The number of Japanese holiday travelers heading overseas through Tokyo's Haneda airport peaked on Thursday.
With nearly 50 international flights departing from the airport, check-in counters were filled with people off to spend the New Year's holidays overseas, mainly in China, South Korea, Taiwan, and other Asian destinations.
Haneda Airport resumed regular international operations in October for the first time in 32 years.
Its international departure terminal features a shopping area designed to look like an old Tokyo street, called "Edo Koji alley."
Restaurants and souvenir shops on the street were crowded with travelers and those there to see them off.
A couple from Tokyo said they are going to spend their holidays in Taiwan instead of Europe, because they have fewer days off this year.
2010年12月31日金曜日
Huge rice cake placed at Atsuta Shrine
Huge rice cakes have been offered to Atsuta Shrine in Nagoya City to thank god for a safe year and pray for prosperity in 2011.
Some 350 farmers offered 5 rice cakes of different sizes on Thursday at the Shinto shrine's annual ceremony.
The largest was 1.5 meters in diameter and weighed more than 400 kilograms.
The farmers walked slowly for about 200 meters as they carried the rice cakes to the hall of worship.
The offering will be placed in the Shrine until the morning of January 8th. Then on the afternoon of that day, the cakes will be cut into pieces and distributed to shrine visitors.
One farmer who participated said he wished for a good harvest next year. 2010's long hot summer had a negative impact on Japan's rice crop.
More than 2 million people are expected to visit Atsuta Shrine during the first 3 days of the New Year.
Some 350 farmers offered 5 rice cakes of different sizes on Thursday at the Shinto shrine's annual ceremony.
The largest was 1.5 meters in diameter and weighed more than 400 kilograms.
The farmers walked slowly for about 200 meters as they carried the rice cakes to the hall of worship.
The offering will be placed in the Shrine until the morning of January 8th. Then on the afternoon of that day, the cakes will be cut into pieces and distributed to shrine visitors.
One farmer who participated said he wished for a good harvest next year. 2010's long hot summer had a negative impact on Japan's rice crop.
More than 2 million people are expected to visit Atsuta Shrine during the first 3 days of the New Year.
2010年12月28日火曜日
Ebizo reaches settlement in violent incident
Japan's popular kabuki actor Ichikawa Ebizo has announced that he has reached a settlement in a violent incident he was involved in last month.
He made the announcement at a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday, after prosecutors indicted a man earlier in the day for injuring the actor in a Tokyo bar in late November.
Ebizo said he agreed to a settlement with the man and a former motorcycle gang leader who was at the scene.
Ebizo's lawyer said that under the settlement, the actor will admit that his behavior toward the gang leader triggered the incident and will make an apology. The man who was indicted will also make an apology.
Ebizo said he deeply regrets that the incident was caused by his lack of social responsibility and his bad drinking habit, adding that he hopes the indicted man will make an early return to society.
In the presence of 300 reporters, Ebizo also said he was deeply sorry for troubling many people and the kabuki world.
Asked about the prospect of a comeback to the stage, the actor said he is not in a position to talk about the timing of a comeback.
The kabuki theater operator that organizes Ebizo's performances had announced that his stage appearances will be cancelled for an indefinite period.
He made the announcement at a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday, after prosecutors indicted a man earlier in the day for injuring the actor in a Tokyo bar in late November.
Ebizo said he agreed to a settlement with the man and a former motorcycle gang leader who was at the scene.
Ebizo's lawyer said that under the settlement, the actor will admit that his behavior toward the gang leader triggered the incident and will make an apology. The man who was indicted will also make an apology.
Ebizo said he deeply regrets that the incident was caused by his lack of social responsibility and his bad drinking habit, adding that he hopes the indicted man will make an early return to society.
In the presence of 300 reporters, Ebizo also said he was deeply sorry for troubling many people and the kabuki world.
Asked about the prospect of a comeback to the stage, the actor said he is not in a position to talk about the timing of a comeback.
The kabuki theater operator that organizes Ebizo's performances had announced that his stage appearances will be cancelled for an indefinite period.
Worsening employment situation
A survey by Japan's labor ministry shows that more than 300,000 non-regular workers lost or will lose their jobs between the October 2008 onset of the global financial crisis and March of next year.
The ministry found that as of December 17th, around 300,740 non-regular workers had lost their jobs or were expected to lose them because of the termination or expiration of their contracts.
The figure is up by about 2,200 from the previous month.
Around 152,000 of them were workers dispatched from staffing agencies, while about 74,000 were seasonal employees.
The ministry tracked down about 147,000 of the laid-off workers and found that only 67 percent of them had found new jobs.
The ministry also surveyed cases in which 100 or more full-time regular workers were dismissed or will be dismissed at one time between October 2008 and March 2011.
It found that the number of such workers stood at nearly 82,500, marking a month-on-month increase of about 1,700.
The ministry found that as of December 17th, around 300,740 non-regular workers had lost their jobs or were expected to lose them because of the termination or expiration of their contracts.
The figure is up by about 2,200 from the previous month.
Around 152,000 of them were workers dispatched from staffing agencies, while about 74,000 were seasonal employees.
The ministry tracked down about 147,000 of the laid-off workers and found that only 67 percent of them had found new jobs.
The ministry also surveyed cases in which 100 or more full-time regular workers were dismissed or will be dismissed at one time between October 2008 and March 2011.
It found that the number of such workers stood at nearly 82,500, marking a month-on-month increase of about 1,700.
Dazaifu shrine has year-end cleaning ritual
A shrine in Fukuoka Prefecture, western Japan, held its annual year-end cleaning ritual on Tuesday.
The main hall in the Dazaifu-Tenmangu shrine is dusted every year on December 28th.
Seven priests dressed in ceremonial clothing used 4-meter long bamboo stalks to carefully dust the ceiling and other places without damaging the artfully lacquered pillars.
The shrine is dedicated to the 9th century scholar Sugawara Michizane, revered as a patron of learning and the arts. About 2 million people will visit the shrine over the first 3 days of the New Year to pray for good luck.
A visitor from Kagawa Prefecture said his grandchild was born just the previous day, and he hopes next year will be a happy one for children
The main hall in the Dazaifu-Tenmangu shrine is dusted every year on December 28th.
Seven priests dressed in ceremonial clothing used 4-meter long bamboo stalks to carefully dust the ceiling and other places without damaging the artfully lacquered pillars.
The shrine is dedicated to the 9th century scholar Sugawara Michizane, revered as a patron of learning and the arts. About 2 million people will visit the shrine over the first 3 days of the New Year to pray for good luck.
A visitor from Kagawa Prefecture said his grandchild was born just the previous day, and he hopes next year will be a happy one for children
2010年12月27日月曜日
Hard times for job changers
A survey by a major job placement agency shows that Japanese moving to other employers take an average of 5.7 months to start a new position. It is the longest period reported since the survey began 2 years ago.
The quarterly survey is based on data given by 2,000 to 3,000 people who succeeded in changing jobs. Results for the July to September period suggest it took an average of 5.7 months for people to find a new employer. That's up about three weeks from the same period last year, and is the longest ever.
12.9 percent of people took more than a year to find a new position, which is up 5 points.
Asked why they changed jobs, 48.3 percent said they were worried about the future of their firm. 24 percent were not satisfied with their pay. 19.6 percent were forced to change employer due to bankruptcy or restructuring.
Professor Naohiro Yashiro of International Christian University, a labor economics specialist, says firms are being cautious about hiring job changers and new graduates due to the sluggish economy. He says careful selection by firms is making it harder for people to change jobs.
The quarterly survey is based on data given by 2,000 to 3,000 people who succeeded in changing jobs. Results for the July to September period suggest it took an average of 5.7 months for people to find a new employer. That's up about three weeks from the same period last year, and is the longest ever.
12.9 percent of people took more than a year to find a new position, which is up 5 points.
Asked why they changed jobs, 48.3 percent said they were worried about the future of their firm. 24 percent were not satisfied with their pay. 19.6 percent were forced to change employer due to bankruptcy or restructuring.
Professor Naohiro Yashiro of International Christian University, a labor economics specialist, says firms are being cautious about hiring job changers and new graduates due to the sluggish economy. He says careful selection by firms is making it harder for people to change jobs.
2010年12月25日土曜日
Teachers with mental problems on the rise
A survey by the education ministry has found that the number of teachers who took leaves due to mental problems has reached a record high.
Eight-thousand-six-hundred-twenty-seven teachers at public elementary, junior high, high, and special-needs schools across the country took leaves due to illness last fiscal year, up 49 from the figure the previous year.
A record 5,458, or 63.3 percent of them, were absent due to mental illness, such as adjustment disorder.
The number was 58 higher than the figure in the previous fiscal year.
School boards where those teachers work say stress caused by increased workload, burden of responding to various requests from parents, and, in the case of young teachers, the gap between the image they had of the job and the reality, are among the causes of the mental problems.
The ministry says that, although more and more education boards and schools are starting to understand the teachers' mental problems, further steps need to be taken to prevent illness and help those who have returned to work.
Eight-thousand-six-hundred-twenty-seven teachers at public elementary, junior high, high, and special-needs schools across the country took leaves due to illness last fiscal year, up 49 from the figure the previous year.
A record 5,458, or 63.3 percent of them, were absent due to mental illness, such as adjustment disorder.
The number was 58 higher than the figure in the previous fiscal year.
School boards where those teachers work say stress caused by increased workload, burden of responding to various requests from parents, and, in the case of young teachers, the gap between the image they had of the job and the reality, are among the causes of the mental problems.
The ministry says that, although more and more education boards and schools are starting to understand the teachers' mental problems, further steps need to be taken to prevent illness and help those who have returned to work.
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