HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: Mark Crispin <mrc@Tomobiki-Cho.CAC.Washington.EDU>
Subject: Texas Southern University marching band in To^kyo^
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
Organization: University of Washington
Mime-Version: 1.0
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1992 20:51:55 GMT

Approximately 120 members of the Texas Southern University marching band
engaged in an act of mass shoplifting in the Akihabara shopping district on
December 7.  They were accompanied in this charming activity by six school
officials, including the university's vice president.

The students were in Japan from December 3 to 7, to perform at the half-time
show of a football game between the University of Nebraska and Kansas State
University.  On the way back to the airport, they stopped at Akihabara around
10AM, shortly after the shops opened.  No sooner had their buses disgorged
them that they scattered to about a dozen shops, and started pilfering stuff
and stuffing them in paper bags.

The total take was about 3 million yen in CD players, mini-televisions,
watches, and electric razors.

Store clerks noticed the shoplifting.  They alerted police, who got several
calls from different shops around 10:40AM, and chased the students.  The
students fled into their buses, videotaping the pursuing clerks.

When police arrived at the scene, they persuaded the students to return the
stolen goods by telling them they don't function in the US because of the
voltage difference.  However, the shopkeepers reported they were still short
about 450,000 yen worth of goods.

The Japanese publicity agent that invited the band compensated the shopkeepers
for their loss.  The game's sponsor, Coca-Cola Japan, said it was ``very
disappointed'' when hearing about the incident today (December 15).

Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan,soc.culture.asian.america,alt.sex,soc.culture.usa,soc.culture.african.american,sci.electronics,misc.consumers,misc.education,misc.entrepreneurs
From: fester@island.COM (Mike Fester)
Subject: Re: D O E S   A M E R I C A   S A Y   Y E S   T O   J A P A N ?
Organization: /usr/local/rn/organization
Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1992 16:53:30 GMT

In article <Bz0D9J.4x2@fc.sde.hp.com> fritz@fc.sde.hp.com (Gary Fritz) writes:
>christopher m. wolf (cmwolf@mtu.edu) wrote:
>: > =} In this era, a well educated country may be more
>: > =} powerful than a well armed world.
>: We constantly hear that the "japenese" are smarter than Americans based on 
>: their test scores.  Has anyone ever compared the tests?

There is an old article in _Psychology_ by Wade and Tavris, where Americans and
Asians were compared by these tests while in school, and varying numbers of
years after schooling. While the Asians did much better at the Junior High
and HS levels, the longer the period AFTER school the tests were readministered,
the better the Americans did compared to their Asian counterparts. In about
5 years, the Americans surpassed the Asians, and the gap continued to widen 
as the years progressed.

>I think basic things like literacy rates (Japan's is somewhere near 99%),
>high-school dropout rates, and other things like that paint a much scarier
>picture than any comparative "IQ" test.
>
>The sad fact is, America's educational system is busted, bad.  We're
>churning out tens of thousands of kids who can't read, can't handle
>basic math, and can't handle any job much more complex than flipping burgers.

Anyone who's had the unfortunate experience of dealing with Japanese college
students at work in their 'arubaito' will assure you this is not in any way
unique to the US. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten the wrong amount
of change (often as not not, too much rather than too little) while the 
sterling product of Japan's educational system laboriously rechecked the figures
mentally before deciding, yes indeed, they DID charge me too much/too little,
had given me the wrong change, etc. Add to that the resounding non-success in
teaching English (most universities have English as one of their entrance
tests, and as a result, most Japanese get AT LEAST 6 years of English, yet 
most who have lived there will assure you that the majority of Japanese cannot
carry on a conversation in English for more than a couple seconds) and there
is no reason laud the Japanese system at the expense of our own. 

