Tag - rural

 
 

RURAL

Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2020
Japan rural land prices rise for first time in 28 years
The average price of all types of land in Japan's rural areas rose last year for the first time since 1992, aided by redevelopment projects and improvement in infrastructure, the government said Wednesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 21, 2020
Japan considering fee system for 5G networks to subsidize launch of services in rural areas
The communications ministry is considering introducing a system to charge internet users a fee so that fiber-optic infrastructure for 5G wireless networks can be constructed and maintained across the country, informed sources said Tuesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 23, 2019
Japan considers law requiring local governments to fill transport gaps in rural areas
The transport ministry is considering a new system to help maintain public transport services in nonurban areas at a time when the population has been declining.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 11, 2019
Japan's government hoping to stop net population inflows into Tokyo by 2024
The central government aims to stop net population inflows into the greater Tokyo area by fiscal 2024, it was learned Tuesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 18, 2019
New communications minister Sanae Takaichi backs 5G networks for Japan's rural areas
Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Sanae Takaichi has expressed her eagerness to promote active use of fifth-generation, or 5G, communications networks for rural areas.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 17, 2019
Empty hair salons can't be saved by BOJ
Struggling businesses in rural Japan show the limits of the central bank's massive easing.
EDITORIALS
Jul 13, 2019
Regional revitalization goes slow
The government needs to review its regional revitalization efforts over the past five years to see if it's taking the right steps to achieve the intended goal.
EDITORIALS
Jun 25, 2019
Regional revitalization agenda revisited
The government needs to reconsider its efforts to achieve regional revitalization.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 24, 2019
House-flipper takes advantage of Japan's 8 million-plus empty homes
More than 8 million homes lie abandoned across Japan, a symptom of the declining population and people's migration to major cities.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 11, 2019
Japan to encourage foreign workers to maintain employment outside major cities
The government is planning measures to encourage foreign workers with specific skills under the country's new visa statuses to secure jobs and continue employment outside of big cities, officials said Monday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2019
Number of abandoned homes in Japan edges up to record high of nearly 8.5 million
Empty homes now account for 13.6 percent of Japan's housing stock, with the bulk of them concentrated in Yamanashi and Wakayama prefectures, government data show.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 12, 2019
Shrinking Wakayama village cuts assembly to five, tying Okinawa council for fewest members in Japan
A mountainous village in Wakayama Prefecture will have the joint-smallest assembly in the country, represented by only five members, it said Tuesday, in the latest sign of the nation's declining population.
Japan Times
JAPAN / GENERATIONAL CHANGE
Mar 12, 2019
Entrepreneur's message to Japan's forgotten non-college-educated youth: You can choose your life
It wasn't until he turned 18 that Daisuke Kuse saw businessmen dressed in dapper suits up close and personal. Until then, Kuse — having spent all of his childhood surrounded by working-class families and friends in a small town in Kyoto Prefecture — had barely the foggiest idea of who they were.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 8, 2019
Japan to pull a U-turn on ride-sharing ban in bid to fill transport gaps in rural areas, Abe says
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says the government plans to promote ride-sharing services that are currently banned in most areas to help improve the availability of transportation in rural areas.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 7, 2019
No Japan-wide minimum wage planned to tackle urban-rural gap ahead of foreign influx, says Suga
Earlier in the day, labor ministry officials had explained the idea to ruling lawmakers, but Suga said the ministry isn't considering the move currently.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Dec 30, 2018
Celebrating New Year's the island way
On the small island where I live in the middle of Japan's Seto Inland Sea, new year celebrations are stalwart traditional. Preparations start a week before when the holiday spirit wafts in on sea breezes tinted with chilling temperatures. The island holds a community rice-pounding event to make kagami mochi adornments for inside our homes and a few businesses set out classic kadomatsu displays — bamboo and pine branches engaged with a shimenawa rope — outside their doors.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 26, 2018
Getting away from it all: More overseas tourists to Japan opt for a taste of the country life
An increasing number of foreign visitors are traveling off the beaten path and taking part in farm-stay programs to get a taste of the typical Japanese country life.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 23, 2018
Girl power! India's 'solar gal pals' light up Rajasthan's rural homes
Buffalo trampled over it? Rain drenched it? Child dropped it? No problem! This solar flashlight can endure it all, said Bassi in a pitch to her neighbors in rural India to convince them to power their homes with clean energy instead of polluting fuels.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Oct 31, 2018
The death of a Japanese countryside festival
Ancient rites bend to an aging, shrinking population, but how much longer can local traditions hold out?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jul 29, 2018
One man's labor-of-love museum captures Seto Inland Sea island's storied stone history
Build a stone museum and they will come? That's the idea behind the K's Labo museum on Kitagi Island in Okayama Prefecture.

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores