Masako Tsubuku - The Japan Times

BUSINESS / Economy / YEN FOR LIVING

Aug 8, 2015

Japan's elderly boomers squeezed to pay more as care facilities struggle

The elderly nursing care industry is facing a perfect storm of problems as the ranks of elderly swell and subsidies from local authorities and central government shrink.

COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS

Aug 1, 2015

Your home may be your castle, but not all of it is yours

When we were thinking about buying a condominium some years ago, we looked at older units and brand new ones, and one of our least favorite features was pebbled or fogged window glass, which was ubiquitous. Early on, when we didn't know any better, we asked a real estate agent how much it would cost to replace a set of pebbled windows with transparent ones, and he said that was not possible. We reacted with confusion, thinking that as owners of the unit, not renters, we could make any changes we liked. But as he explained to us, some of the features of a condominium are considered "communal" (kyōyō-bu), meaning they are owned by all the residents of a building, and one of those common features are windows, which means they can't be changed.

BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING

Jul 25, 2015

America still rules the world of Japan's theme parks

The success of Tokyo Disney Resort and Universal Studios Japan has a lot to do with their business models and the way they've exploited their appeal to certain demographics in Japan.

BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING

Jul 11, 2015

Consumers slow to embrace generic drugs

In May, the health ministry announced that it would set a new target for the use of generic pharmaceuticals. In 2013, 46.9 percent of the prescription drugs dispensed in Japan were generics, and at first the ministry said it wanted to raise this portion to 60 percent by 2017, but the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy, which advises the ministry on fiscal matters, insisted it speed up the process in order to curb runaway medical costs, and now the ministry says it will shoot for a target of 80 percent in line with the dispensing rate in Europe and the United States.

COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS

Jul 4, 2015

Temblors in the home insurance business

When we were looking around for a financial institution for a housing loan, we found that the major ones didn't really want to talk to us, but there were plenty of other places that would.

BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING

Jun 27, 2015

Home electronics market loses its spark

On May 25, Yamada Denki Co., the largest home electronics retailer in Japan, announced that it would be closing 46 outlets. Given that the stores had been losing money for at least a year and Yamada operates more than 1,000, the announcement wasn't surprising, though the swiftness of its actions was. The targeted stores were shuttered a week later.

BUSINESS / Economy / YEN FOR LIVING

Jun 13, 2015

Suntory gains ground in battle of the machines

Suntory Beverage is buying a bigger piece of a shrinking but lucrative pie with its purchase of the Japan Tobacco's vending machine subsidiary.

COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS

Jun 6, 2015

Watch out for hidden hazards of buying land

When we were looking for property we consulted topographical maps prior to checking a particular piece of land in person. Understanding the elevation of a plot is important if you're buying land near the coast or along a river. In the event of flooding or a tsunami, it's obviously better to be located on higher ground. Older topographical maps are also helpful because they can show you the contours of the land before it was developed for residential housing.

BUSINESS / Economy / YEN FOR LIVING

May 23, 2015

Phone users in Japan still paying for plenty of stuff they don't need

Despite efforts to shake up competition in the cellphone market, consumers are paying more than ever for mobile services.

BUSINESS / Economy / YEN FOR LIVING

May 9, 2015

Stores struggle to adjust in a shrinking Japan

From McDonald's to izakayas and konbinis, food outlets are learning the hard way that as Japan's population drops, so will consumption.

COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS

May 2, 2015

Garden states: looking good on the outside

One problem with designing your own house is that you don't necessarily know what it's going to be like until it's finished. The company we hired to build ours doesn't make model homes the way some housing companies do. It's one of the reasons we chose them, since models add to the price of the product. All we had were two-dimensional printouts based on computer models.

BUSINESS / Economy

Apr 25, 2015

Cash shortfall among the elderly could push Japan over the edge

Last summer the welfare ministry reported that a record number of households were receiving government assistance, and 47.1 percent of these households were made up of either elderly people only or the elderly and unmarried family members under 18. The media has been reporting for years that an increasing number of seniors are joining the welfare rolls. National pensions were never meant to cover every retiree's living expenses, but it's obvious that many are not prepared for their old age.

BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING

Apr 12, 2015

Yen for Living is moving!

Yen for Living has lived in this virtual space since August 2009. From today, new Yen for Living reports will appear in The Japan Times on Sunday on the second and fourth Sundays of the month. It will also be archived on the JT website.

BUSINESS / Economy / YEN FOR LIVING

Apr 11, 2015

Outdated Otsuka Kagu business model is at the root of family feud

Retailers know that image maintenance is important for their bottom lines, as proven by Otsuka Kagu Ltd.'s 37.8 percent drop in sales last month compared to March 2014.

COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS

Apr 4, 2015

Japan's public housing system has a shelf life

One of the most desirable properties in Tokyo is Chateau Mita, located in Minato Ward within walking distance of several embassies and Tokyo Tower and less than 10 minutes from four subway stations. The apartment building was constructed in 1964 and by 2000 there were persistent problems with plumbing and wiring, so the resident-owners decided to rebuild the eight-story structure in 2010.

COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS

Mar 6, 2015

Cheap rural homes come at a price

Though the hollowing-out of population in regional areas in Japan has become a major issue for the central government, it's been a problem for regional governments for more than three decades. Twenty years ago there was a popular promotional method called "I-turn," devised as a supplement to the "U-turn" movement. This latter scheme lured people who lived in cities back to their hometowns. The I-Turn scheme, however, targeted people who grew up in cities but perhaps had some romantic longing for rural life.

BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING

Feb 23, 2015

Pusses galore: Cats dominate the pet industry

Though cats are cheaper than dogs to acquire, you may end up spending more money on them.

BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING

Feb 16, 2015

Who benefits from the new overtime pay system?

On Feb. 13, a Labor Policy Council sub-committee submitted to the labor ministry a report with suggestions for a bill to revise the labor standards law. The revision, which the ministry plans to submit to the next regular Diet session, applies to the work of skilled white collar professionals and will allow them to 'work in a manner that demonstrates their achievements' more effectively, which is another way of saying that employers will no longer be required to pay these workers overtime for extra hours on the job, which in turn means that employers cannot be accused of pressuring them to work overtime for no pay, a system popularly known as saabisu zangyo, or 'free overtime.'

BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING

Feb 9, 2015

Retiring boomers make their last stand on the real estate market

An increasing number of retirees are opting for high-rise living in their twilight years.

COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS

Feb 6, 2015

Renting comes with guarantors, not guarantees

According to the most recent census, as of 2010 the population of Japan stood at a little less than 128 million, and if demographic trends continue at the current rate it will be 107 million in 2030 and 97 million in 2050. Despite this projected decline, 369,993 new rental units were built in Japan last year; up from 291,804 built in 2010, an increase that sounds counterintuitive given the population drop, though the trend could be a reflection of perceived changes in housing preferences.

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