DoCoMo pioneer Takeshi: "the existing Japanese companies handling cell phones will be totally wiped out by around 2020" (Long but interesting essay on why Japanese corps can't compete with Apple and Samsung)

jjrs · 2012-05-27T09:27:22.738076+00:00

Docomo's summer 2012 lineup for example includes a dozen or so Android smartphones from Sony, Fujitsu, NEC, Panasonic, Sharp and Toshiba

His argument is that since they're just running Android, they're not offering much more value than HTC or Samsung phones with the same OS. And since Japanese labor costs are much higher, they're left at a disadvantage.

jjrs · 2012-05-27T09:00:09.885892+00:00

So you're saying people would rather do with far, far less than pay a single yen more than 6-8000 yen per household..despite the fact that isn't much more than they already pay?

Even with a lot of households cutting back, that doesn't really sound about right.

jjrs · 2012-05-27T08:38:24.282896+00:00

Okay, you have a tendency to express viewpoints I disagree with, so take this general rebuttal with a grain of salt. This is intended to address a certain viewpoint I see on here a lot, which may or may not represent all of your own views on this issue.

Now, with that disclaimer out of the way-

No matter how you cut it, even a fair chance nuclear power can be replaced at those prices is fantastic news, especially coming from a Japanese governmental agency, who aren't exactly known for rash, thoughtlessly liberal viewpoints. Even if you're inclined to be skeptical of even conservative sources, why not take that as an encouraging sign?

I don't really get this attitude that everything has to be every bit as good or better than it is now -not to mention as cheap, or cheaper- in order for any attempts at reform to the status quo to be taken seriously, or met with anything less than cynicism or suspicion. Are a bunch of windmills and solar panels likely to fulfill all of Japan's power needs in even 10 years, and at equal or cheaper prices to boot? I doubt it. But what baffles me is the seemingly complete resistance of people to even entertain the idea that some reforms and progress are possible.

If you really want to be cynical and realistic about the world, you should be more focused on trying to find alternative sources of energy for future decades, not less. And you should be desperate enough that even the possibility that renewable energy might be viable perks your interest, not dismissive at the first sign of complications.

Because you know what? No, your power bills are likely not going to be more affordable in ten years, regardless of what policy action is taken, and even if nuclear returns full-blast and unregulated. The world's oil reserves will still be a major factor in prices, and they aren't getting any bigger. Your food likely won't get any cheaper either, because the buying power of emerging markets like china is going to increase demand for commodities.

So if you're entirely fixated on your own power bill and your own taxes and that's your chief prerogative, then yeah, you're not going to be happy with the way your world changes in the coming decades, and likely wouldn't have been anyway. But how is the world supposed to progress and overcome the challenges of this era if all anyone is interested in is preserving what was possible in the past, and their own bottom line? No wonder the world's governments are in such heavy debt for voters' entitlements.

jjrs · 2012-05-27T07:32:28.979225+00:00

Never mind, I screwed up- turns out he meant ¥6-8000/mo TOTAL. So no problem for industry or even anyone else, really.

robotwerewolf · 2012-05-27T07:30:09.235005+00:00

Good job man. You've got a real talent for this and all your tracks are solid. The mix and overall sound is really good too. What software/gear did you use?

jjrs · 2012-05-27T06:56:02.003936+00:00

"serious power conservation efforts ..."

Thats unaccpetable, turn the reactors back on.

I have no idea if you're joking or not.

jjrs · 2012-05-27T06:28:54.737124+00:00

My bad, but happy the truth is even better. I guess that even as an optomist I just couldn't believe it could possibly be that low. That's more money than some single people pay RIGHT NOW!

jjrs · 2012-05-27T04:25:19.207109+00:00

Ideally energy would be free and unlimited. But all-green energy for 8000 extra a month is pretty impressive considering that by popular wisdom its supposed to be impossible at any price.

Not to mention, things seem to be getting better all the time, and in ways that wouldn't have been considered in that conservative estimate. In a few years, maybe Japan could see the same success replacing nuclear reactors with solar that Germany has.

mipz · 2012-05-27T03:36:14.488088+00:00

Of every single plant in the entire country simultaneously, and with most to remain closed indefinitely. That "maintenance" is not coincidental with public pressure following Fukushima.

prezjordan · 2012-05-27T02:46:14.124218+00:00

It misunderstands sometimes, but my main issue with it is that its slow. So slow that its usually faster just to do/search for the same things manually.

I know its not a connection thing either, because my google-made voice activated software works much faster on the same phone.

MCMLXXXVII_SFW · 2012-05-26T19:55:45.861360+00:00

The economies of the mystic Orient are not burdened by massive commitments to social spending.

Considering their interest rates have dropped to record lows, neither is France. And basically what you're saying is not being burdened by massive commitments to social spending frees them up to...make massive commitments to social spending.

This part of it is apples all the way down: do you think government spending can prevent an economic slump when bubbles burst and demand crashes? You can say yes or you can say no, but you only get one answer.

R66-Y · 2012-05-26T19:44:30.337469+00:00

Much like you! You're a real sucker for abuse, aren't you?

