It’s probably pretty well known that Japan is a service society in which the customer is always king. Restaurant service is nearly always excellent, shop polite and helpful and the trains always run on time.

Well nearly always.

Apart from JR (Japan Rail) trains (which used to be nationalised like British Rail but is now a private company running trains all over Japan), which everytime I’ve been on them they’ve been late (try not to use them too much), most Japanese train companies are very efficient.

We have three running through our city from Kobe to Osaka, JR, Hanshin and Hankyu.

I commute on the Hanshin every morning, and in 4 years of using them they’ve been late maybe 4 times! Probably the equivalent number of times my commuter train in London arrived on time!

One of these late times was last week where my 20minute commute ended up taking an hour.

Anyway, the point of this long winded post isn’t that a train was late, it’s the reception you get at the train station in Osaka when you get off.
There are announcements apologising for the delay, train staff greet you at the gate bowing and apologising and handing out little notes…

Train was 45 minutes late!

Unlike in the UK where if you turn up late for work, an appointment or interview and say
“The train was late”, everyone would believe you. In Japan where the trains are never late, this excuse doesn’t fly.

This little note is your proof!

Nice.

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Post tags: Hanshin Trains, JR Trains, Trains

Exciting developments in the life of Monkey Bridge (ex-Nova boss and now convicted criminal)…apparently while waiting for his appeal to start he’s been staying in a hotel in Tokyo.

Well some members of the Yamaguchi Yakuza clan (based in Kobe/Osaka – actually the boss lives just up the road from me apparently) found out where he was and held him hostage yesterday for 3 hours!

Not sure why they let him go, but they were arrested immediately after.

There were always rumours amongst the staff and teachers at Nova that he was “connected” (some of the Nova investment money was mob money), but they were just rumours….hmm…maybe some-one wants their money back and it’s not just students and teachers!

Related posts:

1. Ex-Nova Boss Gets Jail Time!
2. Nova Crimelord Monkey Bridge in the Dock
3. Nova News : Monkey Bridge Was Innocent!

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Post tags: Eikaiwa, Monkey Bridge, Nova, Teaching English in Japan, Yakuza

Just a quick one this time, but wanted to post some happy news…
Monkey Bridge (my old boss at Nova – the head honcho embezzler) has finally been sentenced to 3 and a half years in Jail! yay!

I thought he’d get away with it, but the Japanese justice system didn’t let me down!

His defence are obviously appealing (not to me they’re not!) but fingers crossed it’s turned down.

Lots of happy ex-nova teachers at the moment!

Related posts:

1. Ex-Nova Boss Kidnapped by Yakuza
2. Nova Crimelord Monkey Bridge in the Dock
3. Nova News : Monkey Bridge Was Innocent!

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Post tags: Eikaiwa, Monkey Bridge, Nova, Teaching English in Japan

In some other news that has not yet reached my English language paper is that the Japanese government has passed (or in the process of passing, not sure) a bill that will put an IC chip in the gaijin cards that every foreigner living here has to carry.

These Alien Registration Cards are basically a form of identity and police can (and do) stop foreigners and demand to see it.

It’s never happened to me, but I’ve heard from other people about it.
I personally have no problems carrying one, it’s used to sign up for libraries, driving licenses, and other official things, so pretty useful.

But not entirely sure why they want to track my movements.
I remember about a year ago this idea was first mooted, and the chip would record when I went into libraries, government buildings and other official places.

The question is:
a) Why do they want to know when I go in these places?
b) Why don’t they want to know when, say, my wife, who’s Japanese, goes in there?

There’s also the potential that the system could be expanded to train stations, busses, cinemas, shopping malls, or anywhere.

Foreigners get blamed for a lot of crime in Japan unfortunately, – mind you the same thing happens in Britain, so that’s not a criticism of the Japanese particularly – but usually you only tag criminals after they’ve been found guilty.

Having said all that, like I said before, nothing has been written recenty in my English language paper about it, so don’t really know any details, so for all I know it may be perfectly harmless.

But it’s like the fingerprinting of all foreigners (or Aliens, as we are called here – something I find particularly unpleasant) at the airports as you come in to the country.

As soon as you land in Japan you’re made to feel unwelcome and a potential criminal.

I would like to emphasise that this is “official” Japan – i.e. government policy, etc.
Individual Japanese are 99% of the time incredibly friendly, welcoming and very polite and helpful to foreigners.

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Post tags: Gaijin, Gaijin card

Finally, after about 18months since Nova (the English conversation school in Japan) collapsed due to, shall we say, mis-management of funds, the arch villain of the piece, Monkey Bridge (Nozomu Sahashi) is on trial for “Professional embezzlement involving misuse of the reserve funds og an employees’ mutual aid organization”.

Which is basically a convoluted way of saying, he stole employees wages and rent from one company (Nova) and put the money in his own company.

When the trial started apparently he apologised to staff and teachers (many of whom had to leave Japan and go back to their home country, some of whose only experience of Japan is working for 2 months for no wages while eating cup noodles every day, before calling home for financial help for a flight home), and said he’d done nothing wrong.

Now the prosectors are after 5 years jail time, he’s changed his tune a bit and is now saying he’s fully responsible and will try to pay back the money.

He’s also claiming that it was all one of his sub-ordinates ideas (to steal the cash) and he (Monkey Bridge) always intended to pay it back.

The ruling is expected at the end of August, and I’m hoping for a little jail time for the man. (Not that I hold a grudge at all )

Related posts:

1. Nova News : Monkey Bridge Was Innocent!
2. Ex-Nova Boss Kidnapped by Yakuza
3. Ex-Nova Boss Gets Jail Time!

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Post tags: Eikaiwa, Monkey Bridge, Nova, Teaching English in Japan