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Thread: Boycott Japan and the Mirage?

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    Senior Member festiboi's Avatar
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    Boycott Japan and the Mirage?

    The yearly dolphin hunt in Taiji, Japan has gained international attention in recent years, and this past week has earned itself the spotlight again. A slaughter of 250 dolphins in one day and statements made by well-known celebrities and politicians questioning the rationale behind the killings is now bringing this issue to light. U.S. Ambassador to Japan, Caroline Kennedy, tweeted the US opposes the killings: "Deeply concerned by inhumaneness of drive hunt dolphin killing. USG opposes drive hunt fisheries."

    Japan native and partner of the late John Lennon, Yoko Ono, wrote a letter to Prime Minister Abe and the people of Taiji stating "the slaughter was harming Japan’s international reputation and gave countries such as China and Russia an excuse to “speak ill of Japan”. She wrote: "The future of Japan and its safety depends on many situations, but what you do with dolphins now can create a very bad relationship with the whole world."

    Japan has responded that the dolphin hunt is a tradition and will not end due to pressure from Western countries. The tradition, in fact, only started in 1969 according to the Taiji Whaling Museum. Over 23,000 dolphins are killed off of Japan each year and despite the International Whaling Commission banning whaling in the 80's, Japan has found a loophole to continue the hunts; classifying them as "scientific research"

    With all of this, I'm noticing more and more calls on social media and news blogs to boycott any and all products made in Japan or under a Japanese brand name.

    Personally, I'm 100% against these killings, but also understand that we do the same here in Western countries with cows, pigs, and chickens. However, dolphin meat is toxic and high in mercury, and is dangerous for human consumption.

    I've been to Japan and visited some of the WWII memorials and the Hiroshima Peace Park, and at all of these venues, the informational signs and placards have a tone that it was not Japan's fault for the war and they are unapologetic about it.

    I loved the country, it's scenery, it's people and their kindness, and the vibrant cities, but something there kind of rubbed me the wrong way. They, as a culture, don't like to admit failure and want to do things their own way. There was also a creepy "Stepford Wives" vibe that everything had a happy façade, which wasn't the case, through much of society.

    I'm not on the verge of calling a boycott, but it will play a part in my future buying decisions and be a factor when thinking about the countries and economies that are benefitting from my large purchases. Especially since the Mirage is on my shopping list.

    Do any of you factor in a car's origin and where it came from when making a car purchase? Or do you buy based on what car, and manufacturer, deserves your business the most based on how which car suits your needs, regardless of origin?

    This isn't menat to be, and hopefully won't be, a political thread, but just wanted to know if that ever plays a part in your buying decisions and especially with the latest news, on getting a Mirage?



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    i dont as japanese invade Malaysia 100 years ago.. the only one i will boycott is Playstation 4. hahaha.

    too bad, our country is consumer. not invent in anything.

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    Senior Member socal6g's Avatar
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    Every country has its dirty laundry especially the united states. Pretty sure other people of other countries have similar views on american related products. I personally and it might sound selfish go in whats my best interest. Reliability, affordability and just a sense of satisfaction.

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    I don't agree with them but banning their products is a step too far for me. I love japanese products, it's not true that they don't admit their fault. Toyota has been widely known as a great car maker because they dare to admit the faulty parts in their cars and recall worldwide production to replace them. Something I don't see european car makers do. Their products are considerably at much higher quality than chinese ****.

    The chinese has done very bad things as well. If we want to ban them, we will have to live as caveman as in every electronics there's chinese made element used.

    I think the better question is to why we want to stop japanese with dolphin hunt? why is it different than eating chicken? Stop killing chicken? People says that dolphins are smart creatures, if they are that smart, they can move to other places where they don't get hunt right? When the japanese run out of them to hunt, they will stop anyway. They won't for example sail to australia just to hunt the over-populated dolphins there.
    The fact that they are ABLE to kill 23.000 dolphins a year must mean that there's more dolphins available right? I quite believe the Japanese know what they are doing, they don't hunt the dolphins to their extinction because then they will run out of dolphins to hunt. But I won't know for sure.

    About the happy faces ... just travel around asia, you will find them all the same! I'm an asian and I lived there long enough, they all the same. Lessons from your parents and social: put on happy faces outside, don't let people know you are sad or troubled (i believe it's also written in the Bible).

    Besides banning from buying their products won't help your own country. Just think about it, every import/export will generate tax which goes to your country's revenue. You stop buying japanese products, no import or export will take place, no tax, no income for your country, also means less goods to be transported inside your country, transportation companies will have problems, less fuel used which also means less income from the fuel tax, dealerships will have problems, parts sellers will also have less to sell.
    To summarize this up, you're damaging your own economy. Yes you can buy korean products, don't they also still producing nuclear weapons? No ban on them?
    Buy european products? You get the same quality as japanese at double the price of japanese products.

