Japan

The Japan telepeage system had a 38 -hour blackout. Japanese drivers chose to continue paying equally

by

Japan is a Country of contrasts. On the one hand, it is a society in which the Machines of vending With used pantieslabor situations close to slavery wave extreme surveillance. On the other, they are obsessed with cleanliness and they have a strong value system in which the norms are not contemplated to skip. But what happens if you go with your car on a highway, the Toll system It doesn’t work and the barrier is raised? Would you pay? Well, the same thing happened recently and thousands of people opted for what seemed most correct: pay. Short. It was on April 8 when the company’s electronic toll collection system NIPPON EXPRESSWAY CENT. (Nexco Central) He stopped working. This implies that cars with telepeaje could not carry out the payment automatically in those positions in which there is no personnel -something that Do not abound at this time in Japan– And obviously the barrier did not get up. As you can imagine, it was an important problem because They generated great traffic jams. The problem began at night, but was expanding for 38 hours in which 106 tolls were unusable, causing chaos on 17 routes, including those that go to Economic heart of the country, Tokyo. Huh, pay. The company acted by sending personnel to the toll stalls in which charges could be made manually, but between others it was impossible for the infrastructure and that they could not send operators to all the points, they made the decision to raise the barriers in the affected points. It was the first time that the system failed at this scale from the privatization of Nexco Central in 2005. Vehicles could pass freely and was the best decision to Avoid bottling during the peak of the next day. What else did Nexco do? Tell the drivers that they will use a form on their website to pay deferred. Interestingly, the drivers who aimed how much they had to pay based on the sections traveled that day and sent the relevant applications are counted by thousands. The calculations. They were not all, much less. It is estimated that about 960,000 vehicles passed through those tolls during the 38 hours of fault and 3.8% of them They requested Deferred payment. It may seem like a ridiculous figure, but we are talking about some 36,000 drivers who, voluntarily and without any duty, decided to request the option to pay for the “service consumed” that day. Absolution. All this showed that the TV system It is vulnerable because, when a failure occurs on a scale like this occasion, it could not be react and the only solution was to lift the barriers to avoid major evils. The president of the company, in a very Japanese way, apologized Publicly and promised something: reimbursements and a total of 1,200 million yen, about seven million euros, which stopped entering during error time. All those who paid would receive the reimbursement of their money in a cordial gesture from the company to ensure equity with those who decided not to pay, but a thing was also remembered from Nexco: although the system fails, drivers They should pay. And there is the most questionable side in history. The error was due to a Failure in a software update of the teleping system that caused traffic jams and delays at first and, despite being the fault of the company, they wanted users to pay equally. Images | The Japan Faq In Xataka | Japan’s economy depends more and more on a very Japanese phenomenon: fans absolutely delivered to its idols

In Japan there were parents by putting their children the name of “Pokémon” or “Doraemon”. The government has said enough

by

Japan has a Name, word or expression For almost all those things that we have a whole phrase. You have it to explain the Great demographic challenge of the nation, for the Young phobia To go to school, to explain How tokyo hell grows While the rest sinks, to explain that you can take a nap at work without fear to fire youand you even have it to explain the inexplicable: men who ram To women. Thus, how weren’t they going to have one to explain the fashion of extravagant names to babies? In fact, now they have said enough. Coto to “creativity.” The Japanese government has introduced new norms that limit freedom with which parents They can name to their children, focusing specifically on the pronunciation of Kanji characters allowed in the Civil Registry. This reform seeks to contain the growing wave of attention, the names Kirakiranickname received by striking or extravagant names, which since the 1990s have caused confusion in administrative and sometimes teasing to children. Although the use of Kanji (the Chinese characters adapted to the Japanese) is not prohibited, from now on the parents must Declare phonetic reading of the name and stick to officially recognized pronunciations, with the aim of avoiding unusual or controversial interpretations. Response to linguistic chaos. I think I don’t walk very disabled if I say this problem It is not unpublished from Japanbut there, apparently, the proliferation of these names with unconventional readings has represented a growing problem for schools, hospitals and public services, especially in a society that It depends on digital records standardized. Some parents have brought their eagerness to originality to the extreme, choosing names like Pikachu, Pokémon, Kitty, Naiki (Nike), Pū (Winnie The Pooh), ōjisama (Prince) or even Akuma (Demon), which has generated both social and institutional criticisms. Although these names often employ legal kanjis, their pronunciation was not precedent, which turned their interpretation into a real puzzle. Japanese alphabet Tradition that clashes. The new regulations is also a way to balance the tension between the desire to highlight and the weight of the Japanese tradition, which usually privileges homogeneity and social harmony. In a country where collective values ​​even influence breeding, many parents defended their elections as An act of personal expression in front of a culture of strong conformism. Here are emblematic cases such as the Seiko Hashimoto politicswhich called his children Girishia (Greece) and Torino (Turin) in tribute to games Olympic, cases that illustrate how even public figures have challenged traditional codes, although with consequences of misunderstanding by the environment. Pragmatic adjustment in order. Plus: the law does not intend to eliminate the variety of names, but rather ordering the use of language: of the about 3,000 kanji allowed, many have multiple accepted readings, but certain phonetic combinations They were so extravagant that They were unintelligible. In this way, from now on, parents who opt for unusual pronunciations must justify their choice in writing and, if it is not considered reasonable, they will have to Propose an alternative more understandable. The authorities have indicated that only the most extreme cases will be rejected, which suggests that reasonable regulation is sought, rather than a strict prohibition. An exceptional change. History is still relevant news in the case of Japan. The reform is a rare modification of the kosekithe legal registry of the Japanese family unit, which includes the names and birth dates of the head of the family, his spouse and children. In that sense, the New criteria of pronunciation marks a precedent: it is the first time that not only the written character is regulated, but also your readingas a mechanism to protect the administrative and linguistic integrity of the system. If you want also, in an era more and more digitized, where data coherence becomes essential, Japan, who if not, has chosen to protect your system through the language, channeling personal creativity, but within understandable and functional limits. We feel it deeply, Charmander. You are in danger of extinction. Image | Pexels, PRINTERVAL, Itoldya Test1 In Xataka | Japan’s great demographic challenge is called “Sato-Tizo”: in 2531 all its inhabitants will be called the same In Xataka | Japan is living something unpublished in its most emblematic neighborhoods: the “chinification” of anime and video games

