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Tatler Asia
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- Tatler Asia
9 progressive young Japanese designers you need to know from Designart Tokyo
1. Hojo Akira Above Hojo Akira's creative process starts with questioning the user experience (Photo: Hojo Akira) Above At Designart Tokyo 2024, Akira questioned the recyclability of mass-produced furniture (Photo: Hojo Akira) Hojo Akira studied production design at Kanazawa College of Art and is now based in Tokyo. His creative process starts with questioning the user experience. His authentic solutions have resulted in accolades from the Tokyo Midtown Award, Red Dot Design Award and iF Design Award Gold. At Designart Tokyo 2024, Akira questioned the recyclability of mass-produced furniture. He designed a sofa at Tiers Gallery made from a single interlocking frame that can be easily dismantled. Instead of common upholstered polyurethane foam, the mesh-like seat is made from a recyclable polyethylene resin called Breathair that is used for the internal cushioning of Japan's bullet trains and is usually covered with fabric. 2. Honoka Lab Above The Trace of Water exhibition showcased material from leading bottled water provider Aqua Clara (Photo: Kohei Yamamoto) Above The resulting wall coverings, lamps, stools and bowls are evocative and beautiful, with their enigmatic blue colour and translucency (Photo: Kohei Yamamoto) Above Tokyo-based design collective Honoko Lab (Photo: Honoka) During the 2023 Milan Fair, Tokyo-based design collective Honoko Lab won the prestigious first prize at Salone Satellite with its Tatami Refab project. It uses 3D printing technology to create new products from recycled tatami mat fibre mixed with biodegradable plastic. At Designart 2024, Honoka Lab repeats its ingenuity. The Trace of Water exhibition showcased material from leading bottled water provider Aqua Clara from its bottle return programme repurposed to create new products. The resulting wall coverings, lamps, stools and bowls are evocative and beautiful, with their enigmatic blue colour and translucency. If one thinks about how many commercial spaces and institutions use large plastic water dispensers on a daily basis, the research from this project is highly impactful. 3. Saki Takeshita Above Takeshita has explored various ideas that include a wall shelf made from cutting and folding a single aluminium plate to reduce waste (Photo: Yuki Kawazoe) Above For Designart Tokyo, she graced the public areas of Tokyo Midtown with touches of colour (Photo: Saki Takeshita) Above The exhibit, titled Eeyo, experimented with exposing colour dye on chairs (Photo: Saki Takeshita) Since graduating from the Department of Industrial Interior and Craft Design at Musashino Art University, Takeshita has explored various ideas that include a wall shelf made from cutting and folding a single aluminium plate to reduce waste, and a standing shelf with stiff but lightweight board on rollers so that each layer can be pulled or pushed outward to adapt to different uses. For Designart Tokyo, she graced the public areas of Tokyo Midtown with touches of colour. The exhibit, titled Eeyo, experimented with exposing colour dye on chairs made from a variety of timber types to nearly 200-degree heat. The varying dyeing time and intensity of heat application resulted in an assortment of graphic colouration. For example, green turns to pink, and blue to red. 4. Hiroto Ikebe Above Raw silk refers to material from silk cocoons that has not been fully processed or refined (Photo: Hiroto Ikebe) Above Hiroto Ikebe's addresses the wastage of these less-desirable materials(Photo: Kodai Mizuguchi) Raw silk refers to material from silk cocoons that has not been fully processed or refined. These include Kibiso, which is the rough outer layer of silk thread and degara cocoons – cocoons not ideal for traditional silk production but still have usable fibres. Hiroto Ikebe's addresses the wastage of these less-desirable materials with the exhibit Cocoon Anatomy at Designart Tokyo. He first subjects the cocoons to carding (separating and mixing the fibres from each material) before reweaving them into components. Finally, he patches them together with other materials to create nature-inspired wearable pieces like a dress and headpiece. Their texture, durability and versatility make them similar to leather. Hence, this may be a path to leather alternatives while reducing the discarding of cocoon shells in landfills. 