The Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement (JAEPA) entered into force on 15 January 2015. Japanese interest in Victorian and nationwide investment is continuing to grow, with major fast food chains and convenience store operators looking at investing in the agriculture sector, which will in turn support expansion into the South East Asia marketplace.

Okay, that headline is a lot, but it is about as succinct a summary as I can provide. Sora News 24 has the full story.

A taishoku daikou is a company that a worker in Japan will hire to inform his/her current employer that he is quitting. This is apparently a thriving industry in Japan for cultural reasons that elude my understanding.

Momuri is the name of one such company that has processed over 20,000 resignations. Recently a rival firm contacted Momuri and informed it that a Mormuri employee was quitting. This particular employee had, prior to his employment at Mormuri, been a customer who had hired Momuri to help him quit the job that he had at the time.

You follow that?

Photo: Lukas Bieri

Artisan Partners, an investor in Japanese retail giant Seven & i Holdings, called on the company's special committee to consider a formal bidding process of competing takeover proposals to secure the highest offer. Seven & i received a buyout proposal from a member of its founding Ito family, it…

India’s HEX20Labs has partnered with Japanese firm ispace for a mission to send a CubeSat into lunar orbit. Scheduled to launch on ispace's M2 mission, the Indian CubeSat will ride aboard the lander Resilience, aiming to orbit the Moon and conduct critical technology testing. This mission signifies a major stride in India’s cislunar exploration efforts, enhancing capabilities in satellite standardisation for lunar missions. With this launch, India and Japan strengthen their cooperation in space research, marking a significant step toward future lunar exploration and the advancement of technology in low-gravity environments.

The man shares that by reducing personal choices, he experiences a lighter mental load, enabling effective decision-making at work.

The USS Edsall was overpowered by a Japanese fleet in the Indian Ocean but fought valiantly to the end, the U.S. Navy said. It was found in deep waters south of Australia's Christmas Island.

The manga tech start up Orange Inc recently raised over 19 million USD in funding for machine translated manga. We were quite intrigued beca...

Returning for its 14th year, Welsh anime festival Kotatsu has a two-part convention packed with feature films, shorts, music performances, a...

The good folks from the BFI have just sent us details of the upcoming Japanese films that'll be show cased at the BFI London Film Festival 2...

RX Japan brings back “JAPAN’S FOOD” EXPORT FAIR this November 27–29, 2024, at Makuhari Messe for its winter edition, uniting international food and beverage (F&B) leaders with top Japanese food producers. This promises to be a dynamic marketplace, showcasing the finest regional specialties and positioning Japan as a global supplier of premium food products. From artisanal snacks to innovative, [PR.com]

Discover How To Build & Maintin Your Very Own Japanese Garden

At first glance, Ami-dong seems like an ordinary village within the South Korean city of Busan, with colorful houses and narrow alleys set against looming mountains.

(Telecompaper) Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said SoftBank, GMO Internet Group, Highreso, KDDI, Rutilea and Sakura Internet are building AI infrastructure with Nvidia...

Four-time Grand Prix series medalist Rika Kihira will miss the upcoming figure skating season because of a stress fracture in her right ankle that has not fully healed, the Japanese star announced Wednesday.

"I will do my best to work my way up from my minor contract to become the best player in the world."

The post Japanese ace Roki Sasaki to become available to MLB teams this offseason appeared first on Boston.com.

Developed in collaboration with Japan's renowned Yamazaki Baking, these breads seamlessly merge authentic Japanese baking traditions with Tom Cat's American artisan standards.

Children's Geographies; 02/01/2022
(AN 154441552); ISSN: 14733285
Academic Search Premier

Omega X will release its 2nd Japanese EP next month. The new album is called “To.” and it will be released on Nov. 13. The group’s last Japanese album was its debut EP,...

[more...]

Lori Tsugawa Whaley is lauded for her work as a speaker, author, life coach, and Samurai Strategist

"Experience the vibrant flavors of Japan at the "Wow! JAPAN" Flavor Fest in Miami. Discover a delectable array of Japanese cuisine and immerse yourself in the rich culinary traditions of Japan. Don't miss this culinary adventure!"

