|
|
|
ISSUE: October/November 2004 |
You're visitor No. |
|
Don't forget to check out the Gaijin's
Tip of the Month and Where-to-Go! |
|
This Month's Topics: |
|
Just before this issue went online, Japan was struck by the strongest typhoon for more than a decade -- so strong it even caused me to cancel a party trip to the pub. Right, it was that bad! Anyway, by the time 'Super Typhoon' Ma-on had left Tokyo in its wake, 5 people were dead and 4 others were missing. The 9th typhoon to hit the Japanese archipelago this year (a record in itself), its last fatal victim was a somewhat foolish 74-year-old man who was delivering newspapers on a motorbike when the storm struck -- he was found dead in a river the next morning! Therefore, I recommend you stay safely indoors and catch up with what's been in the news here in Tokyo . . .
???????????????????????
One of the polls which sometimes appears on this site asks whether you consider Japan a racist country. Well, before you answer that, read on. To begin, let me say that in my view, a foreigner who appeals a Japanese court verdict often seems a bit like those rugby or football players who loudly appeal to the referee to change his decision -- a complete waste of time! Recent proof of this theory was reported by Kyodo News in the case of David Aldwinckle, a 39-year-old US-born Japan resident who is now a naturalized Japanese with the name of Debito Arudou. Now if you think becoming Japanese makes you less of a foreigner, think again! Here's the story. Back in September 1999 Arudou, then still a US citizen, visited the Yunohana Onsen bathhouse in Otaru and was refused entry because they were foreigners. Nothing unusual about that (despite Article 14 of Japan's constitution which claims "All of the people are equal under the law and there shall be no discrimination in political, economic or social relations because of race, creed, sex, social status or family origin.") The bathhouse had actually put up a multilingual sign saying "Japanese only" in English, claiming that trouble with drunken Russian sailors at similar facilities in the area had caused Japanese customers to stay away. Mr Arudou visited the bathhouse again in October 2000 following his acquisition of Japanese citizenship. He was refused entry even after he presented his driver's license as proof of his citizenship. This was when he filed a complaint seeking a total of ¥6 million (US$54,680) in damages from the Otaru city government and the bathhouse operator. As expected, the Sapporo District Court dismissed the suit for compensation against the city but ordered the bathhouse operator to pay ¥1 million. Mr Arudou naively appealed this verdict and last month, the Sapporo High Court rejected his appeal, even though the presiding judge called the bathhouse's refusal to admit non-Japanese "unreasonable discrimination". However, this gentleman is not easily deterred, and has announced that he plans to sue the central government over its failure to draft laws to ban racial discrimination despite the fact that Japan is a signatory to an international antiracism treaty. However, to close on a more positive note, it seems our Tokyo judges are less tolerant of blatant racism than those in remote Hokkaido. You see, the Tokyo District Court recently ordered a bar in Toshima Ward to pay ¥1 million to a naturalized Japanese born in China for refusing him entry in February last year because he was a foreigner.
???????????????????????
It seems that the Japanese didn't just borrow the sport of baseball from the Americans, they also borrowed some of the attitude! I refer, of course, to the fact that a few days after the last 'Empty Seat' went online, Japanese pro baseball players went on their first strike in the 70-year history of the sport in Japan after talks with management over the realignment of baseball clubs ended without an agreement. Distinctly un-Japanese, you might think, but there it is. You see, the players association strongly opposes a proposed reduction in the number of teams due to the planned merger between the Orix BlueWave and Kintetsu Buffaloes. They had initially demanded that baseball officials shelve the Orix-Kintetsu merger for a year to allow time for in-depth discussions on its feasibility. However, Nippon Professional Baseball, the sport's governing body in Japan, announced that it would not accept a one-year freeze and insisted that pro baseball will have 6 teams in the Central League and 5 in the Pacific League next season. Now the resulting strike was only scheduled to last for one weekend to begin with, but this was painful enough. A group of researchers led by professor Katsuhiro Miyamoto of Osaka Prefecture University estimated that a 2-day strike could cause economic losses of around ¥1.89 billion (US$17.2 million). Apart from ¥1.02 billion in lost game ticket revenues, this figure also includes ¥660 million that would have been spent on food, drinks and other items at baseball stadiums. But don't go thinking that Japan's fans are angry with the strikers. On the 2nd day of the strike, tens of thousands of fans gathered in Tokyo, Yokohama, Fukuoka, Sapporo and Nagoya to support their baseball idols. What's more, those who fear a decline in the number of pro-baseball teams here should take heart from the news that Rakuten Inc, Japan's largest online shopping mall operator, has applied to set up a new baseball team. This follows an application by Internet-related company Livedoor, with both companies planning to locate in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture.
