Why are Prius owners the worst drivers in Japan?

July 23, 2012 at 9:20 am (Japanese ecology and green issues, Japanese motor industry)

I notice this again and again, and often are growling at the crap driving before I even see what car it is, so it’s not some kind of prejudice.

My theory is that the car simply attracts holier-than-thou types who think they have even more an entitlement because they have a green car. It’s certainly not due to actual concern for the environment that the Prius has become a bestselling car in Japan, that’s for sure. It actually seems to be more some kind of showing off, though I can’t quite work out how or why.

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Why did Tesco bother with Japan?

July 21, 2012 at 10:32 am (Uncategorized)

Tesco finally found a buyer for their Tesco, Tesco Express and Tsurukamerando chains in Japan, but the question has to be why they ever bothered in the first place. Reading about the whole story of their unsuccessful stint in Nippon, I think is must be because there has (much to my surprise) never been a truly national chain of supermarkets in Japan and Tesco thought they could be the first.

The ironic thing is that in all kinds of ways they have helped Aeon approach that position. Apparently after Tesco bought up Tsurukamerando, Aeon offered any other chain that needed buying up more money than Tesco would offer them. They also copied and improved on the Tesco Express concept with their My Basket chain, and in the irony of ironies Aeon is the buyer of all those Tesco scores (after Tesco pays to have them all rebranded as Aeon!)

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Why do the Japanese pronounce Gary “geri”?

July 18, 2012 at 8:59 am (Japanese language)

As in the fabulous British actor Geri Oldman. As this amusing GaijinPot thread points out, that makes it sound exactly like the Japanese word for diarrhoea. No particular need for it, either, as “gari” is perfectly possible in Japanese, and indeed the name for the red pickled ginger in sushi shops – making it a much better pronunciation all round!

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