Summer Japan Lite Reading Festival!

It's time to catch up on some summer reading--before the summer is over! I have just returned from my annual summer disappearing act, after having committed myself to 100 percent bovine activities for the past two months, mainly serving up Moogaritas at the Moooo! Bar and doing my best to accommodate visitors to Shiraishi Island. It has been a truly great summer and I was able to meet so many great people, including many Japan Lite readers. It's nice to know we all have one thing in common--we love Japan!

Since I've been away from the newsletter for a while, I am offering up a summer medley, so you can pick and choose what you'd like to read. There are a total of six columns.

We start off with the column about how I tried to send a package abroad containing possibly explosive swimming shorts in At the Post Office in Japan, it's Case by Case
http://t.co/MaNmc8X

We have had one of the hottest summers on record in Japan. Read about how the Japanese deal with it in The Art of Sweating in Japan
http://bit.ly/cmyXU0

The Seto Uchi International Art Festival was launched on July 19 and goes through Oct. 31 encompassing several Inland Sea islands. Come explore one of the islands with me in Ogijima: Man-tree Island of Art
http://t.co/pI6o71j

Continuing on the topic of the Seto Inland Sea of Japan, find out one of the reasons these islands are suffering declining populations in Why Not Ride the Sushi Train to Work?
http://t.co/vpNFvnH

If you've ever noticed the ancient vinyl furniture still in use in many offices in Japan, you might be interested in reading Vinyl Forever: It really sticks
http://t.co/rdLYfbw

And last but not least, unbeknown to me, Shiraishi Island is now offering "bickles" for foreigners. Find out what they are in The Pen Mightier than the Samurai Sword
http://t.co/vQIDEdl

Hope you had a great summer and thanks for reading Japan Lite!

Amy Chavez
amychavez2000@yahoo.com

Vist the Japan Lite Homepage http://www.amychavez.com

Japan's Yen rate climbs, missionaries struggle

Japan (MNN) -- The Japanese Yen is growing stronger, with an exchange rate of over Â¥85.33 to US $1. The impact on missions? Missionaries are struggling more and more to raise the support they need, as Japan's economy limps along and health care costs soar. However, Asian Access is not abandoning their work. Instead, they're looking to partner with other ministries in Japan to maximize their kingdom impact. In this difficult time, Asian Access needs your prayers and support. Help them financially through our Web site. Full story: http://www.MNNonline.org/article/14647

Thursday, Aug. 26, 2010

Americans 'simpleminded'

Kyodo News

The United States is a great democracy but its people are simpleminded somewhat, Democratic Party of Japan kingpin Ichiro Ozawa said Wednesday.

During a political seminar he organized in Tokyo, he said, "I like Americans, but they are somewhat unicellular."

The 68-year-old reputed backroom dealer also touched on the election of Barack Obama as the first black president of the U.S., something he once thought "impossible."

"I don't think Americans are smart," he said, but added, "I highly evaluate democracy (in the U.S.) and the fact that the choices made by its people in crises have been put into practice."

Now, a maths formula to help you get cheapest flights

Japan Herald
Monday 23rd August, 2010
(IANS)

Japanese economists have come up with a formula that will help you bag the cheapest holiday flights. It is simple - buy tickets exactly eight weeks in advance and book in the afternoon.

The mind-boggling maths formula 'A = gUG + min(k - g, (1 - g)(1 - r)' has been prepared by Makoto Watanabe and Marc Moller and published in the latest edition of The Economic Journal.

Japanese economists said that to get the most for your money, book exactly eight weeks in advance and buy the tickets in the afternoon.

Daily Mail reported that when we book our flight weeks ahead, we have to account for the possibility of unforeseen events which make our trip impossible.

In order to make consumers take their chances, airlines have to offer advance purchase discounts. As a consequence, ticket prices increase as the travel date approaches.

If buying tickets more than eight weeks ahead look like the best option, it could, however, mean that the consumer risks having to pay to alter booking if the plans change.

But, if one leaves it for later, there's an increased risk that prices may go up or the flight could be fully booked.

Regarding booking the ticket in the afternoon, economists explained that business travellers, who are less concerned about price, tend to book trips from the office earlier in the day.

They suggested that holidaymakers will book at home later on.

The report states: 'The purchase of airline and theatre tickets are both examples where individual demand uncertainty and rationing risks interfere.

'However, there is empirical evidence which shows that airline ticket prices typically increase over time while theatre tickets are often sold at a discount on the day. When we purchase our theatre ticket last minute, there exists the possibility that the event has sold out. In order to make consumers bear this risk, theatres implement a clearance sale by offering last-minute discounts.'

HOW GOOD DO YOU HAVE IT?

