A reader recently asked me about the possibility of his receiving the unemployment benefit here in Japan after quitting his job. I thought this is an interesting subject which hasn't been covered much in English. Please note that ALL the comments below only apply...

I was asked by a reader (thanks C.A.) to outline the actual process of getting an apartment, following on from my column several weeks ago. So here goes... I'm assuming that you're doing things for yourself and don't have a secretary to look after things for you...

A third major contributing factor to the salaryman's psyche is the continuing impact of WWII - yes, even today. During the 1950's, Japan almost became a communist nation - the principle of group dependency had been one of necessity after the war, and the socialist ideal of everyone being treated fairly and equally was extremely attractive to a population that was...

The worst situation for a manager, and indeed for a company, is an employee who has been fired but who won't leave. Although in theory Japanese companies can hire and fire as they need to, it is the gray zone of the labour law and the power of the Labour Standards Inspection Office (Roudoukijun-kyoku) which holds most companies back from doing so. As a number of foreign firms...