14 February 2010
TOYOTA deserves Recalls and Bashing!
Toyota is Japan's biggest corporation, not only that, it is the world's largest auto company.
But I do not like Toyota, not because recent recall scandals but its arrogance as giant corporation.
The scandal spread from the U.S. to Japan.
A few years ago, Mr. Okuda, a former president and counselor of Toyota made a very arrogant comment in relation to media's bashing of Ministry of Health and Labor. Because Mr. Okuda had a friend in the ministry, he said "Current media's bashing of the ministry is too much, I think we should withdraw sponsorship from them."
What a pity is no media tried not to respond to his comment. Good media should have responded like "Oh, good, then we can reveal anything about Toyota's problem such as heavy overwork on engineers that resulted in death, exploiting dispatched workers for cheaper cost that resulted in masscre in Akihabara shopping district committed by a Toyota factory worker, making public streets warehouse for "Just In Time" policy and etc.
There are too many hidden facts never reported by media because of too strong sponsorhip.
Since his comment, I decided not to buy Toyota cars regardless its quality and brand status. Now such brand status and quality is deteriorated by recent scandals.
For the U.S. auto makers, it is a great opportunity to take over Toyota's share that has been taken. Great time for the revenge?
Well, GM bankrupt itself, not by Toyota.
In my opinion, it is time Toyota and other Japanese auto makers stay away from U.S. market.
The U.S. market is huge but by the world's key currency, US dollar. They do not produce goods by themselves but by Chinese printing US dollar bills to give them.
The world has been supporting the U.S. because it has been thought the largest and most powerful, attractive market in the world.
Kind of weird situation, isn't it.
I think it still is, but you never know the future of it.
The bottom line is safest market is at home. We do not have to seek cheap and high quality goods any more but safe domestic goods.
17:17 Posted in Japan News, Media, Society, US-Japan relationship | Permalink | Comments (0) | Tags: toyota
24 December 2009
Isn't he stupid?
I wouldn't do the same thing although I know importance of taking action like "Civil Disobedience."
He is like German Red Army and Japanese Red Army who were active in 1970's.
Interview with him reminds me of German film "Baader-Meinhof."
Their activity started with arson in department store and ended up with hi-jacking, killing innocent people and finally killing themselves in prison.
I don't like extremists, not real saver but egoist. They just enjoy their own party.
Really Stupid!
17 May 2009
"Miss Universe" is sexist and racist pageant
Miss Japan for this year's "Miss Universe" competition was selected, 24 year-old fashion model.
In 2007 Miss Japan won Miss Universe Crown. Was that good news?
Actually, I did not care and even despise the praise people were making.
This pageant should be criticised for its sexist and racist aspects.
Contenstants were expected to be gentle and cheerful girl. They have to be neutral in the sense of politics.
That is why Miss California was said to have lost the crown of Miss America because of her remark on the same sex marriage.
Women are evaluated based on skin deep and appearance by swim suits and evening gown. Not by their character or ability.
That is a traditional role of women in the society. Poor girls, they still want to be loved by playing such old-fashioned woman.
The standard of beauty for the pageant is western measure, not universal. It is myth of universalism.
Always a white woman won. Otherwise a woman who looked like white woman who suits high-heels, dress, and tiara did. Skinny and lighter skin color is recommended.
In some parts of the world, like in Southern Pacific islands or Calibu, fat women are considered attractive. Very different from western world.
Why is "Miss Universe" winner considered the queen of the world? No. They cannot represent the world's beauty.
There are numerous standards of woman's beauty. The pageant is very imperialistic thing.
By showing the pageant globally, the people of the world are brainwashed to believe western beauty is the only beauty of the world.
Nonsense and racist. We are not so dumb any more.
Such an event is unfitted to 21st century. Anti-feminist and anti-multi-culturalism.
The pageant should be abolished to ban discrimination.
19:12 Posted in Culture, Japan News, Media, Society | Permalink | Comments (5) | Tags: racism, feminism, women
30 December 2008
Speech on U.S. welfare reform and its failure
On 21 of December, the speech by a professor from UC Riverside, Dr. Ellen Reese was held in Hosei University, Tokyo. The speaker was critical of US welfare reform done since 1996. The purpose of the speech was to acknowledge Japanese people the welfare reform such as 5 year time-out period was worst thing for Japan to follow.
The main points were as follows,
- The U.S. is the most affluent nation in the world but 1 in 10 people are living below poverty line. 1 in 5 children were living in the household of below poverty line.
- Poverty is concentrated among ethnic minorities and single mother households.
- Federal poverty guideline was set in 1960s. It is already outdated.
- Welfare reform started in 1996 did not actually reduce the poverty but glossed over serious facts to reduce welfare recipients.
- A common myth is that the welfare recipients live extravagant lives, wasting tax payers's expense. In reality, federal public assistance does not provide enough money to lift a family out of poverty or even pay for all of a family's basic necessities.
- Private welfare contractors are cheating on welfare recipients by encouraging them to to ask friends, families and churches for help to keep most of the money they have to use for the recipients.
- The states with more Black people implement more strict policies on welfare.
- Those who time-out of welfare are in harder situation than those who left welfare for other reasons.
- Time-out people, especially women have to rely on their former abusers, often their fathers and damage their mental and physical conditions.
- The states with more strict welfare policy have higher rate of child abuse, fostering and out-of-home care cases.
It is very sad to know such facts.
The U.S. has been a role model of Japan since the end of World War 2. Japan was occupied by the U.S. force and democratized by them.
Thanks to the U.S. distribution of the wealth in our country has become much more even than prewar time. The constitution given by the U.S. insures citizens' rights to have healthy and cultural lives, which the government has to support.
Now the situation has changed. The U.S. has become "Do not follow" model.
Since Iraq war, the U.S. has spent too much money on military. Why not they want to spend that amount of money for the poor people in their own territory. The economy is going bankrupt by financial crisis. It is time to change.
I hope that in next year Mr. Obama can change the things better, pulling their troops from outside their territory and concentrating poverty issue in his country. The U.S. is not superpower any more.
The below is You Tube clips that post part of the speech (2 parts, 13 minutes).
Part 2
17:14 Posted in Japan News, Politics, Society, US-Japan relationship, USA issues | Permalink | Comments (0) | Tags: poverty, welfare