May 1, 2002
Yikes, I haven't been able to update in a damn long time.
My paycheck is in yen. Of course that's not surprising; I was bloody well-aware of what currency I'd be paid in all along. (The exchange rate is running at approximately 130 yen to the dollar, and it fluctuates daily.) The thing is... some economists have suggested here and there that the yen might get devalued sometime this year. Naturally, that would suck for me. As everyone knows, Japan's economy has slipped in and out of recession for the last twelve years. Neither Keynesian deficit-spending nor rock-bottom interest rates worked to stimulate things. Er, well, that's not entirely accurate: the economy seemed on the verge of turning-around back in 1996 (3% growth predicted for the year), but some smart-guy in the Ministry of Finance decided to raise taxes at the last minute. Party ended before it could start.
But for the most part, the economy is trapped in a never-ending crisis because the financial system is broomhandled-up the arse and resists any and all attempts to reform it. Furthermore, the political system has been running entirely on auto-pilot and is unable to get its act together, because elected officials are all but irrelevant to how the system actually functions. Anyways, every now and then some economist will claim that the all-powerful Ministry of Finance is planning to devalue the yen in order to give a kick to exports. In theory, cheapening the yen will have a double-whammy effect: it will make Japanese exports cheaper and make imports more expensive, thus, encouraging Japanese citizens to buy domestic goods instead of imports. (Cheap Chinese imports are clobbering Japan's domestic textile-makers for instance, and a yen devaluation would help the home producers by making the Chinese competition more expensive.) However, a devaluation will also serve to reduce the number of dollars for which I could exchange my yen, which will suck if when I want to, say, build my stock portfolio back home. If Japan tries to devalue in an attempt to (once again) export its way out the slump, other countries (such as the US) will cry foul, saying that Japan is dumping goods at unfair prices (once again) and slap tariffs and quotas on stuff like Japanese steel, autos and electronics (once again).
In the event of a devaluation, I'll be getting fewer dollars and the world will get pissed-off. So, I hope that doesn't happen... Yes, believe it or not, this kind of stuff actually keeps me up at night sometimes.
Speaking of pissing-off the world, on April 22nd, the Japanese Prime Minister (Junichiro Koizumi, whose tousled hair looks eerily like that of Richard Gere) made a surprise visit to the Yasukuni shrine, which is a Shinto memorial to Japan's 2.5 million war dead. (Not just World War II, mind you: but also the Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War and other conflicts dating back to the mid-19th century in which Japanese soldiers died). There normally wouldn't be too much wrong with that, except 16 war criminals are also memorialized at the shrine. Countries that were devastated during World War II, such as China and South Korea, sent some very indignant diplomatic notes to Japan and canceled a few planned visits by dignitaries. Over the last few years, this sort of diplomatic flap over the Yasukuni shrine has been happening quite a bit.
On another topic, this morning I had to go-out to a client's site in a suburb with Ryoko, one of my co-workers. Instead of forcing me to take the train, Ryoko offered to come-by and pick me up because her apartment is only 5 minutes away from mine, and she was going to drive there herself. So, at 7:30 this morning, I was waiting outside my apartment building. The sun was starting to burn-off the haze over the city, and I slipped-on my $160 Italian sunglasses in a vain attempt to look cool. Ryoko's Nissan minivan drove-up and I hopped-in.
"Ohayogozaimasu." I yawned.
"Ohayogozaimasu, Naisugai-san." She said, in her requisite one-octave-above-normal voice. She drove towards the highway and pointed to a covered Starbucks travel-mug in the cup-holder on the dashboard. "I brought a coffee for you."
"Really?" I asked in semi-disbelief. For- for me? "Thank you!" I grabbed the cup and sniffed it. "Did you make this at home?"
"Yes, I have Starbucks coffee at home." She replied.
"Wow. That is so nice of you." I sipped it, it tasted very good. "My God, you are so thoughtful!" Wow indeed, I was impressed. I... I didn't know what to say. I mean... I know this is a simple, small gesture but... I can not recall the last time a woman brought me a coffee first thing in the morning without any prompting at all. Dear Lord, how I love the women here! They are so thoughtful! (See? I am easy to please!)
Speaking of which, I have a deito (date) of sorts coming-up... at one of my Japanese language classes, there was a female volunteer teacher whom I got paired-up with for conversation practice. When I first laid eyes on her, I thought "Yowza!" I was sitting across the table from a real honey! She was attractive enough to be standing behind the cosmetics counter in a department store! She had very clear skin, and carmel-colored hair. In fact, she looks like the heroine from the movie Final Fantasy (I forget her name). During the conversation, I got to know her better. Her name was Kaori. She is 26, and normally works as a wedding singer. She only does teaching on a volunteer basis because she wants to improve her English and her dream is to go to Australia one day; indeed, she is looking for an English tutor.
Two hours flew-by really quickly. We were having fun talking and laughing. By the end, I was telling her a little story about how I tried to make sushi using sanma (canned sardines) the other day.
"You... you can not make sushi with sanma!" She stuck-out her tongue. "Ew!" She cupped her hand over her mouth and laughed.
"No, you can't... I found that out pretty quickly." I shrugged.
"Never have I tried sushi with sanma. How was it? Was it delicious?"
"Well... I could eat it, so it couldn't be so bad, could it?" I smiled. She laughed again.
"Do you need Japanese?" She asked. I nodded. "I need English... I want to teach you if you can teach me..." She smiled sweetly. I noticed that we were running out of time. I decided to use this opportunity to ask for a date.
"So... are you free next Tuesday?" I proffered.
She checked her schedule and nodded. "Yes, I don't work until the night."
"Would you like to do something then?" I asked hopefully.
"Yes, yes. Thank you. We can go to a park... oh, maybe it will rain Tuesday?"
"Well, if it rains, we can have lunch. Where shall we meet?" Internally, I'm giving myself a high-five: 'Yessss!'
So, we made arrangements to meet below the escalators at Michinoshi's rather huge central train station at 11 AM. When I get the chance, I'll write-up the story of what happens!!
Boy, so far I love the women here! They are so pleasant to be around. An added bonus: they don't need to use deodorant because their sweat doesn't smell bad. Oh, one last thing: an overwhelming percentage of the women here are slim... Every couple of days, I'll see a random Caucasian woman on the subway or walking down the street. She'll stand-out like a sore thumb and can be spotted a mile away. Now, these women are not necessarily Americans... they could be European, Australian, Kiwi or from wherever. But the point is, they look... (oh, there's no classy way of saying this, but I'm just telling it like it is) they tend to look rather meaty when compared with the rest of the crowd. Or maybe it's just an optical illusion. Or my imagination.
I'm sure they're just big-boned, is all...
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