does any of it ring a bell? Read More

Survey Reveals that 65.5% of Japanese Male Office Workers Have Considered Divorce

Jan 29, 2013 by Andrew Miller
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In a survey conducted by Japanese magazine Nikkan Spa, 200 married male office workers aged between 20-40 were asked whether they had ever considered divorcing their spouse. As part of our recent love and relationships series, we’ve translated the results below for your delectation. Get ready for some seriously blunt answers and eye-opening reading.

Jan 26, 2013 by Philip Kendall
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Arguably the world’s best-known cookie, Oreos are eaten just about everywhere from the Norwegian fjords to the Great Wall of China. Perhaps the only thing that even comes close to the number of countries that have embraced the humble New Jersey snack, however, are the number of techniques, personal preferences and ways of eating the things that exist and are constantly argued about.

Do you consume them whole like some kind of all-consuming sarlacc pit monster, or do you break them open and feast on the fluffy white goo inside? Do you dip them in milk first or is crunchiness key? It’s a debate that’s raged for generations now, but a recent thread started by a Japanese Twitter user asking for interesting ways to enjoy the little brown and white treats has sparked a new wave of interest in Oreos in Japan.

As it happens, there are myriad ways to enjoy Oreos even in the land of sushi and tempura, and while some of the methods suggested may not be anything new to some western readers, it’s good to know that, whatever our language and cultures differences, when it comes to cookies we’re pretty much all on the same page.

Some of Japan’s best Oreo-attacking suggestions after the break.

Jan 25, 2013 by Philip Kendall
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“This is one thing that I want to continue using until the day I die.”

Of all the things that Japan is renowned for– all of its architectural triumphs, pioneering technology, sexy shenanigans and mind-bending animation — it comes as a surprise to this writer to read that one Chinese blogger in Japan values one thing above all else. Residing in Japan for more than 15 years, this 39-year-old blogger and professor of fine arts claims that, were he to return to his homeland, he’d miss one item more than anything else, and simply can’t begin to fathom why it hasn’t caught on back home.

Forget underwater Walkman music players, forget strawberry ramen and cuddle cafes; for this man, the humble nylon wash cloth is the pinnacle of Japanese invention, and it has become an essential part of his life.

Dec 28, 2012 by Philip Kendall
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Now there’s a quote you don’t read every day…

After reading a love and romance article over on our Japanese site, one regular reader and Japanese college student got in touch to voice her opinion. We receive lots or emails from our readers and are always glad to hear what they have to say, but when someone gets in touch and makes the shockingly frank statement “Rather than working in the sex industry and sucking hundreds of guys, it’s way more profitable to suck one nerd,” it certainly stops us in our tracks…

Dec 17, 2012 by Philip Kendall
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Despite being famed for its robot dogs, futuristic toilets and for being home to Akihabara “Electric Town”, Japan is at times slower than other countries to warm to new electronic devices and worldwide trends.

Just two years ago, hardly any of my Japanese friends used Facebook, instead preferring Japanese social networking service Mixi or to keep their private life off the Internet altogether. When I showed them my iPhone (and let it be known that I was fairly late to the smartphone party), many of my workmates would shrug the device off as over-complicated and mutter about how their current mobile phones – now known as garakē (after the “Galapagos syndrome” due to their exclusivity to and being unable to perform well outside of Japan) – being more than enough for them. Today, Facebook and Twitter are the same life-consuming creatures in Japan that they are everywhere else in the world, and people are accessing them from their iOS or Android powered smartphones wherever you look.

E-books, on the other hand, just aren’t taking off. I’ve shown my Kindle e-reader to friends and colleagues for years now, but each time it has been met with raised eyebrows and the same simple response: “But I like going to bookshops.” While the smartphone has gradually found its place in the hearts of the Japanese people, when it comes to literature, the vast majority of readers still much prefer a physical, paper copy.

In a piece written for Niconico News by journalist and publisher Jun Yamada, however, we learn that there is one genre that has found a home on Japan’s e-readers, to the degree that, Yamada argues, Japan’s e-book market could be in danger of becoming little more than an outlet for cheap, trashy or sexual content, with genuine literature as we know it hardly getting a look-in.

Dec 11, 2012 by Jessica
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As part of the end of year windup, Japan’s Asahi Shimbun newspaper has created a Facebook page where readers can discuss solutions to various issues facing Japan. The current topic of debate is the declining birthrate.

Takuro Morinaga, an economic analyst, weighed in with this controversial proposal: “If we levied a ‘handsome tax‘ on good-looking guys, that would serve to correct a little bit of the unfairness in dating, making it easier for homely guys to find a partner and the number of marriages would increase.”

I bet the ladies at the local tax office are all for it… Read More

Japanese Avengers Fans Up in Arms Over Shoddy Voice Acting on Blu-ray Release

Dec 8, 2012 by Philip Kendall
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The dubbed Blu-ray version of recent hollywood smash The Avengers hasn’t even made it into stores yet, but Japanese film fans are already writing it off as junk.

