Q/A and advice for 2012/Future VCE Japanese Students

[jibba]

@FAyres

Yea, you should try have a solution to each problem you have identified.
The examiners could ask you about any of the them, so it's always better to be prepared

[sonnypls]

This response is a year late but Monash Japanese levels 11 & 12 isn't very hard, it's actually just time-consuming. You don't need to have a strong grasp of Japanese. Trust me it's a lot easier than Japanese 9 & 10. The exam for level 12 was such a breeze, you can complete it using an electronic dictionary so it's all good!

[FAyres]

I've been wanting to know this for a while, but why is Japan such a safe country? I saw some statistics that said it's one of the safest places in the world, so I'm interested to know why that is the case.

[FAyres]

I don't mean "why" as in, because people don't steal and there aren't many robberies and things. But I'd like to know why not many people steal etc. - along that line of things.

[Fyrefly]

I don't mean "why" as in, because people don't steal and there aren't many robberies and things. But I'd like to know why not many people steal etc. - along that line of things.

I've attached a scholarly article on the issue that I hope addresses your question, but there isn't really a simple answer.

[jibba]

Great article Fyrefly! Thanks for the share

@FAyres To answer your question, I think one of the main reasons would be the societal factor, where people in Japanese society just know it's wrong to steal. Also their cultural trait in showing respect to each other might also be a factor.
I've heard things like Japanese cars not having locks in the past and locks only being installed to export overseas to cater for foreigners.
Also Japanese houses are often left unlocked, or don't have locks at all. (Just hearsay which I've heard, but you might be able to find sources for these)

I think you will find a lot more answers in the article Fyfefly has linked Good luck for your detailed study!

[FAyres]

Hello again!

I was just wondering if anyone could give their opinion on why it is that Japan has all these really interesting vending machines (even though not as common as beverage/snack vending machines though obviously) such as umbrella ones and even underwear ones, but Australia doesn't.

(My Oral exam is the first day back term 4 which is 10 days! Very stressful  )

Thanks.

[Fyrefly]

Hello again!

I was just wondering if anyone could give their opinion on why it is that Japan has all these really interesting vending machines (even though not as common as beverage/snack vending machines though obviously) such as umbrella ones and even underwear ones, but Australia doesn't.

(My Oral exam is the first day back term 4 which is 10 days! Very stressful  )

Thanks.

(Disclaimer: Sorry, I'm an accountant.)

Economic benefit of a vending machine exceeds its opportunity cost.

Cost of vending machine is low: electricity, initial purchase of machine, maintenance.
** Unlike Australia, vandalism is very rare in Japan, so maintenance of machines is cheap.

Relative to costs, the benefits of vending machine are high: 24/7 source of income, don't have to pay staff wages because it's automated.

At the end of the day, a vending machine only takes up about one square metre of space. There aren't many other things you could use that space for that have a better income producing capacity. Because of this, there are a huge number of vending machines in Japan.

As for the variety, Japanese vending machine owners try to think of ways to differentiate their vending machine from all the others to increase profit. There are so many vending machines in Japan that they can often be seen lined up one next to the other. If there are 25 drink vending machines along a street but only one ice cream vending machine, then the ice cream one will probably get more business than any individual drink machine.

TL;DR: The 'interesting' vending machines are the result of product differentiation, because there are so many vending machines in Japan. Vending machine owners are trying to get people to buy specifically from their vending machine by offering a product the other nearby vending machines don't have.

[jibba]

@FAyres
I agree with a lot of what Fyfefly says, they are great from an economic view. 

Why Australia doesn't have such machines, I think that is due to factors as such as the higher crime rate in Australia.
Selling more expensive items in vending machines would be less practical in Australia. If you need to have a surveillance camera over every vending machine or have the vending machine set up indoors, you may as well sell the item in a store. The lower crime rate in Japan helps this so that's why vending machines are always found outside in Japan (as opposed to inside shopping centres)

Umbrellas are pretty cheap though, I'm not sure why we don't have any umbrella vending machines. I think maybe because you can find them in almost any supermarket, $2 shop, convenience store anyway.
Potentially, you could say that Australians trust vending machine less than the Japanese, so they would rather buy an umbrella in person than have to deal with a broken vending machine that has eaten their money. Might be something to do with the differences in society in relation to technology.

I have seen some vending machines around in Australia selling clothes, or the one selling bike parts in MC.
The number of them is very low though.

To answer your question I think the crime rate would be the main reason.

[acciodraco]

Hello!

I have a few questions about the oral exam.

1. If I start a sentence but then want to start again, what's the easiest way to apologise and restart?
2. What is the best phrase to say "As I said before.."
3. Is it okay to smile and be really happy (because I do better when I'm giddy and semi-hyper lol ;___; )

Thank you!

[jibba]

1. Just say すみません and restart
2. You can say 先ほども言ったかもしれませんが。。。(then go onto your phrase)
3. Go for it! it helps you relax and it helps the examiners as well if they are talking with someone who's not super nervous.
 

[acciodraco]

@jibba

Thanks for the quick response!

[josiephin]

Hello!
I'm currently doing japanese, and my oral exam is in two days (this tuesday - eep!)
I'm feeling very unprepared, especially since, because my folio from media didn't go to plan, I've been a bit more stressed than usual, and that's gone over into japanese. because, for example, for our oral SAC, since it was amidst all the troubles with my media folio, when my teacher asked me a question in it, I completely blanked, and that caused me to get seriously stressed in the middle, and it was silent for about 30 seconds (well it felt like 30 seconds, but i'm not sure). my results were okay, but yeah. my teacher hasn't been that helpful with this, so I was wondering for some help.

1. if I reacted to something they asked like that (completely blanking), even after saying　もう一どう言って下さい、would it be best to say ごめん、分かりません / しつもんがちょっと分からないんです。and hope they ask something else that I do understand?
2. how long is too long a pause in a sentence (even with あいづち), and how many times is too many times to keep using　すみません、もう一ど始めます。 etc
3. if I need to relax myself in the exam (like breathing slowly) is that okay? like breathing slowly while saying あいづち or rephrasing the question.
4. also, i'm very a very strong italian background, and I tend to use my hands when I'm talking a lot, and I know that's a big no-no in formal japanese situations. I've been practicing holding my hands together on my lap, and making sure they don't move. if I do happen to use my hands (only for a little bit though) would that affect my score or not?

I know these questions are a bit weird, but I would be grateful for any kind of response

[jibba]

1. If you cannot understand the second time, I think a better way to move on is to identify the word/phrase which you can't understand.
ie: すみませんが、「[insert word/phrase]」のいみが分かりません。分かりやすくせつめいしていただけませんか。OR かんたんにせつめいして下さい。
That way the examiners will understand what the problem is as well.
2. Depends on the question, but think about how English conversations with your friends. How long a pause becomes too long, unnatural and awkward. I think instead of saying もう一ど始めます, just saying すみません is more natural. Probably you can say すみません 2-3 times in a row before it starts reflecting badly. [I think I said it a few times in my oral when I messed up]
3. I don't see any problem with that. It's better to try relax yourself than be super nervous throughout your oral.
4. I don't think hand gestures will affect your scoring, but I guess that would depend on the individual examiner. You usually have a foreign and native examiner. If you think using hand gestures will help communicate what you are saying, I don't see a problem with it. [Sorry, can't really answer this one as I'm not an examiner]

Good Luck!

[josiephin]

@jibba

thank you for the fast response!!