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Masako Tsubuku
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Sep 15, 2012
Fast-food joints hail relaxed rules for U.S. beef, signal end of the world
U.S. beef will be back in a big way come the new year.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Sep 10, 2012
Home centers forcing JA to improve its game for farmers
Home center Komeri has become a potent challenge to JA's farm-sector retail dominance.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Sep 5, 2012
Buy now to beat the consumption tax increase ... or don't
The pros and cons of making big-ticket purchases before the consumption tax increase.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Aug 30, 2012
Package funeral services take the (financial) sting out of dying
Cut-rate funeral services have made dying that much easier.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Aug 24, 2012
Poorer people passing up cancer screenings
The lower your income, the less likely you'll take advantage of your local cancer screening program.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Aug 15, 2012
Vitamin drinks demonstrate their stamina in the market
Stamina drinks are more popular than ever in Japan.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Aug 10, 2012
Summertime blues: no place to go or no money to spend?
Fewer people are getting away this summer, probably because they can't afford it.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Aug 7, 2012
Electronics makers lead the way in killing off lifetime employment system
If you want guaranteed employment for life, don't get a job with a home electronics maker.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Aug 7, 2012
The size of your dog could depend on your landlord
A 53-year-old woman was recently arrested after she moved out of a 50-sq.-meter rental apartment in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, leaving behind 26 dogs. She hadn't paid her rent for some time and went missing in early June. By the time someone entered her apartment on July 3, one of the dogs was...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Aug 3, 2012
Somebody has to pay for cheap beer
Alcohol wholesalers get called on the carpet for dumping beer.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jul 25, 2012
Wag the dog: Pooch tax more than just a source of revenue
A city in Kansai finds its citizens surprisingly receptive to a tax on dogs.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jul 20, 2012
Boomer boom: Businesses tapping consumption where they can find it
Retired people are already single-handedly propping up consumption.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jul 14, 2012
How to keep your health insurance when you can't pay for it
There's help for people who can't pay their national health insurance premiums.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jul 10, 2012
Place your bets: Local governments pray for a jackpot
A lottery win can be a jackpot for the local government where the tickets were sold.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jul 4, 2012
Breaker, breaker: How to conserve energy without thinking too much
There's an easy way to save energy this summer that the utilities don't talk about.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Jul 3, 2012
Dip into the history of the Japanese 'system bath'
Japanese people love their evening bath, but tubs in private residences are a relatively recent development. By 1963, only 60 percent of Japanese homes had them. The small amount of living space necessitated by economic reality, not to mention the paucity of indoor plumbing, couldn't accommodate bathrooms,...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jun 28, 2012
Tattoos are forever, which is why they cost so much to remove
It costs 10 times more to remove a tattoo than it cost to apply it.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jun 22, 2012
Police rewards result in arrests, and some frustration
The system of rewards leading to the arrest of fugitives still has some kinks in it.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jun 18, 2012
Budget airline determined to give passengers their money's worth
Skymark Airlines wants customers to understand what it means to be a 'budget' airline.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jun 15, 2012
Is nursing care insurance making nursing care recipients worse?
As nursing care costs continue to rise, some care items need to be reviewed.

Longform

Sociologist Gracia Liu-Farrer argues that even though immigration doesn't figure into Japan's autobiography, it is more of a self-perception than a reality.
In search of the ‘Japanese dream’