Masako Tsubuku - The Japan Times

COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS

Mar 5, 2016

Tohoku is literally still waiting to move on

Earlier this month, the NHK travel series, "Tsurube Toasts Families," in which rakugo (traditional comic storyteller) performer Shofukutei Tsurube and a guest visit a town and talk to residents on an impromptu basis, went to some new communities in the area destroyed by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011.

BUSINESS / Economy / YEN FOR LIVING

Feb 27, 2016

Uncertainty over negative interest and My Number may spur Japanese to stash more cash at home

Japanese people already store an enormous amount of cash in their homes, and this trend is only likely to increase in the wake of recent developments.

BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING

Feb 13, 2016

Japan is losing its drive to get behind the wheel

Even domestic automakers seem to be concentrating on expanding overseas as the market at home looks bleak.

COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS

Feb 6, 2016

The ups and downs of apartment elevators

In the 2014 American movie, "5 Flights Up," Morgan Freeman and Diane Keaton play an elderly couple who think about selling their two-bedroom Brooklyn apartment. Since they have lived in the unit all their married life, the decision is a difficult one, and the premise of the plot hinges on the reason for their putting it on the market, which turns out to be a simple one: They live on the top floor of a five-story building with no elevator.

BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING

Jan 23, 2016

Mounting student debt may cost society dearly

The education ministry conducted a survey in 2014 of institutes of higher learning and found that the average yearly tuition for private universities was ¥864,384. In addition, the average "entry fee" (nyūgakukin) was ¥261,089. Adding other expenses, the ministry estimated it cost a student ¥1.43 million to attend a private university during his or her freshman year, and that doesn't include living costs. For junior colleges, the amount wasn't much less, about ¥1.26 million. Graduate students paid about ¥1.09 million during their first year of study.

BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING

Jan 9, 2016

Low wages at the heart of foreign labor shortage woes

There has been a lot of discussion recently about allowing more foreign workers into Japan to make up for severe labor shortages in some fields. As of the end of 2014, the labor ministry estimated there were 790,000 foreign nationals working in Japan legally, which is more than the number of national civil servants (640,000).

COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS

Jan 2, 2016

Getting a high rise out of dodging taxes

About a year ago, we talked about using real estate purchases to lower inheritance and gift taxes. Obviously, people who are able to take advantage of these schemes are already well off — the average person doesn't have to worry about paying inheritance taxes when his or her parents die because for most people there aren't enough assets involved.

BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING

Dec 26, 2015

Ripped-off bar hostesses in Japan stand up for their rights

With an increase in nonregular employment driving more women into the night entertainment business, some are turning to labor unions to deal with clubs that try to con them.

BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING

Dec 12, 2015

Investors see big returns as Airbnb takes off in Japan

While many see Airbnb as a possible fix for two seious problems in Japan — the shortage of hotel rooms and a steady increase in vacant buildings — others see an investment opportunity.

COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS

Dec 5, 2015

Aota-uri: 'green' condominiums to be wary of

Each year between 1990, when Japan's asset bubble burst, and the 2007 recession, about 200,000 new condominium units were added to Japan's housing stock. After 2007, the number dropped to about 100,000, but, depending on the year, anywhere from 50,000 to 70,000 of these units were built in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area. In contrast, during the same time period about 5,000 single-family houses were built in the Tokyo region every year. Condos have thus become the mainstream style for new housing in the capital region, mainly due to the higher cost of land.

BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING

Nov 21, 2015

Without tackling Japan's labor mismatch, Abe's GDP target is just a pipe dream

The government urgently needs to address the mismatch between the jobs available and the people who are looking for employment.

BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING

Nov 7, 2015

No relief in sight for Japan's poor single-parent families

How can Japan's single mothers have both the highest poverty and employment rate among the OECD group of developed nations?

COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS

Oct 31, 2015

Not-so-friendly neighborhood associations

When the U.S. military took charge following Japan's surrender in 1945, one of the first things it did was ban jichikai, or community associations. The thinking was that these organizations had carried out the work of the military government at the neighborhood level and their continued existence might undermine Japan's changeover to a more representative democracy. It didn't quite work, though. As soon as the Occupation was over, jichikai returned.

BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING

Oct 24, 2015

Water, water everywhere in Japan, but fewer people to pay for it

Water is relatively abundant in Japan, but there are less people around to pay for the infrastructure that processes it and delivers it to homes.

BUSINESS / Economy / YEN FOR LIVING

Oct 10, 2015

Japan's rich: acutely aware of their wealth and not flashy with it

It's often said that in Japan you may live right next door to a millionaire and not know it, because his house looks just like yours.

COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS

Oct 3, 2015

Don't be green about the charm of tatami

When we were thinking of buying a condominium, we visited several old danchi — apartments built by Japan's former public housing corporation — because they were cheap and, we thought, easy to renovate. One of the units we inspected had bedroom floors made of tatami mats, and we wondered if we could replace them with real wood floors. The realtor told us that we probably couldn't. The tatami was mandated by the condo's management association because it acted as soundproofing. In fact, he didn't think we'd be able to install real wood floors anywhere in the apartment, because other than tatami only a certain type of sound-proofed laminate flooring was allowed in the building.

BUSINESS / Economy / YEN FOR LIVING

Sep 26, 2015

Inevitable looming consumption tax hike keeps the LDP awake at night

The LDP is in a tough spot between an public wary of consumption tax hikes and a Finance Ministry unwilling to budge on the promised move to a 10-percent levy.

BUSINESS / Economy / YEN FOR LIVING

Sep 12, 2015

Japan's treasury hopes flat-rate beer tax will drive drinkers to maltier fare and pad coffers

Who will benefit from plans to levy the same tax rate on all three categories of beers?

COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS

Sep 5, 2015

Score eco points for your home ground

Several months ago we had most of the windows in our home replaced, even though the house is less than 2 years old. When we had it built we ordered standard double-glazed windows with aluminum frames and sashes, thinking it would be enough, but after the first winter we realized is wasn't, so we decided to buy windows that keep more heat inside during colder weather, while also reflecting more of the sun's rays when it's hot.

BUSINESS / Economy / YEN FOR LIVING

Aug 23, 2015

Chinese shoppers keep Japan's tills ringing

The lower yen, fewer visa restrictions, cheap flights and trust in Japanese products are all helping fuel the boom in Chinese tourism to Japan.

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