Despite the Japanese releases of previous superhero movies – The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man and Thor included – being voiced by professional, suitably cast voice actors, the dubbed version of The Avengers in cinemas featured none of the same voices, despite the movie being based around the premise of bringing these much-loved heroes together in one spot.

Movie buffs had hoped that Disney Japan, the company behind the Japanese Blu-ray release, would reinstate the original super heroes’ Japanese counterparts for the home release, but it has become clear that those wishing to enjoy the action movie without subtitles will have to put up with the same subpar voice acting that was shoehorned into the cinema release.

Dec 8, 2012 by Karen Bremer Masuda
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The Town Mouse and The Country Mouse is one of Aesop’s Fables and tells the story of country bumpkin mouse who visits his urban-dwelling cousin for a taste of the luxurious life. The country mouse is at first captivated by the fine food of the city, but is thrown into panic and forced to run and hide after someone throws open the door while he and his cousin are eating. There are numerous retellings of the story, but the moral is that it’s better to live with little in safety, than to live in abundance surrounded by danger.

This may be how many Japanese people feel after leaving their peaceful and secure life in the countryside for the city. Every year thousands of Japanese move to big cities like Tokyo and Osaka from outlying country areas, for work or for school, experiencing all kinds of culture shock as they adjust to new lives. Even moving from one big city to another is an adjustment, as the character of the people and the way things are done differs by region.

Naver Matome has put together the voices of people from different regions of Japan who experienced what the Country Mouse experienced: that the city life isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be.

See what surprised these Japanese “Country Mice” about the big city below:

Dec 1, 2012 by Philip Kendall
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Bitching about our bosses is probably one of the best things about socialising with coworkers. They’re to strict; they’re a push-over; they have coffee breath and get way too close when they talk; whatever the issue, complaining about the boss is a great stress reliever and helps us get through the day.

According to a recent survey taken across four countries, however, expectations of bosses and opinions of what makes a good one vary wildly between countries. Not only that, Japan ranks as the country with the lowest “boss satisfaction” rate of all those surveyed.

Of course, my boss is the greatest, and I would never even dream of saying a bad word about him <cough>Christmasbonus<cough>, but the difference between the opinions of those surveyed in Japan and those in other countries, most notably China, is startling.

Nov 17, 2012 by Philip Kendall
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Not a day goes by here at RocketNews24 without a member of the team expressing their love for the country or uttering the phrase “only in Japan!” in a tone not dissimilar to that of a parent telling friends how their child tried to glue a toilet roll to the dog’s head to make a unicorn.

But even the cutest child gets on their parents’ nerves from time to time, and we all have to let off a little steam.

Over at My Navi News, reporters took to the streets of Tokyo to interview foreigners living in Japan to find out what irks them about the country that, usually, they love so much…

Oct 2, 2012 by Philip Kendall
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Haruki Murakami, the award-winning essayist and critically-acclaimed author of Norwegian Wood, Kafka on the Shore and many others, has spoken out about the recent troubles between Japan, China and Taiwan in a startlingly down-to-earth essay over on the Asahi Shinbun Digital’s culture section.

Motivated in particular by the recent news of China’s bookshops removing titles by Japanese authors, the essay focuses on the importance of cultural exchange in our societies and how, through all forms of media, we are able to communicate our very souls over seas and across borders. Read More

What A Disgrace! Was This Olympic Boxing Match Fixed? Referee Expelled

Aug 9, 2012 by danielnishina
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In my career as a journalist, never have I seen such a debacle. The match in question was a bantamweight match, between Azerbaijan’s Magomed Abdulhamidovand Japan’s Satoshi Shimizu. On five occasions in one round, Shimizu knocked down Abdulhamidov, who also received a two-point penalty. The judges ended up awarding victory by judgment to his opponent, who was the one who spent more time on the canvas, and the referee didn’t stop the match as he would reasonably expected to during one of these downs, nor did he even start counting down a single knockdown. What exactly is going on with refereeing in the London Olympics? Read More

Customer Service (and Customers) in Japan vs. the West: A Japanese Perspective

Aug 7, 2012 by Steven
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One of the things almost all foreign tourists to Japan comment on is the quality of customer service. The phrase “the customer is god” is hammered into Japanese customer service and restaurant staff and the politeness and thoroughness with which they tend to you certainly does a great job at making you feel like one.

Yet while there are plenty of stories on the net about Japanese customer service from a foreigner’s perspective, what do the Japanese think about the rest of the world’s manners?

Reiko Kawakami over at Excite Japan shares her observations about shopping and customer service in the West vs. Japan based on her experience living abroad in England, Italy and Romania.

So how does a lady hailing from a country where the customer is king view these 3 Western countries? Her analysis follows below: