It happened in...
Casino Royale
FRI 29 DECEMBER
James Bond is a new man in every sense of the word.Although Casino Royale is the first book of the series, and plays out the origins of Bond, the movie is placed firmly in a post-9/11 context. And in The War Against Terror (T.W.A.T.), who would you choose to have on your side? There's no man for winning T.W.A.T. like 007.
So not only does Daniel Craig make his debut as our hero, it's also Bond's debut. Sort of. We're kind of starting afresh. A new Bond. Gone is the daftness and cheese of Moore, gone also is the assured suave and wit of Brosnan. This movie takes itself much more seriously.
And the vulnerable Bond gets damaged, both physically and mentally. There's a lot of blood, and he doesn't miraculously heal between scenes. And psychological damage of the kind not seen since George Lazenby's Bond had the lovely Tracey taken so cruelly from him.
The character actually develops over the course of the movie, he doesn't simply ricochet from one stunt to the next. The film attempts to go some way to explaining why Bond is the way we know he is.
And what of those types who so vocally criticised Daniel Craig before they'd even so much as clapped eyes on the movie? Well, unlike them, if you would know a good time if it came up and kicked you in the arse, you'll see that Craig is an excellent Bond. And not only does he wear the tux well, he's hard as bloody nails too. People who forgive Roger Moore but have no room in their heart for Craig (on the basis that he's blond??) are not people I would invite to dinner. And nor should you. If you know such people, shun them. And then get yerself off to the pictures.
The rather more level-headed round-up
FRI 29 DECEMBER
It's a long story, but we postponed Christmas day until Boxing day this year. So we spent the 25th in search of the lesser-spotted White Christmas. It's a rare blighter, so we headed off into the mountains, thinking our chances were better up there. And while the weather was wild, it was also mild, and there was sadly no sign.Even Komezuka was a bit shy, attempting to cover up the moment I focussed the camera.
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The following day, I managed to turn this into this without the need for ambulances, and so all lived happily ever after.
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And now I'm making Experimental Soup. So if you'll excuse me...
The Aftermath
FRI 29 DECEMBER
How many of you can honestly say that after the Christmas calorie-carnage that you start each day with a glamorous body, hmm?;){kind=link}
An interlude
TUES 26 DECEMBER
## Wi wish your a merry christmjas
we wishg tyou a meryf chrstimas
We wish you am erry CHRsitmas
Aander a a happy NEW Yearth!##
The meaning of Christmas
SUN 24 DECEMBER
If you haven't experienced a Japanese Christmas, I'll say that it has its advantages and disadvantages.Realise early on, for most folk, it's no big deal. And this is an advantage. You don't have to get your Christmas organised insanely early, because there's no greater rush in the shops, and everything's open throughout Christmas. Though we've already got a turkey in the freezer, we'll be doing the rest of our food shopping this afternoon. In relative peace (it is Sunday, after all).
But for those people for whom Christmas is an event, it's been... warped. Christmas, to any Japanese who care, is primarily a holiday for lovers, more akin to Valentine's Day. Young couples nip off to hotels of varying salubrity for a night of high
Just about the only other
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The difference between an English and a Japanese Christmas cake is well illustrated by the Japanese slang by which a woman is referred to as a Christmas cake if she's still unmarried by the age of 25 (past its expiry date and still on the shelf on the 25th), whereas of course the good solid fruitcake/doorstop that you know lasts well into next spring.
Death by o-souji
SAT 23 DECEMBER
Souji means cleaning. Floors, walls, ceilings, shelves, cupboards, windows, you name it. That misleadingly simple o means big, huge, gargantuan, and for our purposes, spine-splitting.So we closed up shop yesterday evening with 4 days off ahead of us for the first time since opening the place. "4 days off!" I mused, with thoughts of lazing around, drinking, eating platefuls of turkey. "We should do o-souji," says Mrs C.
"Why?" I immediately think. Out loud. The house is clean. Nothing that a quick bit of hoovering wouldn't fix.
But to keep Mrs C's peace of mind, it has to be done. I volunteered for the bathroom and the garden.
Every surface, every attachment and every object got a good scrubbing, as did I. As I passed from the bathroom through the kitchen to the garden, Mrs C was busily wiping down packets of spaghetti. I hope you understand this was no simple chore.
In the garden the oddly mild weather seems to have fooled the plants into believing it's springtime already, with the tsutsuji, only recently having shed its leaves, in bud, and the rose bush has taken a new lease of life.
Weeding the path. How I hate pulling tenacious weeds out of gravel. And an hour of crouching down to do it... did it, for my calves, my hips, and my back. I seem these days to be inhabiting an old codger's body. I hope he doesn't want it back. It appears I've made rather a mess of it.
Dragging my sorry carcass back indoors, Mrs C is in the same forlorn state. We stare at each in resigned silence. Which she breaks by saying "Let's go shopping."
That was when I heard the choir break into a chorus, and they were singing "Oh happy day! Oh happy daaaaaay!"
Australia regain the Ashes
TUES 19 DECEMBER
3rd Test, day 5; Australia 244 & 527-5d, England 215 & 350: Australia won by 206 runsAlright, let's do this and get it over with. England have been dismantled over the course of the first 3 tests by a great Australian side. Their batting line-up is almost frighteningly good - a future of bowling at the likes of Hussey and Clarke doesn't promise too much joy. And the oft-mocked 'old-timers' still do it, don't they. Gilchrist's almost record fastest Test century - I've just watched the highlights - was astonishing. And the bowling is simply always there or thereabouts. Even if it is helped by the willingness of certain English players to give their wicket away, a tendency which seems to be entirely lacking in the Australian make-up.
England have had highlights, but in view of the outcome, nothing worth dwelling on. All that remains is to attempt to avoid a whitewash. Best of luck with that.
No one lives there any more
TUES 19 DECEMBER
Just off the coast of Nagasaki-ken is Hashima, or as it's also known Gunkanjima (Battleship Island).In the late nineteenth century it was a coal-mining facility, the first miners coming to sink the first shaft in 1887. It was soon taken over by Mitsubishi, and grew. With ever more workers being needed, the tiny island developed into a dense town. By 1893 it had a school, and within twenty years it had tall concrete apartment blocks and was entirely surrounded by a protective concrete wall. In 1927 there followed a cinema, in 1937 a primary school, and more concrete high rises. Approached from the sea, it looked like a looming warship, hence the nickname.
By 1959, when the population peaked at 5259, it reportedly had a population density of 337 people per acre (equating to 83,476/sq.km), said to have been the highest population density ever recorded anywhere.
Mitsubishi suddenly announced the closure of the coal mine on 15 January 1974 and shut the workers out. The exodus from the island began. Most had to leave in a hurry, many left their possessions. By 20 April, there was no one left on the island. There was no demolition, Gunkanjima was simply left to slowly collapse.
A more in-depth history of Gunkanjima can be found here.
A wonderful set of pictures from 1974...
...and some more recent pictures.
Mind your language
MON 18 DECEMBER
Mrs C, usually so mild-mannered and unperturbable, has been spending more and more time playing video games recently, as you might know. This has revealed not only her competitive side, but also a rich vein of earthy English.Upon Mario (or Luigi) getting bitten, squished or otherwise terminated, she sometimes delivers a quiet "Bugger!" (in a thick Yorkshire accent so as not be confused with "Baka!")
And so it occurs to me that if you are surrounded by learners of your native language, even if you are not actively teaching them (as parents of small children will also testify), you have a responsibility to choose your words wisely. While my language remains scrupulously clean in the classroom, many of my students have picked up my oft-repeated pet phrases ("Nice one, Jon-sensei").
Allow me to illustrate with another of Mrs C's favourites.
The green stuff
MON 18 DECEMBER
Many's the time someone will try to impress upon you the health benefits of something that tastes like crap.Take, for example, natto. Yes, it does look and feel like something you might cough up. And it has the added advantage that it smells like that dirty ol' fella on the bus with a hygiene problem. (For the fortunate uninitiated, it's fermented soybeans.)
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Another foul weapon in the armoury of the sadistically-minded is aojiru, or "blue juice" (which of course is green).
It's a drink made from kale, a hitherto criminally overlooked ingredient for the beverage market. Kale is apparently rich in vitamins A, B1, B2, C, E, and K, and is low in sugars, protein, and fat. According to Kateigaho magazine,
"In 1983 the owner of a food-delivery company called Q'SAI suffered a stroke, but after regularly drinking aojiru made a full recovery. The experience soon launched Q'SAI into the aojiru business, and today nearly 30 percent of the company's sales come from vegetable juice."Which is ironic, as "Kusai!" ( = foul-smelling) is most people's reaction to the stuff. Commercials and, if you enjoy the delights of satellite or cable, half-hour infomercials extol the virtues of aojiru and have well-trained actors breaking into rictus grins which disguise the fact that they haven't actually swallowed the stuff and are just waiting to hear "Cut!"
Outside the world of adverts, aojiru appears in many tv gameshows. Winners are seldom rewarded in Japanese gameshows. Instead, losers are punished. And the penalty, if it's not a plain old beating, is a lovely fresh glass of the green stuff. I'd rather take the beating.
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You can dress it up all you like...
England fight back?
SAT 16 DECEMBER
3rd Test, day 2; Australia 244 & 119-1, England 215England's highest stand was 40 for the very last wicket between Harmison and Panesar. That tells you more than enough about the way some players approached batting here. Some dreadful shot selection and impatience, notably from the captain (again) and Jones (again). Australia then went on to show that it certainly isn't a bowlers' wicket. What price a draw now?
As an aside to Mr Fletcher - so Jones is in the side for his batting, and Panesar was kept out of the side for two tests because of his lack of batting ability..?
England fight back
THURS 14 DECEMBER
3rd Test, day 1; Australia 244, England 51-2A marvellous day's cricket from England, bowling out Australia for a low total after the hosts had won the toss and elected to bat first. At last Steve Harmison was thundering in again, picking up 4 deserved wickets, and the crowd's favourite, bouncy Monty Panesar showed what could have been in the first two tests, taking 5-92. Hussey batted well, but ran out of partners, finishing the innings 74 not out. Australia showed signs in the final few overs that they don't intend for England to have an easy day tomorrow, when one or two batsmen will have to score big to ensure have a chance of clawing their way back into the series.
Winny developer found 'guilty'
THURS 14 DECEMBER
First let's explain. Winny is a file-sharing application, apparently the most popular one among Japanese internet users. Winny first hit the headlines in late 2004 when 2 users from Kyoto were arrested for copyright violation having used the software.Then the software's developer, Isamu Kaneko, was arrested the following year for "suspected conspiracy to commit copyright violation". And yesterday Kaneko was found guilty and fined ¥1.5 million.
For "enabling users to violate the Copyright Law by developing and distributing the peer-to-peer file-sharing software."
So not actually violating the Copyright Law. Enabling others to do so.
This is a total red herring. Winny's prime purpose was to share data. The fact that users shared illegal data is neither here nor there as far as the court should be concerned. A car's prime purpose is to transport you from A to B. The fact that most road users choose to do so above the legally stipulated speed limit is their choice. Should this leave car makers open to prosecution? People die in road accidents, after all.
The Yomiuri gave an unsurprisingly stuffy write-up of developers' "moral responsibility", imagining perhaps that file-sharing is claiming lives around the world.
"The software allows personal computers connected via the Internet to exchange data easily. If it were used for legal data exchanges, there would be no problem. But Winny has mainly been used to maliciously exchange copied movie and music data illegally."Hmm. So...
The Car allows personal users to connect to the road system and get from A to B easily. If Cars were driven at the speed limit and with due care and attention, there would be no accidents. But the majority of Car users break the law by driving over the speed limit and without due care and attention....and therefore, by that logic, all car makers should be taken to court for the illegal actions of drivers.
To draw a line under this specious argument, let's talk about the "moral responsibility" of makers of handguns. The primary purpose of a handgun is to threaten, maim or kill. None of its uses is legal. And yet has a single gun maker ever been taken to court?
The Yomiuri goes on to say "the software can easily be misused" to break the law, and in so doing admits that breaking the law is not the intention, but a misuse. The paper also states that "the ruling is expected to encourage software developers to act in accordance with the law." Which appears to translate as 'the authorities are trying to use Mr Kaneko as a high-profile example in their ongoing battle over the confused issue of copyright'.
Mr Kaneko intends to appeal, but should he be unsuccessful, and a precedent is set, who will want to develop new technologies? Fear over the consequences of users' actions will mean developers walking away to safer ground.
Cultural erosion?
THURS 14 DECEMBER
So what's the national drink of Japan, trivia experts? It's sake, isn't it. So how come no one here drinks it?In nearly three years of frequenting bars, restaurants, izakaya and people's homes, I've never once seen anyone drink or heard anyone order a sake.
Plenty of beer, a hell of a lot of shouchuu, some wine and cocktails, but as far as sake is concerned, apart from the ceremonial special stuff at New Year, not a drop.
Not helped by the fact that younger people see it as a drink for old farts, sake's market is now being eroded by 10% a year, makers say, with sales having halved between 1996 and 2004. Brewers are now concentrating on marketing top end sake abroad, and rebranding the drink as somehow 'cool' at home with slick new advertising in an attempt to claw back the slipping market share.
london.net update
WEDS 13 DECEMBER
london.net has completed its first quarter - hoorah! Let's toast that with a drink!Back at the beginning of September we had a big empty room, no customers and 1 student. Now 3 months later we're almost paying our bills. Large sighs of relief and pints of relaxation all round. The shop's taken off beyond our expectations, with Mrs C working her fingers to the bone to complete the orders she's getting.
Brits Abroad
WEDS 13 DECEMBER
Nearly ten per cent of Britons don't live in Britain at all. An Institute for Public Policy Research report out this week revealed that an estimated 5.5 million Britons currently live abroad, a figure that rises to six million when those who are away for only part of the year are included. Emigration figures for last year revealed 2000 people moved away every week.An overview is available on the BBC news site - Brits Abroad.
Top of the pops is Australia with 1,300,000 of us, next is Spain with 761,000, then the USA (678,000) followed by Canada (603,000). Japan comes waaay down the list with 23,000 Brits. We wouldn't even fill the Mashiki football ground!
Tightening the belt
TUES 12 DECEMBER
Player-manager Atsuya Furuta signed a new contract with Yakult Swallows (this is baseball I'm talking about if this isn't ringing any bells) yesterday. No surprises there, it's his 18th year with the club. What will raise eyebrows, though, is that he accepted a 75% pay cut! Next year, his playing salary will be ¥60 million - a ¥180 million reduction (though he'll still take an additional ¥100 million yen for being manager).Furuta's reaction to the news was rather more graceful than you might expect.
"I was surprised when I first saw their initial offer, which had an 80 percent decrease, but it seems rational because I don't think I deserved the money with what I did as a player last year."
Dou shiyou?
TUES 12 DECEMBER
Nippon Keidanren (the Japanese Business Federation) has put together a report it calls "Japan, a country of hope", and wouldn't you know it, there's a striking resemblance to Mr Abe's "Utsukushii Kuni" (Beautiful country) vision. Yes, the boys in grey reckon the new PM's a bit of a goer and are putting in some major flirting.One of the biggest problems on the horizon is that when the post-war baby boomers begin to retire, Japan's going to be left with a hugely inflated pensions and healthcare bill to be paid from a shrunken tax pool. But fear not, because Keidanren have the answers.
"Nippon Keidanren emphasized what it calls "the necessity" of giving large tax breaks--up to 10 percentage points--for companies, while saying it is "imperative" to raise the consumption tax rate by about 2 percentage points to 7 percent by fiscal 2011."Yes, Mr PM, you absolutely must ensure bigger profits for shareholders. And you can let the proles pay for it. Hold on, is this supposed to be a love letter or a ransom demand?
But they also wouldn't mind a bit more of a say in government policy, it seems. To this end, the report proposed a revision of the Political Fund Control Law "to expand the scope of donations companies can make." Increased donations? And all you want in return is a little bit more influence? Well, when you put it like that, who could resist?
Apart from these avenues that you'd expect them to go down, there are also proposals to -
- Promote technical innovation (yes, ok)
- Introduce a salary system based on worker performances and other factors (mm, bit vague, but ok)
- Cultivate a sense of public morality based on patriotism (eh? Hang on! Where'd that come from?)
- Revise the second paragraph of Article 9 of the constitution "which currently bans Japan from maintaining any war potential" (woah, slow down a minute, what's your job again?!)
Anything for a quiet life?
