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November 26, 2024
 

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Philip Brasor
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Feb 9, 2015
Retiring boomers make their last stand on the real estate market
An increasing number of retirees are opting for high-rise living in their twilight years.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 7, 2015
A changing Japan needs to rethink how to safeguard children
On Christmas Day last year, a 17-year-old boy was sent to prison by the Saitama District Court for the murder of his maternal grandparents. Prosecutors demanded an indefinite sentence, but the court gave him 15 years after taking the boy's "environment" into consideration.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Feb 6, 2015
Renting comes with guarantors, not guarantees
According to the most recent census, as of 2010 the population of Japan stood at a little less than 128 million, and if demographic trends continue at the current rate it will be 107 million in 2030 and 97 million in 2050. Despite this projected decline, 369,993 new rental units were built in Japan last...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Feb 2, 2015
Hair-care industry has anxious consumers coming and going
An underground health movement says over-shampooing leads to hair loss.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 31, 2015
Goverment's pension manga displays some pretty old values
On Jan. 12, people who will turn 20 this year attended ceremonies marking Coming-of-Age Day at auditoriums run by local governments. Some wore outrageous getups as final statements of youthful folly before "entering society" and some exercised their entitlement by getting drunk and acting out, but most...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jan 26, 2015
Where's the milk? School lunches no longer sacred cows
The cost of a school lunch is now higher than the average salaryman's lunch.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 24, 2015
Mika Mifune gets ready for some serious 'me' time
Historian Daniel J. Boorstin once defined a celebrity as someone who is "known for his well-knownness" — a person famous for being famous. Though many celebrities have talent and other attributes that draw attention, it is easier to gain notoriety passively by being related to someone who already has...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jan 19, 2015
More convenience stores adopting restaurant functions, and vice versa
Consumers are adopting a more casual attitude toward eating out.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 17, 2015
Snark levels were on full blast for 'Kohaku'
The 2014 edition of NHK's venerated song contest, "Kohaku Uta Gassen," broadcast on Dec. 31, was remarkable for several reasons, though the performance that generated the most remarks was the one by the equally venerated pop-rock group Southern All Stars, their first on the show in 31 years.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jan 13, 2015
Cheap smokes finally going up in price
Until the tobacco prices went up in 2010, third-class cigarette sales were very low.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 10, 2015
Dull and authentic beats out polished TV
Another New Year's break, another two-week onslaught of inconsequential television programs based on the variety show model of comedians talking about themselves, watching videos of other people doing supposedly interesting things and playing games whose main entertainment function is humiliation. The...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jan 5, 2015
Show me the money: Who paid for what in the Lower House election
The government spent u00a563 billion on the recent Lower House election
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 3, 2015
The highlights of Japanese media in 2014
My choices for the most significant public phenomena of last year are associated with traditional media rather than the social kind, which isn't to say these phenomena didn't impact social media and vice versa, only that TV, newspapers and magazines still affect our perception of the world.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Jan 2, 2015
Property borders: Where to draw the line
Some years ago we lived in western Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, in a neighborhood that clung to the contours of a hilly terrain. Many of the streets were just dirt and gravel, even though the area was fully developed. Neighbors told us that they had been trying to get the local government to pave these...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Dec 29, 2014
Consumer stimulus is not the same as welfare, though the purpose is the same
There may still be time to apply for the government's one-time welfare handout.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 27, 2014
Abe isn't impressed with media criticism
The most talked-about media moment from the Lower House election on Dec. 14 was the victory interview Prime Minister Shinzo Abe gave to Nippon TV.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Dec 22, 2014
Annals of cheap: Narita express buses
Narita Airport is still inconvenient for Tokyoites, but now getting there is less expensive.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 20, 2014
Weeklies walk a fine line in scandal reporting
In her regular column in the Dec. 11 issue of Shukan Bunshun, novelist Mariko Hayashi blasted the weekly magazines, including Bunshun, for failing to follow up on a scandal that, under normal circumstances, should have been right up their alley. The daughter of the late Osaka-based singer and TV host,...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Dec 15, 2014
Deflation Watch: bean sprouts
Bean sprout producers are demanding retailers pay higher prices than the retailers are willing to pay.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 13, 2014
Fight or flight: Narita's history of conflict
The recent increase in international flights in and out of Haneda Airport has clearly pleased Tokyo residents, who, since the late 1970s, have had to trek out to Narita International Airport in Chiba Prefecture when they wanted to go overseas.
Taiwan stuns Samurai Japan to capture Premier12 title
Japan starter Shosei Togo reacts after allowing a three-run home run against Taiwan in the fifth inning of the Premier12 final on Sunday.
Japan and U.S. to form missile plan in case of Taiwan emergency
A U.S. Marine Corps M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and a Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force Type 12 Surface-to-Ship Missile (12SSM) system are put on display at a symposium at a base in Kisarazu, Japan, in June 2022.
Preparations for Osaka Expo well underway amid lack of excitement
The Grand Ring, a symbol of the 2025 World Exposition in Osaka
Ishiba shelves proposal for liaison offices with North Korea amid rising tensions
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks on Saturday in Tokyo at a rally that was held by a group of families of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea decades ago to demand the immediate return of all abductees.
'Kohaku' still matters for J-pop bragging rights
Emerging Gen Z J-pop group ME:I will perform on this year's "Kohaku Uta Gassen," national broadcaster NHK’s New Year's Eve spectacle.
How Japan can exit the fossil fuel subsidies it can’t seem to quit
A man walks past a gasoline station in Tokyo on Thursday.
An iconic 32-foot doughnut might give Randy’s an edge in Japan
Randy's Donuts in Inglewood, California. Replicas of the giant doughnut sculpture will be installed, where possible, at shops in Japan.
Tokyo’s newest three-star chef wants ‘harmony across every detail’
British-born Daniel Calvert earned his third Michelin star last month — a stunning achievement considering his restaurant, Sezanne, has only been open for just over three years.
133-year-old Kyushu railway station remains to be partially preserved
The remains of the original Moji Station in Kitakyushu
After Shohei Ohtani bump, Iwate ironware maker sees brighter future
Kaito Kikuchi's decision to send superstar Shohei Ohtani one of his company's traditional ironware tea kettles has paid off with a surge of interest from general consumers.

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