HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: davidg@aegis.or.jp (Dave McLane)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
Subject: Re: Japanese gov't --- was (Re: An open letter)
Date: 29 Aug 92 01:13:27 GMT
Organization: Aegis Society, Kyoto Japan

kim@magneto.physics.auburn.edu (Han-jung Kim) writes:

>>On just about anything, I feel that the Japanese politicians
>>make very few definite statements and mumble all the time. 
>>eg. 'mae-muki ni kentou shite mimasho' (which means 
>>'we will consider this in a positive light' !??). so typical.
>>As long as the WWII issue does not become a big issue
>>somewhere they will keep on ignoring it or duck under hoping
>>it will go away. (Except the right wingers doing their thing 
>>and the left wingers doing their thing.)
...
>>                        Kenichiro Aoki. aoki@physics.ucla.edu

> Electic shock to me!!!

[* rest omitted *]

Don't worry, after a while you get used to the idea :-)

And it's not just the Japanese government that has differing
ideas. For example, the editorial in the Daily Yomiuri of August
27th (translated from the Yomiuri Shimbun of August 26th) says:

  Although the emperor was not involved in the Japan-China War
  or Japan's World War II activities, it is only natural that he
  touch on these past events in expressing Japan's desire for
  world peace. In the Japan-China joint statement issued at the
  time of normalizing dipolomatic relations, Japan recognized
  it's responsibility for, and deeply reflected upon, the serious
  damages inflicted on the Chinese people during the war. This 
  represents the general sentiment of the Japanese people.

Perhaps. But I wonder just what that often-referred to joint
statement said as in the Daily Yomiuri of August 29th, Minoru Hirano
says in his regular "Behind the Scenes" column:

  The people's view about the Emperor's visit may be as split
  as in the case of the U.N. peacekeeping law [where about half
  were in favor or it, and half were not].

  In such a tricky situation, the government tried to obtain
  public consensus by using ambiguous wording which no one can
  object to.

  For example, the government, after touting "international 
  contribution" for the peacekeeping law, now stresses the
  Emperor's "goodwill tour" of China.

  Another example is that this nation has avoided expressing
  remorse to the Chinese people by using a similar vague term--
  "unfortunate past"--concerning Japan's conquest of China.
  Such behavior may show that avoiding facing the crucial problem
  is part of Japanese culture, as suggested by the Japanese
  saying, "kusaimono ni futa" (put a lid on stink).

IMHO, the "electric shocks" and view of Japan as a "chameleon"
is coming from the idea that Japan and the Japanese move as one.
In fact, there are many factions and groups and they have quite
different ideas ... although they tend to all call themselves
"we Japanese" :-)

Dave

--
Dave McLane 
JUNET: davidg@aegis.or.jp (ONLY within Japan: post otherwise)
Nagaokakyoshi, Kyoto Japan Tel: +81-75-951-1168 Fax: +81-75-957-1087
From: lamb@jasper.CS.ORST.EDU (Ben Lam)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
Subject: Re: registering marriages
Date: 2 Sep 92 01:14:09 GMT
Article-I.D.: CS.1992Sep02.011409.4220
Organization: Oregon State University, Corvallis Oregon

In article <HARKCOM.92Sep2083240@spinach.pa.yokogawa.co.jp> harkcom@spinach.pa.yokogawa.co.jp (Alton Harkcom) writes:
>
>   Under Japanese law, the Japanese national must start a new family
>register under their Japanese name.  However, the Japanese national can
>change their name within 6 months.  It doesn't say whether that is six
>months from the marriage or six months from the registration though.
>So by default, you would have seperate names when registering.

Would there be any troubles, inconvenience for a couple to have separate
names?  What about the children?