Mike
-- 
Disclaimer - Oh come on! You didn't think I was serious, did you?
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan,soc.culture.asian.america,alt.sex,soc.culture.usa,soc.culture.african.american,sci.electronics,misc.consumers,misc.education,misc.entrepreneurs
From: dhesi@cirrus.com (Rahul Dhesi)
Subject: Re: DOES AMERICA SAY YES TO JAPAN? - Off track!!
Organization: Cirrus Logic Inc.
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 01:44:03 GMT

In <1992Dec15.214210.19181@oakhill.sps.mot.com>
rvkl60@aus18a25.sps.mot.com (Tom Mathes) writes:

>Let's get this discussion back on the REAL message of the
>original post: the Japanese coordinated attack on industry
                   ^alleged
>in the US, and the mercantilistic trading practices of Japan.

Do you know when the US will get back on track?  When it stops blaming
Japan.

The US owes Japan a lot.  Why do Americans buy Japanese products?
Because they are inexpensive and work well.  This means that consumers
in the US have to spend less to buy the same thing, or they can spend
the same and get better quality.  This means that consumers in the US
have more money to invest, and they can invest more in industry in
their own country.  The low price of Japanese products HELPS consumers
in the US spend less and save and invest more.

And they would have a LOT to save and invest if they were not paying
around 60% of their earnings in taxes.  THAT is a real problem.
-- 
Rahul Dhesi <dhesi@cirrus.com>
also: dhesi@rahul.net
From: kerkoveericj@bvc.edu
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
Subject: Re: Chotto!!!Sexuality?
Date: 17 Dec 92 12:49:22 CST
Organization: Buena Vista College, Storm Lake, IA



	I'd like to thank the last two people who posted under this 
subject, it was refreshing.  I would like to clear up the fact that I use 
the term girls/women, in order to avoid and argument over which one was the 
better usage.  However, I refuse to use female, as it is a cold and 
completely all-encompassing word.  I'm not taking about female carp or
chickens is Japan, because their sexuality is no consern of mine.
	And, for the record, I still have all my hair!!! (This is for any
of those Japanese girls/women who might read this, although it isn't short
and spikey, it is dandruf free. Snicker, snicker.  AHEM!

					Eric Kerkove -fin-


		
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
From: dwwillia@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (David Williams)
Subject: Re: Texas Southern University marching band in To^kyo^
Organization: Indiana University
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 03:54:43 GMT

I'll be honest.  I had forgotten that TSU was a predominantly black, poor,
urban school when I read about the incident.  I just had a vision of 120 
college kids rampaging in Akihabara: I didn't consider their race.  Somehow I
feel mollified in that Japanese people will condemn blacks specifically, and
not Americans generally, for their behavior.  A couple of Japanese that I
talked to said that this would be the case.

Does their background excuse their behavior?  Being a white male in the
middle of Indiana I do not feel comfortable answering this, but I have to
say no.  To not expect minimally descent behavior from people is to condemn
them as inherently indecent.

The thing that made me so angry about this is that I have lived in Japan,
and I want to return.  I have respect for people I am visiting and
for my fellow foreign nationals.  I show this by learning the language and 
the culture, and I certainly don't break any laws.  What use are my actions
when a bunch of hoodlums receive center-stage attention for their stupidity.

Well, I guess it was not stupid at all for them.  They made of with $4000 in 
electronics.  

David Williams                   Jisei to wa               Death poems 
dwwillia@silver.ucs.indiana.edu  sunawachi mayoi           are mere delusion--
death poem by Toko, died 1795    tada shinan.              death is death.

Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
From: cmr@world.std.com (Charles M Richmond)
Subject: Re: some questions
Organization: Integrated International Systems Corp. One Longfellow Place, Suite 3309, Boston, Ma.
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1992 10:26:09 GMT

tobac@ub-tky.UBSPD.CO.JP (Bach Frederic) writes:

>In article <1gl7egINNc7a@agate.berkeley.edu> jcliu@four-lab4.Berkeley.EDU (James C. Liu) writes:

>Liu>>>4)  Mrs. Farmer grunted that Mary broke the window.
>Liu>>      (seems ok)

>Liu>Yeah, this is okay.

