tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536667987979630826.post3415837853772611288..comments2023-10-31T08:35:20.612-07:00Comments on FREE WILL: 30 Seconds Over TokyoPsotahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01890411406755519728noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536667987979630826.post-42243822886111694262009-09-26T23:48:47.244-07:002009-09-26T23:48:47.244-07:00Left this at Just One Minute, and for what it'...Left this at Just One Minute, and for what it's worth, my two cents were:<br /><br />"As a fifteen year resident of Kyoto, a white guy immigrant, and before a brief comment on the Japanese health care system, let me respond to Jack is Back: learn to read, write and speak Japanese fluently, not much to demand of an immigrant to any country, in my opinion, and not only does one assimilate into Japanese culture, but one is able to thrive and all and all is at a major advantage in many ways (including access).<br /><br />Racist is certainly the wrong word. There is a strong and vital culture here, a shared learning, mostly based on the word, written and spoken, and for ex-pats who after some time in Japan return to their native countries crying "racism, racism" I always ask one question: how's your Japanese? Inevitable those who say "great" can't even read at a fourth grade level and speak even less well. Which is not to say the Japanese won't treat you well if you are a culturally illiterate "white" person , but you certainly won't find yourself being assimilated. Thankfully. Rightfully.<br /><br />As for the health care system. What the national health care system allows by way of procedure and treatment is fairly restricted and cost is directly controlled. However, additional insurance, in the marketplace, to cover procedures outside the box, is easily attainable and competitively priced and many doctors and hospitals thrive in this subtext. Costs here too are fairly low. Access to MRIs and other high end diagnostic tools are very inexpensive and available without delay.<br /><br />The biggest difference, as an American brought up in U.S. healthcare, is time. Very wham, bam. Five to ten minutes with the doctor. Likely in a room where your conversation is overheard by other patients in queue. A doctor may see 50 to a 100 patients a day. Ten beds to a room are normal for stays in a hospital, with a few feet and a thin curtain you can draw, between beds. If you have money or additional insurance, though, you can get your own room, still very Spartan though. In a word, there is no luxury to the medical experience. I for one have few complaints, but there is cultural subtext that is wholly inappropriate for U.S. healthcare, as the linked piece correctly outlines, and for a hypochondriac like myself, one the one hand I don't get much touchy-feely time with the doctors, but, on the other hand, I can get MRI's for three hundred dollars a pop anytime I want."Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04189856012351143391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536667987979630826.post-56889353784639938282009-09-26T00:00:26.992-07:002009-09-26T00:00:26.992-07:00Thanks for commenting Jelink. And thanks for your ...Thanks for commenting Jelink. And thanks for your info re: Japanese stores. I lived in Tokyo for seven years, am married to a Japanese, and regularly shop at a Japanese market. I am not saying the Japanese are perfect. They just don't abuse their bodies with food as much as the typical American does. As a dedicated consumer of Japanese sweets, I am comfortable saying they are lighter and less filling than American ones. Anyway, my point wasn't that the Japanese are wise ascetics, only that they do things in moderation. Even their alcoholism is more moderate than the American version!Psotahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01890411406755519728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536667987979630826.post-13277093337090658422009-09-25T22:00:46.613-07:002009-09-25T22:00:46.613-07:00LOL!!! I lived in Kyoto for five years, and the ...LOL!!! I lived in Kyoto for five years, and the idea that Japanese, especially Japanese men, don't smoke or drink as much as Americans do is a crock. Malarkey. Codswallop. Merde. Kuso. Unsinn. Organic foods???? have you been into a Japanese supermarket to see row upon row of processed food? Hell, you can see some of them in American supermarkets, as various kinds of cheap noodle soups. Then there's the fifty kinds of dried and processed fish, many heavily smoked and nitrite-enriched. Stomach cancers, anyone? That's just for starters. And btw MacDonalds, KFC and other American chains have done quite well there, for at least 30 years. <br /><br />Crikey, I am so sick of reading how the Japanese are the Greatest. One would think that their flat-lined economy the past fifteen years, after we were told they would be Number One, would wake people up to the fact that they put their zubon/pantsu on one leg at a time.<br /><br />Another dirty little secret: it's only by adopting a more Western diet after WWII did the Japanese grow almost six inches taller than their parents. That's a fact.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536667987979630826.post-45818940339019998622009-09-25T13:58:11.327-07:002009-09-25T13:58:11.327-07:00I agree with your points! Japanese people prefer l...I agree with your points! Japanese people prefer living with moderation and like cooking fresh, healthy organic foods every day, even some drink to excess like Americans.Akira Olsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03886360142150471829noreply@blogger.com