Who doesn't love Claw game machines!? with 99 Ranch Market, started in 2022, we are excited to announce the opening 9th location at San Diego on April 12, 2023.

As a promoter of Japanese Anime and subculture, Kiddleton will enthusiastically participate in Anime Expo in Los Angeles convention center, July 1-4 for the first time.

Step Into the World of "KAWAI": Experience Japanese Claw Machines at Anime Expo LA!

During the first state of emergency, the number of active users reached 39.86 million.

Games are essential for our lives! Kiddleton Inc. proudly announced a strategic partnership with Japan Village New York, the grand-opening in June.

Enjoy two full days of the best of Japan's culture and food at the Gas South Convention Center.

Discover unparalleled deals on reliable, affordable Japanese used cars at SAT Japan. With a vast inventory and a commitment to transparency, SAT Japan is your go-to destination for high-quality pre-owned vehicles.

Sous les mains expertes de l’artiste serbe Endre Penovác, l’encre coule. Vivant son histoire naturellement, elle occupe l’espace sur le papier. Le peintre vient ensuite souligner quelques traits, dessiner des yeux, apporter une touche de couleur ou ajouter des détails qui viennent créer une texture. En ressortent des animaux sauvages et domestiques à l’allure quasi […]

The true story of three intrepid people who successfully eluded the Japanese in Manila for more than two years, sabotaging enemy efforts and preparing the way for MacArthur's return. One was a debonair polo-playing expatriate businessman who was also a U.S. Navy intelligence officer. Another was a defiant enlisted American soldier. And the third was a wily American woman, an intinerant torch singer with many names and almost as many husbands. With ample doses of intrigue, drama, skulduggery, sacrifice, and romance, this book has all the complicated heroism and villainy of the best war novels. But it is, in the end, a true tale of courage when it counted the most. -- adapted from book jacket.

The executive and philanthropist’s gift, which will support the Japan Past & Present initiative, is the largest in the history of the Humanities Division.

I'm thrilled to be back in Japan for the first time in five years. Today is the start of Katie Anderson's Japan Study Trip (learn more about joining her in May 2025). It's great to be here for another week of learning and great experiences. Little did I know, I'd kick off the trip by nearly losing my iPhone on the streets of Tokyo–a mistake that ended up teaching me a valuable lesson about Japan's […]

The post Lost My iPhone in Tokyo: A Lesson in Japanese Kindness and Culture on My Japan Study Trip by Mark Graban appeared first at Lean Blog.

Sara Leen discusses localizing, porting, and modernizing Japanese games with Jeremy Jung.

Collaboration includes sharing knowledge on packaging technologies to reduce the environmental burden.

The election is going to dominate early November trading so making moves based on seasonals is unwise. That said, it's useful to keep them in mind as the dust settles.

• November is the best month for USD/JPY
• Best month for the Nasdaq
• Third-best month for the US dollar
• The November through February is strong for gold
• Second-best month for the S&P 500
• Second-best month for the MSCI world index
• Second-best month for the German DAX
• Best month for the Nikkei 225
• The final month of the seasonal slump for oil. Seasonals neutral in Dec-Jan then strongly positve from Feb-June

Going into last November, the S&P 500 had declined for three straight months but that month marked a turning point as it recouped nearly all the gains in what was the beginning of a five-month rally. This time, we're coming into the month with better momentum, though October was negative for stocks.

Drop in sales in China hits profits for Japanese car maker Honda

Location: Electronic Resource- 

A map of downtown Spokane's east end, circa 1910, would be barely recognizable to most locals today…

Red Brick Market to host celebration of Far East culture.

We (two non-Japanese speaking Americans) will be traveling in Japan in mid-November and are looking for a Japanese speaker to help us make a few restaurant reservations by phone or email/fax ahead of time, since we won't have a concierge who can do it for us. Ideally, we'd make the reservations by the end of the first week of October.

The figures are in for U.S. auto sales in 2010. The biggest winners in percentage growth were Hyundai, at 24%, and Ford at 20%. Toyota lost .4% and Honda grew a mediocre 7%. The Japanese struggled in 2010.

Earlier we wrote a blog about Ford’s ascendency and Toyota’s problems (see Blog HERE). Toyota is paying the price for failing its customers. Honda appears to be getting painted with the “failure” brush, though I doubt its punishment is deserved.

I am actually using the word “fail” to mean something specific here. A company fails its customers when it is unable or unwilling to do something that at least half of its competitors can, or will, do for customers. Toyota’s troubles with accelerators, floor mats, and so forth, received extensive media coverage. This coverage clearly has had a negative impact on Toyota this year.

Toyota’s struggles illustrate the win and fail dynamic. In our terms, a “win” occurs when a company is able to do something that the majority of its competitors either can not or will not do. Wins account for a good deal of market share growth in a fast-growing market, but are less important in more mature markets. In a more mature Stable market and, especially, in all Hostile markets, failure moves a significant amount of market share.

Here is what this means. The decision to change a supplier is really two decisions. The first is the decision to leave a current supplier and the second is the decision on which new supplier to take on in your relationship. In the average Stable and Hostile marketplace, more market share moves on failure than on wins. This means that before an established customer will change suppliers, its current incumbent supplier must “fail” the relationship in some way. This failure, then, opens up the customer’s relationship to competition among other potential suppliers. Whichever supplier gains this customer’s volume really did so only after the incumbent failed. We call this gain a “weak win.” The “weak win” would not have happened on a straight-up comparison of performance and price of the new supplier versus the old. The gain only happened after the incumbent clearly failed the customer and then opened the relationship to someone new.

Toyota’s failure was largely a failure of Reliability. It clearly lost share. The companies that gained this share from Toyota, Ford and Hyundai among them, enjoyed some degree of a “weak win” in the domestic automobile market. They may have “won” market share as well, but my guess is that most of their share gains from Toyota fell to them from Toyota’s “failure.”

Japanese encephalitis virus activity in the Kimberley  Government of Western Australia Department of Health

The Indo-Pacific: Geostrategic Perspectives until 2024 – Japanese perceptions 24 February 2020 — 9:00AM TO 1:00PM Anonymous (not verified) 22 March 2021 Chatham House

The roundtable brought together stakeholders within Japan’s strategic and policymaking communities to explore Japanese perceptions of evolving strategic shifts in the Indo-Pacific until 2024. The roundtable took place in Tokyo and was organized in partnership with the Indo-Pacific Studies Group.

The report below contains a summary of the discussions and an essay by Hiroki Sekine, Visiting Fellow, Asia-Pacific Programme, Chatham House.

Read a summary and essay

Following its snap election, Japanese politics has entered uncharted waters Expert comment LToremark 5 November 2024

Prime Minister Ishiba’s election gamble has failed. Japan now faces another period of political uncertainty, which could affect its international standing.

In Japan’s snap election on 27 October, the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and New Komeito lost the overwhelming majority it had held since the 2012 general election. The ruling coalition now has 215 seats, leaving it 18 seats short of a majority. 

The largest opposition party is the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP), which gained 50 seats to 148. The second largest opposition party is the Japan Innovation Party (Ishin), which lost six seats to 38, and the third largest opposition party is the National Democratic Party (NDP), which gained 21 seats to 28.

But the opposition is divided and there is no real appetite to form a coalition government. This will likely result in a hung parliament, which will further destabilize Japan’s government.

The election results reveal three key things  about the state of Japanese politics and what comes next.

First, that Prime Minister Ishiba’s snap election gamble has failed. The aim was for Ishiba, a non-mainstream member of the LDP, to strengthen the party base and stabilize his administration. But with the ruling coalition losing its majority, the party base has been further weakened and the Ishiba administration is now more likely to be short-lived. LDP voters as well as the public in general  had hoped that Ishiba, as the ‘opposition within the party’, would change the LDP’s structure and government policies, eliminate the uncertainty surrounding party funding and increase transparency on how MPs use public funds to finance political activities.

However, when Ishiba became LDP leader and prime minister, he abandoned his previously more critical stance and prioritized carrying on the policies of the mainstream LDP, leaving his supporters feeling betrayed.