???????????????????????
The rest of the world may have forgotten that the world's most dangerous country is here in East Asia and not in the Middle East, but credit where it's due, Japan's military chiefs haven't. To prove their worth, the Japanese 'Ground Self-Defense Force' (= Army) has compiled a secret contingency plan to deal with possible large-scale attacks by North Korean special agents. The plan reckons that up to 2,500 special agents could infiltrate into Japan, using semi-submersible vessels transported by spy ships near Japan's coasts and wooden aircraft (which are difficult to detect by radar) landing at golf courses and other open spaces at night, requiring GSDF troops to guard 135 key facilities nationwide, including government buildings and nuclear power plants. The plan goes on to deal with such threats as the assassination of leading figures and the use of chemical and biological weapons, as well as the remarkable number of pro-Pyongyang Korean residents in Japan who might support such agents. Being remarkably specific, the plan names as core forces for the attacks North Korea's 66th and 67th battalions, which are in charge of Japan under the reconnaissance bureau of the North Korean Ministry of People's Armed Forces, plus 2 battalions of special troops under the North Korean air force. The bad news is that the plan concludes that to defend Japan against such attacks would require 230,000 troops, compared with the GSDF's current total of 146,000 troops. However, the plan's conclusions are at least constructive, and call for the deployment of a sniper team at buildings around the prime minister's office. Now its easy for the rest of the world to forget about the real loonies in Pyongyang but speaking as someone who lives only a couple of minutes as the guided missile flies from that over-armed state, I can only quote that line from one of the 'Fly' films: "Be afraid -- be very afraid." Now if you think I'm overreacting, consider this. Back on September 23rd, North Korea threatened to turn Japan into a "nuclear sea of fire" if the United States attacks it with nuclear weapons. To be exact, the Rodong Sinmun (newspaper of North Korea's Workers Party) "If the United States ignites a nuclear war, the US military bases in Japan would serve as a detonating fuse to turn Japan into a nuclear sea of fire," . Still think my fears are groundless?
???????????????????????
One of the leading local stories recently has been about Japan's efforts to gain a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, mentioning with pride the fact that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi made his pitch in English. This isn't the first time Japan has tried for this 'honour', nor is Japan the only applicant. Japan, Brazil, Germany and India have launched a united campaign for permanent seats on the council, with mutual pledges of support for each other's candidacies. However, this isn't the only 'reform' Japan is seeking, as Koizumi said the number of both permanent and nonpermanent members of the Security Council should be expanded to enable the UN to better cope with new challenges, such as the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism and poverty reduction. Although there are some who believe that Japan's pacifist constitution (which bans the use of force in international disputes) prevent it from truly pulling its weight in the UN, it must be remembered that Japan is the second largest contributor to the UN budget after the United States, and has spent hundreds of millions of dollars supporting UN humanitarian and peacekeeping operations. The validity of this argument is supported by 4 of the 5 permanent members with veto power, but unsurprisingly, China isn't so keen. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said that the United Nations was "not a board of directors" and its composition should not be decided "according to the financial contribution of its members." With many of Japan's politicians seemingly eager to upset China, this attitude is unlikely to change, and so rather than blame the outside world should Japan's bid fail, the true blame might lie closer to home. However, on a less controversial note, Mr Koizumi also addressed a little known clause of the UN Charter, the so-called "enemy state" clause. This clause enables military action to be taken against former enemies of World War II allied countries, such as Japan and Germany, without any endorsement from the Security Council. Not surprisingly, Japan wants this clause removed, but while people like Governor Ishihara expect them to be grateful for being invaded and ravaged, China may well think otherwise!
???????????????????????