5. Yusuke Wakata Above Yusuke Wakata is a multifaceted creative (Photo: Yusuke Wakata) Above This project upcycles waste from local fruits and food from Japan's 47 prefectures into new products (Photo: Kohei Yamamoto) At Tokyo Midtown, Yusuke Wakata presented Re 47 Crafts—project upcycling waste from local fruits and food from Japan's 47 prefectures into new products. Born in 1993, Wakata graduated from Musashino Art University in 2017 and enrolled at the Graduate School of Design at the Tokyo University of the Arts. Wakata is a multifaceted creative, dabbling in graphic design, corporate branding and UI/UX design; he is also an installation artist. The designer has won multiple awards, including the Asahi Advertising Award, ACC Young Creativity Competition Second Grand Priz, and the Tokyo Midtown Award Grand Prix. 6. Straft Above Tamaki Ishii and Kazuma Yamagami (Photo: Straft) Above Titled Nest, this exhibit is a discourse on using rice straw left over from the harvested rice (Photo: Kohei Yamamoto) Straft (an amalgamation of 'straw' and 'craft') is a creative duo comprising Tamaki Ishii and Kazuma Yamagami. Their exhibit at Designart Tokyo, titled Nest, is a discourse on using rice straw left over from the harvested rice. The material is typically used as roofing and wall material in traditional architecture, religious products or tools for daily life in Japanese culture. The new products made from woven straw include chairs, a bench, evocative clothing and a bird-like tori. Their agrarian expressions extol the beauty of the time- and effort-intensive craft process, as well as express a spiritual relationship with Mother Nature through farming. 7. Masaya Kawamoto Above At Tiers Gallery, Masaya Kawamoto showcased the PF Chair series (Photo: Masaya Kawamoto) Above PF (Press and Flat) refers both process and structure. (Photo: Masaya Kawamoto) Above The colouration is a beautiful by-product of scientific processes (Photo: Masaya Kawamoto) At Tiers Gallery, Masaya Kawamoto showcased the PF Chair series. PF (Press and Flat) refers both process and structure. The two chairs have intriguing profiles round piping that are flattened where necessary (the chair's back) and left in their original shape at other parts. The chairs are designed for easy disassembly to allow for efficient packaging and setting up. The colouration is a beautiful by-product of scientific processes. Kawamoto soaks each chair in a salt bath, which oxidises the metal. Subtle rainbow gradients emerge in assorted gradients depending on the properties of the stainless steel used, material thickness and cooling speed. 8. Pulse Above Pulse's Rikiya Toyoshima (Photo: Pulse) Above Pulse's Daiki Mitsui (Photo: Pulse) Above Their designs represent a treasure-trove of creative techniques and material application (Photo: Pulse) Above Pulse's Taki Shomu (Photo: Pulse) Pulse is a trio of designers who exhibited at Tiers Gallery. Their designs represent a treasure-trove of creative techniques and material application. Daiki Mitsui uses the traditional ikkan-bari technique of layering Japanese paper over bamboo baskets and applying persimmon tannin or lacquer to create a leather-like effect. His version uses bottle cushioning, barbed wire, expanded metal mesh and tortoiseshell wire mesh as base materials. Rikiya Toyoshima and Shomu Taki created a series of home décor pieces from raw, carbonised sand that is a by-product of sand casting and is typically discarded. They also showcased Soumei – a collection of lamps made from decorative glass that was fashionable in the past and often used in Showa-era interior architecture. 9. Takeru Sato Above The technique mixes locally sourced clay with gampi fibres in the papermaking process (Photo: Takeru Sato) Above A French polish finishing technique (applying layers of thin shellac) produces a slight sheen (Photo: Takeru Sato) Above Takeru Sato presented a poetic selection of furniture using Najio Washi (Photo: Takeru Sato) Also at Tiers Gallery, Takeru Sato presented a poetic selection of furniture using Najio Washi. The technique mixes locally sourced clay with gampi fibres in the papermaking process, with the clay making the paper resistant to stains and discolouration from sunlight. The process is often used for high-end fusuma (sliding doors) for interiors but Sato has applied it to furniture. A French polish finishing technique (applying layers of thin shellac) produces a slight sheen and highlights the paper fibres and shades of the clay after drying. This project highlights the decline of paper mills after the decreased demand of washi paper following the Meiji era. The paper used here is from one of two mills that remain in Najio, Nishinomiya City in Japan.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
