Japanese

25 years ago, Europe was close to panic at the barbarism of Japanese motorcycles. So Japan limited them to 299 km/h

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The 90s were one of the golden times of motorcycling. A time when there was no Electronic controls, Anticontamination regulations No concern for security. Where now we see chaos and lack of control, a few years ago motorcycle manufacturers saw a test field to launch the fastest vehicles in the world. So much so, that the brands themselves had to put a limit to stop competing fiercely between them. What was happening. The motorcycle market has changed. Currently what is sold the most They are scooters and comfortable motorcyclesl, the SUV made motorcycle. In the 90s, the icons were the Japanese sports of Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki. There came a point where virtually great street sports car reached vertigo speeds. In the early 90s, Honda launched her CBR900RR Firebladeone of the fastest production motorcycles in the world. It soon being overcome by the kawasaki ZZR1100 and later by the Hayabusa. A race to step on the grass of the neighbor that ended up uncontrolled. The 300 km/h. Motorcycles like Hayabusa ranly passed the 330 km/h, and in fear that governments imposed new regulations and prohibitions against such powerful vehicles, the industry decided to self -control with A gentlemen pact. The industry wanted to continue selling supercardives, but I did not want to intimidate the regulatory agencies with motorcycles that began to get closer to the barrier of the 400 km/h than to that of the 300. A secret pact. The gentlemen’s pact among motorcycle manufacturers is an open secret, although given the nature of the agreement there were never official statements. It is rumored that BMW began conversations with both Japanese and Italian manufacturers. Interestingly, when BMW did not have a single motorcycle capable of competing for being the fastest. Be that as it may, in the early 2000s the pact began to be fulfilled: the motorcycles launched by manufacturers, such as the Kawasaki ZZR1200 Or Honda’s proposals, did not exceed 299 km/h. But the sports market demanded speed and muscle, flying through the air the pact. It didn’t last long. Just seven years later, Italian as MV Agusta They left the pact in the air, with models such as the F4 R exceeding 300 km/h. It is something that BMW itself also did with its S1000R And, again, the fastest sports race began. Honda CBR1000RR-R-SP, much more than 299 km/h, although the scoreway says otherwise. What remains of the pact. Although there are numerous street motorcycles that exceed 300 km/h, the Japanese keep the pact alive. Manufacturers like Honda do not mark speed beyond 299 km/h, although the motorcycle is really running beyond her. The same happens with Yamaha. Versions such as the New Hayabusa or the Kawasaki H2, motorcycles that could touch the 400 km/h, remain electronically limited to 299 km/h. The Japanese respect and tradition keep the pact almost intact, maintaining the exceptions for circuit such as the Kawasaki H2R and its 400 km/h … with the house motorcycle. There are also those who dedicate themselves to prepare motorcycles to pass from 440 km/h. Luckily, they can’t step on the street. Not only in motorcycles. The pact among Japanese giants was not the only one decades ago. In the 80s and until well entered the 2000, manufacturers such as Nissan, Honda, Subaru and Toyota They signed a pact so that their cars had no more than 280 hp nor exceed 180 km/h. It is especially striking to upload a Japanese of almost 300 hp, and see that Your marker is tarado in those 180. The measure arose in response to the growing concerns for road safety in the country, an agreement not formalized before the public, but evident when analyzing car after car. This is still the limitations at 250 km/h in large part of current sports. Image | Austin Hervias In Xataka | Chinese motorcycles are sweeping in Spain: who is who in this brand puzzle

After 15 years with BMW and Japanese motorcycles, I am clear that the next one will be China

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I have been driving motorcycles for more than 15 years and I have seen in the first person how the market has progressed. Being a weekend hobby, I usually change a lot of model, and I have gone through practically all renowned brands: Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, BMW, Triumph … I know how to reliable are the Japanese, how expensive it is to maintain a BWM or a TRIUMPh in the official house and also know that Chinese are eating the market. Look at the Chinese market Years ago is looking at a photograph that has little to do with the one now. The introduction in Europe of the latest models of giants such as Voge and Zontes has completely shaken the sales rankings in Spain. And if I am clear about something, sooner or later, I will end a Chinese motorcycle. I’m not alone. Sales data in Spain say everything about the success of Chinese manufacturers: Two of the five best -selling brands in our country are Chinese. Specifically, Voge and Zontes are having simply brutal growth, while European struggle to grow marginally. It is not for less. Both brands are betting on a network of their own dealers (something that can not even afford minority brands, forced to distribute through multi-brands), guarantee above what their rivals and spectacular quality-quality offer. There are Chinese, and there are Chinese. Talking about “Chinese motorcycles” is a little precise generality. Not all point to the same segment, buyer and market. The cases of Voge, Zontes, Benelli or CF Moto are similar: they want to keep the European market, and their product is designed to conquer its consumer. This has led to Premiumization of some Chinese motorcycles, such as VOGE 900 DSX that shares a good part of technology with the BMW F 900 GS. In fact, the motorcycle is born as an agreement between the two brands. And that 900cc engine manufactured by Lancin is no exception, it is the result of an agreement with more than 20 years of history. The price. Chinese motorcycles are mainly conquering for its price. The price of European, Japanese and Italian motorcycles has shot in recent years. A well equipped trail can go to about 20,000 euros, and for 10,000 euros it is difficult to find (buying new). Even segments such as the half -displacement are quite fired: a Honda NX500 (Antigua CB 500 x) costs more than 7,000 euros new. For 500 euros less, Voge offers the 625x with more displacement, more power (there is version A2 if this worries you) and full set of suitcases and top case for 998 euros. They give the insurance, the motorcycle comes with the shell, grill for Top Case, a five -year guarantee to 75,000km, directional flashing, adjustable windshield, HD front camera … it is not since it comes more equipped than the rest of its rivals, it is that there are accessories to which their rivals cannot even access. The guarantee. The first question that may arise when you get a Chinese motorcycle is what happens to the guarantee. Most manufacturers are offering five years (above the three years that the European guarantee marks), with national distribution for replacement pieces. There may be specific pieces that are asked for factory, as in any motorcycle, and there the distribution deadlines will depend on the manufacturer’s agility. The key is that, with a strong commitment to own concessionaires and distribution in Spain, the friction that the use of the guarantee can be minimized. The Peros. The main peros with Chinese motorcycles, at least today, are intangible. Let’s be clear: the main barrier of entry is the prejudice that the motorcycle is China. The motorcycle world is somewhat different from that of the car: it is reigned by Japanese motorcycles that have been building their image decades and demonstrating their reliability. The Chinese motorcycle needs time to prove that it is reliable and that, in case of breakdown, the brand responds quickly. It is something that the Internet will help. It is not too hard to find for Chinese motorcycle forums With about 100,000km (considerable figure for a motorcycle) and without needing more than basic maintenance and spare parts. The fate of the motorcycle industry passes through China and, sooner or later, will be sales leaders in Spain. Image | VOGE In Xataka | 20 years ago, BMW allied with a Chinese giant to make motorcycles. Now, that giant has eaten the toast completely

We have a problem with plastic recycling. Japanese scientists have created one who self -destructs in the sea

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In summer, more than once we have been scared thinking that a plastic was, in reality, a jellyfish. Far from that triviality, a major problem is hidden. According to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)more than eleven million metric tons of plastics end up in the oceans every year. Although a new wave of change is brewing in Japan with plastics that get rid of. Short. A group of researchers from the Riken Center for the science of emerging matter and the University of Tokyo has developed a plastic capable of degrading completely in salt water in a matter of hours, As explained in a press release. The demonstration. The team has shown how a small piece of the new material disappeared in a container with marine water after being agitated for about an hour. Although no marketing plan has yet been detailed, the project leader, Takuzo Aida, He has affirmed Reuters That research has aroused great interest, even from the packaging sector. A deep problem. The urgency of this advance is framed in an increasingly serious environmental crisis. According to UNEPplastic pollution could be tripled by 2040, reaching up to 37 million metric tons annual in the oceans. Therefore, the investigation has not wanted to limit itself in the visible, but also in the microplastics that are infiltrated in all the ecosystems of the planet. Long journey. According to They have explained Scientists, this new material is the result of more than thirty years of research in supramolecular polymers. Unlike traditional plastics, which remain united by very resistant covalent bonds, they use weakest and most reversible links. This allows the material to maintain its resistance, but decompose rapidly under the appropriate conditions. The point. To achieve this, they needed a “passage key” that was in salt. Technically, They have detailed Reuters that the combination of hexametafostato sodium (a food additive) and ions of Guanidinio (employees in fertilizers) formed saline bridges that provided stability to the material. However, by immersing themselves in salt water, these bridges are broken and, within a few hours, there is no trace of the plastic. The resulting material is resistant, colorless, igniphed and not toxic. It can even waterproof with a hydrophobic coating, without losing your ability to break down if your surface is scratched or drilled. Although it has its limitations. As The project manager has indicated to Reuterswhen decomposing, plastic releases nitrogen and phosphorus, elements that can be reused by microorganisms or plants. However, if they accumulate in a uncontrolled way, they could alter coastal ecosystems, favoring phenomena such as algae flowers. To avoid this, the researchers propose a controlled recycling system in seawater treatment plants, which would allow to recover the materials and reuse them in new supramolecular plastics. Biodegradable, but enough? The novelty of Japanese plastic contrasts with the limitations of other called biodegradable plastics. According to the researchersmaterials such as polylactic acid (PL), although they degrade on land under industrial conditions, persist in the ocean, where they fail to break down and end up forming microplastics. Other more recent alternatives, such as certain recyclable plastics developed in Europe, offer greater durability and recyclabilitybut they still face similar challenges: slow degradation in the marine environment and dependence on specific management systems. One step further. That moment could be closer than it seems. Meanwhile, jellyfish will continue to be jellyfish. But at least, the plastic that imitates them could begin to disappear. Image | Unspash Xataka | We thought we had found a safe and sustainable alternative to oil derived. We have to keep looking

