For foreign caregivers, role remains ambiguous

Abstract: Does Japan really want to accept foreign caregivers? This question, which has dogged the rapidly graying nation for years, continues to loom over a government program to bring in caregivers under bilateral economic partnership agreements. Japan opened its doors to foreign care workers in 2008, when, via an EPA with Indonesia, it accepted 104 people to work in the nation’s nursing homes to assist the elderly. Subsequent EPAs with the Philippines and Vietnam paved the way for the start in 2009 and 2014, respectively, of similar programs, through which a total of 1,500 caregivers have so far been accepted. But the government doggedly has maintained that these caregivers were brought in to “strengthen economic cooperation” under the free trade deals, not to fill manpower shortages in the nursing care sector. As such, their raison d’etre in Japan has always been ambiguous, experts say. Yasuhiro Yuki, professor of welfare policy at Shukutoku University in Chiba Prefecture, says care facility operators had wrongly expected them to stay in Japan indefinitely, when the system was simply not designed that way. “I think the caregivers have succeeded in serving the original purpose of personnel exchange,” Yuki said. “But care facility operators in Japan had hoped they would stay on as care workers. . . . They never understood that the government accepted the workers in exchange for lower tariffs on cars and bananas.” EPA caregivers, despite being licensed as nurses back home, must pass the state qualification exam in Japan to be licensed as kaigo fukushi shi (nursing care specialists) at the end of the four-year EPA program in Japan, if they hope to continue working thereafter. Every year, only around half of the EPA workers who take the exam — which is held only in Japanese — pass. If they do, they are allowed to stay and their visas are renewable, but those who fail are sent back home. In response to criticism that the exam’s hurdles are unrealistically and unnecessarily high, the government has tweaked the test, attaching hiragana to all the kanji, introducing a little bit of English and extending the test time for EPA applicants. Also, since 2012, the government has given a second chance to those who fail the exam, out of “diplomatic consideration,” according to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry. Instead of being immediately repatriated, EPA caregivers can now stay in Japan for one more year to prepare for a second chance at the exam “as an exceptional measure.” But even then, more than a third of those who pass anyway go home, according to the labor ministry. Yuki, who got involved in the one-year, pre-arrival training program for Vietnamese caregivers at the request of the Foreign Ministry, said foreign applicants mostly see their stint in Japan as a high-paying job that lasts just a few years, after which they can return home and easily find jobs as translators or tour guides for Japanese visitors and businesses, using the language ability acquired under the EPA program. This, Yuki said, has left nursing care facility operators disenchanted, especially since the majority of the workers have been highly motivated and proved themselves to be valuable staff at care homes. Yas Idei, a journalist who has covered foreign labor issues extensively, called the EPA program a failure. “The government accepted people under EPAs without making it clear whether it wants to welcome foreign caregivers (as a long-term source of labor),” he said. “The minor tweaks of the qualification exam might have helped a few dozen others pass it, but that gives no impact on the gap in the labor market, where the government says Japan will be short 300,000 caregivers by 2025.” Idei said the government intentionally set the hurdle too high for EPA workers to discourage them from settling in Japan, noting that 3 in 4 Japanese working at care facilities don’t have the same state qualification. According to Idei, Japan needs to have a serious debate about how many of the 300,000 care-worker slots it wants to fill with non-Japanese, now that two new systems for bringing in foreign caregivers — through the technical training program and a new visa status for such professionals — are being planned. Germany and some other European countries are also trying to recruit Asian caregivers, with their governments investing heavily in language education, Idei said, noting that, in contrast, Taiwan has imported some 200,000 caregivers as cheap labor, forsaking quality over quantity. “First, Japan needs to decide if it wants to accept caregivers. If it does, the country should also discuss how to make itself an appealing labor market for them, ditching the self-conceited idea that simply by opening doors, good talent will flow in,” he said.


Unlike elections, referendums are a PR free-for-all

Abstract: With less than three weeks until the May 17 referendum on whether to consolidate the city of Osaka into five semi-autonomous wards, supporters and opponents of the plan are engaged in an intense and unprecedented media and public relations campaign to win over voters. Unlike elections, where campaigning methods are strictly controlled, there is a remarkable degree of freedom on all sides to debate, and propagate, their message during a referendum campaign. What kind of freedom? First, you’re allowed to drum up support for your position before the official campaign period begins, and you can even harangue potential voters on the day of the referendum. Second, there are no limits on the amount each side can spend to promote its views. Third, political parties do not face detailed rules on the design and number of posters and pamphlets they can print up and pass out advocating their position. Finally, candidates for public office face restrictions on TV commercials. Their messages are about the political party’s activities, not the individual. But there are no real restrictions on TV commercials for a referendum. All of this means that supporters and opponents in the Osaka merger referendum have, in theory at least, unprecedented opportunities to get their messages out via the media and other public relations activities. For Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto and his Osaka Ishin no Kai (One Osaka) political group, this means directly appealing to voters for support. Over a 12-day period this month, Hashimoto barnstormed the city, holding three town meetings a day lasting about two hours in all of Osaka’s 24 wards. A downloadable pamphlet from the city’s website explains the plan and has been sent to all Osaka residents by mail and was distributed at the town meetings. All major parties opposed to the plan have drawn up their own pamphlets and materials as well. Both are now flooding social media with their views in ways never seen in election campaigns. None of this comes cheap. Osaka Ishin is expected to spend from ¥400 million to ¥500 million on the referendum blitz, while the local segment of the Liberal Democratic Party, which opposes the merger, will invest tens of millions of yen to counter him. Who’s winning the PR war? As of late April, it appears to be the anti-merger camp. Voters and some media are expressing irritation with the way Hashimoto ran the town meetings, sometimes limiting question time. Local media polls in mid-April showed opposition eclipsing support, a reversal of the situation in March. But with fewer limits on campaigning, Osakans are likely to see a very different blitz in the coming days than the usual campaigns, where white-gloved candidates do nothing but shout their name at passers-by. That could be a good thing, as it means more direct and detailed appeals from both sides, helping to ensure participation on May 17 is well above voter turnout rates for elections.

toru hashimoto
referendum
osaka ishin no kai


Cycling the Kyoto maze could get easier

Abstract: Kyoto’s historical and cultural treasures have always attracted large numbers of tourists. But getting around the city by car or bus has never been easy, even when traffic is light. Train and subway stations are somewhat limited and not always near the most visited historical sites. Narrow one-way streets abound, and even the main roads are often clogged with vehicle and pedestrian traffic. Long-term residents give directions by joking that your destination is a 10-minute walk or a 30-minute taxi or bus ride away. That makes bicycles particularly popular. After Tokyo and Osaka, Kyoto, with a population of about 1.5 million to Osaka’s 2.7 million, has more people commuting to work or school by bicycle than any other city in the country. Yet that creates its own problems. For many years, bicycle use in Kyoto was loosely regulated and parking, as with autos, was a huge headache. People lined up their bikes, illegally, in long rows that took up half the sidewalk, squeezing foot traffic into a narrow area and making a stroll downtown difficult for those whose natural speed is faster than a turtle. But at the end of March, Kyoto announced plans to make the city more cyclist-friendly by 2020. More money will be spent on adding bicycle lanes, improving public knowledge of safety issues, building parking spaces and working with the private sector to expand bike tours. While some Kyoto roads now have bicycle lanes, there are plans afoot to create new routes in three parts of the city, including virtually its entire center, by 2020. The lanes will be marked with pictographs, not kanji. Efforts to make Kyoto more cyclist-friendly actually began in earnest in 2010, when more than 86,000 illegally parked bicycles were removed by the city. New measures increased the number of private parking lot owners, and there is now authorized parking space to accommodate over 54,000 bicycles, up from about 49,000 in 2010 and 39,000 a decade ago. At the same time, crackdowns on illegal parking meant the city removed just over 54,600 bikes in fiscal 2013, especially from the banks of the Kamo River and city streets late at night, on weekends and holidays. Progress has thus been visible even with the number of tourists on the streets rising rapidly. The latest available figures, from fiscal 2013, show more than 51.6 million tourists visited Kyoto. That includes over 1.1 million foreigners who spent at least one night in Kyoto — a 35 percent increase over the previous year. While fleets of air-conditioned buses with guides speaking nonstop through a public address system the entire tour still shepherd large groups around, not a few foreign tourists, especially from the United States and Europe, prefer to travel individually or in small groups by bicycle. Over the past decade or so, some long-term Kyoto expats have begun to offer bicycle tours of the major temples, shrines and historic sites, or provide English-language information on where, and how, to get around Kyoto on two wheels. While generally agreeing the city is better today than a couple of decades ago when it comes to its bicycle policy, several people have offered specific advice on how to create an even more-cyclist friendly environment. Chris Rowthorn, author of Lonely Planet’s Japan and Kyoto guides, runs his own tour company. He says that while Kyoto is one of the most bikeable cities in Asia, it doesn’t make it easy, particularly foreign cyclists who cannot read Japanese. “The city’s main bicycle parking lots, including the new ones on Oike dori (Oike Avenue, directly across from Kyoto City Hall), lack English-language explanations on the payment machines,” he said. And parking, he says, remains a problem. “There is an acute shortage of places to park bicycles in the city. Kyoto is assiduous about removing bicycles parked on city streets, but much less concerned about building bicycle parking lots or spaces and making them easy to use for foreign visitors,” he said. Sanborn Brown, who created the CycleKyoto.com website, a bilingual reference for tourists, commuters, first-time visitors and long-time residents, offered a half dozen suggestions on what might be done over the coming years. “As much as possible, the city needs to separate cars, bikes and pedestrians. A citywide rental system, like Velib in Paris, would be nice. It would require multiple pickup and drop-off ports, ease of use (read: multilingual instructions) and payment for non-Japanese speakers,” Brown said. Many of the above suggestions have been incorporated into the 2020 plan announced by the city last month. With the Tokyo Olympics that same year, Kyoto’s politicians and merchants are looking forward to greeting large numbers of visitors and making sure they get around smoothly. But given the reliance of Kyoto’s tourism industry on large group tours, taking the kind of additional cyclist-friendly measures seen in some overseas cities could be tough. “The number of cars and tour buses on the road should be reduced if the city really wants to make it safe for cyclists and pedestrians, though this is not likely to happen,” Brown said.

