Big in Japan: Notable quotables from Japan’s next prime minister

by Matthew Firestone on

Think that the politicians in your country make ridiculous statements?

The tabloids here in Japan are buzzing this week following the latest verbal gaffe by Taro Aso, the Secretary-General of the ruling party. Believed by many to be Japan’s next Prime Minster, Mr. Aso recently offended pretty much everybody by likening the main opposition party to a bunch of Nazis.

During talks with the opposition, an MP stated that the Japanese electorate was shifting its support away from the governing party. Apparently, this impending reality was a bit much for Mr. Aso to handle, who replied by saying that when people move away from the party of the government, regimes like the Nazis come to power.

Wow.

Needless to say, people aren’t very impressed at the moment with Mr. Aso, though it’s likely that this little scandal will blow over in good time. After all, this isn’t exactly the first ridiculous public statement made by the future Japanese Prime Minister.

What else has the colorful Mr. Aso said over the years?

Today’s somewhat politically leaning blog presents a concise little list of notable quotables.

Taro Aso (麻生太郎), the Secretary General of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party, is quite the character. An academic by training who holds degrees from both Stanford and the London School of Economics, Mr. Aso has held a number of controversial jobs over the years. He once ran a diamond mining operation in Sierra Leone before the civil war forced him to flee, as well as a Japanese cement company that allegedly indulged in forced labor during WWII.

With that said, perhaps the following comments aren’t that shocking given his illustrious background.

– While serving as economics minister, Mr. Aso was quoted as saying he wanted to make Japan a country where “rich Jews” would like to live.

– Mr. Aso once praised Japan for having “one nation, one civilization, one language, one culture and one race.”

– When asked once about compulsory Japanese language education during the colonization of Taiwan, Mr. Aso declared “our predecessors did a good thing.”

– When describing China, Mr. Aso was quick to declare that the country was “a neighbor with one billion people equipped with nuclear bombs that has expanded its military outlays by double digits for 17 years in a row. It is beginning to be a considerable threat.”

– When referring to a Japanese peace initiative on the Middle East, Mr. Aso proudly stated the following: “The Japanese are trusted because they have yellow faces and slanted eyes, and have never been involved in exploitation there, or been involved in fights or fired machine guns. Japan is doing what the Americans can’t do. It would probably be no good to have blue eyes and blond hair.”

Eek.

Well, I guess there is good reason why most Japanese people are happy to remain apathetic about their country’s politics. With election fever sweeping across the States, perhaps both sides of the American divide have reason enough to be confident in their candidates.

** All images courtesy of the WikiCommons Media Project **

Talking travel with an insider of the personal jet industry

by Jerry Guo on

Bob Knebel is vice president of sales for Flexjet, a subsidiary of the jet-maker Bombardier which sells shares of private jets to frequent fliers. This is a relatively new trend in the marketplace. He’s here to give a glimpse into what actually goes on in the world of ultra jet-setters.

For owners of private jets, is the airport process totally different from what we commoners have to bear? Can you go straight onto the tarmac and lift off?

First, and foremost, it is important to know that security at general aviation airports is taken as seriously as it is at the larger commercial airports … and always has been. That said, a passenger will go through a brief identification/security screening process by the Fixed Base Operator (the base of operations for business jets transiting through this airport), and then again with the crew flying your aircraft. The entire process is personal, and much quicker than that at a commercial airport. And, yes, depending on the particular airport policies, in many instances you may drive your car on to the ramp, making the job of loading your luggage directly on to your aircraft just that much easier.

I’ve seen quite a bit of advertising for private jet vacations. Is this something you’re seeing–hop-scotch trips through Eastern Europe or South Asia by jet, for instance?

Flexjet recently launched a new advertising campaign and through our research we found most of our customers use their private jet primarily as a business tool and not so much a glamorous perk. It’s an investment in productivity and their most valuable asset: time. Certainly some will use their private jet to accomplish a special vacation trip that would not otherwise be possible within their time constraints, or through areas which might offer less-than-reliable commercial travel options.

Tell us a bit about the Flexjet 25 program. Does this make private jet travel accessible to previous first-class travelers? For what kind of crowd has fractional jet ownership become affordable?

Flexjet 25 jet cards offer the highest form of pain relief for travelers who have spent countless hours waiting at the airport for delayed or canceled flights. They give travelers a way to sample private aviation without assuming ownership of a plane, and offer an excellent opportunity for those interested in fractional ownership as a way to test out private aviation without the commitment. (Although, I must say, after flying private few go back to commercial travel.)

Additionally, what is unique about the Flexjet 25 Jet Card program is that it allows customers to purchase flying hours in 25-, 30- and 35-hour increments in our Bombardier Learjet 40 XR, Learjet 45 XR, Learjet 60 XR, Challenger 300 or Challenger 604 aircraft. Here are some additional key benefits:

If you could “borrow” one of the Flexjet jets, what would be your ideal around-the-world itinerary?

