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July 16, 2024
 

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Philip Brasor
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Oct 1, 2014
Rice is nice when the price is right
Is the big drop in rice prices a good thing or a bad thing?
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 27, 2014
Scotland's independence referendum inspires an Okinawan discussion
As sometimes happens when a news story that has nothing to do with Japan becomes topical worldwide, the Japanese media tried to find a local angle for the Sept. 18 Scottish referendum. The coverage fell into two categories: greater autonomy for Okinawa, and the use of referendums.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Sep 22, 2014
Annals of Cheap: Eco Rent-a-car
With rental cars this cheap, who needs to own?
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 20, 2014
Abe's female Cabinet picks warrant a closer look
In a Sept. 5 Twitter post, university instructor Akiko Orita pointed out that four of the five women appointed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to his new Cabinet do not use their legal names. Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Sanae Takaichi, state minister in charge of abduction issues Eriko...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Sep 15, 2014
Mail order scofflaws are the exception that proves the rule
Some Internet consumers take advantage of sales agents' honor systems.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 13, 2014
Social media aids rehashing of historical hate
After rain caused deadly mudslides in Hiroshima Prefecture last month, rumors spread over the Internet about burglaries of evacuated homes by "foreigners," including Zainichi (ethnic Korean residents of Japan). Such rumors tend to accompany disasters, so Tokyo Shimbun talked directly to police in the...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Sep 8, 2014
Casino tax study exposes pachinko to greater scrutiny
The government wants to tax pachinko but the police are in its way.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 6, 2014
Push for casinos runs into headwinds
Until a few months ago, it seemed a sure thing that casinos would be open in Tokyo by the time the Olympics rolled around in 2020. For years now, a group of lawmakers have been working to legalize gambling resorts in Japan, and Tokyo was considered the ideal place for them thanks to the capital's ease...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Sep 5, 2014
Can Japan level its problem with vacant buildings?
On July 29, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications released the results of its latest survey on Japanese housing, which it completed last fall and conducts every five years. The statistic that caught the media's attention was the one for akiya, or vacant homes. As of the end of October 2013,...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Sep 1, 2014
Prep schools succumbing to more than economic reality
Cram schools and prep schools rely on 'ronin,' whose numbers are dwindling.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 30, 2014
Asahi rivals pile on over sex slaves retraction
It has been almost a month since the Asahi Shimbun printed a long, two-part retraction of its reporting in the 1980s and '90s on the "forced mobilization" of so-called comfort women during World War II based on the published confessions of a man named Seiji Yoshida.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Aug 25, 2014
European winemakers fret over competition from Chile
Imports of Chilean wines to Japan recently outperformed those of Italian wines
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 23, 2014
Criminal notoriety for the sake of fame
Hirofumi Watanabe, the man convicted Thursday of threatening publishers, stores, universities and basically anyone or anything that had something to do with the popular manga "Kuroko no Basuke (Kuroko's Basketball)," has enjoyed a peculiar sort of celebrity since he was arrested in December. Prior to...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 16, 2014
Home is where the hard work is
Earlier this year, house builder Asahi Kasei Homes produced a video "white paper" based on a survey of 1,371 "double-income families" with children. Seventy percent of the husbands surveyed said they had been subjected to kaji-hara, or "housework harassment," by their wives.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Aug 15, 2014
Whatever you do, don't call Nestle's coffee 'instant'
Nestle aims to change the way office people think about coffee breaks.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Aug 11, 2014
Local municipalities vie for your 'hometown tax'
If you donate money to a local government, you can get rewarded three times.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 9, 2014
Critics get frank when it comes to Godzilla
Because Japanese media are incestuous in their inter-corporate dealings, those writers referred to as hyōronka (critics) tend to be less critical about popular culture than their counterparts in North America and Europe. They are more likely to engage in punditry or public relations, because complaining...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 2, 2014
Is the next stop 'brokesville' for the maglev?
Robert Moses, the civil servant who built the great park-expressway-bridge network in New York state during the middle of the last century, succeeded by gaming the system. Understanding how politics would make it difficult for him to fulfill his vision, he often started a public works project clandestinely....
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Aug 2, 2014
Inflation Watch: Food manufacturers offering less
Food companies know that consumers are now sensitive to price increases and use an old solution
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Aug 1, 2014
Ticking the right tax boxes
In most places in the world, property taxes, which are levied on buildings and land, are administered and collected by local governments for the benefit of local governments. This is also true in Japan, but it's useful to keep in mind that property tax rules and regulations are determined by the central government.
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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