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 | JUST BE CAUSE Jan 1, 2013
The year for non-Japanese in '12: a top 10
by Debito Arudou
Back by popular demand, here is JBC’s roundup of the top 10 human rights events that most affected non-Japanese (NJ) residents of Japan in 2012, in ascending order. Bubbling under • China’s anti-Japan riots (September) and Senkaku-area maneuvers (October to now). • North Korea’s ...
Issues | LIGHT GIST Dec 25, 2012
The year in quotes: 25 windows on the way things were in 2012
by David Mcneill
It was a year dominated by Japan’s spats with its most powerful neighbors, China and South Korea, over tiny specks in the sea, and by national soul-searching over nuclear power and the calamity that struck Japan in March 2011. It ended with the stunning ...