economy
In a special press event, a Tokyo professor puts a price to the blood, sweat, and tears of Japanese wives and mothers.
When a company ensures that everyone deserves a second chance, it’s a company worth working for.
Our veteran salaryman-turned-reporter gives his idea for the one thing that has to change before Japan will stop working itself to death.
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.
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.
Who doesn’t love debating hypothetical scenarios about the future of a country, especially in the anonymity of the internet?
In fact, a recent Japanese Twitter exchange has led to such an economic debate. One Twitter user with a large following sparked the initial discussion by posing the question “What would happen if everyone in Japan learned how to speak English?” That post has now been retweeted thousands of times, with hundreds of people eager to share their own opinions on the topic.
To many anime fans, working in the industry itself seems like a dream job. The chance to spend all day immersed in the medium they love, helping to add to the collective body of work from which they’ve drawn so much enthusiasm and enjoyment obviously holds more appeal than some bland corporate or service sector profession. Being a professional animator also means you get paid for your passion, to the tune of roughly a cool million a year!
Except, that’s yen we’re talking about, which means the average animator’s annual salary is well under US$10,000.
We’ve talked before about handy Japanese words and phrases we wish we could toss around in English. This kind of linguistic jealousy doesn’t flow in just one direction, though. Japanese businesspeople regularly make use of a number of English phrases, either because they’re more concise, precise, or just sound cooler to their ears than their Japanese counterparts.
Sometimes, though, knowing English isn’t enough to understand these loanwords, since their pronunciations can get pretty garbled in the transition from English to Japanese speakers. Feeling confident in your ability to translate English translated into Japanese back into English? Read on and see how many you can decipher.
Uniqlo, the hugely popular Japanese chain store that stocks a variety of simple, practical and affordable clothing, has expanded into a world-wide venture, with stores in Singapore, Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, France, Russia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and, well, you get the picture. In the West in particular, Uniqlo has a pretty cool image thanks to its simple, pared-down designs and celebrity approval (for example, Pharrell Williams designed a range for them in April 2014), so it might surprise some of you to hear that there are people in Japan who tend to be a bit snobby about Uniqlo, looking down on its regular clientele for lacking in fashion sense.
It’s been a pretty rough year for McDonald’s in Japan, in the same way that getting hit by a bus on your way to work would make for a rough morning. Following a widely reported scandal in which the chain had been supplied with expired chicken by a meat processing facility in China, McDonald’s has been trying everything it can think of to lure diners back, such as giving away Chicken McNuggets for free, replacing the meat with tofu, and trying to take our mind off the incident entirely by pulling our attention towards pork cutlets instead.
After all, a restaurant chain can’t survive without customers, right? There’s one other thing you need to run a business though: employees, and these days McDonald’s is finding itself losing those, too.
Spend much time talking to people in Japan, and you’re sure to hear the phrases “gambaru” and “shou ga nai” over and over again. The fact that they both come up so often in conversation is kind of ironic actually, since their meaning are complete opposites.
Gambaru means “I’ll do my best,” and gets used for any topic that requires effort, including school, sports, work, and even finding a boyfriend or girlfriend. Shou ga nai, on the other hand, translates out as “it can’t be helped,” showing that you’ve already given up.
Unfortunately, a recent poll suggests that an increasing number of people in Japan are saying shou ga nai, with roughly a third of young adults saying they feel like their efforts in life won’t be rewarded.
As Japan continues its long in-vain search for a way to recapture the glory years of the Bubble Economy of the 1980s, politicians and pundits have proposed a plethora of projects. But amid all the talk of privatizing the postal system, making the expressways free, and devaluing the yen, there’s one outside the box solution no one happened on until now: unleash supernatural entities into the stock market.
Maybe it’s something they should have tried earlier, considering how the supernatural characters of hit multimedia franchise Yo-Kai Watch are leading a mini stock rally all by themselves.
China is fearful of becoming the world’s leading economic power and does not want to overtake the US. That’s the argument Kai He, Associate Professor of Political Science at Utah State University, has put forward in an article for the RSIS Commentaries on June 2, in which he suggests three reasons why China “doesn’t want to be number one”.
A major report back in May that suggested that China’s economy will overtake that of the US this year was met with opposition from an unlikely source: Beijing itself. A message published by China’s state media questioned the accuracy of the report, which was based on World Bank figures, and discouraged people from “reading too much into it”.
But why would Beijing refute the suggestion that it will be the world’s leading economic power before the year is out?