--Ben
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
From: yoichi@milton.u.washington.edu (Yoichi Ii)
Subject: Kinds  of Gaijin (Was: What do most of Japanese ...)
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle
Date: Sun, 23 Aug 1992 22:57:39 GMT

In article <2454@aegis.or.jp> davidg@aegis.or.jp (Dave McLane) writes:
>For further reference, here in the Kansai there are three sub-divisions
>of 'gaijin':
>
>	futsu gaijin	just off the boat, don't know anything about Japan

To nit-pik, the last "u" is "long", as in futuu (futsuu).

>	henna gaijin	"strange" gaijin: can use chopsticks, can
> 			speak Japanese better than many native
>			speakers, know more history than many natives,
>			disliked by many people because of this

I was surprised some of the people doing the disliking were other foreigner
(mostly Americans).  I got the feeling that the main reason for their dislike, 
however, was mostly due to them ("henna") making tons of money (endorsement,TV 
appearances, etc) while they ("futsuu") were not.

>	kawai gaijin	"scary" gaijin, likes to seduce Japanese 
>	 ^		women (often comes to Japan for that purpose)
>

That would be "kowai". There could be a fourth category:
                ^
        kawaii gaijin   "cute" gaijin.  This, of course, would be Meg Ryan :-)
            ^^
From: robohen@ocf.berkeley.edu (Henry Robertson)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
Subject: mystery fad
Date: 3 Sep 1992 18:50:28 GMT
Organization: U. C. Berkeley Open Computing Facility
NNTP-Posting-Host: headcrash.berkeley.edu

Is it true, that 20 years ago there was a fad for Japanese women to remove
a section of their large intestine (about 20cm), since this would lengthen
leg length?
From: blamb@rodan.hri.com (Bill Lambert)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
Subject: Re: Opening the rice market
Date: 31 Aug 92 16:06:27 GMT
Reply-To: blamb@rodan.hri.com (Bill Lambert)
Organization: Horizon Research


=> In article <1992Aug26.212447.29521@acuson.com>, 
=> miklg@acuson.com (Michael Goldman ) writes:
=> => However, today's San Francisco Chronicle (pg A8,Aug 26, '92)
=> => 
=> => 	"US-made sushi is being imported into Japan by a big sushi restaurant
=> => 	chain.  Because raw fish and rice are much cheaper in the US than in
=> => 	Japan, the Sushi Boy chain is saving bundles of money by having the
=> => 	sushi produced in ... 

In article <7138@bigbird.hri.com.hri.com>, blamb@rodan.hri.com 
(Bill Lambert) writes: (That's me)

=> Frozen sushi? My God! Can anyone in Japan tell us about the quality of
=> the "Sushi Boy" chain? I'll have to try this at home, because sometimes
=> we're at a loss with what to do with "left-over" raw fish and sushi rice,
=> so we proceed to stuff ourselves to the gills. 
=> 
=> Some things freeze better than others and maintain their quality. The raw
=> fish may not be so bad, but I would think the rice might be adversely 
=> affected in texture. I also don't quite understand the economy in this.
=> As far as the fish is concerned, yes, but Japanese varieties of rice
=> grown in the US are not so cheap that the shipping costs would still make
=> the economics of doing this viable.
=> 
=> Not that I'm a total disbeliever, but something doesn't seem quite right
=> unless labor costs are also a significant factor in the equation.

I'll answer my own post. It's nice to do that :-)

The US edition of the Yomiuri Shimbun also had an article about the
Sushi Boy chain, and this article may have been the source of the
SF Chronicle piece.

Issues of quality aside, the economic side of the Yomiuri article said
that the cost of sushi rice in Japan was Y400 ($3.10) per Kg while the
rice used in San Diego costs $.67 per Kg. Some of my skepticism came
from the fact that I pay about twice (or more, depending on the brand)
that per Kg for Japanese style rice here in Boston.

The sushi is manufactured (not hand made) using a machine that is
capable of making an astounding 1,000,000 pieces per day, then quick
frozen and shipped to Japan. The article said that overall, a 30% cost
savings was possible, including shipping costs.

OK.... for those quantities, I believe. I'd like to taste it though.

(Sushi Boy is a chain in the Osaka area.... merry-go-round style.)

