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July 27, 2024
 

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Ken Joseph Jr.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Sep 8, 2009
Cycling after drink may mean five years in clink
Riding under the influence C.F. in Hiroshima wants to know about the revised law on riding bicycles that went into effect in June 2008. He has heard that police can arrest anyone if they have had a few drinks and are caught riding a bicycle home.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Aug 18, 2009
Tax and driving licenses: The rub is in the residence
Tax and residency status Reader H.K. is wondering whether the granting of permanent residency will result in tax problems.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jul 7, 2009
Accommodation advice and visas
It's good to be able to report some positive experiences regarding finding accommodation in Japan. Here are a couple of letters we received.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jun 9, 2009
Easter answers; credit crunch
The letter published in April about Easter in Japan — or rather the lack of it — provoked quite a response. The general consensus appears to be that Easter is too hard to pin down on the calendar for commercialization. Here are a couple of responses:
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
May 19, 2009
Going clubbing in the capital
New to Tokyo, T.B. is trying to make friends and wants to know if there are any clubs that he can join to meet new people and get involved with the international community.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Apr 21, 2009
Travel by train on a budget
Rail on the cheap In Japan for only a limited time, J.K. is desperate to travel and see as much as possible. But there's a problem. "Cash is pretty limited. Are there any money-saving ways of traveling by train in Japan?"
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Apr 14, 2009
Seeking permanence; ignoring Easter
Easter absence Brenda and family wonder why Easter has been ignored by Japanese commercial interests.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Feb 17, 2009
Dealing with a death abroad
Reader S.B. seeks advice on how to deal with arrangements following the death of a foreign relative in Japan.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Feb 10, 2009
'Neko-cide' prevention; document dealings
'Contemplating neko-cide' writes, "There is a cat next door that in meowing all night causes me to lose sleep, which then hurts my performance at work."
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jan 20, 2009
Lifelines back to the 1900s
With 2009 so far looking bleak, here are some queries from around the world that take us into the past with the hope of finding positive solutions for the present.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jun 10, 2008
Health cover; donating clothes
Reader TJ writes:
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
May 13, 2008
Landlords, support, auto advice
Reader BJ is having trouble communicating with his landlord.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jan 22, 2008
Trouble on two wheels; moving out
Gaijin on a bike! "I have been harassed by the police while riding my bicycle," writes FC. "I happened to get the bike from a friend and it turns out it actually belonged to someone else. The bicycle is very, very old and worthless, but they tracked it down and apparently it was 'stolen.'
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Dec 11, 2007
Shipping, martial arts, health costs
Heading home HB has been teaching English in Aomori Prefecture for over 20 years and is planning to retire in the U.S.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Oct 23, 2007
NHK: To pay or not to pay?
Mrs. P has stopped paying her fees to national broadcaster NHK.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Sep 18, 2007
Plane wrong?
Max Phillips Jr. wrote in after getting a nasty shock from his local travel agency.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jul 24, 2007
Emergency appeal: Operation Niigata
The Japan Emergency Team, a nongovernmental disaster relief group — in its 77th mission since its founding in 1987 — is currently carrying out "Operation Niigata" at sites affected by the 6.8-magnitude quake on June 16.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jul 3, 2007
Going globally mobile
David Goldwasser wrote to Lifelines for advice after being refused a mobile phone on his last trip to Japan.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jun 26, 2007
Cyber-abuse and paying local dues
Reader J wants to know what can be done about harassment by e-mail or regular mail.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jun 12, 2007
Good will hunting; rent fees
Renewal fees revisited Peter Link in Kyoto writes on the subject of renewal fees for renting property. This is the Japanese system whereby a renter can expect to pay a charge of up to three months' rent every two years to the landowner.
Japan's population continues to fall even as foreign resident count rises
The number of residents in Tokyo as of Jan. 1 rose by 0.03% from a year before, data shows, marking a year-on-year increase for the first time in three years, while the country's other 46 prefectures saw their populations continue to decline.
Ahead of the Olympics, Japan is still talking about the gymnast who won't be there
Japan's Shoko Miyata withdrew from the gymnastics team herself over her drinking and smoking, although it had already appeared as though the association was prepared to send her home from the team’s training camp in Monaco.
Japan’s minimum wage set for record ¥50 hike in major boost
Demonstrators rally to demand a big hike in minimum wages in Tokyo last week.
One dead, three missing as heavy rain batters Tohoku
Camera footage shows the Mogami River bursting its banks in Tozawa, Yamagata Prefecture, on Friday morning.
Brazil issues apology for persecuting Japan immigrants during WWII
Enea Almeida (right), chair of the Brazilian amnesty commission, shakes hands with the representative for Japanese immigrants on Thursday in Brasilia.
When did summer in Japan stop being fun?
Summer in Japan is now consistently brutal enough to drive you indoors and keep you there until autumn.
Japan’s minimum wage set for record ¥50 hike in major boost
Demonstrators rally to demand a big hike in minimum wages in Tokyo last week.
Japan loses top spot on strongest passport list to Singapore
Japan had the strongest passport for six years running from 2018, before being dethroned by Singapore on the 2024 list.
Why Japan's mysterious stash of classified funds escapes scrutiny
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi (right) during a meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Japan eyes gold — and the future — as Olympic men's soccer campaign begins
Japan midfielder Yu Hirakawa controls the ball during a match against the United States in Kansas City, Kansas, on June 11.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.
As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

mission sustainability vol.8: Omron Corp.Omron helping firms achieve carbon neutrality
mission sustainability vol.8: Omron Corp.Omron helping firms achieve carbon neutrality

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