Comments on: Japan’s Chinese residents buying up powdered milk

By: Bryan

Bryan — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 05:42:18 +0000

Atlast someone with better understanding. I agree on what you have said. Its logical to place restriction, its the fundamental of SUPPLY and DEMAND.

Basic economics… Try to read it once in a while Fiona, you might learn something out of it.

By: Nena

Nena — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 12:03:51 +0000

Fiona,
they are restricting the sales of baby formula for a good reason: safe supplies are limited because Japan relies a lot on importation of food products from China, Australia etc… because they’re not agriculturally SELF SUFFICIENT.

If the chinese residents were allowed to buy all the stock, don’t you think the japanese public would suffer?

It is natural to protect your own people and put their needs above anyone else, why don’t people understand this instead of crying racism and discrimination all the time à la Arudou Debido.
In France, when certain food items are in very short supplies it is common for shops to restricts the amount one is allowed to purchase so that everyone can have access to it.

The tainted food scandal is a chinese internal issue and Japan is not involved in it. China can import dairy products from other countries until they sort this mess.

By: Fiona

Fiona — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 13:57:03 +0000

It seems rather cruel, not to mention diplomatically short-sighted, to put up those stupid signs. The shopkeepers stand to make money off these people, which I supposed speaks more to them than all the poisoned babies anywhere in the world BUT Japan. They’re just foreign babies after all, right? Grr. Yes, there are other countries to buy from, I know. There are other ways. But the fact that individual shopkeepers sit there and go through the “You know what? Screw you. And your babies. And your friends’ babies.” logic really offends me.

By: Level3

Level3 — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 13:05:59 +0000

Of course, these days, how can they be sure the Japanese milk is safe?

Though China does have better punihsment on this issue. In Japan it seems like the execs just bow, say sorry, and maybe reisgn, and in the worst case, might even go to jail for a year. Though the latest rice scandal will hopefully push those boundaries, a lot.

In China they executed a farm minister (or some kind of food-related high-level civil servant) for this kind of thing.

By: Bob

Bob — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 05:38:28 +0000

If Japan wants good relations with China they should be shipping truckloads of this stuff to China. This one act *could* change the perception of many Chinese people – remember the appreciation shown for the Japanese rescuers that went to China after the 2008 Sichuan earthquake?

China is still an industrial / agricultural society. It hasn’t got it’s act together as far as food safety is concerned. This will come in time.

Japan is an industrial / technological society – ok, with a bit of agriculture – homegrown rice preference is one example. Food safety guidelines are implemented and should be trustworthy.

However, there are on both sides – in China and Japan aspects of ‘personal greed’ where unscrupulous individuals try, and all too often succeed in, bypassing food safety guidelines, leaving the general population to suffer – Misaka rice, BSE beef, the list goes on… In China you get the chop (death penalty) in Japan they just slap your wrists, you retire from public service and earn a huge wedge of cash in the private sector advising companies on how to bypass government regulations. Personally, I think that China (chop) method is far more effective.

By: Mister M

Mister M — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 00:52:46 +0000

No wonder why many Chinese want to live in Japan. Pretty sad that their own government dont care about their own people´s safety and health.