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30% of companies using telework quit due to employees slacking off in Japan
Due to the corona pandemic, many companies in Japan have implemented teleworking. According to Tokyo Shinbun web, about 30% of companies in Japan with telework quit, due to many reasons such as reduced productivity. Of those that quit say: “We have no plans of teleworking again.” 788 companies in Tokyo were surveyed in 2020, September to October. 232 companies, which account for roughly 30% “quit teleworking”. Reasons for this were: “reduced productivity” 46%, “machine and networking infrastructure difficulties” 40%, “matching with the site necessary for accounting” “not comfortable with the security”. On the other hand, the 46% of the companies still teleworking has progressed work style reform, but 58% of…
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Too many cashless payment options in Japan
Japan used to be a country with one of the lowest cashless payment options. This is a graph by digima-japan comparing countries and their cashlessness: However, with the corona virus pandemic, actual cash is less hygenic became less popular. A lot of new cashless options have emerged, and here they are as of 2020/11/1: Transportation IC type electronic money (Prepaid) (Usable anywhere in Japan): ICOCA, Kitaka, Suica, Monorail Suica, Rinkai Suica, SUGOCA, TOICA, nimoca, ISAS nimoca, Denden nimoka, Mejiron nimoka, PASMO, Hayakaken, manaca Transportation IC type electronic money (Prepaid) (Usable only in local areas): ICi-Card, IC bus card (Kitami bus), Asaca, ayuca, icsca, ICOUSA, itappy, Ibappi, IruCa, Iwasaki IC CARD,…
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Man eating only fruits for 7 years, experiments on himself.
From ShuuPre news. Perhaps you have heard of Mizuki Nakano, a fruit scientist. However, he is no ordinary fruit scientist (though we’re usually not too familiar with them); he has been experimenting on his self. He hasn’t orally taken in anything other than fruit for 7 years. That’s right; no rice, no bread, no meat or fish. Not even water, tea, or alcohol. This is even harder than a vegetarian in my opinion. He says that he is testing out the hypothesis that fruits are total nutritive food. 3 Facts to wrap it up: He has been eating and drinking only fruit for at least 7 years. He is researching…
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Japan’s birth ratio continues to plummet – a 40% decrease in 35 years
Japan’s already low birthrate is decreasing more and more, according to Yahoo news. According to Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 2020 May to July’s pregnancy notification form submission has decreased by 11.4% compared to the same period the previous year. Perhaps the corona virus pandemic and the secondary impact on economy causes the young generation to be even more cautious for thinking about having a baby. The number of births given in 2019 was 865,234. This was 1,431,577 in 1985, so this means an 40% decrease in 35 years. At this pace, 2021 will have even less births; probably falling below 800,000.There are estimates given that 480 years…
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Mask-beauty effects are becoming a problem
In Japan, there is a term called “マスク美人” or “Mask-beauty”. It means that by wearing a mask, the hidden parts of your face are complimented ideally. According to Cariconeect, woman in her 20s had a problem. A co-worker asked her out for lunch, but she was worried: If he asked me out because he liked my face, I’m worried that taking my mask off might dissapoint him … Other consulters say that I couldn’t stand his face without a mask, so we broke up in 2 weeks! True, looks are important. But with or without a mask, a partner whom you can enjoy communication is also integral.Perhaps taking their mask…
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Comics: Kimetsu no Yaiba (Demon Slayer) sales are tremendous!
Maybe some of you have heard of Kimetsu no Yaiba, a very popular comic/anime Kimetsu no Yaiba (Demon Slayer). The manga was originally serialized in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump from February 2016 to May 2020. The series ended with comic book number 22 in October 2020. Ever since it started serializing, it was very popular, but after its anime series started in April 2019, its fame skyrocketed. According to today’s Nihon TV’s SHOWBIZ corner, comic sales ranking #1-#22 (details unspecified..) was all monopolized by Kimetsu no Yaiba: Wow. The total sale count is estimated to have surpassed 90 million. And that’s only the comics. Let me introduce the overwhelming popularity of…
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Are Japanese Girls Kawaii?
