It
snowed the other night! Soft icy flakes falling from the sky. Coming from the Philippines, it's always a treat to see a snowfall. :) It started at around late afternoon and continued through the night, but there wasn't enough snow to turn the place white like way back in 2005 (the last time I saw snow). Instead, it just left patches of white on roofs, backyards, and hills. It was nonetheless a welcome sight. I remember walking in the night, "through" the snow, under my umbrella, and imagining myself just adrift the luminous fluff. >) The thought made me smile.
Today, I learned the Japanese government is giving out
12,000 yen to each person here in Japan as part of its
economic stimulus package. Registered foreigners (like me!) also gets the treat. 12,000 Yen is admittedly not really that much, and I initially thought it was such a huge waste to just disburse money to people. Then, after some thinking, I realized it
is probably a good way of injecting money into the market. Most people would think it's better if the government directly injected the money into several industries. That would probably work -
if the government knew which industries truly benefited most people, that is. So they're putting the money into people's hands and letting them decide. I'd guess it's a way of letting the free market economy work. :)
Now, I just hope people spend them wisely (or at least just
spend them and let the money circulate!). After all, if, say, each person on average spends 50% of the handout money on beer and karaoke, it would be as if the government just injected 50% of the investment directly into the beer and karaoke industry! (Goodness! But I'm guessing that's not so far-fetched.) :P So will the "economic stimulus" work? The world will know soon enough. As for me, I'm thinking of a new pair of
Panasonic earphones (I just got one this week, but I want those orange ones too), a couple more
books and/or figurines, and one or two bowls of
quality ramen. :D
Btw, I think it was a neat idea to give more money (20,000 yen) to those under 18 and greater than 65. I think that's definitely more efficient than having people declare dependents - it's after all easier to verify heads than to double check duplicate declarations. And as an added bonus, the children will claim the money is theirs and they should be entitled to spend them (further ensuring that the money gets circulated). Hehehe. Nice. :)
I discovered Ichiban Kuji (一番くじ) when I saw their C.C. figurine displayed in a Sunkus convenience store a couple of months back. I asked the store attendant how much the figurine costs, but he told me it's not for sale (at least, not directly). Ichiban Kuji's system is that you first purchase a stub (which you can find placed on the display rack). The cashier will then ask you to draw a card from a box. You then remove the upper tear-off layer of the card. This will reveal a letter that corresponds to the product you will receive. The products are original. Suffice to say, you will always get a product - no "better luck next time" cards. But as always, your goal is to get an "A" or "B" card since those are the coolest and grandest ones, while the trailing letters vary (greatly) in quality and like-ability. The stub normally costs 500yen. For the Code Geass "premium" product line (link), it was 800yen per stub.
I bought 2 stubs that day, and got myself a pair of mugs with cool Code Geass prints, and a Guren Knightmare nendoroid figure. I'm quite happy with what I got, but not as much as if I got the C.C. figurine! Unfortunately, the figurine had already been "won" the next time I went back to that Sunkus store. I searched all over town for another convenience store that carried the product (only selected stores have them) but never found one with C.C. still there. :(
