Japan Is Doomed

The Project Trust Junten School Tokyo Project FAQ

Mike — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 14:48:58 +0000

I get quite a few emails from people who are considering going on the Project Trust Tokyo project, and up to now I’ve relied on just emailing them back or referring them to the PT site or web forum, which is a great resource. However my time to reply to emails is becoming more and more scarce, so I thought I should write a quick FAQ I can refer people to. If I’ve referred you here, have a read and if there are still questions you want to ask, get in contact.

Bear in mind I did this project way back in 2006-2007!
If I can, I’ll update this FAQ as best I can to reflect any changes.
However I can’t stay 100% up to date.

Alright with that out of the way, here are some of the most common questions I get asked about the project. Again, if your question isn’t here, comment with it or email me and I’ll answer you and pop it up on here.

1. Should I do the project? (Accurate: Forever!)
The most common question, and also the hardest to answer! I will say right now that if you are only thinking of applying because you want to put off going to university, the answer is probably ‘no’. Go get drunk and party for a year, you’ll probably get more out of it. The projects suck if you just swan over there, you have to get involved.
With the Junten project, I would say if you don’t really have much of an interest in Japanese culture or something you’re unlikely to get the project if it’s hotly contested. That said there have been volunteers who knew next to nothing about Japan that ended up going there and loving it.

2. What’s the work like? (Accurate: 2008)
Based on what the volunteers who went after I did had to deal with, the amount of hours you have to spend in the classroom has increased. You teach five days a week. The teachers I worked with, all of whom I believe are still at the school, were totally awesome and let us get proper teaching in rather than just standing there like a big foreign tape recorder. If you’re shy or not good at talking in front of people, you better be willing to overcome your fear otherwise you’re going to struggle. You also teach evening classes which give you total freedom to do what you want, but they do take preparation. It’s quite a tiring routine, and it is hard work, but stick it out because the long holidays make it all worth it.

3. Do I need to speak Japanese to go? (Accurate: Forever!)
Project Trust say you need no language skills at all, and technically to qualify for the gap year that’s correct, but I would say you should know Hiragana and Katakana as an absolute minimum. You get some Japanese classes throughout the year (Accurate 2007) and self study goes a long way. I’ve written a few articles on here about how to study, and there’s loads of resources online.
In the classroom you should be speaking 99% English anyway.

4. How much money will I get? (Accurate: 2007)
With the recession and so on I imagine this changes, but I got 70,000 yen per month (paid on the 10th), plus 10,000 yen travel money, which is basically ‘You have to ask specifically for travel money and tell the office you’re going traveling, even if you’re really going drinking’. 80,000 yen is currently just over £500, and it absolutely is enough money to live on as long as you’re careful. I managed to survive for 3 months on £600, so doing it on £1500 should be OK! You get paid extra for evening classes too (cash in hand) and that’s a great way to cover any expenses.

5. Are there any strange rules? (Accurate: 2007)
The big one is the legal drinking age in Japan being 20, meaning volunteers (who go aged 17-18) can’t drink. Well, technically anyway. I found at most school events we were plied with beer anyway, although formally that’s of course not OK at all! Outside of school as long as you stay away from Junten, they don’t really care. We went drinking a lot (gasp!) and nobody seemed to care. Good times!
Dress code for work is a formal suit and, rather oddly, trainers. You can wear suit shoes too but most teachers wear white sports trainers. Not sure why. On your first day wear nice shoes and then play it by ear I guess.

6. Where do you live? What is it like? (Accurate: 2008)
Check this blog post for some photos of the flat. It’s small but cosy, and well lived in. Over the years it’s accumulated lots of gifts from previous volunteers, including a few rice cookers, fans and even a super old Sega Saturn. It’s like 5-10 mins walk from work which is great. Both the flat and Junten are situated in Oji, which is in the north of Tokyo and quite handy for getting to the more fun places.

I hope that helped. As I said if there are any questions you have please please get in contact with me. My gap year totally changed me and was one of the best years of my life. I’ll always be happy to answer any questions.

Hachiko The Film – Which plot to use?

