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Japan facing increased pressure to hike minimum wage, but business leaders give mixed response

National | YEN FOR LIVING Jun 7, 2019

Japan facing increased pressure to hike minimum wage, but business leaders give mixed response

by Philip Brasor and Masako Tsubuku

Last month, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy recommended that the government draw up detailed measures to bring the nationwide average minimum wage up to ¥1,000 per hour as soon as possible. According to an article in the May 15 Asahi ...

Cracks forming in Japan's premium-based universal health care system

National | YEN FOR LIVING May 9, 2019

Cracks forming in Japan's premium-based universal health care system

by Philip Brasor and Masako Tsubuku

One of the issues U.S. voters say they care the most about right now is health care. America is almost alone in the developed world in not providing its citizens with universal medical care. Japan, on the other hand, has universal health, though it differs ...

Is a lack of money behind Japan's drought of local political candidates?

National | YEN FOR LIVING Apr 12, 2019

Is a lack of money behind Japan's drought of local political candidates?

by Philip Brasor and Masako Tsubuku

In an Asahi Shimbun editorial published March 30, a week before nationwide elections were held for prefectural and municipal assemblies on April 7, the newspaper fretted about the state of local politics. Usually in such cases, it's voter apathy the media laments, but in this ...

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Japan's tax laws get in way of more women working full time

National | YEN FOR LIVING Mar 5, 2019

Japan's tax laws get in way of more women working full time

by Philip Brasor and Masako Tsubuku

One of the key elements of the Abe administration's efforts to stimulate the economy is getting more women into the workforce. As it stands, Japan has one of the highest rates of working women in the developed world, so the problem is not so ...

Examining the high price of Japan's water systems

Business | YEN FOR LIVING Feb 8, 2019

Examining the high price of Japan's water systems

by Philip Brasor and Masako Tsubuku

When we were negotiating for the purchase of a piece of land, the realtor told us that the lot we were interested in had no access to public waterworks, which meant we would have to dig a well. At first, this aspect seemed like ...

In 2019, how hungry is Japan for whale meat?

Business | YEN FOR LIVING Jan 11, 2019

In 2019, how hungry is Japan for whale meat?

by Philip Brasor and Masako Tsubuku

Japan is currently the object of criticism for its decision to leave the International Whaling Commission, and resume commercial whaling in territorial waters and its own exclusive economic zone. People who support the move cite either cultural reasons — Japan traditionally, they assert, is ...

Abuse is the norm for Japan's hometown tax donation system

Business | YEN FOR LIVING Dec 7, 2018

Abuse is the norm for Japan's hometown tax donation system

by Philip Brasor and Masako Tsubuku

On Sept. 11, then-Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Seiko Noda gave a news conference at which she stated the government's intention to revise laws for local taxes. The ministry, which regulates taxation at the prefectural and municipal levels, is trying to rein in the furusato ...

Effort to nudge Japan to go cashless with offsets to sales tax hike faces many hurdles

National | YEN FOR LIVING Nov 9, 2018

Effort to nudge Japan to go cashless with offsets to sales tax hike faces many hurdles

by Philip Brasor and Masako Tsubuku

On Oct. 15, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe confirmed during an extraordinary Cabinet meeting that the government would raise the consumption tax from 8 to 10 percent next Oct. 1. The tax hike has already been postponed twice owing to jitters over how it might ...

Rethinking the notion that hot weather means increased consumption in wake of Japan's scorching summer

Business | YEN FOR LIVING Oct 12, 2018

Rethinking the notion that hot weather means increased consumption in wake of Japan's scorching summer

by Philip Brasor and Masako Tsubuku

Japan seems to suffer more than its fair share of natural disasters, and this past summer was especially bad. In addition to two earthquakes that resulted in considerable damage, there were strong storms that killed dozens and forced thousands to flee their homes. Some people ...

Bad news around mutual funds does little to boost Japanese people's appetite for investment

Business | YEN FOR LIVING Sep 7, 2018

Bad news around mutual funds does little to boost Japanese people's appetite for investment

by Philip Brasor and Masako Tsubuku

On July 27, the Asahi Shimbun reported that the Bank of Japan had overestimated the value of mutual funds being held by individuals by about 30 percent. Every three months the BOJ publishes statistics called shikin junkan tōkei that cover the financial assets of ...

Pricey family graves a fading tradition in aging Japan

National | YEN FOR LIVING Aug 10, 2018

Pricey family graves a fading tradition in aging Japan

by Philip Brasor and Masako Tsubuku

Last month, a man was arrested by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police for leaving human remains at a garbage collection station near his residence in Adachi Ward. The remains had been cremated and were mixed in with shards of funerary urns, and according to a ...

Poverty in Japan: Underclass struggles to achieve upward mobility

Business | YEN FOR LIVING Jul 13, 2018

Poverty in Japan: Underclass struggles to achieve upward mobility

by Philip Brasor and Masako Tsubuku

Last month, Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai said during an LDP gathering in Tokyo that people who opt not to have children are "selfish" given the country's demographic crisis. That remark received a lot of attention. However, much less was said about another comment ...

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