There was a general election held yesterday. The elections are held on a weekend so that everyone has the chance to vote without missing work or school. People are eligible to vote at 20 years of age here. There are 3 elections held at a time.
The current ruling party called the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), or 民主党 in Japanese, was defeated by the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan (LDP) - or 自民党. The LDP has basically ruled Japan since 1955 except for the past three year period. The names are fairly close in English, which makes distinction between them difficult. The DPJ is more liberal; the LDP is more conservative.
The head of the DPJ - at least for now, is Prime Minister Noda, though he will likely step down after the results of this election. The LDP is headed by Shinzou Abe. Abe favors the continued use of nuclear energy, and has been vocal in his support of the Senkaku Islands. He has proposed changing the Japanese Constitution to allow for Japan to develop both a military and nuclear weapons.
Does his party's election really mean that people support Abe though? This is up for some debate. Japanese politics is largely dysfunctional. Leaders change every couple years, sometimes more often than that. There is largely the feeling that one's vote does not count, and the politicians are all so hopeless that people do not want to vote at all.
For example, the candidates will neglect to wear suits, their comments will be completely off-the-wall, and voters are left wondering who exactly is the so-called 'lesser evil' among their choices. Therefore, this is just my opinion but I doubt that the DPJ will go through on all of its intentions. It is well aware of the fact that it won because people dislike the LDP, not because they like the DPJ. Japan is also in a perilous state economically. It has to rely on foreign economies for imports/exports, so it cannot just completely do away with its foreign relations.
What this election means, if anything, will be seen in the coming year. Japan's leadership changes so frequently that nothing is definite yet.
Monday, December 17, 2012
Monday, December 10, 2012
Earthquake
I apologize for the late post. There was an earthquake off the coast of Japan on Friday. It was magnitude 7.3, but it was shindo (震度) 4 here in Tokyo. The earthquake occurred while I was still at work around 5:18 p.m. It was fairly strong up on the 7th floor, and it reminded many of my coworkers of the 3.11 quake. Overall, nothing fell over and we didn't suffer any damage, so no worries. The quake only caused a 1m high tsunami as well, so everything was fine. Honestly, that's more what we worry about here. Whether or not the earthquake will cause a tsunami.
The trains stopped probably for about 10 minutes, but they were running again quickly. The schedule was a bit off though. Although that sounds like something that you shouldn't worry about in the U.S., it is a big problem here. Most people do not own cars, and the majority of the population relies on the train system because it is punctual and the most efficient way to get to work. Shutting down the trains on 3.11 caused millions of people to have to walk hours home in the cold. Many people just ended up going to Red Cross shelters to spend the night until the trains could run on limited service again.
Japan normally doesn't measure its earthquakes by magnitude by the way. Although it is useful to understanding the original strength of the quake, we tend to use something called shindo (震度) here. This is literally the degree of the quake, or the quake's strength at your location. So, for example, most quakes are shindo 2 or 3 here in Tokyo if you feel them. These are barely noticeable. You might notice a piece of paper shaking slightly, or water moving, or something that hangs will swing, but unless you are really looking at something, you can ignore it with only a touch of vertigo.
Shindo 4 like the other day was what many people would consider as an earthquake. Although we were able to stand up, it was preferable to sit down. Computers would not fall off the desk unless they were close to the edge, but things would shake violently. Cabinets rattle, etc. Shindo 4 is not something you ignore. Places further up north felt shindo 5, which cause books and such to fall off shelves.
For more information about the earthquake strength system here, you can refer to the Wikipedia article here.
The trains stopped probably for about 10 minutes, but they were running again quickly. The schedule was a bit off though. Although that sounds like something that you shouldn't worry about in the U.S., it is a big problem here. Most people do not own cars, and the majority of the population relies on the train system because it is punctual and the most efficient way to get to work. Shutting down the trains on 3.11 caused millions of people to have to walk hours home in the cold. Many people just ended up going to Red Cross shelters to spend the night until the trains could run on limited service again.