Mike — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:07:11 +0000

So the Japan Times are reporting that a new film about the life of the brave dog Hachiko is to be made. A Hollywood blockbuster, no less, and starring Richard Gere! (No really!) But the real question is will Hollywood, famous for totally ignoring (or as they call it ’selectively using’) historical facts, tell a story accurate to the real life of Japan’s favourite little hound, or will they go off the rails? Because I am a big fan of dogs big and small, today I will look at some of the potential plots for the film. Don’t worry after those I will make some sense.

Hachiko: The Historical Documentary
In this heartwarming tale of devotion, Richard Gere plays Hidesaburo Ueno, a professor at Tokyo Imperial Ward. The year is 1924, and Ueno receives a puppy that he names Hachi (adding ko as a sweet suffix) except he then goes on to die. So the dog gets handed around but it keeps coming back to wait for Ueno because it won’t accept he’s dead, like Elvis or Lord Lucan. Eventually, in the saddest scene since that one in Futurama, the dog dies but lives on as a reminder of the ideas of loyalty and not pooping on the carpet, to be passed down through generations.

A number one blockbuster, surely! It’s not overly unlikely, either. The press releases seem to agree that the film ‘will follow the tale of the dog’. (Hilarious tail/tale joke there, good work free media!) However the film going public are a fickle bunch, perhaps we’ll see something like this, instead?

Hachiko: Dog Of Danger
It was just an ordinary day. Super spy inventor Hidesaburo Ueno leant out of his sweet car and flicked away a cigarette. Next to him, laying across the seat, lay his supermodel/spy/professional sunbather girlfriend. Behind them sat Hachiko, the operative dog. The three were speeding towards the center of Shibuya. Suddenly an almighty explosion ripped through the car. Now Ueno’s dead, and Hachiko only has one thing left – revenge.
This summer, in a world where right and wrong mean the same thing and everyone’s out for themselves, can G. I. Hachiko avenge his owner’s death? A Michael Bay film.

Yeah alright so I went with a Michael Bay joke. The only real complication I can see is managing to shoehorn in being made into a statue. I dunno, they could go with a sad ending and have the dog fall into the bad boss’ secret volcano lair, then someone fish him out or something. That also sets up for Hachiko 2, because some mad scientist could engineer the technology to bring him back.

Hearts Filled With Debris: A Hachiko Love Tale
Ueno is a joke. A loser. With just his dog for company, he’s doomed to a single life. No girl will go out with him, even his mother has accepted he’s a total dork. That is until Janice comes into his life. A girl with a fresh outlook and even fresher breath, he’s gotta get her! But he’s just so clumsy! So who’s going to train him to be smooth with the ladies?!
You guessed it, it’s his wacky pal Hachiko! Laugh out loud as they go to buy clothes for the date! (Remember dogs don’t wear clothes! Things are gonna get crazy!) Giggle as Hachiko trains his young apprentice in the ways of love! You’ll roll about laughing! A tale for the whole family! (Except families that own cats).

This would be pretty boring but it would sell. Actually saying that, watching an Akita dog manage a relationship would be hilarious.

I admit I’m not taking this whole Hachiko thing very seriously, but I am quite worried the story will be mangled in translation. I’m not necessarily saying it’s a bad thing, but a dog statue doesn’t need publicity, and it definitely doesn’t need more tourists. Still it’s nice that the story of the little dog is getting internationally recognized. Plus the photos from the film that have been released so far are a cute explosion.

So say what you like, I hate myself for it but I will be giving this film a try. I’ll review it on here so you can get a good laugh out of it if it’s terrible, or we can all bask in the cuteness of Akita dogs if it isn’t. For those really interested, there already was a film made, Hachiko Monogatari, information about which is here.

So yes, very cute film incoming!

JRock Review – VAMPS (With Hyde from L’Arc~En~Ciel)

Mike — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:39:10 +0000

Generally speaking, you have to be very careful of bands who have one member from a ’supergroup. They tend to be either excellent (Liquid Tension Experiment, for example) or horrendously cheesy. There are some artists, and I won’t mention who, who really won’t work outside of the category their already existing band is in. So today we’re going to find out if Hyde, vocalist of L’arc~en~Ciel, can hold his own in another band.I’m going to talk first generally about the sound and so on of the album, then talk about a few tracks and finally wrap up. Firstly obviously the production and quality of the album is top notch. One nice touch is that the vocals are nice and real, they haven’t been put through software to make them sound better. As a result, despite having very clean production, you get a nice raw feel to the album. The guitar work is a similar affair, and works pretty nicely.

