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I was just about to link that article here. Definitely gonna apply.
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I believe another article I read was that they were submitting the idea and requesting the money from the government. I don't believe it starts until possibly April (correct me if I'm wrong). I tried going to the site Javizy linked, but yeah it's loading too slow.
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If you believe that will happen, you might be interested in a bridge I have for sale. It's between Brooklyn and Manhattan. Very cheap for you because you are my friend. But you need to deposit $10000 in my account to clear the paperwork first.
Edited: 2011-10-10, 11:13 pm
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I first read about this on Lang-8 on someone's post asked her if this was true she confirmed it saying yes but it's still being discussed and not everyone in Japan wants this to go through exactly neither. I can understand their feelings in a way after all a lot of people are still mad about how the government has been dealing with the Touhoku Triple Disaster even though the government is trying to do what they can.I know I was stoked when I read this considering the fact that I was not planning on even going near Japan till I finished community college and hopefully saved enough for a trip over there as well but, if this goes through I,am definitely not passing this type of chance up and the requirements aren't too strict neither pretty simple cut-dry to me I hope this does start in April of next year if this plan is approved gives me enough time to prepare and study hard. I plan to keep an eye on this news for as long as possible even if it doesn't go through I plan to go a tad nuts with Japanese after I finish this semester to reach a High Beginner close to Low-Intermediate Level in Japanese it's going to require a lot of work from me mostly reading and writing and speaking though and more and more immersion as I go. Funny thing is I was recently thinking of getting a passport since I do plan on seeing my father's side of my family in 2013 well, I guess I,ll be following through with those passport plans I can only imagine how hard it's going to be to be one of the selected few though.
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Yup. koohi is the place to be. xD
If they don't demand an awful lot, I am gonna give a try.
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great, this comes out just a week after i spent 1,200 dollars on a plane ticket.....
still though it isnt even official, and where are they getting this money to send foreigners to japan for free? the taxpayers thats for sure. im sure they would rather have their money spent on other things(or if they are like me, not be taxed at all!)
Edited: 2011-10-15, 9:10 am
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They're doing it for the tourism market's sake (and also to heighten general foreign interest->international trade improvements) and see it as an investment that will pay off in the long run. I, of course, can't say whether it will be worth it in the end or not, but it's not such an unreasonable idea. Many Japanese citizens may not agree with this particular investment, and even assuming it actually works out the way it is intended to they might not realize its value. Even so, it's possible that it will, over the long term, improve the everyday lives of numerous Japanese. Welcome to politics.
Also, the people who say they would rather not be taxed at all often don't realize just what it means to lose all the things arranged by their state/governmental system, like say, properly maintained roads available to everyone for example. I don't mean to sound condescending and this isn't directed at you specifically, but far too often the ones who complain the most about taxes are the same people that complain the most as soon as anything that is paid for with taxes doesn't work exactly the way they want it to.
Edited: 2011-10-15, 2:43 pm
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Zon70 Wrote:great, this comes out just a week after i spent 1,200 dollars on a plane ticket.....
still though it isnt even official, and where are they getting this money to send foreigners to japan for free? the taxpayers thats for sure. im sure they would rather have their money spent on other things(or if they are like me, not be taxed at all!)
yeah, they'll get it from the taxpayers, but quite a simple calculation can show you that each tourist is going to spend more in Japan and therefore put more back into the economy than was paid for the original ticket. (that's even before the less countable benefits are included like stronger links with other countries). I doubt that they're planning on giving them out for things like a nice weekend trip to Tokyo in a budget hotel...
i don't know about the effect of tourism (i.e. tourists buying yen) on the price of the yen though... is it a big effect? If it is, i could see why people might be against it...
Edited: 2011-10-15, 4:14 pm
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eh, i got a ticket from airfare watchdog this summer for 650$ round trip... so honestly it doesn't seem worth the effort for a small chance to win.
if you're going more than a week the hotel is by far your biggest expense anyway.
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yes, you could get by on that, but you also have to hand in a travel itinary as part of the application. If it does go ahead, i'm sure there will be conditions on the airline, as they will be able to cut deals with the airline for getting them so much more business, given there's so many places.
Hmmm, why do you think Japan needs tax cuts? I'm not sure how that would help really. Don't they probably need to be raising taxes right now rather than lowering them to help pay for the disaster management??
Secondly, if you cut taxes, you can get people to spend more, sure, but that's not bringing more money into Japan, is it? It's just directing existing money into different hands. And it does nothing to help rebuild the tourist industry and convince people that Japan is a safe place to visit and study, and neither will it help the disaster struck area much, surely...
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Well I guess it all depends on whether you believe in personal property rights or not. Whether or not a person is entitled to the money he has earned. Personally, Id rather not have my money taken from me and spent on welfare, wars, and bearucrats salaries.
And yes, Japan does need tax cuts. If Japan raises taxes that will take money away from the citizen who I am sure needs as much money as they can use considering their economy.
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what has taxation got to do with personal property?!
The money was never yours in the first place, they just make it seem that way. The money is actually coming from the business you work for. Suppose they dropped all personal tax, and taxed only business, your wages would go down accordingly, or there would be massive inflation.
Besides which, you're not just an individual, you're an individual who lives in society. That includes responsibilty to others in your society who might be less fortunate than you. It also includes schools, roads, railways, hospitals, the food you eat from farms, and tons of other things that you make use of on a daily basis, throughout your life.
... Anyway, like i was saying before, if you lower the taxes, you take money away from the disaster struck area, and put it in the hands of consumers who are distributed across Japan. Both are important, but i imagine those in 東北 might have a more pressing need for more to be directed at them right now.
Japan's economy isn't great, but it's not been great for a long time. And they actually do have pretty low taxation compared to a lot of countries. In some circumstances lowering tax could be a good option, but i don't understand at all why it would be a good policy after such a huge disaster...
i can understand why Americans often don't like tax given the kind of things your goverment spend it on, but if you look at countries like Sweden, Denmark, and so on, which have high tax rates and manage the money decently, you also see a huge difference in general wealth and quality of life.
Edited: 2011-10-16, 8:48 am
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Dear Universe,
There are few sounds I like less than hearing Americans give their opinion about taxation. Please help.
Yours,
A Concerned American
Edited: 2011-10-16, 9:56 am
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I wouldn't worry about taxpayers money. Look at it this way - if they buy you a plane ticket with JAL, their tax money will go right back into their economy. Also, you'll spend at least as much money while in Japan (they'll want to see your travel plans), so they'll get back what they spent double or triple. It's a win-win for everyone. Plus they already got an enormous amount of free publicity for the country's tourism just from the news release.
I'd say this is one of the best ideas to come out of Japanese bureaucracy.
Now, the million dollar question - are you afraid? You might breathe in some cesium and strontium with dust and ingest some with food. Sure, it's won't kill you, only slightly increase your chances of getting cancer. The chances are small, of course. Like winning a lottery. You've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?