kyoto
tourism
bicycle
kansai perspective


Taco Bell returns to Japan with launch of Shibuya outlet

Abstract: What’s the same: that iconic bell sign, friendly and casual staff, and a range of crunchy and soft tacos and burritos. What’s different: a real live yuru-kyara mascot greeting customers, a couple of localized dishes, and prices double or triple those in the United States. U.S. fast food chain Taco Bell Corp. made a much-hyped re-entry into the Japanese market on Tuesday, opening a store in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward through Asrapport Dining Co., a Japanese operator of restaurant franchises. The U.S. restaurant chain, known for its Mexican-inspired menu, operated restaurants in Japan in the late 1980s but later pulled out, with the exception of outlets at U.S. military bases, which remained. On Tuesday morning, Taco Bell aficionados were out in force, lining up before the doors opened. At 10 a.m., as bells rang, an English-speaking staffer and the mascot, named Taco Man, led customers in one by one. “We came here because we wanted to be the first,” said California native Jason Stillwell, a 37-year-old English teacher from Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture. He arrived at the store at 7:30 a.m. to be among the first 100 patrons to get a free taco and a T-shirt. “I have a friend who’s a Taco Bell manager back home. So I emailed her and said ‘We have a Taco Bell in Japan too!’ ” The chain’s foray into Japan comes at a time when a handful of U.S. dining chains, including Carl’s Jr. and Shake Shack, are planning to enter the Japanese market, aiming to attract not just domestic customers but also increasing numbers of foreign visitors ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Melissa Lora, president of Taco Bell International, is optimistic that the firm’s second crack at the nation’s ¥24 trillion restaurant market will succeed, stressing the market environment is better than in the late 1980s. “The world has changed,” Lora said. “Back then, no one took pictures of the food. With social media and all the focus on new, interesting foods that are in the world today, we feel now is the perfect time to come into Japan.” Keiko Takasaki, 29, who came with a friend, was among many customers who learned of the store’s opening through Facebook. “I enjoyed Taco Bell in California, where I used to live,” she said. She was looking forward to Japan-only dishes such as shrimp avocado burrito and taco rice. Unfortunately, prices will also be Japanese-style: Most dishes cost ¥500 or ¥600, with the cheapest taco on the menu — a beef crunchy taco — priced at ¥270. Asrapport Dining official Mike Morizumi said the higher prices were inevitable due to the yen’s rapid depreciation over the past two years and because the restaurant chain sees little benefit from economies of scale in Japan at the moment, with just one location. The firm aims to open 15 outlets nationwide within five years, he said. Some customers said the prices might be too stiff. “Taco Bell in America is famous for cheap tacos,” Stillwell said. “If they cost ¥200 or ¥300, it would be (the same as) a regular restaurant.”


Under 'Abenomics,' rich thrive but middle class on precipice

Abstract: This is the third story of a four-part series on evaluating Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s namesake economic program, backed by the aggressive monetary-easing by the Bank of Japan. The recent debate over wealth inequality has highlighted an unpleasant fact for policymakers — that the income gap between rich and poor is not shrinking, even though Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s economic policies have been in play for two years now. Ever since the translated version of French economist Thomas Piketty’s best-selling book “Capital in the Twenty-First Century” was published in Japan in December, academics have closely scrutinized “Abenomics” and its results. What became clear was that in a society long dominated by families of moderate means — the top 1 percent of wealthy people account for a mere 10 percent of overall incomes — Japan’s middle class is now facing an existential crisis. According to Akio Doteuchi, a senior researcher at the NLI Research Institute, what is threatening people here is that, under the current social structure, virtually anyone in the middle class is at risk of falling into poverty. “It’s like walking in a mine field. Many risks lie ahead of you,” Doteuchi said. “Even if you are in the middle class, if something unexpected happens, you could slip into poverty.” Such risks could include contracting diseases such as cancer and being unable to work, the failure to land a job soon after graduation, or an ill parent who needs looking after. The big problem in Japan is that there are few social safety nets for such situations. In the past, workers had been shielded by the guarantee of lifetime employment at companies. When they retired, they were supported by family members, Doteuchi noted. But now, there is an increasing number of nonregular workers, particularly younger ones, whose financial situations are unstable. More and more single-person households are vulnerable to serious health problems. Data back this up. According to labor ministry figures announced April 1, the number of households living on welfare hit a record 1,618,817 in January. This figure has been on the rise for the last two decades. The country’s relative poverty rate has also edged up over the last 30 years, especially with single mothers and fathers raising children, although the latest data are for 2012. On the other hand, data also show that the rich became even wealthier under Abe’s tenure. Their numbers and the amount of their assets surged in 2013 and are still rising mostly due to sharp gains in stocks triggered by the Bank of Japan’s aggressive monetary easing, which started in April 2013, experts said. According to the Nomura Research Institute, the number of wealthy households jumped 24.3 percent, with the amount of their total financial assets rising 28.2 percent in 2013, compared with 2011 figures. And as the stock market uptick continues, so too will the number of wealthy people grow. “Since stocks account for a larger portion of their assets, both the number of wealthy people and their assets are on the rise,” said Hiroyuki Miyamoto, general manager of Nomura Institute’s financial business consulting department. Households on average are believed to have a majority of their assets either in bank accounts or in cash. But the wealthy hold risk assets such as real estate, stocks and bonds — assets more likely to grow in value faster than mere savings accounts, Miyamoto said. But at the same time, the wealthy in Japan are less dominant in terms of overall assets when compared with the rich in the U.S., partly because income levels of top corporate leaders are not as high as those in the U.S. and the tax system levies heavier income taxes on wealthy people than in many other countries, he said. Experts have said the widening gap between haves and have-nots could be an economic driver when a country is rapidly growing. However, once it matures, any wide disparity can hamper economic growth, NLI’s Doteuchi said. Then what policies will help shrink the gap? The first thing the country needs to do is to help young people find stable employment, he said. “Abenomics has boasted economic strength, telling people that higher economic growth will shrink the gap between the haves and have-nots via the trickledown effect,” Doteuchi said. “But is that really true? I think not. Solving inequality is the way to improve the economy.”


Tokyo's Ueno Park blossoms as tourist site

Abstract: Ueno Park, one of Tokyo’s best-known landmarks, is Japan’s first government-designated park, with its origins dating back to the Meiji Era. It was Dutch military Dr. Anthonius Franciscus Bauduin (1820-1885) who first proposed the idea of giving the area special status. At this time of year, hundreds of cherry trees in full bloom add a seasonal color to Ueno Park. Visitors can enjoy illuminated blossoms between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. until April 12 during the Ueno Sakura Matsuri. Japan’s love of sakura (cherry blossoms) is strong. Even in this high-tech era, hanami (cherry blossom viewing) parties under the trees remain popular. In fact, it is not an uncommon sight these days to see foreign tourists also joining in the action. The percentage of tourists, especially those from other parts of Asia, has shot up in recent years. Walking south from JR Ueno Station, you will find the famed Ameyoko shopping arcade, with some 400 shops tightly lining a 400-meter-long stretch. The arcade began as a black market in the ashes of the war, dealing in American goods obtained from Occupation forces. In recent years, food stalls selling dishes from China, South Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, Turkey and other parts of Asian are gaining more prominence, giving the shopping arcade a global diversity. Various ethnic foods are also available on the underground floor of Ameyoko Center Building. Foreign tourists with knowledge of the area come to the floor to buy the ingredients for dishes from their homelands. Despite its origin as the downtown area of Edo, today’s Ueno has everything from natural beauty to international diversity. Easy access from Tokyo Station and Narita Airport also add to its popularity.


Foreign visitors top 1.5 million to break March record

Abstract: Tourist arrivals to Japan topped 1.5 million to break a March record this year as Chinese travelers flocked to the country for cherry blossom season, new figures released Wednesday show. The rise in arrivals to 1.526 million, up 45.3 percent from a year earlier, was also attributed to the weaker yen and expansion of consumption-tax-free products for foreign tourists since October, the Japan National Tourism Organization said. “Japan is now enjoying popularity among foreign tourists with visitors from all countries equally increasing,” said Japan Tourism Agency chief Shigeto Kubo. By country and region, China accounted for the largest share of the total at 338,200 people, up 83.7 percent, followed by Taiwan at 277,900, up 33.2 percent, and South Korea at 268,200, up 39.6 percent, according to the JNTO. The upward trend also extended to European travelers with a record number of British and German tourists in March at 25,200 and 18,400, respectively, in what was attributed at an earlier Easter holiday period. The number of visitors from the Philippines more than doubled to 26,800 from the previous year. According to the JNTO, the number of visitors to Japan between January and March was 4.13 million, up 43.7 percent from the previous year. If the trend continued, international tourist numbers were likely to top 16 million this year. “Foreigners are drawn by public safety, healthy food and rural landscapes that are specific to Japan,” said Shinichi Shimizu, who teaches tourism at the Rikkyo University. Japan also saw a growing trend with Chinese tourists flooding Japan’s most popular cherry blossom viewing spots. JTB Corp., a major travel agency, said the number of inquiries from Chinese tourists had increased after the company started offering cherry blossom tours in English, Chinese, Korean and Thai. Japan is hoping to boost tourist numbers with the government setting a target of 20 million tourists by 2020, when Tokyo hosts the Olympics Games. But industry watchers fear the number could drop after the event. The key, they say, is to raise tourist satisfaction levels by offering services in multiple foreign languages. “To lure foreigners to the countryside and to increase repeat visits, local municipalities need to rediscover what is unique to their region and map out a long-term city plan,” Shimizu said.


