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August 15, 2024
 

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Philip Brasor
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
May 2, 2015
Garden states: looking good on the outside
One problem with designing your own house is that you don't necessarily know what it's going to be like until it's finished. The company we hired to build ours doesn't make model homes the way some housing companies do. It's one of the reasons we chose them, since models add to the price of the product....
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 25, 2015
Fighting to recover from the ocean's wrath
On April 11, Wataru Takeshita, the minister for reconstruction of the areas most seriously affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake, met in Kamaishi with local government representatives to discuss the budget for Iwate Prefecture. After the meeting, the mayor of Kamaishi spoke to the press and said...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 25, 2015
Cash shortfall among the elderly could push Japan over the edge
Last summer the welfare ministry reported that a record number of households were receiving government assistance, and 47.1 percent of these households were made up of either elderly people only or the elderly and unmarried family members under 18. The media has been reporting for years that an increasing...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 18, 2015
The Asahi cries foul on school sports
Baseball fans were disheartened to learn that Texas Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish would be out for the entire 2015 season because of elbow surgery. The right-hander could still have a promising Major League career, but like other Japanese pitchers who have crossed the Pacific, he seems cursed by infirmities...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Apr 12, 2015
Yen for Living is moving!
Yen for Living has lived in this virtual space since August 2009. From today, new Yen for Living reports will appear in The Japan Times on Sunday on the second and fourth Sundays of the month. It will also be archived on the JT website.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 11, 2015
Olympics provide golden opportunity for change
While there are many reasons why a city would want to host the Olympic Games, most have to do with money and prestige: The Olympics bring international attention to the host city for two weeks.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / YEN FOR LIVING
Apr 11, 2015
Outdated Otsuka Kagu business model is at the root of family feud
Retailers know that image maintenance is important for their bottom lines, as proven by Otsuka Kagu Ltd.'s 37.8 percent drop in sales last month compared to March 2014.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 4, 2015
Koga's parting shot may not hit its target
In February, Reporters Without Borders published its annual list of countries ranked in terms of press freedom. Japan came in at No. 61, down two places from the previous year and lower than Taiwan (51) and South Korea (60). The reason for the decline was the state secrets act, which came into force...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Apr 4, 2015
Japan's public housing system has a shelf life
One of the most desirable properties in Tokyo is Chateau Mita, located in Minato Ward within walking distance of several embassies and Tokyo Tower and less than 10 minutes from four subway stations. The apartment building was constructed in 1964 and by 2000 there were persistent problems with plumbing...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 28, 2015
Political obstacles stymie energy autonomy
When German Chancellor Angela Merkel was in Japan earlier this month, local coverage focused on a joint German-Japanese statement about the Ukraine crisis and her comment that Japan should forthrightly address its actions during World War II. She said nothing about how Japan and Germany have diverged...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 21, 2015
Media caught up in festive PR atmosphere of new Hokuriku bullet train
A friend who often goes to Ishikawa Prefecture for family reasons mentioned on Facebook last week that he took the overnight bus from Tokyo and arrived at Kanazawa Station at about the same time of the Hokuriku Shinkansen's inaugural run. When I asked why he hadn't taken the new train, he said it was...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 14, 2015
Failing to rebuild communities in Tohoku
The NHK travel program "Tsurube no Kazoku ni Kampai" ("Tsurube Toasts Families") recently aired a two-parter about the town of Watari in Miyagi Prefecture, which was devastated in the March 11, 2011, tsunami. In the series, rakugo storyteller Shofukutei Tsurube and a celebrity guest visit small towns...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 7, 2015
Okinawa's story told differently in Tokyo
Last week, at the end of a report on the TBS newsmagazine show "Hodo Tokushu" about protests against the proposed U.S. Marine Corps base at Henoko in Okinawa, the show's host mentioned that in response to charges from local press that it had violently repelled sea-borne demonstrators, the Japan Coast...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Mar 6, 2015
Cheap rural homes come at a price
Though the hollowing-out of population in regional areas in Japan has become a major issue for the central government, it's been a problem for regional governments for more than three decades. Twenty years ago there was a popular promotional method called "I-turn," devised as a supplement to the "U-turn"...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 28, 2015
Shibuya's same-sex move kicks off debate
On Feb. 13, Asahi Shimbun's daily Vox Populi, Vox Dei column mentioned Morizo and Kiccoro, the official mascots of the 2005 World Expo held in Aichi Prefecture. These two "woodland fairies" supposedly hailed from Seto, which issued them the same resident cards (jūminhyō) held by everyone who lives...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Feb 23, 2015
Pusses galore: Cats dominate the pet industry
Though cats are cheaper than dogs to acquire, you may end up spending more money on them.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 21, 2015
Cowed news media has forgotten its role
In his Tokyo Shimbun column about weekly magazines, Hiroyuki Shinoda recently lauded Shukan Asahi for accusing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of exploiting the murder of journalist Kenji Goto by the Islamic State group for political purposes. Shinoda points out that the magazine had been intimidated by the...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Feb 16, 2015
Who benefits from the new overtime pay system?
On Feb. 13, a Labor Policy Council sub-committee submitted to the labor ministry a report with suggestions for a bill to revise the labor standards law. The revision, which the ministry plans to submit to the next regular Diet session, applies to the work of skilled white collar professionals and will allow them to 'work in a manner that demonstrates their achievements' more effectively, which is another way of saying that employers will no longer be required to pay these workers overtime for extra hours on the job, which in turn means that employers cannot be accused of pressuring them to work overtime for no pay, a system popularly known as saabisu zangyo, or 'free overtime.'
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 14, 2015
The economics book everyone is talking about, but has anyone read it?
French economist Thomas Piketty's "Capital in the Twenty-First Century" was the surprise bestseller of 2014 in the United States, and it has also become a hit in Japan.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Feb 9, 2015
Retiring boomers make their last stand on the real estate market
An increasing number of retirees are opting for high-rise living in their twilight years.
Japan to revise consumption tax exemption for overseas tourists
Tourists walk through Nakamise shopping street near Sensoji Temple in Tokyo in April
Japan's tourism industry hit by cancellations after megaquake alert
A beach closed due to a megaquake alert in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, from Friday to Thursday.
Focus shifts to incoming typhoon as Tropical Storm Maria dissipates
Newly formed Tropical Storm Ampil, which is forecast to approach eastern Japan this weekend, is seen on the left side of this satellite image.
Kishida to step down in September in bid to show ‘LDP has changed’
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a news conference Wednesday at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo.
Publisher finds surprise audience after translating history textbooks
Yamakawa Shuppansha president Takeshi Nozawa holds the publisher's textbook on Japanese history — used in high schools across Japan — alongside the new English version in Tokyo on May 23.
Economic security is about strengthening and sustaining growth, former minister says
Former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi says changes in the international balance of power, along with deepening economic interdependence, have led some countries to attempt to use their economic power to impose their will on others.
Ice bandanas, convenience store breaks: Running under Japan’s summer sun
Blistering heat is becoming a fixture of summer in Japan, but a few tweaks to your routine can make your outdoor runs bearable — if not enjoyable — until cooler temperatures return.
Japan issued its first-ever megaquake alert. What does that mean?
Naoshi Hirata (center), chairman of a committee tasked with evaluating the risk of a Nankai Trough earthquake, speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Friday.
France brings down the curtain on its Olympic party with Tom Cruise and Leon Marchand
Fireworks are set off during the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics at Stade de France in Saint-Denis on Sunday.
Japan fuels U.S. LNG boom even as climate targets and impacts loom
Flaring at the Cameron LNG export terminal in Hackberry, Louisiana. Flaring, a common sight at LNG plants, is a controlled burning of gas for reasons ranging from depressurizing equipment to disposing of gas that can’t be used. The practice is a "waste of money" and negatively impacts climate change and human health, says the International Energy Agency.

Podcast

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

Longform

Sociologist Gracia Liu-Farrer argues that even though immigration doesn't figure into Japan's autobiography, it is more of a self-perception than a reality.
In search of the ‘Japanese dream’
By Thu-Huong Ha

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