Go drinking with your boss in Japan is needed among the youth
It’s long been a custom in Japan for rank-and-file workers to join their boss for an evening drink. Perhaps it’s because drinking alcohol helps to lower people’s inhibitions, which helps them to get feelings off their chest – a practice that has coined the word nominication, made by combining “nomi,” drinking, with the English“communication.” Recently the […]
Doing Business in Japan as a Foreigner
Business in Japan as a Foreigner Ivan Orkin was born in New York in 1963. In the 1980s he earned a degree in Japanese from the University of Colorado, after which he made his first trip to Japan, where he stayed for three years. Upon returning to the United States, he decided to pursue his […]
New Solar Energy Usage from Japan
The sunlight concentrated by 800 mirrors onto the receiver installed on the top of a tower is blinding like an artificial sun. In fact, it is said that the temperature of the receiver reaches over 1,000 ℃. The scene is as if the populace is kneeling in adoration before a Mayan king standing on top […]
Fast-growing Business in Online English Conversation
Japan's Online English Conversation Business By Ryoji Shimada, staff writer 129 Yen ($1.60) for 25 Minutes? No, it’s not the price of an overseas telephone call, or for going online in an internet café… It’s the rate for a one-on-one English lesson. Normally the cost of a one-on-one or private English lesson is 6,000-8,000 yen […]
Up to What Age Do Japanese Hope to Continue Working? Up to 70?
In Japan, where the percentage of elderly relative to the population is increasing rapidly, the government is now discussing boosting the age from which a worker begins receiving pension payments (social security) from age 65 to 68 or 70. Perhaps reflecting current insecurities over how to support oneself in one’s old age, when regular company […]
Kobe Luminarie “Light of Hope”
At the end of December 2019, the 25th Kobe Luminarie would have been held in Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture. But due to the pandemic, it is cancelled for the first time. The glittering light festival has been held annually in remembrance of the Great Hanshin Earthquake which struck the region on January 17, 1995 and […]
Japan's Soft Power
Japan's Soft Power By Dave McCaughan I first realized the influence manga has in changing people’s real view of the world in 1993. I was conducting research in Sydney, Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Tokyo looking at the impact of technology on young teenagers. This was of course pre-internet, a time when personal computers were […]
Japanese people are punctual but waiting can be positive in Japan
For Japanese, waiting is active Japanese display great patience, but it does not mean they are unaware of time passing. Meetings are expected to begin on time. Agendas always assign a time frame for each item. By contrast, Americans tend to be more relaxed about meeting times. There always seems to be time for people […]
Making Your Home More Attractive in Japan
Decorating Verandas and Balconies 2011's unprecedented disaster of the huge earthquake and following nuclear mishap led the Japanese into an electricity-saving mode in a big way. Especially during the summer season when the demand of electricity becomes the highest, the move to make rooftop spaces or verandas with greenery for comfort or to lessen the […]
Tiny but High-tech Japanese-style hotels
Traditional Japan in High Tech Style! Most Popular Lodging for Foreigners in Japan “I wanted something truly original to Japan,” tells president Keiji Shimizu. His fourth guesthouse in Kyoto, the Capsule Ryokan Kyoto, embodies the 10 years of hostel/guesthouse management experience and knowhow that he has gained since opening his first facility in Kyoto in […]