Abstract: After Taco Bell’s brief presence in Japan in the 1980s, the U.S.-based chain exited the market (with the exception of outlets on U.S. military bases). To the delight of fans of fast-food Tex Mex, it was announced in February 2015 that Taco Bell would come back to Japan in April and be operated by Asrapport Dining Co. [ View the story “Social media wrap-up: The day Taco Bell returned to Japan” on Storify ]


Cash shortfall among the elderly could push Japan over the edge

Abstract: Last summer the welfare ministry reported that a record number of households were receiving government assistance, and 47.1 percent of these households were made up of either elderly people only or the elderly and unmarried family members under 18. The media has been reporting for years that an increasing number of seniors are joining the welfare rolls. National pensions were never meant to cover every retiree’s living expenses, but it’s obvious that many are not prepared for their old age. How much do you need to save in order to guarantee a comfortable life when you retire? The anonymous 30-year-old who writes the popular investment blog Setsuyaku Toshi no Susume recently wondered the same thing when he realized his parents would be broke by the time they retired. He will support them in their old age, but he doesn’t want to be a “burden on my own children.” He cites a 2013 survey by the Japan Institute of Life Insurance, who questioned more than 4,000 married couples about their retirement plans. One-third of the respondents said they needed “at least” between ¥200,000 and ¥250,000, and another third answered between ¥250,000 and ¥400,000. Only 5 percent thought they could make it on less than ¥150,000, and 1.7 percent couldn’t do with less than ¥400,000. The average for all responses was ¥220,000. Then JILI asked the same people how much money they needed for a “comfortable” life. The average for all responses came to ¥354,000, or ¥134,000 more than the minimum they said they required. How does that stack up to reality? According to a study carried out by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications last year, the average expenditure of a hypothetical couple whose husband is over 65 and whose wife is over 60, neither of whom work, was ¥239,485, down from ¥242,598 in 2013. After subtracting taxes and insurance, this couple’s income came to ¥177,925 for 2014, down from ¥185,006 in 2013. That means they needed to find an extra ¥62,560 a month, which is ¥4,968 more than they needed in 2013. Things are tougher for single retirees over 60, who in 2014 needed on average ¥41,516 a month extra to make ends meet. Based on current longevity statistics, the model couple’s husband should live to be 80 and the wife 87. Under those circumstances, they would need, over the years, ¥18.5 million more than their income just to survive, and that figure doesn’t take into consideration probable changes in pension outlays or retirement age. Since these figures are averages, some have it easier and some harder. The ministry calculates that the average expenditure for housing by the aforementioned couple was ¥16,158 a month in 2014. Many retired couples own their homes outright, but others are either still paying off loans or renting. Also, average income decreased between 2013 and 2014. More specifically, the couple’s total pension-derived income went from ¥200,309 to ¥190,800. For a single senior it went from ¥114,415 to ¥103,767. At the high end of the pension spectrum are couples where the husband was enrolled in the company-sponsored kōsei nenkin system and also receives a basic pension ( kiso nenkin ), while the wife, as a full-time homemaker, qualified as a “No. 3” national pension subscriber, and thus receives her own basic pension. Such a couple could receive up to ¥230,000 a month in pension payments when they reach retirement age. But most seniors don’t fit that model. First, the retiree has to have paid into the system his or her whole working life to receive the maximum amount. Second, people whose employers didn’t belong to the kōsei nenkin system only receive the basic pension — but only if they have paid into it for at least 25 years, regardless of whether or not they worked. The basic pension maxes out at ¥70,000 if you’ve paid at least 40 years, but many people haven’t. Ever since employment practices were deregulated in the ’90s, more workers have been designated as nonregular employees, which means they don’t have to belong to the kosei nenkin system. They still have to pay into the basic pension system, but many don’t, because they can’t afford the fixed premiums. Since the retiring boomer generation is large and a good portion has managed to save, it may not be a big problem in the short run, but if all of them tap into their savings at the same time, it could have an effect on the national debt. Banks use that enormous savings pool to buy Japanese government bonds, which keeps the government afloat. The current pension system was designed for a different economic climate. Basic pensions were meant for self-employed people, who could sell or live off their businesses when they retired. They weren’t meant for part-timers or contract workers, who tend to live from hand to mouth.

retirement
poverty
pension funds
old age


Get up high to see how the past has shaped present-day Tokyo

Abstract: Tokyo spreads out from the Imperial Palace in Chiyoda Ward like a massive concrete jungle. Though the numerous skyscrapers can be impressive during the day, at night the lights come on and the metropolis really begins to sparkle. Unlike many capitals, which feature myriad heritage buildings, the city has almost no buildings that are older than a century. Deanna MacDonald, an architectural historian and co-author of the book “New Japan Architecture,” says that in Tokyo “it is still financially and culturally more common to demolish and rebuild. In Japan, half of all houses are demolished before 38 years (compared to 100 years in the United States).” The average life span for a building in Tokyo is even shorter — about 30 years, according to the Housing and Land Survey by the Statistics Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. Despite fast changes in the skyline, however, it’s still possible to hear an echo of the past: streets twisted in impossible directions, the occasional downtown cemetery and, of course, the temples and shrines. These features tell the story of Edo, the former name for the capital, and make the futuristic characteristics of Shinjuku and Shibuya stand out even more. One of the best ways to see any city is from above, and Tokyo has a number of spots that will let you do this free of charge. The most well-known and easy to access is the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. Each of its two towers has an observation deck that offers a good view of Shinjuku’s skyscraper district. The building closes late, so head there for sunset to get a possible glimpse of Mount Fuji. A view of the Tokyo skyline and Mount Fuji is also a trademark of the Bunkyo Civic Center Observation Deck. It’s hard to see the mountain on most days because of haze, but Golden Week offers your best shot at a glimpse due to the reduction in traffic.


Japanese Red Cross opening in Paris; Tokyo inns to ban rice; U.S. nuclear submarine arrives; Emperor regrets colonial 'sufferings'

Abstract: 100 YEARS AGO Saturday, May 15, 1915 Japanese Red Cross opening in Paris The opening of the new Japanese Red Cross hospital in Paris took place on April 3, a Japanese national holiday. The presence of M. Gerard, former Ambassador to Tokyo, attracted attention at the event. As the Japanese nurses were already engaged in their work, only two were present. The director of the Military Health Bureau paid a tribute to them for their diligence. There are provided at the new facility 150 beds, of which 128 are already occupied by wounded French soldiers (who are engaged in fighting with German forces). Most are serious cases. The work of our sisters is really appreciated by the French, but it is to be regretted that their knowledge of the language is very poor. 75 YEARS AGO Wednesday, May 15, 1940 Tokyo inns to ban rice, serve bread at lunch Along with the government’s policy of economizing on rice, native-style hotels and inns throughout Tokyo will adopt bread and Western-style meals for their guests from now on, according to the Yomiuri. This plan received the unanimous approval of innkeepers in the metropolis, who gathered together during a general meeting of the Tokyo Inn (Ryokan) Association. Members at the meeting cited examples where guests complained of inferior rice being served on the hotel menus. For example, a guest would eat fairy white rice at one inn, but get a much poorer grade at another inn in the neighboring district. This was the result of uneven distribution of rice to the different inns. In other words, the inns that were unfortunate enough to receive rice at the bottom of the sack, or rice that had been laid up in the storehouses, were inclined to be of a dirtier color than the rice at the top, although there was supposedly no difference in quality. Innkeepers remarked that they were tired of hearing complaints and adopting bread for noon-day lunches would be in keeping with the national “rice-saving” policy at the same time. It is estimated that at least 50 bushels of rice will be saved per day if all the inns in Tokyo adopt this new plan. 50 YEARS AGO Wednesday, May 26, 1965 U.S. nuclear submarine arrives in Sasebo The U.S. nuclear-powered submarine Snook entered the northern Kyushu port of Sasebo Tuesday morning to meet a rather quiet reception by demonstrators. In Tokyo, however, seven Zengakuren students had to be arrested after an hour-and-half-long scuffle between riot police and 250 militant, stone-throwing students. About 500 demonstrators, mostly unionists and members of the Japan Socialist Party and the Japan Communist Party, marched near the U.S. Sasebo base during the morning. They were joined by 200 more in the afternoon. About 600 police officers formed a strong picket in front of the demonstrators on the street leading to the Snook’s landing pier. Unable to break through the police, the demonstrators made a detour to the Sasebo waterfront, where they lined up and shouted, “Go home, nuclear sub,” for the rest of the day. In Tokyo, militant members of the National Federation of Students Self-Government Associations (Zengakuren) attempted to storm the Foreign Office to protest the visit. The students, all members of the anti-JCP faction of Zengakuren, first tangled with about 200 steel-helmeted riot police in front of the Foreign Office. As they were pushed back, the students sat down on the pavement outside, chanting, “Go home, nuclear submarine.” The submarine, according to U.S. naval authorities, visited the port for rest and recreation purposes. It will also take on necessary supplies during its stay here. 25 YEARS AGO Friday, May 25, 1990 Colonial ‘sufferings’ regretted by Emperor The Emperor expressed his “deepest regret” Thursday over the “sufferings” Koreans experienced during Japan’s colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 until the end of World War II. Addressing an Imperial Palace banquet for the visiting South Korean president, Roh Tae Woo, the Emperor said, “I think of the sufferings your people underwent during this unfortunate period, which was brought about by my country, and cannot but feel the deepest regret.” The Emperor’s statement was apparently aimed at putting an end to the longstanding dispute between the two countries over South Korea’s demand for a “clear-cut apology” by the Emperor for the brutalities Japan inflicted on Koreans for 36 years. The governments of both Seoul and Tokyo share the perception that without resolving the so-called apology issue, the two countries can not make a fresh start on bilateral relations, Japanese officials said. Citing a statement made by the late Emperor Showa in 1984, the Emperor said the “unfortunate past … should not be repeated again.” He expressed hope that Japan and South Korea will deepen their mutual understanding and that a “new friendship will be the groundwork for the two countries to join forces in making a significant contribution to the future of mankind.” Roh replied that “historical facts” regarding bilateral relations cannot be erased. But he added that the two nations must not remain “bound up in memories.” Japan and South Korea, Roh went on to say, “must now forge a new era of friendship and cooperation,” putting the “mistakes of the past truly behind us.”