Japan normally doesn't measure its earthquakes by magnitude by the way. Although it is useful to understanding the original strength of the quake, we tend to use something called shindo (震度) here. This is literally the degree of the quake, or the quake's strength at your location. So, for example, most quakes are shindo 2 or 3 here in Tokyo if you feel them. These are barely noticeable. You might notice a piece of paper shaking slightly, or water moving, or something that hangs will swing, but unless you are really looking at something, you can ignore it with only a touch of vertigo.
Shindo 4 like the other day was what many people would consider as an earthquake. Although we were able to stand up, it was preferable to sit down. Computers would not fall off the desk unless they were close to the edge, but things would shake violently. Cabinets rattle, etc. Shindo 4 is not something you ignore. Places further up north felt shindo 5, which cause books and such to fall off shelves.
For more information about the earthquake strength system here, you can refer to the Wikipedia article here.
Of NTT
This post is about NTT, which is a telecommunications company here in Japan. When I signed up for internet, I had make a contract through NTT as well as OCN, which I believe is the service provider. Oddly enough, I get three mailings every month. Bills from both NTT Finance and NTT Communications well as information from OCN. If that sounds confusing to you, don't worry. I don't really understand it either.
The reason for this post is that when I signed up, they were running a special campaign. Sign up for internet when you buy your washer, fridge, and other appliances, and we'll dock money off both our internet service and all the appliances. I already mentioned in a previous post that I had gotten my washer, fridge, rice cooker, and hair dryer all for 30,000 yen (roughly 450 dollars under the current exchange rate). My internet bill also had all kinds of free unnecessary services, free telephone, etc. that totaled to about 2,000 yen a month. For a few months, everything was peachy. I bought good appliances for cheaply and I had cheap internet that easily rivals the US speeds. Then, the campaign ended last month. I couldn't cancel the services before the campaign ended, or I would end up paying a huge fee.
Last month, my internet/phone bill skyrocketed to 5,000 yen. This month it was 6,000 yen. Fed up with paying for services I wasn't using, I tried to cancel the services. This is easier said than done though. After wading through a dozen documents with five or six different usernames and passwords along with almost a dozen different phone numbers to call, I admitted that I had no idea what I doing. I asked Tai to call OCN for me, but he was promptly turned down. They had no idea what he was talking about, and and said to go to NTT.
Tai being considerate and having promised me that he would take care of it, tried to call NTT, but they put him on hold forever and basically he was told that he wouldn't pass the "verification test." So I called myself. The conversation went something like this:
Representative: "Hello, this is NTT Financial Services. My name is X. How can I help you?"
Me: "Yes, hello. This is my account information. I want to cancel some services that I'm no longer using. Can you help me with that?"
Representative: "Of course. First, we'll have to verify your identity."
This was the part I was worried about. Verifying your identity in Japan is kind of like nailing jello to a tree. Unless you have the exact information that they want, you will never ever pass. This is because they give you like hundreds of pieces of paper with different usernames and passwords. You also have to sign everything with your personal seal. If you don't have the seal, they'll just send you away until you find it. This is a major problem for people that have many seals. So, here I am all worried, and what do they ask for? My customer ID number, my phone number, my address, and then, my personal favorite: "Are you the person who owns this account?" I answered yes, and that was it. My account verification was me saying, "Yes, I am Michelle." Only in Japan is that considered an acceptable form of verification.
We continued to the reason for my call, which was canceling the services. Before I cancelled the services, I asked her to explain each one. This took about 5 minutes. Then, I cancelled the ones I didn't want. Easy-peasy. Before I could get too confident though, she asked one final question.
Representative: "It says here that you have a couple of boxes for the internet and phone."
Me: "I have one box for the internet, yes. I do not have a box for the phone. Is there something you need?"
Representative: "No, you definitely have two boxes. We need you to return the phone box for us."