At this point though, I've had my fun and have lost interest in you. Later dude :)

jinnyjuice · 2012-05-26T15:33:35.077888+00:00

With all due respect, I think you missed an important part of what the mods suggested you do-

By all means, do the research yourself and present it in comments when you see people like that; it will probably be more effective than asking them to do research.

Why ask us to do the research, without just coming out with what you're trying to get at? We don't even know what your opinion is on Japan/Korea relations, let alone what facts you have to back it up. If you have some scholarly articles on the subject, please post them. People will happily check them out.

R66-Y · 2012-05-26T13:35:20.117658+00:00

LOL, I'd say your interest is quite clear. But please do continue to reply to tell me how "clear" your "disinterest" is!

MCMLXXXVII_SFW · 2012-05-26T13:22:13.762427+00:00

Going through the literature of the time, it seems like people felt the same way about Japan in the late '80s. "No, don't you see? Because Way of the Samurai and Wa"

It's weird, because often the people that seem most convinced that the Orient can solve their economic issues through some kind of inscrutable governmental machinations are the very people that steadfastly deny that economic stimulus by people like Obama could possibly do any good in the west. They're hard-nosed realists at home, and believe in black-and-white and the powers of the free market. But if the economy is situated in the Eastern hemisphere, suddenly they're in la-la land, and the government can just magically make things better.

R66-Y · 2012-05-26T13:00:18.705558+00:00

I'm vague on the details at the minute, but I have him labelled "jerk" under RES. Reading comments like this by him elsewhere here, I decided I was right in the original judgment and kept on running with it. But I can understand how without that context it must look like I just launched into him out of nowhere.

R66-Y · 2012-05-26T05:58:05.635863-07:00

You stand by being a jerk-off, you mean! nobody cares what your little interpretation is- even if by fluke you happend to be right it wouldn't matter. When you say snide bullshit like "cry me a river, but not here", you reveal yourself to be an asshole.

It's kind of amusing watching yourself struggle to rationalize your behavior with yourself, though. Weren't you supposed to be "out" like 4 exchanges ago?

R66-Y · 2012-05-26T12:35:02.947396+00:00

You mean from the stuff you actually did write, as opposed to the stuff you pretended you said after the fact? How about you "clarify" what you meant when you say stuff like this to the OP?

R66-Y · 2012-05-26T12:26:53.737216+00:00

Wow. You really don't understand people at all, do you.

I actually enjoy all kinds of people approaching, just not wearing out their welcome or intruding once I've made my limits clear.

Hey, good job "quoting" yourself saying something you never actually said.

R66-Y · 2012-05-26T12:20:51.091609+00:00

He doesn't need to tell them to fuck off because as he said he actively enjoys it when they come over. So clearly being interrupted by strangers in public isn't the key issue here.

And if you want projecting, try bawling out the OP in multiple comments for all the things you simply "imagine" the guy to have said and done.

R66-Y · 2012-05-26T12:15:47.218466+00:00

Kids don't know better; adults should.

You yourself said that you get it all the time from tourists and people new here, so clearly its pretty normal human behavior. Another reason its common is because most other foreigners really will talk to them, which reinforces the behavior. So really the only failing of all these people is not realizing that you will be an asshole about it.

So it's not about whether or not they "know better", its about how you deal with it. You actually enjoy the Japanese kids approaching, and you have far less in common with them than you do with another foreigner. By your previous logic, you should be telling them to piss off so that they learn not to bother strangers. You don't do it because you welcome the attention of one type of person, and not the other.

SERIOUSLY???? I have to suffer because of somebody else's social ineptitude?

Yes: occasionally, other people's reactions are going to cause you minor inconvenience. How you handle it depends on what kind of person you are.

R66-Y · 2012-05-26T10:18:02.046428+00:00

If I sound upset about this, it's because it happens all the time, mostly from short-term JETs or tourists who think all foreigners have nothing to do but find other foreigners and drink together. I've had dates interrupted by people like this.

You know, its funny, because just the other day there was a thread on here about whether or not its rude for little japanese kids to walk up foreigners in public and ask them questions, and you wrote:

This happens all the time! Nothing annoying about it, unless you're a socially-challenged douche.

and

Why does everybody seem so thin-skinned? I find the same behaviour to be cute and endearing.

So in other situations, you're far less sensitive to being approached by strangers in public. You welcome it, in fact. You certainly don't tell the kids to fuck off when you're on a date and they don't take the hint.

Why the difference? I'm guessing because you're one of those weird, socially stunted old foreigners who's here because he couldn't even function back home. You like to feel special and unique, and a child commenting on your foreign-ness reinforces that feeling of uniqueness.

A younger foreigner though is just a reminder that you're really just some guy. You don't want to be reminded that there are other people from your country here, because you want to be the only one. And heaven forbid they interrupt you on a date- being a foreigner is all you have going for you! Another one approaching is a major threat to you in a situation like that.

So what do you do? You behave like an asshole. That's okay, I guess- it takes all kinds. But be realistic with yourself about what you are, and always have been.

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