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The Mainichi
27-07-2025
- Business
- The Mainichi
25-yr-old singles need approx. $2K per month to live 'normally' in Tokyo's Setagaya: study
TOKYO -- A single 25-year-old needs a minimum of just under 300,000 yen (about $2,030) to live a modest but ordinary life in the capital's Setagaya Ward, according to a new study by the Tokyo Regional Council of Trade Unions (Tokyo Chihyo) -- a sharp increase from the 2019 survey and well above the 2025 minimum wage for Tokyo. The results show that a single 25-year-old man living in Setagaya Ward would need 296,560 yen per month and a woman 287,089 yen (about $2,007 and $1,943, respectively), both including taxes. To cover these costs, a man would need to earn at least 1,706 yen per hour and a woman 1,652 yen per hour, assuming 173.8 working hours per month and including taxes. Tokyo's minimum wage set for 2025 is 1,163 yen per hour. The study, supervised by associate professor Shuichi Nakazawa of the University of Shizuoka Junior College, updated a 2019 survey of workers' living conditions and possessions. The latest figures reflect changes in prices, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and new lifestyle trends. In May, researchers surveyed 191 workers and held a meeting to gather opinions from people in their 20s and 30s. The study found that monthly food expenses rose sharply compared to 2019, with men spending 61,112 yen (up 16,751 yen) and women 48,019 yen (up 12,161 yen). The daily cost to cover 90% of required calories, including discretionary items, was 1,502 yen for men and 1,188 yen for women. The results also reflected lifestyle changes. For example, young people reported spending more on digital subscriptions and home internet due to remote work and entertainment habits shaped by the pandemic. The monthly cost for culture and entertainment, including music and video streaming subscriptions (2,000 yen) and day trips (increased from 3,333 yen to 8,000 yen), rose to 29,506 yen total for men and 29,546 yen for women -- about 4,000 yen more than in 2019. Men's monthly personal care expenses increased by about 500 yen to account for the growing use of cosmetics, previously only included for women. Wedding attendance costs were halved, reflecting fewer ceremonies, with men now budgeting 25,000 yen and women 35,000 yen per year. Year-end party expenses dropped from 1,250 yen to 1,000 yen per month for both genders, while annual spending on gifts for family and friends rose from 45,000 yen to 50,000 yen. Housing costs were based on a 25-square-meter private rental in Setagaya Ward, a popular area among young people, with the lowest available rent set at 68,750 yen per month (up 3,125 yen from 2019, including prorated renewal fees). Overall, the minimum monthly living cost (including taxes) increased by 37,089 yen for men and 30,898 yen for women compared to 2019. Associate professor Nakazawa explained, "This is not a luxurious lifestyle, but it does include ordinary activities like enjoying entertainment or taking part in drinking parties. The gap between the minimum wage and the actual cost of living is striking. People earning the minimum wage or close to it must give up a normal life or work double or triple jobs just to get by." Nakazawa, who supervises minimum living cost studies in 27 prefectures, noted that while housing is expensive in major cities, the high car maintenance costs in regional cities mean overall living expenses are similar nationwide. With the spread of online shopping, this trend is only growing. "If living costs are nearly the same across Japan, the minimum wage should be standardized nationwide and set at a level that allows for a normal life," he said. The full report is available on the Tokyo Chihyo website at
11-05-2025
- Business
INTERVIEW: Hokuhoku Financial to Focus Staff on Hokkaido
News from Japan Economy May 11, 2025 15:20 (JST) Toyama, May 11 (Jiji Press)--Hokuhoku Financial Group Inc. will deploy staff with advanced green transformation knowledge mainly in Hokkaido, northern Japan, President Hiroshi Nakazawa said in a recent interview with Jiji Press. The parent of Hokuriku Bank and Hokkaido Bank forecasts that investments and loans in Hokkaido related to green transformation and semiconductors and data centers will reach some 27 trillion yen over the next 10 years. "We will allocate human resources where there is demand," Nakazawa said. He said that green transformation projects in Hokkaido will be led by companies from major Japanese cities. "Our advantage is the ability to bring the potential of Honshu and Hokkaido together" by leveraging Hokuhoku Financial's vast branch network, Nakazawa said, referring to the largest of the four main islands of Japan that includes Tokyo. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
New York Times
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
The 25 Essential Seafood Dishes to Eat in Tokyo