    We are living in a connected world now, we can't live without others with no direct or indirect consequences.
    Just my rant ....

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2013 Mirage 1.0 manual: 47.5 mpg (US) ... 20.2 km/L ... 5.0 L/100 km ... 57.0 mpg (Imp)


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    I find dolphin free tuna leaves a bad aftertaste

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    Senior Member festiboi's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by socal6g View Post
    Every country has its dirty laundry especially the united states. Pretty sure other people of other countries have similar views on american related products. I personally and it might sound selfish go in whats my best interest. Reliability, affordability and just a sense of satisfaction.
    Good point SoCal. Every nation has its issues and the US is absolutely no exception. In fact, we are probably disliked around the globe than any other country, yet there are still Chevys, Jeeps, and Fords on almost corner of the world. Fords in particular are very popular in India, even though we eat beef in the US. You're not selfish at all to purchase a car that offers good reliability and suits your needs, no matter where it's from. It's part of being a savvy consumer

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    Carmageddon m4v3r1ck's Avatar
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    ��*Ha��Ha��Ha*�� the car i traded in for the Mirage was a Ford Fiesta ;-) I like the Fiesta except from the fact that it was easily stolen (it was stolen 3 weeks after I own the car!!) So easy to duplicate the keys, just type in youtube and you get a video immediately.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2013 Mirage 1.0 manual: 47.5 mpg (US) ... 20.2 km/L ... 5.0 L/100 km ... 57.0 mpg (Imp)


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    Senior Member festiboi's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by m4v3r1ck View Post
    I love japanese products, it's not true that they don't admit their fault. Toyota has been widely known as a great car maker because they dare to admit the faulty parts in their cars and recall worldwide production to replace them. Something I don't see european car makers do. Their products are considerably at much higher quality than chinese ****.
    Japanese products are among the best out there. It seems interwoven into their culture that when making an effort on anything, it has to be perfect and nothing less is accepted. What that results in are essentially well-designed cars that will be durable. Granted, I've heard the odd horror story about owning a Honda, Toyota, or Mitsubishi, but overall, their cars are the most durable out there. I've owned an old Toyota Truck, Subaru Justy, and now the Daihatsu as secondary cars, and all have been bulletproof despite being decades old. Japanese quality leaves the Chinese to shame, no doubt.

    However, I do still believe Japanese car makers, and them as a society, do still have trouble admitting mistakes. The unintended acceleration fiasco back in 2010 with Toyota was stretched out because they wouldn't issue a recall immediately. An apology was eventually sent out by the CEO, Akio Toyoda, but still no recall

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    Senior Member festiboi's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by m4v3r1ck View Post
    I think the better question is to why we want to stop japanese with dolphin hunt? why is it different than eating chicken? Stop killing chicken? People says that dolphins are smart creatures, if they are that smart, they can move to other places where they don't get hunt right?
    Another great point, and one that I've discussed with fellow car fanatics. Who judges which animals should be eaten and which should be left alone. They all have feelings after all. I know there are people who boycott Korean cars because a very small part of the population there eats dogs. But who decided that's wrong versus eating a cow, or a dolphin?

    What's troubling to me about the dolphin hunts is the way they are conducted; herding them into a cove and then jabbing them in the spines. But it's also the premise as to why they are doing this to begin with; dolphin meat is unsafe to eat and despite all of the warnings and research, they are still stubbornly distributing the meat. A small portion of the dolphins are also sold off to marine parks where they are trained to do tricks, so it's all to make a profit.

    Dolphins are very smart, but not smart enough to communicate to one another by long-distance that the shores of Japan are unsafe.

    Lastly, Japan has been adamant about whale hunting even though it was banned 30 years ago. They keep claiming its for research, but you'd figure that after killing about 2500 whales each year, they'd know everything you need to know about a whale. Australia was recently in a case against Japan in the International Court (ironically in your city, The Hague) claiming that the scientific research is bogus

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    Senior Member festiboi's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by m4v3r1ck View Post

    About the happy faces ... just travel around asia, you will find them all the same! I'm an asian and I lived there long enough, they all the same. Lessons from your parents and social: put on happy faces outside, don't let people know you are sad or troubled (i believe it's also written in the Bible).


    We are living in a connected world now, we can't live without others with no direct or indirect consequences.
    Just my rant ....
    True, I saw the happy faces in China and Korea as well. Sounds like it's all over Asia. It was an interesting observation. In the other countries, I did see more emotion, such as frustration or anger (not at me, but among themselves, lol). It just seemed to be all bottled up in Japan.

    And it's a good rant; when it comes down to it, we are a global community nowadays and interconnected. Well said!



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