nuclear power
south korea
red cross
roh tae-woo


Chief Cabinet secretary is much more than top government spokesman

Abstract: Which politician is most often quoted by Japanese media outlets? The answer undoubtedly is the chief Cabinet secretary, who holds two news conferences each weekday. But fielding questions from reporters is just a small part of the job. What are the official and unofficial duties? What’s the source of the top government spokesman’s power? Below are some questions and answers about the linchpin of the Cabinet. What role does the chief Cabinet secretary play? The holder of that title presides over the Cabinet Secretariat, the staff at the prime minister’s office. The post basically goes to someone who is close to and can serve as the right-hand man to the prime minister. The chief Cabinet secretary’s clout has increased greatly since the late 1990s, when late Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto reorganized the ministries and strengthened the power of the prime minister. Before then, few politicians and only a small number of bureaucrats routinely spent time at the prime minister’s office. Elite bureaucrats at each ministry exerted great influence over government decision-making; the prime minister and chief Cabinet secretary had relatively limited power. But facing a financial crisis in the 1990s, the government needed to carry out drastic reforms, and purge the ministries of vested interests. In the process, the power and functions of the prime minister’s office were strengthened, as was that of the chief Cabinet secretary, who took on the role of coordinating the policies of all the ministries and agencies. The chief Cabinet secretary also came to preside over key advisory panels, administrative organizations and high-ranking officials, including the deputy chief Cabinet secretary for crisis management, the National Security Secretariat, the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office, and the Cabinet Affairs Office. What are the official duties of the chief Cabinet secretary? The most well-known job is to hold a news conference twice a day and present the official views of the government in response to questions from reporters. Every weekday morning, assistants to the chief Cabinet secretary check the major newspapers and TV news broadcasts, and prepare official comments on major topics about which reporters might ask questions during news conferences. The chief Cabinet secretary then faces reporters with a file of official views prepared by the assistants, and offers comments based on that file, with occasional additional commentary if deemed necessary. The morning news conference usually starts at 9:40 a.m. Tuesday and Friday, and at 11 a.m. on other weekdays. The afternoon news conference usually starts at 4 p.m. Those news conferences, once open only to reporters from major newspapers and TV stations, can be viewed live over the Internet. The second major job of the chief Cabinet secretary is to coordinate the policies of ministries and make top-down political decisions when necessary. When the prime minister engages in diplomacy and crisis management, the chief Cabinet secretary may exert great influence over diplomacy as well, as Yoshihide Suga currently does. For example, Suga is regarded as a key player in coordinating the conflicting policies and interests of the trade and agriculture ministries in the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade talks. What other roles does the chief Cabinet secretary play? The chief Cabinet secretary usually also serves as a policy coordinator and communicator between the ruling party and the prime minister. If the policies of the ruling party and the government conflict, the chief Cabinet secretary often engages in behind-the-scenes talks to bring the opposing views closer together. The chief Cabinet secretary also has access to and can freely use a special fund at the Cabinet Secretariat that amounts to around ¥1.4 billion every year, and does not have to disclose details of any expenses. The fund has often invited allegations that it has been used for shady political machinations, including bribing politicians and political commentators. Who is the current chief Cabinet secretary? Born in Akita in 1948, Suga started his political career as a secretary to a Lower House member. After serving as a Yokohama Municipal Assembly member, he was elected to the Lower House in 1996. Suga is a longtime ally of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and was appointed internal affairs minister in 2006 during Abe’s first stint as prime minister. Even after Abe quit that post in 2007, citing health reasons, Suga maintained close ties with him and apparently earned his trust. Suga is also one of the key figures who urged Abe to run again for the Liberal Democratic Party presidency in 2012, helping to ensure his comeback as prime minister. What is Suga’s governing style like? Suga often wields clout over bureaucrats and keeps them in check on Abe’s behalf. He routinely intervenes in the administrative process, appointing favored candidates as key ranking bureaucrats. Suga is believed to have played a major role in the appointments of Haruhiko Kuroda as Bank of Japan governor and Katsuto Momii as NHK president. Suga also created the Cabinet Bureau of Personnel Affairs, which serves as the secretariat for the prime minister to select who serves as an elite bureaucrat. There are about 600 such positions across government ministries and agencies, including vice ministers and bureau chiefs.

shinzo abe
yoshihide suga
chief cabinet secretary


Nuclear remains cheapest power source despite Fukushima meltdowns: government

Abstract: A panel of nuclear experts on Monday largely approved a government report saying that atomic power remains the cheapest source of electricity despite the rising safety costs triggered by the 2011 Fukushima core meltdowns. Despite an expected glut in solar power, the government is looking to make nuclear power account for 20 to 22 percent of Japan’s electricity supply by 2030, underscoring its policy of sticking with atomic power even though the majority of the public remains opposed to restarting its idled reactors. According to the latest estimate of power generation costs by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, atomic power would cost at least ¥10.3 per kilowatt-hour in 2030 — cheaper than power derived from fossil fuels, natural gas, wind and solar energy. That’s higher than the ¥8.9 projected in 2011 and is based on a projection that costs for plant decommissioning and compensation from a severe accident would jump to ¥9.1 trillion from the ¥5.8 trillion estimated in 2011, reflecting the Fukushima nuclear crisis. METI also said additional safety measures required to run a nuclear reactor would cost an average of ¥60.1 billion. But the increase in overall generation costs is limited because the probability of a nuclear accident would decrease after utilities complete their safety measures, it said. In the report, the ministry also estimates that coal-fired power will cost ¥12.9 per kwh and liquefied natural gas ¥13.4 per kwh, compared with earlier projections of ¥10.3 and ¥10.9, respectively. Wind power would cost up to ¥34.7, solar power up to ¥16.4, geothermal power ¥16.8, and hydropower up to ¥27.1 per kwh, the report said. In its national energy policy adopted last year, the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged to reduce reliance on nuclear power and promote renewable energy as much as possible, while standing by nuclear as a key power source, citing the importance of a stable electricity supply to economic growth. Japan is expecting a glut in solar power because utilities refuse to upgrade their power grids to purchase all the energy as mandated under the feed-in tariff system. A study has found that seven of the nation’s utilities lack the transmission network capacity to accept all of the solar power energy that suppliers plan to generate, METI says. Combined, they can only accept 58 percent of the total, METI said. METI began looking into their transmission capacities after five utilities decided to cap their clean energy intake, revolting against the government’s plan to increase generation of renewable energy in light of the Fukushima disaster. Under the feed-in tariff system, utilities are obliged to purchase all electricity generated from such sources as solar, wind and geothermal power at fixed rates for a set period. But the system ran into a roadblock after new suppliers flooded the solar power business, prompting the utilities to suspend signing power-purchasing contracts in September amid fears that overcapacity could cause blackouts.. Currently, all of Japan’s commercial nuclear reactors remain offline to pass a beefed-up safety screenings based on new, more stringent regulations drafted after the Fukushima meltdowns. The government is planning to restart reactors that have met the post-Fukushima safety requirements.


Prince Harry tells New Zealand kids he calls Queen 'granny'

Abstract: STEWART ISLAND, NEW ZEALAND - Britain’s Prince Harry told schoolchildren on a remote New Zealand island that his favorite food is spaghetti Bolognese, he calls the Queen Elizabeth II “granny” and he wishes he could speak other languages. The Prince visited Halfmoon Bay School on Monday on the third day of a weeklong tour of the South Pacific nation and answered some tricky questions posed by the children. The primary school has 24 students and is the only one on Stewart Island, population 378. The visit came the morning after Harry deviated from his official program by attending a quiz night at an island bar. His team, called “The Ginger Ninjas” in honor of his red hair, finished second to a team comprised of his own bodyguards, according to British newspaper The Telegraph.