- Bill Lambert
From: ntetsuya@lamar.ColoState.EDU (Nishimura)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
Subject: Re: An open letter to the Emperor Akihito of Japa
Date: 25 Aug 92 19:31:22 GMT
Organization: Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO  80523

In article <7114@bigbird.hri.com.hri.com> blamb@rodan.hri.com (Bill Lambert) writes:
>
>I followed, and thank you very much for writing that Mr. Kim.
>
>There have been many informative and interesting points of view
>during discussion of this thread. I really enjoyed reading most
>of them. I guess I found that some Chinese/Japanese/Korean people
>have been misinformed about each other.
>
>Probably, as some have mentioned, westerners can't appreciate the
>depth of this issue to many of the posters, but at least I was
>encouraged (and somewhat amazed) to see a better appreciation
>come to the front, and such willingness to be frank and thoughtful.
>
>This net is great, isn't it?
>
>- Bill Lambert 

		Agree!!

					Tetsuya Nishimura
From: yoichi@milton.u.washington.edu (Yoichi Ii)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
Subject: Re: Tofu Sushi ?
Date: 3 Sep 92 17:33:30 GMT
Article-I.D.: u.1992Sep3.173330.29679
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle

me:
>>Didn't your mom tell you to try everything at least once?
>>"How would you know you don't like it if you never ... blah blah."

fester@island.COM (Mike Fester) writes:
>Sorry, Yoichi. As apparantly the only person on the net to have tried the
>stuff (or, at least, the only one to admit it) Bill has the right idea on
>this one. 

Big hands to the intrepid Mr. Fester (pachi-pachi) :-).  Now that you've 
tried, it you can legitimately say to your Mom: "I've tried it and it
"hurls" big time, Mom".

>Excuse me, now. I feel a bit ill just thinking about the stuff.
>PS - Someone else posted something about fried grubs. I've eaten them. 
>Believe me, it's better than tofu-sushi ...
                  ^^^^^^
That bad, eh?
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
From: cmr@world.std.com (Charles M Richmond)
Subject: Re: Long Distance Company
Organization: Integrated International Systems Corp. One Longfellow Place, Suite 3309, Boston, Ma.
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 25 Aug 1992 19:36:27 GMT

blamb@rodan.hri.com (Bill Lambert) writes:

>In article <2A999AC6.5181@orion.oac.uci.edu>, 
>kanemats@hepxvt.ps.uci.edu (Nobuyuki Kanematsu) writes:

>=> So my questions are,
>=> How cheep is MCI compared to AT&T?
>=> How about quality? Is it really different as AT&T sais in the commertial?
>=> Is there other company which is better than both?

>......(comments about MCI) .......

>Overall, I would recommend MCI as a way to save a little money.

>- Bill Lambert 


Which just goes to show how different people end up with different
experiences. My experience with both MCI and Sprint was so bad......

I have 4 numbers and currently swear by (not at *grin*) AT&T. I also
run up 4 digit phone bills!!!  Ouch!!

Charlie
-- 
*****************************************************************************
*  Charles Richmond 	Integrated International Systems Corporation        *
*  cmr@world.std.com	(Temporary) cmr@chiechan.mro4.dec.com		    *
*  Specializing in UNIX, X, Image Processing, and Communications.           *
From: azegami@flab.fujitsu.co.jp (Azegami Kengo)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
Subject: Re: OFFENSIVE MESSAGES
Date: 3 Sep 92 13:50:43 GMT
Organization: Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd., Atsugi, Japan.


In article <1992Sep2.153410.1887@ccu.umanitoba.ca> umsalte2@ccu.umanitoba.ca (Daniel Saltel) writes:

>   Somebody has got into my user-id and has sent offensive messages.
>   I am sorry that this has happened.
>   This has been very upsetting.

This taught us a good lesson,
   "Don't stay off of your machine which is being logged on"

   HUH??

