As much as we don't like DPJ politician Ichiro Ozawa and his money-tainted politics, we have to agree with him on one thing, that raising the consumption tax in Japan could be harmful.

Already Amazon.com, iherb.com, and other foreign exporters are enjoying consumption tax-free exports to Japan, so it is only natural for Japanese firms to want to do the same.

We traveled out to Hidaka town in Saitama at the foothills of the Okuchichibu mountain range, to join dozens of others to celebrate Alishan's 2012 Food Festival, at their wonderful riverside warehouse/home/cafe.

To our surprise, the number of companies being started up in 2009 and 2010 in fact exceeded the number shutting down by a substantial margin.

Again, it's no news that there are huge waiting lists for urban mothers to get their kids into day care centers. Especially for mothers with kids under 18 months.

A survey found that just 57% of Japanese students are interested in studying abroad.

There has been a show down going on over the restarting of the nation's 53 nuclear reactors.

In February multiple major firms in the printing industry have predicted losses on ordinary operations.

Yoyogi Park was packed with parties hoping to catch the first blossoms while getting tipsy.

Reliable high-speed internet and online applications have made remote applications sufficiently viable.