The Japanese Ban Fat People

[burk48237]

The Japanese government has informed it's private companies that they must reduce the amount of fat people (over 33.5" waist) by 10% by 2012. The government is going to do a metabolism test on ALL citizens. Obviously as the deadline gets closer companies will begin firing overweight employees to avoid government fines. For the record this is the Fascism (and I'm not using that word lightly, it IS fascism). Once we let the fascist come for the cigarette smokers we had no excuse. What's next, alcohol prohibition? Sad

The key quote:

Companies will be required to cut the number of overweight workers and dependents by 10 percent as of 2012 and 25 percent by 2015. Failing to do so will result in a surcharge of as much as 10 percent on contributions to a fund for elderly care. Insurance groups paid 6.4 trillion yen into the fund in 2004

.

Think about this, in Japan, companies thru the state will not only have the right to fire you if your overweight. But they have the right to go to your house and check your kids. And fire you if they or your wife is overweight. If that isn't tyranny, then nothing is.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...y.0&refer=home

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/mar/19/japan

[jiant.]

i'd be screwed. on a serious note, this is horrible, i just don't get how **** like this can go on.

[iamlowsound]

Good. Fat people are a burden on the Health Care system and on the Government. I also don't think that smokers should be aloud to have cancer treatment.

lowsoud

[burk48237]

Originally Posted by iamlowsound

Good. Fat people are a burden on the Health Care system and on the Government. I also don't think that smokers should be aloud to have cancer treatment.

lowsoud

Are you consistant, should we ban alcohol sales too?

[Basshole]

Originally Posted by iamlowsound

Good. Fat people are a burden on the Health Care system and on the Government. I also don't think that smokers should be aloud to have cancer treatment.

lowsoud

They should have to be treated quietly.

Your new axe?

[iamlowsound]

Originally Posted by burk48237

Are you consistant, should we ban alcohol sales too?

Sure. The bad outweighs the good.

lowsound

[falstro]

I guess I know where I won't be going on my next vacation.

[jive1]

But what if the folks are just big boned?

[burk48237]

Originally Posted by iamlowsound

Sure. The bad outweighs the good.

lowsound

So what happens when they come for one of your hobbies, loud ear damaging music? Video games? Driving a car faster then 55? Swimming unsupervised in a lake? Drinking Coffee? Their are lots of Bad things that "outweigh the good" especially when you let the government morality police decide. Unfortunately when they come for your "bad thing" their will be no one left to speak up, they'll all be a AA reeducation camps, Smokers prisons, or Fat people concentration camps.

[burk48237]

Originally Posted by jive1

But what if the folks are just big boned?

It's for the common good.

[iamlowsound]

Honestly, it isn't that hard to take care of yourself. Are the Japanese taking it too far? Probably, but at least they are trying to do something about obesity.

lowsound

[Dbassboarder]

I think obese people should have to lose weight, and I don't mean "fat" people, they just perfect in my book, I mean people who become so obese they ride around in wheelchairs because of their obesity. I say this because I currently know a woman who is dieing in a hospital right as we speak simply because of her obesity and the damage it has done to her body.

[jive1]

An interesting thing is the cutoff point that they use for obesity is 33.5" . For a typical person of Japanese genetics, this could be considered overweight, but for someone with a different genetic makeup it would be slim.

[FL Knifemaker]

Maybe they just got tired of injured Gymnastic spotters

[burk48237]

Why do I have a feeling that Summo wrestling will never be the same.

[burk48237]

Originally Posted by jive1

An interesting thing is the cutoff point that they use for obesity is 33.5" . For a typical person of Japanese genetics, this could be considered overweight, but for someone with a different genetic makeup it would be slim.

So the Japanese won't be able to hire ANY American immigrants! DISCRIMINATION-!!

[MakiSupaStar]

For the record, I've been to Japan, and I don't think this is too big a problem for them. There are some chunkers, but not nearly as many as we have here. However, are they going to create an exemption for their national pastime. Sumo.

[Atoz]

These guys are so screwed:

[MakiSupaStar]

Originally Posted by Atoz

These guys are so screwed:

Nice. I beat you to it.

[Marcus]

Originally Posted by burk48237

Think about this, in Japan, companies thru the state will not only have the right to fire you if your overweight. But they have the right to go to your house and check your kids. And fire you if they or your wife is overweight. If that isn't tyranny, then nothing is.

From the article:

A rising rate of corpulence has so alarmed the government that starting next month everyone over age 40 will have to be tested for metabolic syndrome, an obesity-linked condition that increases the risk of heart disease and diabetes.

The new exam is part of a government effort to curb spiraling medical costs. Health-care spending rose 23 percent to 33.1 trillion yen ($320 billion) in the decade ended in 2005, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. It's projected to double by 2020 and represent 11.5 percent of gross domestic product.

I must have missed the part of the article that mentioned checking in on people at home. Not for nothing, but I feel that this is all quite sensationalist. The Japanese government sees a problem and they are trying to address it (by the way, why such old articles? what was the purpose of posting this?)

Aside from that, culturally, Japanese firms have never been too keen on letting employees go, not to mention that loyalty to the firm is paramount to the average salary man.