Business and Finance
Quarter Pounder Open for Biz
For those fast-food junkies longing for a piece of home, Mc Donald’s has opened two new Quarter Pounder restaurants in Tokyo:
You can view video and pictures of Ronald McDonald’s new black and red themed 24-hour hot spot here. Notice the long lines! (さらに…)
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Japan’s New 10% Consumption Tax
Consumption tax to be raised to about 10% by around the mid-2010s, says State Minister for Economic and Fiscal Policy Yosano
In connection with Prime Minister Aso’s statement on a hike in the sales tax in three years’ time, State Minister for Economic and Fiscal Policy Hajime Yosano during an NHK TV talk show on November 2 said, “State finances will go bust unless the consumption tax is raised in stages to 10% by around the mid-2010s.” He thus indicated his perception that it is necessary to raise the consumption tax rate by more than 5% in stages in order to stably finance the social security system, once economic conditions improve. (さらに…)
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Cell phones used to assist indecisive Japanese shoppers
So, you’re a Japanese consumer and you’re thinking of buying a new outfit online, or you’re wondering how you might look with the latest trendy hairstyle, but you can’t decide which look is right for you. Well, worry no more.
If you’re an owner of a KDDI au cell phone, you can now use their EZ MY STYLING feature to snap a photo of yourself and composite it with various hair styles and fashion items. And if you want to get that haircut or buy those clothes, well the au partner companies that provide the images will be more than happy to assist you.
The technology was developed by the same folks who powered the Schick Japan Hige-Chen website we wrote about back in February.
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Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )1 in 7 Japanese kids live in poverty
According to statistics released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, one out of every seven Japanese children under 17 lives in poverty.
Poverty has long been known to adversely effect children’s health and education, but there also are concerns now that growing up in poverty tends to lock children into a cycle of poverty that leaves them economically disadvantaged all their lives.
A 20-year-old woman, who works for a private organization in the Kanto region, recalled that until she entered a foster home in her later years of primary school, she had seldom attended class.
Zurui’s note: “The poverty line is considered one half the median income, or around ¥2.3 million per year. The current poverty rate for Japan is 15.3 percent. That means more than 19 million live below the poverty line. Forty percent of the more-than-1.2-million single mothers make less than ¥1.5 million per year.
This was because her mother was sickly, leaving their home untidy, with broken glass littering the floor. The woman recalls having to shoplift bread and snacks to feed her two younger brothers. Her unemployed father often left home after getting drunk.
“I thought I was different from other children and I tried to believe that life wasn’t real,” she said.
The plight of children living in poverty can usually be attributed to their parents’ unemployment or low incomes. (さらに…)
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )A step-by-step guide to owning a home in Japan
Dream homes can come true if you know all the right things
So you are ready to be king of your own castle in Japan. Adios to the days when you, a mere rent-paying tenant of a grotty apartment, worried about landlords taking you to the cleaners for spilling tea on the carpet or making minuscule holes in the walls to pin up framed pics.
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| Dream home: Be it a log house in the mountains or a condominium in a high-rise, buying a home in Japan requires lots of time, research . . . and money. JAPAN TIMES ILLUSTRATION |
Proud homeowners can drill holes willy-nilly and spill coffee or beer to their hearts’ content! Of course, there are other sound reasons for owning your own property, too — that warm sense of “owning,” the often poor condition of rental properties, freedom to park a car, freedom from the invidious “key money” system here . . . and the low interest rates in Japan that almost always ensure that your monthly mortgage payments will be lower than your rent.
But how to go about getting a mortgage, whether for a new or preowned place in the sun?
Here’s our rough point-by-point guide to buying a residential property in Japan, with insight into some of the head- spinning legal and technical terms that homeowners-to-be must wrestle with. All Web sites referred to are in Japanese only unless otherwise specified.
Have cash ready
Unless you are awash with dearly departed daddy’s dosh, or have just won the lottery, you’ll likely be looking to buy your property through a mortgage. Generally, it’s best to pay 25 to 30 percent of the purchase price in cash (including taxes and other fees), though some lenders offer virtually deposit-free loans. Before they’ll grant you a mortgage, many banks insist your annual earnings are at least ¥3 million to ¥5.5 million.
KDDI to Offer 1G Bps Internet to Homes
Japanese telecommunications carrier KDDI will start offering from October 1G bps (bits per second) fiber-optic Internet hook-ups for less than the current price of a connection one tenth the speed, it said this week.
The Hikari One Home Gigabit service will cost ¥5,460 (US$51.40) per month and provide an upstream and downstream connection at 1G bps. Internet-based telephone service and cable TV service can be added to the connection for an additional fee.
It will be available to single-dwelling homes and apartment buildings up to three floors high in the Tokyo area and Hokkaido island in north Japan. KDDI’s current fiber-optic service for such buildings tops out at 100M bps and costs ¥6,615 while the broadly available 10M bps DSL (digital subscriber line) service costs around ¥4,599.
Japanese Internet users already enjoy some of the fastest and cheapest Internet connections in the world. Aggressive investment by carriers in fiber-optic networks and the country’s densely packed cities leave many homes and buildings within easy reach of a fiber optic connection.
As of the end of June subscriptions to fiber-optic Internet services totalled 13 million whereas those to DSL services stood at 12.3 million, according to figures from Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. Cable Internet services, where speeds of up to 160M bps are available in some regions, had attracted 4 million subscribers to bring the total number of high-speed connections in the country to 29.3 million.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Troubled Asset Relief Provision (TARP) of 2008
Welfare for Wall Street? Not really but the latest compromise on the $700 BILLION bailout is finally out for the public to see. The legislation is still being negotiated and elements of the bill could still change as shown in by the brackets “[ ]” in the document. The House is expected to vote tomorrow and the Senate no later than Wednesday.
Among the provisions of the draft bill:
- The $700 billion would be disbursed in stages, with $250 billion made available immediately for the Treasury’s use.
- Curbs will be placed on the compensation of executives at companies that sell mortgage assets to Treasury. Among them, the bill would limit golden parachutes to executives at companies that participate; they will not be able to deduct the salary they pay to executives above $500,000.
- An oversight board will be created. The board will include the Federal Reserve chairman, the Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, the Federal Home Finance Agency director and the Housing and Urban Development secretary.
- Allow for the Treasury to receive the option to take ownership stakes in participating companies under certain circumstances.
- Treasury may establish an insurance program – with risk-based premiums paid by the industry – to guarantee companies’ troubled assets, including mortgage-backed securities, purchased before March 18, 2008.
Some say do not bet on a bailout payday!
The financial market reaction on Monday will be interesting in Asia, Europe and in the United States. So far the markets in the US have been hyperventilating, up and down that it is. Those brave souls engaged in day-trading have made a good buck if they read their tea leaves correctly (yeah for me and Fannie Mae) but it has been trying times for all investors.
You can read the tentative bailout agreement here. Additional information here.
37 DAYS UNTIL THE US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. ARE YOU REGISTERED TO VOTE?
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )For Rent: Reversible Destiny Lofts
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This in from the Pink Tentacle:
This video takes a peek inside their Reversible Destiny Lofts in the Mitaka area of western Tokyo. Designed to stimulate the senses and force inhabitants to use balance, physical strength and imagination, the lofts feature uneven floors, oddly positioned power switches and outlets, walls and surfaces painted a dizzying array of colors, a tiny exit to the balcony, a transparent shower room, irregularly shaped curtainless windows, and more.
For the adventurous, two rental units are now available for 220,000 and 250,000 yen ($2,000/$2,400) per month, which is a bit pricey for Tokyo, but not outrageous. Short-term stays can also be arranged.
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