Japan has been seeing how its birth collapse little by little. Now faces the result: the “problem 2025”

by

Japan has a great great Population challenge ahead, a demographic watchmaking pump fed by a birth rate that He has won to place in historical minimumsincreased life expectancy and a weight increasing of the elderly population. That is no novelty. However, however, Japanese economists and politicians look with increasing concern A key datethe turning point from which this aging will begin to take its toll to the country. And it has already arrived. The “problem 2025”. Although there is still much 2025 ahead and it is soon to know if Japanese birth will continue The descending curve of The last decadeDemographers have long suspected that this will not be an easy year. And the reason does not reside so much in fertility and mortality rates as in what it represents. 2025 will mark the point where the Japanese born during the Baby Boom of the late 40 (1947-1949) will exceed 75 years. And that means a real challenge for several reasons. In fact, in the country they have been talking about “Problem 2025”. More than a symbol. Japan It is not the only nation that deal with the winds of demographic winter, although there they blow with more force than usual and the problem is faced from a particular perspective. From the outset, the Japanese do not perceive the elderly as most countries. For them, the usual thing is that people who have turned 65 “Genki” categorythat of healthy and active people. As I remembered The Economist A few months agomore than 50% of people between 65 and 69 years and more than a third of those of 70 to 74 are still working. Moreover, in the population group between 65 and 74, only 3% of the Japanese require nursing care. His life is so active that the country’s gerontological association has even proposed to include that cohort in a new category, that of the “pre-estatants.” The thing changes after 75. Crusade that barrier only work 12% of the Japanese and the percentages of the population that require care. They are the “advanced elders”, the horizon that the millions of Japanese are now born during the Baby Boom of the late 40s. And with them the whole of Japanese society does. Why is it a problem? Because, like They have not been warning for some time Experts, that demographic turn will submit the pension system and medical care in Japan to greater pressure. And it will also do it in an aged country, accustomed to seeing how every year it is achieved A new historical minimum of birth rate and in which the population of working age It has been descending evident since the beginning of the century. The result is what experts such as Takado Komine, of the Institute for International Policy Studies (IEPI), has called The “problem 2025”, a crisis with multiple edges and derivatives that affect society and economy. “A sudden increase”. In A recent analysis On the phenomenon, Europa Press cites some of the fronts on which the “problem 2025” will let yourself feel. The first, he remembers citing an IPEI report, will probably be geriatric care services. The organism Consider which is “almost certain” that as of this year doctors and nurses will deal with “a sudden increase” of people who need care, which will result in “a significantly greater burden for workforce.” And what will be the result? A foreseeable personnel and greater pressure deficit on social coverage systems. In 2018, the government has already made accounts and concluded that between 2025 and 2040 the general social security costs, including pensions, will shoot almost 60%. Everything while The weight of the population Over 65 years old does not stop increasing in the country. The report also indicates the challenge that will be for large urban areas, where a greater volume of elderly people is concentrated. The Government has already launched to solve the problem, but the challenge is considerable and is accompanied by threats, such as giving rise to an inequality crisis among older people. How serious is the problem? It arrives with review some figures to understand it. Last year they were born in Japan 721,000 babiesthe lowest data since the country collects statistics. Only in 1949 (in full baby boom) it is estimated that they were born 2.69 million babiesthe same ones that will now cross the 75 -year border. According to Precise The Economistthe population that exceeds that age is expected to rub the 22 million. A decade ago they were just 17. Image | Woody Yan (UNSPLASH) In Xataka | The Japanese demography debacle, illustrated in a graphic that speaks for itself

