Various interesting news snippits

[James Eckman]

My Japanese isn't that good but I was listening with one ear to sumo and
heard about it.
http://english.pravda.ru/sport/2002/07/19/32882.html
Pravda.RU Russian sumo wrestler participates in the Japanese Championship

I've read that Sony is not really a normal Japanese company but this
very interesting. In America it's probably only news in nerdland(Silicon
Valley) and in financial news.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/ap/20050307/ap_en_bu/japan_sony
Yahoo! News - Sony Names Foreigner to Lead Turnaround

A couple of friends have been hired as permanent full time engineers at
Japanese companies. Of course nowadays that might not mean the same
thing it used to.

I wonder if this is the start of another one of Japan's radical change
periods. The US is certainly losing much of its attraction to foreign
students and immigrants, especially with our current idiotic immigration
laws. After the recent election, the local Canadian consulate has over
500 inquiries about immigration from Americans as well. They usually
have 5-10 a year.

Jim Eckman

[m***@netMAPSONscape.net]

Post by James Eckman
My Japanese isn't that good but I was listening with one ear to sumo and
heard about it.
http://english.pravda.ru/sport/2002/07/19/32882.html
Pravda.RU Russian sumo wrestler participates in the Japanese Championship

I saw him on NHK the other night, I believe. Only match I saw, he
lost.

Post by James Eckman
I've read that Sony is not really a normal Japanese company but this
very interesting. In America it's probably only news in nerdland(Silicon
Valley) and in financial news.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/ap/20050307/ap_en_bu/japan_sony
Yahoo! News - Sony Names Foreigner to Lead Turnaround

This was in the Chronicle.

Post by James Eckman
A couple of friends have been hired as permanent full time engineers at
Japanese companies. Of course nowadays that might not mean the same
thing it used to.

I was one, 1988-1990.

Post by James Eckman
I wonder if this is the start of another one of Japan's radical change
periods. The US is certainly losing much of its attraction to foreign
students and immigrants, especially with our current idiotic immigration
laws.

No, there's still a demand for engineers.

Post by James Eckman
After the recent election, the local Canadian consulate has over
500 inquiries about immigration from Americans as well. They usually
have 5-10 a year.

Asking's easy.

Mike

[Mark Crispin]

[Moderator's note: this is straying from the subject of Japan. Let's
throw in some Japanese-related material, folks.]

Post by James Eckman
After the recent election, the local Canadian consulate has over
500 inquiries about immigration from Americans as well. They usually
have 5-10 a year.

But how many of that 500 remained divorced from reality long enough to
actually go?

I spend a fair amount of time in Canada (enough to have a Canadian cell
phone), and frequently encounter American expatriates who are there due to
political reasons. They're easy to spot; they're more "Canadian" than the
native-born. They've burned their bridges but discovered that the grass
really isn't greener on the other side. Everything they fled can still be
found in Canada; and there's some new things they hadn't considered.

Of course, this doesn't apply to all expatriates. There are, for example,
those who married Canadians and the family settled in Canada. But these
folks didn't burn their bridges, and frequently you see the family moving
back and forth between the US and Canada (and they generally go to some
effort to preserve their children's dual citizenship).

The underlying fallacy is thinking that you can run away from your
problems.

-- Mark --

http://staff.washington.edu/mrc
Science does not emerge from voting, party politics, or public debate.
Si vis pacem, para bellum.

[s***@rogers.com]

Post by Mark Crispin
[Moderator's note: this is straying from the subject of Japan. Let's
throw in some Japanese-related material, folks.]

Post by James Eckman
After the recent election, the local Canadian consulate has over
500 inquiries about immigration from Americans as well. They

usually

Post by Mark Crispin

Post by James Eckman
have 5-10 a year.

But how many of that 500 remained divorced from reality long enough

to

Post by Mark Crispin
actually go?
I spend a fair amount of time in Canada (enough to have a Canadian

cell

Post by Mark Crispin
phone), and frequently encounter American expatriates who are there

due to

Post by Mark Crispin
political reasons. They're easy to spot; they're more "Canadian"

than the

Post by Mark Crispin
native-born. They've burned their bridges but discovered that the

grass

Post by Mark Crispin
really isn't greener on the other side. Everything they fled can

still be

Post by Mark Crispin
found in Canada; and there's some new things they hadn't considered.
Of course, this doesn't apply to all expatriates. There are, for

example,

Post by Mark Crispin
those who married Canadians and the family settled in Canada. But

these

Post by Mark Crispin
folks didn't burn their bridges, and frequently you see the family

moving

Post by Mark Crispin
back and forth between the US and Canada (and they generally go to

some

Post by Mark Crispin
effort to preserve their children's dual citizenship).

I wonder what "effort" you're referring to. Japan does require dual
citizens to make an active choice for Japanese citizenship when they
become adults. But, neither the US nor Canada have a residency
requirement for duals (Canada does for a 2nd generation Canadian by
descent). They also don't require that an active choice of
citizenship be made, the way Japan does for dual citizens.

Stephen Gallagher