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July 17, 2024
 

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Philip Brasor
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jul 27, 2014
A modest proposal for alleviating the endangerment of Japanese eels
In Japan, most eel is consumed on one day of the year.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 26, 2014
Art vs. morals debate plays out in the press
In her semiautobiographical feature film "Who's Afraid of Vagina Wolf?," Anna Margarita Albelo plays a struggling film director who makes ends meet by screening her movies in art galleries where she shows up dressed as a vagina. Though the story is mainly about relationships, the prominence of the female...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jul 20, 2014
Japanese franchises cut loose by overseas brands after serving their purpose
Japanese companies are good at promoting overseas brands for the Japanese market.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 19, 2014
The murky call on a hardball interview with Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga
The tabloid press plays fast and loose with the truth, so anyone who gobbled up last week's NHK story in the weekly Friday should have added a dash of salt. An unnamed employee told Friday that the prime minister's office demanded the public broadcaster apologize for questions asked in its interview...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jul 14, 2014
Will rice cookers save the Japanese home electronics industry?
The Chinese have discovered Japanese rice, and it could be a big deal.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 12, 2014
Health care system needs a new diagnosis
In March 2007, the city of Yubari in Hokkaido became the first Japanese municipality to declare bankruptcy, letting loose a flood of media coverage characterized by expressions of sympathy for residents. Yubari's debt had reached ¥63 billion, the result, according to national press reports, of an inept,...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jul 7, 2014
What the government doesn't pay in pensions it will have to make up for with welfare
People are facing a widening gap between retirement age and the age they are eligible for pensions.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 5, 2014
Fiery Shinjuku protest goes global without NHK
Until the Great East Japan Earthquake, social media didn't have much purchase on Japanese social life. But disasters are transformative, and in a country where the mass media is cautious about its role vis-a-vis the authorities, social media came into its own after the tsunami and meltdown.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Jul 4, 2014
When should we make noise about loud neighbors?
In August 1974, a 46-year-old man living on the fourth floor of a public apartment building in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, forced his way into the unit below him and killed two little girls and their mother. After attempting suicide he was arrested, and he told police he had been driven to murder...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jun 30, 2014
Japan tourism still suffers from a credit card gap
Tourists want two things: to be able to use their smart phones and their credit cards in Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 28, 2014
Sexist remarks seen through a clouded lens
It's assumed that the heckling of Tokyo assembly member Ayaka Shiomura by some of her male colleagues on June 18 became a major news story in Japan only after the foreign press picked it up as an example of intractable Japanese sexism. The situation is more nuanced than how Western media described it,...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 21, 2014
Any publicity is good news for beer firms
At a Tokyo news conference on June 4, Sapporo Beer President Masaki Oga announced his company would halt sales of its Goku Zero alcoholic beverage after current inventory was shipped. The parent company, Sapporo Holdings, had been contacted by the National Tax Agency in January regarding the manufacturing...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jun 21, 2014
Does an increase in summer bonuses mean a healthier economy?
Average bonus amounts are going up this summer, but the number of bonuses are going down.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 14, 2014
The thrill of the job won't pay the rent
"If your work isn't what you love, then something isn't right." — Talking Heads
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jun 13, 2014
Won't get fooled again? Fans and their money are soon parted
Some pop fans are more devoted, and more naive, than others
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jun 8, 2014
The new National Stadium will have to rock you
The burgeoning concert business could make the new Olympic Stadium feasible.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 7, 2014
Media minds manners in royal reportage
As much as we all love them, the Imperial family doesn't make for exciting reading. Last week, the European press was beside itself with news of the abdication of Spain's King Juan Carlos, who has been hit by several public support-sapping scandals in recent years. The only thing comparable here was...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Jun 2, 2014
Generation gaps filled by brick and mortar
Though their numbers have dwindled in the developed world over the past century, multi-generation households are still common, and in fact may become even more common in countries where income gaps are increasing. In Japan, multi-generation households have social relevance owing to cultural norms, the...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 31, 2014
AKB48's business model is likely to survive media attacks
The universe shifted on the afternoon of Sunday, May 25, when a young, unemployed man attacked two members of the all-female idol collective AKB48 and a male security staffer with a folding saw during a fan event in the city of Takizawa, Iwate Prefecture. Or, at least, that's how the media reacted. Some...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
May 31, 2014
Diamonds are suddenly everybody's best friend
Dealers are flocking to Japan to buy up all those gems 'sleeping' in people's dresser drawers.
Who needs AI when you have Hatsune Miku?
Over the first six months of 2024, a handful of songs using Vocaloid singer Hatsune Miku’s voice have enjoyed widespread attention, underlining a global interest in the character and the technology she represents.
Yen’s woes seem too big for even a BOJ hike this month to solve
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
China’s economic growth comes in worse than expected
Pedestrians in the Wangfujing shopping area in Beijing on July 11, 2024. China's economic growth in the second quarter was lower than forecast, adding pressure on Chinese leaders to lift confidence at the Chinese Communist Party's third plenum this week.
Kansai airports to increase takeoff and landing slots ahead of Osaka Expo
Kansai International Airport in Izumisano, Osaka Prefecture. The upper limit on the number of takeoff and landing slots at the airport as well as Kobe Airport in Hyogo Prefecture will be raised in spring next year ahead of the 2025 World Exposition in Osaka.
Shooter came within inches of killing Trump, but left few clues as to why
An aerial view shows the stage where Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump had been standing during an assassination attempt the day before, and the roof of a nearby building where a gunman was shot dead by law enforcement, in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Sunday.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
After Trump shooting, U.S. presidential race might take a violent turn
United States Secret Service Counter Snipers stand guard on a rooftop during a campaign rally for U.S. President Donald Trump in Avoca, Pennsylvania, in 2020.
No AC this summer? No problem (for me).
Think air conditioning is a requirement for a Tokyo summer? Think again.
She’s paying ¥1 million to help behind the scenes at the Paris Olympics
Mai Tarumi, who previously volunteered at the postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, has a travel budget of ¥1 million for her trip to volunteer at the Paris Games.

Podcast

You can often see generations of families enjoying performances together at Fuji Rock Festival.
Japan’s summer music festivals are feeling the heat in more ways than one

Longform

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
By Tomoko Otake

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