A Single Investment Could Have Turned $1,000 Into More Than $30 Million
A $1,000 investment into Bitcoin in 2011 would be worth nearly $30 million today. While Bitcoin has now gone mainstream, back in 2011 it was an extremely risky and speculative investment. It's not too late to buy Bitcoin, with some predicting that it could increase from $120,000 to $21 million within the next two decades. 10 stocks we like better than Bitcoin › Few people realize just how much money they could have made with even a modest investment in Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC). Back in early 2011, if you had invested just $1,000 in Bitcoin, you would now be sitting on an investment worth about $30 million. That's because Bitcoin was trading at about $4 at the time, and you would have been able to purchase roughly 250 Bitcoins with your $1,000 investment. Today, more than a decade later, the price of a single Bitcoin trades for about $120,000. Don't beat yourself up about missing out on this opportunity. Relatively few people recognized the explosive upside potential of Bitcoin back in 2011. Those were still the very early days of Bitcoin, and few people understood how cryptocurrencies actually worked. Terms like cryptographic hash function and proof-of-work mining sounded alien and mysterious. And, to this day, nobody knows the true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin. Moreover, all the innovations of modern crypto markets -- such as regulated online cryptocurrency exchanges and spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) -- did not yet exist. Back in 2011, Coinbase Global (NASDAQ: COIN) had not yet opened for business, so you would have had to purchase your Bitcoin on a rather dubious online exchange like Tokyo-based Mt. Gox, which was hacked numerous times before eventually going bankrupt in 2014. As a result, the early days of Bitcoin are filled with incredible stories of people setting up face-to-face meetings with complete strangers to buy and sell Bitcoin in person. That was truly the Wild West. About the same time as Bitcoin was nearing the $4 mark, stories were circulating about a new "dark web" e-commerce platform called Silk Road, where some people were buying illicit goods and services and paying for them with Bitcoin. Today, of course, Ross Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road, is a hero in the crypto community. In January, President Donald Trump officially gave him a presidential pardon. And don't forget about Bitcoin Pizza Day, which the Bitcoin community recognizes each year on May 22. On that date in 2010, the first-ever commercial Bitcoin transaction took place. A computer programmer in Florida agreed to pay 10,000 Bitcoins to anyone who would order and deliver two pizzas to him. At the time, those pizzas were worth $40. The 10,000 Bitcoins used to pay for them are worth more than $1 billion today. So, if you bought Bitcoin back in 2011, congratulations. You would have been investing $1,000 into a start-up digital asset based on an abstruse whitepaper written by a shadowy unknown figure. You would then have to have avoided numerous hacks and security breaches, all while keeping track of passwords and cryptographic seed phrases. You would also have had to endure incredible volatility and eye-popping plunges of 80% or more. At numerous points along your Bitcoin journey, you would have been tempted to cash out and sell everything. Even Michael Saylor, the founder and executive chairman of MicroStrategy (NASDAQ: MSTR), and now one of the biggest Bitcoin bulls in the world, admits that he did not have the foresight to buy Bitcoin in the early days. He first started buying Bitcoin in August 