Japan sets an example

Hello Fjef: I have very much enjoyed your inputs and hope we can keep this thread going. I was stationed in Japan in the Kanto plain from 67-70 and lived in what was called a paddy house. One day I pointed out a long and profuse trail of termite droppings to my very Budda like landlord. He pointed out that it was no problem, when it got worse they would build a new house. The paddy house had no insulation! the walls would sweat, we had to cover the windows with plastic to keep the heat in, later we left the plastic on as it also kept the road dust out. The house was located right on the edge of a dirt road and the dump trucks which go like hell would scatter dust and mud all over the house. The house was still cozy and warm, (kerosene, pot belly stove) AND on a clear day, we had a clear view of Mt Fuji. Later I bought a trailer for $500 and lived there for the next two years, all the same eccentricities and more. At the bathtub drain to the faucet I measured about 45 VAC, as long as we filled the tub first and did not touch the fixture again (while in the tub) we were OK. This prompted me to look at an outlet, after taking off the cover I found the whole compartment with electrical debris (crumbling insulation) I touched one of the wires and the insulation fell off! I quickly closed everything off and cautioned my wife as to the frailness of the system and to try not to run alot of appliances at once. One day driving from Johnson Housing to Yokota AB there was a little old man on what passes as a small motorcycle, no helmet,boots (wearing sandals) no gloves; took a gentle nonchalant right turn to an off road without looking and chrashed headlong right into a small truck, rode right over him, jumped the benjo ditch and ended up in a field. (Incidentally even the construction worker wear sandals, at that time) My point is: the Japanese have a very different way of doing things, and nothing is either right or wrong, just different All in all I look back fondly ofthose years and very much enjoyed my tour. PS Thanks for the tip on Kerr.

 

HAHAHAHAHAHAH cold blooded indeed. i hear women's tolerance for cold is lower by a few degrees anyways. at least until they get menopause

andyprius: tell us more stories

 

Right and correct, that's an elitist statement! Visiting a country is not the same as living there, and living there is not the same as being a born native of the land. So any macho,elitist, America is right statements are total irrelevant to the subject at hand. Even natives have varied opinions of whys and wherefores. Native Americans OR Native Japanese.

 

As for the wasting of paper it used to frustrate the hell out of me everytime I went by this empty lot that the tour busses used for food relenishment for the Japanese tourist. After the bus left there would 100s of candy wrappers and such simply thrown on the ground, I could never figure this out as the Japanese are extremely clean and tidy. I finally concluded that trait of cleanlness only applied to themselves and their property and not to a forlorn dirt lot. Never did really figure it out????? Are they still the same on that aspect, Jef?

 

Jef,
Thanks for all the interesting detail. The book is available here both in hardback and paperback, the latter out in 2002 by Penguin at £6.59.
There are some useful reviews on Amazon.

 

Yes - littering and dumping garbage on beaches, in the forrest and any secluded place in Japan is still rampant. drivers toss cigarettes out of car windows all the time - I have been burned a few times on my motorcycle.

Japanese have a social structure based on 'inside' and 'outside'. If you are on the inside of a group like a family, company, club, etc, you and your group are treated with great respect. If you are on the outside of a group, then other people's property, people from another country, etc. are not entitled to the same respect. The Japanese word for foreigner translates as 'outside person'. This does not always mean 'bad' treatment - just different, but as a non-Japanese, you will always be treated as an outsider. This is why non-Japanese have such a hard time renting apartments through regular real estate agents - you are outside the group, therefore not expected to understand or respect the rules and property.

The most upsetting thing I see regularly in our neighbourhood is the dumping of dogs and cats. Japanese in Tokyo buy a dog or cat, then realize that it is hard to look after them in the city and drive out here and dump them - over 1 million pets are discarded/year in Chiba prefecture alone (where I live) and unfortunately we happen to be in a convenient drop zone. All we can do is round them up and take them to the city office where they are held for a couple of days and then destroyed. Sad.

 

Interesting and very sad. But for every bad there is a good. It would be a great way to pick up a class dog. Strange somebody doesn't figure out a recycling business (in dogs) Yes as a Gaijin I had noticed this separtist behavior. Another funny incident happened to me which I really shouldn't relate ( a Japanese person never would) To begin: I bought a nice cabinet made to order, to accomodate my tuner,Amplifier, Tape Recorder(reel to reel) and record player. My wife noticed other speakers at another store and said we should get those as they match the cabinet better, OK I said and trudged back to the first store. Explained my predicament and the clerk said, Sure, just pack the speakers up and they would come and pick them up (10 miles distant) I retorted that I could not pack the speakers as I no longer had the original boxes. (actually the boxes were Huge, were full of stuff put away to save space in my little 250 sq ft house. The clerk said, Oh Dami Dami (Bad, Bad) We must have the boxes. We then stood there and stared at each other for about a full minute, neither one of us saying anything, FINALLY, I had a brainstorm, and said.." You know, I bought the speakers, not the boxes" That was a mistake, I must have hit a Japanese social full tilt nerve, He turned as red as a Lobster and I wasn"t sure if he was going to explode or jump across the counter and strangle me. I must mention that just before this box statement he had payed me all the money back for the speakers PLUS $5.00 more. To make peace and ameliorrate the situation I confessed that I really did have the boxes but it would take a while to empty them. We agreed on three days and dutifully went straight home and packed up the speakers like a good little Gaijin. They were to come over and pick them up. His last parting shot was to remind me that they had paid me $5.00 more. I said Yes, I noticed and said Thankyou. Well it's been 38 years now and I'm still waiting for the store to pick up their speakers! Incidentally, I don't have the boxes anymore. (dami,dami).

 

are you sure he's not saying dame, dame?

 

Looks like the Washington Post has painted another very accurate picture of what is really happening somewhere. Thank you for the heads up Maggieddd. Maybe next week they can profile China and talk about how they are living up to their commitments to the celebrated Kyoto Treaty.

 

i would be suprised if china followed the kyoto treaty

 

Which they do not. They didn't ratify it. Same for the Aussies, I believe.

The Chinese do, however, now have a national RSP. Something we still don't have. Granted that's the kind of thing China is good at... Mandates. Ah, the double edged sword that is the strong central gov't.

 

'Time payments' aren't inherently evil, they just need to be approached with caution and knowledge. We have good credit, and are actually able to borrow cheaply enough to make it worthwile to use our money elsewhere while we pay off some things. No, I'm not talking about 'introductory rates'!

 

Credit is fine if you need it, I never said it was evil. However 20+ per cent on some credit cards is Usurious. Some rates are even higher! It used to be only Banks and Hock shops were exempt from ursury. Now the crooks are being allowed to charge any rate that the naive wish to pursue. I will not and have not participated. To make matters worse, if you are one of the participants of a high credit card rate and run up only a few thousands and continually pay the minimum, and never make another purchase, it can take 30-40 years to pay off AND you have payed 2 to 3 times the original amount of purchase. If you continue to purchase with that same plan, you can have a very close relationship with your creditor for life. A one way relationship.

 

Dave, is this your conversion?
http://www.geocities.com/harald_nancy/plat_cat_heater.htm

Looks schweet and warm (tho I live in cali, so no heating needs other than the blower fan really)... but my parents would love this in their minivan.

 

I never said you said it was evil!

I agree with you 100%. One thing that drives me nuts about Oregon right now is our lax regulation of the sleazeball 'payday loan' outfits. Our laws are some of the most permissive in the country. In a small town near my home, the businesses are closing and being replaced with these loan shops. Disgusting.

 

Sounds like the rind of sleeze that surrounds every Army post. It's so very depressing when you see that kinda thing happening. How it's not usury I'll never know. I can't believe that people fall into that trap. No discipline or common sense I suppose.