Kuchikomi
Gen Z members willing to pay for help to quit their jobs
A young man we'll refer to here only as "Mr. A" had recently joined a firm dealing in medical equipment. Barely several months into the job, he procured the services of a professional taishoku daiko (resignation agency) to notify the company of his wish to resign. His reasons were not… Read
Why are all measures being taken to reverse Japan's falling birthrate failing?
Japan ages and ages, its birthrate falls and falls, no end in sight. What next? No one knows. Population shrinkage on this scale, in all historical precedents, came from war, famine or plague. In peace, abundance and health people made babies. It was life, it was natural. No longer. Consider the… Read
Residents' anger over loss of Mount Fuji's view culminates in wrecking ball solution
The Kanto area boasts hundreds of place names like Fujimi-cho, Fujimi-dai, Fujimi-ga-oka and so on, that all begin with Fujimi or Fuji View. Quite understandable since Fuji is, as the Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan authoritatively advises, that mountain "most loved by the Japanese." However elusive that view might be --… Read
'Monster police officers' abusing power – what sets them off?
You’re walking along the street, minding your own business, thinking your own thoughts; suddenly two policemen confront you and they don’t like your looks. Let rap musician JAKIN tell the story. It’s his; he shares it with Spa (June 18-25), whose subject is “monster police officers.” It’s June 2023. We’re not… Read
Arrested owner of Saitama's 'yakuza apartments' a criminal, or a humanitarian?
On May 29, police in Warabi City, Saitama Prefecture, arrested Mieko Inagaki, 77-year-old a property owner on suspicion of harboring criminal offenders. A month earlier, police had arrested six men and women who were charged with possession of 15.2 kilograms of stimulant drugs having an estimated street value of ¥945… Read
Men living alone - widowed, divorced or single – a growing phenomenon in Japan
Worse than dying, it may be, is being left behind. There is no describing grief, often no sharing it; no bearing it and yet we bear it. Few escape it. It’s universal. Japan, most rapidly aging nation on Earth, is in a sense a dying nation, therefore a grieving one.… Read
What's behind the weekly magazines' current infatuation with Japan's royals?
Each Saturday, a column named "The decline of Japan, as seen by weekly magazines" appears in Nikkan Gendai, an evening tabloid newspaper. The columnist, Masahiko Motoki, was formerly editor of two weekly magazines, Shukan Gendai and Friday. With that sort of resume, we can safely assume Motoki knows his stuff.… Read
Even moderately wealthy struggle to make ends meet in Tokyo
Tokyo’s a great city – world’s 4th best, say U.S. travel magazine AFAR and New Zealand marketing consultancy Resonance; 8th best, say U.S. business magazine Forbes and British media group Time Out; 6th, according to global lifestyle magazine Monocle’s Quality of Life Survey. It pulses and throbs, it bursts its bounds, it’s the… Read
Foreign investors scan Japan property market for failing temples and shrines
Four years ago, the Yakushi-dera, a Buddhist temple in Osaka's Sumiyoshi Ward with a history dating back 400 years, and much beloved of people in its neighborhood, was sold. "A nearby resident warned me, 'Your family grave is going to be moved,'" a 90-year-old resident was quoted as saying. "I went… Read
The dark side of the pet boom in Japan
Japan has more pets (6.8 million dogs and 9 million cats) than it has children under 15 (14 million.) No wonder, in these busy and distracted times. Pets are easier to raise, less expensive, less troublesome all around than children. A world in turmoil such as ours is not child-friendly. Pets,… Read