prince harry
new zealand
queen elizabeth


Tokyo ramps up 'English village' plan as 2020 approaches

Abstract: As Tokyo gears up to host the 2020 Olympic Games, demands for action are growing to overcome Japan’s notorious English-speaking phobia. To achieve that, discussions are underway for the capital to establish “English villages” — language education facilities aimed at improving students’ communication ability through the use of all-English environments. In other parts of Japan, facilities of this type are run by municipalities or schools free of charge and use games and other recreational activities to teach the language. A growing number of municipalities are investing in such institutions, and Tokyo may soon jump on the bandwagon. Let’s take a look at the situation with English villages and how Tokyo’s plan is developing. Is Tokyo going to create an English village? The proposal emerged in “Long-Term Vision for Tokyo,” a report the capital published in December. Aside from more active acceptance of exchange students and foreign teachers, the report said Tokyo aims to internationalize educational environments for schoolchildren by establishing what it tentatively called an English village. The facility will be an all-English community that “enables students to learn what it is like living overseas and enjoy cross-cultural communication” through cultural programs involving native speakers of English. A group of experts in English education and global business gathered at City Hall for the first time last month to discuss potential content for Tokyo’s idea. How are the talks going? At the moment, few details have been fleshed out, including location, scale and basic concept. But the panel is expected to examine and reach conclusions on the specifics by the end of the year, said Tomomitsu Ishige, an official at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. “Few schoolchildren who have gone through a six-year education in Japan’s junior high and high school systems actually learn to speak English,” Ishige said. Since Tokyo is set to host the Olympic Games in 2020, pressure is growing to alter the status quo and foster youths who can communicate fluently with foreigners, the official added, noting the English village project is part of an attempt to nurture such people. Are there other English villages in Japan? Kinki University in Osaka Prefecture is widely believed to have been the first to establish this type of facility in Japan. Its English village debuted in November 2006 with the aim of allowing visitors to acquire practical English skills through fun activities and events, including dancing and cooking, that native speakers also engage in. Open Monday through Friday, the all-English village is geared mainly toward the university’s students and faculty. Are other entities following Kinki University’s lead? Hiyoshigaoka High School in the city of Kyoto, for one, aims to create its own English village by the end of fiscal 2015. The school will start renovating an entire floor of one of its buildings to turn it into an all-English community that will cater not only to students, but also sometimes to the public, Vice Principal Hiroaki Hirai said. Titled Hello Village, the facility plans to allow visitors to communicate with five of the school’s full-time assistant language teachers, or ALTs, outside class hours, such as during lunchtime and after school. Having long prided itself on its communication-focused English education, Hiyoshigaoka High hopes the initiative will “further increase students’ exposure to authentic English,” Hirai said, adding that the school will borrow a page from Kinki University’s playbook to implement the project. Are there other examples? Not every English village will match the scale of the one built by Kinki University. The city of Neyagawa in Osaka Prefecture, too, launched what it termed an English village project last year, targeting fifth-graders from all of its 24 public elementary schools. Under the project, children from each school are invited once a year to an educational facility run by the board of education to engage in leisure activities with foreign teachers all day. The event is also characterized as an opportunity for students to put their lessons into practice, such as by giving directions and explaining how to cook Japanese food, so they can discover the joy of “making themselves understood in English,” said Ai Tada, head of the facility. “Of course, it’s not like students will be able to improve their English-speaking skills dramatically just because they spent a day at our facility,” Tada said. Rather, the purpose of the city’s English village project boils down to awakening interest in real-life English communication and motivating students to study the language harder in their classes at school. Likewise, elementary schools in Yokohama are undertaking similar English village activities under a project launched by the city in 2009. Participating schools host an all-English festival once a year in which ALTs set up their own booths to amuse children through a variety of entertainment-oriented activities, including a quiz contest. Like Neyagawa in Osaka, the Yokohama project also prioritizes inspiration, rather than improving actual proficiency in the language, said Yokohama official Tsuyoshi Ichihara. Despite apparent improvement in the children’s willingness to converse with native speakers, the city, however, remains unable to scale up the project due to budgetary limitations, he added. Are these facilities effective in nurturing English-speaking ability? Kensaku Yoshida, director of the Center for Language Education and Research at Sophia University in Tokyo, said the answer is yes. “Children in elementary school, for example, are given such limited hours of exposure to English that it’s nearly impossible for them to be fluent in the language just by studying within school,” Yoshida said. In this regard, it is “very effective” to offer students English-speaking opportunities like this outside classroom hours, he said. As for the upcoming Tokyo version, Yoshida said he is concerned first and foremost about what educational programs it will offer, rather than its scale or other details. Given that the envisioned institution has its sights set on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, its programs should go beyond being merely recreational, Yoshida said, adding they should also be able to aid in the improvement of students’ actual English skills. A key to achieving that, he proposed, is to involve as many foreign youths as possible, such as children at international schools and exchange students. Being close in age, Japanese students will likely find them easier to interact with than native adult speakers, such as ALTs, he said.

tokyo
education
schools
english
2020 olympics
2020 tokyo olympics


Osaka's 'win-win' merger may leave the people lost

Abstract: In a historic first, Osaka municipal voters go to the polls today to vote on a referendum that, if approved, will divide the city into five semi-autonomous wards. For years, Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto and his Osaka Ishin no Kai (One Osaka) local party have hammered home the message that, without the merger, bureaucratic redundancy with Osaka Prefecture cannot be eliminated, economic growth cannot occur, social welfare services cannot be improved and true local, grass-roots democracy in Osaka cannot flourish. Sounds very nice, doesn’t it? Especially the last bit about grass-roots democracy. But some tough questions remain: How much will the merger really cost? What happens to the existing municipal debt (partially due to white elephant projects built two decades ago)? And what happens to local services? Answers are contradictory, elusive or confusing. Thus, local media polls last week showed more people opposed the merger than supported it. Whatever the final result, it’s important to remember that, traditionally, those yelling loudest for an Osaka merger were not local politicians, bureaucrats or even Osaka residents, but a few major corporations in the Kansai Economic Federation and the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry. These (mostly) old men have decades of experience running the city of Osaka behind the scenes. Their motivation for a merger is simple: more influence over the local tax base and, hopefully, cheaper costs for their businesses (by eliminating redundancy with the prefecture). An Osaka merger poses many questions. But one of the less-discussed issues is likely intensified competition among the five new autonomous wards to lure more corporate taxpayers or keep them from bolting to a neighboring ward to get a better deal. The business mandarins hope to find themselves courted by five local heads and elected assemblies, all of whom would inquire how their ward might use their newfound powers of the purse to provide ever-more tax breaks and deregulation to make, or keep, the mandarins happy. If that means cuts in citizen services have to be made, well, no worries. Ward leaders can tell residents that whatever tax money gets cut for their services today to provide business incentives will come back tomorrow in the form of new jobs and increased corporate tax revenue. That may be true and they may sincerely believe it. But it should not be forgotten that many Osaka business leaders do not live in the city of Osaka but in the nicer parts of the prefecture and neighboring Hyogo or Kyoto. They’re interested in seeing tax money used in ways that benefit their bottom line, not get spent (too much) on schools, day care centers and social welfare services they or their families will never use. In other words, many senior corporate leaders view the city of Osaka less as a democratic entity and more as a strategic “location” that now needs to show its “international competitive advantage” in terms of cost of operations. From an economic point of view, it’s common sense. But what’s being asked today is whether voters believe a merger will not only improve local democracy and public services but also convince nonresident shareholders and directors of some of Japan’s largest and most politically connected firms that their tax needs will be met and they will invest in the new Osaka. Maybe. Efforts by the city and prefecture to keep Osaka firms in the city back in the 1990s with various incentives failed miserably. “Win-win” is a nice phrase bantered about in business school, in corporate training seminars and by Osaka merger proponents. It may even be true. However, history suggests voters need to remember their Latin today as well as their English: caveat emptor , or “let the buyer beware.”


Stores struggle to adjust in a shrinking Japan

Abstract: On April 16, McDonald’s Japan announced it would be closing 130 stores this year. Add to this the franchises that don’t plan on renewing their contracts, and the number of lost outlets tops 190. The fast food giant has 3,000 in Japan, so maybe that 190 doesn’t sound like much, but when you look at the company’s recent performance, it’s obviously in trouble: a 14.4 percent annual drop in revenue, putting it ¥38 billion in the red. So far the company hasn’t announced which stores will be closed, thus causing anxiety for workers as well as customers in remote areas where, for what it’s worth, McDonald’s may be the only fast food restaurant available. The firm plans to turn its fortunes around by remodeling outlets, changing menus and encouraging regular employees to consider early retirement. Some media have been saying that the problem has to do with the bad publicity surrounding the out-of-date chicken McDonald’s Japan was buying from a Chinese supplier last summer. As it happens, McDonald’s is also not doing well in its home market, the U.S., but the reason there is said to be changing consumer tastes, which now demand “healthier” fare. Japan’s drop in sales is markedly greater than it is in the U.S., which is especially surprising considering how well the Japanese arm was doing only a few years ago. The downward trend may have more to do with general circumstances in Japan, since other restaurant chains are having similar problems. Watami, the nationwide chain of izakaya (pub-restaurants), announced last November that it was closing 102 outlets, or 15 percent of its total. The reason is not just the drop in sales, but also difficulty in finding workers. Watami was accused some years back of being a “black kigyō ” — a company that exploited workers, mainly by making them work overtime for no pay. Some, like the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, have found the job situation encouraging from a macro standpoint — when workers are scarce, wages increase, which means more spending in the long run — but that idea assumes demand remains basically the same or increases. As the population drops, so will consumption. At any rate, according to the labor ministry, average wages have gone down by 2.8 percent in the last year despite the worker shortage. Last week the internal affairs ministry announced that the number of children under the age of 15 has reached a record low, a statistic that will also affect restaurants in the long run, since eating out is less common among older people. Only 12 percent of two-or-more-person households made up of people over 70 eat out, while 26 percent of households with people under 30 eat out with any sort of regularity. The percentage of people who consume takeout food is constant for all age groups at 10-11 percent. The downward trend extends to retail. According to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the number of retail outlets in Japan peaked in 1982 at 1.72 million. By 2007, the total had dwindled to 1.14 million. During this same period, the number of people working in retail dropped by 2.4 percent, so the trend is hardly new. Much of this change has to do with the rise of online shopping, but METI estimates that the total retail sector will shrink by ¥28 trillion before 2030. The contraction has already reduced the number of retail businesses run by individuals, as evidenced by the demise of shopping arcades in smaller cities throughout Japan. Between 1982 and 2007, the number of retail businesses with less than five employees fell by half to 750,000. In a special publication by the magazine Takarajima about the decline of regional cities, department stores are presented as the most graphic example of shrinkage. The department store market has decreased by 70 percent since its peak years in the mid-1990s. Eleven department stores went out of business in 2010, and since then some of those remaining have merged with competitors to survive. Much has been made lately of how Chinese tourists are propping up department store business, but it’s only in the major cities. At present, the department store market is valued at about ¥6 trillion, and this will fall to ¥5 trillion by 2030. The so-called big store law, passed in the 1990s, allowed for larger retail chain outlets and led to an increase in the number of suburban shopping malls. There were 312 stores with floor area of at least 1,500 sq. meters in the six northernmost prefectures of Honshu in 2001. The number increased to 493 by 2013, but the combined sales for all big stores in the region only went from ¥1.2 trillion to ¥1.25 trillion during the same period. Takarajima predicts that by 2020, convenience store revenues will have surpassed those of supermarkets, thanks to the former’s ability to diversify goods and services for a wider range of customers. That said, even convenience stores are seeing a drop in sales. At present, they are addressing the problem by trying to meet the needs of seniors and single-person households — the two demographics with the most potential right now.

