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May 15, 2024
 

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Masako Tsubuku
For Masako Tsubuku's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Oct 1, 2014
Rice is nice when the price is right
Is the big drop in rice prices a good thing or a bad thing?
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Sep 22, 2014
Annals of Cheap: Eco Rent-a-car
With rental cars this cheap, who needs to own?
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Sep 15, 2014
Mail order scofflaws are the exception that proves the rule
Some Internet consumers take advantage of sales agents' honor systems.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Sep 8, 2014
Casino tax study exposes pachinko to greater scrutiny
The government wants to tax pachinko but the police are in its way.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Sep 5, 2014
Can Japan level its problem with vacant buildings?
On July 29, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications released the results of its latest survey on Japanese housing, which it completed last fall and conducts every five years. The statistic that caught the media's attention was the one for akiya, or vacant homes. As of the end of October 2013, 13.5 percent of all housing units in Japan were empty, which is 0.4 percentage points higher than the portion in 2008, the last time the survey was carried out.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Sep 1, 2014
Prep schools succumbing to more than economic reality
Cram schools and prep schools rely on 'ronin,' whose numbers are dwindling.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Aug 25, 2014
European winemakers fret over competition from Chile
Imports of Chilean wines to Japan recently outperformed those of Italian wines
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Aug 15, 2014
Whatever you do, don't call Nestle's coffee 'instant'
Nestle aims to change the way office people think about coffee breaks.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Aug 11, 2014
Local municipalities vie for your 'hometown tax'
If you donate money to a local government, you can get rewarded three times.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Aug 2, 2014
Inflation Watch: Food manufacturers offering less
Food companies know that consumers are now sensitive to price increases and use an old solution
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Aug 1, 2014
Ticking the right tax boxes
In most places in the world, property taxes, which are levied on buildings and land, are administered and collected by local governments for the benefit of local governments. This is also true in Japan, but it's useful to keep in mind that property tax rules and regulations are determined by the central government.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jul 27, 2014
A modest proposal for alleviating the endangerment of Japanese eels
In Japan, most eel is consumed on one day of the year.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jul 20, 2014
Japanese franchises cut loose by overseas brands after serving their purpose
Japanese companies are good at promoting overseas brands for the Japanese market.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jul 14, 2014
Will rice cookers save the Japanese home electronics industry?
The Chinese have discovered Japanese rice, and it could be a big deal.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jul 7, 2014
What the government doesn't pay in pensions it will have to make up for with welfare
People are facing a widening gap between retirement age and the age they are eligible for pensions.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Jul 4, 2014
When should we make noise about loud neighbors?
In August 1974, a 46-year-old man living on the fourth floor of a public apartment building in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, forced his way into the unit below him and killed two little girls and their mother. After attempting suicide he was arrested, and he told police he had been driven to murder by his neighbors' piano playing. Despite his earlier complaints to his neighbors, they continued to use the instrument. On a door in the family's apartment, he scrawled, "There was no apology."
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jun 30, 2014
Japan tourism still suffers from a credit card gap
Tourists want two things: to be able to use their smart phones and their credit cards in Japan.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jun 21, 2014
Does an increase in summer bonuses mean a healthier economy?
Average bonus amounts are going up this summer, but the number of bonuses are going down.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jun 13, 2014
Won't get fooled again? Fans and their money are soon parted
Some pop fans are more devoted, and more naive, than others
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jun 8, 2014
The new National Stadium will have to rock you
The burgeoning concert business could make the new Olympic Stadium feasible.
Japanese stripper bids to have her porn movies taken off internet
Plaintiff Miyuki Ariga (left) speaks at a news conference along with her lawyer, Yoshitomo Morohashi, after filing a lawsuit at the Tokyo District Court on Monday.
Yen’s fragility raises specter of a new currency war in Asia
Suspected intervention to drag the yen off a 34-year low against the dollar is already seen as unlikely to have a lasting effect if Japan continues alone.
Online booking for Mount Fuji climb to open on May 20
Visitors climb the slopes of Mount Fuji, Japan's highest peak at 3,776 meters. From May 20, climbers will have access to a new online booking system for Mount Fuji's most popular Yoshida trail in Yamanashi Prefecture.
In Japan, 68,000 people over 65 projected to die alone at home this year
As Japan grapples with its population's rapid aging, supporting people who live and age alone is looming larger on the policy agenda.
Ex-METI bureaucrat given 10-year sentence for drugging and raping women
The Tokyo District Court on Monday sentenced a former industry ministry bureaucrat to 10 years in prison for drugging six women with sleeping pills and then raping or groping them in 2022.
In a rare event, the Northern Lights show up in Hokkaido
The Northern Lights in Nayoro, Hokkaido, on Saturday
Is black the new green for Japan’s flagging tea farmers?
George Guttridge-Smith brews tea at Kyoto Obubu Tea Farm in Wazuka, Kyoto Prefecture, where he serves as head of international development.
Japan's logistics firms seek partnerships to cope with driver shortage
Japan Post CEO Tetsuya Senda (right) and his Seino Transportation counterpart Satoshi Takahashi announce their companies' agreement on joint long-haul truck operations, in Tokyo on Thursday.
How the discovery of a giant sword in Nara offers clues into ancient Japan
Archaeologists say a 1,600-year-old wooden coffin at the Tomio Maruyama tumulus in the city of Nara was kept in good condition probably because it was protected by a layer of clay and copper ions that had seeped out of the mirrors that were buried together.
Unlike 10 years ago, Japan's new security bill sparks little debate
The Lower House starts discussing a security clearance bill on April 19 in Tokyo.

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

Things may look perfect to the outside world, but today's mom is fine with some imperfection at home.
How 'Reiwa moms' are reshaping motherhood in Japan
By Mai Yoshikawa

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

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