Conflicting themes in the medical industry in Japan, all about convenience stores, and how our brain names objects

Japan is a land of conflicting themes, of high tech phones and glittering gadgets alongside abandoned pachinko parlors and that old guy who drives around selling baked sweet potatoes (a local delicacy), where no one gives a second thought to undressing in front of strangers in the public bath but where a women would die before sunbathing with her top off like they do in Europe. The medical industry in Japan can be confusing, too, a thought that occurred to me watching a show on the other night in which famous TV entertainers ask hard-hitting questions of medical professionals. On the one hand, Japan has an effective network of large and small hospitals that promote good health and regular medical check-ups. There are two systems to ensure that full-time employees of large companies and workers in smaller companies/self employed people have health insurance, which has contributed to the Japanese having the longest life expectancy of any nation. Not everything is rosy, however. Since medical costs are tightly controlled, salaries for doctors are low compared to the U.S., and American companies that provide expensive drugs and medical equipment are frequently unwilling to invest in the local market. Japanese hospitals are consistently 20 years behind the rest of the world when it comes to things like organ transplants, and patients are often better off going overseas for some kinds of treatments. Going to the hospital involves a bit of Russian Roulette, since you never know what quality of care you'll receive, as with the recent case of a pregnant woman who died of a stroke while waiting for a hospital to accept her (happily, her baby was saved). Partially for this reason, patients make heavy use of the shokai or "introduction" system, asking a trusted general practitioner to formally introduce you to a specialist or hospital rather than just taking your chances.

Fabienne: Whose motorcycle is this? Butch: It's a chopper, baby.

How the brain assigns names to objects and how we categorize these objects in our world is something you might not think about much, but living in Japan, I notice some interesting things. In the movie Pulp Fiction, Bruce Willis's character makes a sharp distinction between a motorcycle and a "chopper" (a motorcycle with an elongated front end), which is silly on the one hand since there's very little difference between the two, but is nevertheless something we all do in language. In my own dialect of English, at least, a thumb is not considered a finger, and a pickup truck is defined as being a separate concept from a car, despite their similar function. Naturally, the Japanese have their own list of language quirks, such as concepts of "leg" and "foot" both represented by the same word (ashi) or the tendency for Japanese to insist that green and yellow-green are completely separate colors. While talking with my son, he'll use the word "tire" referring to the wheels on a plastic car (to me, a tire must be made of rubber), or "string" when asking where the wire for the Powerbook is, which make sense to him but sound odd to me. Language is interesting because it's a way to reflect on how our brains work, to read a little of the source code that makes up our own internal firmware.

As a foreigner, it's always fun to see what they have at the local convenience store (conbini in Japanese). There are dozens of convenience store chains here, dominated by Seven Eleven Japan, which created the category in 1974 by adapting an American concept with Japanese-style distribution practices and eventually grew to be Japan's largest retailer, much larger than the parent company. Convenience stores offer many products, including Japanese-style food (bento, noodles and onigiri/rice balls), various bread products (both sliced white bread and various specialty breads like Melon Pan and Curry Pan), drinks like canned coffee and bottled green tea, all manner of candy and gum, and lately, iPods and iTunes music cards. The concept of personal checks doesn't exist in Japan at all, and most people pay their monthly bills by taking them to their local convenience store where they can be read by the cash register. In the winter, I love to go to a convenience store and get niku-man, a Chinese bun which is basically meat inside steamed bread -- yum. There are microwave burritos to be had here, but be warned: with ingredients like scrambled egg & ham or pizza and sausage, the might not be what you're used to. Like Japanese banks, convenience stores here compete by trying to appear as similar to each other as possible (a concept that could only work in Japan), and by and large, you won't find something in one chain that's not available everywhere. The newest trend in convenience stores is Natural Lawson, a chain of shops that go out of their way to carry health-conscious items, organic vegetables, and so on.

The art of Shirow Masamune, the creator of Ghost in the Shell, is really amazing to behold, and preorders for his 2007 calendar (the first issued in several years) are already more than half sold out at J-List. Today we've posted his dynamite Togihime Zoushi 2, a book containing dozens of his incredible artistic creations that no Shirow fan will want to be without. Please note that stock is limited and the work is permanently out of print -- if you're a fan of Shirow's artwork, don't delay in picking up this new item!

Remember that Christmas is not too far off, and J-List is a fabulous place to look for unique and special gifts for that special someone on your list. Whether they're a card-carrying member of the otaku generation or merely like fresh and new concepts that only the Japanese could come up with, we've got the perfect gift ideas right here. Calendars are an especially nice gift, and we've got hundreds of amazing anime, JPOP, swimsuit idol and other calendars to browse through. Why not consider giving a J-List gift certificate, which can be issued in any amount and can either be sent in an attractive physical box, or as a printable PDF gift certificate sent through email.

Here are today's "really cool products" that I thought were especially noteworthy. Note: the J-List links below may be for adult products and should probably be considered "not safe for work." To see all the J-List products, check out J-List or the JBOX.com updated products link.

	My -- Yoko Matsugane. Yoko-chan, you're so kawaii. Why do you torment us so?
	Princess 69 Disc 2: Vol. 3 & 4. I like the look sof this offering from Kitty, excellent leotard themes (a favorite of mine).
	Bride for a Week -- Riko Tachibana. Then, enjoy Riko Tachibana's new concept release, "Bride for a Week," which I think is a good idea.
	Figure Maniacs vol. 19. New issue of Figure Maniacs, the outstanding magazine that covers all anime figures from Japan.
	Happy Kitchen -- Individual Box ~ Re-ment Puchi Sample Series. Another hit product from Re-Ment, who has created a bunch of realistic Japanese food dishes for you to display. Scaled for use with popular dolls like Barbie, Licca-chan, and so on!
	Navy Samurai T-shirt (Match Label) L Size. This is cool, a T-shirt based on a matchbook made a century ago, with the sewn-in "match label" and everything.
	Sweet Dreams. Excellent erotic manga from Naoto Ayano, with extra thick content and great art.
	Togihime Zoushi 2 - Shirow Art Collection 2. If you're a Shirow Masamune fan, this is an item we can't recommend enough. All new art by the creator of Ghost in the Shell, who is a bit of a pervert (but in a good way).
	B's LOG Reserve Subscription. The first magazine devoted to BL games, this is B's LOG, and you can order it every month!
	Japanese T-shirt "Kanji Chart" - Standard. A nifty new Japanese T-shirt featuring a chart of beautifully and accurately rendered kanji. Great for students.
	Mamemaru Plush (M) -- Wind Up Samurai. This is the cute plush ninja Mamemaru from Wind Up Samurai
	"Ball" Ear Drops -- Crystal Clear ~ Elecom Jewel Type Headphones. Another spiffy iPod earphone thing from Elecom, which looks darned cool.
	Tea Dog Aroma Pot. A nice item for Ochaken fans and anyone who loves "aroma therapy" as the Japanese call it.
	Nestle Pumpkin Kit Kat (Large Package). Pumpkin Pie Kit Kat, yum! Just in time for Halloween (but perfectly good in any season). Also available in a Baby Kit Kat variety.
	Jiji Apron -- Itadakimasu ~ Kiki's Delivery Service. Jiji, the black cat from Kiki's Delivery Service, has always been one of Miyazaki's most popular characters. Now you can get him all dirty while cooking.
	Totoro Apron -- Acorn. There's a Totoro apron too. But I should point out that these are somewhat limited in stock (ten each I think), so if you like the item, don't wait too long before ordering.