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Philip Brasor
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...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Feb 4, 2017
New housing options get smaller in the city
Last month this column discussed how lack of city planning in the suburbs had led to an over-supply of new housing that exacerbated the well-publicized vacant-home problem. It should be noted, however, that populations in suburbs throughout Japan are declining — some slowly, others rather rapidly....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 28, 2017
Big in Japan? Artists from abroad may find it more difficult to draw a crowd
There are now just three major record labels left on the planet: Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 28, 2017
Media starts to focus on Japan's aging prison population
When it comes to crime and punishment, Japan is a conundrum for progressives. It has low crime rates and small prison populations, but it is also one of the few developed countries that still enforces capital punishment, and its criminal justice system is often criticized for giving too much power to...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 21, 2017
Emperor's abdication highlights the inconvenience behind the country's Imperial naming system
For two weeks the media has been buzzing about the news that Emperor Akihito will abdicate before 2019.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jan 21, 2017
Stress mounts as fees fall in Japan for home deliveries
The rise of online retailers has led to a race to the bottom for home delivery firms desperate to hold on to the huge amount of business these shopping sites provide.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 14, 2017
Media sidesteps calling Japan Tobacco out on advertising conflicts
When I want a coffee I seek out Starbucks, not because I think it has the best product, but because it's the only coffee shop I know of that's 100 percent nonsmoking. Almost all others in Japan have separate smoking and nonsmoking sections, which are useless in terms of keeping smoke away from people...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 7, 2017
Are female scholars taken seriously in Japan?
There is a small group of female TV personalities whose claim to fame is that they graduated from the University of Tokyo, the most prestigious institute of higher learning in Japan. Like most TV personalities, these women have no demonstrable talent, and in almost every case when they appear on variety...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jan 7, 2017
Can the financial roadblock to marriage ever be dismantled?
On Dec. 20, an advisory panel assembled by the Prime Minister's Office drafted a final proposal for a bill that has a long-term goal of increasing the country's sagging birthrate.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 31, 2016
Buried truths: Digging deep into Japanese media from 2016
Everyone agrees 2016 was a terrible year, and not just because so many popular celebrities died. In addition to the wars, both hot and rhetorical, that continue unabated throughout the world, the political situation in Europe and America veered toward isolationism. Hatred ruled, and no resentments were...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Dec 31, 2016
Getting too cozy to the next-door neighbors
In its Dec. 20 issue, Asahi Shimbun reported on a couple in their 60s living in Saitama City. Two years ago their neighbor installed an Eco Cute system that uses heat pump technology to heat water more efficiently and, thus, reduce electricity costs. But since the system was installed, the older couple's...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 24, 2016
A realistic view of Japan's island dispute
In the past month, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has snuggled up to two of the world's most distrusted national leaders in an attempt to prove his diplomatic mettle and boost support rates ahead of a rumored snap election next year. Abe was the first country head to gain an audience with President-elect...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Dec 24, 2016
Industry divided on government's casino gamble
In its zeal to ramrod some bills into law before the New Years holiday, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party finally legalized casino gambling, a matter that has been in legislative limbo for a number of years. However, the problems that always prevented the bills from advancing in the past have not gone...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 17, 2016
Undercover journalist infiltrates Uniqlo
In her Dec. 14 Tokyo Shimbun column, media critic Minako Saito mentioned how the press is excited about the buzzword of the year and the kanji of the year. They are much less interested in another annual prize, the Black Company Award for the firm that most egregiously exploits workers. The nominations...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 10, 2016
Could easier adoptions stem child abuse in Japan?
The national news has recently reported a number of stories about young children dying at the hands of their parents or guardians, either from neglect or direct physical violence. It's hard to say if these tragedies constitute a trend since detailed child abuse statistics weren't really available until...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Dec 10, 2016
Japan's humble school lunch: social leveler and sacred cow
Beyond the inculcation of good eating habits and an appreciation of wholesome food, Japan's school lunch program stresses the importance of community and helps children understand their responsibilities within the group.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 3, 2016
How Japanese media have failed endangered species
In October, a new documentary produced by Leonardo DiCaprio premiered on Netflix. "The Ivory Game" is a dramatic study of the illegal trade in elephant tusks that includes conservationists battling poachers, investigative journalists following the money trail and black market merchants in China.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Dec 3, 2016
Abandoned buildings still house problems
Japan's vacant house problem will become worse before it becomes better. According to government estimates there are 8 million residences in Japan with no one living in them, a number that Bloomberg reports will increase to 20 million by 2033, representing a third of all the homes in Japan. A good portion...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 26, 2016
Hopes of stopping Tokyo 2020 are fading
NHK has announced that its yearlong historical drama series for 2019 will be about Japan's involvement in the Olympic movement, focusing on the nation's first foray to the games in 1912 and its first time hosting them in 1964. The story will also, according to Kyodo News, cover "events that took place...

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