Most people know that suicide isn't viewed as negatively here as it is in the West, and is therefore a lot more common. However, the New York Times recently reported a case that seems excessive even by local standards. It seems that 9 people were found dead in 2 rented cars with the windows sealed and charcoal burners at their feet in pacts that the police said were facilitated by Internet suicide sites. That's right, Internet suicide sites. Isn't the WWW wonderful? According to the police, they found 7 bodies including teenagers and a 33-year-old woman who had left a note for her children saying "Mother is going to die, but I was happy that I could give birth to you," in a minivan that had been rented for the day, parked on a mountain road in a Tokyo suburb. At almost the same time, police found a rented car outside a temple in the coastal city of Yokusuka containing the bodies of two women, ages 21 and 27. Police told Kyodo News that the 2 lived about 25 miles apart and had also apparently met through the Internet. Similarly, the first group is believed to have come together through a suicide message board on the Internet. With almost business-like efficiency, the Internet has spawned several sites where people discuss suicide and suicide techniques, with some sites even selling kits offering "painless" suicide. The police have asked Internet service providers to report information about chat group participants who post suicide plans on the Web, but like many other such directives, this one is largely ignored. In 2003, Japan reported a record 34,427 cases of suicide, and in the first half of this year alone, 45 people committed suicide in groups after meeting through the Internet, according to the National Police Agency. Now although it is sickening that someone uses their web-building skills to create sites such as those, I think it is even more worrying that people use them. To me, it's not the websites police should be worried about. Just like drugs, it makes more sense to go after the 'customers' rather than the supplier!
???????????????????????
Up in Tochigi Prefecture, where I used to live, a 39-year-old man recently confessed to throwing 2 young brothers, aged 4 and 3, into a river alive a day after the body of one of the children was recovered. Akihiro Shimoyama, it seems, kicked and punched the boys before throwing them off a bridge into the Omoi River in Omiya, police said. Both the murderer and the boy's father are divorced and have lived with their children in Shimoyama's flat since June, as Shimoyama had offered to let them live in his place when they moved to Tochigi. However, he soon became upset with this arrangement and as a result, Shimoyama abducted the brothers in his car and drove them for about 11 hours. He told police the boys were sleeping just before he assaulted them and threw them into the river. His barbaric behaviour is partly explained by a police report that his blood showed traces of stimulant drugs. In a disgraceful twist to this sad story, it seems that the boys were temporarily taken into custody by local authorities back in early July after a convenience store owner reported to police he suspected that the boys may have been abused because he saw bruises on their bodies. However, authorities let the children go the next day when their father went there to pick them up. Japan's police may often seem pretty clueless, but this is no excuse for taking the law into your own hands. This outburst is prompted by the recent report concerning the 9-year jail sentence given to a former employee of a bankrupt construction company for killing 2 co-workers back in 2000. Why did he do it? Because he was helping the company president to "punish" them for a hit-and-run auto accident. I kid you not! Hisato Goto, 48, and 4 others confined the victims at a campsite in Yamanashi Prefecture following an order from the company's former president. Goto then strangled them. And you though you knew how bad sucking up to the boss could get, ah?
???????????????????????
Do you sometimes feel lonely or isolated at work? Well, as the saying goes, there's always someone worse off than yourself, but for one remarkably isolated group of workers, relief has arrived. I recently read that the Japan Meteorological Agency has at long last withdrawn its last employees from the weather station atop Japan's beautiful and much photographed Mount Fuji on October 1st, having finally got around to automating the facility that had been regularly staffed since 1932. The agency claimed that the automation of the facility will eliminate the risk and hardship the people stationed there faced. You can get some idea of what these hardships were when you learn that 4 people assigned to the station have died since its opening. However, the worrying thing is the way the report mentions that some of those died "in accidents'. Which means, logically, that some didn't die in accidents, right? Now there's an idea for some Agatha Christie out there, a murder in a lonely outpost 3,776-metres above Japan. At least Poirot or whoever would have plenty of time to work out who did it before the police arrived!
???????????????????????
Rivalry between TV stations is certainly not limited to Japan, but trust the Japanese to add a new twist. It all concerns the battle for midday viewers between TBS's "Special Data tottemo Insight" and Fuji TV's "Waratte Iitomo." Now don't go thinking that the competition concerns the content of these programmes -- well, not exactly. The rivalry is between the busts of the ladies appearing on them. In one corner, we have Eri Furuse, whose 95cm (37 inch) bust has earned her the nickname "suikappu" (an allusion to her "suika" or water melon-sized bust), while in the other corner, we have Waka Inoue (nicknamed "Wakapai", derived from her first name and "oppai" or boobs) and her 90cm bust. However, some doubt whether even these well proportioned ladies can help, for this is the time frame referred to as the Black Zone. So who (or which) will win the battle of the boobs? Well, according to one observer, the larger of the two is, surprisingly, pretty popular among women as well as men, whereas the relatively smaller Furuse-san may need to act more like an anchorwoman, a feat that might be a touch too difficult. In the interests of research, I shall endeavour to check out these 2 programmes and see for myself. However, rest assured that I shall keep my gaze above shoulder level -- for part of the time, anyway!
