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July 17, 2024
 

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Philip Brasor
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Dec 20, 2012
Old technology a threat to publishers' bottom lines
People who like reading books are increasingly getting over the need to own them.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Dec 16, 2012
Arashi looks at Japan's future; Christmas and the single woman; CM of the week: Nissan
Boy band Arashi has been getting a lot of work recently from NHK. In addition to their second consecutive hosting gig for the year-end song contest, they've been tapped to navigate "Asu ni Kakeru Tabi" ("Travels Building a Bridge to Tomorrow") a series of five programs, three of which air this week (Mon.-Wed.,...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 16, 2012
An aging country learning to adapt
Occasionally in this space I refer to a financial writer called "Gucci-san" who contributes a weekly column to Aera. Apparently, he works for an investment consulting firm that does a lot of work in mergers and acquisitions. In a recent piece he said that some of his clients are involved in importing...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Dec 14, 2012
Working the system: Beware of doctors with private rooms
Doctors have ways of making money outside the insurance system.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 9, 2012
Liberals left behind in turn to the right
The Latin morpheme liber (free) has a lot to answer for. Take the word "liberal," which represented a fairly clear political position until American "conservatives" demonized it. But liberals are not "libertarians." The former are seen to favor government schemes that guarantee the welfare of the populace...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Dec 5, 2012
You can't take it with you: Horse gambler's system stymied by tax law
Bad bet: Osaka man busted by tax authorities over gambling winnings.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Dec 4, 2012
Japan's part-time landlords are overestimating single-tenant needs
In an effort to cut costs, electronics maker Sharp has announced that it is transferring its struggling liquid crystal display business from factories in Kameyama, Mie Prefecture, to factories in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture. In 2004, the Kameyama facility started making large LCD screens for TVs and more...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Dec 4, 2012
Japan's part-time landowners are overestimating single-tenant needs
In an effort to cut costs, electronics maker Sharp has announced that it is transferring its struggling liquid crystal display business from factories in Kameyama, Mie Prefecture, to factories in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture. In 2004, the Kameyama facility started making large LCD screens for TVs and more...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 2, 2012
Koreeda's daring TV drama stands alone
Once upon a time television was considered much less prestigious than the movies, and then cable and other forms of pay TV showed up. Producers no longer had to think mainly about sponsors and family sensitivities because they could target programs at specific demographics. Delivery delineated content,...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Nov 30, 2012
For teachers, the business of education has become even more of a business
Private high schools are relying more and more on part-time teachers.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 25, 2012
Attitude change needed to shake up the workforce
Several weeks ago the head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, hung around briefly after the IMF finished up its annual meeting — which happened to be in Tokyo this year — and appeared on a special hourlong edition of NHK's in-depth news show "Closeup Gendai." The topic...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Nov 22, 2012
Ishihara's resignation doesn't come cheap
Tokyo taxpayers are going to have to pay a lot for their former governor's capriciousness.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 18, 2012
New universities are big business, needed or not
People who use the Tokyu Toyoko Line, which connects Tokyo and Yokohama, may wonder why there are stations called Toritsu-Daigaku and Gakugei-Daigaku when there are no daigaku (universities) near them. There used to be a Gakugei Daigaku (Tokyo Gakugei University) but it moved to Koganei in 1964. There...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Nov 14, 2012
Theme parks make a comeback thanks to grandma and grandpa
Theme parks and amusement parks are suddenly benefiting from a demographic perfect storm.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 11, 2012
Local media are too vague on Fukushima radiation risk
Earlier this year, NHK rebroadcast a documentary it made in the late 1980s about the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident. It showed how the Soviet Union and European countries tested people for effects of radiation throughout the region. Appended to the doc was a discussion with experts who compared...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Nov 8, 2012
Annals of cheap: bananas
Bananas haven't been this cheap in Japan since 1979.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Nov 6, 2012
Danchi housing lets you think outside the usual box
Japanese housing experts have a list of casual terms to describe the layouts of apartments and condominiums: kamaboko (fish paste), yokan-giri (sliced bean jelly), ta no ji (rice paddy ideograph) and chocolate bars. What these terms have in common is geometrical utility. All are rectangles that can be...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 4, 2012
Ishihara resignation a gift for the media
When Shintaro Ishihara announced on Oct. 25 that he was resigning as governor of Tokyo so that he could form a new political party before the next general election, some of the dailies printed gōgai (extra editions) to report it, thus indicating it was really big news that everybody needed to know...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Nov 2, 2012
Want more daycare? Pay workers more
One reason for the lack of daycare centers in Japan is that no one wants the job.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 28, 2012
Hashimoto needs a much thicker skin
There is a breed of political reporter that thrives on misanthropy. These journalists have no use for empathy when trying to understand issues or individuals. They are only stimulated by acrimony, by the need to reveal the darkest impulses of human endeavor. H.L. Mencken, the most eloquent of this ilk,...
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.
Yen’s woes seem too big for even a BOJ hike this month to solve
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
China’s economic growth comes in worse than expected
Pedestrians in the Wangfujing shopping area in Beijing on July 11, 2024. China's economic growth in the second quarter was lower than forecast, adding pressure on Chinese leaders to lift confidence at the Chinese Communist Party's third plenum this week.
Kansai airports to increase takeoff and landing slots ahead of Osaka Expo
Kansai International Airport in Izumisano, Osaka Prefecture. The upper limit on the number of takeoff and landing slots at the airport as well as Kobe Airport in Hyogo Prefecture will be raised in spring next year ahead of the 2025 World Exposition in Osaka.
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.
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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