I thought I’d seen everything when I read the headline in today’s paper that Nestle was going to bail out Yubari city from its bankruptcy. As it always turns out with these headlines, it was slightly exaggerated but I really do have to take my hat off to Nestle. It turns out that Nestle has decided to donate 10 yen to the city of Yubari from every pack sold of its latest brand of Kit Kat. Continue reading Nestle To Bail Out The City Of Yubari With Chocolates
Monthly Archives: May 2007
Warmonger! Japan’s Rearming Plans Backfire
Japan reaches for “Planned-Rearming”
Japan has drawn world attention recently due to efforts aimed at increasing her defensive and offensive military strength. Two of the strongest opponents are South Korea and China. In part due to a poor history stemming from WWII and Japan’s strong connection with America, these countries view an armed Japan as a real threat. They often cite history of the war atrocities that Japan can not be trusted with such power, where as Japan stands to reason her military build-up is only a response to the changing political climate that surrounds the island. Continue reading Warmonger! Japan’s Rearming Plans Backfire
Stippy Was Hacked!
As you may have noticed, we were down for the last 4 or 5 days. Some malicious person decided that hacking stippy would be a novel idea. Well, I was away for a week, and did not have access, and therefore not a chance to restore from backups until now, but this is the first time that a hacker has really, no I mean REALLY annoyed me. Someone found a way (god knows how) to modify almost every file in the directory where stippy is stored, without making any obvious changes. So, it was either compare each and every file with those in the backup, or just restore from the backup. Continue reading Stippy Was Hacked!
The Biofuel/Biogas Debate Reaches Japan
Biodiesel and Biogas – What does it all mean for Japan?
Judging by some of the comments from readers over the past months, I get the feeling a lot of people are far more up to speed than me when it comes to things that are good for the planet. However, I had a bad day at work the other day and spent some time bouncing my way through the Internet to take my mind off the office. It so happened I bumped into some interesting things in the way of “green”, specifically, the controversy over “biofuels” and what they could mean for Japan. Continue reading The Biofuel/Biogas Debate Reaches Japan
Happy Families in Japan – did you think about pre-marital counseling?
Is pre-marital counseling for you?
Apparently 1 in 20 of Japanese weddings last year included at least one foreigner. As a recent addition to this growing group, I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about what it means to be married to a Japanese person (国際結婚, kokusai kekkon) for me – a very stippy gaijin. Having a good time while chatting with Japanese friends is one thing, but living together 24-7 with someone who has grown up with a totally different set of morals, expectations and traditions is a pretty eye opening experience. It is easy to forget but, interestingly, all of my friends at home remind me that it is even pretty hard doing this back home where everyone speaks the same language! After a bunch of long phone calls with friends back home, my wife and I decided to try out pre-marital counseling Continue reading Happy Families in Japan – did you think about pre-marital counseling?