The album clocks in at just under 50 mins, and with 13 tracks most of them end up at the 4.30 mark or so. There are one or two longer songs (Deep Red and Sweet Dreams both hit over 5 mins) although I feel the style of this band, rough rock and roll, really suits shorter, sharper songs. Listening to the whole album is a nice affair and it’s tightly presented, I think adding any more to it might have been detrimental to the whole thing overall.

Ok, time for some track reviews. I’m going to start with the three singles from the album. Love Addict (which is meant to be all in capitals but I hate doing that) is a nice straight up rock song. Lots of harmonies and so on. The production, as I said, is pretty free on the vocals so that might turn off anyone looking for pop music, but it’s a decent song. I gotta kick start now was the second single, and on first listen you’re probably not going to love it a whole lot, but honestly it’s a good track. I get feelings of Feeder on the chorus, which is no bad thing. The final single is Evanescent, one of the more winding tracks on the album. I like elements of it, but overall I found it a bit plodding and directionless, which is a real shame.

Those of you looking for a ballad will find solace in Sweet Dreams which is reasonable, and I personally love the song Vampire Depression, which includes electronic and orchestral elements and stands out for me on the album. Check that song out if you can.

The album is out now and I do recommend it for fans of both L’arc~en~Ciel, JRock in general and anyone who likes some straight up rock and roll. Good stuff.

Green Tea Coke & Pepsi Shiso – Where Next?

Mike — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 11:36:14 +0000

From Daily Contributor:

Coca-Cola Japan has announced that it will be launching a green tea-flavored Coke for the Japanese market next week. The drink contains antioxidants called catechins, making the new Coke a good choice for health-conscious younger women.

That’s right, Coke have turned to saving women of the world from drinking Coke that’s actually bad for you! Today I’m going to try to guess where Pepsi are going next with these awful sounding drinks.

Ok, those of you who have been reading this blog since last year may realise this update holds great personal interest to me, as I put myself through not one, not two but three horrific drinks tests for your perverse enjoyment. I looked at Pepsi Blue Hawaii (yuck!), Real Gold (which everyone seems to like but it’s gross), then in a triple review I did Ramune (yum!), Curry Ramune (suprisingly good!) and Wasabi Ramune (oh god make the taste stop).

So we have Pepsi going for both a herb and a traditional drink, both of which are very good for you. It sounds like they’re trying to get away from the ‘Pepsi will melt your insides’ reputation they’ve had in the past. So if there’s one thing everyone needs to be healthy, Pepsi should bottle it! Oh, I know…

Ok so it’s not overly likely to happen but surely you can see the logic! (Or not…) Everyone needs cow’s blood to live, so why not bottle it? It could be mixed with the original Pepsi and possibly even out the damage done. Or just turn into a dark red gloopy mess. Just stick Britney on the advert, kids will drink it anyway.

Of course, Pepsi don’t have to stick with drinks. What’s to stop them going into the world of Ice Cream? Or meat? Both viable options, although some people don’t eat Ice Cream, and there are vegetarians. I wonder if there’s anything Pepsi could sell that most people consume…

That’s right! Focus in one one of the most important parts of the staple diets of most of Europe and America! Good work Pepsi! Although I don’t think I fancy a sandwich made with PEPSIBREAD, I imagine after making it it would leap up and attack me.

Now both these ideas are good, they’d sell a good amount of stuff, but they aren’t very Japan related. Japan stuff is popular as ever, just look at the obscene success of anime across the world. So if there was a way we could combine the poisonous disgusting delicious taste of Pepsi with anime, well we’d have the greatest product ever…

Mmm! Delicious! I can feel my heart starting to implode and the squeaking of nearby consumers melting my ear drums already!

On a serious note, it’ll be interesting to see where Pepsi go next. It’s nice to see them branching out and trying new angles, even if the result is somewhat bizarre. Any predictions for where they’ll go next? My prediction is Sushi Pepsi. Alright not really, but how about Sakura Pepsi? They already make cherry flavour, it wouldn’t take much to draw a few petals on the bottle.