2020, when it was already trading above $10,000. Of course, Saylor regrets that he didn't start earlier. At a Bitcoin event in Prague last December, he told participants, "Everybody gets Bitcoin at the price they deserve." Back in 2013, he says, he looked at Bitcoin and didn't think it had any staying power. He compared it to online gambling, and passed on the opportunity. The price of Bitcoin back then was just $892. At some point in the future, Saylor says, Bitcoin will be trading at about $950,000 and "some whiny talking head" on TV will say that it's "overbought" or "a bit overheated." They will pass on the opportunity. Even at the price of less than $1 million, they will not deserve to buy Bitcoin. It will only be when it hits, say, a price of $8 million or higher that many people will finally wake up and realize that maybe it's time to invest in Bitcoin. The good news, of course, is that it's not too late to invest in Bitcoin. OK, you missed out on Bitcoin when it was trading for less than $10. We all did. You missed out when Bitcoin hit $100, then $1,000, then $10,000, and now $100,000. So what? There's still time. Saylor now thinks Bitcoin is going to $21 million in 21 years. If you invest $1,000 today, you'll be buying less than 1/100 of a whole Bitcoin. You won't be buying the 250 Bitcoins you would have been able to buy in 2011. But if you hold onto that tiny sliver of Bitcoin long enough, it might just end up being the single best investment you ever make. Before you buy stock in Bitcoin, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Bitcoin wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $671,477!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,010,880!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,047% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 180% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 14, 2025 Dominic Basulto has positions in Bitcoin. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin. The Motley Fool recommends Coinbase Global. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. A Single Investment Could Have Turned $1,000 Into More Than $30 Million was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Asahi Shimbun
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Asahi Shimbun
Trailblazing news anchor challenges gender binary
Stylish and self-assured, Takahiro Nogawa is making history as one of Japan's first openly gender-nonconforming news anchors to appear on national television. This spring, Nogawa, 31, left a local station in Fukushima Prefecture after eight years to begin appearing on the flagship news program at the Tokyo-based Nippon Television Network Corp. 'In my next life, I want to be a female news presenter,' Nogawa wrote on social media. 'For now, I'm a male one.' Known for a love of beauty and fashion, Nogawa frequently posts about makeup and skincare online. As a child, Nogawa felt most at home among female classmates, preferring Pretty Cure over Ultraman. Although rarely facing bullying, in high school Nogawa was deeply affected by a tragic news story about a gay teen in the United States who took his own life. 'I realized I was just lucky to have supportive friends,' Nogawa said. Motivated by a desire to live openly and help others do the same, Nogawa pursued a career in broadcasting. Over time, Nogawa began challenging gender expectations more openly by wearing women's clothing during on-location shoots, and gradually using more intense makeup. Nogawa's subsequent appearances on national TV talk shows and beauty magazines drew attention and helped reshape perceptions of gender expression in Japanese media. Although Nogawa's presentation challenges gender norms, the broadcaster has chosen not to put a specific label on gender identity. 'There should be room for people who choose not to name it,' Nogawa said, suggesting that coming out should be a personal choice—not an obligation. When appearing in the news studio, Nogawa now opts for a toned-down look: a tailored jacket and subtle makeup. Nogawa's goal is to keep the audience focused on the news—not on appearances. But just being present on screen sends a powerful message. 'Television reflects everyday life,' Nogawa said. 'I hope that one day, someone like me can simply be part of everyday life without it feeling unusual.'
