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** Japan News **
Foreign teachers to be full-timers | Asahi Shimbun - AKITA--Foreign nationals will be hired as full-time instructors at Akita Prefecture elementary schools starting next April, when English lessons become part of the official curriculum, its education board said.
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Peace at last for Korean community | Asahi Shimbun - UJI, Kyoto Prefecture--Spring has arrived in Kyoto, and with it is a renewed sense of optimism among the roughly 200 residents of the Utoro Korean community here.
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Mainichi poll finds most Japanese want tougher stance on China | Mainichi Daily News - The majority of the general public in Japan wants the government to take a tougher stance toward China, a Mainichi Shimbun poll suggests.
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Number of children continues to decline | Kyodo - The number of children aged 14 or younger in Japan was estimated at 17.25 million as of April 1, marking a record low for the 27th straight year, the government said Sunday.
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Japan lags European peers on female empowerment | The Japan Times - The latest EU-Japan summit wrapped up on April 23, with Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda holding talks with European Council President Janez Jansa (the Slovenian prime minister) and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.
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Visa rules may be eased for foreigners who speak Japanese | Yomiuri Shimbun - The Foreign Ministry and Justice Ministry plan to give preferential treatment in visa applications and extensions to applicants with a good command of the Japanese language, Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura said Thursday.
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Bill ties visa to language skills | Japan Times - Looking to encourage Japanese language learning among foreigners, the government is set to submit a bill to the Diet next year designed to make it easier for those who demonstrate a certain level of language proficiency to get visas of up to five years, a government study group said Thursday in an interim report.
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Japanese-speaking foreigners to receive favorable treatment for visas | Asahi Shimbun - The Foreign Ministry plans to give favorable treatment in visa applications and extensions to foreign nationals with a good command of the Japanese language.
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Japan May Issue Longer Visa for Foreigners With Language Skill | Bloomberg - Japan plans to increase the length of stay for long-term visa holders who have Japanese-language ability, Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura said today.
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Wage talks stall at small firms / Worsening economy hits union demands for profit-linked pay rises | Yomiuri Shimbun - Many labor unions that represent workers at small and midsize companies are still conducting wage negotiations with management, even though major firms have finalized such negotiations and agreed to pay raises similar to those granted in last year's shunto spring labor offensive.
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Part-timers to see automatic deductions for pensions | Asahi Shimbun - In an attempt to slash the ratio of nonpayers in the national pension program, the health ministry plans to require companies to automatically deduct premiums from the wages of part-time workers, sources said.
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Question marks over future of U.S.-Japan alliance | Yomiuri Shimbun - Japan is sending warning signals about the state of the U.S.-Japan alliance, but it is questionable whether the Americans get the message. Japanese nervousness about the next U.S. presidency, the direction of the six-party talks on North Korea, and Washington's long-term strategy toward China are easily dismissed as the obsessive sensitivities of the United States' junior ally across the Pacific.
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Swiss woman acquitted again after 8 months in detention | Asahi Shimbun - A Swiss woman on Wednesday was again found not guilty of drug smuggling, but she had to remain in detention for nearly eight months after being acquitted the first time.
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Overtime complaint hits 'gyudon' chain | Asahi Shimbun - Three part-time workers of leading gyudon beef bowl chain Sukiya filed a criminal complaint with the Sendai Labor Standards Inspection Office here against the operator of the chain Tuesday, claiming the company unlawfully refused to pay proper overtime.
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Seven & I to close 130 Denny's restaurants in Japan | Reuters - Seven & I Holdings Co , Japan's largest retailing group, plans to close about 130 of the roughly 570 family restaurants run by unit Denny's Japan, the Nikkei business daily reported on Thursday.
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New program to boost women in workplace | Kyodo - The government adopted a program Tuesday intended to accelerate women's social advancement, including urging business leaders to fill more managerial posts with females.