mcdonald 's
department stores
retailers
watami
izakayas


Keeping the yakuza away from the 2020 Olympics

Abstract: The 2020 Olympics in Tokyo should be a cause for celebration but this may depend on who you talk to. Takajima Publishing released a book by Yoshinari Ichinomiya in June 2014 titled “2020 Black Money and the Tokyo Olympics” that portrays the event as an underworld party. In a chapter titled “The Yakuza Olympics,” Ichinomiya discusses the alleged ties that Hidetoshi Tanaka, vice president of the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC), has had to organized crime in the past. It references a September 1998 photograph of Tanaka with the former head of the Sumiyoshi-kai, the second-largest yakuza group in the country, at Hotel New Otani Tokyo. The Shukan Bunshun was the first to publish the photo in February 2014. With the author estimating that total spending on the games may reach ¥1 trillion, there’s going to be plenty of money floating around for anyone interested in a cut — including the Yamaguchi-gumi. The Yamaguchi-gumi isn’t just an organized crime syndicate, it’s an international corporation that has been in business for 100 years. The organization is the largest yakuza syndicate in the country, counting more than 25,000 registered members at the start of 2014, according to the National Police Agency. The syndicate owns myriad auditing firms, oversees hundreds of front operations and, more recently, even appears to be moving into the IT sector. In 2007, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported that the head of a Kodo-kai faction took over Yubitoma, the equivalent of Japan’s “classmates.com,” gaining access to the personal data of 3.5 million people. The syndicate is also politically connected. As I noted in my April column, “Learning valuable lessons from the yakuza?”, the Shukan Bunshun reported that education minister Hakubun Shimomura had received donations from a Yamaguchi-gumi Kodo-kai front company. The magazine also claimed that Masahiro Toyokawa, a longtime associate member of the Yamaguchi-gumi, founded one of Shimomura’s political support groups. Shimomura denied the allegations. Politicians, however, aren’t the only ones who appear to benefit from the underworld payouts. The Yamaguchi-gumi offers their employees a few perks when they retire in exchange for loyalty. One former senior gangster, Kenji Seiriki, says that a retiring executive could expect to be paid out ¥50 million or more. While government officials in Japan appear reluctant to confront issues relating to organized crime, the U.S. government is taking a more proactive approach. The U.S. Treasury Department froze American-owned assets controlled by the Yamaguchi-gumi and the syndicate’s top two leaders in February 2012. On April 21, U.S. officials went one step further and announced similar measures against the Kodo-kai, the same faction linked with Shimomura. “The Kodo-kai is known to be the most violent faction within the Yamaguchi-gumi and is headquartered in Nagoya, Japan, with about 4,000 members,” the U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement announcing the sanctions. “Among other criminal activities, the Kodo-kai has conducted extortion and engaged in bribery on behalf of the Yamaguchi-gumi and has gained prominence in part for its financial muscle.” The financial sanctions also apply to Teruaki Takeuchi, chairman of the Kodo-kai. “Takeuchi is also linked to the Inagawa-kai syndicate, the third-largest Yakuza syndicate in Japan, through a symbolic brotherhood he shares with Kazuo Uchibori, the second-in-command of the Inagawa-kai,” the Treasury statement said. “Such brotherhoods have the power to signify alliances among yakuza syndicates.” Takeuchi and Uchibori are both expected to take over their organizations by this time next year, police sources say. The Inagawa-kai (Tokyo) will effectively be under the Yamaguchi-gumi umbrella — just in time for 2020. It isn’t the first time an administration has attempted to confront the Kodo-kai. In 2009, the National Police Agency declared war on the Nagoya-based syndicate, directing all departments to utilize whatever resources they had at their disposal to arrest gangsters and destroy revenue sources. Shinobu Tsukasa was head of the Kodo-kai at the time; he is now the sixth and current head of the Yamaguchi-gumi. Tsukasa has already attracted some attention in official circles this year after a photograph mysteriously surfaced that features the Yamaguchi-gumi leader sitting alongside JOC Vice President Tanaka at a club in Nagoya in the mid-2000s. The photo was sent to a number of media outlets by an individual claiming to be an unhappy Nihon University employee. On April 23, Gendai Business reported that a right-wing newspaper had tried to publish the photograph but the publisher’s employees were assaulted after they contacted Nihon University for clarification. According to a report in the Sankei Shimbun, Tanaka claims the photo is a fake. Ishin no To (Japan Innovation Party) lawmaker Yoshio Maki has recently been looking into possible links between the yakuza and the Olympics. In education committee meetings in April, he held up several newspaper and magazine articles that included the photo of Tsukasa apparently with Tanaka, and demanded an explanation. Maki asked Shimomura, the education minister who is also in charge of overseeing preparations for the Tokyo Games, why the government has yet to investigate the olympic committee’s possible ties to organized crime. Shimomura pledged to investigate the claims personally and, given his alleged connections, just might be the right man for the job. “Shimomura’s reply is just a formality,” Maki later told me. “Asking the JOC and Nihon University to investigate on their own will only produce an answer that is expected.” We can only wait and see if Shimomura is able to get some results and keep the yakuza out of the Olympics but perhaps, as they say, “don’t hold your breath.”

yamaguchi-gumi
yakuza
tokyo 2020
olympic games
hakubun shimomura
kodo-kai


U.S. warships to accompany American-flagged ships through Strait of Hormuz

Abstract: WASHINGTON - U.S. Navy ships will begin accompanying U.S. commercial ships during their transit through the Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Persian Gulf to ensure they encounter no interference from Iran, U.S. defense officials said Thursday. The new policy, which has not yet been announced officially, was adopted in response to what Washington views as provocative Iranian behavior. Earlier this week Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps naval vessels reportedly fired warning shots near a Marshall Islands-flagged cargo ship and have detained it and its crew. Iran says it intervened with the Maersk Tigris because the Maersk shipping line owes it money awarded in a lawsuit. Iranian naval patrol boats also surrounded a U.S. cargo vessel in the strait on April 25 before departing without further incident. The Pentagon later said it considered the incident a provocation. The strait is narrow and partially within Iranian territorial waters. Under an internationally recognized protocol called “innocent passage,” maritime traffic is permitted to pass through the strait without interference, even if ships at times are in Iranian territorial waters, so long as they are not violating strictures against such things as carrying weapons or collecting intelligence. U.S. defense officials said the decision to begin accompanying U.S. commercial vessels as they transit the strait was based on a recommendation by U.S. Central Command, which is responsible for U.S. military operations in the Middle East. Defense Secretary Ash Carter was briefed on the decision, one official said, adding that the Obama administration does not want the move to be seen as provocative, given the delicate state of the Iran nuclear agreement. The pact has yet to be finalized and is the subject of intense scrutiny and considerable criticism in Congress. The officials were not authorized to discuss the decision publicly and spoke anonymously. At an unrelated Pentagon news conference, Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove was asked about the decision and said he was aware of it. Breedlove, the top U.S. commander of NATO in Europe, said the Navy is well-practiced at protecting freedom of navigation in the Gulf. “It is a mission they have done in the past,” he said. The Navy makes a distinction between accompanying ships and escorting them, although the difference appears to be small. The officials said U.S. Navy ships will be present in and near the Strait of Hormuz while U.S. commercial vessels are in transit, but they will not escort them continuously. The 5th Fleet, which is the naval arm of Central Command, currently has a destroyer, the USS Farragut, in the Gulf, as well as three smaller coastal patrol ships. No additional ships are being dispatched to the region, one official said. U.S. Navy ships will be in continuous radio contact with the commercial ships and possibly will stay in visual contact during their transit of the strait, the officials said. The U.S. commercial shipping companies will be notified in advance of these new procedures. One official said the new approach will be reviewed daily, taking into account Iranian behavior. The circumstances of Iran’s seizure earlier this week of the MV Maersk Tigris remain unclear. A spokesman for the Danish shipper, Michael Storgaard, said the company learned Thursday that an Iranian appeals court had ruled the company must pay $3.6 million for a 10-container cargo delivered a decade ago on behalf of an Iranian company in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. However, the cargo never was collected, according to Storgaard, adding it eventually was disposed of by local authorities. Storgaard said Copenhagen-based Maersk Line will “do everything we can to resolve this matter” with Iranian authorities. He added the ship and crew aren’t theirs. MV Maersk Tigris, operated by Rickmers Ship Management in Singapore, was boarded on Tuesday.

iran
u.s. navy
cargo ships
strait of hormuz
persian gulf


Italy hopes Milan's scandal-dogged Expo 2015 will feed economy, raise spirits

Abstract: MILAN, ITALY - Italy opens the Milan Expo on Friday, torn between hopes that the showcase of global culture and technology will cheer up a gloomy national mood and fears that it will be overshadowed by scandal, delays and street protests. Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who is counting on the Expo to reinforce fragile signs of economic recovery, says the event will be a litmus test for the future of Italy after years of stagnation and recession. But the event has already faced a corruption investigation that saw several top officials in the organizing body arrested, cost overruns, and construction holdups that will mean large parts of the 110-hectare site will not be ready for opening day. Planned demonstrations by anti-Expo campaigners and fears of security incidents following a gun attack in a Milan courthouse last month have also dampened the mood. Officials say the problems will be forgotten once the six-month-long exhibition of products and technologies from around the world begins. The opening ceremony will include a message from Pope Francis relayed by television link from the Vatican. With 10 million tickets already sold, they are counting on some 20 million people attending, and hope overall revenues will top €10 billion ($10.75 billion), half of it from foreign visitors. But the fair, which follows the 2010 Expo in Shanghai, has also rallied a diverse range of protest movements, from anti-globalization and environmentalist groups to students and anti-austerity campaigners. Tens of thousands of demonstrators, grouped under the umbrella label NoExpo, are expected to take to the streets of Milan on Friday in protest an event many see as a symbol of big business interests hiding behind a cover of green sustainability. Thousands of police have been assigned to counter the protests. On Thursday, parts of the city center were closed off due to a smaller march by students carrying banners with slogans including “Our generation rejects Expo and what it represents.” Expo 2015 will feature interactive technological displays on the theme of “Feeding the Planet,” with national pavilions from 54 countries presenting educational exhibitions and samples of local cuisine. Cultural events, futuristic architecture, a “supermarket of the future” and dozens of restaurants fill the site, which, critics note, required more than 1 sq. km (250 acres) of farmland on the outskirts of Milan to be concreted over. In all, 145 countries are taking part, with 54 national pavilions. China, an increasing presence in the Italian economy after a string of high-profile business acquisitions, is particularly well represented.