--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                     Azegami, Kengo ( $@HJ>e(J  $@8,8c(J )
                     $@IY;NDL8&5f=j(J($@3t(J) $@=8@Q%7%9!K(J1$@8&(J  
                     Tel:(0462)48-3111 (4511) /  Fax:(0462)49-6695
                     E-mail:azegami@flab.fujitsu.co.jp
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
Subject: Re: Phobia (was Re: The Russo-Japanese War (part 2))
From: f67700241@violet.ccit.arizona.edu (Greg Franklin)
Date: 29 Aug 92 07:21:17 MST
 <1992Aug28.233257.15187@u.washington.edu> <Aug29.032341.51582@yuma.ACNS.ColoState.EDU>
Distribution: world,local
Organization: University of Arizona
Nntp-Posting-User: f67700241

In article <Aug29.032341.51582@yuma.ACNS.ColoState.EDU>, ntetsuya@lamar.ColoState.EDU (Nishimura) writes:
> In article <1992Aug28.233257.15187@u.washington.edu> yoichi@milton.u.washington.edu (Yoichi Ii) writes:
>>masuda@fcs280b.ncifcrf.gov (Michiaki Masuda) writes:
> 
> [stuff deleted]
>>>   I also heard that there are some Japanese families living in my area
>>>that declared, "Nihon-jin no kata to wa amari otsukiai shitaku arimasen
>>>node (We are not willing to socialize with Japanese)."
>>
>>This is a different situation from vacation travel. I could only surmize that 
>>the people you mention are trying to absorb as much American culture as they 
>>can while they're here. In other words they might be missing other Japanese 
>>but are trying hard not to see them.
>
> 	There is another possibility that I can think of.  As many of the 
> 	netters have felt or experienced (if not, it's OK  :> ), many Japanese
> 	tend to "admire" western things whatever they are.  At the same time	
>	they might "look down" our own culture and custom.  These people 
>	usually feel they're "special" and have some kind of superiority over
> 	other fellow Japanese, and over the other Asian nationals, too. (Don't
> 	flame me.  This is from my observation.  ;->)

Hmmm.  All these explanations seem to miss the point, in that there are a
lot of Japanese tourists who are perfectly willing to go abroad in a super-
vised tour group (complete with the woman in a blue suit waving a little
flag) to see the Grand Canyon, Statue of Liberty, etc., NEVER having to
interact with non-Japanese.

When I was in Japan last year, I asked my Himeji host family if they had
ever traveled to America.  The father (middle 50s) volunteered that he had
gone to Australia on vacation with just such a group.

In fairness to the Japanese, this occurs with Americans going abroad to
such mysterious places as France, Italy, and Japan.  It's a question of
comfort level --- some travelers DO want to savor the complete mystery of
another country, while others just want to taste it, interacting with
their own cultural group while they're there.  One way isn't better than
the other.

> 					Tetsuya Nishimura

Are you (were you) a ryuugakusei?  How is Colorado's weather?  The Japanese
students I met last year here were a little peeved by the 105-degree heat,
but happy that it was a dry heat, not very humid....
--
Greg "Mockingbird" Franklin      Interviewer: "Sir, how do you spell relief?"
f67700241@ccit.arizona.edu               Dan: "R-O-L-A-I-D-S-E."
From: buex93d@rwa.urc.tue.nl (Richard Braeken)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
Subject: ARE THERE STUDENT SOCIETIES IN JAPAN
Date: 27 Aug 92 14:17:11 GMT
Reply-To: buex93d@urc.tue.nl



Hello there,

My name is Richard Braeken and I'm organizing a study tour to Japan with
some friends. We are students of the Technical University of Eindhoven
(The Netherlands) and we organize this study tour for the students of
the Faculty of Mathematics and Computing Science. We want to go to Japan
in April 1993 where we want to visit the region of the following city's :
Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Nagasaki and Fukuoka. 

Our group consists of 24 students and 2 professors.
When we are in Japan we want to visit important and leading companies
which are working on our subjects, but also we want to visit
universities.

Besides this, we also want to meet japanese students. 

My question to you is: "Are there student societies?"
When there are, can you give us adresses.

Thank you very much.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Richard Braeken                                     |
Student Society GEWIS                               |Member of the
Technical University of Eindhoven                   |
P.O. Box 513                                        |NIppon
5600 MB Eindhoven (The Netherlands)                 |Study tour
tel. (040)-472815 fax 040-436685                    |COmmittee '93
E-mail buex93d@urc.tue.nl                           |(NISCO '93)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: fester@island.COM (Mike Fester)
Subject: Re: An open letter to the Emperor Akihito of Japa
Organization: /usr/local/rn/organization
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1992 16:22:42 GMT

In article <1992Sep1.184243.24410@tamsun.tamu.edu> x0y3510@tamuts.tamu.edu (Xuejun Yang) writes:
>In article <1992Sep1.151055.1544@island.COM> fester@island.COM (Mike Fester) writes:
>>>nor the resources to crave out its own piece of China. By trying to force the
>>>"Open Door" policy, the US hoped to circumvent the advantages of Imperialism.
>>>
>>>Be civil had little or nothing to do with it.
>>
>>As later events would prove, the US was one of the very few nations with the
>>"fire power" to do almost anything it wanted, anywhere in the world. 
>>Certainly, it had enough to carve out whatever piece of China it desired.

>RIGHT! Like it was ejected by a poor Vietnam!

Actually, I believe the French were kicked out of Indochina first, and they
at some point found the necessary resources to carve out a part of China at
one time.

Mike
-- 
Disclaimer - I'm only doing what the little voices tell me to do. 
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
From: luke@wombat.ee.byu.edu (David Luke)
Subject: Re: Area Code in Japan
Organization: Brigham Young University, Provo UT USA
Date:  3 Sep 92 12:56:28

In article <l=lncjq.dyeh@netcom.com> dyeh@netcom.com (Daniel Yeh) writes:

>Does any one know what cities are the area codes 42 and 422 for in Japan?

422 is Musashino-shi, in Tokyo.  I don't know 42, but my guess is that it's
in Kanagawa-ken.  Yokohama is 45, and similar numbers tend to be close
geographically.

>Thanks.

Dounto menshon ittu.
-- 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|  David Luke                      "There's nothing worse than a brilliant     |
|  luke@wombat.ee.byu.edu           image of a fuzzy concept."                 |
|                                                               -- Ansel Adams |
Xref: sparky soc.culture.japan:7372 soc.culture.asian.american:8566
From: harkcom@spinach.pa.yokogawa.co.jp (Alton Harkcom)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
Subject: Re: mountain bikes & gifts
Date: 31 Aug 92 00:02:23 GMT
	<HARKCOM.92Aug21083451@spinach.pa.yokogawa.co.jp>
	<1992Aug22.065404.3179@nntp.csl.sony.co.jp>
	<l9tmr5INNkmu@nada.cs.utexas.edu>
Organization: Yokogawa Electric Corporation, Tokyo, Japan
In-reply-to: benkei@cs.utexas.edu's message of 29 Aug 92 02:05:25 GMT

In article <l9tmr5INNkmu@nada.cs.utexas.edu> benkei@cs.utexas.edu
   (William Kent Richards) writes:

 =}If Japanese bikes use Presta valves (Euro-style), you can just
 =}get some tubes like this at your local bike shop and swap them.
 =}If they use their own style valves, you could get some Japanese
 =}tubes and swap them.  If they use Presta valves, and you want
 =}to include a pump anyway, include a pump that is switchable
 =}from Schrader (American) to Presta.  If they use Japanese-style
 =}(non-Shrader and non-Presta) remmeber that when the person must
 =}change their tube, they will not be able to use an American

   I may just be confused, but I believe both types of valves are being
used.  On my cheap bike there are valves that use the pressure of the air
to open and have to be unscrewed to let the air out.  On my expensive
bike there are the same center pole type valves as my cheap 10-speed
touring bike in the US.  The center pole is ushed in to allow passage
of air in or out...