The Japan telepeage system had a 38 -hour blackout. Japanese drivers chose to continue paying equally

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Japan is a Country of contrasts. On the one hand, it is a society in which the Machines of vending With used pantieslabor situations close to slavery wave extreme surveillance. On the other, they are obsessed with cleanliness and they have a strong value system in which the norms are not contemplated to skip. But what happens if you go with your car on a highway, the Toll system It doesn’t work and the barrier is raised? Would you pay? Well, the same thing happened recently and thousands of people opted for what seemed most correct: pay. Short. It was on April 8 when the company’s electronic toll collection system NIPPON EXPRESSWAY CENT. (Nexco Central) He stopped working. This implies that cars with telepeaje could not carry out the payment automatically in those positions in which there is no personnel -something that Do not abound at this time in Japan– And obviously the barrier did not get up. As you can imagine, it was an important problem because They generated great traffic jams. The problem began at night, but was expanding for 38 hours in which 106 tolls were unusable, causing chaos on 17 routes, including those that go to Economic heart of the country, Tokyo. Huh, pay. The company acted by sending personnel to the toll stalls in which charges could be made manually, but between others it was impossible for the infrastructure and that they could not send operators to all the points, they made the decision to raise the barriers in the affected points. It was the first time that the system failed at this scale from the privatization of Nexco Central in 2005. Vehicles could pass freely and was the best decision to Avoid bottling during the peak of the next day. What else did Nexco do? Tell the drivers that they will use a form on their website to pay deferred. Interestingly, the drivers who aimed how much they had to pay based on the sections traveled that day and sent the relevant applications are counted by thousands. The calculations. They were not all, much less. It is estimated that about 960,000 vehicles passed through those tolls during the 38 hours of fault and 3.8% of them They requested Deferred payment. It may seem like a ridiculous figure, but we are talking about some 36,000 drivers who, voluntarily and without any duty, decided to request the option to pay for the “service consumed” that day. Absolution. All this showed that the TV system It is vulnerable because, when a failure occurs on a scale like this occasion, it could not be react and the only solution was to lift the barriers to avoid major evils. The president of the company, in a very Japanese way, apologized Publicly and promised something: reimbursements and a total of 1,200 million yen, about seven million euros, which stopped entering during error time. All those who paid would receive the reimbursement of their money in a cordial gesture from the company to ensure equity with those who decided not to pay, but a thing was also remembered from Nexco: although the system fails, drivers They should pay. And there is the most questionable side in history. The error was due to a Failure in a software update of the teleping system that caused traffic jams and delays at first and, despite being the fault of the company, they wanted users to pay equally. Images | The Japan Faq In Xataka | Japan’s economy depends more and more on a very Japanese phenomenon: fans absolutely delivered to its idols

neighborhoods with younger than Japanese

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In the month of February there were Some track In several enclaves of Japan. It is true that the nation is going through A tourist period As it is not remembered in the country, and that the New Year lunar had triggered the volume of travelers a little more, but among the hordes, a flag stood out from the rest: China. And not only because of the number that arrives in Japan, but for the number that remains, in principle, forever. A life without Japanese in Japan. It Nikkei had The weekend. Japan is experiencing a Demographic transformation and notable cultural with the proliferation of new neighborhoods of strong Chinese presence, in which migrants are a majority and can live, work and socialize practically without need Japanese speaking. One of the epicenters of this phenomenon is the area northwest of Ikebukuroin Tokyo, where a kind of “has emerged”New Chinatown“That has supermarkets, restaurants, technology stores, pharmacies and services specially designed for the Chinese community. Over there, residents like tangan editor who has lived in Tokyo for three years, says they can do everything from the mobile with the help of compatriots, without facing linguistic or bureaucratic barriers. This environment, which some call the “Chinese economic zone” within Japan, allows migrants to maintain Cultural and social links without disconnecting from its origin. From the center to the suburbs. The phenomenon is not limited to the center of the Japanese capital. Communities such as Kawaguchiin the Saitama PrefectureThey show how this network has expanded to the suburbs. In the housing complex Kawaguchi Shibazon Danchihalf of the 2,454 units are inhabited by Chinese families. The surrounding area has been transformed into an environment completely adapted to the needs of this population: with nursery schools, stores, restaurants and drug stores operated by Chinese, all labeled in their language. In this regard, residents like Zhang Min and Wang Youkun They highlight how the growing presence of compatriots has made unnecessary the dominance of Japanese, which facilitates daily life and encourages roots. Even ancient residents, like Liu Baocai, That they began in these complexes, they are acquiring single -family homes in the same city, a sign that many migrants are choosing to establish themselves permanently in Japan. Demographic replacement and aging. One of the conjunctural problems of the nation We have been counting For months: the population aging. Therefore, the social reconfiguration we are talking about is especially notable in areas where the Japanese population It has decreased due to that aging and low birth rate. In Kawaguchi, schools that were full have closed, and the remaining Japanese residents, mostly elderly, observe how their neighborhoods are transformed In Chinese communities. He Tetsuya Mashimo casean 86 -year -old man who has lived in the complex since its inauguration in 1978, illustrates this transition: he affirms that his neighborhood “has completely become a Chinese housing complex.” Mihama and Warabi: New “Chinese.” Other areas such as Mihamain Chiba, and WarabiThey have also seen a notable increase in their Chinese population, driven by accessibility to the center of Tokyo and the low cost of life. In Warabi, the Chinese already represent 8% of the total populationthe highest percentage in the country. Mihama, with about 5,700 Chinese residentsit has great housing complexes such as Takasu Daiichi Danchi and Saiwai-Cho Danchi, both managed by the Urban Renaissance Agency (UR), which actively promotes the arrival of foreigners with incentives such as the elimination of guarantees, renewal rates or key money. National phenomenon: China in almost all of Japan. Nationally, the phenomenon It has spread overwhelmingly. According to one Nikkei researchChinese citizens reside today in 1,603 of 1,741 Municipalities of Japan, which is equivalent 92%. There are 128 municipalities where their number exceeds a thousand inhabitants, mainly concentrated in Tokyo’s metropolitan area, but also in rural areas. In Shimukappu (Hokkaido Central), the Chinese represent 5% of the 1,600 residentsmany attracted to ski tourism. In Sarufutsunorth of Hokkaido, 3.4% are technicians in training who work in registered processing. Similar cases are recorded in TOBISHIMA (Aichi) and Kawakami (Nagano), where local agricultural and industrial sectors are integrated. Permanent residence. It is the other of the legs that the phenomenon explains and that we commented recently. Japan currently houses some 840,000 Chinese citizensand highlights the sustained increase of those with permanent residence (now, in addition, It has been flexible): more than 330,000 in 2024, an increase in 100,000 in just eight years. This change not only reflects numerical expansion, but also a clear tendency towards long -term settlement. The new generations are being born, growing and building their future in Japan, consolidating a process of silent, but deep integration. Demographic transformation The proliferation of these “New Chinatowns” In Japan marks a historical transition in the social composition of the country. In a context of accelerated aging and Rural depopulationthe Chinese community not only fills population gaps, but also builds solid support networkstrade and culture that allow its members to live comfortably without abandoning their identity. Obviously, this trend also raises key questions about the future of social cohesion in Japan, integration policies, and redefinition of what it means to belong in an increasingly diverse society (more, if possible, a Like Japan). At the same time, it illustrates how an organized and self -sufficient migrant community can transform urban and rural landscapes, generating new life centers in territories that seemed condemned to the decline. Image | Pexels, WPCPEY In Xataka | 21 wonderful Japanese expressions that would need a whole phrase to be translated In Xataka | Art schools in Japan are filled with young Chinese. Getting good grades has an extra prize: staying to live

Yonaguni’s Japanese island was known for its beauty and Bad Bunny. Now it is a military strength because of Taiwan

