Posts Tagged ‘osaka’

Kansai Music Conference In Osaka Sept.18-20

You’ve heard of South X Southwest? Well then think of this as, um, East X Far East. Shalestone music in Osaka is organizing the first of its kind, Kansai Music Conference. Check out the video to see and hear five of the many bands who will be involved. And watch MTV Japan for videos from showcase artists Jun (R&B) and Buranden (pop) have been chosen for heavy rotation

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Stray dog runs around airport runway

Some video from TBS news showing a stray dog that squeezed through some fencing and ran around the runways of Osaka International Airport:

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Osaka governor snacks sell well after controversy over illustrations

The governor of Osaka, Toru Hashimoto, made national news last week when he threatened to sue the makers of souvenir snacks bearing his likeness:

The spat arose on Wednesday over the use of illustrations of Hashimoto crying, glaring and laughing used on the packets. Hashimoto initially claimed the images were a violation of his publicity rights and demanded the suspension of their use, even threatening legal action.

However, Hashimoto turned about on Friday, saying, “I don’t care as long as it benefits Osaka.”

Some believe that Hashimoto may actually have planned to threat as a publicity stunt to promote the release of the snacks. If he did so, his plan worked – the snacks have become a hot item at souvenir shops.

Here’s a FTV report about the illustration controversy and the resulting popularity of the snacks:

A customer buying the snacks tell the cameras that they are doing so because they heard about the product through the news coverage of the controversy.

Osaka English teachers stage sit-in

The OFSET Union has held a sit-in to protest education budget cuts and a reduction of their monthly salary:

After submitting the letter shortly before 4 p.m., the Osaka Fu Special English Teachers Union, which comprises 20 of 34 native English teachers employed by the prefectural government, began a 24-hour sit-in at Osaka Castle Park in Osaka to protest the plan by the Osaka Prefectural Board of Education to cut their monthly salary of 303,000 yen by 4 percent from August.

The teachers have not received a pay raise since 1996.

“If the government has 300 million yen to spend for Midosuji Ave.’s ‘light up’ project, it should spend the money on education,” said Steven Thompson, general secretary of the union.

Osaka Prefecture is nearly bankrupt, and the OFSET union has been fighting hard to save the jobs of its teachers since budget cuts began earlier this year.

Osaka City Government Cutting Budget: Foreign English Teachers Losing Their Jobs?

Some of the most experienced foreign English teachers at Osaka public schools may soon lose their jobs:

Nearly three dozen native English teachers called Monday on Osaka Gov. Toru Hashimoto not to cancel an education program that places native speakers of English in the prefecture’s schools and expressed concern that the teachers have only been offered four-month contracts.

The Osaka Fu Special English Teachers Union (OFSET), which represents the 34 native English speakers working at prefectural-run high schools and special education schools, hand-delivered a letter to representatives in the governor’s office in the afternoon and requested a meeting as soon as possible.

“The Osaka Prefectural NET (Native English Teachers) Program is currently under threat of cancellation due to budget concerns. NETs, working closely with Japanese teachers of English, have spent years developing sophisticated English programs at schools throughout Osaka Prefecture. Without NET teachers, these programs would become unsustainable and simply vanish,” the letter says.

After taking office in February, Hashimoto announced that the prefecture would enact a four-month emergency budget to run from April to July.

By then, two special project teams, appointed by the governor to review all prefectural spending, are expected to have their final recommendations on what should be cut. Osaka Prefecture has nearly ¥5 trillion in outstanding debts and is nearly bankrupt.

Many NET teachers are very unhappy about their four-month contracts, fearing that it may be a sign that their jobs will cease to exist under the new city budget:

At a press conference attended by about 15 union members, Steven Thompson, general secretary of the union said: “A four-month contract [for teaching work that requires long-term planning] is just crazy. It’s a terrible problem.”

For more details on the situation, check out the OFSET Union’s homepage.

Maglev Trains Between Tokyo & Osaka

Ready for ultra-fast maglev trains between Tokyo and Osaka? They’re on their way, but it will take almost 20 years:

A new shinkansen line between Tokyo and Osaka using magnetically levitated (Maglev) trains, which is expected to begin operations in 2025, will start from either Tokyo Station or Shinagawa Station, Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) officials said.

The company had been considering selecting the starting station of the line from among Tokyo, Shinagawa and Shin-Yokohama stations.

Moreover, JR Tokai intends to limit the number of stations in the middle of the new Chuo Shinkansen Line to ensure long-distance passengers can travel in a short period of time. The current Tokaido Shinkansen Line between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka will mainly serve short-distance passengers and will make more stops.

More details on the new Linear Chuo Shinkansen can be found at this site.