Japan has made an airport not lose a suitcase in 30 years. Now you have to achieve another milestone: that it does not sink

by

Now that that moment of the year is approaching where millions of travelers prepare to face the flights that will take them to the long -awaited holidays, an airport room is also ready for the arrival of one of those evils assumed as part of the package: the lost or lost suitcases. Although there is an exception. In Japan an airport has erected as the most efficient of the planet. They have been three decades Without losing luggage. His problem is another, and is underground. 30 years without a complaint. As we said, in a sector where loss is almost evil assumed by travelers, the Kansai International Airportin Japan, it offers an amazing anomaly: in its three decades of operationhas never lost a suitcase, a baby cart, a couple of skis or a single bag. The feat, which its employees describe with modesty as a simple consequence of following the rules, has made Kansai a reference of silent efficiency. Serving the regions of Osaka and Kyoto, and with 30 million passengers International a year, its record cannot be attributed to a low volume of traffic. What distinguishes it is meticulous attention to detail: from aligning the handles of the suitcases to facilitate their collection until they personally deliver fragile or bulky objects directly in the hands of the passenger. In Xataka Nobody wants to spend three hours on a Saturday. And that’s why hypermarkets go down Operational discipline. Had in Japan Times Tsuyoshi Habuta, supervisor of one of the luggage manipulation companies in Kansai, which behind there is no special training or secret systems. According to him, merit lies in Comply with established processes And act carefully: each suitcase is treated as something valuable, not only for its content, but for what it represents for the passenger. Your team manages some 3,000 pieces a dayand the manipulation procedure of is a ballet Synchronized revisions and cross controls. Each piece is counted not only at the time of check-in, but also during and after the flight. The workers inspect that the number of packaged packages coincide exactly with those downloaded, both in the airplane warehouse and in the safety control rooms. If something does not block, the search begins immediately. The rule of the quarter hour. Plus: There is a tacit rule. Deliver all luggage in the collection zone in less than fifteen minutes From landing is a priority. This system is what has made the airport a world reference of efficiency, being awarded eight times with international awards for its excellence in the delivery of luggage. Airport Aerial View Omotenashi philosophy. Behind this impeccable history is also the Japanese concept of omotenashior hospitality as art. According to testimonies of the workers themselves collected by NPRcommitment is not only with logistics efficiency, but with the happiness of the passenger. For them, excellence is not an objective achieved but a constant improvement, fueled by the humility of learning every day and the responsibility of representing Japanese quality to the world. This collective attitude generates an organizational culture where The error is not allowednot for fear of punishment, but for professional pride. Wonder of engineering. The airport, opened in 1994, is built entirely About an artificial island In Osaka Bay and remains one of the infrastructure projects more ambitious and expensive Never performed. Conceived to relieve the saturation of the Osaka airport, Kansai has evolved to become the third busiest airport from Japan. Its initial construction cost around 14,000 million dollars, but with expansions and adjustments it has reached an estimated value of 20,000 million in 2008figure that, adjusted to current inflation, could double. Endowed with characteristics such as flexible asphalt tracks capable of resisting earthquakes and a high structure on 900 hydraulic cats that allow leveling the terminal as the ground sits, the airport has even resisted the devastating Kobe earthquake 1995 without compromising its operation. Osaka Bay Marine bed The problem: it sinks. It We count a while ago. Despite all his technological advances, Kansai faces a persistent and increasingly worrying threat: It is sinking. Since its inauguration, the airport has already descended about 11.5 meters And it is expected that another additional four meters could descend before 2056, approaching dangerously to the sea level. This situation is due to the fact that it was built on land earned to the sea, a highly compressible alluvial clay base that, under the weight of the artificial island, releases water and contracts, causing the progressive sinking of the soil. Although engineers have tried to accelerate land consolidation through “sand drains” (deep holes stuffed with sand to evacuate moisture), the settlement was not completed before starting construction, and the effects continue to accumulate over time. {“Videid”: “X8ST3IM”, “Autoplay”: False, “Title”: “Japan ride generated with Sora”, “Tag”: “”, “Duration”: “17”} Fight against the sea. In 2018, a powerful typhoon flooded one of the slopesconfirming that the problem is not theoretical or distant. In response, the containment dike rose in 2.7 meters To prevent future floods, but experts agree that these measures are palliative and will not be enough in the long term without a large -scale intervention. Yes, the airport is designed to adjust structurally and adapt to the movements of the land, but the geological environment itself (that species of “wet sponge” of loose clay) represents a continuous and silent threat. Every centimeter that descends more compromises its future viability, and although for now it remains an example of advanced engineering, the countdown to its physical obsolescence has already begun. In Espinof I’ve seen ‘Rogue One’ after finishing ‘Andor’. I still have the impression that they are two half films forced to meet Monument with expiration date. In summary, Kansai is a fascinating paradox: a symbol of what human engineering can achieve and a reminder of the limits that imposes nature. While continuing to operate effectively recognized worldwide (With its unmatched record of delivery of luggage without losses), its future survival asshole a complex equation between technology, resources and political decisions. Without large … Read more

