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Japan Today
11-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Japan Today
'The Dilemmas of Working Women' depicts the inner struggles of women in Japan
This cover image released by HarperOne shows "The Dilemmas of Working Women" by Fumio Yamamoto. (HarperOne via AP) book review By AUDREY McAVOY Japan is infamous for its gender inequality. Few women occupy positions of political and corporate leadership. They overwhelmingly shoulder the burden of housework and child care. This year, the World Economic Forum ranked Japan 118 out of 148 nations for gender parity. The short-story collection 'The Dilemmas of Working Women' by the late novelist Fumio Yamamoto tells about the people inhabiting this reality. Released on Tuesday, it's being published in English for the first time. The original was a best seller in Japan and won the country's prestigious Naoki literary prize in 2001. After the author's death in 2021, the novelist Yu Nagira wrote in the Asahi newspaper that Yamamoto quietly and realistically depicted the inner lives that women hid so they could live in peace. This book brings those lives to the page in five raw, emotionally candid tales about men and women who often aren't sure what they want and are frequently squeezed by societal and family expectations. The title story is about an employee of a major corporation who doesn't know what to do about her boyfriend who is itching to propose marriage. Another is about a woman in her 20s with breast cancer who has had a mastectomy. She tells her friends she wants to be reincarnated as a type of flatworm because they regenerate when cut in pieces. Readers will observe women — and men — trampled by their partners and then stand up for themselves. And a character who can't seem to figure out whether she values professional success foremost and whether she should spend her life with an underachiever who cares for her. Brian Bergstrom deserves credit for bringing these stories to English speakers with his able translation. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Japan Today
28-05-2025
- Business
- Japan Today
Hawaii's governor signs new hotel tax legislation to help cope with climate change
People swim in the lagoon in front of the Hilton Hawaiian Village resort in Honolulu. By AUDREY McAVOY Hawaii's governor has signed legislation that boosts a tax imposed on hotel room and vacation rental stays in order to raise money to address eroding shorelines, wildfires and other consequences of climate change. The signing, which comes nearly two years after a Maui wildfire killed 102 people and wiped out almost all of Lahaina town, marks the nation's first such levy to help cope with a warming planet. Officials estimate the tax will generate nearly $100 million annually. The money will be used for projects like replenishing sand on eroding Waikiki beaches, promoting the use of hurricane clips to secure roofs during powerful storms and clearing flammable invasive grasses like those that fueled Lahaina's wildfire. Gov. Josh Green, speaking at a bill signing ceremony, said Hawaii needs to build more firebreaks and pay a fire marshal, a new position created after Lahaina that Green expects to be staffed within the next two months. Green said other states and nations will need to act similarly to address climate disasters roiling the planet. 'There will be no way to deal with these crises without some forward-thinking mechanism,' Green said. The measure adds an additional 0.75% to the daily room rate tax starting Jan. 1. Green said this amounts to an extra $3 tax on a $400 hotel room rate. It also levies a new 11% tax on cruise ship bills starting July 2026, prorated for the number of days the vessels are in Hawaii ports, to bring cruise ship taxes in line with room taxes on land. Travelers to Hawaii already pay a significant room tax. With the new law, the state's existing 10.25% tax on short-term accommodations will climb to 11%. Together with other state and county taxes, visitors will pay a nearly 19% levy on their accommodations — one of the highest rates in the country. Hawaii's hotels ultimately supported the bill, saying it would help improve the visitor experience. Green said the industry looked at 'the greater good' for tourism, Hawaii and the planet. Green initially proposed a bill that would put revenue from the tax increase into a dedicated fund, but lawmakers instead put the money into the state's general fund. Their compromise measure calls on the governor to request funds from the Legislature for projects in the following areas: protecting native forests, plants and animals; enhancing climate resilience; and mitigating the effects of tourism on the environment. Green said they will collaborate to implement the law. State Rep. Adrian Tam, the chairperson of the House tourism committee, said the state must earn the public's trust that it will spend the money transparently and in the best way possible. He noted Hawaii's tourism economy relies on a brand that's in part dependent on a pristine natural environment. 'The visitor industry will struggle if we do not take action now," said Tam, a Democrat representing Waikiki. "There will be nothing left for them to showcase to the rest of the world if our beaches are decimated, wildfires have taken over our towns and hikes left unmanaged.' © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Japan Today
03-05-2025
- Business
- Japan Today
Hawaii lawmakers raise state's hotel tax to help the islands cope with climate change
FILE - People swim in the lagoon in front of the Hilton Hawaiian Village resort in Honolulu on Saturday, Sept. 4, 2021. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones, File) By AUDREY McAVOY Hawaii lawmakers have passed the first-of-its-kind legislation that will increase the state's lodging tax to raise money for environmental protection and strengthening defenses against climate change -fueled natural disasters. Gov. Josh Green supports the bill, indicating he will sign it. The bill adds a 0.75% levy to the state's existing tax on hotel rooms, timeshares, vacation rentals and other short-term accommodations. It also imposes a new 11% tax on cruise ship bills, prorated for the number of days the vessels are in Hawaii ports. Officials estimate the tax will generate nearly $100 million annually. They say the money will be used for projects like replenishing sand on eroding Waikiki beaches, promoting the use of hurricane clips to secure roofs during powerful storms and clearing flammable invasive grasses like those that fed the deadly wildfire that destroyed downtown Lahaina in 2023. The House and Senate, both controlled by large majorities of Democrats, both passed the measure Friday. Experts say this is the nation's first state lodging tax that raises money for the environment and coping with climate change. Hawaii already levies a 10.25% tax on short-term rentals. As of Jan. 1, the tax will rise to 11%. Hawaii's counties separately charge a 3% lodging tax, and travelers also have to pay the 4.712% general excise tax that applies to all virtually all goods and services. The cumulative tax bill at checkout will climb to 18.712%, among the highest in the nation. Green said people have told him the increase is small enough people won't notice. He observed many people come to Hawaii to enjoy the environment and predicted they will welcome committing dollars to protect shorelines and communities. 'The more you cultivate good environmental policy, and the more you invest in perfecting our lived space, the more likely it is we're going to have actually lifelong, committed travelers to Hawaii,' he said in an interview. Only funds raised by the 0.75% addition and the new tax on cruise ship stays will go exclusively toward natural resources and climate change. Revenue from existing state lodging taxes would continue to flow into state's general fund and to help pay for the construction of Honolulu's rail line. John Pele, the executive director of the Maui Hotel and Lodging Association, said there's broad agreement that the money raised will go to a good cause. But he wonders if Hawaii will become too expensive for visitors. 'Will we be taxing on tourists out of wanting to come here?' he said. 'That remains to be seen.' The first draft of the legislation called for a larger increase, but lawmakers pared it back. 'We heard the concerns about how do we make sure that we are able to sustain our industry as well as find new resources to address the needs for environmental sustainability,' said Democratic Rep. Linda Ichiyama, vice speaker of the House. 'So it was a balance.' Zane Edleman, a visitor from Chicago, said he could envision the extra cost prompting some travelers to head elsewhere else like Florida. But he said it would depend on how the state shares information about what it does with the money. 'If you really focus on the point —this is to save the climate and actually have proof that this is where the funds are going, and that there's an actual result that's happening from that, I think people could buy into it,' Edleman said. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