MOST POPULAR
Now
Crazy photo shows how Tokyo’s Shinjuku Station can be as confusing as a video game dungeon
IOC member says decisions on Tokyo Olympics must be made by late May due to coronavirus fears
Burger King rubs salt in Japan’s overworked wounds with limited-edition Premium Friday Whopper
Ninja Castle in Tokyo has heartwarming message for foreign tourists in midst of coronavirus
Soba restaurant in Japan struggles to find new employee, rewords job ad and offers flood in
Street fight breaks out in Japan’s second-largest city between shoppers wanting to buy masks【Vid】
Japanese woman’s heartwarming train encounter reminds us all not to judge too quickly
Monster girl brothel anime finally makes a friend as it finds new broadcast partner in Japan
There’s a surprising potential risk that’s making more Japanese youth turn to dating apps
“Single women only” say rules for anime voice actress auditions for new Love Live! series
Weekly
Studio Ghibli suddenly makes 38 albums of anime music available on Spotify, Apple Music, and more
Tokyo ramen shop owner sets “Japanese only” rule as countermeasure against coronavirus- Soba restaurant in Japan struggles to find new employee, rewords job ad and offers flood in
Train brought to emergency stop because someone coughed in it
Brain-breaking optical illusion from Japan is a lie within a lie, truly amazing【Video】
Starbucks Japan reveals second sakura cherry blossom drinkware range for 2020
Skip Starbucks? A super-cheap, semi-secret alternative to a coffeehouse break in Tokyo- Crazy photo shows how Tokyo’s Shinjuku Station can be as confusing as a video game dungeon
Nintendo brightens the life of a Game Boy-loving 95-year-old Japanese grandmother
Japanese vending machines now have the strangest thing we never knew we needed: hot bottled water
Monthly
Japan’s one-person bento box-sized rice cooker can give you freshly cooked rice at the office
My Hero Academia creator, publisher make official apologies for controversial character name
Can you solve this crazy difficult, super satisfying math puzzle from a Japanese middle schooler?- Studio Ghibli suddenly makes 38 albums of anime music available on Spotify, Apple Music, and more
Out-of-business Tokyo McDonald’s gets brutal but kind sendoff from rival Burger King branch
A warning to think twice before taking photos of a crab dinner lying in a Japanese subway station
Demon-slaying Dojigiri, one of Japan’s Five Swords Under Heaven, now on display at Kasuga Shrine
Japanese man berates American woman for “crime” against taiyaki, ends up converted to her ways
Controversial My Hero Academia character gets new name, comes with risk of yet another controversy- Tokyo ramen shop owner sets “Japanese only” rule as countermeasure against coronavirus
Yearly
Adult Cream Pie coming to McDonald’s Japan
Japan goes beyond rice cookers with new curry rice cooker, the kitchen gadget we need right now
Japanese cosplay model shows off thighs, but fans’ eyes are on her Nintendo 64 controller grip
Pokémon fan learns the startling truth about the Wooloo plushie
Free “Language Learning with Netflix” extension makes studying Japanese almost too easy- Japan’s one-person bento box-sized rice cooker can give you freshly cooked rice at the office
- My Hero Academia creator, publisher make official apologies for controversial character name
- Can you solve this crazy difficult, super satisfying math puzzle from a Japanese middle schooler?
- Studio Ghibli suddenly makes 38 albums of anime music available on Spotify, Apple Music, and more
We taste the Adult Cream Pie from McDonald’s Japan
RECOMMENDED STORIES
Street fight breaks out in Japan’s second-largest city between shoppers wanting to buy masks【Vid】
Japanese woman’s heartwarming train encounter reminds us all not to judge too quickly
Monster girl brothel anime finally makes a friend as it finds new broadcast partner in Japan
There’s a surprising potential risk that’s making more Japanese youth turn to dating apps
“Single women only” say rules for anime voice actress auditions for new Love Live! series
Inventor of the Konami Code Kazuhisa Hashimoto dies at 61
Brain-breaking optical illusion from Japan is a lie within a lie, truly amazing【Video】
Studio Ghibli suddenly makes 38 albums of anime music available on Spotify, Apple Music, and more
Nintendo brightens the life of a Game Boy-loving 95-year-old Japanese grandmother
Idol group will fine fans who come to event without masks, but many don’t buy coronavirus excuse
Tokyo ramen shop owner sets “Japanese only” rule as countermeasure against coronavirus
“Drinkable soft serve ice cream” in bottles to go on sale in Japan
Starbucks Reserve Roastery Tokyo unveils exclusive sakura cherry blossom drinkware range for 2020
-