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Despite doubts, starting day set for lay judge law | Asahi Shimbun - The Justice Ministry has decided to introduce the citizen judge system on May 21 next year, despite lingering confusion among lawyers and apathy among the public toward the judicial reform.
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Osaka English teachers may be cut by Hashimoto | Japan Times - Nearly three dozen native English teachers called Monday on Osaka Gov. Toru Hashimoto not to cancel an education program that places native speakers of English in the prefecture's schools and expressed concern that the teachers have only been offered four-month contracts.
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Cover Story: Melting pots | Asahi Shimbun - Foreigners in masks carrying sharp poles and long sticks may not be a welcome sight at Japan's airports. But they are increasingly receiving cordial greetings at ski hills around the nation.
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Japan to step up support for Asian countries to improve legal systems | Kyodo - Japan plans to step up efforts to help other Asian countries improve their legal systems in intellectual property protection and other economic areas, setting up a panel of senior officials of Japanese ministries to deal with the issue, government officials said Wednesday.
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Japan tourism at record high | Reuters - A record number of foreigners visited Japan last year as the weak yen lured more Chinese shoppers, French gourmets, and fans of Japanese pop culture, though the country still ranks low among holiday destinations.
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What some have to say about Japan
>Insurance may cover Lehman losses to fraud
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. is unlikely to incur losses in an alleged investment fraud it had been solicited in via the bogus use of the name Marubeni Corp., because the U.S. bank was insured for investment risks, sources said Saturday.
>Subprime losses lower Mizuho profit forecast
Mizuho Financial Group Inc. on Friday revised downward its forecast for business 2007 to ¥310 billion in group net profit from its initial ¥480 billion due to losses stemming from the U.S. subprime loan crisis. It was the third downward revision for the business year.
>Japan without the sugar
"There ain't no samurai, there are few geisha, Japanese are not the most polite people in the world. In practice, there is no special love nor care for nature, nor are they uniquely unique. Sorry, but the sugar-coated Japan of Edwin O. Reischauer does not now, and never has existed."
>Observing Japan
Observations of Japanese and international politics by a (newly) former aide to a member of the Japanese Diet.
>One Life Japan
Partners-in-life Kevin and Tomoe have been bike-touring Japan together since 2001, with a passion for finding ways to live a healthy, fulfilling, fun, learningful, and sustainable lifestyle with a close connection to community, and the environment.
Their story, about real-life experiences of the natural, cultural, and historical beauty - not to mention incredible hospitality - that Japan has to offer, is told from a seat of a 18 km/hr bycicle.
>thE qUirKY jaPan HomEPage
Are you tired of shrines and temples, reconstructed ferro-concrete castles and tea ceremonies? Do you like to get off the beaten track? Would you like to meet Japanese people who do not meet the conformist stereotype? Japan, behind the conservative grey suits and formal bows, is a country quirkier than you can ever imagine.
>What Japan Thinks
From kimono to keitai; research Japanese facts and figures through translated opinion polls and surveys.
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Non-Japanese Nationals in Japan
Non-Japanese nationals in Japan are frequently referred to as "gai-jin," short for "gaikoku-jin" composed of "gaikoku" (foreign country) and "jin" (person). The word has often been the subject of debate as to its appropriateness, particularly in its shortened form.
In 2005, a United Nations report expressed concerns about the racism in Japan due to the government's lack of recognition and attention to the depth of the problem. The report, based on a nine-day investigation of several Japanese cities and meeting with minorities groups and tourism slums, concluded that racial discrimination and xenophobia in Japan primarily affects three groups: national minorities, descendants of former Japanese colonies and foreigners from other Asian countries.