Second, while the ruling coalition has been punished, the people of Japan still did not vote for a change of government. The opposition is divided and, despite its gains in this election, the CDP is not fully committed to take the lead and consolidate the opposition to form a coalition. The CDP also suffers from internal division. The left wing of the party would prefer a coalition with the Communist Party, while the right wing of the party does not want to form a coalition with the LDP or the Communist Party, preferring a partner such as the NDP.

Third, the NDP has become the key to future Japanese politics. By becoming the minority ruling party, the NDP is in a position to control the fate of Ishiba administration. While the CDP has no intention of cooperating with the LDP, the NDP is more willing to do so in order to implement its own policies. As the budget cannot be passed without the NDP’s cooperation, the ruling coalition will have no choice but to accept the NDP’s policy of substantial tax cuts through the expansion of tax credits. It will also likely have to accept an option for married couples to decide their family names, which requires a change of civil codes and is something it has been reluctant to do so far. 

If the NDP’s demands are rejected, a no-confidence motion will likely be submitted and passed, leaving the Ishiba cabinet with no choice but to resign or dissolve the House of Representatives (the lower house of Japan’s parliament).

But the NDP has chosen to not form a coalition with the ruling party and enter government. Why? From the NDP’s point of view, forming a coalition with the LDP, would mean getting involved in the LDP’s internal turmoil – something it wishes to avoid. In addition, elections to the House of Councillors (upper house of parliament) will be held in the summer of 2025. The NDP may have judged that it will have a better chance of implementing its policies by cooperating with the government on a case-by-case basis, rather than forming a coalition with a party that is losing public support and risk following suit.

The minority ruling system that has emerged after the election is extremely rare in Japan’s political history and is likely to make its politics even more unstable in the years ahead. The Ishiba administration will probably be able to survive until the budget is passed in March next year by cooperating with the NDP, but beyond that its prospects are unclear.

As the House of Councillors elections get closer, some in the LDP may say that they cannot fight the election with Ishiba as prime minister. If so, they may choose the option of a same-day election for the lower and the upper house. The cost of an election campaign is significant, and the LDP’s financial strength gives it an advantage in the case of a same-day election. There is also a strong possibility that the public will choose the LDP to regain stability in government. However, this election has shown that public distrust of the LDP is high, and if Ishiba continues to be pushed around by the NDP, his party’s chances of winning would be reduced.

Japanese politics has entered uncharted waters, where the patterns and customs of the past do not apply. There are now doubts both at home and abroad as to whether Ishiba, who has a weak party base, will be able to stay on and steer the government. Over the past decade, the Abe and Kishida administrations have provided Japan with political stability, which has in turn enhanced its international presence. An unstable political system, with frequent changes of government, will likely lead to a decline in Japan’s international influence.

There is also a risk that US–Japan relations  could become unstable. Although the NDP does not have a strong agenda to change the course of this relationship, Ishiba may struggle to keep the promise made by his predecessors to increase defence spending. Ishiba’s nationalist posture could also create a confrontational relationship with the United States, while his weak leadership means he may not seek to invest in strengthening the US–Japan alliance. 

Donald Trump’s win in the US presidential election could pose a further risk. Although Trump might be open to Ishiba’s demand for parity with the US, he could become irritated with Ishiba’s weak domestic position. Ishiba may not be able to make decisions – or a deal with Trump – unless the NDP agrees to it.

The wreckage of the U.S. destroyer USS Edsall, sunk by Japanese forces more than 80 years ago during World War II, has been found at the bottom of the Indian Ocean, according to the U.S. Navy.

During World War II, Japanese Americans who were sent to internment camps used scraps and found materials to create beautiful works of art.

The so-called good-luck flag, which hung on an American veteran's wall for many years, returned home last month after nearly eight decades

The grassroots organization, Nihon Hidankyo, was lauded for "demonstrating through witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again"

JAPANESE rescuers battled the clock and powerful aftershocks yesterday to find survivors of a New Year’s Day earthquake that killed at least 48 people and caused widespread destruction. The 7.5-magnitude