Japan does not want to run out of its abundant offer of cheap graphics cards. So they have been forbidden to tourists

by

Time flies. PS5 and Xbox Series They already touch the five years in the market, and Nintendo Switch 2 It is at the corner. Meanwhile, the world of the PC follows another rhythm: every year New components arrive And, with them, increasingly exorbitant prices. An example is that of Nvidia graphics cards with some RTX 5000 that had risen in price (and They keep doing it). And it is not only a price problem, but also of scarcity. Because there are some markets in which the high demand for these high -end cards It has become a problem. But it is a market that goes to two speeds. In Japan the TEMPORARY OF THE SCARKbecoming an ideal country for foreigners to buy a GPU if they go on vacation. Your solution? Prohibit sale of graphics cards to tourists. But let’s see why you can find high -end graphics in Japan to prices that are not absurd And why these measures seem more deterrent than high feasible. Japan does not want to run out of graphics cards The reason for that scarcity has several explanations. The Last generation GPU They are ideal to enjoy the games, but also for setting up pointers for the Artificial Intelligence Training. It seems that the market does not give a respite to the GPUs, since a few years ago the shortage problem was due to the cryptocurrency mining and semiconductor crisis. There is Other factors that can alter the availability in the market, such as more recent tariffsbut the truth is that the problem of finding one in stores at a price without inflates due to that scarcity It is something that has dragged Nvidia for some time. But this, as we say, is something that does not affect everyone and it is a situation that is hittingabove all, to the United States. And, as we see in Redditwhen someone from a country in which prices are in the clouds or, directly, there are no units of certain models of graphics go to a country like Japan where there are, they wonder why. The answer is complex and I consider that it goes beyond the simple “because in other countries we are not willing to pay for a GPU which costs a second -hand car”, as has been given in the same Reddit thread. The first, some Japanese retailers know that there is a problem of scarcity in other territories and that tourists can take advantage of the trip to take a graphics card. That is why, in some stores, posters have been hung by warning that Only certain resident models in Japan are sold. The effectiveness of this measure has been discussed and it is said that there are stores that only show the poster as a deterrent, but also that others are Starting to ask that buyers demonstrate that they are residents in the country. Reddit image. Link by clicking on it The red poster says something as “the purchase of this product is limited to residents in Japan. The purchase for resale is strictly prohibited.” But this does not go so much against the tourist who takes the opportunity to take a GPU, but against which he buys units systematically for the resale, and here China is put in the spotlight. Due to the impossibility of buying the latest Nvidia graphics in the Asian giant for the Commercial War with the United States and the different vetoesand thanks to the proximity between China and Japan, a practice seems to be visiting and filling the suitcase with graphics that They are shown in the Asian giant. Question of cultural preferences That is one of the reasons why there are graphics in Japan, but another can directly be cultural and preferably of Japanese players. The size of the housing is a huge condition for certain hobbys, and playing on a PC is one of those affected. A laptop enters anywhere, but these graphs are used to mount towers and a space is needed for the entire Setup. It seems like a drawer, but we are talking about the average house size in Japan has reached its lowest level in 30 years. The average is 92 square meters and, in the cities where more population is concentrated, talk later of 50 square meters. It is a space incompatible with mounting a pC of desktop and, although it is a fact that the number of PC players has grown Significantly in the last decade, it is not known how many correspond to the match in laptop and how many atmosphere. In 2015 it is estimated that there were 11 million PC players, a figure that increase up to 16 million in 2023, and AMD is also contributing To this. It is a fact that is not bad, but the console market is still above, representing about 20% of the total video game market. Here has a lot to do with Nintendo Switch which has been sold as hot bread in Japan. Since its launch, of the total 152 million units worldwide, I know esteem that only in Japan more than 35 million have been sold. In fact, in 2021, of 100% of consoles sold in Japan, Calculate that Switch represented just over 78%, which clearly shows the preference for portable game. Now, the system that really dominates in the country is the mobile as a game device, with a My dear 66% of the total. Here, as we said, cultural preferences are mixed, that taste for portable platforms and the little space in the houses of the cities in which The bulk of the country accumulates. And all that can give us the answer of why there are high -end graphics cards available in Japan and why the price is not inflated. Or everything may be much simpler and, as they commented on Reddit, in many countries there is no shortage because they are not going to pay for a GPU the same as because … Read more

Japan cannot afford your most valuable company in the chips industry. And is mired in debts

by

JSR Corporation is a company extraordinarily valuable for Japanalthough not in a strictly economic sense. And this company constitutes with Tokyo Electron, RapidusCanon and Nikon The spearhead of the Japanese chips industry. Japan needs them. It necessarily needs these companies to be competitive if you want to recover the relevance that it had decades ago in the already flourishing semiconductor industry. At the end of the 80s Japan dominated the integrated circuit industry With an overwhelming forcefulness. Nec, Toshiba, Hitachi, Fujitsu, Mitsubishi, Matsushita and other Japanese companies monopolized in 1988 no less than 50% of the chip industry. However, today none of these companies is positioned among the leaders of a sector dominated with iron fist by Taiwanese, American, Dutch, South Korean and German companies. Despite its world leadership JSR Corporation is spending trouble This company has something that the other companies that I have mentioned in the first paragraph of this article lack: it holds the monopoly of a crucial sector of the chips industry. This is actually what makes it so valuable to Japan beyond its economic results. And it is that JSR specializes in the production of photorers. Photolithography teams that Design and produce ASML They are responsible, very broadly, to transfer the geometric pattern described by the mask with a lot of precision to the surface of the silicon wafer. In this area we can observe the pattern as the “drawing” that delimits the distribution of transistors, connections and other elements that make up an integrated circuit. However, before reaching this important step it is necessary A process known as deposition. Equipment manufactured by Tokyo Electron either Apply materials. Its purpose is to prepare silicon wafers for the transfer of the geometric pattern by depositing a fine material of material on them. During the last two decades all companies specialized in the production of photorestoning materials have been Japanese Depending on the type of chip that is being manufactured it will be necessary to use one material or another. One of the most used deposition techniques is known as oxidation, and consists of taking advantage of the silicon’s ability to form a fine oxide layer when reacting with water. Its purpose is to protect transistors and other components of external pollution chips. However, before carrying out the transfer of the geometric pattern to the wafer using a lithography equipment it is necessary to pour a liquid capable of absorbing the light and preserving the pattern. This is the function of the photorersista fluid. During the last two decades all companies specialized in the production of photorers have been Japanese. In fact, Japan since then has the monopoly of this market, which It is currently led by JSR Corporation. This company supplies its photorestoning liquids to most semiconductor manufacturers with which we are familiar, such as TSMC, Intel, Samsung, SK Hynix, Micron Technology or Texas Instruments, among many others. The surprising thing is that despite the domain it exerts on the market of photorers, JSR is not going well. In 2024 the investment company Japan Investment Corp. bought it for 6,000 million dollars with the purpose of consolidating its growth, but has closed the last fiscal year in March 2025 with losses of 1,450 million dollars. This bad result has had consequences. The company’s board of directors has been completely replaced as the most responsible for an economic result that is not at all in line with the position that this company holds in the market. However, analysts say that the problem does not reside in the photorriving business; JSR’s bad economic results have been triggered by their subsidiary specialized in The development and manufacture of biopharmaceutical and medical diagnosis products. The new directive dome plans to sell a part of this division to the Japanese company Tokuyama Corp. for approximately 570 million dollars with the purpose of cleaning up its accounts. We will see what happens, but what does not admit discussion is that JSR has a leading role in Japan ambitions linked to the semiconductor industry. More information | Reuters In Xataka | Japan has taken the carrier to dominate the chips industry. Prepare a 325,000 million dollar plan

In 1999, a manga predicted that Japan would suffer a great cataclysm in 2025. And now there are tourists canceling their trips

by

Samantha Tang is a yoga teacher, is 34 years old, resides in Hong Kong and is in love with Japan. So much so that since the Pandemia ended, he tries to visit the country once a year. Until recently, August was planned on the beaches of Wakayama80 km from Osaka. “I had,” in the past. Despite his passion for Japanese culture, Tang has recognized the CNN that he will postpone his plans for a peculiar reason: “Everyone talks about an earthquake.” Your case is not unique. Japan has found that a surprising number of tourists are canceling their trips to the country for fear of suffering a natural disaster. The most curious thing is not that “frightened” of tourists, but what has unleashed it. Behind psychosis is not the government, a seismological organism, a team of physicists and geologists or a revolution, but a manga comic. THE KEY: A 1999 comic. If Tang has rethink his next trip to Japan, just like others Assiduous and passionate travelers of Japanese culture is largely by a comic released a few years ago. To understand it you have to go back to 1999, when Ryo Tatsuki published ‘WATHI GA MITA MIRAI’ (‘The future I saw’), a manga in which the author talks about prophetic dreams. The work could pass without sorrow or glory through the libraries of the country if it were not because in it Tatsuki predicted a great disaster that would occur in March 2011, month and year in which Japan suffered A great earthquake With thousands of dead and injured. That coincidence gave a huge reputation to the comic. He began to talk about him on social networks, he commented on TV programs and his specimens were revalued. And why does it matter now? The work ended up becoming so famous that the Asta Shinsha publishing house signed Tatsuki to publish a new version, a “complete edition” that was launched in 2021 and ended up becoming a bombing. The company ensures that in total more than 960,000 copies. The book has also been published in Chino and has reached other points in Asia in which it has become popular, such as Thailand or Hong Kong. The point is that this new enlarged version includes a prediction that has shaken Japanese tourism and has put on guard not a few travelers in Asia, especially superstitious. 2025. The comic ensures that “the real disaster will arrive in July 2025” (an idea that includes on its own cover) and leaves Sound passages as the following: “I dreamed with a great disaster. The waters of the Pacific Ocean south of the Japanese archipelago will rise.” Such prophecy (of course) has no scientific support and the author herself has recognized in An interview with Mainichi Shimbun that people should act “taking into account the opinion of experts”; But that has not avoided that the influence of manga (and its prophecy) has spread. A manga … And something else. Although Tatsuki’s comic has played a decisive role is not the only thing that explains that the fear of a natural disaster has downed (and remote) apart from tourists who planned to travel to Japan this year. The ball has been enlarged after an alleged “psychic” Japanese predicted that an earthquake would hit Tokyo’s bay April 26 (something that obviously did not happen) and Qi Xian Yua Feng Shui teacher with some impact on Hongkonese TV, will advise people to stay away from Japan. If that is added the social networks speaker, the result that I commented Tang With the CNN: “Everyone talks a lot about an earthquake.” “It is better to avoid it. It will be very problematic if an earthquake occurs,” coincides Oscar Chu, another Hong Kong traveler, who usually visits the country of the rising sun several times a year but has decided to rethink his 2025 trip. Beyond the prophecies. Predictions and prophecies on the margin, the truth is that Japan is located in an area of ​​special seismic activity, the Fire belt Del Pacífico, already throughout the last decades, has suffered earthquakes such as the one that hit the Kanto region in September 1923, the 1995 Hanshin-Awaji, Iwate-Miyagi Nairiku (2008) or that of 2011, which caused damage mainly at the northern end of the country. At the beginning From this same year he suffered another in the southwest area, although with a rather lower intensity, of magnitude 6.9. Not long ago Japan issued Another alert and the government He has recognized that there is a high probability that an earthquake shakes the Nankai pit (located to the south of the country) throughout the next three decades. TO mid -April Even the Chinese embassy encouraged its travelers to take precautions. Reality, like They recognize the authorities Japanese, is that “with current knowledge it is difficult to predict an earthquake specifying date, time and place.” How has it affected tourism? Although it is difficult to anticipate the Ladies, the fear climate largely fed by the Tatsuki comic, it is being felt in the Japanese tourism sector. Especially in demand from other points in Asia, such as China, Thailand or Vietnam, important markets for the country. WWPKG travel agency, based in Hong Kong, He has assured to the CNN that the reservations to visit Japan during Holy Week fell to half. And forecasts for the coming months are not better. Greater Bay Airlines, an Hong Kong airline, He has chosen directly For reducing their services with the Japanese region of Sendai and the city of Tokushima, cutting both in a weekly frequency. The reason: a drop in demand between rumors of an upcoming disaster in Japan that add to the economic uncertainty generated by the tariff war initiated by the United States. A BOOM SECTOR. The big background question is how this suspicion will affect the growing tourism sector of Japan, which has been moving in historical figures and has even generated tensions in the busiest points, such as the surroundings of the Mount … Read more

