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【No. 0425】Bonuses and Mochi (Rice-Cake) Payments

Feb 16, 2016 14:37
Most Japanese companies pay bonuses to workers twice a year, apart from regular salaries.

The average amount of the bonus in Japan is about 1 million yen (8,720 dollars) a year, but it could fluctuate greatly depending on the company.

The bonuses are over 3.5 million yen (30,520 dollars) in leading companies, while they are 0 yen in small enterprises.

As a result of searching about the bonuses in overseas, I found that many countries seem to pay bonuses once a year.

In some countries, companies pay 13 months' salaries, and this extra part seems to correspond to bonuses.

By the way, some Japanese companies pay "mochi payments (rice-cake payments)," in addition to bonuses at the end of the year.

The reason why we call it "mochi payments" is that we often eat mochi during the New Year holidays, but it is just something like "otoshidama(New Year's gift money)."

Although mochi payments are around tens of thousands yen (300-500 dollars) in many cases, the Liberal Democratic Party seems to pay 1 million yen to each assembly member as mochi payments.
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【No. 0423】Working Hours in Japan

Feb 14, 2016 15:51
I sometimes find an opinion that Japanese work too long on the Internet.

Previously in Japan, since there were some famous phrases, such as "Monday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Friday" and "can you fight for 24 hours?," I had an impression that we work long time.

However, it was also said that Japanese don't work hard, they just work long time.

In order to solve this problem, recently Japan introduced a 5-day work week system, and increased the number of national holidays.

The current number of national holidays in Japan is 16 days, and the number is the third largest in the world.

However, I think two problems remain, working overtime for no pay and vacation deprivations.

Unfortunately, many Japanese companies don't seem to meet the Labor Standards Act.
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【No. 0422】The Number of Convenience Stores, Temple and Shrine

Feb 13, 2016 15:06
There are about 55 thousands convenience stores in Japan.

This means that there is a convenience store for every 2,300 people.

On the other hand, there are about 77 thousands temples and about 81 thousands shrines in Japan.

I thought there are a lot of convenience stores in many places, but I was surprised that there are more temples and shrines.

Somehow there has been an increase in the number of temples and shrines.

When you go to Japan for sightseeing, I recommend you to visit traditional and historic temples and shrines.

By the way, there are about 69 thousands dental clinics in Japan.

The number is also more than the number of convenience stores.
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【No. 0421】Colors That Represent Obscene Things

Feb 12, 2016 22:17
(I'm sorry, today's topic is a little bit ribald.)

Today, I learned that colors that represent obscene things differ among countries.

Here in Japan, obscene movies for adults are called "pink movies."

It is said that the reason is because pink represents human's skin.

On the other hand, it seems to be called "blue films" in English.

As one of the reasons, there is a fact that obscene films had been colored using blue.

Also, the color seems to be yellow in China, green in Spain, and red in Italy.
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【No. 0418】Correcting Japanese Students

Feb 9, 2016 14:49
Recently, I often correct graduation theses of students in my laboratory.

Since they are Japanese sentences that were written by Japanese, surely there are not many grammatical errors.

However, there are some basic errors related to tenses and conjunctions.

When I notice such a little mistakes, I recall my experience of Lang-8.

I think I've been more sensitive to a little mistake because I've continued to correct Japanese sentences on Lang-8.

I am grateful to everyone.
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【No. 0417】Stop Signs in Japan

Feb 8, 2016 11:24
According to the international standards, a stop sign has an octagon shape, but it has an inverted triangle shape in Japan.

Originally, Japan had used an octagon shape for the stop sign following the US, but in 1963, we changed it into an inverted triangle that had been used in Germany, because the shape had a high visibility.

However, in 1968, since an octagon shape was decided as the international standards, Germany changed stop signs into octagon shapes.

Finally, only Japan has been left behind.

Also, recently the Japanese government seems to consider changing the stop sign into the octagon shape in concert with the Tokyo Olympic in 2020.

Since the number of stop signs on Japanese roads is about 1.7 billion, it will cost 22.5 billion yen (192 million dollars) to replace all of them.

※Sorry, the number 22.5 billion was wrong, and the correct number is 25.5 billion (217 million dollars).
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【No. 0416】Thank You Hazard

Feb 7, 2016 11:08
Today, I will talk about "thank you hazard," which is often used on Japanese roads.

The "thank you hazard" is to turn on the hazard lights for a short time to convey a feeling of "thank you" when drivers make way for other drivers.

If it is still light and the drivers can see the faces each other, they also raise the hand, or bow the head to convey thankfulness.