Soran Bushi @ Sheffield Japan Day 2009

Mike — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 16:14:36 +0000

Yes, it’s finally here! I’m sorry it took so long – thanks to whoever borrowed Elena’s camera to film this! There are credits in the video but I’d just like to say a huge thanks to everyone involved. So click the image above to watch our performance of Soran Bushi at Sheffield University 2009 (ビデオには日本語の訳が書いてあります。)

Study Year Targets & Goals

Mike — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 20:33:00 +0000

I realise now that if I don’t set myself some goals that I must accomplish before I go, I’m likely to not make 100% use of the time I get in Japan this coming year. So I thought I should post it on here, that way you guys can help me in a few ways; you can yell at me when I forget to do stuff, and more importantly I would really appreciate it if you guys would comment suggesting what else I should get up to!

Obviously, I want my Japanese to improve. The goal of this year is to take the bizarre amount of vocab and grammar I was taught this year and practice putting it together in conversation quickly and naturally. So less speaking English and a lot more Japanese is an obvious one.

I also really want to visit Korea. One of the exchange students from Japan this year has Korean family and has offered to travel with me to visit Seoul. I’m mad mad mad for Korean food, so of course I could get my fix of brain burningly spicy food whilst I’m there. A Korean friend of mine insisted Korean food is awful outside Korea, but then doesn’t everyone say that about their food?

I want to take up Shorinji Kempo again. I regret not doing it last summer but this time I really am going to dedicate myself to it properly. I’m going to need some pretty serious refresher courses in it from Leon to actually remember the foundations, but hopefully I can pick up where I left off.

I want to do some sort of performance, but I really don’t know which to choose; either Taiko drumming, which is probably quite do-able and it looks and sounds awesome, or take part in Awa-Odori, one of the most visually stunning things I’ve seen in years.

I want to go back to Hokkaido again. I loved my time there, and for the first time I felt a feeling of community that Tokyo sort of lacked, possibly because it’s so huge. I grew up for a few years in a village so being in the tiny village of Toya reminded me how great it is knowing everyone around you.

Finally, and this one is important: I want to do as many things as possible. I’m going to try and turn down as few chances as I possibly get. If you ever saw the film ‘Yes Man’ that’s my target, although possibly without the insanity. If anyone has any suggestions for things to do / places to go / people to meet comment and I’ll add it to my list!

Japanese Drama Review – LIAR GAME

Mike — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 18:32:11 +0000

LIAR GAME is a ‘psychological thriller’ drama about Nao, a girl who gets pulled into a game of deceit, lies and backstabbing, all in the name of making huge amounts of money, and how the various players play clever schemes to ensure their victory. So here’s my review, the first of my ‘drama reviews’, but hopefully not the last!

Drama Info

Title: ライアーゲーム (LIAR GAME)
Episodes: Episodes
Genre: ‘Psychological Thriller’, apparently.
Reception: 11.4 million viewers average.

Synopsis

Alright, here we go. LIAR GAME kicks off with our hero, young and naive Nao, wandering home and finding a briefcase containing 100 million yen (that’s a lot of money), a card and a video. The card and video between them explain the rules, which I’ll sum up in three easy steps;

Both Nao and one other person recieved the same amount of money.
In 30 days time, representatives will come to collect 100 million yen.
Any money you have taken off the other player is your prize money.

It’s as simple as that. Nao then proceedes to pretty much hand over all her money to her opponent, who turns out to be a teacher she used to like who somewhere along the line turned into a right meanie. Anyway, she recruits the help of Akiyama Shinichi, an ‘expert swindler’, who helps her get it back. But it turns out that was just ’round one’, and that’s where things start to get crazy…

Review

Don’t be fooled by the show’s synopsis – this is not a serious psychological thriller. It’s kind of hard to tell where it wants to go, really – the twists (and oh my there are hundreds of them, at least two big ones every episode) make it very hard to predict and occasionally a little hard to follow, although all the characters consistantly demand the chance to explain themselves over and over. It does have it’s funny moments, with some genuinely funny set ups, along with the usual wacky characters and strange voices.

In fact, I think it’s this constant switch between psychological mind game and slapstick comedy that makes the show so watchable. Every time a big scheme or plan is revealed, the character doing so explains it to Nao (and us) in a sort of offbeat lesson style – at one point they use a chessboard, for example. These are brilliantly funny when the guy doing it has just been screaming his victory at Nao, and now he’s calmly sitting down and discussing the finer points of his strategy.

