A CNN article cought my attention. In it, the cited (but anonymous) Japanese government offical stated that Japan leads the US in Y2K readiness.

Right...

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), November 02, 1999

Answers

Thanks for the humorous info.

-- Rick (rick7@postmark.net), November 02, 1999.

Yeah, and pigs can fly.

"The Japanese official said an erroneous idea that Japan may not be prepared originated because initially the government failed to make information about its Y2K readiness available in English."

We a fortunate that they have English transaltors, otherwise how would we know what is happening in Japan.

-- Brooklyn (MSIS@cyberdude.com), November 02, 1999.

"Thanks for the humorous info." and "Yeah, and pigs can fly."

Do either of you have any knowledge or information to support your statements? Or do you just take a position based on your feelings or intuition? Could it just be ethnocentrism?

-- PNG (png@gol.com), November 02, 1999.

Sorry, but I've seen too many articles by "insiders" who stated that Japan was in deep trouble...then we heard of a miraculous improvement, and now this! My credibility is severely strained... Some of my concerns:

Japanese banks are spending far less than comparable sized US banks. Ditto basic industries, like steel production. Japanese production is often highly automated. Japan is almost totally dependent upon foreign oil (and nuclear power). Japan has been in a deep economic slump...with seemingly inadequate resources to attack this problem as well as their basic problems...

Yes, I put this down to a PR piece...

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), November 02, 1999.

My friend in Japan did note that the oil dependency could be the lynchpin to serious problems. Here, too.

-- Mara (MaraWayne@aol.com), November 02, 1999.

Linkee no workee.

-- A (A@AisA.com), November 03, 1999.

BIG news from Japan

Y2K bug eats Japanese PM's backbone

In the global game of millennial chicken being played out by the world's governments, it looks as though Japan has been the first to lose its battle.

Just prior to Hallowe'en, and with the dreaded date now just two months away, Japanese prime minister Keizo Obuchi has cracked.

Ads taken out in the country's national newspapers have told the nation to stockpile food, keep copies of receipts and bank statements, not use the phone or Internet and watch out for opportunists.

Or put simply: "Run for the hills."

Preceding the 11-point 'better safe than sorry' plan was the usual gambit of pained smiles and reassuring graphics, but it soon became clear that even politicians can't keep it up in the face of the three zeros.

"It is important for each of you to make reparations in case of unexpected emergencies, including minor or short-term inconveniences," the statement said -- governmental shorthand for 'we don't know what the hell is going to happen'.

But while Japan has publicly warned of such commonsense fears, it remains to be seen whether the West's stiff upper lip will start quivering. Earlier this month, Action 2000's optimism over the state of year 2000 compliance was knocked by experts who said they just didn't believe them.

It will be an interesting two months.

The Register's Y2K advice: combine support of your community with self-preservation by talking to OAPs about surviving during the war. When the bug hits, these will be the people with the inside knowledge. You know it makes sense. .

http://www.theregister.co.uk/991101- 000021.html

-- April (Alwzapril@home.com), November 03, 1999.

OK, they have fixed all their code, and this Japanese government official knows it because he personally has independently validated it and verified it. Accept that at face value. The factor in:

Interbank settlement risk in a country with a preexisting banking crisis

Oil

Tora Tora Tora

Glad they don't have any carrier battle groups.

-- ng (cantprovideemail@none.com), November 03, 1999.

PNG

Are you satisfied with responses given above, because, if not, I can add some more. 1. Japan is far more dependent on foreign suppliers than US. If we are expecting problems in the supply chain here (at least I do), there is no mentioning what will happen in Japan. 2. Japan has been in the slump since the beginning of nineties. They did not have the ability to spend money on something that would not help them to get out of that slump. Why waste funds on something that will have a problem in the year 2000 if you can be out of business right now? 3. In one of the threads discussing the nuclear accident in Japan, one of the posters who worked in Japan wrote that Japanese do not admit failures. Just look at the lame excuse they came up with.

Are you convinced?

-- Brooklyn (MSIS@cyberdude.com), November 04, 1999.

PNG,

I lived in Tokyo for three years, in the early 1990s. I have great respect for the Japanese sense of self discipline, and their work ethic *BUT* the need to achieve a group agreement (aka nemawash) is going to be a huge handicap if TSHTF, nevermind if this is complicated by Aum Shin Rikyo, a 'quake, or worldwide supply chain problems.

-- Midas (midas_mulligan_2000@yahoo.com), November 04, 1999.