>Nayh, this is not ok! (Even though I had promised I wouldn't read mails
>related to this because, 1) I am not a native English speaker 2)I
>think this should go to email rather than on the net)

>My dictionary says that to grunt is intransitive, i.e. no direct object.
>You cannot grunt something. It is not because our karaoke addicted 
>friend talks to you about predicates and relative subordinate sentences
>that what he "grunts" is correct...
>-- 


It is definitely ok.   The verb has both an intransitive and a transitive
form. Allow me to suggest _Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary_ or
the _Oxford English Dictionary_ or _Websters Third International_ .

Charlie

-- 
*****************************************************************************
*  Charles Richmond 	Integrated International Systems Corporation        *
*  cmr@world.std.com	(Temporary) cmr@koneko.shr.dec.com		    *
*  Specializing in UNIX, X, Image Processing, and Communications.           *
From: mj1078@taurus.cse.kyutech.ac.jp (mmanuel pece)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
Subject: Re: wedding customs?
Date: 18 Dec 92 08:21:25 GMT
Organization: Kyushu Institute of Tech., Iizuka, JAPAN.
NNTP-Posting-Host: sol.taurus.cse.kyutech.ac.jp
In-reply-to: willemsdawnm@bvc.edu's message of 17 Dec 92 16:22:24 CST


In article <1992Dec17.162224.3068@peanut> willemsdawnm@bvc.edu writes:

   I am currently doing a paper on wedding customs of different societies.  I
   would appreciate any information anyone can provide for me. 
   Please send info to willemsdawnm.bvc.edu


Well, i read sometime ago in Mangajin (Japanese Language and Pop Culture 
Magazine) that there is a book titled "Modern Japan Through Its Weddings".
Published in USA. Looked interesting.

Manuel, who has never been to a Japanese wedding but has seen some on TV
--
  pece@taurus.cse.kyutech.ac.jp       
mj1078@taurus.cse.kyutech.ac.jp
From: djohnson@cs.ucsd.edu (Darin Johnson)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
Subject: Re: Not a Myth at All
Date: 13 Dec 92 02:52:39 GMT
Organization: =CSE Dept., U.C. San Diego

>IMHO, it often hurts to listen to gaijin massacre Japanese
>with their Amerika-ben.

Then why do they switch into equally bad English?  The original
point made was that the French didn't mind when the poster spoke
bad French.  What would happen if Americans started talking to
Japanese visitors exclusively in Japanese even when the visitors
tried to speak in English?  I'd think they would assume it was
an insult.
-- 
Darin Johnson
djohnson@ucsd.edu
    "Are you a doctor?"   "No, but I watched."
Xref: sparky soc.culture.japan:12675 soc.culture.jewish:23523 soc.culture.korean:6552
From: chao6@husc11.harvard.edu (James Chao)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan,soc.culture.jewish,soc.culture.korean
Subject: World Model United Nations Conference in Czechoslovakia
Date: 21 Dec 92 05:27:51 GMT
Article-I.D.: husc3.1992Dec21.002752.18736
Distribution: world
Organization: Harvard University Science Center

To all those interested in international relations, politics, and the
United Nations: 

Harvard World Model United Nations (WorldMUN) is an international
conference that brings together university students and young
professionals from around the globe to siimulate the workings of the
United Nations.  The second annual WorldMUN conference will be held from
March 28, 1993, through March 31, 1993, at the Hotel Diplomat in Prague,
Czechoslovakia.  

Ten committees, representing the General Assembly, Economic and Social
Council, and Specialized Agencies of the United Nations, will discuss
issues from the actual UN agenda.  In addition to the formal debate of
resolutions, committee sessions will be augmented by presentations from
politicians, businessmen, scholars, and activists who have helped shape
the dramatic world events of recent years.

