egglesby 1 Posted November 22, 2005 Share Posted November 22, 2005 It really gets me mad when I see money being needfully wasted around me. The latest is the place where I work are spending about half a million yen on a party for us... that hardly anyone wants to go to. It's just nuts, they should give us a bonus. Then they give the bucho tons of money to go out and get pissed up every week. etc etc Might not be on a huge scale but it still annoys me no end. Link to post Share on other sites
woywoy 0 Posted November 23, 2005 Share Posted November 23, 2005 Our company just spent nearly 10million yen on a new product line launch when the product is complete crap and totally unsuitable for the Japanese market. I totally agree with you Egglesby, give us a bonus instead! Link to post Share on other sites
misorano 1 Posted November 23, 2005 Share Posted November 23, 2005 Market Research doesn't seem to be a big thing for some companies. More like the boss thinks "this is a good idea", and none the ass-kissing underlings have the balls to say no. Worked for a company that built a boarding school for drop out kids in one of the most rural areas in Japan. They were expecting 400 students, but never got more the 50. And now there is are two 7F dormitorys sitting almost empty (tallest buildings for 50KM in any direction) Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted November 23, 2005 Share Posted November 23, 2005 It's even more annoying when they take your money out of your salary for parties, and then spend it on junk food and junk drink that you wouldn't put in your mouth if they paid you. Matsuyama's mayor read some obscure book about Matsuyama, and now he's hired Ando Tadao to build a piece of glass rubbish at vast expense at the bottom of Matsuyama Castle to 'kinen' this stupid book. This is called 'machizukuri'. I can't help but note that at the same time, Matsuyama city is withdrawing subsidies for solar panels on houses. Well, I expect Mr. Ando is pleased anyway. Link to post Share on other sites
BagOfCrisps 24 Posted November 23, 2005 Share Posted November 23, 2005 I see obscene amounts wasted here where I work every day. I try not to get too depressed about it. I'm retiring as soon as I can. Link to post Share on other sites
misorano 1 Posted November 23, 2005 Share Posted November 23, 2005 Quote: It's even more annoying when they take your money out of your salary for parties, and then spend it on junk food and junk drink that you wouldn't put in your mouth if they paid you. I can beat that one O11. They decided to fill some of the rooms in the above dormitory with Chinese Students. They then came to all the teachers and were saying how hard life was for these poor chinese students, and how expensive Japan was. They asked us all to give a little of our paycheck to help out these students. Turns out that the Chinese Students were being charged about 35,000yen a month to live in the dorm (regular fee is about 80,000yen), and the school was pocketing all the money the teachers were giving to make up the difference. Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted November 23, 2005 Share Posted November 23, 2005 I thought the done thing was to send dropout kids overseas for the socially acceptable "ryugaku". Rural Japan must have been too close for comfort. Link to post Share on other sites
2pints-mate 0 Posted November 23, 2005 Share Posted November 23, 2005 Quote: they take your money out of your salary for parties Thats common is it? Can you stop them?! Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted November 24, 2005 Share Posted November 24, 2005 Quote: Originally posted by 2pints,mate: Quote: they take your money out of your salary for parties Thats common is it? Can you stop them?! Yes, that's common. You can stop them if you don't mind making lots of enemies, giving up promotions, and ending up outside that sort of situation. Like I did. One of my favorite memories of working at a Japanese company was staying back at the company to 'work' instead of going on the company trip. The accounting lady, who had been offended at the Christmas party by being called 'baba' also refused to go. So we sat in the sunshine, ate our lunch, and drank a good few beers while we talked frankly about our separate futures away from that company. She was a good ally to have. All the people who went on the trip said it was just a wild goose chase and they complained about it for weeks afterwards. Link to post Share on other sites
bettyx 0 Posted November 24, 2005 Share Posted November 24, 2005 tadao ando is designing something for your city? that's not a waste of money, that's fantastic. thousands of people from around japan & the world go on pilgrimages just to visit as many of his structures as possible, so building something in matsuyama is definitely positive machi-zukuri. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted November 24, 2005 Share Posted November 24, 2005 > that's not a waste of money, that's fantastic. A lot of people in Matsuyama want their castle left alone. They think it already looks very good as it is, and they don't want to throw money away on a glass and concrete box. Stop gushing bettyx. Attracting tourists is a poor long-term economic choice for any city. Link to post Share on other sites