I would travel to the world’s most difficult to reach destinations, places which offer unique learning experiences and opportunities to create life-long memories for my family.

Do Flexjet jets come with a service staff? Do fliers still have to go through those annoying safety demonstrations? Are the flight attendants at least prettier?

All of our flight crews are selected not only for their excellent experience and strict adherence to safe operating procedures, but also for their “servant’s heart”. Our largest aircraft, the Challenger 605, includes a flight attendant as a full-time member of the crew. They are the most professional, in terms of both appearance and demeanor, in the sky. Safety demonstrations are required by the Federal Aviation Administration, and we do our best to make sure they are brief, and delivered in a respectful manner.

What are the three emerging markets you’re seeing for luxury travel?

  • Entrepreneurs who have recently sold their company.
  • Highly compensated executives who no longer have access to the corporate fleet for their personal travel.
  • Business owners looking for a safe and reliable means for creating more time with family.

For the uninitiated, would you go over the different models you guys offer? Is there a type of flier that goes with each jet?

Bombardier Aerospace, the world leader in business aviation, designs, manufactures, maintains and operates every aircraft in the Flexjet fleet including the Bombardier Learjet 40 XR, Learjet 45 XR, Learjet 60 XR; and long-range Bombardier Challenger 300 and Challenger 604 and 605 jets.

How much is the growth in private jet ownership? Are our skies going to be absolutely clogged with these air taxis in 10 years?

Despite the current economy, the fractional ownership industry is growing and, according to data from the Federal Aviation Administration, demand for Flexjet’s fractional shares is growing faster than it is for the industry as a whole. In 2003, we had 10% of the total fractional aircraft market and by 2007 that number has grown to 20%. This year Flexjet has experienced growth in revenue and flight hours of more than 15% over last year and we have seen even more significant growth in orders in that period.

As for the potential for the air taxi market clogging the skies, we believe this is not likely. Business aircraft tend to utilize smaller airports, which do not have the saturation problem found at larger commercial airports. In addition, today’s business jets are equipped with sophisticated navigation equipment which enables them to fly more directly to their destinations. And, finally, the air taxi market is still an emerging concept, and the overall acceptance of the concept by potential customers is yet to be proven.

Could you be Southwest Airline’s new Blog-o-spondent?

by Grant Martin on

Are you handy with the camcorder, good at setting up shots and taking quality video? Were you the founding member and president of the A/V club in high school? Do people always think that you’re the center of attention at parties? Then you might be a great candidate for Southwest‘s new Blog-o-spondent position to which they just started recruiting.

Over the past few months, the airline took one of their lucky employees through a whirlwind tour of the company as she video blogged the entire experience. Now, they’re looking for a Southwest fan to hand off the reins. The lucky person will be assigned a year’s worth of excitement as he or she jetsets around the country, video blogging on the entire airline, experience and any excitement that’s going on in the Southwest community.

Obviously the airline is going to pick someone that’s quirky, loves flying and is great on video, so try to emulate those traits if you don’t have them and put together a one minute video application.

Think you’ve got what it takes? Take a look at the trailer and head over to Nuts About Southwest for details on the contest.

Put those breasts away: Woman asked to cover up while breastfeeding during flight

by Anna Brones on

Successfully hydrating on airplanes has recently become difficult; as an adult you can no longer bring beverages aboard. And apparently even babies have the same problem, or at least it seems so after an incident concerning a mother breast-feeding her child last week on WestJet.

The Vancouver woman says that she was asked to cover up while breast-feeding during a recent flight, and that the incident has led her to consider filing a human rights complaint. After “discreetly” lifting her shirt to breastfeed her son, a flight attendant offered the woman a blanket to cover up. She declined twice, but the flight attendant insisted
“She said that some men find the sight of a bare breast quite offensive,” said Ms. Tarbuck. According to the report, she wasn’t even bothering the people around her; the only other people in the row were her husband and two children.

Despite what your beliefs are on breastfeeding, let me just put it this way: traveling with children is difficult, maybe we should cut these mothers some slack. Do you really want to be enduring the sounds of a hungry, crying baby during the duration of your flight???

Check out these other strange tales from the sky:


Photo of the Day (08.10.08)

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Here’s a destination you don’t see too often. Flickr user Phojo11 captured this cool wall of Alice in Wonderland graffiti while traveling through Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina. It’s heartening to see that tourism is returning to this formerly war-torn region, and also heartening to see that artistic output is thriving again as well.

I especially like the bright colors. The blue wall here almost seems ready to fade into the sky above if it wasn’t for those few green trees poking over the top. Not to mention that fearsome-looking Cheshire Cat right in the middle of the image.

Have you taken any street art photos during your travels? Or perhaps just a beautiful cityscape? Add it to Gadling’s photo pool on Flickr, and it just might end up as our Photo of the Day.