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Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Oct 12, 2019

Consumers look for ways to blunt impact of consumption tax hike

Japan's consumption tax on goods and services has arguably been unpopular from the get-go. Introduced at 3 percent in 1989 as a means of improving public finances, the rate was raised to 5 percent in 1997, 8 percent in 2014 and, from Oct. 1 of this year, to 10 percent.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 1, 2019

SoftBank has a lesson for startups with WeWork coup: Your dreams had better be profitable

Masayoshi Son, long known as a free-spending benefactor who encouraged startup founders to pursue their dreams even if it meant losing billions of dollars, had a different message for entrepreneurs last month: Your dreams had better be profitable.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Sep 28, 2019

Receiver Antonio Brown plans grievances against Raiders, Patriots

The Oakland Raiders may be done with Antonio Brown, but it appears he is not yet done with them.
Japan Times
SOCCER / From the Spot
Sep 25, 2019

Rugby World Cup scores try with Japanese soccer media

Last weekend saw packed crowds take over Ajinomoto Stadium and Nissan Stadium, two of the J. League's biggest venues, for pageantry-filled days of sport.
Japan Times
CULTURE
Sep 7, 2019

Death notes: Traditional rituals associated with curses persist in 21st-century Japan

It's a scorching summer afternoon with temperatures crawling toward 37 degrees Celsius. Kadota Inari Shrine is empty except for a chorus of screeching cicadas and the smooth stone statues of foxes guarding its entrance.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Aug 17, 2019

Excessive homework may be exhausting students in Japan during their summer vacation

The school summer holidays are now in full swing but an increasing number of parents and their children are spending the break hunched over a desk with a stack of workbooks instead of enjoying ice cream in the park. 
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 6, 2019

Japan's monopolies agency reportedly investigating Apple for hammering suppliers

The Fair Trade Commission is investigating Apple Inc. over its pressure on parts makers and whether it abused its power in violation of antimonopoly rules, the Mainichi Shimbun reported Tuesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 4, 2019

Japan bets on QR code payments to sustain spending

When the baseball season kicked off in Japan this spring, fans of the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles were faced with an inconvenience they'd never encountered before: The food and drink stalls did not accept cash.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 21, 2019

Slack valuation hits $21 billion in debut after firm shuns IPO

While a parade of initial public offerings from Silicon Valley have garnered mixed receptions from investors so far this year, Slack Technologies Inc. took a different route Thursday and saw its shares soar as it went public without an IPO.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 15, 2019

Combating an unfounded fear of Japan's recluses

Although the term "hikikomori," which describes people who shun social contact and seek extreme degrees of isolation, has been in common use for several decades, it has taken on a more sinister cast recently as the media has come to view it as a social problem. In the wake of two incidents that have...
SOCCER / From the Spot
May 22, 2019

Blown call leaves Japanese soccer world scrambling to enact reforms

Friday night's 3-2 win by Shonan Bellmare over Urawa Reds showcased everything great about the J. League, with the plucky underdogs winning in stoppage time to cap a dramatic comeback.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 22, 2019

Short Shorts 2019: Short on time, but never short on creativity

Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia, whose 21st edition takes place from May 29 to June 16 at venues around Tokyo, is one of the largest festivals of its type in Asia. And, starting this year, four winners of its competitions will be eligible for an Academy Award in the short film category, up from just...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
May 16, 2019

Line Pay ¥30 billion campaign will allow users to send free ¥1,000 to all their friends

Line has about 80 million active users in Japan, of which about 32 million are registered Line Pay users, according to the firm.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 13, 2019

When giving a public speech in Japanese, tears can be your trump card

There are certain occasions in Japan when showing emotion is expected. Deploying a few key phrases can also do the trick.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Cultivating Craft
Apr 6, 2019

Perseverance pays off for SanktGallen Brewery

With its innovative craft beers and approach to marketing, SanktGallen Brewery has established itself in Japan's craft beer world not just once, but twice.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 3, 2019

Announcement of Japan's impending Reiwa Era sets off scramble for internet domain names

It is not only for products and companies that people have a desire to use the new Imperial era name, and its announcement has set off a scramble to acquire a domain name — the address used to access a website — featuring the word "reiwa."
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 1, 2019

Heisei it ain't so! An era of great vocabulary is ending

In the beginning there was the word. More precisely, the prefix. When the Heisei Era officially started, on Jan. 8, 1989, Japan's economy was still merrily bubbling along. That must have been one reason for the popularity of 超 (chō, hyper-). The prefix itself is anything but new, but the idea to make...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Mar 30, 2019

With resellers, fans must take matters into their own hands

Few groups in Japan respond to a slight quite like Disney devotees. This year marks the 35th anniversary of the conglomerate's Tokyo Disneyland park, and to celebrate and rack up some more revenue, earlier this year it unveiled a line of limited-edition goods tied to the occasion.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 28, 2019

Japan's internet giants team up as mobile payments race intensifies

Line Corp. and Mercari Inc. are joining forces on mobile payments as the nation's internet companies race to dominate cashless transactions in the world's No. 3 economy.
Japan Times
JAPAN / FOCUS
Mar 26, 2019

Did Tokyo immigration officials allow proper treatment for ailing Kurdish detainee?

It had the appearance of a scandal in the making.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 18, 2019

Twitter's former CFO joins SoftBank-backed farming startup Plenty

Twitter Inc.'s former chief financial officer has joined SoftBank Group Corp.-backed Plenty Inc. in the same role as the indoor farming startup prepares for international expansion and improvements to its vertical growing technology.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 9, 2019

Just how convenient are convenience stores in Japan?

The recent trend of online videos showing "baito tero," or "part-timer terrorism," enacted by part-time workers has sparked another media discussion about the plight of low wage earners. Most of these videos were recorded by people working in food-related businesses, and explanations for why they are...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 1, 2019

SDF draws fire for recruitment poster featuring female anime characters in skimpy costumes

A Self-Defense Forces recruitment office in Shiga Prefecture has caused a stir by releasing a poster that features female anime characters wearing super-short skirts, which expose what appear to be underwear. Some people have described the image as a form of sexual harassment.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Feb 19, 2019

NFL great Joe Montana invests in California marijuana brand

Joe Montana, the former Hall of Fame quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, is betting on the newest California gold rush: cannabis.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past