HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: smittie@beach.csulb.edu (Smittie)
Subject: Re: Women's Movement in Japan
Organization: Cal State Long Beach
	<1992Sep13.221253.24169@usl.edu> <190g7nINNsva@agate.berkeley.edu>
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 18:22:24 GMT

>Yeah, but what's all this panic about women not marrying/having kids in Japan?
>Isn't Japan too crowded to begin with?  The Japanese government should
>encourage smoking among older people to kill off the aging problem.

Actually, Japan's birth rate has not even been replacing the population for
over ten years. In 1975 Japan's birth rate fell to 1.91 children per women of
childbearing age. Today there are 1.53 children born per women of childbearing
age. This poses some very serious problems for Japan in that there will be a
disproportionately large number of elderly and a relatively small number of
people in the work force that must support those elderly.

smittie
--
___________________________________________________________________________
GEnie, MCI, AOL:Smittie   All of these accounts except MCI will die on or
smittie@beach.csulb.edu   about Dec 31. UNIX will be forwarded for 2 weeks.
___________________________________________________________________________
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
From: mike@clubmezz.uucp (Michael T. Itamura)
Subject: Re: Mythology Gods
Reply-To: mike@clubmezz.UUCP (Michael T. Itamura)
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
Date: Sat, 12 Sep 1992 10:54:49 GMT

In article <3890@fcs280s.ncifcrf.gov> masuda@fcs280b.ncifcrf.gov (Michiaki Masuda) writes:
>
>  BTW, as I understand it, Yebisu beer is named after Ebisu, and Ebisu Station
>close to the brewery is named after the beer. Is that correct?.

	According to "Mangajin" magazine - issue #12, Yebisu Beer was
originally made by the Yebisu Brewery (established in 1887 in Meguro,
Tokyo).  Apparently, due to the popularity of the beer, the Ebisu station
was created near the brewery between Shibuya and Meguro on what is now
the Yamanote Line.

	Mike Itamura
From: z91005@kgupyr.kwansei.ac.jp (z91005)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
Subject: Re: Cost of Living In Musashino
Date: 9 Sep 92 23:37:09 GMT
Organization: Kwansei Gakuin University, Hyogo, Japan

In article <1992Sep9.044105.11971@nmit.mt.nec.co.jp> d-itasak@nmit.mt.nec.co.jp (Daisaku Itasaka) writes:
>
>Wow! That's no less than three times my rent.
>Are you a company executive or something?
>An average salaryman like me can never afford to pay that much.
>If I got married, there should be absolutely nothing left after
>paying such an extraordinary expensive rent every month,
>
>Note: Not oil.
>In almost all apartment house, you can't use an oil burner.
>
????  Is the poster Japanese?  The name sounds like he is.
But I can't believe any Japanese living in Japan would say this.
Or was he brought up outside Japan and just came to this country?

Yes, you have to pay at least 170,000 yen/month for a 2LDK apartment
in Musashino area.

And

You CAN use an "oil burner" or whatever you call.

It's true landlords were unhappy with "burners" before, but it was almost
20 years ago.
If you rent an apartment with 2 or more bedrooms, the owner won't impose 
such a rule these days.

>A wrong guy in a wrong place at wrong time...
>						 Daisaku Itasaka
Yeah, it really seems so. :-)

Atsu Yagasaki
From: harkcom@spinach.pa.yokogawa.co.jp (Alton Harkcom)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
Subject: Re: Foreigner in Japan.
Date: 11 Sep 92 01:12:49 GMT
	<XVJTqB4w165w@tsoft.sf-bay.org>
Organization: Yokogawa Electric Corporation, Tokyo, Japan
In-reply-to: bbs.lar@tsoft.sf-bay.org's message of 9 Sep 92 05:31:57 GMT

In article <XVJTqB4w165w@tsoft.sf-bay.org> bbs.lar@tsoft.sf-bay.org
   (Larry Greenfield) writes:

 =}(1) don't pay it too much mind. :)  Think of yourself in their shoes. Say 
 =}you see someone walking down the street and you're lost.  You go up to 
 =}him and ask directions in Japanese naturally, but it turns out he's 
 =}really a Chinese-American who speaks only English.  How would he feel?  
 =}He'd probably post the same post you did, inquiring why everyone thinks 
 =}him Japanese in Japan just because he LOOKS Japanese, and the odds are 
 =}(being in Japan), that he might be.

   Actually he would be being paranoid if he feels this way.  Since one is
in Japan it is reasonable to expect them to speak Japanese.  Regardless of
appearance I usually speak Japanese first and later switch if the other
person can't speak it...

 =}(2) perhaps they want to practice their English as much as you want to 
 =}practice their Japanese, and they see a golden opportunity.  Think long 
 =}and hard about it, and ask yourself... if you were in America say, and a 
 =}Japanese tourist came up to you to ask you a question, and perhaps could 
 =}be understood in English, but was a bit shaky speaking the language, yet 
 =}you knew he/she was Japanese (by conversations with other around him/her, 
 =}tour book in hand, whatever), would you try to speak back in Japanese if 
 =}you could, or always just answer in English?

   I would answer in English.  If the other person seemed to be having
touble speaking English then I might suggest another language... (I have
been in this situation many times before and the above method seems to
work the best).
From: davidg@aegis.or.jp (Dave McLane)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
Subject: Re: Cost of Living in Japan
Date: 8 Sep 92 22:43:00 GMT
Organization: Aegis Society, Kyoto Japan

isc30339@nusunix3.nus.sg (TAN WEE KHIANG (1794121F)) writes:

>I'm planning to go over to Japan to work for a couple of years.  As
>such, I would like to know the cost of living in Japan.  When I say cost
>of living, I'm not talking about living in luxury.  Can someone give me
>a rather detail cost of living in Japan?  Thanks in advance.

>Jesse from Singapore  ISC30339@NUSUNIX.NUS.SG

IMHO, you need to narrow your search a bit more: "Japan" isn't one
homomgenous economic entity. 

For example, rent where I am (15 minutes from Kyoto, 35 minutes from
Osaka, limited express stop, 15 minutes walk from the station to my
house) is different than the next station which is a local stop so
you have to change trains, is less than places 5 minutes from the
station, is much less than what I would have to pay in Kobe, or
ATRONOMICALLY less than what I would have to pay in central Tokyo,
etc., etc. 

For example, I have 2 X 6-mat rooms plus a 4-mat DK (dining-kitchen)
in a 20 year old wooden buidling (also a factor) and it costs me
45,000 yen/month. A friend has a place 2 X 6-mats, 1 X 4 1/2 mats,
8-mat DK in a newer concrete building 8 minutes from the same
station and it's ~80,000 yen/month. Another friend has 2 X 6-mats
plus shared kitchen in central Kyoto for 16,000 yen/month. 

I think you would get more meaningful replies if you gave us a
clue as to where you're thinking of living :-)

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

Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
From: davev@bnr.ca (David Villeneuve)
Subject: Cost of Living In Musashino
Reply-To: davev@bnr.ca
Organization: Bell-Northern Research
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 1992 00:42:17 GMT

Well, I cannot answer all of Daniel Yeh's questions, such as the
ones dealing with the American school.  I do hear that the school
costs about 1,500,000-en per year.  

My wife, daughter, and I live in a 2LDK in Musashino-shi, just
about 10 minutes north of Mitaka station on Chuo-sen.  

We did look at different 2LDK places and found that the price
range (quite wide) started at about 170,000/month.  Of course,
the price probably drops considerably at about a 30 minute walk from
the station :-)

Apartments do not come with appliances, so you must purchase
the refrigerator and washing machine yourself.  I recommend
spending extra on the automatic washing machines ... they
save your hands and do a really good job cleaning  :-)

Sometimes you also have to purchase the gas stove for the 
apartment.  Note:  No oven :-(

Light fixtures are often an extra.  The Daiichi Kaden store
just north of Mitaka station has some which sell for 2995-en,
an extremely good deal at that price.  When we saw our place were
were impressed with the nice light fixtures.  They had been removed
by the time we moved in :-(

Due to the cost of electricity, it is expensive to run an 
electric dryer.  Finding a place which can easily accomodate
laundry poles is a must, and proximity to a coin-laundry
with gas-heated dryers is a must during rainy season.

Musashino has the "Inagiya" grocery store, which has quite
good prices, and a large Seiyu store, which also has good
prices.  

I did notice that the price of fruit and vegetables south
of Mitaka station (in Mitaka) was lower, but the Musashino
side of the tracks is quite a bit quieter (and is close to
a very large post office :-)

I hope this helps anyone who is interested.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Dave Villeneuve, davev@bnr.ca   | Mail daemon wa canada ni arimasu. 
NTJI, BNR JAPAN                 | Boku wa nippon ni imasu yo.
My opinions are my own, though please don't quote me on that.
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan,soc.culture.china,soc.culture.hongkong,soc.culture.taiwan
From: fester@island.COM (Mike Fester)
Subject: Re: An open letter to the Emperor Akihito of Japa
Organization: /usr/local/rn/organization
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1992 16:31:55 GMT

In article <1992Sep03.005954.18290@r-node.gts.org> yung@r-node.gts.org (Amos Yung) writes:
>In article <1992Sep1.155554.2395@island.COM> fester@island.COM (Mike Fester) writes:
>>In article <1992Aug29.145343.16617@r-node.gts.org> yung@r-node.gts.org (Amos Yung) writes:
>>
>>>Then, again, any good will gesture from the Japanese will be met with
>>>skepticism from her neighbours. If she even try to increase her political
>>>influences, then there can only be out right hostility from everybody.
>>>The Americans yell "Pearl Harbour!" just because they are voluntarily
>>>buying Japanese goods.

>>I keep hearing this argument, and I wonder that anyone gives it validity. Are
>>you claiming that one only needs to (or should) apologize *IF* everyone else
>>accepts it? Is this valid reasoning: "Well, I know that what I did was wrong,
>>but he won't accept my apology anyway, to forget it"? Sorry, but that's not
>>the way apologies work. The aggrieved party is under NO obligation to the 
>>offender. 

>I think you read-in a little too much into my remarks. I was merely stating
>an observation, which I still think is true. 

Fine, but that sort of reasoning does not release the Japanese from the 
obligation of maikng an apology.

>>As for the "Remember Pearl Harbor!" nonsense, I don't recall that we are 
>>asking for such an statement by the Japanese.
>
>I am not sure what "nonsense" you are referring to. Just in case you didn't
>know: A few months back were the 50th anniversary of the attack on Pearl
>Harbour. The media (TV, News magazine....) made a big deal about it and
>people's emmotion were dragged out. 

Soryy, I thought I was clear on this. Where do you find any US government calls
for an apology from Japan during that time?

Mike
-- 
Disclaimer - I'm only doing what the little voices tell me to do. 
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
From: dyeh@netcom.com (Daniel Yeh)
Subject: Cost of Living in Mitaka and Musashino Cities
Date: Mon, 07 Sep 92 08:21:18 GMT
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest) 


Hi there,

First, I'd like to thank those who responded to my question about 
the area code 422 in Japan. It turns out that 422 is for Mitaka and 
Musashino cities. Now, here are some questions concerned with the 
cost of living in the 422 area.

Does any one know the average rate for an apartment with two bedrooms, 
one bathroom, one kitchen, and washer/dryer in the 422 area? Also, is
there an American School within the 422 area? How much does it cost to 
attend the K-6 classes at an American School in the greater Tokyo area?

Thanks in advance.

Daniel
From: lindaa@sooth.Berkeley.EDU (Linda Absher)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
Subject: Mr. Baseball
Date: 11 Sep 1992 20:36:42 GMT
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: sooth.berkeley.edu

Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
Subject: Re: Mr. Baseball
Summary: 
Expires: 
Followup-To: 
Distribution: 
Organization: /etc/organization
Keywords: 

In article <7225@bigbird.hri.com.hri.com> blamb@rodan.hri.com (Bill Lambert) writes:
>
>Hmmm.... how about "Japanese/American Femme Fatale fights
>racist stereotypes and finds true love in the Bay area, while
>writing a famous novel that wins her a Pulitzer, and solving
>the murder of the famous Hollywood script writer who wrote
>"Mr. Baseball".... by incriminating herself and a cadre of
>like thinking Nisei feminists. At their trial, the 40 women
>are acquitted on grounds of "temporary sanity".
>
>Well.... it's a start, but I wonder if there's enough to flesh
>out a novel without the obligatory bath tub scene.
>
>That'll be $4561.57, based on my usual hourly consultant rates,
>10% discount for cash.
>
>- Bill


How's about Amerasian woman looking for a Internet 12-Step program
to focus on her addiction of ferreting out racist stereotypes in 
media while trying to maintain a GPA good enough to graduate?  


As for your fee, please call my agent....


-- 
   $  Linda Absher		$ "Jane! Get me off of this               $ 
   $  lindaa@info.Berkeley.EDU	$      crazy thing!!!"                    $
   $				$    -George Jetson, "The Jetsons"        $
From: masuda@fcs280b.ncifcrf.gov (Michiaki Masuda)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
Subject: Re: US Open (was Re: US Open-door policy (was: An open letter to ...) )
Date: 10 Sep 92 22:11:38 GMT
Organization: Frederick Cancer Research and Development Center

In article <18m36rINN491@agate.berkeley.edu> robohen@ocf.berkeley.edu (Henry Robertson) writes:

>Then again, the two Asian tennis stars were Asian American.

  I think Patricia is a Canadian citizen.

>  Could this have
>to do with Japanese tennis facilities being chronically overcrowded, limiting
>superstar growth (1 player hogging up the court 8 hours a day impossible)?

    Hmmmm, eight hours a day... Remember that Japanese youngsters have to 
spare time to go to "jyuku."

>Of course, now that we have a generation of rich Japanese who live in
>suburbs, and the author Murakami Ryu epitomizes the tennis-crazed yuppie
>(see his new book Tennis Boy), there will likely be more stars in the future.

  Uh-uh. "Yuppie can't jump." 8-)

Michiaki Masuda
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
From: pssres12@ucs.usl.edu (Vignes Gerard M)
Subject: Female Companion Sought (Was Attractive and Wealthy)
Organization: Univ. of Southwestern La., Lafayette
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1992 03:58:30 GMT

In article <1992Sep10.025004.22521@cs.ucla.edu> kanekawa@oahu.cs.ucla.edu (Nobuyasu Kanekawa) writes:
>You are logically correct, I guess.  But ...
>what I would like to say is that it is (was) better to show your
>sincere attitude in your original post as something like;

	I can see your point.  My initial message was so terse
	as to invite misinterpretation.  Please pardon me,
	and I will be more careful in future posts.
	It was not my intention to give insult
	and I hope that none has been taken.

>not to make readers (incl. Japanese women) misunderstand you
>for the best result.  See ... man, your original post caused
>reders' misunderstandings, as you read.

	Yes, well..., I hope these discussions
	have helped to clarify my original intention.
	Romance (and poverty :-) are very tricky topics
	to discuss publicly.

>Sincerity is the strongest weapon of men, I convince.
>But I have never used it. :-)

	Actually, your sincerity in this matter
	is greatly appreciated.
					Gerard

-- 

pssres12@ucs.usl.edu	Gerard Vignes, USL PO Box 42709, Lafayette LA 70504 USA

Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
From: pssres12@ucs.usl.edu (Vignes Gerard M)
Subject: Nippo-Disney
Organization: Univ. of Southwestern La., Lafayette
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1992 04:28:38 GMT

	Let's get even with the Japanese
	for selling us all those foreign cars.

	Let's give 'em a Disney World of their own  8-}

						Gerard

	Nothing like a dose of American culture for what ails ya.

-- 

pssres12@ucs.usl.edu	Gerard Vignes, USL PO Box 42709, Lafayette LA 70504 USA

Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
From: hiraga@Csli.Stanford.EDU (Yuzuru Hiraga)
Subject: Ukiyo-e (Was: Re: Help with art needed)
Organization: Stanford University CSLI
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 01:01:29 GMT

In article <1992Sep12.181709.24530@u.washington.edu> yoichi@milton.u.washington.edu (Yoichi Ii) writes:
>  1. I thought those [=Ukiyo-e] were wood block prints (hanga), thus
>     technically speaking, they were carved and printed, not drawn.

Well, yes and no.  It is true that they are distributed as prints,
but the role of the artist (the one who gets the credit) is to draw
the original, which is handed to the publisher for engraving and printing.

>  2. What exactly is Ukiyoe?  For some reason I thought they were
>     paintings of various "women of the evening" and other entertainment 
>     related subjects.  Are Hokusai's and Hiroshige's Ukiyoe, too?

Ukiyo-E < Ukiyo: this world, the world we reside in; E: picture, drawing.
Generally, woodprints printed commercially for mass distribution in the
Edo Era (ca. early 18 to 19 C).
Virtually any aspect of everyday life served as topics.

Imagine them as counterparts of presentday pictorial magazines -
LIFE/Sports Illustrated/VOGUE/PLAYBOY etc., or even TV and films,
and you get the idea.  Since they were commercial products, it is
natural that those related with entertainment: e.g. pin-ups of
Yakusha=actors(no actresses were permitted), Sumo wrestlers, and
Geisha/Jorou girls, had the most popularity.  And of course,
the X-rated types (Shunga) - but they were not considered so hideous
as nowadays: as a matter of fact, they were primarily meant as wedding
gifts from mother to daughter as part of her sexual education.
And just as in today's mass media, you would find those that were
more or less artistically minded, including Hokusai and Hiroshige,
though they, too, were aware of the interest of their sponsors and public.

But one theme you can't find (at least openly presented) is politics -
the common citizen class (choumin) had no political access anyway,
and any mention (let alone criticism) of the ruling Bushi class was
strongly forbidden and censored.  The industry was nevertheless oppressed
every now and then, for reasons like being too luxurious, immoral, etc.

Ukiyo-e did receive the popularity, respect, and treatment that would
be expected of mass products - nothing more or less.
When Japan began being introduced to the West in the mid-19C,
they were used as packings for goods like porcelain.  These "trash"
drew the attention of Western artists, which eventually grew into an impact
that completely altered Western Art.
Back in Japan, noone would have imagined that their "magazine copies"
would have attracted that much interest, fame, and value!

-Yuzuru Hiraga
From: robohen@ocf.berkeley.edu (Henry Robertson)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
Subject: In search of a book...
Date: 11 Sep 1992 03:52:16 GMT
Organization: U.C. Berkeley Open Computing Facility
NNTP-Posting-Host: tempest.berkeley.edu

I don't feel like playing flame wars tonight....

By the way, there is a novel, called "Ai to Gensou no Fashizumu," 
translated as "The Fascism of Love and Illusion," published around 1987;
a long novel (1000+ pages) set in the late-'80s (before the stock market
crash) about a character named Toji (as distinct from Tojo), who turns
Japan fascist, using high-tech terrorism (like injecting the prime 
minister with brain-damaging virus, or creating TV images of world leaders
saying things using supercomputers).  I've already read it in Japanese,
but was wondering if there are any English versions of it out yet.  I
sure would like to see how it came through on the translation.  The author
is Murakami Ryu, or Ryu Murakami by the English scheme.

Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
From: kanekawa@oahu.cs.ucla.edu (Nobuyasu Kanekawa)
Subject: Re: Attractive, Wealthy Japanese Woman Sought
Organization: UCLA Computer Science Department
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 92 15:38:54 GMT

In article <1992Sep11.051708.21470@usl.edu> pssres12@ucs.usl.edu (Vignes Gerard M) writes:
>          Because they are exquisite creatures,
>           with deep, beautiful, almond eyes
>            and soft shiny, silky hair
>             and slender bodies.
>                                   And yet,
>                       they seem not ashamed
>                of their natural intelligence
>        unlike many American women I have known.

In article <1992Sep14.203837.19180@csi.uottawa.ca> kiisaka@csi.uottawa.ca (Ken Iisaka (the mad pianist)) writes:
>
>(A stray Japanese engaged to a beautiful, intelligent, American woman...)
>

Ah ha !  I convince both of you are EXTREMELY LUCKY !!!!

			- A stray Japanese seeking an attractive, healthy,
			       exquisite, beautiful, intelligent, ...
				       Nobuyasu KANEKAWA

I think standard deviations of these two groupes (American and Japanese
women) are larger than difference between their average values.
In comparing attributions of different groups, we have to consider the 
standard deviations, besides the average values.

-- 
Nobuyasu KANEKAWA  (E-mail address in Japan : kanekawa@hrl.hitachi.co.jp)

-- 
Nobuyasu KANEKAWA  (E-mail address in Japan : kanekawa@hrl.hitachi.co.jp)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan,soc.history
From: jwb@capek.rdt.monash.edu.au (Jim Breen)
Subject: Re: US colonializing (Was: An open letter to the Emperor Akihito of Japan)
Organization: Monash University, Melb., Australia.
Date: Sun, 6 Sep 1992 23:43:48 GMT

miklg@acuson.com (Michael Goldman ) writes:

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

>>miklg@acuson.com (Michael Goldman ) writes:

>>>	In the beginning of 1865, the US Navy had 530 vessels, with 2,000
>>>	guns, 51,500 military personnel, 16,900 Navy personnel in Navy
>>>	shipyards, and there were another 17,000 civilians in other shipyards
>>>	working on Navy ships.  Your turn - what was the British Navy size at
>>>	that time?  And the Union Army was over 1 Million men.

>>Hmmm. [calculate,calculate] That makes each ship had an average of 97 crew 
>>(assuming they were all at sea), and an average of 3.8 guns each.

>>Some navy.

>	I wrote that the US Navy was the largest, not the best.  Even _I_, 
>	would never try to equate a large number of blockade ships and 
>	river gunboats with the Imperial Navies of GB or France.  Since
>	you were so _very_ sure that the Confederate and Union NAvies
>	combined were smaller than even the French Navy I presume you
>	have the figures at hand and will share them with us.

I dug out the Royal Navy list for 1860. It only had "cruisers", i.e.
ocean-going vessels, and ranged from steam assisted 131-gun ships-of-the-line
down to small gun-boats. The total was 441 ships (commision and in 
ordinary). It is very difficult, as Michael admits, to make size
comparisons. On guns (regardless of size), the RN had about 8 times more
than the USN, in fact the 15 largest ships in the RN had more guns than the
entire USN. As the French navy was about 60% the size of the RN, I stand
by my claim.

-- 
Jim Breen                           JIS:$B%8%`!!%V%j!<%s(J
Department of Robotics & Digital Technology. Monash University. 
PO Box 197 Caulfield East VIC 3145 Australia (ph) +61 3 573 2552 
(fax) +61 3 573 2345  AARNet/Internet:jwb@capek.rdt.monash.edu.au