When Japan

Earthquakes are a natural part of existence in Tokyo and other similar areas along the Pacific coast of Japan. Knowing the risk and preparing is a major part of a residences duty.When JapanTweet A major earthquake will hit Tokyo and beyond in the next 30 yearsMostly, Mount Fuji will not erupt at the same time (mostly)Being prepared is the only thing you can do (see links at the end) Japan is always at risk from earthquakes, with the fairly recent Kumamoto and Tōhoku earthquakes making international news. The two biggest and most talked about earthquakes are the Nankai earthquake(s), which…

I’ll start this entry by listing the resources I use for tracking the virus progress in Japan. Official Government Source https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/seisakunitsuite/bunya/0000164708_00001.html The government site for the whole of Japan can be found here. It is all in Japanese however contains a one good source of data that doesn’t seem to be replicated elsewhere, at least in English. If you go here and search for “厚生労働省電話相談窓口（コールセンター）の対応状況等について” you will get a PDF link that changes each day showing a daily graph of calls to the coronavirus national hotline. Below is what is looked like for June 1st, with total calls hovering around…

Main photo original here. On Quora.com, I see almost on a weekly basis a question along the following lines: – Can I live in Japan on a monthly/yearly salary of X?Loads of people on Quora.com There tends to be some conditions added on occasion, such as with a wife and/or kids, or living in a specific city or area. However, in general the only criteria that seems to change per question, is the salary. Instead of writing a reply for every small increment of salary, I thought it better to write a comprehensive guide so you can figure it out…

The golden rule of travel in Japan? Never travel in Japan during Japanese public holidays!Anyone who has traveled in Japan during public holidaysTweet Why is that, you ask? Well, the Japanese adhere to two unwritten rules regarding paid vacations. Never take more than 1 week offAlways attach paid vacations to public holidays Most Japanese in large companies will get 16-20 days paid vacation a year, but the above rules mean that most will take their summer vacation at the same time, tacked onto a 3 or 4 day weekend built around the numerous public holidays. Some companies still have an…

Places to smoke are being reduced at a high pace, sped on by the (formerly) upcoming Tokyo Olympics in 2020. Prices are rising and attitudes to smoking are changing; but Japan hasn’t gone anywhere close to the restrictions on many European countries.When JapanTweet According to 2019 data, Japanese smoking rates are at an all time low, but still high relative to countries with similar GDP. Currently around 25% of men and 15% of women still smoke. The reality on the ground is that in the last 10 years, the cost of a packet of cigarettes has doubled due to tax…

The changing demographic time-bomb and rural flight means the countryside is aging, and thinning out, while the cities are ever more crowded. “When Japan” takes a look at the data and asks where is Japan going with this?