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08-05-2008, 04:41 AM
This law is designed primarily for Brazilian auto workers, who, for the most part, haven't seemed to want to learn or to speak Japanese. Most other workers in Japan do not stay for so long. Teachers get 1 to 3 year visas, as do most other professionals who work in the country. Most professional jobs require little Japanese knowledge, and as most assignments to Japan are usually temporary, there is no great need to learn the language.
Auto workers, on the other hand, often work in the factories for many years. For safety's sake, and for the sake of preventing a non-literate second class of people to develop, the visa plan is a good idea. |
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08-05-2008, 09:55 AM
That is unfortunate.
If you go to another country, it's should be expected that you want to make an effort to learn their language. Especially if you plan on living there. Also, why do most professional jobs not require knowledge of Japanese? |
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08-05-2008, 10:32 AM
I think it´s like in the netherlands, as an immigrant you don´t get the high class jobs from beginng (i don´t even think you ever get them as long as you need a visa to stay there) so you only get the jobs in which you don´t have to talk much, or you have to talk in english (or spanish or so).... But is it possible to stay in japan forever and live there (and don´t forget the work ). I personally would try it, as a teacher or cook or something like that.
When they are shot through the heart by the bullet of a pistol? No. When they are ravaged by an incurable disease? No. When they drink a soup made from a poisonous mushroom? No! It's when... they are forgotten. ~Dr. Hiluluk - One Piece |
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08-05-2008, 11:30 AM
Speaking of culture shock: Get the book "Culture Shock: Japan." You will thank me. It will help you understand when you are feeling it and how it comes and goes in waves. Had a chap, after being in country a few months, I've been nervous and find myself doing things I wouldn't normally do. (don't read too much into that.) If he knew what he was dealing with he might have done better. i know that's only one example.
When you thank me, a simple gift card will do. Any major retail chain will be fine. |
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08-06-2008, 12:33 AM
Yes, get that book if you want to read an entirely negatively biased view of Japan - with unpleasant comments on pretty much every aspect of Japanese life and culture. Get the book if you want to talk yourself out of visiting or living in Japan.
I *really* hate that book. Yes, it presents a fair amount of useful information... But almost all of it is wrapped in a veil of negativity. If you`re expecting awful culture shock, you`ll start looking for it... and find it. Some people really do have problems adjusting to another culture, but I do not feel that reading something negative toward the other culture is going to help them at all. It just makes the shock more acute, and gives them an even worse attitude toward it instead of trying to understand and overcome it. In other words - I highly discourage reading that book. Unless, of course, you want to hunt down any reason you can not to enjoy Japan. |
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08-06-2008, 04:01 AM
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You know from previous conversations I don't believe in being romantic about a place, even if it's a place one loves. I take the good with the bad and enjoy it anyway. I have new kitten that my three-year-old girl named "Ice Cat." I love that kitten, even though i know she will attempt to scratch my furniture and leave hair all-over my clean house. I must be aware of the difficult stuff to deal with this cat because if I think it's going to be all hugs, purrs and head bumps i would be in for a rude awakening. Does that analogy make any sense? I loved "Dogs and Demons" by Alex Kerr, too. A person who loves and lives in Japan, but has written a social critique. I'm sure you hated it if read? |
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08-06-2008, 07:22 AM
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In other words - there is a difference between critiquing problems in social structure (governmental in the case of Dogs and Demons)... And just negatively poking at every aspect of normal Japanese life. It is indeed VERY different. I`m sure that you would feel different about reading a book talking about the shortcomings of the US government and why they ended up this way than, say, a book looking at every aspect of American life and culture with derision. One of those books points out a problem which can potentially be solved. The other points out something(everything?) the author found irritating, and bashes them. In the process the book drags down everyone else who reads it. I read Culture Shock originally because three different people told me that after reading it, there was no way they could imagine staying in Japan long term. They couldn`t understand how I could deal with it, and were glad they`d be out before things in the book "kicked in". So of course, I was curious what they were talking about. My opinion is that it`s a book written by one of the long term foreigners who live in Japan for financial reasons and possibly family reasons, but does not like it. Does not want to be here. The type who picks apart aspects of culture and compares them to the "superior" culture they grew up with. I`m all for presenting the reality of Japan - but this book wraps it in so much negative emotion that it`s impossible to simply see it as culture, instead you`re asked to see it as a flaw. That is unfair, and would be unfair to do to any culture. The only way to "fix" the cultural "flaws" would be to get rid of the culture itself. The author presents information with a heavy bias. Of course, if you`re already negatively biased against Japan and Japanese culture, this book will likely support you and seem "neutral". It`s not. While I respect you and your opinions, Paul11, things you`ve said in the past about long termers in Japan lead me to believe that you fall into that group. |
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08-06-2008, 07:48 AM
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