Suzuka Aoki Goes to School

As a Japanophile and a parent of a child with a disability, I am very interested in how people with disabilities are treated in Japan. Mainichi has a report today about a cute little girl named Suzuka Aoki who requires frequent daily care for a larynx condition. Suzuka's parents had to sue the municipal government to allow her to attend a public nursery school.

Thankfully, the Tokyo District Court compelled the school to accept Suzuka and the city will be providing appropriate care for Suzuka at school.

Hot Cross Buns

I suspect anyone who learned to play a musical instrument remembers the song Hot Cross Buns. But until today, I had never considered what a hot cross bun actually is. A coworker mentioned hot cross buns today, which caused me to investigate.

Apparently, hot cross buns are an Easter food, or, more specifically, a food typically eaten on Good Friday. If Wikipedia is to be trusted, hot cross buns are leavened buns spiced with mixed peel (dried fruit like in a fruitcake) with a cross on top.


Content on Wikipedia is very fluid and some what I read about hot cross buns earlier in the day has changed. But a sentence present this afternoon said something to the effect that hot cross buns are a sort of comfort food for those mourning the death of Christ. That sentence is gone now, but it made me think of how differently people view Christ's death.

In my view, the death of Christ is not something to be mourned. Certainly it was a cruel and barbaric death. Thinking of Christ's suffering is saddening and distressing, but not a cause to mourn. If Christ had not died, Christ could never have been resurrected and our redemption would be incomplete.

Romney in Review

Encouraging news out of New Hampshire for Mitt Romney. Zogby's new poll puts Romney tied with McCain at 25%. (Does anyone really think McCain is going to win this thing? Seriously?)

Pollster John Zogby: “Score this as a big week for Mitt Romney. These poll numbers, together with the small increase in Iowa and a huge fund–raising effort, puts him into the top tier and makes him a major player in the race for the GOP nomination. John McCain’s support stays steady and makes him a contender and gives him a boost in an otherwise lackluster week. Move over, Rudy. You’ve got a real race on your hands!”

Zogby's poll comes on the heals of a CNN poll that put Giuliani tied with McCain at 29% and Romney at 17%. I don't know which poll is accurate - probably neither - but both show Romney's star rising.

Doctors in Japan

Stippy.com posted an article about Japanese medicine horror stories the other day. The comments have been humorous and frightful. Below is my recent comment regarding some problems with the Japanese medical system:

A few institutional problems with Japanese medicine:

There is no national accreditation for doctors, rather a system of cronyism. I don’t know what universities have medical schools, but, for example, if you graduate from Toudai or Keio, you have the ticket to job as a doctor - no matter what. Even if you are a lousy doctor or have numerous malpractice claims or a high patient mortality rate, you will be able to continue to practice. Just like anything else in the Japanese system, a person’s pedigree and education connections are what count.

Another problem with Japanese medicine is rather simple: socialized medicine. Doctors in high-rent Tokyo are paid the same rate by the government as low-rent doctors in Shikoku. This puts some customers at a disadvantage simply because of economics realities. In order to make sufficient money to pay the light bill, doctors in high-rent districts have to keep costs down and one way to do so is to funnel the patients through as quickly as possible. That is, unless he can get them into the hospital (more below on hospitals).

These two factors are significant disincentives for doctors to provide excellent service. Add to the mix sub-standard medical training and you get the current Japanese medical system. I think good Japanese doctors are anomalous. Those that do provide good service are probably either highly self-motivated individuals or trained in the West or both.

A couple other interesting facts:

Japan’s sharei system is rather simple. If you want good service or the hoped for outcome of your surgery, you pay the doctor a bribe (sharei). Sharei is the incentive not provided by the official system and apparently can be an effective means of ensuring good care.

Japan has one of the longest average hospital stay lengths in the world – seems like it’s close to a month. When I was in Japan, I recall people staying in the hospital for ridiculous lengths of time – weeks at a time for minor illnesses or a month before childbirth with a normal pregnancy. I suspect from the doctor’s point of view, if he can keep them in the hospital, he can keep billing.

I recall Tim Clark and Carl Kays’ excellent tome, Saying Yes to Japan, explores the problems with and potential solutions to Japan’s troubled healthcare situation.

Finally, the US has plenty of healthcare problems too. Usually, at least in my case, the problem is more with the insurance side of the equation, but I’ve had my share of incompetent doctors too. But here, terrible doctors are the anomaly – the reverse of Japan.

Danged Japanese: tenken 点検

I came across this probably not new but certainly forgotten word while reading an article about a gaijin stuck in a Japanese prison on stippy.com. The word, as used in this case, is interpreted as role call or head count.

点検 【てんけん】 (n,vs) inspection; examination; checking

Definition courtesy of Jim Breen's outstanding WWWJDIC, part of the JMdict/EDICT project.

Danged English: pratfall

prat·fall (prăt'fôl')
n.

1. A fall on the buttocks.
2. A humiliating error, failure, or defeat: “His characters not only survive their snarled problems and pratfalls but learn from their experiences” (Joyce Carol Oates).

See example usage of pratfall in this article about the lovely Nancy Pelosi's trip to the Mid-East.

Dictionary definition of pratfall on Answers.com. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2004 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Romney in Review

Orson Scott Card writes an insightful article from an intellectual insider's point-of-view on Mitt Romney’s candidacy for President. Regarding Romney's potential influence in legitimizing the LDS Church and drawing additional converts to the fold, Card writes:

Mitt Romney isn't going to be giving out coupons -- "5% tithing and two smokes a day if you vote for Mitt."

Link to source