But not everyone is as lucky as I am......
The economy is so bad that I got a pre-declined credit card in the mail.
I ordered a burger at McDonald's, and the kid behind the counter asked, "Can you afford fries with that?"
CEO's are now playing miniature golf.
If the bank returns your check marked "Insufficient Funds," you have to call them and ask if they mean you or them
Hot Wheels and Matchbox stocks are trading higher than GM.
McDonald's is selling the 1/4 'ouncer'.
Parents in Beverly Hills and Malibu are firing their nannies and learning their children's names.
A truckload of Americans was caught sneaking into Mexico .
Dick Cheney took his stockbroker hunting.
Motel Six won't leave the light on anymore.
The Mafia is laying off judges.
BP Oil laid off 25 Congressmen.
Congress says they are looking into the Bernard Madoff scandal. Oh Great!! The guy who made $50 Billion disappear is being investigated by the people who made $1.5 Trillion disappear!
And, finally...
I was so depressed last night thinking about the economy, wars, jobs, my savings, Social Security, retirement funds, and our bleak future, that I called the Suicide Lifeline and was connected to a call center in Pakistan . When I told them I was suicidal, they got all excited, and asked if I could drive a truck...

Dollar hits 15-year low against the yen

August 11, 2010 

ASSOCIATED PRESS

TOKYO -- The U.S. dollar has fallen to a 15-year low against the yen after the U.S. Federal Reserve announced new measures to shore up the ailing American economy.

The greenback was quoted at 84.71 yen late Wednesday in Tokyo, the lowest since 1995.

The dollar's recent weakness against the yen is making Japanese exports less competitive in overseas markets and is knocking shares of Japan's manufacturers like Sony Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp.

The Nikkei 225 stock average on Wednesday tumbled 258.20, or 2.7 percent, to 9,292.85.

Obake no Q-tarou [FULL VERSION]

REMEMBER AUGUST 6TH IN HIROSHIMA

The most amazing catch we'll see all season

EMBED-Spiderman Style Baseball Catch - Watch more free videos

Another Brick In The Wall (Hey Ayatollah, Leave Those Kids Alone!)

The Catholic Holocaust of Nagasaki--"Why, Lord?"

 • The Catholic Holocaust of Nagasaki--"Why, Lord?"
The author, a member of the Third Order of the Franciscans of the Immaculate, draws upon Fr. Paul Glynn's book A Song for Nagasaki in order to reflect on God's purpose in allowing the horrible destruction of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. From the Aug/Sept issue of Homiletic & Pastoral Review.
by Brother Anthony Josemaria

• When the Sun Turned Black
An excerpt from A Song for Nagasaki: The Story of Takashi Nagai, Scientist, Convert, and Survivor of the Atomic Bomb, the story of Takashi Nagai, a pioneer in radiology research and a convert to the Catholic Faith.
by Paul Glynn, S.M.

Manga to promote US-Japan military alliance

The manga is the first of four explaining the half-century alliance

The US military is to use manga-style comics to teach Japanese children about the two countries' security alliance.

Four comics featuring a Japanese girl and a visiting US boy will be posted online, each exploring how US and Japanese troops work together.

A US spokesman said they were intended as a light-hearted explanation of the history of the alliance.
The comics, marking 50 years of the security pact, come amid strained ties over US bases in Okinawa.
The first Japanese-language manga comic, entitled Our Alliance - A Lasting Partnership, will be posted online on Wednesday.
In it the young girl, Arai Anzu - which sounds like alliance when pronounced by a Japanese person - asks the boy, Usa-kun - a play on USA - why he is protecting her house.
"Because we have an alliance," he says. "We are 'Important Friends'."
"It's good to have a friend you can rely on to go with you," the little girl concludes.

Related stories

• Profile: Japan's Okinawa
• Okinawa voices: 'No more bases!'

Major Neal Fisher, deputy director of the US forces' public affairs office in Japan, said the manga were intended as a "light-hearted approach to telling the story of the alliance through the eyes of two young people who are learning why the US military are in Japan".
The manga format was chosen because it was "a very commonly accepted format of media in Japan - it is read as much if not more than newspapers", he added.
Some paper copies of the comics would also be available at bases, he said.
Japan hosts some 47,000 US troops in return for security guarantees from the US, under a security pact agreed in 1960. More than half of these troops are based on the southern island of Okinawa.
Plans to relocate the Futenma airbase from southern to northern Okinawa have caused outrage amongst residents who want the base moved off the island completely.
The row toppled Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, after he was forced to renege on a pledge to re-evaluate the base relocation deal.

http://www.usfj.mil/manga/Vol%201/Index.html 

Welcome to the wonderful world of Manga Therapy, where manga and psychology team up to form one interesting & educational pairing. 

http://www.mangatherapy.com/post/907698202/usmilitarymanga