Tim Patrick's Blog, page 3

To Understand the Japanese Business Environment, Visit a Parking Lot

When parking an automobile, most drivers in western countries go headfirst, driving forward into their parking spaces. However, drivers in Japan are taught to carefully back into parking spaces, tail first. You will see this in any shopping mall, airport, or home parking spot across the country.(7 more paragraphs)

My new credit card is here! I’m finally a somebody!

I finally received my very own credit card. This isn’t one of those fake pre-loaded cards that you have to top off every few weeks, oh no no no. It’s a real credit card, like the grown-ups have. It took several years, but I guess the fourth time is time charm when it comes to obtaining credit in Japan. I can’t say for sure what enabled me to receive approval this time around. My financial situation has not changed that much since I first moved to Japan, and the information I put on the application this time around was nearly identical to my initial attempt years ago.(9 more paragraphs)

Getting a Credit Card in Japan

My new credit card is here! I’m finally a somebody! This isn’t one of those fake pre-loaded cards that you have to top off every few weeks, oh no no no. It’s a real credit card, like the grown-ups have. It took several years, but I guess the fourth time is time charm when it comes to obtaining credit in Japan. I can’t say for sure what enabled me to receive approval this time around. My financial situation has not changed that much since I first moved to Japan, and the information I put on the application this time around was nearly identical to my initial attempt years ago.(9 more paragraphs)

Making Japanese Immigration Better

Japan is looking for new ways to woo foreigners, hoping to blunt the impact of its declining population and labor pool. Just last week, the government proposed a significant change that would expand visa opportunities for blue-collar foreign workers eager to live here long-term. The proposal enables laborers in specific industries to upgrade their original status from a visa with a hard five-year limit to one that can be renewed indefinitely. It also allows such migrants to bring family members into the country, an option not previously available to this class of imported workers.(11 more paragraphs)

Finding Neosporin in Japan

I don’t know if this ever happens to you, but sometimes I fall down and get boo-boos. Nothing too serious; mere flesh wounds. But scraped knees are the Archduke Ferdinand of bodily injuries, quickly triggering something much worse if you aren’t careful. To avoid land wars in Europe or serious infections, it is best to attend to the healing of injuries right away with effective medicines.(8 more paragraphs)

Why I Took a Japanese Name

In Shakespeare’s most famous romantic tragedy, Juliet tells her lover Romeo, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” She obviously never had to fill out Japanese paperwork. As I lamented in one of my earlier articles, having a middle name in Japan complicates so many everyday tasks. Then there’s the issue of length. As my full English name has eighteen characters—twenty if you include spaces—there are some businesses that won’t have me as a customer because they can’t type my long name into their customer-tracking systems. After dealing with such aggravations for more than three years, I finally made the decision to take a Japanese name.(18 more paragraphs)

Japan in Miniature

Japan has proven time and again that some of the biggest, world-transforming products and ideas can come from a landmass that is somewhat smallish. And since the advent of the transistor radio, they keep reusing this winning formula. How else can one explain the “small Muji” exhibition by Tanaka Tatsuya at Mujirushi’s flagship Ginza store?(5 more paragraphs)

Japan Stops Using Masks (in Theory)

This Monday, March 13, was a bright day in Japan, not just from the increasingly springlike weather, but also because of a newfound facial freedom. For it was on this day that various jurisdictions across the country transitioned to a new phase in the ongoing coronavirus pandemic: “just living with it.” Although Japan’s legal framework prevented governments from forcing anyone to don a mask, residents were strongly encouraged, under threat of a harsh glare, to cover their breathing holes anytime they ventured out.(11 more paragraphs)

How Can Japan Solve its Birthrate Problem?

Japan is shrinking. Although dutiful Japan Rail employees may still cram passengers into rush-hour trains from time to time, it’s all an illusion. From a population high of 128 million souls in 2008, Japan has already lost 5 million of that number. If current trends continue, the nation is slated to have closer to 70 million residents by 2060. And with year-on-year declines and just 800,000 babies born last year (compared with a baby-boom high of 2.7 million infants in 1949), the numbers look bleak.(15 more paragraphs)

What’s in Prime Minister Kishida’s 2023 Policy Speech – Part 2

Last week, I reviewed the international security and diplomacy elements of Prime Minister Kishida’s 2023 policy speech before the Japanese legislature. This time around, I will finish up a review of the speech by looking at his domestic policy pronouncements.(19 more paragraphs)