Japan went to South Korea as a desperate measure for the lack of rice. They have not even solved a national emergency

by

To understand what is happening in Japan we must go back in time. The summer of 2024 left A perfect storm On the basis of the nation’s diet: rice. A unprecedented shortage of grains in his own fields began to leave No stock to shops. Then, the tourist boom has duplicate the problem turning it into a historical crisis reflected in a fact: 30% more expensive was being paid. Given the danger to running without a basic pillar, the decision was made “Release” tons of your reservations. What nobody could anticipate. Foreign rice. In April, La Nación opted for another unprecedented decision in 25 years: Import rice From South Korea, an unthinkable measure in a society Historically reluctant to the foreign grain, but that was forced to make its customs more flexible to the vertiginous increase in the price of the national grain. With prices that They doubled their value Regarding the previous year (reaching 4,214 yuan by 5 kg in April) and with a government response that fails to contain the climbing, consumers have begun to look beyond their borders. Not just that. The Aeon chain He also announced which will begin to sell American rice Calrose starting next month, with a price 10% lower than the Japanese grain, a decision that could mark a turning point in consumption habits. In front of national rice. The arrival of South Korean rice, sold both online and in supermarkets, although even in small volumes (just two tons with another twenty on the way), marked a point of cultural and economic inflection. The nationalist preference for local rice, which had condemned to failure Previous attempts such as that of Thai rice in 1993, has yielded to the urgency of more accessible prices. The Guardian told Cases of testimonies such as that of Miki Nihei diner, who said not to notice any difference when eating Californian rice, and revealed a change in public perception: the quality of foreign grain was no longer a sufficient reason to resist, when the pocket suffers. The rice becomes a politician. Now, a few weeks after crucial elections for the Upper House, the government of the Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru ishiba is on the edge of political collapse Given the growing discomfort by the exorbitant increase in the price of rice, central food in Japanese food. With inflation that has reached the most symbolic product in the country, citizens have expressed their frustration in surveys such as that of the Kyodo agency, which places the approval of the Ishiba cabinet in a minimum of 27.4%marking a fall of more than five points in just one month. The pressure intensifies not only from the opposition, but also from its own Democratic Liberal Party (PLD), already weakened after lose most In the lower house last fall. THE DEBATE ON THE Impost to consumption Of 10%, that the government refuses to reduce despite popular claims, is emerging as the decisive axis of the electoral contest of July, with almost three quarters of voters asking for their total or partial cuts, especially in food. A late remedy. As we said at the beginning, in an attempt to contain the crisis, the government decided to release rice from the strategic reserves In March, a normally reserved measure For natural disasterswhich failed to stop the price increase. The price price in supermarkets reached practically Double of what cost a year ago. Although the price dropped minimally after the release of the first 300,000 tons, the results were disappointing. To reinforce his strategy, the executive announced the launch of another 300,000 tons Additional until July, with the novelty that part of these items will overcome wholesalers to reach the points of sale faster. However, More than 87% From respondents believe that these actions are insufficient, and citizens do not trust that trade negotiations with the United States focused among other issues in rice imports will be resolved in favor of Japan. From there to that leap For the search for “foreigner” rice In South Korea. A political fire. The theme has become more violent in recent days. It happened when the Japanese Minister of Agriculture, Taku Eto, unleashed A political storm and socially by declare that “he has never had to buy rice” thanks to the gifts he receives from his supporters. The phrase, pronounced during a fundraising party, was disseminated by the Kyodo and quickly replicated agency by other meansgenerating a wave of indignation in social networks where thousands of citizens, faced at record prices of the Japanese basic food, demanded their immediate resignation. Eto, visibly pressed, apologized the next day before the journalists, claiming that “he had exaggerated to please the public” and that his wife, after reprimanding him on the phone, reminded him that she Yes Buy Rice When it ends at home. Thus, he avoided responding if he will present his resignation, leaving the tension generated in full countdown to the key elections of the upper house in July. A market that does not supply. In short, the Rice search Out of the nation is not (alone) a commercial turn that responds only to the registration of the national product, but (also) to the suspicion of hoarding by distributors, logistics bottlenecks and a Shot demand For booming tourism. Given this panorama, the image of ishiba as an effective manager It wobblesand its refusal to touch the consumption tax is interpreted as disconnection with the real needs of citizenship. The rice crisis is not only forcing logistics and commercial adjustments, but also raises questions about the viability of food self -sufficiency in Japan, a country that for decades has shielded its agriculture with subsidies, tariffs and a national identity speech linked to the consumption of domestic rice. Suddenly, the rice not only feeds: it also marks the measure of discontent. Image | Ilo Asia-Pacific In Xataka | Japan had used its rice reserve against earthquakes or tsunamis. Now is your weapon against the price escalation In Xataka | In Japan there … Read more