However, after it gets dark, the "thank you hazard" is mainly used.

When I see the "thank you hazard," I become a little happy.

Some people sound the horn to convey thankfulness, but this is actually illegal, and I want them to stop because it could stun me.

By the way, it is said that this custom was born in Germany by track drivers, and it was introduced into Japan, then became widely used.

【No. 0414】Sakha Republic

Feb 5, 2016 10:35
Today, I searched for Sakha Republic, which is one of 85 federal subjects of the Russian Federation.

Since Sakha Republic has recorded minus 71.2 Celsius degrees, which is the world's lowest temperature except for Antarctica, it is thought of as the cold pole in the Northern Hemisphere.

Also, when the temperature goes below minus 50 degrees, schools seem to be closed.

I think there are little people who are sick, because disease-causing bacteria can't inhabit such cold regions.

However, the temperature seems to goes up to almost 30 degrees in summer.

By the way, Sakha Republic is famous for diamonds, and one fourth of diamonds in the worlds is mined in Sakha.

The number of countries where I want to go increased today.
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【No. 0413】Japanese Prefer a Bright Light

Feb 4, 2016 17:02
Thoughts and preferences seem to be different between countries.

Japanese tend to prefer a refreshing white light rather than a warm bulb light.

In fact, fluorescent lamps are equipped in almost all Japanese households.

Therefore, rooms in Japan are very bright even at night.

On the other hand, in Europe and the US, only required places are illuminated by incandescent light bulbs, and fluorescent lamps are not used so much.

If you use only the required brightness in the required places, you can save on electricity, and it will not disturb our your living rhythm.

For these reasons, recently in Japan, the modality of the illumination has been reconsidered.
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【No. 0412】How to Get On and Off Trains in Japan

Feb 3, 2016 10:24
Today, I will introduce how to get on and off trains in Japan.

There are many types of trains, but the ways to get on and off them are divided into three types.

In cities like Tokyo or many other regions, doors of trains open and close automatically.

However, in the suburbs or the countryside (especially in cold regions), we have to open and close the doors by pushing buttons.

Furthermore, if the trains are old types, we have to open and close the doors by using our hands.

The reason why the opening and closing are performed manually is to improve the efficiency of heating and cooling by not leaving the doors open.

Also, the last person who was getting on or off the train has not to forget to close the door firmly.

Please be careful when you use these trains in Japan.
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【No. 0411】Only Human Beings Can Take Breaths Through the Mouth

Feb 2, 2016 14:44
Today, I learned that living beings that can take breaths through the mouth is only human beings.

First, insects basically take breaths through their abdominal holes called spiracle.

Birds and reptiles take breathes through their noses, because their noses and mouths are directly connected with their respiratory tracts and esophagus, respectively.

Mammals that walk on four legs such as dogs and cats cannot inhale air, because their palates overlap with their epiglottises.

Living beings except human beings have basically separate respiratory tracts and esophagus.

It's also true even for anthropoid apes.

Only human beings share their respiratory tracts and esophagus.

The reason is thought that we have come to walk upright, or come to speak languages.

However, the mouth breathing has many disadvantages, so you don't have to do it too much.
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【No. 0410】The Final Examination of My Doctoral Course

Feb 1, 2016 19:55
Today, a research hearing was held as the final examination of my doctoral course.

In accordance with the rules of the course, I had to perform my presentation in English.

To make the presentation successful, I recorded my voice and practiced many many times.

An a result, although the question-and-answer session was very hard, I got over this day.

After that, the examination meeting was held, then I seemed to pass the test.

I'm very pleased about it.

Only if I modify a part of my thesis and align some documents, I can graduate from my doctoral course!
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【No. 0408】The Most Dark Substance

Jan 30, 2016 17:46
The most dark substance is "vantablack," which is composed of carbon nanotubes.

Vantablack absorbs 99.965% of a light, and convert them into heat internally.

Due to such a property, we can not determine whether or not there are unevenness of things that are coated with vantablack.

For example, if someone wear a cloth that is made of vantablack, it looks as if the face and hands appear from the dark space.

Currently, this substance has attracted in the field of weapon and space industries.
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【No. 0407】The Effect of the Morning Sun

Jan 29, 2016 12:41
Since getting cold, many people might feel that it's hard to get up in the morning.

Today, I found a "habit of exposure to the morning sun," that is recommended for such people.

Usually, there is a gap between the living cycle and the body clock.

However, by being exposed to the morning sun, the body clock is reset and the gap is able to be modified.