More than 200 types of fish and other edible seafood species inhabit Tokyo Bay, and many more live in the waters off Japan. There are delicate, darting fish like isaki and sea squirts like hoya (also known as sea pineapples): things rarely seen on American menus. There's a bewildering array of bivalves and crustaceans, including a surf clam that's eaten in two parts, in two different ways: Its adductor muscle is used for one kind of sushi and its crisp flesh and foot for another. There are wispy ice fish that all but disappeared from waters around the Japanese capital, likely owing to land reclamation and pollution, only to make a ghostlike resurgence in recent years. A new species of starfish was even discovered last year not far from Tokyo Bay, although it doesn't appear to be edible. That bounty, not to mention the skill and knowledge of Japanese chefs, makes choosing Tokyo's 25 essential seafood dishes a challenge. Up to the task were Keiji Nakazawa, a sushi master with Sushi Sho restaurants in Tokyo, Honolulu and Manhattan, who lives in New York City; Yukari Sakamoto, a Minnesota-born, Tokyo-based food writer and market guide, who's married to a Tokyo fish buyer; Sonoko Sakai, a cookbook author who grew up in Japan and lives in Los Angeles; Nao Motohashi, one of Tokyo's few female head chefs, who serves seasonal modern Japanese cuisine at her restaurant, Julia; Niki Nakayama, a Japanese American chef whose N/Naka restaurant in Los Angeles specializes in kaiseki, or Japanese multicourse haute cuisine; and Hisashi Udatsu, whose Udatsu Sushi in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Los Angeles brings contemporary touches to a venerable sushi tradition. After all of our six panelists came up with their 10 nominations, we gathered on a video call to narrow the list to 25, as part of T's ongoing T 25 series (which has also featured essential dishes from Mexico City, Paris, New York City and Italy). There was surprisingly little overlap among our panelists' picks but also surprisingly little acrimony as we slashed 60 choices to the final selection below. The country that changed modern culture and design, from A to Z At the outset of the discussion, all the panelists agreed on one thing: 'It's difficult to make bad sushi in Tokyo,' as Nakazawa said, citing easy access to quality ingredients. But as Sakai pointed out, a fine sushi meal is about far more than the interplay between seafood and rice: A sublime experience, in the end, depends on the relationship between chef and diner. She and the others referred to the importance of 'consuming hospitality' along with the meal. 'You have to be relaxed to enjoy sushi,' said Sakai, which is why she favors unassuming neighborhood places (see Osushi Isobe, No. 22). The importance of that relationship is also why Nakazawa had such difficulty making his choices. 'Selecting the best place in Tokyo is very difficult as you're selecting the personality of the sushi chef,' he said. Explore More Read the editor's letter here. Take a closer look at the covers. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
The Independent
12-02-2025
- General
- The Independent
Japan drones find truck cabin swallowed by sinkhole with ‘person inside'
At least one person's remains could be inside a truck cabin swallowed by a sinkhole in Japan and found inside a sewer pipe after two weeks of search, a fire department official said on Wednesday. The body of a truck's missing 74-year-old driver could be inside the cabin that got sucked into a chasm near Tokyo, officials said, confirming that drone images have captured what is likely a 'person'. The truck slipped into the sinkhole two weeks ago near the Japanese capital city. It is unclear if the body is that of the missing driver. "After experts analysed photos taken with a drone, they said there's a cabin of a truck in the photos and they can't rule out the possibility that what appears to be inside is a person," local fire department official Tomonori Nakazawa said, reported AFP. A lorry was swallowed after the sinkhole surfaced at an intersection in the city of Yashio during morning rush hour on 28 January. The sinkhole is now 40m (131ft) in diameter, officials said. It is believed to be caused by a sewer rupture. The rescuers were able to pull out the truck's loading platform from the sinkhole but were unable to reach the cabin which had the driver. The Mainichi reported that sediment likely flowed into the heavily corroded pipe, laid about 33ft underground, creating a hollow beneath the road, which collapsed under the weight of passing vehicles. Nearly 30 hours after the collapse, the driver remained trapped in the vehicle as sand and mud filled his seat, according to Japan 's Nippon TV. Rescue workers initially heard the driver responding to their calls, but soon lost contact. However, rescuers were unable to enter the 5m-wide sewer pipe where the truck cabin was last seen due to the continuous water flow and high levels of hydrogen sulphide gas, Mr Nakazawa said. The sinkhole was initially sized at 10m wide and 5m deep. However, it merged with another nearby sinkhole and has since quadrupled in size. The efforts to rescue the man had to be suspended as further cave-ins at the sinkhole made the area highly unstable. The authorities called off the search inside the sinkhole on Sunday to focus on the nearby sewer pipe where the truck's cabin was spotted, reported Kyodo News. It will take at least three months to build a temporary bypass pipe to stop the water flow, according to governor Motohiro Ono of Saitama prefecture. The rescue team will have to wait for the completion of the bypass before moving in to access the truck cabin, he said on Tuesday. Five families living in the vicinity of a sinkhole in Japan have been told to evacuate as the crater continued to expand, days after swallowing a truck along with its driver. More than a hundred residents living within a 50m radius of the hole had already been moved out in the week incident took place.
