Kuchikomi
No-shows wreaking havoc on restaurant business
For most, the bonenkai (year-end party) season is now no more than an alcohol-befogged memory. But some -- restaurant operators in particular -- are still feeling the pain. According to figures cited in Shukan Jitsuwa (Dec 27), last-minute cancellations of reservations, mostly by groups, are estimated to cost the food… Read
'How I survived abuse from a mom who hated me'
Some parents hate their children – an increasing number, if official child abuse statistics are the measure. They are likely if anything to understate the problem, taking no account of unreported cases. Every year seems to set a new record. During the first six months of last year, 37,113 child abuse… Read
As more foreigners arrive, how will they change Japan?
"Getting to know 1.3 million foreign neighbors." That's the title of a seven-page article in Flash (Jan 22). The reason for the article's timing should be obvious. After the majority party rammed new legislation through the Diet last month, Japan's immigration policy has changed for the year to allow entry… Read
The sad fate of pets left behind by their owner's death
Dying is a complicated business. So many loose ends to tie up. There’s a will to be made, a funeral to plan, debts to pay, arrangements to be made for loved ones. No wonder this thing or that tends to get lost in the shuffle. For example, says Shukan Gendai… Read
Entertainment at lurid shabu-shabu establishment got bankers, bureaucrats in hot water
In a special "wide" review of "Incidents of the Heisei Era involving money and women," Shukan Shincho (Dec 27) takes a loving look back at the scandal that rocked the Ministry of Finance in the early 1990s -- following the crash of Japan's "bubble economy." It goes without saying that… Read
Let foreigners enter, but don't let them obtain Japanese citizenship, doctor urges
Katsuya Takasu, MD, is not only a man who has acquired considerable wealth through his chain of cosmetic surgery clinics. He is also a person of strong opinions, which he airs in a regular column in Yukan Fuji. His somewhat rambling column of Dec 11 concerns the Diet's recent passing… Read
Extra-curricular activities that overworked teachers don't have time or energy for
Stress is contagious. Stressed teachers make for stressed kids. Stressed kids are hard to manage and stress teachers further. Then there are the parents, of whom more in a moment. Aera (Dec 10), surveying parents, teachers and students, finds that 90 percent of them think of schools as “not free.”… Read
Pre-sales of apartments in 'Harumi Flag' to begin from May 2019
If you happen to have passed through the Harumi waterfront area of Tokyo's Chuo Ward recently, the construction activities would have been hard to miss. By the summer of 2020, 23 buildings incorporating a total of 5,632 residential apartments will be completed, to serve as the Olympic Village for athletes,… Read
Grown children surprised to find their fathers absorbed in internet rightwing sites
Going home can yield any number of surprises. Your parents have aged, your childhood room is a den, etc, etc, Spa! (Dec 11) tells of this going-home surprise: It concerns a company employee we’ll call Mr Suzuki, visiting his 70-year-old father with his wife and four-year-old daughter. The surprise was… Read
Takanawa Gateway, new JR Yamanote Line station name, fails to resonate with Tokyoites
A movement has been launched to rescind the name selected for the new station on Tokyo's Yamanote loop line situated between Shinagawa and Tamachi, which is scheduled to commence operation from 2020. As of 6 p.m. on Dec 10, an online petition to halt use of the new name had… Read