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It is possible that until recently the vast majority of the population did not know what it was Yonaguni. In 2021, the picturesque Japanese island appeared in the “map” of millions of people when the artist Bad Bunny dedicated him A song (Singing it in Spanish and Japanese, in addition). However, the enclave, very much, will possibly be more famous over the months. Is found in the center of a war Between the United States and China, and has in front of Taiwan. Paradise in the conflict. Yonaguni, the westernmost island in Japan, is usually remembered as an idyllic corner of Crystalline waters and almost empty routes between cane fields. However, its strategic location only 110 km from the Taiwanese coast has placed it in the center of the growing tension between China and Taiwantransforming his image of tourist paradise into an expanding military enclave. The Japanese government has announced the Base extension From the self -defense forces (SDF), as well as works to extend the airport, build a port for large boats and create underground evacuation shelters. These developments have left their only 1,500 inhabitants trapped between the growing militarization and the latent threat of a regional conflict. A military bastion. As AP explained In a recent report, while some residents and local authorities such as Fumie Kano dreamed of promoting commercial links with Taiwan through direct sea routes, but the plan was set aside In favor of militarizationwhich offered government subsidies and security promises. Since 2016, the island houses a unit of 160 members coastal surveillanceequipped with radars, to which electronic war units and potential deployments of long -range missiles. Today, the military and their families already They represent 20% of the populationa constantly increased figure that begins to reconfigure the economy and social structure of the island. Division before the threat. The possibility of a Taiwan Yūjian emergency caused by a Chinese Invasion of Taiwan, worries residents, who fear that the island will become a military objective or refugee receiver. Not everyone, of course. The Guardian told A few weeks ago cases such as that of the Shoko Komine restaurant, where they do not believe that the conflict is imminent, although they are afraid of its immediate impact on tourism, the main economic engine of the island. The militarization, in the opinion of its owner, has displaced the efforts to promote Yonaguni As a tourist destination. Even those who voted in favor of the base in 2015, when it was approved by little margin, seem to express their concern today at the possible missile installation, which would make the island blank in case of hostilities. Yonaguni Geopolitics in the Pacific. The reorientation of the Japanese defense policy, which for decades focused on the Soviet threat in the north, has displaced its focus to the south and the growing pressure of China. We tell it A few weeks ago, Yonaguni is part of the Nansei Islands chain, whose strategic importance It has been redoubled In a context in which the United States It demands from Japan a more active role in your own defense. Under that framework, the American ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel, recently visited the island in a symbolic sample of American support. In addition, other nearby islands, such as Miyako and Ishigaki, already house missile units (and comes A broader package), increasing the Pressure on Okinawa Prefecturewhich welcomes most American troops in Japan. Defense or provocation. The people are divided. For example, the mayor of Yonaguni, Kenichi Itakazu, support military expansionconsidering it essential to protect the island and access part of the record of 43 billion yen (276,000 million dollars) in defense expense planned for 2028. He argues that, given the experience with Hong Kong, Xi Jinping’s peaceful promises cannot be trusted. However, critical voices such as councilor Chiyoki Tasato warn that the deployment of troops and missiles does not deter, but that attracts danger. Tasato considers inevitable that Japan will be involved if a war in the Taiwan Strait due to the United States Security Treaty, which imposes bilateral military responsibilities. The 2015 law Approved under the mandate of Shinzō Abe authorizes Japan to exercise collective self -defense in case an ally is attacked, which reinforces that vision. An island in transformation. Yonaguni, like many remote regions of Japan, faces a complicated depopulation process. Of the 12,000 inhabitants he had in 1947, today There are hardly 1,500 civiliansmostly older people. A figure that contrasts with 160 SDF troops and its 90 relatives, whose presence begins to transform the social structure. According to calculations of the Tetsu Inomata residentby 2026 the military “base population” will exceed 40% of the total number of inhabitants. Although soldiers have tried to integrate, for example, participating in schools, shops and cultural activities, many islanders feel that a military enclave is being configured that could eventually displace the civilian population. Historical and strategic memory. Some inhabitants, such as local politician Mizuho Chidacome in the Evacuation drills that we have counted before an undercover preparation for an armed conflict. Others, like Tasato, advocate Strengthen the links economic and cultural with Taiwan, a country with which Yonaguni shared business relations at the time of the Ryukyu kingdom. Despite the geographical proximity, there are currently no direct routes between the two regions, although maritime crosses are foreseen soon. This vision contrasts with the perception that the island has been alibuated by external interests, particularly those of Washington, with Tokyo’s complicity. The weight of the story. The past also plays an important role in the perception of the premises. The memories of the Okinawa battlewhere about 200,000 people died during World War II, still resonate among residents. Many fear that, as then, the islands of southern Japan are sacrificed In the name of national security. Today Central Okinawa house more than half Of the 50,000 American soldiers deployed in Japan, and the new bases in Yonaguni and neighboring islands such as Miyako and Ishigaki expand that geostrategic burden on a historically marginalized region … Read more

After years of Japanese, in Spain there is already a generation at the gates of an uncertain scenario: old age without children

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In 1960 each Spanish woman had throughout her life almost three children. Today They do not reach 1.2. The data is just that: data, demographic means, pure statistical mathematics, but they serve to understand better trends that are every time more present in homes of homes. As I know Birth sinkslife expectancy and Families changeSpain meets A new reality: The first “without children” generations look at old age with the challenge of facing that last vital stage without offspring. No children. Neither grandchildren. The big question is … why? And what does it imply? Figure issue. Spanish demography (like that of Other other countriesinside and out of the West) It is changing. A lot. And fast. In fact it has been doing it for a long time. If we review the fertility index we find that It has collapsed Throughout the last decades: of 2.94 children per woman in 1967 we have gone to 1.12. And going down. Translated into babies that supposes that today they are born in Spain less than half that in him Baby Boom. The trend has been the opposite among people who live alone. At least over the last years. If in 2014 the unipersonal households supposed 24% of the total From the census, six years later they were already 26%. Another reality is those who live in a couple but choose to do it without offspring. In 2020 the INE counted near four million of homes with that profile, two out of ten. Generations without children. A few months ago the CIS contributed an even more interesting approach. Its technicians They asked to people born over the last decades if they had children and found themselves with which the percentage of ‘Sies’ fell clearly as the age of the interviewees did. It is a predictable trend among younger respondents, under 34, but the study reflects something else: among cohorts with more advanced ages, which are already peeling retirement, there is also a considerable percentage of people without offspring. And to show a button. If 89% of people of 75 or more years had children, that percentage went to 81.5%Among the interviewees from 55 to 64 years. If we go to the fork from 35 to 44 years the proportion drops even more, to 62%, and if we descend even more, focusing on the population between 25 and 34 years, we find that only 32% of respondents have had at least one offspring. Why is it important? Because as I pointed out recently The Spanish newspaper (EPE) in An analysis On that same phenomenon, the data of the CIS show us that Spain is at the gates of a demographic milestone: the arrival in the old -generation old age in which a relevant percentage of people has chosen to have no offspring. According to the CISin the age strip from 55 to 64 years they represent 18.5%. “The ghost of old age without children”. Between that 18.5% of people without offspring, such as I confessed recently A couple in the fifty to EPE, there are those who already contemplate with concern to the “ghost of old age without children.” That is, the perspective of becoming greater or becoming dependent without children or grandchildren who, if necessary, can serve as a network. “It seems that you are always going to be autonomous, but the aging is noticeable year after year and seeing it in your elders causes restlessness because having children does not mean that no one will take care of you, but you can have support, at least someone to call,” Write The same couple. They now have octogenarian parents who need help and “someone for everything.” “What would they do without their children?” Marking the way. 18.5% may seem a reduced percentage yet, but THE STUDY OF THE CIS It is interesting for something else: it suggests that this scenario of ‘old age without children’ will be increasingly common. Among the interviewees of 45 to 54 years the percentage of those who claim to have no offspring represents 21.3% and between the people aged 25 and 44 touches 36-66%. Maternity It has been delaying With the passing of the decades and today it is located in almost 33 yearswith what the logical thing would be for these percentages to soften, but still the trend is clear. THE CIS Confirm In addition, another reality that institutions such as the INE have been drawing for a long time: many of the couples who have been parents have had a single descendant, so the support they can receive in their old age will depend on a single child. It comes to review two figures to understand it: among those over 75 years of age the percentage of people with children who claim to have had more than a offspring reaches 90.3%. Among the interviewees of 55 to 64 years that same proportion already collapses to 73.5%. A complex reality. The big question arriving at this point is … Why do the Spaniards have fewer children than a few decades ago or do we even opt for not having them? The answer is complex and adds multiple factors, including cultural, labor and social changes, but a few months ago the CIS reflected Another factor Same relevant: the economic one. According to your polls, 77.3% Of the Spaniards believe that people have no children “due to lack of economic means.” 44.1% indicate another cause that goes along the same lines: “Conciling problems” work and professional life. Moreover, the research center states that 59% of respondents who have not been parents recognize that they would have liked to be. “Create support networks”. The other question that remains by throwing is … What will this increase in people who reach old age without children or grandchildren? Will it translate into greater pressure for public coffers? The problem is not exclusive to Spain. Other countries (Even in Asia) They also face the challenge of seeing how their demographic pyramid is widened … Read more

A Japanese restaurant has brought its obsession with fresh fish to the extreme: it allows you to fish yourself

