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Fair pay sought for fast food workers

65 Comments

Demonstrators holding posters march during a protest to demand higher wages for fast-food workers in front of a McDonald's fast-food restaurant in Tokyo's Shibuya district on Thursday. The march was held as part of an international protest by fast-food workers who planned to go on strikes in 150 cities across the United States and demonstrations in 33 other countries on Thursday to demand higher pay and better working conditions. The placards read, "Raise fast-food workers' hourly wage to 1,500 yen!" See related story here.

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@max I know it sounds conceited, but yes, flipping burgers is below me. I have a college education, years of experience in my field and training in several practical fields (carpentry, electronics). I flipped burgers when i was in high school and for a good bit in college. With little to no training. I have put in a lot of time and money improving myself and my community. Right now, in my life my time and skill set is worth more than minimum wage.

That said, if someone in my shoes is doing this work, and there is nothing else they can do then the society they live in is at fault and change needs to happen. If this is where it is "ok" socially and economically for people to be, then this is all that many people are going to do. This means more people in these menial jobs with college degrees and less jobs for those who genuinely need them. It also means less people in jobs that become similar in pay but more troublesome to be qualified for ( teaching, medical, elderly care etc)

Facts are a lot of higher paying jobs pay high to keep demand high. A lot of doctors or teachers aren't doing their job because they love it.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

McDonald's workers in Denmark make the equivalent of $US 21.00/hr.

Denmark is an economically competitive nation. Very much so.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

@kaynide

First off, I never said that "flipping burgers" should receive the same pay as a middle-rank job. They shouldn't. But I do think they should receive more pay than they are now. I also think using the term "flipping burgers" shows that you feel that this job is beneath you. But I don't feel that way. And working in a service industry doesn't have to be a stepping stone to something else. There is nothing wrong with this being a person's life job or a career.

The fact is that the world is always going to have a large lower class, a smaller middle class, and much much smaller upper class. And the upper and middle class need people to do these lower skilled jobs to maintain their lifestlye. Furthermore, it is impossible for all people to join the upper and middle class. Many will always remain in the lower class no matter how hard they try. And some are very happy with the work they are doing. So honestly...quit belittling those in the lower class. They work an honest, hard day's work. And they deserve to get more of the pie!

0 ( +1 / -1 )

It's been PROVEN time and time again by countless economists (both liberals and conservatives) that INCREASES in minimum wage go hand in hand with INCREASE in unemployment.

Writing something is capital letters does not make something true, but it is evidence of dogmatic belief. How many people are unemployed because of the 715 yen minimum wage? How much lower would it drop if we removed it altogether? How many would become unemployed if it was raised to 716 yen?

Very modest increases in minimum wage do not hit unemployment. 1500 yen would be too high - that would cause unemployment. 800 yen would not make a difference. Also, it has little impact on prices, if the minimum wage is not too high.

Those protesters are probably not McD's employes - they are probably members of the Japan communist party, or similar leftist group.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@Maxjapank

Not everyone is fresh outta high school. Some have been working there for years and see that as their job...not a part-time job. And what's wrong with that? It's a service industry and I've never seen a fast food worker being lazy on the job! They honestly deserve to paid more, and if not as a minimum wage, companies should offer better wage increases based on their skill, experience, and responsibility. Anyone who claims that "fast food" is not a real job like some people are doing recently is just wrong.

To answer "What's wrong with that?": Flipping burgers is not even a middle-rank job. If you increase pay to make it competitive to middle rank, then no one will want to do middle rank. Additionally, assuming the worker is your average competent fellow, it only takes around a month of training and practice to be proficient at everything there is to do in fast food. As you said, higher skill = higher pay, but the point is these jobs require a very minimal set of skills.

As I said before, the point of these jobs should be as a starting point to develop a basic skillset on the road towards whatever a person will do as their job for life.

So, short of management/logistics and the office-work end of fast food no, it is not a real career.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Yes, lets. McD's workers produce a product that can be sold. Owners sell the product and live high on the hog.

