yacoob
This one is a tough one to judge. Sure, Japan's condition is rather bleak but I don't think it's this dire.
After flipping through first three chapters I was rather depressed. I knew about Japan's bureaucracy problems, but never thought them to be so severe. Around middle of the book, I found a factual error. At the end of the book, I've discovered why the picture seems so bad - most of the sources for Kerr were other concerned citizens. This moves this book from a document to “collaborative angry rant” shelf.At the same time, some of the concerns were genuine and most likely indicative of long standing problems, that cannot be fixed easily. The “education” bit was especially sad and worrying - and, as far as I can see, mostly true. I'd recommend this book to anyone who's interested in Japan - although take it with a decent amount of salt, and verify those stories on your own. Also, bear in mind that this book has been written >10 years ago. “Unlike other new systems, which are truly wireless and satellite-linked, PHS sends signals to small relay boxes”. I'm not quite sure what was Kerr's reference point for “other new systems” but most popular mobile networks today are NOT satellite based, and still require on-ground receivers. Perhaps this was about cell size - PHS' cells are smaller than GSM's, but not enough to be a factor in urban areas.
This one is a tough one to judge. Sure, Japan's condition is rather bleak but I don't think it's this dire.
After flipping through first three chapters I was rather depressed. I knew about Japan's bureaucracy problems, but never thought them to be so severe. Around middle of the book, I found a factual error. At the end of the book, I've discovered why the picture seems so bad - most of the sources for Kerr were other concerned citizens. This moves this book from a document to “collaborative angry rant” shelf.At the same time, some of the concerns were genuine and most likely indicative of long standing problems, that cannot be fixed easily. The “education” bit was especially sad and worrying - and, as far as I can see, mostly true. I'd recommend this book to anyone who's interested in Japan - although take it with a decent amount of salt, and verify those stories on your own. Also, bear in mind that this book has been written >10 years ago. “Unlike other new systems, which are truly wireless and satellite-linked, PHS sends signals to small relay boxes”. I'm not quite sure what was Kerr's reference point for “other new systems” but most popular mobile networks today are NOT satellite based, and still require on-ground receivers. Perhaps this was about cell size - PHS' cells are smaller than GSM's, but not enough to be a factor in urban areas.