In recent years as the term gai-jin has become somewhat politically incorrect, it has become common to refer to non-East Asians non-Japanese nationals as gaikoku-jin while more culturally similar Chinese are referred to as "Chugoku-jin" (Chinese person), Koreans as "Kankoku-jin" (South Korean person), Taiwanese as "Taiwan-jin" (Taiwan person), and North Koreans as "Chosen-jin" (North Korean person).
| Major cities of Japan and their approx populations | ||
| City | Population | Foreign Nationals |
| Tokyo | 12,059,000 | 212,975 |
| Yokohama | 3,426,000 | 99,251 |
| Osaka | 2,598,000 | 170,877 |
| Nagoya | 2,171,000 | 110,298 |
| Sapporo | 1,822,000 | 12,446 |
| Kobe | 1,493,000 | 82,861 |
| Fukuoka | 1,290,000 | 30,702 |
| Sendai | 1,008,000 | 10,401 |
| Major Foreign Ethnic Groups in Japan | ||
| Nationality | Number | Percentage |
| North and South Korea | 598,219 | 28.7% |
| China and Taiwan | 560,741 | 26.9% |
| Brazil | 312,979 | 15.0% |
| Phillippines | 193,488 | 9.3% |
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Japan Business News
Japan Wholesale Prices Rise on Higher Commodity Costs
| Bloomberg - Japan's wholesale prices rose at close to the fastest pace in almost three decades in April, prompting companies to pass higher costs onto clients or absorb them by sacrificing profits.
Japan Inc. profit to fall for first time in 7 years: poll
| AFP - Japanese companies' profits are expected to fall for the first time in seven years in the current year through March, hit by a US slowdown, a stronger yen and a spike in raw material costs, a survey said on Tuesday.
Asian Ministers to Seek Ways to Fight Inflation, Cooling Growth
| Bloomberg- Rising food and commodity prices that are stoking inflation will probably dominate a meeting of the Asian Development Bank as the region's finance ministers seek ways to shield their economies from higher costs.
Japan's GDP grows annualized 2.8% in Jan.-March: think tanks
| AP - Japan's economy is estimated to have grown an annualized real 2.8 percent in the three months through March, compared with 3.5 percent growth in the previous quarter, according to an average of estimates by eight major private-sector economic research institutes released through Thursday.
Four firms from Japan make list of top 25 innovators
| Kyodo - Toyota Motor Corp., Sony Corp., Honda Motor Co. and Nintendo Co. are among the world's 25 most innovative companies, according to the annual special report issued by BusinessWeek magazine.
Risk factors swayed BOJ to freeze rate
| Japan Times - The Bank of Japan maintained its key rate in March due to a shared view that economies at home and abroad were facing increasing risk factors, according to the minutes of its March 6-7 monetary policy meeting released Monday.
Japan Inc. is on a stock buyback spree
| Japan Times - The good news about Japanese stocks is that corporations are buying back more of their shares than ever before. The bad news is everyone outside of Japan is selling the same equity, spurring concern that the market's world-beating rally may fizzle.
The Short View: Japanese inflation
| FT.com - Japanese inflation is back, with consumer inflation now more than 1 per cent for the first time this decade. That should be a cause for rejoicing. Since 1990, the Japanese economy has, after all, been bedevilled by deflation, a symptom of the lack of economic activity.
Shirakawa humbled at taking BOJ helm
| Japan Times - Voted in as expected Wednesday by the Diet as the 30th Bank of Japan governor, Masaaki Shirakawa was quick to take a middle-of-the-road stance and note that instead of being a professor of monetary policy he is now in the position of setting it.
IMF urges Japan to loosen its credit grip
| Kyodo - The International Monetary Fund urged Japan Wednesday to maintain its growth-oriented monetary stance and consider easing its credit grip further because the global economy is at risk of a recession.
Japan expected to keep key interest rate at 0.5%
| Market Watch - The Bank of Japan's policy board is expected to hold interest rates unchanged at a meeting this week that may coincide with resolution of a months-long political impasse over a new leader for the central bank.
Dollar rises versus Japanese yen on stabilized global stocks markets
| International Business Times - The greenback rose against the Japanese yen from 101.30 to 102.85 on Monday due to stabilizing financial markets together with reports of Japanese pension funds buying overseas assets as they start their new financial year, Investors raised optimism that the worst of the financial crisis might be over.
