Economy | ANALYSIS
Households to take hit from tax hike
by Tomoko Otake
The consumption tax increase will hit every household in Japan hard, with many people’s financial future hanging on whether their wages rise enough to offset the hike's impact.
Yuko Fukaya
For Yuko Fukaya's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
National Oct 1, 2013
Challenge comes true for Epsilon engineer
Having vowed to “revolutionize the rocket world,” aerospace engineer Yasuhiro Morita saw his promise fulfilled with the recent takeoff of Japan’s new solid-fuel rocket Epsilon, utilizing an innovative mobile launch control system. Morita felt a rush of exhilaration on Sept. 14 while watching the ...
National Apr 20, 2013
IT entrepreneur hopes to revive rural areas
An American entrepreneur has embarked on a project to invigorate rural communities in Japan and create new jobs by reusing abandoned school buildings for his IT business. Smart Technology Partners, founded in 2010 by Carl Sundberg and now employing 30 people, opened its first ...
National Feb 7, 2006
Snow, ice show promise as summer coolants
ASAHIKAWA, Hokkaido (Kyodo) In Bibai, Hokkaido, a block of condominiums boasts the world’s first snow-fed air conditioning system. The snow, which cools the condos more cheaply than conventional air conditioning, is a selling point for the complex, built in 1999. Bibai gets more snow ...
National Jan 28, 2006
Snow-preserved cabbages keeping the staple on the table all year long
ASAHIKAWA, Hokkaido (Kyodo) In a snow-covered field on the outskirts of Wassamu, Hokkaido, lie lush green cabbages harvested in the fall but preserved in snow until spring. “Cabbages do not freeze even if the temperature drops to minus 20,” said cabbage farmer Yuko Arai, ...