china
italy
scandal
matteo renzi
milan
expo 2015


Cities outshine Tokyo on energy mix with ambitious goal for renewables

Abstract: By the end of this month, the government is expected to announce a national long-term energy plan for 2030 that will include a “best energy mix” scenario — the formula for the various ratios of oil, coal, LNG, nuclear power and renewable energy that will be powering Japan in 15 years’ time. Of the different energy sources, it’s the role of the latter two that has provoked the most tension and argument. Last month, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry panel in charge of setting Japan’s energy mix goals for the next 15 years predicted that by 2030, nuclear power would still be the cheapest source available, at ¥10.1 per kilowatt-hour. While the cost of using renewables is expected to drop somewhat from their levels in 2011, the government insists they will still be more expensive than nuclear power. METI’s goal for 2030 shows Japan’s energy mix consisting of 27 percent LNG, 26 percent coal, 3 percent oil, 22 to 24 percent renewable energy, and 20 to 22 percent nuclear. Within the renewable portion, the major sources are expected to be hydro (8.8-9.1 percent), solar (7 percent), biomass (3.7 to 4.6 percent), wind (1.7 percent, including land and offshore farms), and geothermal (1 to 1.1 percent). But it is not just pro-renewable energy groups and international organizations like Greenpeace that believe the 20 to 22 percent goal for nuclear is unrealistically high and the 22 to 24 percent goal for renewable energy is unrealistically low. Earlier this month, the mayors and representatives of 19 of Japan’s largest cities, whose combined population of over 27 million is about one-fifth of the country’s total, gathered in Kyoto to discuss the future of renewable energy. In a letter to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the group called for the government to set a “30 by 30” target, or having renewable energy generate 30 percent of Japan’s total electricity by 2030. “In order to realize a sustainable, low carbon society and accelerate the introduction of renewable energy, the central government should not only set a high target for renewable energy, but also offer assistance for the development of battery storage and hydrogen technology as well (as a) detailed policy for assisting the introduction of renewable energy in our various local energy plans. The government should also indicate targets for each renewable energy source,” the letter said. “As to the overall share of renewable energy, the central government should set a positive goal of 30 percent of electricity generated by renewables,” it added. In fiscal 2014, due to what the nation’s utilities said was projected oversupply from renewable-energy producers that caused them to temporarily suspend purchases of such energy under the feed-in tariff system , the use of renewable energy rose 1.5 percent over 2013. Renewables now account for more than 12 percent of Japan’s electricity at present. By 2030, the mayors see small and midsize solar facilities and biomass facilities (based on sewage and sludge as well as forestry) as being key sources of renewable energy. They also called for increased government support for developing hydrogen energy, especially things like filling stations. But the major cities are not waiting on Tokyo to set their local energy policy. They all have different targets and policies for the future. Most of these are based on logical assumptions about future advancements in both renewable-energy generation technology and the development of more energy-efficient houses, cars and electronic goods, as well as statistics about how their demographic changes are projected to unfold in the coming years. The result, for the most part, is goals, or at least predictions, for the future use of renewable energy on a local level that appear far more ambitious than the national goal being pursued by the central government. For example, the city of Kyoto aims to reduce energy consumption by 15 percent by 2020 (compared to 2010 levels), and plans to increase the amount of renewable energy it uses by 2020. Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, plans to hike renewable energy use by a factor of five by 2030 from 2011, while reducing energy consumption 10 percent. Fukuoka has said it plans to quadruple the amount of installed capacity for renewable energy by 2022, while Yokohama has set a goal of more than tripling its installed capacity by 2030, and having almost three times the current level of generated electricity come from renewables. Sapporo is one of the few major cities that has declared a specific goal for reducing its dependence on nuclear power. Hokkaido’s largest city plans to reduce its pre-2011 reliance on atomic generation by half by 2022, through a combination of conservation measures, renewable-energy initiatives, and other energy policies. In Osaka, where Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto has waged highly public battles with Kansai Electric Power Co. over nuclear energy, the city plans to increase the amount of solar power it uses by 900,000 kw. “Local production, local consumption of energy, as well as energy-saving policies mean that cities around Japan can lead the way in setting goals and policies for renewable energy that the central government should use as a reference,” Kyoto Mayor Daisaku Kadokawa, who heads the group of mayors that sent Abe the letter, told reporters at the Kyoto conference. “While each city may choose to set its own specific energy plans, the longer-term goal should be, as much as possible, not (to) rely on nuclear power,” he said.


Phone users in Japan still paying for plenty of stuff they don't need

Abstract: Last fall, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications set guidelines for “unlocking” mobile phones. Until now, in principle, a handset sold by one of Japan’s three main mobile communications companies — NTT Docomo, KDDI and SoftBank — could only be used for that particular service, meaning if you wanted to switch companies, you had to buy a new one. The guidelines were to go into effect at the beginning of May. The changes will only affect new phones, and they can only be unlocked — at no charge if done online — for their original owners. Moreover, customers of each company will have to wait six months after purchasing their phones to get them unlocked. Which manufacturers this will affect and how mobile phone fees and contracts will change isn’t clear at the moment, but it seems the guidelines were issued in response to complaints from consumers about the high cost of mobile communications in Japan, the idea being that unlocking phones will spur competition. The purpose of locking the SIM cards — those devices that determine which network the phone connects to — is to keep customers aligned to particular carriers, which mandate two-year contracts for services. Last year, the ministry conducted a survey and found that Japanese households spent on average ¥112,453 a year for telephone land lines, Internet services and mobile communications. Altogether, the amount spent for such services accounted for 3.72 percent of all household expenditures, up from 3.28 percent in 2003. Telecommunications fees are higher in Japan than in most other countries, owing mainly to the steep fees charged by the “Big Three.” Two years ago, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun published a report on how Japan’s mobile phone subscription model is a racket. The purpose of the scheme is to attract new customers with something that’s easy to understand — a free phone — and then get them to sign contracts with high monthly fees and options through the use of confusing terms that change from one carrier to another. The price of the phone is paid off in monthly installments, but if the customer is new, that monthly payment is waived as long as the customer signs up for two years. If the customer breaks the contract, then in addition to paying a penalty, he or she has to pay off the balance of the phone’s price, but since the phone can only be used for that carrier, the customer has to buy a new one if they switch to a competing service. However, most mobile phone companies, and not just the Big Three, increasingly offer an “ ikkatsu zero-yen” option, meaning the phone is free as soon as you sign the contract. This seems to be the reason for the unlock waiting period, since theoretically people could sign a contract, get a free phone, unlock the SIM card and resell the phone for a price higher than the contract-breaking penalty. By now most consumers understand that the free phone gambit is a dodge, especially with the advent of the smartphone, which comes with more options and potential fees due to its main function as a data access/processing device rather than simply a telephone designed to make calls. Rakuten Research did its own survey of mobile phone users last year, with 40 percent saying they want to “review” their payment plans and 30 percent saying they are trying to save money by “using their phone less.” One way of doing that is to change their “fixed-price plan” for telephone calls. All three carriers have fixed monthly fees for unlimited calls and, according to the Rakuten survey, 60 percent of users think fixed fees for unlimited voice calls “are not necessary,” because they don’t use their phones much for talking, or they use apps such as Line and Skype to make voice calls over the Internet. This latter development was studied more closely by Mobile Marketing Data Laboratory, which found that 59 percent of the smartphone users it surveyed use Internet voice communication applications, and thus probably don’t need a conventional voice call feature. However, only 18 percent of those surveyed use Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO), less expensive carriers that use other companies’ networks and stress data communications over voice communications. When asked by the researchers why they don’t switch to an MVNO if they don’t need the voice function so much, 38 percent say they don’t know much about it. In other words, it’s easier just to remain with your current carrier, even if you’re paying for services you may not need. Our own informal survey of several dozen MVNOs found that the contract terms are no less confusing than those of the Big Three, but the fees are more competitive, and if, as the Mobile Marketing Data Lab survey shows, only a small percent of consumers subscribe to MVNOs, then at least the competition they provide seems to be paying off. For one thing, almost no one charges a fee any more if you want to keep your phone number when you change carriers, including the Big Three. The main issue is paying only for what you need. When we went to Docomo to inquire about trading in our old FOMA cell phone plan for a smart phone plan, we found out that our monthly fees, for two persons on a “family plan,” would increase from about ¥5,000 a month to almost ¥12,000. We made the same inquiry to MVNOs such as OCN and Rakuten and most came up with cheaper plans. However, the answers we received were different depending on who we spoke to, even within the same company. The problem, we discovered, is not so much price and terms, but employees who don’t seem to understand their company’s services and don’t know how to answer potential customers’ specific questions.


Most common name for company chiefs in Japan is Makoto Sato: survey

Abstract: If your name happens to be Makoto Sato, the chances of you rising through the corporate ranks all the way to the top are probably higher than others. That’s according to results from a survey on the most prevalent names for company presidents among 2.6 million corporations in the country, released Wednesday by Tokyo Shoko Research. The survey found there were 174 Makoto Satos at the helm of firms in Japan as of December, followed by 168 Takashi Suzukis and 151 Shigeru Suzukis. The name Makoto, meaning “sincere,” also proved the most popular first name among company presidents, possessed by no less than 11,267 of them. Other common first names of company presidents were Hiroshi (“erudite”) at 9,176; Shigeru (“ebullient”) at 9,146; Takashi (“prosperous”) at 8,378, and Osamu (“educated”) at 8,055. The research institute reasoned that the popularity of Makoto is due partly to the fact that the name was the most popular among baby boys annually during 18 years between 1957 and 1978. As for surnames, Sato, Suzuki and Tanaka occupied the top three spots, accounting for 34,038, 32,594 and 25,909 presidents, respectively. By region, Sato ranked first in Hokkaido and in the Tohoku region. Suzuki, meanwhile, proved to be the most prevalent family name in the Kanto region, as did Kato and Ito in the Chubu region. Tanaka was the most common surname of a president in Kyushu.


