WEC Class Notes

 Salutations ladies, I just thought it might be a good idea if you would like to comment below with you're suggestions for new topics to keep our conversations interesting, So comment and let's see if we can come up ideas. Regards, Barry

Tackling signs in Japan that you’re not welcome “MOTHER F——- KISS MY ANUS. F—- OFF Mother F——-… foreigner. Sneaking PHOTO.” A hand-written sign bearing these words is among several decorated with similar insults that greet shoppers outside a fashion store that sells rock-style clothing in Tokyo. The sign sits among shirts emblazoned with designs featuring overseas rock bands such as Iron Maiden, Children Of Bodom and Marilyn Manson in the fashion and kawaii culture mecca of Harajuku’s Takeshita Street in Shibuya Ward. The Japan Times visited the shop after being approached by a foreign resident who was disgusted to see the signs while he was with his young daughter. “The shop is absolutely covered in these messages,” wrote the reader. “I walk past this place from time to time. The thing that annoys me most is that Harajuku is such an anything-goes area full of all kinds of subcultures and minorities, not least of all foreigners, so this place is like a nasty litt...

Japan has been gearing up to attract more foreign workers to address its severe labor shortage, with its cabinet approving a plan to expand the number of industries covered by the blue-collar skilled worker visa that effectively grants permanent residency. But the country faces headwinds as an attractive workplace amid a weakening yen and competition from other Asian locations such as Taiwan and South Korea with fewer visa requirements. Weng Fei, an employee of the construction company in Gifu Prefecture in central Japan, obtained the Specified Skilled Worker No. 2 visa in April last year as the first person in Japan to do so. As the visa allows holders to bring in family members and has no limit on the number of times they can renew their visa, the 36-year-old has been reunited with his wife from China and now seeks to work longer in his company, where he leads a group of employees made up of Japanese and foreign workers. I trust him enough to make him responsible as a foreman; said T...

The roar of the Japanese f-35 fighter jets above Misawa, in northern Japan, is formidable. At the base, which houses Japanese and American forces, pilots from the two countries practise flying together. ⇒ The risk of war with China over Taiwan has made those preparations ever more urgent. Japan plans to raise its defence budget by two-thirds by 2027 and acquire long-range missiles to make its Self-Defence Forces (sdf) fiercer. But it has not fired a shot in battle since 1945. Will Japan fight? Geography puts Japan on the front line: its westernmost island sits 111km from Taiwan. Conflict is probably less likely if China believes Japan would join the fray. If war does break out, keeping Taiwan from falling may hinge on Japanese support and firepower. At a minimum, America would need to use its bases in Japan. And if Japan’s forces engaged in combat, success would be far more likely.  If a crisis around Taiwan were to occur, “there’s no way Japan won’t be involved,” says a lawmaker w...