Shawn, the author. |
Here is a collection of
past columns I have written.
It's summer is Japan and that
means humid weather and me be bored out of my skull at my desk
at the local borad of education.
Why do the Hanshin Tigers player
always seem to do well in the All-Star game but horrible during
regular season games?
I've become addicted to the
new PS One, a small new version of the Sony Playstation. Until
now I have been too cheap to buy the Playstation 2 (about $400)
but had no problem forking out less than half that for this system
that plays all PS games except PS2 games.
I had planned to go back to
the US for a few weeks this summer but have been put back by
the horrible prices (from $1400 to $2000). So I guess I'll just
stay here and play games while suffering through a Japanese summer.
Not much news in the past few
weeks (aside from the usual bunch of strange murders) has made
this section boring. The Okinawa summit is coming up this week.
Does anyone outside this country care? I don't like how on one
of the networks the cartoon mascot for the summit is a girl with
blonde hair. Japanese have no pride in their own appearance.
I always hear people tell me how foreign babies (usually white)
are so much cuter than Japanese babies.
I would give my firstborn child
right now if all buildings in Japan were air-conditioned.
How come the Tigers (one of
my favorite teams) ALWAYS stink? You would think with all the
fan support (and revenue from them) that they could build a stronger
team. It seems right now that the a Tigers will come in last
place for the third year in a row.
I am convinced that the seismic
disturbances near the island of Miyakejima are not because of
a pending volcanic eruption but the rumblings of an awaking Godzilla,
yet again rising to wreak his havoc on the residents of Tokyo.
In the "don't do this
if you are in public relations" department an official from
Snow Brand dairy products visited a victim of food poisoning
resulting from drinking their products (recently about 8,000
people from the Kinki region of Japan have reported cases of
food poisoning after drinking Snow Brands low-fat milk). They
visited the elderly lady, who was in the hospital at the time,
and were somewhat unapologetic. To top off the visit they gave
the family coupons for Snow Brand products. Great move guys.
I'm sure the woman can't wait to get out of the hospital and
by more Snow Brand products!
Another reason for Japanese
to stop consuming whale meat- dioxin levels are found to 172
times the tolerable daily intake. Maybe now the Japanese can
stop standing against the world on this one issue (with the convention
on whaling taking place this has become a hot topic).
In the "what were they
thinking when they came up with this" department a new drama
(and I use that word lightly) this season involves the underground
world of "betting on who can eat the most". In an eviroment
more suited for cock-fighting the unlikely hero of this drama
is the king of this underworld because he can out eat anyone.
Nevermind the fact that he is quite skinny. I guess summer isn't
the time for intelligent dramas in Japan. Set your VCRs.
In the election last night
the LDP kept their tight grip on the majority of the Diet (Japan's
congress) despite the stupid things that Prime Minister Mori
said. The group that I am most disgusted with in this election
are the voters or more accurately the ones who didn't vote. PM
Mori has an low extremely approval rating (somewhere around 20%)
but because of low voter turnout he will be in power yet another
term. In an internet poll of who people wanted to be Prime Minister
Mori finished close to last with 2.3% of the vote! A woman from
a minority party finished first with over 30% of the vote making
me wish the system was different. Currently, the majority party
picks one of their own to be Prime Minister. I can't remember
the last time their choice was popular. By the way, Yuko Obuchi
(daughter of the late prime minister) not surprisingly won her
seat to represent a district in Gunma. Her father was from Gunma
while she spent most of her time in Tokyo before this election
(actually I don't blame her, have you been to Gunma?).
Recently forged packs of JT
(Japan Tobacco) cigarette packs have been found. There are suspected
to have come from the East. I thought it was funny that JT said
that "we have not heard any complaints about health damage
from the copied products". As if it could be much worse
than normal cigarettes. What could happen? The copies give you
cancer faster?!
Yuko Obuchi, daughter of the
recently deceased Prime Minister Obuchi, has decided to run for
his district seat in the upcoming elections. I am against this
for many reasons. For one, she is 26 and has almost no experience
other than working for her father. Also, the world of politics
is a dirty one and I would rather not have her lower herself.
Not to mention, because of her inexperience she is opening herself
up to being manipulated by her advisors who used to work with
her father.
The Japan Soccer Federation
continues to yank Japan National Team coach Troussier around
mulling whether they will renew his contract to cover the Olympics
and beyond. It seems unwise to be so undeciesive so close to
the summer Olympics. Earlier this year when the time came to
decide whether to keep him or not the federation delayed their
decision yet again saying they would decide after the Kirin Cup
and Hussien Cup (4 games) were over. Japan has done well tying
France in regulation (losing in PS), beating Jamaica 4-0 and
tying Slovakia 1-1. From my point of view the vocalness of Troussier
seems to make the federation uneasy and dislike him (he does
have reason to be vocal however). They almost seem scared of
him. Also the fact that he doesn't speak Japanese cannot be underestimated.
I wonder if it was like this when Japan had foreign coaches before.
It will be interesting to see what happens now that Japan has
defeated Bolivia 2-0.
In a footnote, the Japan Soccer
Federation did extend Troussier's contract to cover the Olympics
and Asia Cup but they looked very unconfortable and even unhappy
at the press conference. I'm sure they would have been happier
to fire him but the results of the past few games prevented them.
The Empress Dowager died recently
at the age of 97. My first thought after hearing the news was
"what does dowager mean?!". Apparently it the title
that she held as the widow of Emperor Hirohito. She seemed like
an extremely personable public figure who put a more human face
on the royal family. She also lived the longest of any emperor's
wife since the Nara period (710-794) when records began.
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