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Masako Tsubuku
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Sep 18, 2009
Silver Week to make up for less than lustrous summer?
The government estimates that the average Japanese household will spend u00a537,000 during Silver Week. Question is, how? On beer alone?
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Sep 17, 2009
Dealing with the disposable
Awn in Higashi Nippori is a 'recycle shop' whose purpose had less to do with recycling or making money than with creating jobs.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Sep 14, 2009
Who pays for parking?
Why people who don't own cars have to subsidize the expensive parking lots used by weekend drivers?
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Sep 12, 2009
Many happy repairs
When it comes to warranties, pride in one's products often trumps any short-term financial consideration.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Sep 10, 2009
Annals of cheap: Gyoza no Osho
While others struggle to make ends meet amid the economic downturn, there's no stopping Gyoza no Osho, a late-night favorite for cheap Chinese eats.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Sep 6, 2009
Japanese public housing: It's not just for poor people any more
Public housing in Japan might be associated with the boxy kodan apartments, but they've have come a long way. Question is, have they come far enough?
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Sep 2, 2009
Super-fluous banking perks
It pays to read the fine print in your bank account passbook.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Aug 30, 2009
Annals of cheap: Garigari-kun
Garigari: It's amazing what a brand rethink can do for ice and sugar on a stick.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Aug 29, 2009
Goodbye Work
With unemployment rates at an all-time high, it's easy to see an incoming wave of newly homeless.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Aug 18, 2009
Got those rental blacklist blues
It's a buyers market in Japan but “yachin hosho kaisha” (rental guarantee companies) tried to flex their muscle by attempting to blacklist of rent scofflaws.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Aug 12, 2009
Option to owning
Owning a car in Japan isn't cheap, but these days, renting has become a smart and reasonable option.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Aug 10, 2009
Free java, no jive
Step back Starbucks. McDonald's is making a power move on the coffee market in Japan with free java.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 20, 2005
A binational prayer for reconciliation
If any one programming section of the Pusan International Film Festival best represents its dedication to exploring every avenue of filmmaking, it's Wide Angle. This year, the section included more than 80 short subjects, documentaries and animated films. Seven of the feature-length Korean documentaries...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Sep 11, 2005
Assemblywoman puts sex on the agenda
In April 2003, 28-year-old Kanako Otsuji became the youngest person ever elected to the Osaka prefectural assembly when she won the seat for Sakai City. It was a distinction made more special by the fact that there were only six other women in the 110-member assembly at the time. However, another distinction...

Longform

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