Japanese Avoid Studying Overseas? A Counter-Argument

Japanese university students have been called a lot of things recently, not many of them very nice. The Mainichi surmises that today’s post-secondary crowd is not in possession of the same “spirit of independence” exhibited by students who went through the system a decade earlier. The Yomiuri calls them “inward-looking” and the Japan Times insinuates that they are just plain afraid.

Afraid of what?

Studying abroad, of course.

The drop in the number of university students heading overseas has been labeled a harbinger of a wide variety of educational, economic and social malaise.  Apparently there were some 82,945 Japanese studying overseas at the tertiary level in 2004, but just 66,833 ventured abroad in 2008. We are constantly reminded that this is a cause for coordinated hand-wringing.

To be fair, that is a sizable drop, and schools in the US are particularly concerned. According to the Mainichi, 1997 witnessed 47,073 young Japanese taking classes at American junior colleges and universities. That tally has stumbled badly over the last decade, hitting 29,264 in 2008.

Incidentally, the drop in enrollment at American universities is not all that surprising given the competition that arose in the wake of September 11th, 2001. As America slammed the brakes on visa issuance, countries like Canada, the UK and Australia were there to pick up the slack by advertising cheaper tuition, secure study environments and less red tape.

But that is beside the point. What the Japanese media is most concerned about is highlighting any and every indication that the mother ship is sinking.

The reasons offered for the downturn in academic export numbers are many.

The most common culprit is the rather small and asinine timeframe currently set in stone by businesses for hiring prospective university graduates. Anyone who has read about this issue will recite that students would rather stay in Japan than risk missing that window of opportunity.

The Mainichi wondered openly if this wasn't the rebirth of self-imposed isolationism.

Others have posited that today’s generation is less adventurous because they grew up after Japan’s bubble economy got washed up on the rocks and are quite comfortable where they are, thank you very much.

Another frequent anthem is the assurance that these are uncertain economic times. Of all of the arguments put forth, this is probably the most logical.

Or it would be if the yen hadn’t appreciated so much against the dollar (and the euro…and the pound) since late 2007. But I digress.

The perceived lack of desire to study abroad is apparently just the tip of the gloomberg for Japan.

One argument is that Japan needs global-minded managers to steer its aging keel into calmer, and presumably globalized, waters. This was the assertion echoed by the dean of Madrid’s IE Business School when he was here on a recruiting visit (ahem) last October.

And almost everyone seems to obsess over the relatively robust numbers of students that neighbors China and South Korea send abroad. This is generally taken in the media as Exhibit B that Japan is on the wane.

And that may be true, economically at least. However, there are a couple of other explanations for this annual funeral dirge.

The Mainichi caught one of them, if but for just a brief moment. In an earlier linked-to article a former university president by the name of Takashi Masuda is quoted as saying, “The culprit is environment. Japanese universities try to fence in students so that they can fill their campuses to capacity, and instructors are loathe to let go of talented students.”

A quick look at the measures schools have taken to stave off bankruptcy over the last decade shows that this point of view is worthy of further consideration.

But another overlooked factor is possibly at play here.

Shortly after the study abroad numbers come out every year, the media publishes articles about how much the number of new “adults” (20 is the age of majority in Japan) has fallen since the year prior.

This year, for the first time as far as anyone can tell, 20-year-olds make up less than one percent of the national population. Obviously, this exacerbates the whole ‘graying society’ thing that Japan does so well.

According to numbers published yesterday by the Japan Times, the number of college-aged folks celebrating their Coming of Age Day yesterday was a full 30,000 individuals fewer than the year before.

And this is not just some freakish, one-off occurrence. A new low has been set annually for several years running.

30,000 college-aged students fewer than the year before. Yikes.

Now granted, not all of those people would have been enrolled in university, but it is worth noting that the percentage of high school graduates going on to university is reportedly on the rise as private schools have lowered entrance requirements in order to put butts in seats.

Even if the reality is that there was a drop of 10,000 university students from last year’s numbers, that’s still more than enough to cover the precipitous drop (roughly 8,000 students) in study abroad participants from 2007-08.

In other words, it is possible that the declining study abroad numbers are due, at least in part, to Japan’s well-publicized and continued birthrate stagnation.

This is reaching a bit, of course, because Japan's study abroad numbers from the past two years are still not fully available. In the meantime, however, we have at least two new angles to this story that likely deserve some media attention.

Not that they’ll get it.

Japan’s ship may indeed have a turbulent journey ahead of it, especially if the government keeps trashing ideas for increasing international exchange at the university level.

But at least its young passengers aren’t as lifeless or useless as the media would lead us to believe.

Japanese Avoid Studying Overseas? A Counter-Argument

I'm just the translator, so I don't pull a commission on this

A couple of close friends will be headed out this way in a couple of months, and of couse that thrust my mind into tour guide mode.

What are we going to do for fun? Where are we going to eat? Who are we going to hang out with? Day trips?

And then I remembered that a little language ability can go a long way for travelers in these here parts. Then I remembered that I translated a Japanese phrasebook for novices last year called, Konnichiwa, Nihongo! (basically: Hello, Japanese!).

It's mostly aimed at anyone who has just arrived and is planning to stay for a bit (ie. they have a work visa), so it's only available on the Japanese version of Amazon at this point. However, I'd venture to say that it would be very helpful for anyone staying in Japan for more than a couple of days.

Anyway, just thought I'd throw that out there for anyone planning a trip to Japan.

*Embarrassing note: they must have run out of space because they forgot the last 'i' on my surname (you can see for yourself if you flip through the pages (virtually) at the Amazon link above).

I'm just the translator, so I don't pull a commission on this

Product flying off the shelves

Happy New Year!

Looks like someone is going to be getting a nice, belated Christmas gift.

Tenshodo, an upscale and storied jewelry shop in Ginza, was relieved of more than three million dollars worth of luxury watches during the New Year's break. Thieves drilled a hole in the concrete wall of the building, went down into the basement of the building, and absconded with some 200 timepieces.



Elsewhere, this time at the Shinjuku branch of Tiffany's, an English-speaking Asian man rushed out of the store with four engagement rings in his possession. He was not immediately apprehended.

It seems looks like some people have created their own version of "lucky bag" in the midst of the economic downturn. With nearly one-third of Japan's largest companies considering cutbacks in hiring, it is perhaps not very surprising that petty theft is on the rise.

Meanwhile, Joshua "Jake" Adelstein, a former crime beat reporter in Japan and author of the briskly selling Tokyo Vice, sat down for a very intriguing interview with the Japan Times in which he explained some of his views on what makes the underbelly of Japan (as well as the rest of the country, for that matter) tick. Japanese publishers reportedly won't go near the book at this point, so an English version is the only option for interested parties.

And concurrently, in Kobe, one of the subjects of Adelstein's book, the Yamaguchi-gumi of Japan's inimitable yakuza, went into overdrive in an attempt to appease the local population by handing out cash to children at the annual mochi-making (rice cake) event that takes place at the end of December.

Local police believe that more than 1,000 people attended the event last week during which some lucky children made off with as much as three hundred dollars.

'Tis the season!

Product flying off the shelves

Koenji Awaodori Festival 2009: Drums

This is a video I shot with my digital camera at a festival that I went to last weekend in Koenji, Tokyo. This is the rhythm section of one of the dozens of troupes that dances down the street during the parade. Definitely one of my favorite summertime festivals in Tokyo.

Koenji Awaodori Festival 2009: Drums

JR Finally Bans Smoking on Tokyo Train Station Platforms

As of yesterday, smoking was completely banned on the platforms of JR train stations in and around Tokyo, Japan.

Many will remember that up until two days ago, anyone could light up in open-air smoking sections on many JR station platforms. If you happened to be in the train car that stopped directly adjacent to the smoking section, and had a little help from the wind, it was not uncommon for the smoke to blow inside the train. It was just lovely.

But those days are finally gone, and another small step has been taken to divorce Japan from its "smoker's paradise" moniker.

Japan's largest tobacco company, JT, which is partially owned by the government's Finance Ministry, has enjoyed a snail-paced assault on its profit model over the years by anti-smoking regulators.

Some have argued that this latest move is not big enough and took way too long to materialize, but I'm actually quite content with these small victories. It seems to me that this will further load the debate in non-smokers' favor as smoking becomes increasingly demonized in Japan.

JR Finally Bans Smoking on Tokyo Train Station Platforms

You can stay, but your parents have to go

13-year-old Noriko Calderon, born in Japan to undocumented parents from the Philippines, was told that she is allowed to stay in Japan by the Justice Ministry.

The catch? Her mother and father, Sarah and Arlan, must return to the Philippines as they have violated the immigration law by either entering the country illegally or over-staying their visas.

Mrs. Calderon spent nearly a year in prison for immigration-related violations back in 2006 and 2007, so this case has been brewing for quite some time.

Mr. and Mrs. Calderon were ordered to report to immigration today, Friday February 27th, for deportation. The Justice Ministry has been very inflexible in this particular case despite the fact that there is a precedent of giving lenient treatment to individuals with extenuating circumstances.

A group of politicians from the ruling LDP have publicly requested that the Justice Ministry issue special residence permits to the family.

In 2007 when the Calderons were first sentenced with deportation, the Justice Ministry granted special permission to stay in Japan to 7,388 illegal residents. 20% of them had originally entered Japan illegally.

You can stay, but your parents have to go

I can hear them clearing their throats (a day without my iPod)

Left the apartment yesterday without my beloved iPod. It wasn't on purpose, it just happened. Before getting on the train I debated returning home to retrieve it, but I decided against it.

I decided that it might be a good experiment for me to attempt to make it one full working day without the aid of my mp3 player.

Boy was that a stupid idea.

• The whole ride to work I got to listen to people sniffling and sneezing like there was a ragweed patch in the middle of the train.
• In the shops I had to navigate the incessant "Welcome to our humble store!" and other sales-related, but automated, jingles that routinely assault shoppers' aural faculties here.
• In Vie de France (a bakery/cafe) I was treated to a teenager barking into her phone at her obviously at-fault boyfriend. For 25 minutes.
• On the return trip home, the business guy sitting next to me repeatedly cleared his throat as though he was intending to spit something large down a drain that I couldn't immediately perceive. However, the drain appeared to be in my general direction.
  

So let's just say that I learned my lesson. If I happen to leave the apartment without my music again, then I'll be scurrying back home before you can say, "Christopher is a lame-ass twerp". But even if you do say it out loud, which some of you will, it won't matter because I'll be listening to Murs.

I can hear them clearing their throats (a day without my iPod)

Japanese Suicide Rate Remains Steady

2007 was the 10th year in a row in which the number of people who committed suicide broke the 30,000 mark.

The National Police Agency reported 33,093 suicides last year.

Most reports cite unspecified social pressures driving people to take their own lives. Very little seems to be discussed in terms of what can be done to help relieve said pressures. For years, the economy has been blamed for these unfortunate deaths. However, now that the economy is relatively stable (compared to the late 90's), it's obvious that the economy doesn't deserve the bulk of the blame.

Akita prefecture has been training its health professionals to recognize the signs of depression (isn't that a course in med school anyway?) since 2001. However, that northern prefecture of Japan has consistently had one of the highest suicide rates in the country.

Last year Akita had the second highest rate (suicides per 100,000 population) at 37.2 while Yamanashi, a prefecture nestled between Mt. Fuji and Western Tokyo, had a suicide rate of 39.

While the extra awareness on the part of doctors and nurses doesn't seem to be doing much, maybe the best way to reach people suffering from depression is to actually grab them.

Emergency technicians in the southern city of Fukuoka managed to stop a 38-year-old woman from jumping off the 12th floor of an office building in Hata-ku.

Their plan of attack was simple. They talked calmly to her until she took her eyes off them and then they lunged and grabbed her by the belt. Daring and crazy up on that ledge? Yes. Effective? You bet.

Now let's just hope she gets the help she really needs lest she climb back out there and try the same thing again.

[photo courtesy of Mainichi Newspaper]

Japanese Suicide Rate Remains Steady

Japanese Colonization of Korea Not a 'Fact'

This one hasn't really been played up very much by the English media yet, but the head of the education board of Shimonoseki city in Yamaguchi Prefecture told the head of a Korean school that Japan's pre-WWII colonization of the Korean peninsula "contradicts a historical fact".

There isn't a whole lot in the way of context being bandied about yet, but it appears, at this early juncture at least, that the 44-year-old head of the city education board, Tsuyoshi Shimakura, is replaceable.

Click here for a Japanese article.

Japanese Colonization of Korea Not a 'Fact'

Whale Slaughter: Elementary School Field Trip

Wada, Japan, one of the last legal bastions of whaling in this country, brings the youngsters out to watch the slaughter.

Japanese children as young as ten are watching whales being slaughtered to teach them the "cultural importance" of Japan's controversial commercial whaling industry.

The picture to the right is an AP photo snapped by David Guttenfelder of local schoolkids in Wada, Japan reaching out to touch the severed head of a Beard's Beaked whale.

Please read the rest of the article on your own.

Whale Slaughter: Elementary School Field Trip

Fingerprinting and Photographing: Japanese Immigration

Just for fun, I thought I'd throw this pic in here.

This is from our return leg to Japan (from Korea). As most people know, the new fingerprinting regime has long since been in place, and unlike other nations with similar systems in place for documenting foreign tourists, Japan likes to book all foreigners every time they enter/re-enter the country (even if they already pay taxes here).

Anyway, we were given this piece of paper after we were told to stand in the wrong line. It's intended to help them figure out how long people are standing in line. The immigration officials that are in charge or shepherding the hundreds of people coming off the planes every half hour stay on the move and try not to stand in one place for very long. It's mostly an act of self-defense as they know that everyone is angry and they are trying not to become a target for verbal abuse. One annoying side effect, at least in our case, is that they tend not to listen very well when they are walking around, so we wasted about 15 minutes in the mile-long line for tourists.

Apparently they have set up another line for people with re-entry permits (people who live and work/study in Japan) in their passports in order to expedite the process, but it was quite a challenge for us to figure out where that line was located. The immigration officials spent a lot of time escorting VIP's through gaps in the line to avoid fingerprinting/mug shot taking. Quick question: everyone knows that politicians are criminals, so shouldn't they be prime suspects for post-landing booking?

Well, we finally got ourselves in the correct line, and after a computer failure and the requisite reshuffling of the lines of people, we made it through immigration at about 2:21 pm. That's 31 minutes after we started standing in line according to the sheet of paper pictured above left. I have no idea how their system of checking waiting time works, but our case probably skewed some of their results. We undoubtedly spent less time in line than the tourists did (by my estimates they were waiting for 45-60 minutes), so if they use our 31 minute wait as evidence that the system is getting faster, then this post is evidence that they need to double-check their methods.

Endnote: when the computer was restarted after it crashed, it was just hilarious/ironic to see the Windows OS screen appear on the monitor as it rebooted.

Check this website, Re-entry Japan, for more information on this topic.

Fingerprinting and Photographing: Japanese Immigration

Mitsui Outlet Park Iruma

**Although it's no longer new, this post continues to draw a lot of interest. I have therefore updated it slightly to remove some of the information that is no longer relevant. Updated July 7th, 2011.

A new outlet shopping center, Mitsui Outlet Park Iruma (三井アウトレットパーク 入間) opened in Saitama this week, and we paid the place a visit yesterday afternoon. It's big.

We found some good "opening" sales, but not every shop was providing shocking discounts.

I counted no less than 204 outlets in my facilities map. Important details that I discovered during my wanderings through the enormous two-floor mall: expensive coffee can be purchased at a few different places including the Tully's coffee shop on the second floor near the bus terminal exit, cheap coffee can be found near the register at the Family Mart convenience store on the first floor; in terms of sportswear, Puma had the coolest shoes and Nike the best prices; there's a food court on the second floor called "Forest Kitchen" if you're in search of slightly cheaper fare--bento (boxed lunches) and onigiri (rice balls) can, of course, be found in the Family Mart; kids with just a little too much energy can be brought to Club Yu Kids on the second floor next to Family Mart.

Transportation

The closest train station is Iruma-shi on the Seibu-Ikebukuro line. But then it's a 20 minute bus ride from the station to the outlets (map in Japanese).

Or at least it would be on a normal weekend. As you can see from the picture to the right, there were lines to get into some of the shops, and the place was packed even though it was a weekday. The free shuttle bus from Musashino-fujisawa station was supposed to take only 15-20 minutes, but it ended up being about a one-hour-trip because of the traffic (shuttle bus service will cease after Golden Week 2008). Mitsui Outlet Park is equipped with six separate parking areas, so they're prepared for the onslaught, but the poor roads surrounding the place aren't. The shuttle bus approaches the outlets from a right turn lane on route 16 that doesn't have a protected green light, so a vehicle is able to squeeze through oncoming traffic about once every two to four minutes. It's ridiculous.

I recommend paying for a bus ticket from Iruma-shi station instead. It should cost between 190 and 300 yen per person (there are several buses that head toward Mitsui Outlet Park including the number 30 and 31), and the buses won't get as bogged down in traffic because they don't try to turn into the poorly governed entrance. Actually, I can't swear that the number 30 doesn't turn into the parking lot as it's a new line set up specifically for the shops and we didn't take it. We did, however, take the 31 back from the shops, and that took 20 minutes on the nose. That bus goes to Iruma-shi station as well. It cost 190 yen per person. The bus stop is across the street from the outlets to the left of the Eneos gas station.

Mitsui Outlet Park and Costco

This is Mitsui's fourth, and largest, outlet mall in the Kanto region. They also have shops in western Tokyo, Chiba and Kanagawa. While not the easiest to get to on busy days, the Iruma outlets carry the added bonus of sitting directly adjacent to a Costco wholesale market. For those who aren't familiar with the many wonders available at the giant wholesaler (membership required to shop there), you're missing out! Membership cards work at all 500+ Costco's worldwide, and the range of items sold there is shocking. Additionally, Costco's little dining area provides a cheap, albeit not very healthy, alternative to the pricier food in the restaurants in the outlet mall. Remember those huge slices of pizza and bottomless cups of cola? Yup, Costco in Japan is pretty much the same as back home. Membership for one person/family costs 4,200 yen (per year).

Anyway, the place is worth a visit, but I recommend waiting a week or two, or maybe until after Golden Week. There's something for everyone--from LEGO Clickbrick to Coach accessories, from Fred Perry to Bose, and from BCBGMAXAZRIA to Franc franc.

Mitsui Outlet Park Iruma

New Seibu Line Trains (30,000 Series)

I risk being labeled a little bit of a nerd with this, but trains are how I get to and from everywhere around here, so I thought I'd share one of the new developments on the Seibu line where I live.

Seibu Railways (西武鉄道) will soon be introducing its 30,000 series of trains (pdf). I saw one pass through Kami-Shakujii station on a test run yesterday, and it looked comfy. It has double screens above the doors like the newer Yamanote and Chuo line trains, and the overall design looks much more modern.

The trains are probably also faster, but that won't become an issue unless more of the Seibu line is elevated. Hanakoganei station to Takadanobaba should still take 19 minutes.

New Seibu Line Trains (30,000 Series)

Hospital Rejections of Emergency Patients Endemic

Update 1 [March12, 2008]: The Japan Times spent a little extra time crunching the survey numbers it seems. Apparently there were more than 24,000 instances where a patient seeking emergency medical care was denied admission by at least three hospitals. Of this number, a little more than 14,000 were classified as "seriously ill". 8,618 cases involved individuals aged 14 or younger, and 1,084 involved pregnant women.

Original Post:
I commented on this last year (click here), but now there's more information coming out about the practice of hospitals rejecting patients in Japan.

A recent survey revealed that more than 14,000 patients requiring emergency medical attention in 2007 were rejected by at least three hospitals, and a little over 1,000 were denied by at least 10.

I actually saw a late-night news program/documentary about this same topic on TV last week. They interviewed some health professionals who mentioned that they had been coached on the best ways to reject patients. They showed several clips of ambulance dispatchers calling hospital after hospital and the voice on the other line giving one excuse or another for why they couldn't accept the patient.

Several times it sounded like the person on the other end of the line just couldn't be bothered to deal with any extra excitement at that hour of the night. To be fair, however, I saw footage of an ER on the news this evening, and they were clearly understaffed. Obviously, some of the rejections are warranted.

In the article, it was reported that one woman was rejected by 49 hospitals before finally being admitted (her fate was not noted). The survey did not keep track of how many people died as a result of the hospital rejections, but such cases have been publicized recently.

In December, an 89-year-old woman died after an ambulance crew spent two hours trying 30 hospitals before finding one that would accept her for treatment.

The news program that I saw on TV mentioned that while being an ER doctor in the United States is a position that commands a decent amount of respect and pay, the same can not be said for the situation in Japan. Naturally, not that many med students plan to become ER doctors.

I would love to see comparable numbers for hospital rejections (patients being denied admission), specifically with regard to patients requiring emergency treatment, in the United States. I'm sure that it happens--I just want to know how often. And how often is insurance a factor in whether or not a patient is admitted to a hospital?

Anyone have any info on this?

Hospital Rejections of Emergency Patients Endemic

Magazine/Comic Browsing (except nudes) Blocked at Convenience Store

A small army of people can normally be found huddled in front of the magazine racks leafing through their favorite comic books and magazines.

One thing that you'll often notice when walking into a convenience store in Japan is that there is a line of people (usually guys) reading manga (comic books) or perusing some other form of paperbacked entertainment. In most places you're not required to actually purchase the magazine--one can basically read the mag in its entirety and then leave without buying anything.

I never really understood why this is allowed.

One convenience store near Kamishakujii station on the Seibu-Shinjuku line in western Tokyo has decided to take a stand against this practice. Some poor worker was made to go through their entire rack of print material and bind all of it shut with plastic packaging twine. That must have taken a while.

I was so surprised to see that a shop manager had done the necessary profit-geared mental acrobatics (in other words, they figured out that customers tend not to buy magazines they can read for free) that I failed to notice an even odder managerial decision.

The only magazines that weren't restricted from perusal were the ones with adult content. Maybe the workers want easy access to them during the duller hours of the afternoon?

Sorry, kids, we've padlocked your comic books. But there's some other enjoyable material just over to the right. You're welcome!

Magazine/Comic Browsing (except nudes) Blocked at Convenience Store

Confusing and Troubling News from Japan

A public lecture on domestic violence that was scheduled to be held in Ibaraki prefecture has been canceled due to protests that it could lead to the break-up of families.

Ummm...wow.

Confusing and Troubling News from Japan

A family that dines together, smokes together

I don't have any stats to back me up, but I bet that the number of 4-year-olds in Japan with emphysema is astronomical when compared to children in other developed nations.

If you smoke in your kid's face at home that's your business. I still call that child abuse, but you're fortunate in that most governments don't agree with me.

But when you drag your two-year-old into the smoking section of a fast-food restaurant and puff smoke in her face for half an hour, then you might as well be one of those over-worked and drunk fathers who kicks his kid in public because he didn't get a good grade in his history class.

I'm complaining about parents right now, but it's a grandmother that shocked me today. McDonald's, as so often is the case in Japan, has a smoking section that isn't actually partitioned off from the non-smoking area (ie. the entire restaurant sometimes smells like it's a part of the smoking area). The picture to the right was taken with my camera-phone, hence the lack of clarity and bad lighting, but it shows a grandmother (facing the camera, cigarette in left hand) smoking in her granddaughter's face.

Of course, the mother is equally to blame here because she's allowing her little girl to be subjected to this. I was just passing through and didn't want to stick around and check, but I noticed two ashtrays on that tiny table, so I wouldn't be surprised if the mother (back to the camera) was smoking at the same time.

I know I'm shoveling forth a steaming pile of righteous indignation right now (and I've done it before), but let's think in practical terms for a moment. How many seconds off the little girls 200m will this equal when she goes to school in three years time? The school sports festival, while normally the highlight of the academic year, becomes the most embarrassing weekend of the child's life. Not that the 200m is the most important event at the sports festival. Tug-of-war is where the youngster's nicotine addiction could really do her in.

But then again, with this much infantile (pun intended) secondhand smoking going on, she'll probably finish in the middle of the pack.

A family that dines together, smokes together

Resumé Padding

Fake degree scandals are a dime a dozen in South Korea (click here, here or here for recent examples) . The testing/credential-obsessed nation has been forced to do some soul-searching as it turned out that non-Korean English teachers (mostly teaching kids at private language schools) weren't the only ones being dishonest.

Now it appears that the same thing is going on in Japan. Personally, I'm not surprised because like South Korea, Japan is also crazy about testing kids into oblivion in order to earn four-year holidays at name-brand schools so that they can then cop desk jobs at name-brand companies.

The story in the Yomiuri was quiet enough. Japan has suffered through its own share of corruption scandals this year. Dishonesty has been rife enough in business and politics that people are a little corruption-weary at this point, so there's no telling if the masses are willing to tolerate another eduction-related scandal at this point. Many will recall the string of bullying-related suicidesbullying-related suicides that broke in junior and senior high schools at the end of 2006. Perhaps this next scandal will have to wait until 2008.

In case you didn't read it, here's a quote from the Yomiuri article:

Forty-eight academics at 43 universities possess bogus diplomas they were
awarded by overseas organizations claiming to be universities, an Education,
Science and Technology Ministry investigation has revealed.

The "overseas organizations claiming to be universities" are, of course, diploma mills. So, yes, this is exactly the same as what has been going on in South Korea. It should be interesting to see how everyone deals with this in the coming months. However, the way that the Japanese media has dealt with it thus far signals that they are content not to add to the soul-searching that is already going on.

Resumé Padding

Oh Doctor, Where Art Thou?

Did you hear the one about the 89-year-old woman who was rejected by 30 hospitals and then died inside the ambulance that was ferrying her?


No? Well, it isn't actually a joke. It's just the latest publicized case highlighting the charade that is Japan's health care system. To be fair, one hospital did finally admit her after her heart had already stopped. They revived her but then lost her shortly after.


This episode occurred in Osaka, but it could have been anywhere.

Update [January 4, 2008]:

Here's another one. This guy got in a wreck, and was denied by a bunch of hospitals before succumbing to a loss of blood.

Oh Doctor, Where Art Thou?

Terrorists, Foreigners are One and the Same...Oh My!

If you arrived in Japan today, then you were one of the first to get fingerprinted and photographed just before shuffling off to collect your bags. Yes, Japan has gone back in time and brought back the xeonphobia of yore in an unexplained and ill-advised attempt to prevent terrorism non-Japanese from re-entering the country after being kicked out for overstaying their visas.

Japan Economy News has a good discussion going on this very topic, so if this issue affects you or someone you know, then please head on over and check it out.

Hey, I have an idea. If they're going to treat us like tourists, then maybe we should pay taxes like tourists!

Just a thought.

Terrorists, Foreigners are One and the Same...Oh My!