Maybe you have heard of the term Kawaii, meaning “cute”, “lovely”, and “adorable”.When used to refer to a female human, it is more common to a younger age. It has less nuance of “beautiful”. For better or worse, Asians tend to look younger for several reasons. Borrowing some of Jennifer Hu‘s points, Japanese have: 1. More melanin than caucasians. 2. Different anatomical face structure. 3. Skin tend to photoage by developing colored spots rather than wrinkling. 4. Less obesity 5. More UV aware 1. More melanin than caucasians. Asians aren’t the most melanin-rich race. But having more melanin means having more protection against UV. Therefore, Asians are less vulnerable to…
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日本語は外国人にとって難しいのか？
よく日本語は世界トップレベルに難しい言語という噂を耳にする。 これは本当なのだろうか？ 日本語が難しいと感じさせる要素について分析してみた： 1. 漢字 2. 敬語 3. 文法 4. 略語 1. 漢字 まず日本語にはひらがな、カタカナ、漢字が存在する。 ひらがなとカタカナは互いに1対1対応となっており、獲得もそうはむずかしくないだろう。英語の母音とかと違って、基本的に1通りの読み方しかないし。 ひらがなとカタカナはそれぞれ46文字で構成されている。濁音や半濁音や”っ”や”ー”を含めると60文字追加され、合計106文字になると言われている。 漢字がおそらく最難関となっているだろう。日本人にとっても感じが得意というのは少数派であろう。種類も多すぎるし、部首や書き順や音読み、訓読み、語源、意味など1つの漢字当たりの情報量がかなり多いと感じる。 ちなみに上のもじは「びゃん」と読み、世界で最も画数が多い感じといわれている：58画。びゃんびゃん麺という中国の上海のラーメンでしかほぼ使われていないらしい。 2. 敬語 敬語には3種類ある：丁寧語、謙譲語、尊敬語。 古文で多くは学ぶだろうが、現代語の表現も同等以上に複雑で、一般日本人にとっても完ぺきに使いこなす者は少数派であろう。 さらに上下関係も世界から見ると特殊と言われており、日本人は実年齢などよりも同じコミュニティーに所属する年数に重きを置く傾向があるようだ。 先輩、同輩、後輩のことである。 部活では先輩だけどバイト先では後輩だったりとか、職場で年上が入ってきて後輩になったりとかよくある光景だ。 3. 文法 言わずもがな、文法もなかなか難しい。 英語などラテン語系とは違って、例えば名前は姓→名と記す。 文章を構成する順番はわりと適当でも意味を成す。 しかし、これは時々大きな誤解を招くこともある。特に口語表現の場合： よく小学校などでありがちな「先生、おしっこ」という発言は:・「先生はおしっこ」 先生=おしっこという意味となり、現実世界ではこんなことにはならないはず。・「先生、おしっこに行きたいです」 おそらくこれが生徒が伝えようとしていることだろう。・「先生、おしっこに行きますか？」 逆に先生がもじもじしていたのでしょうか？…よほどのシチュエーションじゃない限りなかなかないだろう。 4. 略語 どの言語も略することはあるが、日本語は特により多く略しようとする場合はあると感じる。 この多種多様な略し方はなかなか慣れていないと難しい。 例えば、「ゲームセンター」は、よく「ゲーセン」と略される。所見でこれに気付くのはなかなか難しい。ご高齢な方々とかには理解不能であることが想像できる。 地方によっても略し方は色々変わる。 関東地域ではマクドナルドのことを「マック」と略するが、関西では「マクド」と略する。 大人気ビデオゲーム、ファイナルファンタシーも関東では「FF」、「エフエフ」と略されるが、関西では 「ファイファン」 が多いそうだ。 ここまで読んで頂いてありがとうございます。 もし楽しんで頂いたならシェアやコメントして頂けましたら助かります。 ご質問やご意見も↓こちらへよろしくお願いします！
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Is Japanese really difficult to learn?
Quite commonly, Japanese is said to be one of the most hardest languages to learn. Is this true? I believe there are 4 reasons why Japanese seems complicated: 1. Kanji Characters 2. Keigo (Honorifics) 3. Bunpo (Grammar) 4. Abbreviations 1. Kanji Characters Japaneses has 3 types of characters: hiragana, katakana, and kanji Hiragana and Katakana are similar to each other and have a one-to-one relationship with each other, so they aren’t too difficult. They only have 1 type of pronunciation, unlike, for example, the English vowels – easy! Hiragana and Katakana have 46 characters each. If you add the voiced sounds and semi-voiced sounds, and perhaps the small characters and…
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Introduction
Hello world!! I am Dr. Samurai, a plastic / cosmetic surgeon in Japan. In this blog, I will summarize and introduce to you Japan, Japanese medicine, and other random topics in the far east.
