Philip Brasor - The Japan Times

BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING

Dec 7, 2018

Abuse is the norm for Japan's hometown tax donation system

On Sept. 11, then-Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Seiko Noda gave a news conference at which she stated the government's intention to revise laws for local taxes.

JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX

Dec 1, 2018

Question mark hangs over holiday reshuffles

The Diet passed a bill in June that will shift certain national holidays in 2020 to ease traffic congestion during the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Marine Day, which is usually the third Monday of July, will be moved to July 23, the day before the opening ceremony, while Sports Day, normally the second Monday...

JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX

Nov 24, 2018

Variety show's fabrication scandal offers a glimpse into the nature of TV content

Earlier this month, weekly magazine Shukan Bunshun ran several articles on Nippon Television Network Corp.'s Sunday night variety show, "Sekai no Hate Made Itte Q," claiming that the program had fabricated "festivals" in foreign countries and presented them in one of its semiregular segments as real...

JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX

Nov 17, 2018

Keidanren faces flak for falling behind the times despite change in leadership

The Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) published an article on June 17 that was critical of the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren), a lobbying organization made up of more than 1,300 of the country's biggest companies. The Nikkei has always been in Keidanren’s corner, so it was something of a shock to...

JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX

Nov 10, 2018

Japan's news outlets weigh in on Jumpei Yasuda's culpability in Syria kidnapping

Freelance reporter Jumpei Yasuda gave a three-hour news conference at the Japan National Press Club on Nov. 2 about his hostage ordeal, describing in detail how he was kidnapped after entering Syria in 2015 and then held for more than three years. He also discussed the situation in the Middle East and...

JAPAN / YEN FOR LIVING

Nov 9, 2018

Effort to nudge Japan to go cashless with offsets to sales tax hike faces many hurdles

On Oct. 15, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe confirmed during an extraordinary Cabinet meeting that the government would raise the consumption tax from 8 to 10 percent next Oct. 1. The tax hike has already been postponed twice owing to jitters over how it might affect consumption. The last consumption tax increase,...

JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX

Nov 3, 2018

Testing times for students' English-language ability in Japan

The education ministry last year announced it would change the common testing system for universities, starting in 2020. A major change is expected to be made to the English-language component of the exam. Applicants will be asked to take English tests developed by commercial testing companies for the...

CULTURE / Film

Nov 2, 2018

French film 'Amanda' takes top prize at Tokyo International Film Festival

French director Mikhael Hers' family drama, "Amanda," was awarded the Grand Prix at the 31st Tokyo International Film Festival on Friday.

JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX

Oct 27, 2018

Proposed reform to Japan's immigration law causes concern

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe receives a lot of grief from left-leaning pundits who consider his policies and outlook regressive, but right-leaning commentators aren't always enamored of the country’s leader either. They voice frustration at his refusal to visit the controversial Yasukuni Shrine and find...

CULTURE / Film

Oct 25, 2018

Asian presence dominates Tokyo International Film Festival red carpet

The 31st Tokyo International Film Festival kicked off Thursday with a notable dearth of Hollywood stars, namely the two who star in the opening movie.

JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX

Oct 20, 2018

Spotlight falls on Japan's female TV presenters

On Sept. 4, the new presenters for Nippon TV's nightly news show, "News Zero," were introduced at a press conference in Tokyo. It's not unusual for TV stations to revamp current affairs shows, but the new version of "News Zero," which premiered Oct. 1, has attracted more than the usual measure of attention...

JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX

Oct 13, 2018

Can female surgeons dismantle stereotypes in Japan?

The long-running American TV series "Grey's Anatomy" is popular because of the way it mixes standard medical drama with mushy romantic intrigue, but another part of its appeal is the makeup of its characters. The drama takes place in the surgical department of a Seattle hospital, and half the doctors...

CULTURE / Film

Oct 13, 2018

Politics and cinema intermingle at Busan International Film Festival

The 23rd edition of the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) opened Oct. 4 as Typhoon Kong-rey approached the South Korean port city. When the storm peaked on Saturday morning, some public events were cancelled, but the screenings continued and were still packed with press, industry people and, most...

BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING

Oct 12, 2018

Rethinking the notion that hot weather means increased consumption in wake of Japan's scorching summer

Japan seems to suffer more than its fair share of natural disasters, and this past summer was especially bad. In addition to two earthquakes that resulted in considerable damage, there were strong storms that killed dozens and forced thousands to flee their homes.

JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX

Oct 6, 2018

Repatriation program reveals Koreans' plight in Japan

In August, five North Korean defectors residing in Japan filed a lawsuit in Tokyo District Court charging Pyongyang with human rights abuses. The plaintiffs were described in the Mainichi Shimbun as "second-generation ethnic Koreans" who grew up in Japan but moved to North Korea during the mobilization...

JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX

Sep 29, 2018

Media appear to be ignoring maglev woes

Earlier this month, two different Tokyo District Court sessions associated with the maglev bullet train line now under construction were convened. In one, major contractor Obayashi Corp. was prosecuted for rigging bids for work on the project. In the other, a citizens' network was suing the government...

JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX

Sep 22, 2018

The problem with padding employment records in Japan

In August, it was reported that central government ministries and agencies, not to mention national legislative offices and local governments, have for years been fulfilling their legal responsibility to hire certain numbers of people with disabilities by fudging criteria for determining what qualifies...

JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX

Sep 15, 2018

Japanese athletes under fire after Asian Games scandal

When four members of Japan's national basketball team were sent home from the Asian Games last month for patronizing prostitutes, the resulting scandal capped almost a year's worth of bad publicity for sports in Japan. Over this time we've had allegations of "power harassment" raised against the Japan...

JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX

Sep 8, 2018

Variety shows seek insights into people's lives

One of the better Japanese reality shows in the first decade of the new millennium was TV Tokyo's "Inaka ni Tomaro" ("Let's Visit the Countryside"), which premiered in 2003. Ostensibly a travelogue, it featured second-tier celebrities who were dispatched to rural areas where they had to secure a night's...

BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING

Sep 7, 2018

Bad news around mutual funds does little to boost Japanese people's appetite for investment

On July 27, the Asahi Shimbun reported that the Bank of Japan had overestimated the value of mutual funds being held by individuals by about 30 percent. Every three months the BOJ publishes statistics called shikin junkan tōkei that cover the financial assets of households and businesses, and as of...

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