Barry Brophy - The Japan Times

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Barry Brophy

For Barry Brophy's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST

Nov 28, 2006

The rules of the road

Obtaining a driver's license can be an expensive and frustrating experience, and doing so in Japan is no different in that regard. But for many foreign residents in Japan, transferring their home license into a Japanese one can be a fairly simple and inexpensive procedure, while for others it's an advisable course given the limited validity of an international license here.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST

Oct 3, 2006

Permanent visa can relieve pension pain

One of many foreign residents' biggest gripes about Japan is the requirement that they must pay into the Japanese pension system for as long as they work here, even though they won't stay long enough to receive any benefits. Permanent residency can help to side-step the issue without obliging somebody to work here for the 25-year minimum needed to collect a pension later.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST

Sep 12, 2006

Permanent residency

As more foreigners choose to remain in Japan long-term, increasing numbers have sought a status change to reflect their commitment to the country and make it easier to build a stable life here.

COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST

Oct 4, 2005

Hidden wisdom of 'the guv,' Shintaro Ishihara

Adored by large sections of the Japanese public, reviled in equal measure by the foreign community and courted tirelessly by the domestic media: There are few more divisive figures in Japan today than Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara.

COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST

Sep 13, 2005

Scales of justice

Spare a thought for Hiroyuki Cho. The 39-year-old purported "mastermind" behind the theft of large fiber-glass Peko-chan dolls in broad daylight from outside one of Japan's most famous confectionery chains was last week handed a 7-year prison sentence for his crimes.

COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST

May 31, 2005

New Nova hours pose health risk

Nova Corp., Japan's largest employer of foreign nationals, is set to amend its working times from this week, a move which could see thousands of foreign teachers become ineligible for Employees Health Insurance, and save the company as much as 1 billion yen a year in the process.

COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST

Apr 12, 2005

English schools face huge insurance probe

The Social Insurance Agency is to investigate Japan's largest English-language teaching companies over a suspected failure to enroll their full-time foreign employees in the employees' pension and health insurance schemes.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST

Aug 24, 2004

Pension system a riddle wrapped in an enigma

Help, police! For foreigners staying in Japan for more than three and less than 25 years, there is only one word for the Japanese pension system -- ROBBERY! -- Bhupesh

Japan Times

COMMUNITY

Aug 17, 2004

Collecting your pension dues

After those who leave Japan, hand in their gaijin cards and apply for their 2.4 month refund, the remaining millions of yen they've paid into the system stay in Japan, where the money is used to pay pension payments for those they left behind.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Issues

Aug 10, 2004

Your golden handshake

What is the Japanese pension system?

COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST

Feb 3, 2004

'Real' last samurai fights for attention

Tom Cruise and Ken Watanabe may be raking in big box-office bucks as The Last Samurai, but a rival claimant to the title has emerged in the unlikely form of a sword-wielding British TV producer.

COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST

Dec 30, 2003

Truth gets trampled by good stories

And why did the cops take 1,772 calls before deciding that someone was pulling their chain? We don't know. And we don't know why, or even if, the following people did these strange things, but heaven forbid we'd let the truth stand in the way of a good story.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST

Dec 2, 2003

Could fear derail bold tourism bid?

There's a great irony in the Japanese government's "action plan" to double the the number of tourists who come to these shores by 2010.

COMMUNITY / Issues

Jul 15, 2003

It is better to have the parents decapitated for punishment after dragging them around town. State Minister Yoshitada Konoike explains what he'd like to do to the parents of the boy who murdered four-year-old Shun Tanemoto. He later explained that the suggestion was prompted by his interest in old samurai movies.

COMMUNITY

Apr 1, 2003

Brave Tama-chan takes fame in his stride

If ever an amphibious mammal was catapulted to the forefront of a nation's consciousness, Tama-chan, the bearded seal who has taken up residence in Yokohama's Katabira River, is that animal.

COMMUNITY

Mar 4, 2003

Japan gets keen on green for Paddy's Day party

The great, the good and the goths of trendy Harajuku are in for a shock on March 16, when the chic shopping district will be taken over by Tokyo's annual St. Patrick's Day Parade.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST

Feb 11, 2003

Kawaii sea lion back in spotlight

Celebrity sea lion Tama-chan is causing a flap yet again.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST

Nov 8, 2002

The fight for equal protection of the law

Next Monday will be a red letter day for the issue of racial discrimination in Japan.

COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST

Oct 25, 2002

Building juggernaut hijacks tourist plan

Japan's new tourism drive, designed to double the number of foreign visitors to the country by 2007, should send a shiver down the spine of conservationists and environmentalists.

COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST

Sep 19, 2002

When evil guitars desecrated the Budokan

Long before the 'hoorigans' descended on Japan last summer, the arrival of another group of Englishmen was giving Japanese officials sleepless nights.

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

Historically, kabuki was considered the entertainment of the merchant and peasant classes, a far cry from how it is regarded today.

For Japan's oldest kabuki theater, the show must go on

By Lance Henderstein

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Students ‘study abroad’ on island of Suo Oshima

Students ‘study abroad’ on island of Suo Oshima

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