Discussion week 22 - Friday the 16th and Sunday the 18th of September

 - Discussion Week 22 -

 

- Friday the 16th of September

 - Drugs? In Japan?! - 

 

According to the police data for the first half of 2016, the amount of drugs smuggled in to Japan is 6.5x the amount smuggled in in 2015 over the same period of time.

 

Whats happening here? Is the market for drugs in Japan increasing? 

Compared to a lot of western countries, Japan seems to have less of a drug problem amongst it's citizens. Is this changing?

Are Japanese people getting more interested in the drug-scene?

 

Or is it possible that police drug-detection techniques have improved over the last year, and that there has been a large hidden drug-scene in Japan after all?

 

Let's talk about that.

 

 

- Sunday the 18th of September

 - Minimum wage and Athletes' Salaries  - 

 

So currently the minimum wage in Japan is: about ¥780p/h nationally, and ¥807p/h in Kyoto. If you were to work a full-time 40 hour per week position at ¥807 per hour, you would get ¥129120 per month (before tax!). 

Do you think this is a fair wage for anyone? Could someone live alone in Kyoto on a wage like that?

On the other hand, while regular people like us -could- get stuck with a low wage like that if we were desperate, famous athletes are getting salaries in the millions, and while it's understandable that they need to stay in shape, and work hard to get to that level, do you think the excessively large amounts that they do get is really what they deserve?

Is it things like this that cause the massive wealth gap between the rich and the poor?

 

Let's talk about that.