???????????????????????
One of the most puzzling things for me about Japanese morality is the way they have removed beer vending machines to protect young people, and yet you can walk into any convenience store and find ridiculously obscene magazines being perused by schoolchildren. However, at least someone is fighting this absurdity, as Osaka Prefecture has decided to follow Tokyo's lead by requiring shops to wrap or tie up what it considers obscene books and magazines in order to prevent browsing. Needless to say, retailers dislike the new requirement because of the cost, although they are shielding this behind alleged concerns over "freedom of expression". Osaka, often said to be easier for gaijins to live in than Tokyo, has already banned the sale of books it sees as having sexually stimulating contents or contents that potentially induce crimes. However, the true success of this measure depends a lot on who decides what is obscene. After all, according to the local censor, showing a woman getting her breasts amputated is OK, so long as no pubic hair is visible. I kid you not! Then again, what about the well-known Japanese sports 'newspaper' that has at least one pornographic picture on each page, and which is openly read, without regard to female fellow-travellers, by many male commuters? Anyway, such talk is pretty academic unless the constabulary gets off its butt and actually patrols the shops in question!
???????????????????????
Sumo may seem a little incongruous with an industrialised place like Japan, but as a country that often prefers living in the past, this much misunderstood sport retains its popularity. As such, inside news about the stables (the training camps that house/control the fighters) is often popular reading, especially when it concerns the highly successful Futagoyama stable, which produced 2 of the most popular yokozunas (grand champions), Wakanohana and Takanohana. Well, 3 years ago, the Futagoyama stablemaster (and father of the aforementioned champions) and his wife had a very acrimonious divorce, and the lady in question has now talked with the 'Shukan Post' about life in the Futagoyama stable. Reflecting on her life at the stable, she spoke of the strain of caring for 60 men and organizing their trips, saying it was like having 60 kids. On the humorous side, she remembered the way airlines panicked whenever she told them that she needed seats for 60 guys who each weighed well over 100 kgs! they would panic. It was not that easy to schedule things. I did not feel like I was alive. She also revealed the way sumo supporters reacted to her divorce, saying her son's (Takanohana) supporters association deleted her from all videos and photos they took for the stable! Sounds a bit Stalinist to me! Then again, a lot of the stories from this last bastion of extremist male chauvinism suggest that freedom of speech isn't high on their list of priorities! Then again, when one reads about this sport, whose origins are closely liked to the imperial religion of Shinto, informing gambling syndicates of fight winners ahead of the bouts, it rather reflects the way many noble traditions have been altered here.
???????????????????????
Say That Again . . .
Just like in some British
schools back in the socialist 1960s, many Japanese schools arrange things so
that sports are not competitive, as they feel competition is disruptive to
harmony. Now this hogwash is bound to have a bad long term effect, as observed
by Yoshiro Iemoto, director of the National Educational Culture Institute, who
said:
"Getting a bump here or bruise
there will make kids grow up tougher, whereas raising them in a bubblelike
environment will absolutely weaken their vitality."
I have to agree. However, many Japanese mothers seem to like this crazy system,
and I strongly fear that Japan is nurturing a nation of overprotected weaklings.
Japan militarism? Forget it!
&
The Asahi Shimbun recently
reported that the Saitama fire department had dismissed 2 emergency calls —
from an arsonist (later arrested) who suddenly regretted his actions —
concerning a fire at a company dorm in which one man perished. The official
reaction to this crime (for which someone should be in DEEP trouble but probably
isn't) was:
"We should have confirmed the
calls rather than just deciding they were pranks."
Understatement of the year,
maybe? I sure feel safer now, how about you?
&
Just when you think our
'eccentric' Tokyo Governor can't go any further off the graph, he proves you wrong. The
latest utterance from this guy, one of the crowd who thinks World War 2 was a
good thing, was this gem:
Take, for example, Yoshio Shinozuka, an 83-year-old veteran of Japan's infamous
biological weapons group, Unit 731 (for which the Chinese should be grateful, of
course). This fine gentleman recently said:
"The Japanese prefer to see
themselves as victims in the war. But I couldn't let this piece of history
remain in the dark."
