Let's Japan.org Debunking Eikaiwa and Ramblings in Japan

Some snark on the Web for a Friday. Updated 12/15

• October: The Japan Tourism Agency is established to attract more foreign tourists to Japan

  December:

• Taro Aso, economic genius: Give workers a raise because I said so.

  Meanwhile, back on planet Earth:

  Canon to slash Oita workforce by 1,100

  Honda cuts more jobs; Toyota to halt output

  Major steelmakers mull temporary shutdown of furnaces

  Japan in worse shape than feared

  The sound of politicians trying to kick start the economy: Govt adopts 2 tril. yen plan to boost jobs

• Rakuten: Men across Japan rejoice as the days of jiggling when they decend a flight of stairs comes to an end.

• The governments of Japan and Ibaraki Prefecture: We're up to our ears in debt; let's build an airport that the airlines aren't interested in and in a location where there is no train service, no planes, and no customers.

• TV Tokyo:

  Brain-killing video:

• Lawson: Indulgences now on sale! Absolve yourself of your ecological sins!

• O.C. Welch, owner of a Ford dealership: It's the fault of traitorous American consumers who buy "rice ready" Japanese cars that the US auto industry has to be bailed out has failed.

• Jason, Yet Another Gaijin in Japan: I don't know what caused the global economic meltdown, but if eikaiwa teachers want to take working in Japan to the next level, they might want to consider working as a taxi driver, or a factory worker, or a convenience store clerk, or an electronics salesman, or maybe even work in a regular office building.

  UPDATE: Debito thinks the article is grand while Adamu at Mutantfrog freaks out over it.

Update 12/15

Via . Words fail me. Never underestimate idiots on a mission.

A few snark-worthy items in the news.

Talk A Lot English textbook: Foreigners at strict Japanese high schools can't speak Japanese properly, ride motorcycles, have long hair, dress like bums, carry knives, and bring beer and scary pets with them.

William Pesek, Bloomberg.com: Few people benefited from Japan's miraculous post-war growth. Yet, Japan is a wealthy nation, except for the income gap, working poor, internet cafe refugees, drop in the Nikkei, strengthening of the yen, and the BoJ's 0.3% interest rate. That's why I fear being mugged by old people.

Toshizo Ido, Governor of Hyogo: Death and destruction in the Tokyo area would be a windfall for Kansai!

Naoko Yamazaki, astronaut: The explosion of the Challenger shuttle was inspiring! [Did she really say that or is this some kind of transcription/translation problem?]

Taro Aso, Prime Minister of Japan: It would be really nice if wealthy people voluntarily refuse my election bribe pitiful handout money to protect the public from a violent storm seen only once every 100 years because it would save me the hassle of actually doing my job.

Gen. Toshio Tamogami, Air Self-Defense Force Chief of Staff: Fuck you, I find your North Korea-like control over freedom of expression disturbing.

And finally, since the world is abuzz over the election of Barack Obama as the next president of the United States, a little dip into US politics:

John Hinderaker, Power Line (Time's 2004 Blog of the Year):

Obama thinks he is a good talker, but he is often undisciplined when he speaks. He needs to understand that as President, his words will be scrutinized and will have impact whether he intends it or not. In this regard, President Bush is an excellent model; Obama should take a lesson from his example. Bush never gets sloppy when he is speaking publicly. He chooses his words with care and precision, which is why his style sometimes seems halting. In the eight years he has been President, it is remarkable how few gaffes or verbal blunders he has committed. If Obama doesn’t raise his standards, he will exceed Bush’s total before he is inaugurated.

CNN: Bush: 'I regret saying some things I shouldn't have said'.

Doh!