Now, that's odd. I know I only have one box. And I told her so. Over and over and over again. This took roughly 20 minutes. She said, "Maybe you have a box in your genkan (entry way)?" No, no box. "Maybe it's under your bed?" No, no box. I only have one box. "Maybe it's somewhere that you've never seen before?" My apartment is not large. I only have one box. "If you could just go and look at the boxes' numbers for me, I could look them up?" Unfortunately, I couldn't fulfill her request because 1. I only had one box. And 2. I was at work.
She thought about this for quite a while, and then, you would think this wouldn't be a problem since we were talking in Japanese and I said the same exact thing in many different ways, but it took roughly 20 minutes for her to have a "a-ha" moment.
Representative: "You only have one box."
Me: "Yes, that's what I've been saying. I only have one box."
Representative: "Then that means you must have box where both things are in one box!"
Perhaps this service is new. I'm not sure. But it was the correct conclusion. She notified me that I would have to return that box. The fact that she shut the service off for the internet wasn't enough. They needed to send me an all new modem to replace my current one. After realizing at this point that logic was pretty futile, I agreed and asked when I had to be at my apartment for the maintenance person to come by. "Oh, oh, that's not necessary," she assured me. "We can just send you the new box by mail, and you can send your current box back to us by mail."
Now, that's all well and good, and it's actually pretty convenient. However, there was one little issue. The last time I got a modem from NTT, the guy saw my Mac, and his eyes went huge. Surprise. He didn't know how to work a Mac. But that wasn't a problem, he assured me. "You have the CD?" he asked in his gruff voice. I did. "Use the CD." He said.
I know this will really surprise you, but that CD didn't work. Macs can read NTT's CDs. They show up in little Wingdings - boxes, exclamation points, hearts, clovers, etc. No words. The reason for this, is that Macs are supposed to be able to hook up automatically, but mine doesn't. I have no idea why. So, I set myself up with a PPoE server because that's the only way I could get it to connect. Whether or not this is correct, I have no idea.
This time, I didn't want to relive that moment, so I asked the representative if she could send a representative this time to set it up. In front of me. Using my Mac. "I'd love to-" she wheedled, "But you just cancelled the Remote Support Service. If you want to keep it on for another month-."
"If I don't cancel the service, someone from your company will come set it up for me?" I clarified.
"No, we don't do that."
"Then what is the Remote Support Service?" I asked again.
"Well, you can call us..." she continued.
"Can't I just call you without the Remote Support Service?"
"Yes," she agreed.
"Then cancel it." Why I would keep a service that I can get for free, when they do not even come to my apartment, I don't know. So I cancelled it. And I got my box, and it was also a bear to set up. I set it up with PPoE again. It's a mystery. But it works. In short, NTT is probably the most unhelpful company ever.
The reason for this post is that when I signed up, they were running a special campaign. Sign up for internet when you buy your washer, fridge, and other appliances, and we'll dock money off both our internet service and all the appliances. I already mentioned in a previous post that I had gotten my washer, fridge, rice cooker, and hair dryer all for 30,000 yen (roughly 450 dollars under the current exchange rate). My internet bill also had all kinds of free unnecessary services, free telephone, etc. that totaled to about 2,000 yen a month. For a few months, everything was peachy. I bought good appliances for cheaply and I had cheap internet that easily rivals the US speeds. Then, the campaign ended last month. I couldn't cancel the services before the campaign ended, or I would end up paying a huge fee.
Last month, my internet/phone bill skyrocketed to 5,000 yen. This month it was 6,000 yen. Fed up with paying for services I wasn't using, I tried to cancel the services. This is easier said than done though. After wading through a dozen documents with five or six different usernames and passwords along with almost a dozen different phone numbers to call, I admitted that I had no idea what I doing. I asked Tai to call OCN for me, but he was promptly turned down. They had no idea what he was talking about, and and said to go to NTT.
Tai being considerate and having promised me that he would take care of it, tried to call NTT, but they put him on hold forever and basically he was told that he wouldn't pass the "verification test." So I called myself. The conversation went something like this:
Representative: "Hello, this is NTT Financial Services. My name is X. How can I help you?"
