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July 16, 2024
 

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Philip Brasor
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Dec 5, 2014
What's really behind the drop in home sales?
...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Dec 1, 2014
Attitudes about money continue to affect marriage prospects
Unmarried men still don't expect their future spouses to contribute much financially to a household.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 29, 2014
Newspapers take sides on 'Abenomics'
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's dissolution of the Diet has become another point of contention between right- and left-leaning entities in Japan. One of the more revealing responses involved a website set up by a member of a nonprofit organization called Bokura no Ippo ga Nihon wo Kaeru (Our One Step Will...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Nov 24, 2014
Local governments finally getting around to public toilets
There will soon be many more Western-style toilets in Chiba Prefecture's public rest rooms
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 22, 2014
NTV's ideal announcer proves problematic
The current government wants women to demonstrate their full potential in the workplace, which means transcending gender roles and achieving occupational parity with their male counterparts.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Nov 17, 2014
Are Japan's public school teachers paid too much?
Japanese teachers make more money than the world average, but they also work many more hours.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 15, 2014
Tokyo continues to pull people in, which pulls the rest of Japan down
Earlier this month, the government pledged for the zillionth time to "revive" Japan's "regions." Local governments are in danger of vanishing in coming decades due to depopulation, and former Liberal Democratic Party No. 2 Shigeru Ishiba was put in charge of the regional revitalization ministry, which,...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Nov 11, 2014
Megabanks start to feel the heat from upstarts
Retailers and IT companies give new meaning to 'full service banking'
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 8, 2014
Media culture is the driving force behind a lack of critical car-safety stories
Last month, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism released the results of tests to evaluate automatic braking functions that some automobile manufacturers now offer. The purpose of the tests, according to a report in the Asahi Shimbun, was to "provide consumers with a set of references...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Nov 4, 2014
The case for a higher consumption tax
If there has to be a tax, the consumption tax may be the fairest.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 1, 2014
Debating the merits of lifetime employment
Some years ago I worked for a language-teaching service that offered in-house classes for companies. One client was a major electronics manufacturer, and many of the students were trained engineers assigned to the sales division.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Oct 31, 2014
Homeowners resume debate on renewables
In September, Kyushu Electric Power announced it would stop buying energy from solar-power suppliers due to over-supply and a lack of transmission capacity, setting off a debate about Japan's dedication to renewable energy. While the decision to halt purchases of solar energy from any supplier whose...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 25, 2014
Blondes have more fun in NHK's morning drama
Two weeks ago I received a message from a reader who asked me to ask NHK why the public broadcaster had changed the name and the hair color of the female protagonist of its new daily 15-minute asa-dora (morning drama series) "Massan," which is based on the life of Masataka Taketsuru, the first person...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 18, 2014
A dark force targets youth at their jobs
In the ongoing discussion about workplace abuse, the media has advanced yet another new term. "Black baito" modifies the already popular phrase "black kigyō," which are companies that manipulate or ignore labor standards in order to get employees to work overtime without pay. "Baito" is an abbreviation...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
Oct 17, 2014
BIFF 2014 plays down unavoidable controversies
The biggest event of the year for South Korea's film industry is the opening night of the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), which marked its 19th year Oct. 2 to 11. Whether or not they have films screening at the festival, almost all the major Korean movie stars show up and strut the red carpet...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Oct 14, 2014
How employer transportation allowances helped create commuter hell
Why don't more people live closer to their jobs?
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 11, 2014
In-debt idols send wrong message to girls
Two weeks ago a female pop group called The Margarines debuted via a Tokyo news conference. Since Japanese show business has no shortage of young women who want to sing and dance in order to "fulfill their dreams," the new ensemble needed a gimmick.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Oct 6, 2014
Foreign tourists expected to take up (some of) the slack in consumption
Food and beverages have been added to the duty-free list.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 4, 2014
Tourists may not warm to Japan's welcome
A former colleague of mine always made it a point to tell people coming to Japan for a visit to bring lots of handkerchiefs because the public restrooms didn't have towel dispensers. I always took a more positive view and emphasized that public restrooms in Japan were everywhere and open to everyone,...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Oct 3, 2014
Inheritance tax in Japan may not be the burden you imagined
With the government cutting corporate tax, it needs even more revenue to make up for its already alarming fiscal shortfall. So far the media has fixated on consumption tax, which tends to be more punishingly felt by the average person than any other sort of tax.
Who needs AI when you have Hatsune Miku?
Over the first six months of 2024, a handful of songs using Vocaloid singer Hatsune Miku’s voice have enjoyed widespread attention, underlining a global interest in the character and the technology she represents.
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.
Shooter came within inches of killing Trump, but left few clues as to why
An aerial view shows the stage where Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump had been standing during an assassination attempt the day before, and the roof of a nearby building where a gunman was shot dead by law enforcement, in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Sunday.
Yen’s woes seem too big for even a BOJ hike this month to solve
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
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.
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.

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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