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Philip Brasor
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Nov 27, 2013
Government tries to jolt EV sales with charging station subsidies
Sluggish electric car sales blamed on lack of recharging infrastructure.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 23, 2013
Nuclear whistle-blower spills secrets the way the media should
Genpatsu Whiteout' continues to climb the best-seller list, propelled by a guessing game over the identity of its author, who seems to know a lot about the nuclear energy business.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Nov 21, 2013
Supermarkets finally get serious about shopping bags
Japan's plastic bag problem is different from Europe's.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 16, 2013
Amano: tracing Japan's arc through its ads
Though Yukichi Amano's field of expertise was advertising, he used his weekly newspaper columnsto comment on popular culture in general, and frequently provided other media outlets with his personal take on social trends.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Nov 13, 2013
Where's the beef? Japanese taste buds dictate processing methods
Is that steak you're eating technically a steak?
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 9, 2013
'Specialness' shrouds stories of minorities
As predicted four months ago in this column, in September the Supreme Court ruled discriminatory and unconstitutional the Civil Code stipulation that says children born out of wedlock are entitled to only half the inheritance of legitimate offspring. The government is expected to revise the law accordingly,...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Nov 7, 2013
Collecting organizations try to give credit where it's due, don't always succeed
It's not uncommon for companies to incorrectly report credit information.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Nov 4, 2013
Warming up for the winter chill
In 2000 we moved into an apartment in Tokyo run by the semi-public housing corporation UR. It was new and had a natural-gas heating system. Unlike other gas systems we'd used in the past, however, this one heated water that was then circulated to outlets in different rooms in the apartment. Direct gas...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 2, 2013
Hankyu Hanshin scandal is a by-product of the media's food fetishization
As with every food mislabeling furor, the point in the Hankyu Hanshin scandal isn't necessarily that people are eating bad-tasting or unsafe food, but that their pretensions have been exposed.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Oct 30, 2013
Net scalpers set off discussion of true fandom in terms of economics
If you can't afford u00a5400,000 for a ticket, can you call yourself a fan?
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 26, 2013
Get Koizumi: Nuclear village goes on offensive
This is a first for Japan: A political figure who not only undergoes a change of mind in public, but tries to make a difference after giving up the political power to do so.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Oct 25, 2013
Say goodbye to plentiful, affordable shrimp
Due to poor production at Asian fish farms, shrimp stocks are shrinking.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 19, 2013
Imagining civil servants who actually serve
As a comedy, Nippon TV's 'Dandarin' not only pokes fun at bureaucratic privilege, but also wags its finger at Japan's storied management style, which succeeds on the backs of put-upon employees.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Oct 18, 2013
Blood on the tracks: Who pays for deadly railway accidents?
It's true: Railways demand money from families whose members die in train accidents.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 12, 2013
Busan is still Asia's film-fest gem, but its sparkle is fading
During the Q&A session after the screening of his new film "Stray Dogs" at the 18th Busan International Film Festival, which ran Oct. 3-12, Taiwanese director Tsai Ming-liang mentioned that not only was his previous film not distributed in South Korea, it wasn't even shown at BIFF. Tsai was one of the...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 12, 2013
Apologies for the apologies: the 'dogeza boom' on steroids
Japanese people like to apologize; or maybe "like" isn't the right word. As in English, many Japanese terms that have the meaning of an apology are used for the sake of perfunctory politeness, so a sincere apology requires effort, and there's no more powerful apology than dogeza, the act of prostrating...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Oct 12, 2013
Government wondering how to tap burgeoning ebook market
The consumption tax increase gives overseas vendors an advantage.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Oct 7, 2013
Lower egg prices bad for producers, worse for chickens
The government aims to control egg prices by any means necessary.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 5, 2013
Trouble is brewing on tracks up north
Last week the Fuji TV variety show "Real Scope" covered Japanese railroads. Most of the celebrities in the studio were densha otaku (train geeks), so it was one big love-in for railways and the people who operate them. However, the entire two-hour program focused on only two systems: the super express...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Oct 2, 2013
Where there's a will: Attitudes toward inheritance change
Japanese baby boomers are facing up to the responsibilities of dying.

Longform

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