Me: "Yes, hello. This is my account information. I want to cancel some services that I'm no longer using. Can you help me with that?"
Representative: "Of course. First, we'll have to verify your identity."
This was the part I was worried about. Verifying your identity in Japan is kind of like nailing jello to a tree. Unless you have the exact information that they want, you will never ever pass. This is because they give you like hundreds of pieces of paper with different usernames and passwords. You also have to sign everything with your personal seal. If you don't have the seal, they'll just send you away until you find it. This is a major problem for people that have many seals. So, here I am all worried, and what do they ask for? My customer ID number, my phone number, my address, and then, my personal favorite: "Are you the person who owns this account?" I answered yes, and that was it. My account verification was me saying, "Yes, I am Michelle." Only in Japan is that considered an acceptable form of verification.
We continued to the reason for my call, which was canceling the services. Before I cancelled the services, I asked her to explain each one. This took about 5 minutes. Then, I cancelled the ones I didn't want. Easy-peasy. Before I could get too confident though, she asked one final question.
Representative: "It says here that you have a couple of boxes for the internet and phone."
Me: "I have one box for the internet, yes. I do not have a box for the phone. Is there something you need?"
Representative: "No, you definitely have two boxes. We need you to return the phone box for us."
Now, that's odd. I know I only have one box. And I told her so. Over and over and over again. This took roughly 20 minutes. She said, "Maybe you have a box in your genkan (entry way)?" No, no box. "Maybe it's under your bed?" No, no box. I only have one box. "Maybe it's somewhere that you've never seen before?" My apartment is not large. I only have one box. "If you could just go and look at the boxes' numbers for me, I could look them up?" Unfortunately, I couldn't fulfill her request because 1. I only had one box. And 2. I was at work.
She thought about this for quite a while, and then, you would think this wouldn't be a problem since we were talking in Japanese and I said the same exact thing in many different ways, but it took roughly 20 minutes for her to have a "a-ha" moment.
Representative: "You only have one box."
Me: "Yes, that's what I've been saying. I only have one box."
Representative: "Then that means you must have box where both things are in one box!"
Perhaps this service is new. I'm not sure. But it was the correct conclusion. She notified me that I would have to return that box. The fact that she shut the service off for the internet wasn't enough. They needed to send me an all new modem to replace my current one. After realizing at this point that logic was pretty futile, I agreed and asked when I had to be at my apartment for the maintenance person to come by. "Oh, oh, that's not necessary," she assured me. "We can just send you the new box by mail, and you can send your current box back to us by mail."
Now, that's all well and good, and it's actually pretty convenient. However, there was one little issue. The last time I got a modem from NTT, the guy saw my Mac, and his eyes went huge. Surprise. He didn't know how to work a Mac. But that wasn't a problem, he assured me. "You have the CD?" he asked in his gruff voice. I did. "Use the CD." He said.
I know this will really surprise you, but that CD didn't work. Macs can read NTT's CDs. They show up in little Wingdings - boxes, exclamation points, hearts, clovers, etc. No words. The reason for this, is that Macs are supposed to be able to hook up automatically, but mine doesn't. I have no idea why. So, I set myself up with a PPoE server because that's the only way I could get it to connect. Whether or not this is correct, I have no idea.
This time, I didn't want to relive that moment, so I asked the representative if she could send a representative this time to set it up. In front of me. Using my Mac. "I'd love to-" she wheedled, "But you just cancelled the Remote Support Service. If you want to keep it on for another month-."
"If I don't cancel the service, someone from your company will come set it up for me?" I clarified.
"No, we don't do that."
"Then what is the Remote Support Service?" I asked again.
"Well, you can call us..." she continued.
"Can't I just call you without the Remote Support Service?"
"Yes," she agreed.
"Then cancel it." Why I would keep a service that I can get for free, when they do not even come to my apartment, I don't know. So I cancelled it. And I got my box, and it was also a bear to set up. I set it up with PPoE again. It's a mystery. But it works. In short, NTT is probably the most unhelpful company ever.