In this era of momentous political change, WorldMUN seeks to assess the
role of the United Nations in a new world order.  WorldMUN marks the first
truly international simulated United Nations where participants play the
roles of their own nation's ambassadors.  WorldMUN strives to teach
tomorrow's leaders about the United Nations and its methods of conflict
resolution.  It aims to foster skills in negotiation and debate, in order
that delegates may formulate resolutions on topics currently discussed in
the real United Nations.  These resolutions will be sent to the actual
United Nations committees.

WorldMUN 1993 will take place at the Hotel Diplomat in Prague,
Czechoslovakia.  The Hotel Diplomat is Prague's most modern conference
center.  Prague is both one of the most beautiful metropoles of Europe and
an ideal location for debating current world politics and the changing
role of the United Nations.

The Hotel diplomat is a luxury resort that offers restaurants, shops, a
night club, and fitness and spa equipment.  Delegates will stay at the
Hotel Diplomat for the reduced rate of 130DM/day double occupancy, which
includes two meals a day.

Delegate registration is $US60 per delegate.  For more information, please
reply to this e-mail address or write/fax:
Joshua A. Salomon, Secretary-General
Harvard World Model United Nations 1993
Suite 23, 1430 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138-3810
UNITED STATES

Telephone:  001-617-493-6995
Fax:  001-617-493-6995

James Chao
chao6@husc.harvard.edu
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
From: harkcom@spinach.pa.yokogawa.co.jp (Alton Harkcom)
Subject: Re: Not a myth at all
Date: Sun, 13 Dec 1992 23:19:49 GMT
	<1l#@byu.edu>
Organization: Yokogawa Electric Corporation, Tokyo, Japan

In article <1l#@byu.edu> luke@newt.ee.byu.edu (David Luke) writes:

 =}I wonder sometimes why some people have such a bad time, while others
 =}don't.  Are some people just more sensitive and easily perturbed, or
 =}do they go looking for trouble and thus find it?  Do some people expect
 =}bad treatment, and thereby invite it, or do they act in racist-type
 =}manners towards the Japanese, and so get racistized in return?  Or is
 =}it just dumb luck?

   Why must it be the fault of the person having the bad experience?

   This may be true in some cases, but it is not the only answer
(apparently that may come as a surprise to some of you readers though)...

   It is also quite possible that some people get only limited exposure
to Japan thereby missing out on the bad experiences.  Those who have had
bad experiences may have just had the dumb luck of choosing the wrong
place/time/theme for their experiences or may just be so active that
it is statistically improbable to avoid places/times/themes which will
cause these bad experiences...

   The phrase "kao ga hiroi" ('known in many circles'?) sums up my
position...
From: jice@echo.asd.sgi.com (John Eisenman)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
Subject: Re: Texas Southern University marching band in To^kyo^
Date: 16 Dec 92 20:32:29 GMT
Organization: Silicon Graphics, Inc.
NNTP-Posting-Host: echo.asd.sgi.com

I heard on the news that most of the stolen items had been returned 
and that the university had agreed to pay for the remaining items.

--
John Eisenman (jice@sgi.com)

Silicon Graphics Computer Systems
7U-550
2011 N. Shoreline Blvd.		
P.O. Box 7311		
Mt. View, CA 94039-7311		

(415) 390-1551
From: hit@sol.acs.unt.edu (Hisaharu Tanabe)
Subject: Re: Prowrestling (Was: sumo comes to America, ...)
Organization: University of North Texas
Date: Sat, 12 Dec 1992 17:09:32 GMT

yoichi@carson.u.washington.edu (Yoichi Ii) writes:

>I don't have anything against "kids-aimed" entertainment, but I do think
>American prowrestling is pretty boring. In the Japanese version, there's
>much more "high-flying actions" and different "wazas" whereas the American 
>wrestlers mostly flex muscles is statics fashion and growl at each other.  
>Also the "acting" is worse in the US version.  Maybe things were better 
>pre-'84?