Japan has found the number of children per woman to avoid demographic extinction. Two thirds of the planet are very far

by

A group of researchers in Japan He started studying What number of children by women could be understood as a key to “avoid extinction”, understanding this, not as prevention before a total apocalypse of our civilization, but as the prevention of statistical extinction of the lineages or family lines over time. They found two things: that the number that was presupposed above was very low, and that a large part of the population is late. Beyond the threshold. For decades, the magic number to keep the human population “stable” It has been 2.1: It was believed that, on average, each woman should have just over two children to ensure The generational replacement and avoid population decline. However, a New study warns that this threshold is outdated and insufficient. According to Japanese researchers, the true level of fertility necessary to guarantee the long -term survival of a human population is not 2.1, but of 2.7 children per woman. The reasons? This adjustment is due to the fact that the traditional calculation does not contemplate the Stochastic variability (that is, randomness) in factors such as individual fertility, mortality, sex proportions at birth and the probability that some people simply never have offspring. By incorporating these real fluctuations into population mathematical models (through Galton-Watson Model), The authors concluded that a higher rate is needed for Avoid progressive extinction of family lineages in generations of the future, especially in societies with low sustained birth. Map of when European fertility rates fell below replacement levels Ignored warning. The finding is especially alarming because currently two thirds of the population World Cup lives in countries with fertility rates below the old 2.1 threshold, and well below the new estimated 2.7. Among the most affected, many highly developed, are South Korea (0.87), Italy (1.29), Japan (1.30), Canada (1.47), Germany (1.53), United Kingdom (1.57), France (1.79) or the United States, with a rate of just 1.6 children per woman. These levels, which have remained low for decades, mean that almost all family lines in these countries are intended, statistically, to extinguish at some point in the future. Plus: The study clarifies that A slight bias Towards female births (that is, a slightly greater proportion of girls than boys) could marginally decrease the risk of extinction, increasing the probability of reproduction in future generations. But even that factor, by itself, would not be enough to compensate for a persistently low fertility rate. Map of countries according to global fertility rate Pronatalists Interestingly, this information reinforces the alarms that have sounded from certain sectors concerned about the future demographic. One of the most visible faces of pronatalism contemporary It’s Elon Muskwho has repeatedly warned that the low birth rates “will end civilization” and whose prolific paternity (at least 11 known children) is presented as a deliberate act in this fear. For pronatalists, raising birth rate is a Existential priority. However, this position is not widely shared by the general population. United Nations Population projections by location (the vertical axis is logarithmic and represents millions of people) Social realism. Fortune told that a Population Connection survey carried out at the beginning of the year showed that most people do not consider low birth rate An urgent problem. Only 15% perceived it as one of the main global challenges, while 45% expressed more concern about excessive population growth, given the fear that children are born in poverty conditions or with exhausted natural resources. More perceptions. Another more recent survey, Made by Yahoo News and Yougov revealed that only 8% of Americans were “very concerned” about the fall in the country’s birth rate, and only 32% expressed any degree of concern about it. In the background, another reality that We have been counting: a majority of those who do not have children, or have few, do not do it for apathy towards the future of humanity, but For practical reasons: The lack of institutional support, the loss of life, the high cost of parenting or the perception that the world is not a conducive place to form large families, they are also key. In addition, it generates an increasingly acute contrast between the demographic predictions of experts and the immediate priorities of the population. So? The warning of Japanese researchers seems clear: without a change of course, demographic extinction will be slow but inevitable in many regions of the world. And although the term “extinction” may sound apocalyptic, what is at stake, according to scientists, is not the sudden disappearance of the human species, but the progressive erosion of family and cultural continuity, in a process where future generations will be more scarce, more isolated and, in many cases, non -existent. From that prism, reproducing is more conditioned than ever to social, economic and environmental factors, and the figure of 2.7 children per woman may seem more a demographic utopia than an attainable objective. It does not seem that we are going to extinguish in the short term, at least not through “fertility”, but The study It puts the focus on the population growth to which many regions point out. Image | Pexels, JOHNSONRED, Korakys In Xataka | We thought we were 8,000 million people throughout the planet. Until some researchers began to make numbers In Xataka | In Japan there is no doubt that they live worse than 30 years ago. Literally, houses are getting smaller and smaller