It seems that even he feel nauseated
by speeches like those of our Governor, and so he now devotes himself to making
amends for his youthful misdeeds by speaking on behalf of Chinese victims. Some
sick people might think that makes him a traitor, whereas I think that makes him
a man.
???????????????????????
I suppose its a gesture designed to make we gaijin more eager to obey the law, but whenever I visit the Immigration 'Kremlin' on Tennoz Island (which I do only when I truly have to), I have to pass the waiting room for folk visiting the inmates of the immigration jail. I've always been grateful I wasn't one of them, but even more so after reading a recent report that more than 23 foreigners detained at an immigration jail in Osaka Prefecture had tried to kill or harm themselves between March 2000 and last July -- with one of them succeeding in killing himself! As one would expect, most of the detainees were held for illegally entering Japan or overstaying, but some were people who had been seeking refugee status. This awful revelation is underlined by claims from supporters who say that many refugee claimants have been treated like criminals. Now imagine. An unbearable situation causes them to leave their home and flee into the unknown, to throw themselves at the mercy of Japan's less than merciful government -- but that situation isn't enough to make them try suicide, that only comes about when they've sampled Japanese hospitality! I wonder what the liberals who loudly condemn the treatment of asylum seekers in Britain and Australia would say about Japan!
???????????????????????
Many people may worry about their old folk getting mugged, but in northern Japan, there's another danger to worry about -- bears! A total of 5 elderly people were injured in a single day recently, 4 seriously, after being attacked by bears in Toyama, Hyogo and Akita prefectures, additions to a particularly bad year for bear attacks. First was a 90-year-old who had his arm broken in Toyama city. Two other local senior citizens sustained facial injuries in 3 separate incidents. As a result, police alerted local hunters who eventually found one about 80cm in length in a nearby bamboo grove, along with a smaller bear believed to be its cub. The hunters killed the bigger bear but the smaller bear escaped. In Hyogo Prefecture, a 73-year-old sustained serious injuries to the head, face and left hand as he was attacked by a bear in fields he owns some 70 km away from his home while watching over persimmon trees -- he'd been on watch after bears recently ate fruit from them! The Akita victim was a 63-year-old man who sustained minor injuries when a bear bit him on the right arm while gathering mushrooms in the woods. Bear attacks have claimed one death and a total of 77 injured in 18 of Japan's 47 prefectures over the last 6 months, and believe it or not, it's all because of the weather! You see, Japan has experienced a record number of typhoons this year and this has resulted in a scarcity of acorns in the mountains, leading bears to search for food in residential areas before hibernating for the winter. So watch where you go before the snow comes!
???????????????????????
Going online whilst on the road is getting a lot easier nowadays, and one Japanese hotel has come up with a novel way of doing so. The Silk Tree hotel, Nagoya, has installed vending machines that enable guests with personal computers to wirelessly access the Internet. It seems the idea came from two vending machine maintenance service firms, who suggested it to encourage more businesses to install vending machines. In future, hotel guests can access the Net from a personal computer if they are within 50 metres of any of the machines, which are equipped with a device that allows them to send and receive data. What's more, guests will be able to browse websites and send e-mails free of charge. So if you're visiting Nagoya, you have no excuse for not paying a visit to catch up with what's happening on the 'Empty Seat', have you?
???????????????????????
Not so long ago, it was very rare indeed to see a Japanese woman eating in a restaurant or staying at a hotel on their own. However, as Japanese women begin to assert themselves more, they are starting to seek more time alone these days. This is especially true of the growing number of career women, and as a result, and with typical acumen, Japanese businesses are aiming their efforts at this group of savvy consumers with money to burn. A typical comment from one of these 'new age' women is "I don't mind spending my money on services that satisfy me," said by a 31-year-old woman who manages a web design firm, who often dines out alone or treats herself to massages to relieve stress. She and her ilk are now referred to as "ohitorisama," the Japanese word that originally referred to a customer in the polite form. The late journalist Kumiko Iwashita, who gave a new meaning to the old term by defining ohitorisama as "an independent woman who knows how to spend time by herself," set up a committee in 1999 to support ohitorisama. This committee has attracted around 2,000 members via its website, which introduces ohitorisama friendly businesses. These businesses are not foolish, for a Japan Travel Bureau Foundation survey found that an average 6.1% of women aged 25 to 39 travelled alone between 2000 and 2002, up from 3.9% between 1999 and 2001. In the past, this would have been ridiculously difficult, with many Japanese-style hotels refusing to accept a woman trying to stay without a companion -- claiming that they were afraid she might commit suicide! However, Tokyo's famous Imperial Hotel has started offering a "For Myself" to meet the growing demand from women who want or need a single room, whereas before they only welcomed women who wanted to stay in groups of 2 or 3. Without sounding too misogynist, I can't help wondering if one added bonus of a scheme like this is the almost inevitable word-of-mouth advertising. After all, I think it's the Chinese who say that two women equal a market place! (Sorry girls!)