MON 11 DECEMBER
The Japanese don't complain, so the stereotype goes. They don't raise their voices, and they don't protest. It would mess up the wa.But when you feel you're being stitched up good and proper, then the wa's already a goner, and that's how Nikkyoso (the Japanese teachers' union) feel about the proposed reform of the Fundamental Law on Education. With the reform, the government says it wants "schools to preserve traditional values of family and nation". Opponents say the government is attempting to push "a narrow view of nationalism and to force patriotism on students and teachers".
Nikkyoso President Yasuo Morikoshi told an extraordinary assembly on 25 November that the union will continue its campaign against the bill, which is expected to pass the Upper House this Friday. He also stated that "the bill had been rushed through in an undemocratic manner and that, according to the polls, only 4% of the population support it."
This meeting was followed last Friday by a protest march of 12,000 teachers through Tokyo. Strangely (or not), neither the meeting nor the march attracted much media attention.
Nikkyoso say that "the controversy surrounding the revision of the education law is diverting attention away from the real issues that are confronting the country's education system today" which they say they've been warning the government about for years, though their words appear to have fallen on deaf ears. Not only this, but the government is now attempting to place a large part of the blame for the current bullying controversy squarely on the shoulders of the teachers, who it says are to blame for "slackening discipline".
If the bill passes this week, it will have profound implications for freedom of expression within schools. It will also leave most of Japan's education system's problems unaddressed.
More keyword fun and larks
MON 11 DECEMBER
Delving through the site stats, looking at the search terms that have brought folks here. There have been the usual requests from the Ivory Coast for both the phone number and (presumably after that search proved fruitless) the guestbook of Prince Akishino. The Ivorians have really got a thing for him, it seems.I also learned something. Courtesy of "turkmen melon holiday in turkmenistan", I learned that the space cadet leader of Turkmenistan, Saparmurat Niyazov, has indeed decreed that July 10 is 'Turkmen Melon Holiday', where the day is given over to celebrating the wonderful musk melon.
And there was the usual 'rubber catsuit' issue. Which seems to have taken a rather disturbing turn. It has evolved into "farting rubber catsuit". I think we'd better leave it there.
Lighting up the bypass
SUN 10 DECEMBER
We took our annual trip up the bypass the other day. Sounds very romantic, doesn't it. It's better than it sounds. You might recall there's quite a display of illuminations up there every December. Well this year...
...there's also a Christmas tree made of bottles...
...though the dolpins are still popular.
Hearts stand as frames in which to get your portrait taken, though not everyone could be persuaded.
Good fun though, for kids and adults alike.
They've seen him here, they've seen him there
SAT 9 DECEMBER
Many are waiting for the Second Coming of their Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Many folks believe they've spotted him already, variously on slices of toast, inside watermelons, or in fried eggs. And then have of course rushed off to eBay to share their great blessing with the world.I've been somewhat sceptical, it's been said, about such discoveries, believing that people will see what they want to see. Until today, that is. View the shocking evidence for yourself. I'm off to a monastery to repent my sins.
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They haven't burnt it down yet
WEDS 6 DECEMBER
It's time for our annual Christmas trip to Gävle, Sweden.In an attempt to keep their yuletide goat from being burned to the ground again this year, the town of Gävle has installed webcams.
So do your duty, citizen of the world, and keep watch over the goat. That's if it hasn't already been burnt down by the time you read this.
You thought Brisbane was embarrassing
TUES 5 DECEMBER
2nd Test, day 5; England 551-6d & 129, Australia 513 & 168-4; Australia won by 6 wicketsWhat an astonishing day's cricket. England capitulated in every way possible. The batting not only collapsed, they were queueing up to give their wicket away. All the while that was happening, the scoreboard was static, and Australia ended up with a very nice target indeed, thank you very much.
So when Australia came out to bat, only 2 results were possible, because it sure as hell wasn't going to be a draw now. But England didn't attack at all. Seldom any slips in, never any close fielders, no pressure on Australia whatsoever as they danced away to the target. Shameful stuff.
Fletcher must surely make wholesale changes now. He can't imagine that the same set of players can turn this around. And what a turnaround it's going to have to be. 3 tests left, England have to win 2 of them against a side that's crushed them twice.
Last day nerves
TUES 5 DECEMBER
2nd Test, day 4; England 551-6d & 59-1, Australia 513Well it's all a bit strange now. From having Australia on the back foot for the whole match, all the pressure's now on England as the only team that can lose this now, and will have to bat most of the day to ensure a draw. That first innings declaration when the pitch was still docile isn't looking such a brainwave now.