Character wise this show is very strong, with the two leads (Nao; Toda Erika | Akiyama; Matsuda Shota) doing a great job, and the show is very nicely produced. There is the occasional wobbly camera attack but it’s not too bad.

The plot itself is pretty cool, although it’s entirely riddled with twists. Whilst this does mean that the show moves along at a good speed without much time to slowdown (looking at you, Lost and Heroes!) but it does occasionally feel a bit crazy. Furthermore the character of Nao can get a little grating at times, as it seems she’s on a constant loop of get fooled, cry, get overly excited, repeat. Akiyama is super cool throughout though so there’s your hero to cheer on.

Conclusion & Stuff

I’ve only seen up to episode 7 (of 11) at time of writing. The reason I chose to publish it now is twofold; first it stops me accidentally spoiling any ‘big twists’ that might be coming (and there usually are a few), and secondly I wanted to post what I felt about the drama whilst I was watching it, rather than look back at the whole thing. Bear that in mind when reading this.

LIAR GAME is definitely worth watching. My flat mate and I have had great fun simply trying to guess how the most recent fix Nao has got herself into can be solved. It sounds strange, but having these cute colourful explanations about statistics and chance actually is really entertaining, and each episode usually has enough new twists and shocks to satisfy.

I don’t know how many of these drama series reviews I’m going to do, but this is definitely one of the best I’ve ever seen. Alright, in honesty it’s probably not one of the best in regards to character development or direction, but the different rounds of the games are written so well, it’s impossible not to get drawn in. Strongly recommended!

Please don’t post spoilers in the comments! Thanks!

The Final Exams Before Japan

Mike — Sun, 31 May 2009 22:47:16 +0000

Alright, for those hoping for an exciting and dynamic post, look elsewhere. Today I’m talking about exams, oh yes. In this particular round of exams, I have 3 three hour long papers to sit;

Contemporary Japanese Society
Postwar Japanese Politics
Japanese Language

I thought I’d break down each one, hopefully you guys might find it interesting, and potential future Sheffield students might think ‘Hey, I want to answer questions on the effect of the bureaucracy on Japanese politics, I should go to Sheffield!’

Contemporary Japanese Society is a mandatory module for Japanese studies students, and it’s not hugely popular with the students, because we took a very similar module (’Understanding Japan’) last year. Still, it covers a wide range of topics so it’s a useful subject to study. Still, I have to admit I wouldn’t jump at choosing it. The exam was three essays, I answered one question on the toll on society the economic drive of the 1970’s and 1980’s took (looking at suicide, homelessness and 過労死 or death from overwork), one question on Japan’s homogeneity (not the first time I’ve answered that question!) and one question on how article 9 has changed Japan’s outlooks. It wasn’t too challenging an exam as it’s all stuff I studied last year. Hopefully I actually remembered some of it. (Probably not)

The second exam, Postwar Japanese Politics, is coming on Tuesday. The range of potential questions is pretty huge, but any questions on the relationship of politicians, bureaucrats and business would be superb. Questions on the media’s role in politics, the role of women or how the LDP works would all be fine too. As long as I don’t have to answer about how Japan’s electoral system, I’m ok. That thing is so confusing, I don’t think anyone actually knows how it works.

The big one, Japanese Language happens on Thursday. It’s broken down, as are the other two exams, into one translation piece, this time a passage of Japanese literature, one piece comprehension, which will be a newspaper article on an issue facing Japan today, and one part composition, which this time will be writing an article based on statistics. Yes, it’s as horribly dull as it sounds, and I’m currently in the process of memorizing sentences such as ‘At 94.7%, the rate was overwhelmingly high’ (９４．７％と、圧倒的に高かった I think!) To be honest, although this is probably the hardest exam I’ve ever sat in my life, I’m not hugely scared because I know what the format is going to be. In the first semester exam I was freaking out because it was so different to the first year exams. Still, I should really be sleeping now, I need to get a full day’s revision in tomorrow.

As usual I’ll wrap up by telling you what’s coming up. As you may have noticed, I lost the cool theme I was using due to a mistake on my part, so I’ve gone for this very minimal, very readable design. I don’t know what I’m going to do in the long term but this will suffice for now. I’m also working hard on getting a Japanese video on Youtube, although talking into a camera without bursting out into laughter is proving hard. Still, stay tuned for that. In fact, stay tuned for everything!

