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Neighbourhood meetings and money


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Anyone here have to go to neighbourhood meetings in the local town hall where they smoke and talk about nothing. Or just how to spend the 12000 yen a year we pay into the neighbourhood "fund" that we have to pay.

 

Whats with that then? Everyone else have to pay that??

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Well I live with the missus who is Japanese who says we have to, and basically its not as much as to warrant becoming the enemy of the neighbourhood over not paying. But according to all my Japanese friends here I have asked, it is something you have to pay - and they certainly make the consistent effort to get you to pay \:o

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Is that a countryside thing? I've lived here 7 years in four different locations in Big Smoke 2, and avoided it. Osakans don't care so much for doing the right thing by the neighbours though, I reckon. They do something until someone complains (even though its obviously gonna piss someone else off), apologise, then do it again later!

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the closest thing we have to that is every year we have a street party at christmas when everyone gose to the bottom of the street and sits around talking like they know each other when they dont... pretty useless really...

at least we dont have to pay!

;\)

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We have it here too. I never paid along time ago cause I couldnt read the Japanese. Now I think my nieghbours dont want to try to make me pay. A lady I knew said that they had a softball game slash party every year.

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I live in a the middle of a small city and I have to pay.

 

I dont know what I get for the money. There sure aint any parties or softball games.

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I think the other people in my neighbourhood pay and they have get togethers etc every now and again but no one has ever asked me to pay so I havent. I wouldnt either I think unless there was something beneficial to the neighbourhood that the money was spent on, like garbage boxes etc. Most of my neighbours are cool and we get on well, but the head of the neighbourhood group is a chump and a xenophobic ****er and the last thing I (and him too I think) wants is to chill togehter.

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Ours is 6000 yen every 6 months, and when I asked they explained that it is used to keep the garbage areas cleaned and other public facilities in the village area I am in.

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There are no garbage bins in my area/ The corner of the street is the lumping spot. We do have a 2 nice little parks. One kiddy diamond and playgorund with about 20 cherry trees. That area is shared with the ojisan/obasan field golf and the kindergarten. Also one regular playground for kids.

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akibun...

 

16000 yen of your hard-earned money a year?? what do you think about that...I think its absurd...

 

when I was a young lad living in small town america we used to have block-parties every year...the whole neighborhood would get together, get the police to close a street, and have a big bbq and lots of games for the kids...I used to love those...that is a good way to build a sense of community, and something I missed dearly when I moved to the east coast (and japan...)...

 

danz

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Yo Akibun what would happen if you didnt pay? Is it a compulsary tax? If its compulsary why does it seem like many of us dont pay? Get a look at the treasurers report and see where the money goes. I think we pay enough taxes in this country (still hurting after paying the road tax yesterday ouch)

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this is nothing like taxes...if I understand correctly...

 

do you have a say as to how the money is used in your neighborhood? Have you personally seen the benefits? Do you have a means to voice your opinion?

 

Personally, if I 'HAVE' to dish out 16000 for my little neighborhood (which I thankfully do not), I want to have a say on how it is used...

 

danz

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