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Visiting Japan is immersing yourself in a country where the traditional and modern coexist in harmony. Its big cities combine futuristic skyscrapers and streets full of neon lights with millenary temples that have resisted the passage of time. In any walk through its streets, it is inevitable to find restaurants where fish is the absolute protagonist. And it’s no accident: in Japan, Fish has been a pillar of its gastronomy for centuries. Here, the menu is not requested, fishing. If you think you’ve seen everything about freshness, Japan always has more to offer. There are restaurants where chefs personally select the best fish on the market every day, but what if instead of waiting for them to serve you, is you who fish it? In Osaka, about five hours from the center of Tokyo, there is a place where the menu is not chosen, it is captured at the time. Our protagonist bears the name of “ジャンボ釣船つり吉”, which could be translated into Spanish as “Great Tsurikichi fishing ship.” As we can see in Google Maps screen capture, it is far from the bustle of the great avenues of the Asian city, and is immediately distinguished by its facade decorated with a fishing boat and posters with large Japanese characters that tell us what we will find inside. As explained on your websitewhen crossing the restaurant door the first thing will be to check the letter and choose the fish we want. Once decided, the staff will give us the right equipment, be it a fishing cane or a salabre, and will guide us to the fishing area. In that pond, where fish swim outside of their destiny, true experience begins. They assure that it is an apt challenge for all ages. After fishing, it is time to enjoy food in one of the four rooms available. We can choose between Tatami type seats in a ship -shaped area or, if we prefer something more conventional, tables with western -style chairs. Now, suppose we are ready to live this experience. How much will it cost us? It is time to take a look at the letter and calculate the budget. How much does this experience cost? When planning the expense, the first thing we should consider is that the price is based on the entire fish that we catch. Thus, a red kissing costs 3,124 yen (about 19.50 euros), a sole has a price of 2,840 yen (approximately 18 euros) and a listing juris rises to 4,980 yen (around 31 euros). Once the piece fish, we must choose how we want to prepare it to us, which is an additional cost. For example, a frying with Ponzu adds 300 yen (about 1.90 euros) to the final price. In addition, if we want to accompany our dish with seafood, we must take into account that they do not have a fixed price. In this case, the staff will weigh and inform us of the cost before preparing them. Marketing, Tourism and Gastronomy. It is no secret that Japanese gastronomy is rich and diverse, with fish and rice as fundamental pillars for centuries. However, many of the dishes that we consider today representative of Japan, and that have crossed borders, are not the result of a centenary tradition, but of relatively recent adaptations. Without going any further, until the 1990s, no one in Japan ate sushi with raw salmon. It was a marketing campaign that made it a standard, more than an entrenched custom. But tourists continue to come in mass in Japan in search of a unique experience. And there is no doubt that the country has much to offer, especially in the gastronomic field. However, not everything is good news, neither for the premises nor for those who visit it. An ingredient as essential as rice suffered a remarkable crisis: in full tourist boom, The shortage shot prices and led some restaurants to pay anything to stock up. When what matters is the show. Eating typical dishes in Japan has its charm, but restaurants have found ways to go further, especially when the goal is to attract tourists willing to spend on experiences. The possibility of fishing your own food in a place set as a ship is not only a gastronomic option, but a claim designed to turn dinner into a show that seduces both visitors and premises. {“Videid”: “X8D7XNV”, “Autoplay”: False, “Title”: “Tricks to travel cheaper- Drinking tea is something that can be done anywhere in the world, But attending a tea ceremony is another story. In Japan, this ritual has become an attraction for tourists looking for more than a simple infusion. The experience is not limited to drinking tea, but extends for hours, with different varieties and meals included. Something that originally had a deep cultural significance is now also sold as an experience for the visitor wanting to spend. But the show does not end there. If tea is not enough, there are always more options to live Japan in a big way: geisha shows perfectly choreographed for the tourist, high exhibitions where tradition and show intermingle, and the Bunraku puppet theater, a cultural element that continues to find its place in a country where more and more things become attractions for the photo. A HAND FOR MOUNT FUJI. To promote other forms of tourism in Japan could be one of the keys to decongest Mount Fuji, a place that for centuries was a symbol of spirituality and personal improvement, but today dealt with massification and its consequences. What was previously an intimate journey has become a crowded tour of hikers, with tails on the top and an environment that is increasingly feeling the weight of uncontrolled tourism. In Xataka Japan has put a spicy in Spain in a peculiar way: with a "Madrid Osaka" In a town of 93 inhabitants To mitigate the impact, The government has begun to take action: daily visitor limits have been established and an online reservation system has been … Read more

Montoya is now translated into Japanese or German thanks to AI

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It seemed that it was going to be one day flower, and well, in a way it has been: ‘The island of temptations’ has continued, but has not been able to find a viral hook from Montoya’s caliberthe contestant of the eighth edition of the reality that has starred several memes that have made him famous worldwide. His ridiculous jealousy attack, his possibly scripted race by the beach Bramano during the night and an exhausted Sandra Barneda shouting his name a few meters have made history in these first months of 2025. Astronomical audiences. Thanks to the meme that has generated not only messing in abundance, but also all kinds of variations, imitations and parodies, the audience of ‘the island of temptations’ He has shot. Last week, when the phenomenon exploded, it reached on Monday a 14.9% screen share, surpassing ‘El Hormiguero’ and not reaching ‘La Revuelta’ for a tenth. Later the audience shot, reaching 21.4%. On Wednesday (a unfolded program on Monday) it reached a decant 14.2%. And yesterday, with a new program, he swept 20.6%, now, beating his rivals in the coincidence strip. International fame. From the moment when Goldberg It was a trend in Spain Because in his morning debate program he spoke with his Montoya Meme contestants, we began to realize that he was reaching international draft. Community Managers of commercial brands They began to exploit it from around the world, Sporting events and shows around the world mentioned Montoya and its tortured Latin blood. Only one step was missing: making Montoya expressed in other languages. The AI ​​is in charge. It was a matter of time for someone to spend the video of Montoy Our Sensacine Companions Link and that he is already achieving his own viralization thanks to the multilingualism of our hero. Arab, Italian, Chinese, English, Russian, Portuguese, Turkish, German and French happen to that legendary, still insurned video of Don Pico Pato in which Montoya was expressed in the Donald Duck dialect. Even so, the grace of the original is insurmountable, since although the literal words that Montoya said, the Andalusian grace of the original, absolutely impossible to move to other languages. The bullshit, the use we like about AI. Translation to other languages ​​is a use of artifgicial intelligence that is among the most achieved and useful of the different versions of the prepared for it. And in this case, the possibilities are multiplied, since the purpose is humorous and the failures are deaciles to forgive. Humor, for the moment, is The infallible use of AI. @Sensacine This is a fantasy! Can you imagine how the amount sounds in Russian or Chinese? #TeleentikTok #Quever #HumorentikTok #Montoyaporfavor #Sabiasquetiktok #Laislaslashotentaciones ♬ Original sound – Sensacine The best, the most human. None of these translations, however, can overcome, however, the Japanese dubbing that the dubbing actor and digital creator has done Hugo Carrascowhich has translated into Japanese the complete video (something that is doing with different memes and fragments of series such as ‘there are no one who lives’), achieving an absolutely hilarious effect for its likelihood. Spanish words pronounced in Japanese (“Papafurita”, “Sandora”) and a flashing “Montoya-San” to close the party. Header | Mediaset In Xataka |

The Japanese demography debacle, illustrated in a graphic that speaks for itself

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The Japanese demographic crisis comes from afar. In 2019, we already commented that Japan was extinguishing. In 2018 there were 921,000 births in the country, a worrying number if we take into account that more than 1.3 million Japanese died. That exceptionally low fertility rate It is directly related to a very aging population, so much that it has already been baptized as a “demographic winter.” And it is something that is reflected perfectly in this graph elaborated by Visual Capitalist. And forecasts are not good. Discouraging. We can appreciate the data since the 1950s to see a clear trend that seems to be not changing. On the contrary, everything points to a worsening of a critical situation in the country. There are two very marked moments in the Japanese demographic curve. On the one hand, the population boom that occurred after Second World War. On the other, the unstoppable increase in the population over 65 due to improvements in life. However, at the beginning of the 21st century, the demographic curve began to twist. It is when we see that the amount of population begins to decrease as the amount of aging population takes run at a slope that seems to have no end. Forecast. The data In which they are based for the creation of this graph, they come from the Japan Statistics Office and, beyond the past and current panorama, it offers us an estimate of the country’s future demographic. It is not good and, in this table, we can see the proportion between the total population and those over 65 so far, as well as the projection for 2045: Year Population in millions Population of more than 65 years in millions Percentage 1950 83 4 4.9% 1955 89 5 5.2% 1960 93 5 5.7% 1965 98 6 6.3% 1970 105 7 7.3% 1975 112 10 8.4% 1980 117 19 10.1% 1985 121 14 11.8% 1990 124 16 13% 1995 126 19 15% 2000 127 22 17.4% 2005 128 25 19.6% 2010 128 29 22.8% 2015 127 33 26.3% 2020 126 36 28.6% 2023 124 36 29.4% 2024 124 36 29.3% 2030 123 37 30.1% 2035 120 38 21.9% 2040 117 41 34.8% 2045 113 41 36.4% Consequences. It is not necessary to wait for that 36.4% of the population over 65 to see the consequences: it is something that Japanese society is already experiencing. A clear example is schools: in the absence of children, there are schools that They are being reconciled in other spacessuch as aquariums or sake factories. It is so devastating that it is estimated that 450 centers close every year. Between 2002 and 2020, almost 9,000 closed and, if the trend continues, there are those who consider that, on January 5, 2720, There will only be a child under 14 in the country And long before, All Japanese will swell the same. It is an apocalyptic scenario, almost identical to that seen in the movie ‘Children of men’, but this does not only affect schools. Before the lack of young employees, there are companies that They are already delegating to robots To do the job and diaper companies they have reinvented themselves as adult diaper companies. Not to mention the pension system: without young workers to support it, the pyramid collapses. Measures. From the government, of course, they are taking measures. An example is that, in a curious movement, They want to attract digital nomads. They have also opened to something unusual: companies like McDonald’s have opened their arms to Workers with colored hair. Until not so long, the company prohibited its workers from dying hair and having certain beards, measures that have had to relax due to that demographic fun. There are also government measures, such as Free nursery in Tokyo to promote birth and four -day work week to support family reconciliation. Yuriko Koike, governor of Tokyo, said there was no time to lose and acknowledged that the crisis will not disappear for itself. Success cases. Missing time to see the green outbreaks of the new policies and attitudes of the government and companies in birth, but there are examples within the Japanese society that can give wings to recovery. One of them is Nagi’s. It is a small town that has been placing the problem of birth in the upper area of ​​its agenda years. Apart from the aid for parenting and nurseries, they do not pay books or school materials. There are also incentives such as family rents for a monthly rate of about 345 euros to the change or medical expenses fully covered for minors. Of course, they did not succeed from one day to another and get a rate close to the three points (when the country is closer to a single point) is something that took them two decades and sacrifices, such as the cut in public works projects . They are not the only. Nagi’s change of thought and model has not been simple and there are other measures involved, such as charging tourists for entering into the “miracle” in the town and the incentive for young couples who want to move to Nagi. We need to see how that case of individual success can be extended to a country, but Japan is not the only dramatic case worldwide and, above all, in the Asian territory. South Korea is an example, with 20% of the population over 65 and an enlightening national debate: At what age someone is ‘old man’. In China they do not get rid and, despite His efforts, tax advantagesyou aid, incentives And even his effort for campaign In favor of love and marriages, 2024 closed as the third consecutive year losing population. A quick solution seems immigration, something that Several countries are experiencingbut it is certainly a problem whose solution is not simple and that will not be solved overnight. In Xataka | Demographers have been wondering for centuries when the human population will stop growing. It already has … Read more

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