The owners are generally college-educated, go through a ridiculous screening process, and invest tens of millions of yen of their own money (or borrowed money) to buy a franchise. And then they have to deal with all the risks and problems associated with running a business, many work often 7 days a week, for many more hours than their hourly employees do. And not all these restaurants succeed, more than a few fail within a few years. Some franchise owners have had to get by on less than what they pay their staff. If the restaurant fails, hourly staff can move on easily enough, but a failed franchise owner in Japan will likely end up driving a taxi, or working in a convenience store for the rest of his life. Bankruptcy laws are not mild in this country. The reward must outweigh the risk, or no one would open a restaurant, and there wouldn't even be the crappy minimum-wage jobs available.

Let's not forget that all fast-food company employees are minimum-wage earners. Many thousands of high-paying professional people also work at these places, and many of them started as minimum-wage part time workers.

We don't need to encourage more people to become wage-slaves who punch a clock every day. We need more educated professionals, entrpreneurs, and people who aspire to success. The minimum wage needs to be bad enough that people say "take this job and shove it!" and then go out and make something with their lives, or they may make a career of flipping burgers and washing toilets. What if your kid chose a career at BK because the job pays 1500 or 2000 yen per hour?

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

We should all be throwing in with these guys. Whether you're in IT, teaching, driving a taxi, won't be long before Google are doing your job for nothing much else will be left.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

But do we really want to live in a society where the guy flipping burgers at McD's makes more than your child's school teacher? C'mon, let's be realistic.

Yes, lets. McD's workers produce a product that can be sold. Owners sell the product and live high on the hog. Public school teachers produce no products and generate no revenue.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

You seem to think that an English teacher in Japan has more status in Japanese society than a Japanese person working at McDonalds...

I know this comment was directed at another person, but allow me to share my thoughts. I have worked for 10 years as an English teacher in Japan and during this time I was able to 1) get married 2) buy a family-sized condominium within the 23 wards of Tokyo 3) support a family of 4. I seriously doubt a bank in Japan would give a housing loan to your average burger flipper.

-1 ( +4 / -4 )

Oldman: yeah, all 15 of them? These guys would be limited, by the people you speak of, to 40 members max, if they could get that much. And they'll all be replaced. I'm all for a raise for them, but double the current min. for such a job is unrealistic. Maybe 1000-1200/hr.

-6 ( +0 / -6 )

You really don't know anything about the Japanese people, do you?

Good one!

-6 ( +1 / -7 )

a Japanese person working at McDonalds will always be regarded more highly than an English

I guess you've never been chilling at an Izakaya at 11:00 at night while all the truck drivers, fast food workers, gas station attendants, etc. buy you drinks in exchange for having a conversation (in Japanese) and asking you about America, things they've never seen or will be able to see, things they've never done or never will be able to do.

You really don't know anything about the Japanese people, do you?

Even ¥1500 is still very few.

If you have trouble with 1500 per hour, you have a spending problem, not an income problem.

2 ( +5 / -2 )

Also, between the two professions, only one results in being addressed by a title when speaking to your coworkers.

LOL! Being called "Sensei" as an English teacher in Japan makes you feel like you've achieved something?! I was referring to how people are viewed from the point of view of other Japanese people. As such, a Japanese person working at McDonalds will always be regarded more highly than an English teacher....in the eyes of Japanese people. Hence the McDonalds staff will be given a pay rise before any English teacher.

-8 ( +1 / -9 )

@sangetsu03 I hear what you're saying about getting paid according to skill, experience, and responsibility. And I agree with you wholeheartedly. But let's not use that as an excuse to belittle everyone working at fast food restaurants. Not everyone is fresh outta high school. Some have been working there for years and see that as their job...not a part-time job. And what's wrong with that? It's a service industry and I've never seen a fast food worker being lazy on the job! They honestly deserve to paid more, and if not as a minimum wage, companies should offer better wage increases based on their skill, experience, and responsibility. Anyone who claims that "fast food" is not a real job like some people are doing recently is just wrong.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

AbhorsenaubeMAY. 16, 2014 - 08:47AM JST Why do those Ronald McDonald masks have a tear under his right eye? That's a Russian Mafia symbol showing that they've killed someone...