In Japan, the promoters are trying to make us take it seiously as a sport
while they are making the fans to take it as cartoon in the US.  Look at
the Number magazine in Japan.  That's the Japanese edition of the Sports
Illustrated, but it still covers wrestling a lot, and when it does, the whole
issue is about wrestling.  In the US, only two wresrtlers have been on the 
cover of SI, great Danny Hodge and Hulk "Yes, I lied on the Arsenio Hall Show
about my steroid use, but what's wrong with that? Professional Wrestling is 
fake anyway" Hogan.
-- 
Hisaharu Tanabe                 E-Mail : hit@sol.acs.unt.edu
University of North Texas                htanabe@world.std.com (if in Japanese)
Denton,Texas
$@EDJU>08<!wKL%F%-%5%9=#N)Bg(J
From: ra01+@andrew.cmu.edu (Rikiya Asano)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
Subject: Re: RIKIYA ASANO
Date: 12 Dec 92 18:18:42 GMT
Article-I.D.: andrew.of_faWi00iV1E4SX1F
	<Bz2vqC.2uM@ncifcrf.gov>
Organization: Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA

Mr. Masuda writes:

>  As far as I know, there's no censorship in s.c.j., but there is a 
>peer pressure which seems to be rational and helpful to keep the
>integrity of the group. This pressure does not affect the content
>of the posting but the way how a netter posts. As I mentioned several
>times, Mr. Asano seems to have some technical problems; he doesn't
>seem to know how to respond by e-mail, and if my memory serves me 
>correctlly, he has never cited other netters' message in his posting
>as I am doing now. I believe that no one in this group wants a censorship
>to exclude someone unreasonably or to accept someone unreasonably.


The reason that I don't reply by e-mail for all of my post is because
some people use e-mail as a curtain to hide their "Cowardly" opinions.
Like this one
from my e-mail( the names were delete to protect the Asshold):

> 
>   Zenryaku 'Asano'-kun,
>Isi no dentatu wa muzukasii mondane. Tokuni otagaini daiiti gengo de hanasana-
>kya naranto... Dakara kono tegami wa Hihongo de kaite masu. Anata no tegami wo
>yondakedo, oreno uketa insyo^ wa 'atama kakusite siri kakusazu.' Ore wa 
>anatano e^go no tuzuri matigai nomi wo siteki siteita wakedewa naindayo. Konna
>kotowa ore no tegami wo yoku yomeba Nihonjin nara daredemo wakaru
kotonanoni...
>Anataga Nihongo saemo rokuni tuzurenai koto wo ijo^ dato itteita wakeda.
>Hituyo^nara mo^itido anata no bunsyo^ kara inyo^ sitemo iikedo, Nihon-
>zin no meniwa akiraka na kotoga nanka anata dakega wakattenai. Iya, america-
>zin(do^satu ryoku no aru hito tati) no menisaemo me^hakuna yo^ dane. Ore
>ga anata no syutyo^ suru kokuseki no sinpyo^sei wo toyakaku yu^nowa tasikani
>anatani wa o^kina osewa daroga, anata no gendo wo miru nowa taegatai koto
>deari sosite onazi(hontokayo^) nihonzin tosite hazi dearu kotowo anata wa
>rikai dekirukana?

{Name Deleted}

>p.s. Mosi kono tegami no eigo ban ga hituyo^ nara ittekure :)
>p.p.s. Betuni anta no kyo^dai dake ga anta no siriai dake dewa nakaro^ni.
>p.p.p.s. Nande ore ga antano yatin yara nanyara harawanakya naran noda?
>	antano seisin kozo^ wa hontoni ore no meniwa hi-nihonzin-teki
>	ni uturun dakedone.
>p...s. nanka konna kotositeru kotosae anta no omou tubo nanka na?


I not interested in Japanese "only" feelings!
From: mrc@Ikkoku-Kan.Panda.COM (Mark Crispin)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
Subject: Honda is not typical of Japanese companies
Date: 19 Dec 92 19:58:24 GMT
Organization: University of Washington
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
Mime-Version: 1.0

Honda has often been waved around as alleged ``proof'' that Japanese companies
use American labor and supplies, in an attempt to debunk the evidence of the
exploitive behavior of the modern-day heirs to the zaibatsu.

There are two problems with this.

First, as has been pointed out, Honda's reputation as an ``American company
with a Japanese name'' is greatly exaggerated.  Honda *is* a good corporate
citizen in the US, and Honda does do a great amount of production in the US
and other countries.  But, that is still quite a ways away from the claims
made about Honda's operations -- claims that, by the way, Honda does not
itself make.

Second -- and this is often overlooked -- Honda is *NOT* typical of a Japanese
company.  Honda So^ichiro^ was an admirer of the United States.  His company
became a wildcat among Japanese companies doing business in the US, often in
defiance of the Japanese government bureaucrats at MITI.  MITI opposed Honda's
marketing of small motorcycles and scooters in the US because it did not fit
in with MITI's plans; Honda did so anyway and single-handedly saved
motorcycling in the US.  Harley-Davidson would not be alive today if Honda
So^ichiro^ had not revitalized motorcycling and created a new generation of
riders who started with Honda's small bikes and eventually moved on to
Harleys.  Honda also started manufacturing in the US, and became a good US
corporate citizen, sponsoring events and activities across the US.  Long
before it became politically correct to do so, Honda kept his US corporate
profits in the US.

Honda So^ichiro^ was one of a kind.  So is his company.
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan,alt.sex,soc.culture.usa,soc.culture.african.american,sci.electronics,misc.consumers,misc.education,misc.entrepreneurs
From: dhesi@cirrus.com (Rahul Dhesi)
Subject: Re: DOES AMERICA SAY YES TO JAPAN? - Off track!!
Organization: Cirrus Logic Inc.
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1992 00:38:54 GMT

In <BzExLy.7IH@news.cso.uiuc.edu> irvine@uxh.cso.uiuc.edu (Brent
Irvine) writes:

>In 1955, the Regency Company [never heard of them, did you?] INVENTED
>the pocket transistor radio, it took a couple of years to come to
>market [remarkably quick for the times].  Sony came along and COPIED
>the design EXACTLY [well they changed the cover and put their name on it...]
>then preceeded to undersell the Regency.

Was this invention novel enough to deserve patent protection?
-- 
Rahul Dhesi <dhesi@cirrus.com>
also: dhesi@rahul.net
From: robohen@ocf.berkeley.edu (Henry Robertson)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
Subject: ONE-DOLLAR MANGA FOR SALE
Date: 17 Dec 1992 06:51:21 GMT
Organization: U. C. Berkeley Open Computing Facility
NNTP-Posting-Host: headcrash.berkeley.edu

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Now that I have trimmed down my collection to only the very best, I would
like to share it with all of you manga fans in the world.  By sending me
ONE DOLLAR, cash or money order, I will send back to you a sample of
Maruo Suehiro's sci-fi/20th-century, very-non-mainstream, very-unavailable,
very-high-art-quality manga.  It will come with English subtitles on the 
margin.  If you like it, there will be instructions on the back of the
last page to order more.

Send a self-addressed, stamped (29 cents) business-size envelope to:

Henry Robertson
2206 Durant Ave. #5
Berkeley, CA 94704

If you have questions, send e-mail to robohen@ocf.berkeley.edu, or
call (510) 649-1857.

*manga is Japanese comics.
** make sure you like R-rated movie-type of material.
*** sample will have 8 pages.

Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan,alt.sex,soc.culture.usa,soc.culture.african.american,sci.electronics,misc.consumers,misc.education,misc.entrepreneurs