Al
From: robohen@ocf.berkeley.edu (Henry Robertson)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
Subject: Re: mystery fad
Date: 4 Sep 1992 06:15:14 GMT
Organization: U.C. Berkeley Open Computing Facility
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: sandstorm.berkeley.edu

Well, if you recall the U.S. Beef-import debates of a few years ago, one of
the Japanese arguments brought up for why they don't want to eat more meat,
was because the average Japanese's small intestine was 20 cm longer than an
American's; consequently, this increased protein metabolism, decreasing the
need for protein intake.         
B
    However, the low-protein metabolism has also been argues, on a 
    (pseudo-) scientific basis, to cause short growth of the limbs.  Consequ
    ently, shortening the small intestine will inspire higher protein
    intake, which in turn will inspire longer limb length.

    However, on my last trip to Japan, from which I got back 3 weeks ago,
    there were ads in the commuter trains to decrease children's meat
    consumption, since children are what they eat, and they shouldn't turn
    into limp pieces of fatty (shimofuri) meat; "Kodomo wo shimofuri-
    ningen ni saseruna!" was the slogan. Instead, they should eat sea food,
    which would keep them lean & mean, and keep their lower back
    muscles strong, since strong lower backs are at the root of Japanese/
    Asian high work ethic.
From: ntetsuya@lamar.ColoState.EDU (Nishimura)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
Subject: Re: Is MAZDA a Japanese word?
Date: 2 Sep 92 15:30:19 GMT
Organization: Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO  80523

In article <1992Sep2.122847.8604@uniwa.uwa.edu.au> keis@psy.uwa.oz.au (Keis Ohtsuka) writes:

>exporting vehicles overseas.  By the way, I heard that
>Toyo Mazda Motor Company changed its name in Japan. At least
>their dealers now post huge signs Efini (E has a tilde and
>the word should be pronounced with a nasal vowel like Portuguese.)
>Anfini but no Mazda.  Is it true?
>
	I don't know if they changed their name (but it's quite possible they
	have chnged it to Mazda, which is far more popular than Toyo...), but 
	Efini or Anfini is just a sales channel of Mazda just like Lexsus is 
	of Toyota, and Acura is or Honda in the US.  Anfini sells such cars as
	Eunos Road Star (= Miata) and Persona (626?).  If I recall correctly
	they also deal with some foreign cars.  
	Would anyone correct me if I am wrong?

						Tetsuya Nishimura
From: miklg@acuson.com (Michael Goldman )
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
Subject: Re: An open letter to the Emperor Akihito of Japa
Date: 27 Aug 92 20:03:19 GMT
Organization: Acuson; Mountain View, California

davidg@aegis.or.jp (Dave McLane) writes:

>jwb@capek.rdt.monash.edu.au (Jim Breen) writes:

>>A disinterested study of the history of that area  leads one, IMHO, to the
>>inescapable conclusion that the Japanese oligarchy was hell-bent on "intruding" on
>>China from before the Sino-Japanese war of the 1890s, and that the "Peking Incident"
>>was just one of the many manufactured precedents to provide justification.

>Since you are claiming inescable conclusions based on history, would
>you supply us some references? 

	Since I can't email to you, I have to post this.  Did my recent 2 part
	series on the Russo-Japanese war not reach your mail distribution?
	I had thought that was a reasonably well-supported argument that Japan
	was expansionist from 1868 on.  If it did reach you, was there some
	credibility problem?  My limited experience in Japan is that the
	libraries and book stores have reasonable English language sections,
	so I would think that any book by an academic historian would provide
	you with some sources.

	- Michael Goldman

-- 
"History teaches us that men and nations behave wisely once they have
exhausted all other alternatives." - Abba Eban
	Disclaimer:  All views are solely my own & not the views of Acuson.
	<sun!sono!miklg>  or  [miklg@acuson.com]