News On Japan

Tourists return to Japan, but where are the workers?

TOKYO, Nov 06 (Nikkei) - Japanese airports and hotels are scrambling to handle the influx of tourists streaming across reopened borders, as staffs that withered to skeletal levels during the pandemic have not rebounded to match the rise in customers.

All Nippon Airways has lost 20% of its ground personnel at Tokyo's Haneda Airport due to staff departures and a hiring freeze. Now on the busiest days, the airline deploys about 100 cabin assistants to help on the ground by guiding passengers through the airport.

Taking the brunt are the ground crews responsible for baggage handling and similar tasks associated with plane departures and arrivals. Both Haneda and Narita International Airport near Tokyo have gotten staffing help from other airports. Vocational school graduates have received fast-track job offers and onboarding.

The Japan Federation of Aviation Industry Unions, consisting of unions representing airline workers, counted 45,310 people in its ranks in October, down 2,000 from last year.

The tourism industry sees a similar contraction. The hotel, restaurant and entertainment sectors combined for 4.06 million workers nationwide in August, data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications shows, a decrease of 10% from August 2019. ...continue reading

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In recent years, approximately 450 schools close annually in Japan, with around 20% left unused. These unused schools face potential demolition as maintenance becomes unsustainable, prompting a response from the Ministry of Education, which has launched matching sites and events to promote new uses.

The next-generation flagship rocket, the H3, was launched from Tanegashima on October 4th, successfully deploying a satellite into orbit as planned. This marks the third consecutive successful launch.

In Toyama Bay, known as a 'natural fish preserve,' a small shrimp called the 'yokoebi' has seen an explosive surge since the Noto Peninsula earthquake, causing significant damage to brand fish species.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has revealed plans to project advertisements on the walls of its building through projection mapping, following criticism over the initiative’s high costs.

Yumeshima Station, the 'nearest station' to the Osaka-Kansai Expo, is set to open next spring, with a public reveal this week for the first time ahead of its scheduled January opening.

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The Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) will extend its trading hours by 30 minutes starting on November 5th. This marks the first extension of trading hours in 70 years, with the last change occurring in 1954.

The Consumer Affairs Agency announced it has ordered a mail-order business based in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward, which sells medicinal toothpaste and similar products, to halt certain business operations for three months due to exaggerated advertising.

The '1.03 million yen income cap' raised by Democratic Party for the People leader Tamaki has become a pressing issue for many students and part-time workers. How are they managing the realities of this policy?

Post offices around Japan have begun selling New Year's greeting cards that are priced higher this year due to a postal rate hike in October. (NHK)

The Japan Association of Corporate Executives has expressed support for Prime Minister Ishiba's goal of raising the minimum wage to ¥1,500 by the 2020s, calling for it to be achieved within three years.

Japan's Fair Trade Commission has ordered four major insurance companies — Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance, Sompo Japan, Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance, and Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance — to pay fines totaling over 2 billion yen for collaborating to discuss estimates and bid amounts, leading to premium increases.

Honda Motor Co. has filed a recall with Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism for over 650,000 motorcycles due to the risk of rear wheels locking from oil leaks, potentially leading to accidents.

The Bank of Japan decided to keep short-term interest rates unchanged in its two-day policy meeting that ended on Thursday. (NHK)