Japan Stocks Fall, Led by Chipmakers on Lower Demand Outlook
| Bloomberg - Japan's stocks declined, led by chip- related companies, after an industry report indicated demand for computer memory is slowing.
Japan nominates new central bank leader
| AP - The Japanese government nominated a former Bank of Japan executive director on Monday as its third candidate to fill a leadership vacuum at the head of the nation's central bank.
Japan lagging behind EU in setting de facto global business standards
| Japan Times - Japanese firms should recognize and respond to the European Union's growing power as a de facto setter of global business standards, because failure to do so would seriously affect the future of their overseas business, experts told a recent seminar in Tokyo.
Economic dependency makes Japan a silent ally of China
| Japan Times - On March 5, Cui Tiankai, China's ambassador to Japan, was invited to speak to members of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives (Keizai Doyukai) for the first time in the organization's history.
Major banks facing Y1.5 trillion profit drop due to subprime losses
| Japan Today - Combined net profit at Japan’s six major banks is estimated to have dropped more than 40% for the year to March 2008, weighed down by losses related to U.S. subprime mortgages, a daily said Saturday.
Japan's major banks to suffer sharp profit fall: report
| AFP - Combined net profit at Japan's six major banks is estimated to have dropped more than 40 percent for the year to March 2008, weighed down by losses related to US subprime mortgages, a daily said Saturday.
Asian currencies lower against dollar
| The Economic Times - Asian currencies ended the week mostly lower against the dollar but dealers said worse-than-expected US jobs data could cap the greenback's upswing.
Shirakawa, Interim BOJ Chief, May Cut Interest Rates
| Bloomberg - Masaaki Shirakawa will be able to lead the Bank of Japan during the global financial crisis even though he's an acting chief named only because two earlier nominations collapsed, economists said.
Yen May Extend Gain as Commodities Drop Fuels Carry-Trade Exit
| Bloomberg - The yen and Swiss franc may extend gains against major currencies as declines in gold and oil feed speculation investors are exiting purchases of commodities that were financed with cheap loans from Japan and Switzerland.
Nippon Oil to grab 7th-ranked firm
| Asahi Shimbun - Nippon Oil Corp., the nation's largest oil refiner, will acquire seventh-ranked Kyushu Oil Co. on Oct. 1, heralding a likely shakeup in the industry, the two companies said Tuesday.
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Happening in Office
Secret Wishes of Working Women |
Twenty years ago, Japanese girls were told that marriage should be at the very bottom on their to-do-list after college. Many mothers of little girls believed, perhaps from a feeling of missing out on life by marrying too soon, that the first and foremost concern should be work and a career, as girls were placed in highly competitive college entrance preparation programs ("juku" or "yobiko") to attend well-famed colleges which increased their chances of being recruited into prestigious companies.
In love with a Coworker |
Do you have a secret crush on your co-worker? According to a recent survey by SnagAJob, the majority of office workers have some kind of crush on a co-worker.
Office Love |
At some point in time, most employers have to deal with employees who date, fall in love, and probably break up, if not marry.
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Work Life Balance
Are you too tired to talk after work? |
If you answered yes, you're not alone. According to a December 2006 Harvard Business Review study, about 45% of high-earning managers are too tired to say anything at all to their spouse or partner after a long workday.
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Opinions
Can Japanese Workers Finally Expect Fatter Paychecks? |
TOKYO -- Japan's companies were on a massive cost-cutting campaign during the past decade to cope with the country's long economic downturn. Even as the economy grew these past five years, the companies held down wage bills by skimping on bonus payments and hiring temporary workers for lower pay and fewer benefits.
Welcome, Workers from Abroad |
As low birth rate, high suicide rate, and aging society continue to reduce Japan's working population, potential of future labor shortages is becoming more and more realistic.