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July 17, 2024
 

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Philip Brasor
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Aug 2, 2013
Pity the driver: Cabbie salaries much lower than average
Deregulation and the recession have chipped away at taxi driver pay over the years.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 27, 2013
NHK drama dives into the 'idea' of idols in rural Japan
When it was announced last year that entertainment Renaissance man Kankuro Kudo would write the script for NHK's spring-summer 2013 "TV novel," a few people probably wondered how the iconoclastic writer-director-actor would respond to the broadcaster's narrative strictures. In a recent interview with...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jul 25, 2013
Blood pressure medication huge cash cow
Earlier this month Kyoto University revealed that a study one of its researchers carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of the drug Diovan, which lower blood pressure, was probably "erroneous." Though the university did not say the drug itself was ineffective, it did admit that the data of "those...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jul 22, 2013
Golf courses adjust to harsher economics and changing demographics
Golfers in Japan are getting older, with no one to replace them when they're gone.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 20, 2013
Ando's joy brings up an old taboo
The morning after TV Asahi's evening news show "Hodo Station" ran an interview with figure skater Miki Ando on July 1, the media was buzzing over the revelation that Ando had given birth in April. The baby was not the ostensible reason for the interview, which focused on her athletic activities, and...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jul 16, 2013
Retailers and restaurants get slippery with unagi prices
Eel is becoming scarce in the wild, but supermarkets are still trying to keep unagi prices down.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 13, 2013
Democracy hits the Web, but are the 'real' voters listening?
The Wall Street Journal posted an interesting article on its Japan Real Time blog regarding the Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP's) beef with broadcaster TBS, whom it accused of bias against the ruling party on its "News 11" program.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jul 13, 2013
Water issues around Asia; the world of solo karaoke; CM of the Week: Recruit
Monday is Marine Day, a national holiday, and as has been its tradition for a decade, Nippon TV will air a 90-minute afternoon special about sustainability hosted by Osaka-based announcer Seiji Miyane. "Nippon no Shoku no Mirai" ("The Future of Food in Japan," 2:55 p.m.) attempts to project the future...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jul 12, 2013
Summer travel biz shows signs of recovery
Thanks to UNESCO, the domestic travel industry is on the mend.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jul 8, 2013
Kanebo recall illustrates built-in resilience of cosmetics industry
Compared to what it made on whitening skin-care products, Kanebo's recall will cost very little.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 6, 2013
Sins of the father are Rola's burden
Two weeks ago one of the big stories in the tabloid press was on Jurip Al-Asa, the father of popular TV personality Rola. He was in the news because the Tokyo Metropolitan Police had issued a warrant for his arrest on charges of swindling. Allegedly, Jurip, a Bangladesh national, conspired with a compatriot...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jul 6, 2013
Koizumi Jr. lands a mystery; Yuji Oda is a happy "loser"; CM of the Week: Xylish
Kotaro Koizumi, the son of former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi, plays against type in the new mystery series "Namonaki Doku" ("Unnamed Poison"; TBS, Mon., 8 p.m.), based on a story by Miyuki Miyabe.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Jul 2, 2013
Moved by the benefits of mobile-home housing
The model house sat on an empty patch of brown land along a commercial stretch of road in southern Ibaraki Prefecture. Few people would have identified it as a model house. It had a forlorn, out-of-place look to it. Technically, it was a mobile home — "trailer house," in Japanese parlance —...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jul 1, 2013
Deflation watch: Kabocha
Domestically grown Japanese pumpkin is now almost as cheap as the imported kind.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 30, 2013
The media needs to open discussion on GMO issue
More than two years on from the disaster of March 11, 2011, debate continues in the mainstream and social media about the uses of fear to advance agendas. Much of the debate is centered on the environmental crisis surrounding the crippled Fukushima nuclear reactor. On one side are people who say that...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jun 24, 2013
In Tokyo, all garbage is not created equal
Charging for garbage collection forces the issue of environmental awareness.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 23, 2013
NHK discusses gender with a fresh openness
Two weeks ago, the nightly series "Heart Net TV," which is broadcast on NHK's educational channel, repeated a program about a 35-year-old Japanese man who married a 70-year-old Dutch man in the Netherlands. The series dedicates several programs a month to sexual minorities, and there was a sidelight...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jun 19, 2013
With refrigerators, bigger is better in more ways than you think
Smaller is not cheaper when it comes to refrigerators.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 16, 2013
Miura oldest to climb Everest but some facts overlooked
The government has just established a new public award named after alpinist-skier Yuichiro Miura for "adventurers who challenge themselves to the limit of human potential." Originally the recipients of the prize, whom Miura will select himself, were going to be seniors, but at its namesake's insistence...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jun 13, 2013
Insurance companies main beneficiaries of scheme to protect obstetricians from malpractice suits
Some mothers claim they are overpaying for insurance to protect obstetricians from malpractice suits.
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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