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April 08, 2025
 

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Philip Brasor
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Oct 6, 2009
Got JAL miles?
The final fate of JAL aside, frequent flyer customers need to think about what to do with all those miles today.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Oct 4, 2009
The blacklist — excuse me — the database is back
A group of rental guarantee companies move ahead with its plans to create a database of 'good' and 'bad' renters.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 4, 2009
Cheers to women drinking on their own terms
On July 31, an organization called Shufu Rengo, along with a conference of groups that address alcohol-related issues, sent a letter to liquor-industry associations containing a "request" to enforce "self-regulation" of television commercials targeting women.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 2, 2009
Yamagata's doc feast
Launched in 1989 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the incorporation of Yamagata, a city of 250,000 situated in the agricultural heart of Japan's northern Tohoku region, the biannual Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival was established by the late Shinsuke Ogawa, a resident of the city...
CULTURE / Film
Oct 2, 2009
Tokyo offers tasty platter of film
The Sept. 16 press conference for the 22nd Tokyo International Film Festival, which runs Oct. 17-25, was more stimulating than usual.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Oct 1, 2009
Motherhouse: beyond Fair Trade
By cutting out the middlemen, Tokyo-based Motherhouse has found a way to make the Fair Trade system work like it's supposed to.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Sep 27, 2009
Still a plus for Seven-Eleven
Seven-Eleven has followed the lead of the postal office by opening its ATMs up to foreign bank cards. So why haven't convenience stores followed suit?
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 27, 2009
Denied bear necessities of life
About a week ago, while browsing the Internet, I came across a headline at the BBC Web site that made me pause: "Bear injures 9 at bus terminal." The first thought that crossed my mind was, "Why was a bear waiting for a bus?"
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Sep 25, 2009
The Giants give you an excuse to go shopping
Big hurray for the Giants big pennant win! Bigger hurray for the department-store sales!
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Sep 23, 2009
Annals of cheap: QB House
It's very chop-chop at QB House, a chain of successful barber shops where you get a cut, no chit-chat, no shampoo, all in 10 minutes.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Sep 21, 2009
Use it or lose it: Is expired food OK to sell?
Japanese consumers may have become suspicious of food companies, but the bargain prices of food slightly past its sell-by date is hard to resist.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 20, 2009
The forgotten DPJ promise on women's rights
In the weeks since the Democratic Party of Japan secured a majority in the Lower House, the new DPJ members of that institution have apparently been told to keep their mouths shut when they're around the media.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Sep 18, 2009
Silver Week to make up for less than lustrous summer?
The government estimates that the average Japanese household will spend u00a537,000 during Silver Week. Question is, how? On beer alone?
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Sep 17, 2009
Dealing with the disposable
Awn in Higashi Nippori is a 'recycle shop' whose purpose had less to do with recycling or making money than with creating jobs.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Sep 14, 2009
Who pays for parking?
Why people who don't own cars have to subsidize the expensive parking lots used by weekend drivers?
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 13, 2009
ANA looks to sky as JAL hangs head
In a TV commercial aired all last summer, airline passengers are shown relaxing when the pilot comes on the PA to make the usual announcement about travel times and weather. Nobody seems alarmed when they learn that the skipper is teen golf sensation Ryo Ishikawa, who isn't old enough to drive a car...
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Sep 12, 2009
Many happy repairs
When it comes to warranties, pride in one's products often trumps any short-term financial consideration.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Sep 10, 2009
Annals of cheap: Gyoza no Osho
While others struggle to make ends meet amid the economic downturn, there's no stopping Gyoza no Osho, a late-night favorite for cheap Chinese eats.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Sep 6, 2009
Japanese public housing: It's not just for poor people any more
Public housing in Japan might be associated with the boxy kodan apartments, but they've have come a long way. Question is, have they come far enough?
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 6, 2009
Media plays down landmark rent ruling
On July 23, the Kyoto District Court reached a verdict in a landlord-tenant dispute that found contract renewal fees common in rental agreements to be illegal. Kyodo News called it "a landmark ruling" with far-reaching implications.
Nissan says it will not take new U.S. orders for Mexican-built Infiniti SUVs
A Nissan manufacturing complex in Aguascalientes, Mexico. Nissan says it will not take new orders from the United States for two Mexican-built Infiniti SUVs following new auto tariffs levied by the U.S.
Why Japan is running out of rice — and farmers to grow it
An ongoing shortage of rice has resulted in rising prices for Japan's main food staple.
Nikkei plunges in third-biggest daily loss ever amid Trump tariff concerns
Pedestrians stand in front of an electronic board showing the numbers of the Nikkei Stock Average on the Tokyo Stock Exchange along a street in the Japanese capital on Monday.
Ride-hailing services spreading in Japan
Vehicles used for ride-hailing services in the city of Kiryu, in Gunma Prefecture
Taiwan eyes zero tariffs with U.S., pledges more investment
Kids view the area from a lookout point over cranes and containers at the Port of Keelung, Taiwan, on Thursday.
‘Let’s make it practical’: NATO chief eyes greater defense-industrial ties with Japan
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte plans to visit Japan on Tuesday and Wednesday — his first to the Indo-Pacific region since taking office in October, as he seeks to implement lessons from the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Tottori takes a bold leap forward in the arts
The city of Kurayoshi in Tottori Prefecture celebrated the opening of its public art museum with festivities such as a parade that drew 1,000 revelers.
Haruki Murakami TV adaptation revisits 30 years of watershed moments
Though Haruki Murakami's trademark whiff of offbeat existentialism is threaded throughout NHK's "After the Quake," the final episode — conceived as a sequel to the story "Super-Frog Saves Tokyo" — is the most stylized, featuring an anthropomorphic talking frog (voiced by Non) and his erstwhile associate Katagiri (Koichi Sato).
Nintendo to launch the Switch 2 on June 5
The controllers for the Switch 2 will attach to the console magnetically rather than sliding on rails as with the original device.
A new human trafficking trend emerges from Myanmar scam centers
Victims of scam centers who were tricked or trafficked into working in Myanmar gather at a compound inside KK Park, a fraud center on the country's border with Thailand, after a multinational crackdown in February.

Podcast

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

Longform

An ongoing shortage of rice has resulted in rising prices for Japan's main food staple.
Why Japan is running out of rice — and farmers to grow it
By Alex K.T. Martin

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