Doesn't McDonalds indirectly kill thousands of people with their crappy food?!

How someone in Japan can make a living from ¥715/h is a mystery to me. Even ¥1500 is still very few.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Low wages discourage social mobility. If employees could make a living wage rather than be kept in the poverty trap they could afford to upskill and improve their lot. This would improve the economy as a whole by providing well rounded employees from a variety of sources p, not just the rich, well placed, expensively educated incestuous talent pool we're stuck with now. But of course the likes of McDonalds and Dominos don't see their businesses as some sort of social construct.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Dozens of my classmates in high school worked in fast food restaurants to earn extra cash. They knew up front that the pay and the work sucked, but as the job required no education and no skills, it was about as good as they were going to get. They also realized that if they didn't study hard in school, and learn something worthwhile, they might get stuck doing menial work for the rest of their lives. My own first job paid minimum wage, and as I also had no experience or skill, I was happy for whatever money I got. But I also knew that if I wanted to do better, I would have to become someone who could command better pay.

We pay people in accordance to their skill, experience, and level of responsibility. The more of any of these you have, the more money you are going to make, the less of any of these you have, the less you are going to make. The potential to make a better income is why people try harder, spend tens of thousands of dollars for an education, and take risks to get ahead. Hardship is a great motivator to get off your backside and try to make something of your life.

Raising the minimum wage has many side effects, and not all of them are good. For the short term, the extra money is helpful, but the increase in wages leads to an increase in prices, leading to inflation, which eventually negates the increase, and the worker is no better off than he was before. And by paying people with no skill and no experience a higher wage may reduce their motivation to acquire more skills or more experience, and trap them into living a menial existence.

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

You seem to think that an English teacher in Japan has more status in Japanese society than a Japanese person working at McDonalds...?

An English teacher in Japan must:

Leave their home country Adapt to a new culture Be a good teacher Learn a new language (though admittedly, many fight this.) Be good at working with people

An employee at a fast food restaurant must:

Be awake Have at least mostly functioning brains and limbs

Also, between the two professions, only one results in being addressed by a title when speaking to your coworkers.

For this reason, I would never accept my pay to be anything close to a regular worker at a fast food restaurant.

1 ( +5 / -3 )

I kept trying to think of a really witty way to counter this, but in the end I feel the most fitting way to do so is to simply say that your logic is laughable.

You seem to think that an English teacher in Japan has more status in Japanese society than a Japanese person working at McDonalds...?

-6 ( +1 / -7 )

It is a very simple formula; billionaires and millionaires want everything, while giving as close to nothing, as possible. If you are being hired, it is because you, or someone like you, is needed to increase the wealth of owners of that business. If it were true that increased wages ruined businesses, then everyone would be working for the wages of hundreds of years ago...or else there would be no businesses developed from that time on. Remember the lie that good wages for workers kills business. Big business people are evil and greedy beyond reason. They seem to not understand simple mathematics, where the more money the public has, the more purchasing they can do....until Business raises their prices on recognizing that fact. People should refuse to work for low wages and especially not buy over priced goods. Almost all goods are overpriced. Average people need more restraint in their buying habits...the billionaires get rich on the masses....not from the rich.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Look these lemmings are just following along with their brethren all around the world and haven't taken the time to think about what they are doing. Hence them working at Mc D's I suppose.

Fighting for higher wages is one thing, but use your heads and consider the circumstances and situations where you are and don't just copy what the folks in the US are doing.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

These people at McD's (especially in America) do realize that in places like South Dakota, if you work at McDonald's you can get as much as $22/hour. Why? Because the labor supply is low there due to other high paying jobs in the oil fracking industry. They are even offering sign-up bonus' to people to come work in places like McDonalds to meet the demand. Same thing happened in New Orleans after Katrina. During the rebuilding process labor was short, and places offered increased wages to get people to go there.