I'm Sexy 0 Posted November 28, 2005 Share Posted November 28, 2005 How do you say 'machizukuri' in English? Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted November 28, 2005 Share Posted November 28, 2005 "Community building" perhaps? Link to post Share on other sites
scouser 4 Posted November 28, 2005 Share Posted November 28, 2005 "Ways to waste money and time on meetings/parties and useless things" perhaps? Link to post Share on other sites
number9 0 Posted November 28, 2005 Share Posted November 28, 2005 Pork-barrelling, now that's democracy! Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted November 28, 2005 Share Posted November 28, 2005 There was a special on tv on Saturday about wasteful projects built with public money. Some of them were ridiculous. A suspension footbridge that leads nowhere for 3.3 billion yen. The biggest feature was about Osaka Bay and the landfill projects there. One of them was done for the Olympic bid and has a garbage incinerator and sewage treatment plant covered with imported Gaudi-style decorative flourishes. They're also extending the subway through tunnels for some frightening sum like 1700 oku (170 billion yen) even though noone lives there. The big shopping center/WTC thing down there is also bleeding red ink. It sounds like the city is semi-bankrupt. Link to post Share on other sites
bettyx 0 Posted November 28, 2005 Share Posted November 28, 2005 ooh i'll gush all i want - & most probably, so will you when the project is done. i guess my excitement stems partly from the amount of friends/etc i've taken to visit matsumoto castle, only to have them comment on how small it is. i try to push the 'yeah it's small, but that's how it survived in semi-original form, unlike most of the other castles in japan'. machizukuri? maybe a town project/planning? & mr wiggles suggestion that the shopping center is bleeding red ink just made my afternoon. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 Ooh, isn't that lovely! Really sensitive design that captures the very essence of tradition in Ehime! And just look at the carefully prepared page that the City has put together to promote this glorious architectural wonder. http://www.city.matsuyama.ehime.jp/sakakumo/ It simply oozes quality doesn't it? A few more solar panels on roofs would have the net effect of making the citizens of Matsuyama cool in summer and warm in winter. This useless eyesore won't bring anything so beneficial. Link to post Share on other sites
SKI 15 Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 I really like the colors used on this page http://www.city.matsuyama.ehime.jp/sakakumo/siminjuku2/index.html Looks great. Bet you can't wait. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 Yes, I think they had trifle on their mind when they put that page together. You wouldn't know it but, really, people in Ehime are very refined, apart from the clods at the top. Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 Them trees will have to go. Or at least most of the branches. Can't have leaves falling everywhere. Here's that Osaka gomi incinerator. On second thoughts its more Disneyland than Gaudi. Or Gaudi after a hard night on the opium. Such lovely landscaping too. That's our money Prefer small castles meself. In that shopping center, they showed side by side info boards that have the names and locations of shops on. On one board, every single name was covered with black tape. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 Is that shopping centre the one near Osaka port? When I moved from Nagano, we sailed from Osaka and killed some time in what I think was probably the WTC. There were only about two floors of shops taken out of god knows how many floors, and what shops there were sold mostly junk. It was very depressing. I can't believe this kind of thing is still going on... Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 That's the one. The WTC is actually the big office tower. The shopping center is the ATC. Osaka's debt is 5 cho en, which is 50,000 oku, which is err, 5 trillion yen, which is 5,000,000,000,000 yen. Not bad for 2.6 million people. It's Osaka-shi, not Osaka-fu. About half the debt is due to these stupid projects in the bay. If you've ever been along the Bay Route expressway, from Kobe to Kansai Airport, for example, you'll know that Osaka Bay has to be possibly the most depressing sight in all of Japan. It's chemical factories most of the way. Narita to Shinjuku is lovely by comparison. Link to post Share on other sites
gamera 0 Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 Yeah Mr.Wiggle, I can see the miotsukushi (Osaka city symbol ) at the top of the red pillar in the first pic. Shows us it's osaka city stuff, not osaka-fu. But the second pic looks like a love hotel, maybe because it's a bit distant view. Link to post Share on other sites
slow 0 Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 Osaka is famous for bad taste. It's their kotekote culture, isn't it? This is so funny. Kotekote poster I love Osaka. Link to post Share on other sites
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