The NY Times ran a Reuters article on Japan’s wealthiest people.  Topping the list Hiroshi Yamauchi of Nintendo who is worth $7.8 billion.  The source material for the article is actually Forbes magazine which has a much more in depth piece.
Property developer, Akira Mori fell from 1st to 2nd place at $7.7 billion and pachinko machine maker Kunio Busujima […]

One thing that Japanese politicians are always hoping to avoid, but are always causing, is ‘confusion’. And with Golden Week and the end of April approaching, Japanese motorists are getting reading for some ‘major confusion’.
Except of course, there is no confusion in the literal sense. It’s an absolute certainty that petrol prices are going to […]

according to articles found on both bloomberg and the guardian, the expanding waistlines of japan’s denizens is causing the ministry of health and welfare concern. so great is there apprehension, in fact, that they along with local and municipal governments, have hatched a comprehensive series of plans to reduce the girth of the nation. […]

Today is the start of a new fiscal year in Japan and a host of new changes are set to kick in. . . some good for consumers and others not so good.

Gasoline
Gasoline prices will drop by about 25 yen per liter.
Clinical treatment fees
Costs for emergency, after-hours clinical treatment will go up.
Dependent elderly […]

With a looming global financial crisis it’s a very hands-on time for governors of national banks the world over. But in Japan, the top job is vacant while the government and opposition use the appointment as a political football.
That’s the view expressed in a Mainichi editorial published yesterday under the no-nonsense headline “Leaving top […]

Peter wrote earlier today how Japan is a very cash-based society. Underlining that point, a story has been reported which is not unusual in itself except in its sheer magnitude.
Hearing that someone in Japan has a fortune in cash stashed somewhere about their house is relatively common. There are various reasons for this, […]

planning a trip with the kids? looking for something a little bit more original than disney? or maybe you want the kids to experience something educational while they’re having fun. well if your visiting japan, korea, china, or vietnam; you might consider the following amusement parks.
probably NSFW

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according to an article released in february 21st by the economist, the magazine revisted an issue they first discussed in print a decade ago, namely “ japan’s amazing ability to disappoint.”
while the steady economic growth of the past few years has been an encouraging sign, there are major structural problems in the economy which threaten […]

with direct foreign investment making up only 3% of their gross domestic product, the japanese seem to be the most foreign capital adverse of all industrialized nations. this component of the economy, roughly defined, covers the creation of firms from investors that reside in another country who control the operation of the said firm. […]

below the buzzing metropolis of tokyo in the depths of a high rise building is a microcosm of an agricultural revolution. in a facility staffed by former freeters looking for a source of lasting employment, there are six rooms dedicated the the seeding, germination, and successful growth of various vegetables. why is this […]

With the government looking determined to push through a tax reform bill that JP reported on last week, it might come as something of a surprise to hear that it’s being reported tonight that they have agreed to drop the bill, or at least the clause concerning “road-designated tax revenues”, which has been facing stiff […]

Just when soaring energy costs are sending gasoline prices over the 150-yen-per-liter mark and the economy is beginning to sputter, the Japanese government is faced with a monumental decision about whether to extend “temporary” tax measures meant to finance road construction and maintenance that went into effect 40 years ago, and which have doubled since […]

Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara has gone on record saying that the U.S. will abandon Japan in the future to forge stronger ties with China because the two countries worship money.
“The U.S. will gravitate more and more toward China at the expense of Japan as it seeks short-term benefit,” Ishihara, 75, said in an interview […]

If you’re thinking of flying in to or out of Japan after April this year, then this news is for you.
The Japan News Review reports that both JAL (Japan Airlines) and ANA (All Nippon Airways) are set to hike all their fares from April.
Travellers heading from Japan to North America will […]

Not that long ago Japan’s environment ministry was mulling a 2,400-yen tax on each ton of carbon emitted by households using kerosene and liquefied petroleum gas, which are the main heating and cooking fuels in Japan. Even the head of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives (Keizai Doyukai) got into the act, saying that Japan […]

Taxi fares have gone up 7%, a rare instance of inflation in a country where prices generally stay the same for years.
Unlike the U.S., Japan is a very centralized place where change always happens from the top down, and I found it interesting to note that the decision to allow the raise in rates […]

That’s the title of a Newsweek article that explores why Japan is not more of a powerhouse on the world technological stage.
Japan is a technological powerhouse. If you exult in brilliantly bizarre gadgetry, engineering wonkery and prodigious feats of craftsmanship, you’ll feel right at home. It’s also an extremely sophisticated business environment. The Japanese domestic […]

Tokyo is no longer a member of the list of the 10 most expensive cities in the world for expatriates. The reasons given were the decline in value of the yen (which is currently climbing) and low inflation.
Tokyo, the world’s biggest city, slipped from 10th to 13th in the survey by ECA International, which […]

In an editorial titled, “Another tradition fading,” The Japan Times reports on a recent Cabinet office survey that reveals that more than 50 percent of Japanese men think women should not stay at home and function solely as housewives.
In 1979, the percentage supporting women’s traditional house-bound role was 72 percent, and only 20 percent […]

It seems like only yesterday that we were constantly hearing stories about how the Japanese people saved “too much” and about how something “had to be done” in order to pry some of the cash out of the nation’s bank accounts and get it back into circulation.
Now it’s the other way around, and economists […]