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.
Issues | THE FOREIGN ELEMENT May 21, 2013
Ambivalent Japan turns on its 'insular' youth
by Chris Burgess
Japan's decision to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade negotiations shows that at least some in government have accepted the fact that "opening up" Japan is in the nation's best long-term interests.
Issues | LABOR PAINS May 21, 2013
Precedent backs (nearly) equal pay for equal work
by Hifumi Okunuki
In 2012, Japan had 51.73 million workers, of which 33.3 million were regular employees, or seishain, according to the latest survey by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. Contingent, or nonpermanent, workers (including part-timers, haken dispatch and shokutaku semiregular employees) numbered 18.43 million, ...
Issues | THE FOREIGN ELEMENT May 14, 2013
Turks in Kansai fear Inose gaffe indicative of wider ignorance about culture
by Eric Johnston
"Stupid", "shockingly provincial" and "a sign of how little Japanese people really understand that part of the world" were among the reactions of Turkish residents in Kansai to Tokyo Gov. Naoki Inose's comments about Turkey and the wider Muslim world.
Issues | THE FOREIGN ELEMENT May 14, 2013
Inose's slurs anger, bemuse Turks in Tokyo but may boost Istanbul's Olympic bid
by David Mcneill
It's prayer time at Tokyo's biggest mosque and the congregation is pondering God, community and Naoki Inose, the city's governor, who many here say has revealed himself to be, well, a bit of a bigot.
Issues | JUST BE CAUSE May 14, 2013
Police, media must consider plight of those caught in linguistic dragnet
by Debito Arudou
A national media exerts a powerful influence over the lives of members of its society. For example, rumors or untruths disseminated through print or broadcast can destroy livelihoods and leave reputations in ruins. This is why judiciaries provide mechanisms to keep media accountable. In ...
Issues | THE FOREIGN ELEMENT Apr 30, 2013
Samurai moms and the art of brood maintenance: a mother from the West's lessons from the East
by Kris Kosaka
May in Japan is the perfect month for mothers. Wreathed in the fertile blooms of spring, bolstered by days of absolute perfection, May is also a month of muddy contradiction.
Issues | THE FOREIGN ELEMENT Apr 23, 2013
Student seeking Kyoto flat told: No foreigners allowed
by Simon Scott
After spending 2½ years living the quiet life in Shiga Prefecture, Ryukoku University student Victor Rosenhoj was looking forward to moving to Kyoto, where things promised to be more lively and international.
Issues | THE FOREIGN ELEMENT Apr 23, 2013
Renter guarantor system a headache for foreigners
by Charles Lewis
Things were going well for Patrick after a year in Japan. He had found a job he liked, met a girl he planned to marry and was ready to move out of the small room his older brother, a longtime resident, was letting him ...
Issues | THE FOREIGN ELEMENT Apr 16, 2013
Mad court rush could brake or bless Abe's vision
by Colin P.A. Jones
As Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Cabinet rush to diminish the Bank of Japan’s bothersome independence, join the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations (sort of . . .), start pouring lovely, popular concrete before the summer House of Councilors elections and (sotto voce) maybe even ...
Issues | THE FOREIGN ELEMENT Apr 9, 2013
Whatever happened to the Goldman Sachs union?
by Patrick Budmar
In February 2012, a small band of sacked workers in Japan took on one of the world’s biggest investment banks, Goldman Sachs, unionizing in a bid to keep their jobs and win a better deal from a firm they believed had treated them unfairly. ...
Issues | JUST BE CAUSE Apr 2, 2013
Tweak the immigration debate and demand an upgrade to denizen class
by Debito Arudou
Crucial to any public discussion is defining the terms of debate. However, often those terms must be redefined later because they don’t reflect reality. One example is Japan’s concept of “foreigner,” because the related terminology is confusing and provides pretenses for exclusionism. In terms ...
Issues | THE FOREIGN ELEMENT Apr 2, 2013
A tale of two knives, a Kiwi legend, a gang and a girl
by Simon Scott
The story reads like a New Zealand news editor’s wish list: Celebrity, dangerous weapons, bizarre behavior, death threats, Brazilian street gangs and a mysterious love interest.