Venice established a rate to combat tourism hordes. Japan has copied the strategy: the one that arrives, pays

by

It happened recently with the arrival of the “Holy Week.” Venice enhanced a little more That pioneering toll years ago. The figures that threw the input rate had gone so well, that the city He folded his price. A measure for which Italy sought to restore the balance between the rights of residents and the massive arrival of visitors. A nation has followed the popular enclave: Japan. Mass tourism and fiscal burden. We have been telling: Japan does not stop Receive touristsand given the unstoppable increase, a growing number of Japanese municipalities It has begun To look at the rates used in other enclaves Like Venice: Implement specific taxes for foreigners, in an effort to compensate for the growing costs that tourism activity imposes on local communities. According to Nikkeithese measures mainly include accommodation taxes per night, but are also expanding towards more innovative taxation forms that seek to exclude local payment residents, applying the principle of “who causes, pays.” The objective is clear: preserve fiscal viability of towns and cities that face a reverse demographic pressure (populations in decline in front of booming tourism) and sustain fundamental public services without moving the burden to those who live there permanently. Accommodation tax. Since Tokyo pioneered a pioneer fixed tax per person And by night in the accommodations, others 11 locations They have joined, the most recent of them Atamiin the prefecture of Shizuoka, which began to collect a tribute from 200 yen per night April 1. This tax, which will generate about 600 million annual yen, will serve to finance the new Atami Tourism Office and local activities such as fireworks festivals. The model adopted by most cities consists of fixed rates, staggered depending on the price of accommodation, to facilitate their collection and minimize the administrative load on hotels and hosts. However, there is a unique case with Kutchanin Hokkaido, which since 2019 imposes A 2% tax On the cost of accommodation in its resort area, a pioneering measure that other municipalities, such as Rusutsuthey study to replicate. Miyajima and the model. One of the most significant developments has been the tax applied by Hatsukaichi for access the island of Miyajimathat since October 2023 gravel with 100 additional yen to each ferry passenger. The measure, inspired by the principle of the so -called as “cause pays”seeks that visitors (not residents) absorb the costs derived from their presence, such as waste management, traffic and water and sewerage services. Unlike other rates aimed at promoting tourism, this is a general tax that can be used for any area of ​​the local budget. With a population of just 1,400 people and 4.85 million visitors in 2024, Miyajima was has become a symbol how mass tourism can overflow the operational capacity of a heritage enclave without adequate corrective measures. Biei: Combined taxes. Another illustrative case occurs in Bieialso in Hokkaido, who proposed A double taxation to balance the impact of tourists: a 200 yen accommodation tax per night and a parking charge in the Shirogane Blue Parkone of its main tourist attractions. With 2.39 million visitors in 2023 but only 158,000 overnight stays, most tourists are one -day hikers, which motivated A mixed scheme For everyone to contribute. Both measures are expected to collect more than 239 million annual yenresources that will be used both to maintain services and to support agricultural policies, in an attempt to reinforce the local economy from multiple fronts. Challenges and risks. As both prefectures and municipalities adopt their own variants of these taxes, new challenges arise, including the double taxation risk in areas where regional and local rates coincide. In addition, given that the fiscal performance of these measures depends directly on the concentration of accommodation facilities, the regions with the highest proportion of visitors without prolonged stay can be at a disadvantage, accentuating territorial inequalities. Solution? Some local governments (such as Sadoin Niigata) have considered alternatives such as Input taxes generalized to the island, which would simplify the collection and guarantee a more equitable distribution of the tax burden between short and long -term visitors. Local response to a global phenomenon. In short, the backdrop of this proliferation of tourist rates is still A paradox Increasingly common: destinations of international fame that at the same time face the collapse of their resident population and the overload of their services for the massive influx of those tourists once longed for their economies. As He counted in Nikkei Mneaki AokiProfessor at the University of Kanagawa and advisor to the tax systems of Miyajima and Biei, the “cause pays” adapts well to places where tourists exceed largely in number to the permanent inhabitants. Faced with tourism as a blessing and burden, these mechanisms seek a more pragmatic solution: conserve hospitality without sacrificing tax sustainability (or local quality of life). In that sense, Japan, with its meticulous normative approach, becomes a RARE Av of policy laboratory that could inspire other countries under the same dilemma, going from “copying” Enclaves like Venice to become a pioneer with their own initiatives. Image | Pexels In Xataka | Venice has just activated his plan against mass tourism: an entry rate that doubles its price In Xataka | Japan has realized that to welcome 60 million tourists, something lacks: workers in the hotels

Log In

Forgot password?

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.