Funassyi — Japan’s favorite shrieking pear

Abstract: In a recent episode of “ Last Week Tonight with John Oliver ,” the British comedian dove into the weird and excessive world of Japan’s yuru-kyara . During his on-air explanation of the nation’s many mascots, Oliver highlighted Funassyi, the giant yellow pear who is the unofficial mascot of Funabashi in Chiba, and included one of his more explosive moments on TV . Need to know more about Japan’s most popular pear? At first Funnasyi was rejected as the official mascot of his hometown but unlike other successful official mascots, such as Kumamon of Kumamoto Prefecture, Funassyi has come to symbolize Funabashi despite its lack of government sponsorship and become just as popular as any yuru-kyara. Funnasyi has appeared in national commercials for the Asahi, released a CD single, and been crowned the Grand-Prix winner at an international trade show for character and brand businesses best license in Japan in 2014 as he traveled across Japan and the world to spread his pear-y special brand of energy. Here are just a few of highlights from 2014: Funassyi’s popularity hit a milestone last year when, as he was being featured on CNN in June, the news reporter couldn’t help but laugh throughout the broadcast when she saw the mascot flapping his arms around. In July, Funassyi tried to kickstart a fashion trend by donning a black cap with a “274” logo (a play on the numbers 2-7-4 with can sound like “fu-na-shi”) and appeared in a TV commercial for Shimamura, a fashion shopping center. The fast-running pear with non-stop squealing had fans wondering how he survived the summer heat in his suit . In September, FUNAcafe, a collaboration event of Funassyi and Shibuya Parco’s The Guest Cafe & Diner, served a special Funassyi-inspired menu including the “funa” burger (with his face on the burger), nashi pear cake, nashi pear tea and even dandan noodles. The character’s popularity went international when he visited Hong Kong in October, attending a local shopping mall event and bringing Japanese yuru-kyara culture with him. Judging by this video, Funassyi’s fans in Hong Kong are just as passionate as those in Tokyo. In December, the toy company “Kitan Club” released a Funnasyi-style version of its famous Cup-no-Fuchiko cup-straddling toys. The brands are literally embracing each other as the tiny figurines can cling to each other in three different kinds of positions and as expected of Cup-no-Fuchiko both can sit on the edge of the cup. The announcement climbed to the top of Fuji Television’s weekly Twitter rankings, beating out the hot issue of Japan’s strict state secrets law. きょうの「ツイラン」5〜1位はコチラ☆コップのフチ子×ふなっしーのコラボにボクも注目(⁎˃ᴗ˂⁎) 旬の話題は「ついっぷるトレンド」で！ ⇒ http://t.co/RJXmGBhQLC #めざましテレビ pic.twitter.com/v2lk7DgcH6 — めざましテレビ (@cx_mezamashi) December 11, 2014 Funassyi is expanding his brand aggressively by creating Funassyi stories everywhere in Japan. Funassyiland, a Funaasyi goods store, opened in Fukuoka in December. According to Asahi Digital News , Funassyi devotees from as far as Tokyo were making the trek. Funassyi’s naturally fragile yet good-natured personality seems to be a starting point. The pear rounded out 2014 on Nippon TV by rocking out with his hero, Ozzy Osbourne, performing a headbanging rendition of Osbourne’s “Crazy Train.” Funassyi got a little wet and wild when Osbourne dumped a bucket of water on him before pushing him into a swimming pool. In the same month, whilst making a cameo during a commemorative concert for The Alfee, Funassyi took an untimely tumble but nothing went pear-shaped: the resilient character sprung back into action minutes later. Without a doubt, Funassyi was a hit in 2014 but only time will tell if the rest of 2015 will keep rewarding the fruits of his labor.


Wear Japan’s past this summer with yukata and monpe

Abstract: Japan’s summer fashion are starting to appear on store shelves, and increasingly retailers are turning to tradition for new yet tried and true ideas. This week clothing chain Uniqlo launched a line of colorful yukata for women and girls who don’t have the time or budget for a custom-made outfit. The yukata comes in a variety of colors and designs inspired by Japan’s past. As Uniqlo often does, the motifs of the women’s yukata are borrowed from famous artists, in this case, the roses and polka dots of Yumeji Takehisa (1884-1934) and the fields and flowers of Junichi Nakahara (1913-1988) . Girls’ yukata have elements of Japanese summer with goldfish and uchiwa fans adorning the clothes. To get the younger generation up to speed on retro clothes, Uniqlo will be releasing a series of how-to videos online to show people the proper way to wear yukata. The line goes on sale June 8 with yukata in the affordable range of ¥4,990-5,990. Loft is also warming up to summer by setting aside a special pop-up for monpe , the multipurpose farming pants made with traditional yet breathable fabrics. お子様用もあるんですよー( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ #もんぺ #もんぺ博覧会 #うなぎの寝床 pic.twitter.com/hT29CuyyOi — 渋谷ロフト (@LOFT_SHIBUYA) May 19, 2015 The pants come in a variety of colors and patterns, and in a more flattering silhouette than regularly baggy monpe work pants are known for. Advertising them as “Japanese jeans,” Loft will sell monpe at its Shibuya location for the rest of the season. The company behind the pants, Unagi no Nedoko, will also be holding special monpe exhibitions in Tokyo, Yame and Fukuoka this summer. While you’re at Loft, you can also stock on traditional and stylish fans, colorful two-toed tabi socks and straw sandals. 「SOU•SOU」の靴下、カラフルでかわいいですよね。私も何足か持ってます(￣▽￣)ギフトにもおすすめ！ pic.twitter.com/zs1rd4ZYFK — 渋谷ロフト (@LOFT_SHIBUYA) May 20, 2015 母×娘2人の親子ユニット「Uh」が手掛ける室内履きの布草履。オールハンドメイドで、豊富なカラーバリエーションも魅力です。4階にて取扱中！ pic.twitter.com/lx3Q6ycied — 渋谷ロフト (@LOFT_SHIBUYA) May 20, 2015

uniqlo
fashion
loft
yukata
japan pulse
monpe


Iwate issues certificates of origin for food exports to Taiwan

Abstract: MORIOKA - The Iwate Prefectural Government has begun issuing certificates of origin for farm, fishery and processed food exports to comply with tougher rules adopted by Taiwan last week. Iwate took the action Thursday to prevent local industries from being adversely affected by Taipei’s decision to require that all food imports from Japan carry certificates of origin due to the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis. Opposing the tougher restrictions as “scientifically groundless,” the Japanese government has said it will not issue the new certification requested by Taipei. The prefectural government said Iwate is the first in the Tohoku region to issue certificates of origin for items bound for Taiwan, which mainly imports processed sea urchins, scallops and soybeans from the prefecture facing the Pacific Ocean. Iwate can issue the certificates in a few hours to producers who apply, officials said. Since the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant disaster started, Taiwan has banned food imports from Fukushima and four nearby prefectures — Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma and Chiba. But under the new Taiwan rules, food imports from Japan’s 42 other prefectures, including Iwate, must be accompanied by certificates of origin. The Japanese government has urged Taipei to retract the requirement. Taiwan has said certificates of origin can be replaced with existing quarantine certificates, but they are not issued for processed goods.


Tokyo's Kamata area looks to revive its film industry

Abstract: Only a 10-minute train ride from Haneda airport, the Kamata district in Ota Ward, Tokyo, has two faces: While known as home to small manufacturers that backed up Japan’s postwar industrial rise, Kamata is also trying to revive a film industry that thrived there before the war. The warning signal that alerts passengers to train departures at JR Kamata Station is the tune used in the 1982 movie “Kamata Koshinkyoku” (“Fall Guy”). It was also a theme tune of the Kamata film studio owned by Shochiku Kinema, predecessor of Shochiku Co., where the movie was filmed. A scale model of the film studio belonging to Shochiku, a major kabuki, movie and theater production company, from 1920 to 1936 in the Kamata district in Ota Ward, Tokyo, is on display in the basement exhibition space at Ota Kumin Hall, better known as Aprico Hall. | YOSHIAKI MIURA Opened in 1920, the Kamata studio led the country’s prewar film industry until 1936. While it put many actors and actresses on the road to stardom, the studio is also known for producing Japan’s first domestic “talkie.” As the area became crowded with small factories, however, the studio eventually was forced out and moved south to Kanagawa Prefecture. The 18-story Nissay Aromasquare Building stands on the former site of the Shochiku Kinema film studio in the Kamata area in Ota Ward, Tokyo. | YOSHIAKI MIURA Nearly 80 years later, an aspiring director and his staff are planning to produce a movie based on Kamata. Director Kazuyuki Takahashi, head of nonprofit WUP Film, is producing “Mirai Shutter,” a story about young people who drop off the career ladder but are given a second chance through their encounters with local Kamata people. Efforts to revive the area’s film industry encountered funding problems, but WUP was able to involve local firms, public authorities, academic institutions and banks. Many cast members were recruited from the general public through social media tools such as Facebook. It will have around 10 non-Japanese actors and actress. One of them is Ninoy Kiat, a young Filipino-American actor who has recently started to make a name for himself. The movie is set for release this spring. Actors shoot a scene for the upcoming movie ‘Mirai Shutter’ in Ota Ward’s Umeyashiki district on Jan. 22. The movie is being produced by the nonprofit organization WUP Film, which is trying to revitalize the Kamata neighborhood’s once-thriving movie industry. | YOSHIAKI MIURA The water at Hasunuma Onsen in Ota Ward has a greenish-brown hue and is reputed to make bathers’ skin smooth. | YOSHIAKI MIURA The cast, staff and local supporters of the film ‘Mirai Shutter’ pose for a group photo after a news conference in Roppongi, Tokyo, in January. | YOSHIAKI MIURA