But just giving a raise "jsut because it's fair" is not going to drive the rest of the ecoomy to grow. Supply and demand. A low supply of workers, means that business have to offer more for people to come there and work.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

yeah....not going to happen.

I run my own business, employ about 15 people, invested well over 100k of my own savings to start my own business, take all the risk, work 7 days a week, 14+ hours a day, and I only make about 1800yen/hour, and these people want 1500yen/hour to flip burgers??

hell I might as well just close my business, and work for McDonalds, take no risk and never self improve.

If you make the minimum wage, 1500yen/hour that creates no incentive for new workers / youth to ever want to aspire for something greater.

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

True. But very few English teachers in Japan speak fluent Japanese. As such, they are less skilled than the average Japanese person working at a McDonalds; so the McDonalds workers should indeed get more money than an English teacher.

I kept trying to think of a really witty way to counter this, but in the end I feel the most fitting way to do so is to simply say that your logic is laughable.

0 ( +3 / -2 )

Read over many of the comments...and I am sure this will get a lot of negative votes...but..

Fast food jobs are not meant to be jobs one works for life. As some have asked, if some can not progress from this kind of job then they need to do some soul searching and think about why. Obviously there is a small small group that simply can't, for them there is no shame in this line of work and they should take full advantage of the welfare system. For the most part these are jobs meant for college kids or as support income, not the main source of income for a household. At the very least they should be aspiring for management.

People need to understand that all jobs should not have to pay living wages... It only takes away desire or motivation to do something more.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

In USA. workers are demanding $15 hour (roughly 1500 yen). and Union representing, In Vegas area, Casino workers work with almost minimum wage but their tips are pooled by shift and divided to each after shift. So, they get very well paid but first food workers do not get tips like that. Pizza and first food, delivery men usually gets tips. So. people are sympathetics to Mac workers. In Vegas area, they are most underpaid people, I think. Obama is proposing to raise minimum wage. MacDonald became big by their cheap wage I think.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

kickboard: Hmmm I thought the US would be on par with Australia, Australia is 16.37 dollars an hour.

http://www.fairwork.gov.au/pay/national-minimum-wage/pages/default.aspx

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

How about the svelte young lady in my 7/11 down the street? She deserves a raise, too. Always courteous, looking good, hits those bar codes so clean, remembers I don't need a bag and use a Nanaco card. Give her a living wage.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

McDonald's financials for 2013 declare a pretty tasty pile of around $2.799 billion in cash - that's 2799 million dollars.

They've also got 14 Billion (that's 14000 Million!) in debt.

Funny thing, though, they pay a LOT of workers MORE than minimum wage. There's also lots of companies in Japan that pay THEIR workers more than minimum wage. I wonder why that is?

Maybe because those that get paid a lot have actual skills that are worth a lot?

And those who get paid NOT a lot (like burger flippers and English teachers) have skills that are NOT worth a lot?

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Aint going to work if minimum wage is like 750 yen an hour, nearly half of the the US and Australia

Minimum wage in Tokyo is 870 yen. I don't know about Australia, but there are exactly 4 states out of 50 with a minimum wage higher than that ($8.50) with some states as low as $5.15.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Wow! ¥1,500 per hour? That's more than many English teachers make!

True. But very few English teachers in Japan speak fluent Japanese. As such, they are less skilled than the average Japanese person working at a McDonalds; so the McDonalds workers should indeed get more money than an English teacher.

-8 ( +2 / -10 )

Wow! ¥1,500 per hour? That's more than many English teachers make!

0 ( +5 / -5 )

The average starting salary for a salaried worker (snip)

Yeah, if they increased McDonald's pay to 1500¥ per hour.....Well, I'd quit my job as a teacher and do that, because that's more than I make right now. You would have to have a proportionate increase in wages across all fields, because there are next to no fields requiring fewer skills than working in a fast food restaurant. I honestly can't think of one off the top of my head.

An increase to 900? That's somewhat more reasonable, but I'd still want a raise if that happened.

-2 ( +1 / -2 )

gogogo: Aint going to work if minimum wage is like 750 yen an hour, nearly half of the the US and Australia

The US federal minimum wage is $7.25 and the highest state minimum wage is in Washington at $9.32.

knowbetter: So those on here who agree that Mc D's workers should get 1500 yen/hr are fine with then paying double of current Mc D's meal prices to cover those doubling of wages? Right, I am sure you are.

Unless you can prove otherwise, there is no economic data to indicate that prices at McDonald's would double if workers' salaries were doubled.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2013/08/02/the-real-change-in-the-cost-of-a-big-mac-if-mcdonalds-workers-were-paid-15-an-hour-nothing/?&_suid=140020684318408337895171716809

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-08-02/this-is-what-would-happen-if-fast-food-workers-got-raises

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

So those on here who agree that Mc D's workers should get 1500 yen/hr are fine with then paying double of current Mc D's meal prices to cover those doubling of wages? Right, I am sure you are.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

abenhorsenaube: Why do those Ronald McDonald masks have a tear under his right eye? That's a Russian Mafia symbol showing that they've killed someone...

Just a wild guess but I don't think these protestors are Russian mafia, do you? I also don't think that everyone knows that a tear tattoo under ones eye indicates one has killed someone, do you? Why not go for the obvious then and assume that the tear is meant to indicate the universal symbol for sadness? Occam's Razor ring any bells?

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

McDonalds workers are not worth 15 dollars an hour. That said, good to see people taking a stand against unreasonable work conditions.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

I can understand their complaint....as many of us may have worked said jobs. I spent 8+ hours a day on my feet infront of a grill next to deep fryers making $3.35 an hour. Management use to say well these are high turnover jobs that anyone can do. We use to argue that they are high turn over jobs because you pay so little and almost anything is better.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

There is also one protester in this photo holding a Sukiya sign.

Sukiya employees have been up in arms recently over the company's policy of classifying employees as contract workers/outsourcers (rather than employees) so that the company can skirt worker safeguards and benefits provided for employees under labor law. It's shameful. I hope to see more of their employees take a stand.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

It's a tough nut to crack, really. Should workers be paid more? I believe so. I think that CEO's earning more in one day than some workers earn in a year is patently ridiculous. I don't care who you are, that's a level of monetary compensation that crosses the line from earned to ridiculously greedy.

That being said, is the average worker at McD's or other places really worth 1500 yen/hour? No. An increase in such wages would drive an increase in prices, which would drive an increase in inflation, which would erode the earning value of that 1500 yen, to the point where the 1500 yen would be as much value as the current 800 yen, and we're back where we started.

And honestly, there isn't enough money in just cutting upper management pay to give raises to all of the lower level workers, at least not enough to double their wages.

As I said, it's a tough nut to crack.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Aint going to work if minimum wage is like 750 yen an hour, nearly half of the the US and Australia

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Make limit of bonus and salary for executives, the minimum salary will increase.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

If they raise the minimum wage, it will force them to raise prices. No business has a magic money machine or secret hoards of cash. If they raise prices, they'll have to lay off workers.

It's been PROVEN time and time again by countless economists (both liberals and conservatives) that INCREASES in minimum wage go hand in hand with INCREASE in unemployment.

So yea, go ahead and raise the minimum wage. Some will make more money, some will get fired.

But the 10% of workers that get laid off will be IGNORED by people too busy patting themselves on the back for being "socially conscious."

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Does this include workers in one shop ramen and similar places?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

These are meant to be stepping stone jobs, not jobs to raise a familiy off of.

Sometimes the next step is not available for some.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

1,500 yen for McD'S?? What a joke.

The average starting salary for a salaried worker (4 year university graduate) is 180,000 yen. For an 8-hour day at an average of 23 days a month, that works out to be 978 yen an hour. Even if you consider bonuses and benefits, they still wouldn't get anywhere near 1,500 yen. If we are talking about general pay rises in all fields, fair enough. But do we really want to live in a society where the guy flipping burgers at McD's makes more than your child's school teacher? C'mon, let's be realistic.

7 ( +10 / -3 )

The problem with low skilled workers going on strike is that they are easily replacable. Not much money and training is required to bring a new worker on board at McDonalds. These are meant to be stepping stone jobs, not jobs to raise a familiy off of. Everyone could make $15 an hour doing low skilled labor, where is the incentive to move up?

1 ( +4 / -3 )

'Who could be against a fair wage? Someone with a superiority complex?'

You could be right. It's very often the free-marketeers who despite seeing massive wage gaps with those at the top taking home ever increasing amounts despite often performing worse than those of thirty years ago trotting out 'you're paid what you're worth'.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

1500/h yen?

So I need to change career from I.T earning 1200/h for 3 years to work at Mc Donalds? ^_^

0 ( +2 / -2 )

i think companies have to keep in mind the virtuous cycle that is created once wages are increased. if workers make more then they will spend more. forget about all this trickle-down economics crap.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Who could be against a fair wage?

That's a semantically loaded question. Who determines what "fair" means? I don't really have an opinion on this, but it's dishonest not to recognize that there are two sides to the story. A wage of 1500 yen will mean higher prices, and less profit. Fewer people will get jobs, some will lose jobs, and some outlets may close up shop because they will be losing money.

Those who keep their jobs will be better off, but those who lose them (or never get hired) will be worse off. It would be wonderful if every job in the world offered a wage that someone could easily live on. Whether it's possible is another question.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

My initial reaction to this was "Hey, why don't you guys get a better job since fast food jobs are known to be dead end jobs " but I guess some people are not qualified enough for other jobs so all powers to them for claiming more!

And who then will do this job? This is good that people not want quit. And why workers can't request for "better working conditions"???

Why do those Ronald McDonald masks have a tear under his right eye? That's a Russian Mafia symbol showing that they've killed someone... what? mafia? what? as Russian i have no idea what you speaking about, there no mafia out of here since 90's, but there are some government corruption, as it be at many countries in world as well and i never ever in my life see anyone out of those mafia day's with such tattoo, but maybe you know better...but anyway i have question: this is already 5th topic for today where i found out some comments about "Russia" in topics where there 0% of information somehow connect with Russia...is this Japantoday paranoia or something else?!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Hmmm..I wonder if the business will be profitable if they raise the wages to 1500yen. My initial reaction to this was "Hey, why don't you guys get a better job since fast food jobs are known to be dead end jobs " but I guess some people are not qualified enough for other jobs so all powers to them for claiming more!

1 ( +2 / -1 )

The CEO of McD's makes $9,000/hour. It's good to be the King, but this is just ridiculous. Starbucks workers make something like ¥800/hour, so they might have a word or three to say about this issue as well.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

Once again, Japanese citizens unafraid to publicly voice their opinions and protest/march. Need I say more?

What? All twenty of them?!

0 ( +4 / -4 )

If people didn't work for them then for piddley amounts then mac and other FF dumps would have to pay more to get staff, be prepared to pay for more the rubbish food these places produce if the wages go up though.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Why do those Ronald McDonald masks have a tear under his right eye? That's a Russian Mafia symbol showing that they've killed someone...

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Good luck with that!

1 ( +4 / -3 )

Once again, Japanese citizens unafraid to publicly voice their opinions and protest/march.

Need I say more?

-5 ( +4 / -9 )

There is much to say about this issue. Minimum wage is not so 'relative' to where you live and work as it is to what is of value to your and community. That said, I do not believe a good, LIVEABLE, wage in any first world economy should be lower than C$15, roughly US$15 and Japanese Y1500. I'll put that theory to the test with interviews in Aomori, when I visit for a month this autumn. Should be interesting, if not enlightening.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

McDonald's should agree and raise prices like Japanese businesses have done :)

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Who could be against a fair wage? Someone with a superiority complex?

1 ( +4 / -3 )

I guess that would be nice Y1500 per hour, but the minimum wage here in Aomori Prefecture is only Y715! So they want it doubled! I don't know how people can live on such a low minimum wage. If you look at most developed countries, even the US has a higher standard than Japan!

2 ( +6 / -4 )

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