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Of NHK
So over the past couple months, I've been visited been NHK three times. NHK is the Japanese national broadcasting company. It's a public company, and they easily have the pushiest staff I've ever met in Japan. A typical visit from NHK begins with the sound of your doorbell. Pin-pon. Thinking that it could be anyone, you pick up the intercom. You're already doomed.
At first, the NHK people seem really nice. "I'm from NHK," they explain. "I've come to talk about the broadcasting fee and your contract." I thought that was awful curious because I have no TV. When I explained that this, the staff was literally dumbfounded. "How can you have no TV? You must have a TV." I told him I have no TV, and that I do not have time to watch TV. Although doubtful, he left me alone.
I received another visit about two weeks later. The fact that it's always a different person makes NHK difficult to deal with. This person was just as pushy, insisting that I was required to pay by law. When I asked him how I could pay for something that I cannot receive, he became confused. I explained to him that I told his coworker two weeks ago that I did not have a TV. He took about 10 minutes to explain that I must immediately pay him once I get a TV.
So, what's with this? This is a public television company, but acts like a scamming company. The reason for this, is that from what I understand, NHK cannot turn off its services. Anyone can receive NHK as long as they have a TV equipped to receive broadcast services. Due to recent scandals, some people have refused to pay, which has resulted in some lawsuits forcing them to pay for the services that they receive. Regardless of whether or not they watch NHK has no bearing on the payment. You have a TV; you can receive NHK. Therefore, you must pay for NHK.
Honestly, it seems like a rather ridiculous system. They company should have a way of turning off its services to those who do not watch to watch. Since the government has a strong influence over the company though, this isn't possible.
Why is NHK important, you might ask. NHK has no commercials, and it is a frequent source of the news. During 3/11, I watched NHK in my dorm in Kyoto. NHK broadcasted in Japanese, English, and I think Mandarin as well. It provided the most up to date news, which is why people watched it.
For those reading this blog who live in Japan, there is no way to avoid paying the fee unless you do not own a TV. Even then, you will have to convince NHK of this, which from my own experience so far has been pretty futile. I'll just continue to tell a new person every week that I don't have a TV.
At first, the NHK people seem really nice. "I'm from NHK," they explain. "I've come to talk about the broadcasting fee and your contract." I thought that was awful curious because I have no TV. When I explained that this, the staff was literally dumbfounded. "How can you have no TV? You must have a TV." I told him I have no TV, and that I do not have time to watch TV. Although doubtful, he left me alone.
I received another visit about two weeks later. The fact that it's always a different person makes NHK difficult to deal with. This person was just as pushy, insisting that I was required to pay by law. When I asked him how I could pay for something that I cannot receive, he became confused. I explained to him that I told his coworker two weeks ago that I did not have a TV. He took about 10 minutes to explain that I must immediately pay him once I get a TV.
So, what's with this? This is a public television company, but acts like a scamming company. The reason for this, is that from what I understand, NHK cannot turn off its services. Anyone can receive NHK as long as they have a TV equipped to receive broadcast services. Due to recent scandals, some people have refused to pay, which has resulted in some lawsuits forcing them to pay for the services that they receive. Regardless of whether or not they watch NHK has no bearing on the payment. You have a TV; you can receive NHK. Therefore, you must pay for NHK.
Honestly, it seems like a rather ridiculous system. They company should have a way of turning off its services to those who do not watch to watch. Since the government has a strong influence over the company though, this isn't possible.
Why is NHK important, you might ask. NHK has no commercials, and it is a frequent source of the news. During 3/11, I watched NHK in my dorm in Kyoto. NHK broadcasted in Japanese, English, and I think Mandarin as well. It provided the most up to date news, which is why people watched it.
For those reading this blog who live in Japan, there is no way to avoid paying the fee unless you do not own a TV. Even then, you will have to convince NHK of this, which from my own experience so far has been pretty futile. I'll just continue to tell a new person every week that I don't have a TV.
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