business (Page 13)
Not a fan of the boy wizard? Maybe you’d prefer to hold your meeting in the Wonderland room instead.
The crisply suited men of World Order are here to teach you some basic Japanese business tricks (and advertise an energy drink while they’re at it).
It’s no secret that many countries face looming demographics problems as their populations age.
Much has been written about developed markets like Japan, Germany, and Italy, which have the largest percentages of their populations age 65 and up.
But another country also deserves attention: China.
With rules regarding everything from tea to elevators, some new employees think it’s all too much.
Ad for Tokyo auditions lets would-be anime stars know that they won’t be working in the booth if they’ve previously done work with their clothes off.
Kumamoto Prefecture is still reeling after back-to-back large scale earthquakes struck the region late last week. Yet somehow Japan’s major convenience store chains have managed to get 97 percent of their shops up and running in a matter of days.
Unless your definition of “almost none” is “enough to get a side job.” Then go right ahead.
There’s a reason why the same parents who encourage their kids to become doctors or lawyers don’t try to steer them into becoming anime studio employees.
Chinese officials are set to discuss ways to stimulate the country’s sputtering housing market during its Central Economic WorkingConference later this month, according to Chinese state media.
On November 18 a young woman was spotted on the streets of Shenzhen City in Guangdong, China carrying a sign which read: “Overnight and overtime work has made me into an old lady. Both my love and work lives are miserable. I request approval for workers’ compensation.”
It was an unusual yet straightforward demand that triggered debate and reflection on the state of working conditions in the country.
Japan is famous for fast trains, but one new line crawls along at 14 kilometers (8.7 miles) per hour! Can the ultra-slow Snow Turtle save an endangered company?
November marks five years since Vikas Pradhan sent out his first tweets in broken Japanese describing the hardships of starting a restaurant. In response and a heartwarming show of support, the Twitter community rallied behind Pradhan not only online but in actual paid visits to his Nepalese cuisine restaurant Daisuki Nippon, putting it firmly in the black.
However, in a rather sudden turn of events, Pradhan tweeted that as of 31 October the original Daisuki Nippon had closed down.
It’s no secret that Japan may be headed for a bit of a labor crunch, as the population ages and many older workers reach retirement age with fewer young up-and-comers to replace them. And, while the Japanese government seems reluctant to take measures to replenish the shrinking workforce with foreign laborers, non-Japanese workers are nevertheless entering Japanese corporations and workplaces in record numbers.
But Japanese offices are also notorious for their long hours, slow pace of advancement, and frequent, long meetings. Traditional Japanese companies seem stuck in an old-school work culture even as companies in the rest of the world offer increasingly progressive work-life balance programs, workplace perks, and office hours.
With this stark contrast in mind, our Japanese sister site tracked down seven non-Japanese workers to get their for-realsies impressions of what it’s actually like to work at a Japanese company.
Career arcs in Japan used to be simple. You finished school, got a job, and worked there until it was time to retire. Along the way, you were paid a salary calculated strictly on the basis of how long you’d been with the company.
That’s not necessarily the case anymore, and as more and more Japanese switch employers, and even industries, they need a baseline from which to evaluate the pay of potential posts, which is where Japanese website Kyuryo Bank comes in. Yes, Kyuryo Bank has all the salary-related numerical data and progression charts you’d expect, but it also has something truly unique: awesome anime-style illustrations of professions ranging from public accountant and lawyer to web designer, pro blogger, and yes, even “chicken sexer.”
Now that it’s October, fall is slowly beginning to creep up on Japan, which means seasonal favorite dishes including pumpkin, sweet potato, and mushroom will again be arriving on dinner tables across the land in no time. As for the lattermost, people from the countryside are more likely to pick or grown their own rather than buy mushrooms from the supermarket, and some varieties like matsutake can easily retail for a few hundred dollars.