Things I've only said in Japan
TUES 5 DECEMBER
"Did you remember to switch the carpet off?"
"There's a car park at the top of the volcano."
[in the deep mid-winter] "I'm going out to the garden to warm up."
"Here, these apples have been reduced to ¥300 each."
"Is cat poo burnable or non-burnable rubbish?"
"Yes. Very kawaii.
[half-way up a mountain] "There's must be a drinks machine round here somewhere."
"He's got a cold so he went to the hospital."
I predict a
MON 4 DECEMBER
2nd Test, day 3; England 551-6d, Australia 312-5It's tough work taking wickets out there. It's not much easier scoring runs. But Ricky Ponting, who by his own admission didn't bat to the best of his ability, stuck to it and played the innings Australia needed. His 142 should ensure a draw in Adelaide. England need 5 more wickets on a dull wicket, and by the time they've got them, with the batting talent Australia still have to come, the lead will probably have been wittled away significantly. I can't see there'll be time to set a target and bowl Australia out a second time.
Priceh Kitteh!
MON 4 DECEMBER
Here's a Christmas present
you're not getting. Not from me, at least.Gentlemen! Are you obscenely wealthy? Got a completely dappy tart for a girlfriend? Then fetch ¥18,900,000 (about £80,000) from the spare change in your car ashtray and amuse her for eight seconds with this!
This pure platinum, bejewelled Kitty-chan goes on sale at the Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi department store in Tokyo tomorrow. They have this to say about it.
"The shiny figure is 5.6 centimeters high and weighs 590 grams. Its owner can attach seven different ribbons made of diamonds, rubies, and other precious gems to the figure and use it as a pendant."There's only one on offer, so you'll have to be quick. If you're unlucky enough not to be first in the queue, I gather Mitsukoshi will be providing a shredder for you to drop your cash into, so although you'll go home with no gaudy trinkets, you will at least have the satisfaction of knowing that you offloaded that troublesome dough, and the end result will be much the same.
They don't like it up 'em
SUN 3 DECEMBER
2nd Test, day 2; England 551-6d, Australia 28-1England needed Collingwood and Pietersen to stick around, and that they did - for a partnership of over 300. Collingwood's ton became a superb double, made in over 8 hours, particularly sweet after all the pre-series nudging and pointing from certain parts of Australia. Pietersen's now reached his highest test score, 158, three times.
England did well to reach a total they could declare on, particularly after a passage of play orchestrated by Ponting and Warne that was so negative that you had to check back to the sports editorials of yesterday's Australian newspapers that had taken such glee in slamming "boring England". There was a condescending attitude from many, in that they felt Australia are 'obviously' going to win this series, but it would be a little more fun if England put up a hint of a fight, instead of capitulating like in Brisbane, because Aussies like a fight.
England, 1-0 down in the series, obviously needed to press on if they were to set a total with which to win this game. Australia needed wickets and they simply weren't coming. And then they not only ran out of ideas, but they relinquished the fight that they had claimed to be so up for. Warne, by order or by his own volition, took to leg theory to stifle the progress of the game. Rather than letting England play their shots and perhaps getting themselves out (or not), Warne (or Warne and Ponting) elected instead to stick to a line wide of leg stump, cutting off all avenues to scoring except the risky sweep. England weren't about to let them away with such negative tactics, and unfortunately the umpires didn't get in early and signal the wide. So it continued. All afternoon. Warne went into the tea break with figures of 0 for 100-and-plenty. Where had the famous fighting Australian spirit evaporated to?
I'm not saying it's an invalid tactic. The idea was to stifle England's run rate, and it achieved that. But I'm looking forward to hearing Ricky Ponting's mantra ("We like to play positive, aggressive cricket") again. And if I ever read another patronising editorial lamenting negative tactics as employed by 'Australia's opponents', whoever they may be, I'll refer the writer back to Adelaide 2006.
Slowly does it
SAT 2 DECEMBER
2nd Test, day 1; England 266-3Not a bad reply to the thrashing in Brisbane. Not the fastest run rate, and the Australian media have gone so far as to label day one 'boring'. But as was seen last year, when Australia aren't dominating, that 'famous sense of humour' tends to evaporate. It certainly did yesterday, going by the sour faces of the bowlers.
It's particularly gratifying to see Paul Collingwood get another big score. After being flagged by the Australians as England's weak link, he followed his 96 in the first test with 98* yesterday and will be dying to get into three figures this morning. Let's hope he and Pietersen stay around for big scores. The wicket's doing nothing, and the only 3 wickets to fall were given away rather than earned. Come on fellas, let Australia have a good long day in the field.
Beware the rapacious usurer
FRI 1 DECEMBER
Japan's consumer credit business has long had an unsavoury reputation, and its darker side has been talked about in hushed tones for many years. References are usually made to repayment interest rates as high as 29% and the sometimes aggressive collection tactics employed by companies. These tactics usually focus on shaming the customer, and according to Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA), have included -"repeatedly phoning, faxing and, in one case, telegramming the debtor in the middle of the night and at the office [...] Visiting the homes of debtors' mothers or wives and screaming at them for hours on end [...]. Also, psychological techniques, such as starting poisonous rumours about debtors in their communities and posting big notices on their front doors describing the debt."One anonymous debtor reported having a sound-truck parked outside his place of work from which threats and details of his debts were broadcast over a loudhaler. Aiful Corp. was shown a yellow card earlier this year when it was ordered to temporarily suspend operations after the FSA reported its "bullying borrowers, and a series of other illegal lending practices." The authorities are now investigating claims that Acom Co. hid details of interest rates from customers.
Remembering that recently interest rates in Japan have tended to hover around the zero mark, these companies themselves borrow as much as they like from the big banks almost for free (Acom's sidekick is Japan's largest bank Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, while Promise rely on Sumitomo-Mitsui Financial Group), and then lend it out for an enormous return. The highest rates they charge should be illegal. The law limits the rates to 15-20% for non-bank lenders, but by exploiting certain loopholes, the companies have been able to charge up to as much as 29.2% provided that they can prove (if asked) that the customer consented. But recent changes to FSA regulation means these loopholes have been closed and the largest companies have in turn reported enormous losses. Statements to the Tokyo Stock Exchange revealed -
"Aiful Corp., Japan's largest consumer lender by sales, along with two other non-bank firms posted a combined first-half loss of ¥621 billion yen (£2.7 billion), after making provisions for possible customer refunds in line with changes in accounting rules for the industry.The companies are now having to put huge provisions aside to deal with customer refund claims as increasing numbers of borrowers take legal action. For example, Acom has been down the sofa and cobbled together ¥357.5 billion to fend off the angry hordes, while Aiful think ¥200 billion might do the trick.
The combined loss for Aiful, Acom Co. and Promise Co. for the six months ended Sept. 30 compared with combined net income of ¥122 billion a year earlier."
The advertising for the big consumer lenders is impossibly cheery, the tunes jauntily catchy, and the faces exhibit the confident smiles of folks whose debt worries are over. But in a separate report from the FSA this week, the truth, as if you really needed to be told, is quite different. To a startling degree.
The FSA were investigating the causes of death of borrowers from the bigger companies after claims that Promise had "falsely reported data on life insurance policies it took out on all of its borrowers". The investigation revealed that an extraordinary 25.5% of deceased debtors with the five firms, whose causes of deaths were known, had committed suicide. The issue has since been raised in parliament with the opposition DPJ's Akira Nagatsuma urging a full inquiry.
F*ing great marketing
FRI 1 DECEMBER
The Fukuske Corporation have a thing about names. For a start they 'misspell' their own name. (In romaji, it should be 'Fukusuke' - Japanese has no 's', but has the syllable 'su'.) They bill themselves as "The Happiness Assist Company" - an interpretation of the kanji in the name. According to their profile, they sell socks, stockings, underwear, baby shoes, and tabi (Japanese traditional socks) through "prestigious department stores and retailers throughout Japan."And it's their new line of hosiery that's hit the stores and the headlines today. Models Yuri Ebihara and Moe Oshikiri were out before the cameras to show off the new line - F*ing. I kid you not. Wealthy, elegant ladies are going to be strolling around department stores all over the country enquiring after effing stockings. Marvellous.
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A company spokesman was quoted as saying "We're really f***ing excited about this new f***ing line, you *****." Possibly. The company's website has the full f-ing story.
Back to November?