Also, although Sophia haven’t emailed me yet, my guess as to when I’m going abroad is September 16th. So only about three and a half months to go! Eek!

Finally Back On Youtube!

Mike — Sat, 23 May 2009 16:10:22 +0000

Yes it’s true! After nearly 8 months of having nothing to say, I shot a video today with my new flip mino camera for everyone to enjoy! I have to say this video isn’t particularly exciting, but it does feature a long and in depth discussion with my dog. So here’s the link! Click it loud and proud!

久しぶり！Big Catch Up (feat. my dog) video

If you’re interested in my videos, please feel free to subscribe to my channel, too. I have all my drink test videos on there as well as all the other ones I shot in Japan.

The Ultimate JapanSoc Entry

Mike — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:28:29 +0000

In this entry, (which is now on JapanSoc please soc it!) I will attempt to cover every general topic popular JapanSoc stories deal with in a single article, thus guaranteeing it will get so many socs that the site itself will be sucked into a black hole and the world will end, thus doing the job the Large Hadron Collider couldn’t manage.

Alright, the first thing I need to do is look at some of the most popular stories of all time. There have only been five articles that have collected 30 or more socs;

New Extra Social JapanSoc!
JapanSoc manager Nick finally allowing freedom of speech. Prior to this all communication had to be done in the form of binary code, written out by hand onto pieces of paper and sent to Nick’s house.
JapanSoc Chooses the Best Japanese News
An article praising the site and it’s users for choosing the most appropriately interesting news. Apparently “Japan Is Doomed author Mike loses sandwich, please donate generously to fund a replacement” isn’t suitable.
Japan Blog Matsuri April 2009 Edition
The theme was ‘Slow times in Japan’, and over 30 writers wrote about what they do on their slower days in Japan. I was going to write an article, but I was having a slow day so I did what I usually do on those days: nothing, then lunch, then more nothing.
Japanese people know, “you’ve been living in America too long” when…
Apparently some Japanese people cited reasons to start worrying you’ve been living in the US for too long. My personal suggestion? You understand what’s going on in Boston Legal.
THAT Is One Exhausted Salaryman (PIC)
A picture of a poor salaryman who fell asleep on the train whilst rocking out to some Bon Jovi or something. Personally I don’t think it’s nice to laugh at people’s tiredness. So I refuse to post it here… alright alright I was joking.

Ok, so somehow we need to combine all five of these together into one snappy headline, and also work out a tagline to draw in readers. So here’s my best shot so far;

OK, it’s a start, but it’s not quite there yet. It has a timeless quality, but as JapanSoc evolves, it may be these classic titles simply don’t cut it anymore. So the next thing to do is to find the most supported stories this week, and add them to the mix.

10 Beautiful Japanese Fonts
None of them are the one that adorns the top of my beautiful website. Just sayin’…
Google to reshoot street views of Japanese cities following privacy complaints
Apparently people got offended because they forgot to take the lens cap off when shooting the first time, leading to some foreigners believing Japan was entirely shrouded in darkness.
Have you seen these signs? Good way to learn Japanese
Signs include ‘DO MORE WORK OR I’LL BEAT YOU AGAIN’ and ‘YOU WANNA EAT? CONJUGATE THIS!’
Battleship Island: A Short (and amazing) Documentary
I was going to write something stupid about this entry too but nothing can out-awesome ‘Battleship Island’. An island made out of battleships!
Japanese Tounge Twisters Lessons 4 & 5
Lesson 4 is ‘how to untie your tongue’, meaning people following along with lessons 1 – 3 can finally stop the agony.

Ok so now we have five more articles to add into the mix. So ignoring the first lot to start with, let’s try mixing just these five and finding out what a successful story on JapanSoc takes in this day and age, not ye olde tymes…

Alright good. Now we just need to combine the two…

Japanese people know when a tired salaryman from Battleship Island chose the best font for learning Japanese riddles

That’s right ladies and gentlemen. If you write an article titled ‘Japanese people know when blah blah blah’ you’ll be the most popular person on JapanSoc! (Please don’t, Nick will kill me). I guess the moral of this story is, good work on JapanSoc everyone, keep it up. Also it seems I’ve gone insane (again), someone call for help.