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November 22, 2024
 

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Philip Brasor
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / YEN FOR LIVING
Aug 23, 2015
Chinese shoppers keep Japan's tills ringing
The lower yen, fewer visa restrictions, cheap flights and trust in Japanese products are all helping fuel the boom in Chinese tourism to Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 22, 2015
The same old story on rural depopulation
A story that is constantly upbeat quickly becomes tiring. Conflict and resolution are necessary to maintain interest, and while happy endings are still more popular than depressing ones, characters should go through some sort of emotional turmoil before arriving at them.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Aug 21, 2015
History of a health-obsessed shogun; soccer star beauty challenge; CM of the Week: Asahi Beer
Every Japanese schoolkid knows that Tokugawa Ieyasu was the first shogun of Japan and initiated the long, war-free Edo Period (1603-1868), but few know that he didn't rule from Edo (present-day Tokyo). He ostensibly handed rule of the country over to his son, Hidetada, only two years after establishing...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 15, 2015
Post-3/11 power-conservation goals change the energy game
The heat wave rolling over Tokyo is a godsend for Olympics bashers like former newscaster Hiroshi Kume. On his TBS radio show last week, he said that five years from now when the games are held here, they will "violate the Olympic charter," which requires an environment where all athletes can demonstrate...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Aug 14, 2015
The shock of the old; boy band melodrama; CM of the Week: Kirin Beverage Co.
The shock of the old and abandoned is the theme of the late night "road movie" documentary series "Haikyo no Kyujitsu" ("Holiday in the Ruins"; TV Tokyo, Fri., 12:52 a.m.). Two teams of TV personalities — one in the United States and the other in Japan — explore man-made facilities that are no longer...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 8, 2015
Uniqlo can't survive on bargains alone
Tadashi Yanai, one of the richest men in Japan, told the Wall Street Journal last week that he was "disgusted" by the video of a couple having sex in a Beijing outlet of the clothing chain Uniqlo. The video quickly went viral in China, and Internet commenters wondered if it wasn't part of some weird...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / YEN FOR LIVING
Aug 8, 2015
Japan's elderly boomers squeezed to pay more as care facilities struggle
The elderly nursing care industry is facing a perfect storm of problems as the ranks of elderly swell and subsidies from local authorities and central government shrink.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Aug 7, 2015
Detective mystery in Tokyo; child soldiers of World War II; CM of the Week: Toyota
Actor Sho Aikawa used to be the king of straight-to-video movies. He's now all over the place, and stars as officer Ken Kobayashi in the occasional mystery series, "Setagaya Chuzai Keiji" ("Setagaya Police Substation Detective"; TBS, Mon., 9 p.m.).
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Aug 3, 2015
World Heritage site tourism; visualizing Hiroshima's bombing; CM of the Week: Mitsui Real Estate
Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Hakubun Shimomura takes time away from dealing with the new national stadium to make a guest appearance on the travel program "So da, Dokka ni Ikko?" ("Well, Where Shall We Go?"; TV Tokyo, Tues., 6:57 p.m.). Shimomura is there to introduce...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 1, 2015
Going for gold in the stadium blame game
Yoshiro Mori, former rugby player and prime minister, and current head of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics' organizing committee, is not a man of few words. When the current prime minister, Shinzo Abe, took it upon himself to discard the design for the new National Stadium because cost estimates had gotten out...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Aug 1, 2015
Your home may be your castle, but not all of it is yours
When we were thinking about buying a condominium some years ago, we looked at older units and brand new ones, and one of our least favorite features was pebbled or fogged window glass, which was ubiquitous. Early on, when we didn't know any better, we asked a real estate agent how much it would cost...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jul 25, 2015
Housecleaner of the dead; ridiculous quizzes; CM of the Week: Family Mart
The housekeeper who cleans the homes of dead people, Aiko Tanizaki (Atsuko Takahata), returns in the special two-hour drama "Ihin Seirinin: Tanizaki Aiko 5" ("The Cleaning Lady of Things Left Behind: Aiko Tanizaki 5"; TBS, Mon., 9 p.m.).
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 25, 2015
Shizuka Kamei and Shintaro Ishihara have the security debate the Diet should have had
When Shintaro Ishihara retired from politics after failing to get re-elected last December, it seemed we wouldn't have the right-wing firebrand to kick around any more, but last week there he was in Shukan Asahi talking to former Liberal Democratic Party comrade Shizuka Kamei about various topics, including...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jul 25, 2015
America still rules the world of Japan's theme parks
The success of Tokyo Disney Resort and Universal Studios Japan has a lot to do with their business models and the way they've exploited their appeal to certain demographics in Japan.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jul 22, 2015
Real-life cave man; pretending to live in old Japan; CM of the Week: Line Music
Based on a true story, "Dokutsu Ojisan" ("Cave Man"; BS Premium, Mon., 9 p.m.) dramatizes the life of Kazuma Kamura, who ran away from home when he was 13 to escape abusive parents and lived alone in a cave on a remote mountain for 43 years.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 18, 2015
Despite what the media says about juvenile crime, the kids are alright
In an essay he wrote for Asahi Shimbun's Internet magazine Webronza in June, professor Mikio Kawai, a specialist in "serious crime," revealed the results of a survey he conducted last March among 1,456 "older" people. He asked the respondents if they thought juvenile crime was on the increase. Sixty-two...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 11, 2015
Japan should re-examine the idea of marriage to help spur a baby boom
After decades of a national conversation about the need for more babies, there is still disagreement as to what sort of measures Japan should take in order to increase its birthrate. The obstacles are financial, social and physiological, and before they can be addressed properly they must be identified...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jul 11, 2015
Consumers slow to embrace generic drugs
In May, the health ministry announced that it would set a new target for the use of generic pharmaceuticals. In 2013, 46.9 percent of the prescription drugs dispensed in Japan were generics, and at first the ministry said it wanted to raise this portion to 60 percent by 2017, but the Council on Economic...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jul 10, 2015
New 1960s-style cop drama; veteran actors playing hard-boiled detectives; CM of the Week: Kewpie
The title of TV Asahi's new police drama, "Keiji Shichinin" ("Seven Detectives"; Thurs., 9 p.m.), is meant to strike a chord with older viewers who will remember "Shichinin no Keiji," one of the most popular series of the 1960s — a cop show that wasn't about action but real police work, and which tackled...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 4, 2015
Filmmaker wants Japan to remember the 'comfort women'
NHK recently aired a documentary that touched on the 50th anniversary of normalized relations between South Korea and Japan. The main theme was how after World War II Japan prioritized state-to-state relationships with countries it had invaded during the war. Individual victims were sacrificed to expedience,...
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Russia launched intercontinental ballistic missile during attack on Ukraine, Kyiv says
A Yars intercontinental ballistic missile is launched during a test from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in Northern Arkhangelsk region of Russia, in this still image captured from video released on Oct. 29.
Ishiba aggravates his own political failures with diplomatic faux pas
Prime Minster Shigeru Ishiba is greeted at the APEC summit in Lima by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday. The Japanese leader was criticized for remaining seated while meeting several world leaders at the event.
Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in December 2023. Famous autumn leaf colors contributed to increased tourism demand last month from many markets across Asia, Europe and North America, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.

Podcast

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

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?
By Kathryn Wortley

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