Unfortunately matsutake and other kinds of mushrooms don’t fetch quite as high of a price in China, but while one man was gathering mushrooms, he stumbled across something that was worth much more: a giant bees’ nest.
It’s no secret that working in Japan can be pretty miserable. Long hours, unpaid overtime, power harassment, and mandatory drinking parties with coworkers are just some of the factors that contribute to workers all over Japan leading stressful lives.
But misery loves company, so that’s why we present the top 11 tweets to make you feel glad you don’t work in Japan. Some of them are attempts at encouragement, some of them are commiserating, and some of them are so painfully sad that you can’t help but cry. So read on and see how your own work compares to Japan!
Comiket 88 is over now, sadly enough, but the Internet is still awash in the afterglow of dojinshi and cosplay. Of course, everyone is already looking forward to the next event this winter, from cosplayers to artists to taxi drivers.
Yes, you read that right, it seems that fans and artists aren’t the only ones who love Comiket! Apparently the massive event draws taxi drivers from all over Tokyo because it’s the best place to make money, according to one tweet that captured a ton of attention in Japan last weekend.
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Japan announces sudden 500-percent increase in visa fees for foreigners entering the country
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Weekly
- Japanese ninja certification exam attracts 131 candidates from Japan and abroad
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7-Eleven Japan to start selling Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches this summer- Japan announces sudden 500-percent increase in visa fees for foreigners entering the country
- Japanese sweets brand creates new drinkable Cigare and we’re totally here for it
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Tokyo’s life-size Gundam is getting a new look before its end-of-summer removal
Starbucks Japan releases new limited-edition summer drinks…and a pastry for dunking
Monthly
- Japanese ninja certification exam attracts 131 candidates from Japan and abroad
- Studio Ghibli store Donguri Republic announces opening of first-ever store in America
New Japanese overnight train coming to connect Tokyo with Tohoku in sleep-travel style
Uniqlo reveals third round of massive 100-year-anniversary manga T-shirts for Jump’s Shueisha
Even at twice regular Daiso price, this handy item is still great for summer travel in Japan
New official Ghibli anime food cookbook will teach you how to make Ponyo’s ramen and more- Japanese sweets shop sells an ohagi so exquisite it sells out by noon
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Japanese convenience store Lawson launches new “mini supermarket” chain, L Minimart
Japan’s real-world Pokémon hot spring’s first photos are here![Photos]
Yearly
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
We deeply regret going into this tunnel on our walk in the mountains of Japan
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】- Japanese ninja certification exam attracts 131 candidates from Japan and abroad
Japan reportedly adding Japanese language skill requirement to most common foreigner work visa
Japan’s 5.3 million beautiful Hitachi Nemophila flowers are now in full bloom[Photos]
Pokémon and Ikea Japan cross over into each other’s worlds with collaboration events
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Starbucks Japan releases new Frappuccino, tea and soda drinks for summer
Starbucks Japan sells Valencia Flavoured Syrup, and here are four ways to use it this summer
Enjoy the world’s oldest gyoza chain hidden just outside Shinjuku Station
Cheap Japanese sandwich hack: Popular cafe’s 21-cent white bread offcuts will really up your game
Ginza Happo: One of Tokyo’s best all-you-can-eat seafood restaurants is an extreme buffet affair
Forget Tokyo go-karts – there’s a new way to sightsee on four wheels in Japan
Japanese merry-go-round has heartwarming backstory, is one of the best rides in Japan
Japanese sweets shop sells an ohagi so exquisite it sells out by noon
Suspected Japanese ice cream cartel under investigation for price-fixing
We invent ice slurry somen to combat the extreme Japanese summer heat【SoraKitchen】
Beat the heat with chilled Iekei ramen from Yokohama Iekei Ramen Ichikakuya
7-Eleven Japan to start selling Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches this summer
7-Eleven Japan vs Family Mart: Who has the biggest convenience store cookie?
Japanese bento shop touches hearts by selling super cheap boxed lunches for around a dollar
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