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Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Apr 12, 2009

Slow train coming in Shizuoka

Standing on the platform at Kanaya Station in Shizuoka Prefecture, the enthusiastic crowd — myself included — watches with fascination as the train pulls in. Because this train is different. It's not a sleek, aerodynamic bullet train; nor is it one of the ubiquitous, striped JR jobs. Rather, the...
Reader Mail
Apr 9, 2009

Playing the fool in hard times

On April 1, I combed The Japan Times hoping to find an April Fools' Day story to match the one two years ago about "Hachiko." I think I found it in the April 2 article "Axed Brazilians, Peruvians to be paid to leave Japan."
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Apr 7, 2009

'Golden parachutes' mark failure of race-based policy

Japan's employment situation has gotten pretty dire, especially for non-Japanese workers. The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry reports that between last November and January, more than 9,000 foreigners asked the Hello Work unemployment agency for assistance — 11 times the figure for the same period...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 3, 2009

Managers beware: Herren hits Japan

"That's always been their therapy: to bring it together, at least for themselves, in their own environment and their own space. You know, like flowers and rainbows, beautiful people everywhere, and everything's nice."
BUSINESS
Apr 3, 2009

Incentives help Toyota fare better than expected in U.S.

Toyota Motor Corp.'s U.S. sales fell less than analysts predicted last month, as the world's largest carmaker offered near-record incentives to spur demand.
BUSINESS
Apr 3, 2009

Sudden cut seen in summer bonuses

Summer bonuses for workers may fall at the fastest pace in seven years, according to Mizuho Securities Co.
BUSINESS
Apr 2, 2009

Pioneer persuades 773 to leave

Pioneer Corp. said Wednesday that 773 employees have accepted offers to quit at two factories.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 2, 2009

K-Line cuts number of car carriers

Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd., a transporter of cars for Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co., will scrap six of its car carriers and return another 11 to owners as it slashes its fleet amid a slump in auto demand.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 2, 2009

Will pay gap at Nomura go toxic?

Nomura Holdings Inc. is paying college graduates originally recruited by Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. more than twice as much as those it hired on its own, two sources said.
BUSINESS
Apr 1, 2009

Economists applaud Aso's stimulus proposal

Economists on Tuesday welcomed Prime Minister Taro Aso's bid to pass an extra budget, and called on the government to act quickly to hammer out and implement additional stimulus measures.
EDITORIALS
Apr 1, 2009

Poor economy impacts land prices

A survey of land prices by the land and infrastructure ministry made public March 23 shows that the global recession has caused a general decline in demand for land throughout Japan. As of Jan. 1, commercial land prices fell by an average 4.7 percent and residential land prices by an average 3.2 percent...
BUSINESS
Apr 1, 2009

Idled nonregulars to top 190,000

The tally of laid-off nonregular workers between October and this June will reach 192,061, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry announced Tuesday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 28, 2009

From a shady past to helping others

Kabukicho is Tokyo's infamous entertainment district and suburb of sleaze. A heavily populated square of sleepless activity northeast of Shinjuku Station, it is home to a haphazard mix of movie theaters, hostess bars, strip clubs, and seedy nightclubs. An illicit atmosphere permeates the air.
BUSINESS
Mar 28, 2009

Retail sales fall 5.8%; biggest dive since '02

Retail sales retreated by the biggest margin in seven years in February, the government said Friday, as growing concerns about jobs and wages deepened the country's shopping slump.
BUSINESS
Mar 27, 2009

Toyota: Reluctant savior of faltering U.S. carmakers?

Ever since U.S. auto giants General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC began contemplating bankruptcy last year, industry specialists have been asking one question: Will Toyota rescue them?
BUSINESS
Mar 27, 2009

MUFG, Morgan to merge Japan brokerages

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley said Thursday they will merge their Japanese securities businesses to create the nation's second-largest brokerage.
BUSINESS
Mar 27, 2009

'Tankan' survey could tumble to 30-year low on export crash

The collapse in exports may push sentiment among the nation's largest manufacturers to its lowest level in more than 30 years, triggering more investment cuts and job losses.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
Mar 26, 2009

Makeup artist Yukiko Takeda

Yukiko Takeda, 37, is chief makeup artist for Watosa, a skincare line created by famous beauty guru Sablo Watanabe. For the past 15 years, Yukiko has been making women look and feel so beautiful that over 80 percent of her first-time clients turn into hardcore fans who need their fix of "Yukiko magic"...
EDITORIALS
Mar 24, 2009

Pay-hike demands shot down

Bad business conditions because of the global recession triggered by the financial crisis that originated in the United States took a toll on Japanese labor in this year's spring wage negotiations. Major carmakers and electronics companies told labor that they will not increase base pay and that bonuses...
COMMENTARY
Mar 24, 2009

Barring the people needed

The Calderon affair — the expulsion of a Filipino couple who entered Japan illegally but whose Japanese-fluent daughter was born and raised in Japan — is seen as an indictment of Japan's confused immigration policies. And rightly.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 20, 2009

LDP calls for capital injections to avert crisis

The government may follow the U.S. lead and inject capital into large companies to help avert bankruptcies as the country grapples with recession, the ruling party's second in command said.
EDITORIALS
Mar 19, 2009

Getting ready to take action

Finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 nations met last week to prepare for the coming G20 summit and agreed to "take whatever action is necessary until growth is restored." Although a division surfaced among the participating nations, the commitment to efforts to attain recovery...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 19, 2009

A place for charity even in these tough times

PRINCETON, New Jersey — As I tour America promoting my new book, "The Life You Can Save: Acting Now to End World Poverty," I am often asked if this isn't the wrong time to call on affluent people to increase their effort to end poverty in other countries. I reply emphatically that it is not. There...
BUSINESS
Mar 19, 2009

Top auto, electronics producers nix raises

Major electronics companies and carmakers said Wednesday they will not increase monthly base pay in light of the worst economic slump in a decade, shrugging off their unions' demand in the "shunto" spring wage talks for a raise.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami