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Masako Tsubuku
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Nov 16, 2009
Are point cards worth it?
Point cards have become ubiquitous in Japan but at the end of the day, how much value is the consumer getting by using them?
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Nov 12, 2009
Pet cremation goes mobile
When your pooch or kitty expires in Tokyo, you can't just bury it out back. Which explains why mobile pet crematoriums are such a growth business.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Nov 9, 2009
Can aliens buy music more cheaply?
While many industry types are convinced the Web is bad for the music business, they're actually are people who want to PAY for their songs.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Nov 5, 2009
Annals of cheap: Daigoro
For a bargain-basement drink, One Cup Ozaki will do the trick, but for the big cheap buzz, Daigoro shochu is the king.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Nov 2, 2009
Chiyoda Ward wants you to ride your bicycle
A lack of bicycle parking spaces doesn't make cycling so attractive in the city but at least Chiyoda Ward seems to be moving in the right direction.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Oct 30, 2009
Prospective homeowners logging in to customization
Once considered 'second homes,' custom-made log houses are becoming more popular as first homes.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Oct 27, 2009
Mystery train
How do you increase commuters when train fares are too high? Ask the land/transportation ministry for a break.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Oct 24, 2009
Seven-burger army
In time for the Windows 7 launch, Burger King offers a 7-patty whopper for u00a5777. That's a mouthful ... if you eat them all at once.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Oct 22, 2009
Comparative payoffs
Considering housing as an investment in Japan? You might want to compare the PER (price earnings ratio) in different areas.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Oct 18, 2009
Jeans on the cheap
Discount chain Don Quijote underbids everyone in the 'three-digit jeans price war.' How low will they go?
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Oct 16, 2009
This tax's for you
A new political regime threatens to flatten the frothy head of profits that brewers have been enjoying with their tax-proof 'daisan' beers.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Oct 12, 2009
Won on the wane
Never better time to spend that yen in South Korea, where despite an inflation, the duck and movie tickets are a bargain.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Oct 8, 2009
Annals of cheap: Takeya
The discount behemoth Takeya, located near Okachimachi Station, gets by on volume and an almost neurotic obsession with using space effectively.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Oct 6, 2009
Got JAL miles?
The final fate of JAL aside, frequent flyer customers need to think about what to do with all those miles today.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Oct 4, 2009
The blacklist — excuse me — the database is back
A group of rental guarantee companies move ahead with its plans to create a database of 'good' and 'bad' renters.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Oct 1, 2009
Motherhouse: beyond Fair Trade
By cutting out the middlemen, Tokyo-based Motherhouse has found a way to make the Fair Trade system work like it's supposed to.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Sep 27, 2009
Still a plus for Seven-Eleven
Seven-Eleven has followed the lead of the postal office by opening its ATMs up to foreign bank cards. So why haven't convenience stores followed suit?
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Sep 25, 2009
The Giants give you an excuse to go shopping
Big hurray for the Giants big pennant win! Bigger hurray for the department-store sales!
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Sep 23, 2009
Annals of cheap: QB House
It's very chop-chop at QB House, a chain of successful barber shops where you get a cut, no chit-chat, no shampoo, all in 10 minutes.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Sep 21, 2009
Use it or lose it: Is expired food OK to sell?
Japanese consumers may have become suspicious of food companies, but the bargain prices of food slightly past its sell-by date is hard to resist.

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Dul Saroth (left) and Soeum Samrach, deminers with the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority, practice using the Advanced Landmine Imaging System in Cambodia’s Siem Reap province in August.
The Japanese tech that could one day make Southeast Asia landmine-free