???????????????????????
One writer once referred to the old Soviet constitution as a noble work of fiction, but I often feel that Japan's is not far behind. The anti-war clause is often quoted and used as an excuse for various decisions, but what about the anti-racism Article 14 (see above) or the anti-censorship Article 21 ("No censorship shall be maintained")? The reason I say this is the recent decision by one of Japan's largest publishers, Shueisha Inc, to suspend publication of a comic in a popular weekly magazine after some local politicians claimed it "distorts history." Well, they should know all about distorting history! You see, the comic "Kuni ga Moeru" (The Country is Burning) is a fictional tale about the life of a bureaucrat in the tumultuous early Showa era (1926-1989). Back in September, the author, obviously carried away by historical realism, used the comic to describe Japanese soldiers massacring civilians in Nanjing in China -- the infamous Nanjing Massacre of 1937. You know it happened, I know it happened, even the conservatives here know it happened, but they resent it happening, and so they claim it is a 'distortion'! To be exact, 37 members of local assemblies complained to the publisher, saying the massacre was presented as if it were the truth, claiming (if you can believe this) that there is strong evidence that the massacre never happened and no proof that it did. The same evidence doubtless proves there is a Santa Claus and gives us the address of Elvis! Now if these stupid apologists want to disagree with history, such is their right. However, when they force their views on the rest of us by censoring publications, that is too much. I wonder why China opposes Japan's UN ambitions? The one good side to this pitiful tale is the fact that such behaviour truly proves how unsure these ignoramuses are of their facts. After all, if they truly believed there was no Nanjing Massacre, they wouldn't give a damn about some damn cartoon! Only the uncertain fear opposite opinions, don't you think?
'Convenience
stores are REALLY convenient in Japan. Believe it or not, you can pay utility
bills, book theatre or sporting tickets, send your luggage to the airport, or
even book your airline tickets, all in on usually small shop. No wonder the
Japanese call them 'conbeni'!
They often also sell cheap takeaway meals. Check it out!'
(For more like this, please visit the 'Gaijin's
Guide to Living in Japan')
'With a Super Typhoon having just bruised Tokyo, now might be a good time to visit the Honjo Bosai-Kan. This place offers a 3- hour training session in life safety (earthquakes, etc.). There is an English pamphlet and they do speak some English. Located near Kinshicho JR station, it's open 9-5pm everyday except Wednesday. For more information, call 3621-0119. '
(For more suggestions, check out the 'Gaijin's Guide to Enjoying Tokyo')
|
Miss an issue of the 'Back Page'? |
||
|
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
Well that's for now. Many folk say that autumn is their favourite season in Japan, but this year's autumn has so far been giving us nothing but grey skies and rain. I can barely remember what the sun looks like, but I hope to be reminded soon, as the rugby season is now well underway. The next issue of this popular rag (?) will be out in November, a month that is truly winter, even here in the exotic East. So if you're housebound due to the winter weather (don't tell me if you're in the southern hemisphere, as I easily get jealous!), why not pop round and see what's new on the 'Empty Seat'? See you then!
The Gaijin
Don't forget: If you want to know when the next 'Empty Seat' is online, or just want to contact the ol' Gaijin, you can use the Guestbook link below. I'll read every entry, honest, and then . . . Well, we'll see!
| Read my guestbook! |
|
Sign my guestbook!
|
|
|
| * | Regular travellers
on Japan's buses and trains know that the seat next to a foreigner
will usually remain empty, even during the rush hours. This can rankle at first but should really be seen as a relief in a place where space is hard to find. It is also amusing to see a tired 'salaryman' torn between sitting next to a foreigner or remaining on his feet! |
|
|
|
|
in 2004!
