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September 15, 2025
 

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Philip Brasor
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 11, 2009
Japan's No. 1 playboy hardly a lady- killer
Talk-show host David Letterman obviously did the right thing when during a recent monologue he confessed to having had sex with some of his female staff. He made the admission to pre-empt news that he had been blackmailed for his indiscretions, but whatever the revelation said about Letterman's lack...
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.
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.
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 / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 4, 2009
Cheers to women drinking on their own terms
On July 31, an organization called Shufu Rengo, along with a conference of groups that address alcohol-related issues, sent a letter to liquor-industry associations containing a "request" to enforce "self-regulation" of television commercials targeting women.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 2, 2009
Yamagata's doc feast
Launched in 1989 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the incorporation of Yamagata, a city of 250,000 situated in the agricultural heart of Japan's northern Tohoku region, the biannual Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival was established by the late Shinsuke Ogawa, a resident of the city...
CULTURE / Film
Oct 2, 2009
Tokyo offers tasty platter of film
The Sept. 16 press conference for the 22nd Tokyo International Film Festival, which runs Oct. 17-25, was more stimulating than usual.
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.
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 / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 27, 2009
Denied bear necessities of life
About a week ago, while browsing the Internet, I came across a headline at the BBC Web site that made me pause: "Bear injures 9 at bus terminal." The first thought that crossed my mind was, "Why was a bear waiting for a bus?"
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!
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.
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.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 20, 2009
The forgotten DPJ promise on women's rights
In the weeks since the Democratic Party of Japan secured a majority in the Lower House, the new DPJ members of that institution have apparently been told to keep their mouths shut when they're around the media.
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?
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.
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 / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 13, 2009
ANA looks to sky as JAL hangs head
In a TV commercial aired all last summer, airline passengers are shown relaxing when the pilot comes on the PA to make the usual announcement about travel times and weather. Nobody seems alarmed when they learn that the skipper is teen golf sensation Ryo Ishikawa, who isn't old enough to drive a car...
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.
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.
Is America ready for Japanese-style 7-Elevens?
Convenience stores are a fixture of Japanese life and 7-Eleven, a chain that began in the U.S. in 1927, opened its first store in Japan in 1974 — and then became wholly Japanese-owned in 2005 through parent company Seven & I Holdings.
Japan's cutting-edge railgun successfully strikes target vessel
The Defense Ministry’s Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA) conducted a ship-board railgun shooting test from June to early July this year with the support of the Maritime Self-Defense Force.
‘Fairytale’ Shirakawago ranked one of the world’s most beautiful villages
Forbes and Unforgettable Travel Company have ranked Shirakawago in Gifu Prefecture as Asia's most beautiful village.
People rush to make furusato nozei donations ahead of tighter rules
A booth from the town of Betsukai in Hokkaido at an Amazon Japan furusato nо̄zei promotion event, on Sept. 5 in Tokyo's Minato Ward.
Why more hotels in Japan are offering room-only service
Nipponia Hotel Ise Kawasaki Merchant Town in Ise, Mie Prefecture
Japan's major art events converge this fall
Shinji Ohmaki’s “Tokinokage” exhibited at Fuji Textile Week 2021 shows the use of fabric as art.
An aesthetic escape to Hakone’s art-drenched hills
Between traditional examples of fine art and sleek, modern exhibitions that blend with nature, Hakone offers a unique escape from Tokyo's urban sprawl.
Niinami’s ouster quick but not unusual as corporations protect reputation
Takeshi Niinami resigns as chairman and CEO of Suntory Holdings.
As Manila modernizes its military, new opportunities emerge for Tokyo
A Brahmos missile system is displayed during a rehearsal for a military parade in New Delhi in January. The Philippines will soon receive its second batch of the supersonic cruise missiles from India.
Shizuoka farmers fight to preserve sustainable tea method that’s steeped in tradition
As of August 2024, the number of confirmed chagusaba farmers had fallen to 302, just over half the 582 reported in 2015, according to the Shizuoka Chagusaba Farming Method Promotion Council.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight
By Mai Yoshikawa

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Maruhachi never sleeps in quest for better futons
Maruhachi never sleeps in quest for better futons

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