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July 16, 2024
 

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Philip Brasor
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Apr 22, 2017
Tellmeclub's bankruptcy grounds discount travel services
On March 27, discount travel company Tellmeclub filed for bankruptcy while a number of its Japanese customers were still overseas on package tours.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 22, 2017
Documentary renews debate over renewable energy
Earlier this month, Kyodo News surveyed 44 companies that started selling electricity to consumers after the energy market was liberalized in April 2016.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 15, 2017
Television has forgotten its golden years
Japanese commercial television companies have a problem. The bulk of their programming has always been aimed at relatively young people, because that's what advertisers want. But young people no longer watch TV, or, at least, not in the numbers they used to. Having grown up in a world ruled by the internet,...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 8, 2017
Higher education keeps overreaching
Since the mid-2000s, the number of Japanese people who turn 18 in a given year has remained constant at about 1.2 million. That will change with the high school graduating class of 2018, which will be smaller than the class of 2017.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / YEN FOR LIVING
Apr 8, 2017
'Nekonomics' does its bit to keep Japan's economy purring
In our last column we talked about the economic effectiveness (keizai kōka) of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Keizai kōka is often used as an indication of how much money a given scheme or phenomenon adds to a particular economy. As we pointed out, the number only takes into consideration the positive effects...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Apr 2, 2017
Temporary disaster housing has an unforeseen permanence
The 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake left 110,000 people in three prefectures without shelter. Most of these people moved into emergency evacuation centers while the authorities prepared temporary housing for them.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 1, 2017
What, if anything, makes Japan unique?
In February, American comedian Atsugiri Jason remarked on a Fuji TV talk show that one of the "demerits" of being a foreign TV personality in Japan is that he can't publicly say he thinks those aspects of Japanese culture which Japanese people believe are "uniquely amazing" are not, in fact, uniquely...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 25, 2017
How the word 'terrorism' can help pass a bill
During the recent Diet grilling over his alleged involvement in the Moritomo Gakuen land purchase scandal, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe accused his opposition party tormentors of resorting to inshō sōsa. The most accurate English translation is probably "image manipulation," which, in the age of fake...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Mar 25, 2017
Reassessing the negative impact of hosting the 2020 Olympics
The estimated cost of the 2020 Olympic Games has increased astronomically since Tokyo won the right to host it. On Dec. 22, Asahi Shimbun reported that the estimated price could be as much as ¥1.8 trillion. The original bid estimate for constructing new Olympic venues was ¥499 billion and that is now...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 18, 2017
Asking the tough questions on Fukushima
In January, regional newspaper Fukushima Minpo interviewed Yosuke Takagi, state minister of economy, trade and industry. While talking about reconstruction plans for areas near the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, Takagi mentioned resurrecting Dash-mura (Dash Village), a farm created from...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Mar 11, 2017
Measuring the economics behind a shift to streaming
An article in the Feb. 17 issue of the Asahi Shimbun describes a restaurant in Osaka where diners can watch J. League soccer games. The restaurant has three TV monitors hooked up to Sky PerfecTV, one of Japan's satellite broadcast services. At the end of January, however, the J. League shifted its exclusive...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 11, 2017
The first missteps for Japan's first lady
On Feb. 27, Democratic Party lawmaker Kiyomi Tsujimoto submitted questions to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party about the activities of Akie Abe, the wife of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in regard to her relationship with Moritomo Gakuen, a controversial corporate body that wants to build an elementary...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Mar 4, 2017
Will we ever see no obstacles in our way?
Infrastructure in Japan is up to world standards in most areas, and in terms of public transportation it often surpasses those standards — but there's one field it falls way behind: utility poles and overhead cables that carry electrical power and telecommunications.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 4, 2017
No free ride for U.S. auto manufacturers
Anyone who was around in the 1980s will remember the turmoil caused by the U.S.-Japan trade imbalance, especially in the automotive field. In order to maintain their growing position in the American market, Japanese car manufacturers knew they would have to move some of their operations to the United...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 25, 2017
Premium Friday is not about taking a holiday
The anonymous writer of Asahi Shimbun's finance-related Keizai Kishodai column pointed out in the Feb. 18 edition that Japanese people only think of time off on a day-by-day basis, whereas Europeans tend to conceptualize it in week-long blocks, as 'vacations.'
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Feb 25, 2017
Popularity of card loans add to financial woes
Supreme Court records show that there were 64,637 filings for personal bankruptcy in 2016, an increase of 781 cases over 2015, thus marking the first increase in 13 years.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 18, 2017
Japan's 'Undercover Boss' reinforces stereotypes at work
The government proposal to limit overtime for salaried workers is supposed to reduce the incidence of karōshi (death from overwork), which often takes the form of suicide, and yet the authorities seems squeamish about making demands on employers.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 11, 2017
Foreign workers: Should they stay or should they go?
As the rest of the world debated the ramifications of U.S. President Donald Trump's travel ban on persons from seven Muslim-majority countries last week, Japan was notably silent.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Feb 11, 2017
Resorting to adoption to avoid inheritance tax
Revisions to the inheritance tax went into effect in 2015, and related statistics for that year were recently made public by the National Tax Agency.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 4, 2017
Japan enters the post-truth age with distorted MXTV report on Okinawa protests
The term "fake news" has outlasted its usefulness. Originally coined to describe purposely false or exaggerated stories on the internet, the term now covers anything in the media that is deemed a lie. The internet is a scrum of competing opinions, and fake news that appears online can be contained to...
Bloodied Trump survives assassination attempt at political rally
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is surrounded and evacuated by Secret Service agents at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. Trump was rushed off stage at the rally after shots rang out.
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.
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.
Amid same-sex marriage ban, LGBTQ couples opt for 'photo weddings'
A lesbian couple, consisting of a 35-year-old woman (left) and 40-year-old woman, cover their faces with bouquets as they pose for wedding photos in Yokohama on Nov. 1.
China and Russia conduct joint Pacific military patrol
The Russian corvette Gromkiy enters the Chinese port of Zhanjiang as part of a joint China-Russia naval exercise on Saturday.
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.
How to tweak your diet when temperatures spike
Most people think of hydration as a strictly liquid-based concept, but eating foods with high water content is an essential part of making it through a Japanese summer unscathed.

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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