The ideal time to be exposed to the light is about 20-30 minutes within two hours after waking up.

When you wake up, if you go to near the windows, open the curtain, and stay there for a while, you can spend the whole day cheerfully.

Actually, it's enough as long as the illumination intensity is more than 2000 lux, but general indoor lighting is around 1000 lux (general convenience store lighting is around 2500 lux).

On the other hand, the illumination intensity is around 50,000 lux in the sunny day, around 10,000 lux in the cloudy day, and around 5,000 lux in the rainy day.

It's the most efficient to be exposed to the sunlight.
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【No. 0406】How to Express "Now I Understand" in Japanese

Jan 28, 2016 13:01
When I correct Japanese sentences on Lang-8, I sometimes see expressions such as "今理解できます" and "今わかります."

I think these are the literal translation results of "now I understand," but they're a little unnatural.

Today, I'd like to show you how to express "now I understand" in Japanese.

First, since we often express "a moment of understanding" when we understand something, past tenses are usually used in such situations.

I mean, "今理解できます" and "今わかります" become "今理解できました" and "今わかりました," respectively.

At least these are natural Japanese sentences, but the word "今(now)" is not excellent with past tenses very much, because "今" implies "in this precise moment."

In my opinion, they will become more natural by changing as the following sentences without using "今" ;

・やっとわかりました（やっと理解できました）。
・ようやく納得できました。
・なるほど、そういうことですか。
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【No. 0404】A Banned Word

Jan 26, 2016 11:26
Few days ago, it was a hot topic that Japanese television stations put up the phrase "頑張れ (go for it)" as a candidate of banned words.

Apparently, someone seems to have made a complaint such as that the phrase gives us the pressure.

However, I can't understand the reason well.

"頑張れ" is a generic phrase that is used when you cheer someone, and I have used it well.

I heard a complaint like "I feel annoyed when someone said '頑張れ' to me, because I'm already working hard," but if I'm in the situation, I will be so impressed when I heard someone say that.

There seem to be a gap in how to feel for the phrase even among Japanese.

This may be because the phrase have several meanings, such as "hang in there," "do your best," "good luck," and "you can do it."

We need to pay attention.
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【No. 0402】High Quality Sleep

Jan 24, 2016 17:39
Sleep is very valuable for human beings.

It can heal fatigues of your body and brain, enhance immunity, and get rid of stresses.

However, if the quality of sleep is low or the sleep is not enough, it will cause obesity, aging, weakening of the immune system and increasing of the cancer risk.

For a high-quality sleep, the secretion of melatonin, which you might call "sleep hormone," is required.

We usually start to secrete melatonin before sleep, and a large amount of melatonin is secreted during the sleep.

Melatonin is secreted from your pineal gland, but even if slight light enter your eyes, the secretion will be suppressed.

You should not use a PC or a smartphone before bedtime, and you should make your room totally dark while sleeping.
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【No. 0401】The Color of Death

Jan 23, 2016 15:42
Today, I learned about colors that symbolize "death" for each country.

In many countries, such as the US, Europe, China, and Japan, people think the symbol color of death is "black."

The reason seems to be derived from that black is associated with darkness and people wear black costumes in funerals.

However, it is "green" in South America.

The reason seems to be due to the thought that the dead are equal to nature.

By the way, the symbol color of death is "white" for Hindus, and "silver" for Muslims.
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【No. 0400】An Automatic Door

Jan 22, 2016 15:43
Automatic doors sometimes don't react to me.

It's a little embarrassing.

Formerly there were automatic doors that detect weights, but recently almost all of them use infrared sensors.

Therefore, the reason why automatic doors don't react is due to your clothes or your hair colors.

Basically, when the color is dark or the similar to the floor/mat color, it's difficult to react.

Conversely, when your clothes/hair color is bright or gaudy, it's easy to react.

If the automatic door doesn't react to you, let's move strongly with a bright thing.
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【No. 0399】Lovejoy Comet

Jan 21, 2016 19:49
Today, I will introduce "Lovejoy comet (C/2014 Q2)," which is discovered by Terry Lovejoy from Australia in 2014.

The feature of this comet is to emit green lights, and made its closest approach to Earth in January 2015.

It's said that this opportunity is visited once every 8,000 years.

Also, according to NASA, the Lovejoy comet seems to continue blowing a gas containing 21 types of organic molecules.

The gas also contains alcohol (ethyl alcohol), the amount per second corresponds to 500 bottles of wine.

The name "Lovejoy comet" might be appropriate as this comet's name;