Yomiuri Shimbun
a day ago
- Health
- Yomiuri Shimbun
More Workers Quitting to Provide Care to Family Members; Employees Lack Understanding of Support Systems
A 64-year-old man of Osaka quit his job at a metalworking company in September 2022 to care for his 88-year-old mother. Although he wanted to keep working as long as he could, his mother needed constant care. She had been living independently but was making use of day care services since breaking a bone from falling to the ground. A high fever led to her being hospitalized and her physical and mental condition deteriorated during her two months there. The man was told that his mother could be discharged only if someone could be with her at all times. He, who had continued working after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 60, thought he may be able to keep working if he was allowed to leave the workplace at 3 p.m. to take care of her after she returned home from a day-care facility in the evening. But he decided to quit his job anyway since he did not want to cause his company any trouble. Her condition improved one month after being discharged from the hospital, so he started looking for a new job through the Hello Work public job placement office and job sites. But he has been unable to find a job he wanted due to his age and working-hour requirements. According to the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry, 106,000 people left their jobs to care for family members during the one-year period ending September 2022, an increase of 7,000 from the previous survey in 2017. The law on childcare and caregiver leave allows employees to use support systems to help them balance work and family care. But only 1.6% of employees caring for their parents took nursing care leave of up to 93 days, which is given per family member who requires nursing care. Employees can split this leave into as many as three blocks. Only 4.5% of such employees took time off for sporadic care-related events such as hospital leave, which has a limit of five days a year. 'Some people believe that caring for their parents is their responsibility alone and can think of no option besides quitting their jobs. Employers also lack knowledge and experience in caregiving and are unable to provide sufficient information about such things as the support systems,' said Mie Waki, representative director of a Tokyo-based general incorporated association for the promotion of measures to prevent people's leaving their jobs to care for family members. To raise awareness of the support systems and encourage their use, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry obliged companies in April to explain the systems to employees who need to care for family members on an individual basis and to confirm whether they will be making use of them. Changing work climate However, many people find it difficult to discuss caregiving with their bosses. Some hesitate to use the systems out of consideration for colleagues who would have to take over their duties. A work climate where employees can comfortably talk about their personal circumstances is essential. A Tokyo-based IT-related company encourages managers to check on their subordinates to see if they need to care for family members and to encourage them to utilize the support systems. As of 2022, there were 3.646 million people providing nursing care for family members while working. Of them, those in their 50s accounted for the highest proportion at 42%. The government estimates that the annual economic losses resulting from workforce shortages due to resignations and other reasons will exceed ¥9 trillion in 2030. As Japan faces an increasingly aging society, the number of employees who provide nursing care for their families will rise. 'Companies must recognize employees' caregiving-related concerns as issues related to business operations and adopt a proactive stance to explore ways for employees to continue working with them,' said Jun Kawauchi, representative director of Tonari no Kaigo, a nonprofit organization in Atsugi, Kanagawa Prefecture, which supports people providing care for family members. 'The government, for its part, should provide financial support for companies to implement measures such as encouraging employees to seek early consultations.' Parties pledge increased support In face of the rapidly aging population, political parties have made pledges to carry out policies aimed at preventing people from leaving their jobs due to caregiving in the campaigning for the upcoming House of Councillors election. The Liberal Democratic Party said it will aim to improve care services, which will also help prevent people from leaving jobs to take care of their family members. The party also said it will work to raise wages for care workers and provide stability to care service providers. The Japan Innovation Party proposed the promotion of housework support services to prevent people from leaving their jobs to rear children and care for family members. The JIP said it will establish further support systems to enable employees to continue working while taking care of family members. The Japanese Communist Party said it will increase national spending on the public nursing care insurance program by ¥1.3 trillion and improve the treatment of caregivers and others.
Qatar Tribune
2 days ago
- Business
- Qatar Tribune
Cashless tipping gains ground in Japan with Dinii's new feature
Agencies Many would say that along with delicious food and great service, no tipping is right up there among the best parts about restaurant dining in Japan. However, one cashless payment provider wants to play a role in changing that last part, and now includes a prompt encouraging customers to leave a tip. Tokyo-based Dinii actually has two different tipping systems, with the second being added this past May. It introduced its first take on tipping, called 'Oshi Support,' in 2020, but that works a little differently than the sort of tipping conventionally seen in American restaurants. Taking a cue from Japanese idol culture in which ardent fans support their favorite performer (oshi) through extra spending, Dinii's Oshi Support allows customers to look at a list of profiles for the restaurant's waitstaff and use it to select an extra payment to be given to the server of their choice. Dinii's new system, simply called 'tipping,' instead prompts users to select a percentage-based addition to their bill, which goes to the is usable at about 3,000 restaurants in Japan, and the company says that around 13 percent of those make use of the service's new tip payment option. Though tipping is largely recognized in Japan as originating in foreign dining cultures, Dinii says that its data shows a fairly even split between Japanese and non-Japanese users of its new tip function, based on user language settings, with an overall 56 percent Japanese/43 percent foreigner breakdown (though 61 percent of tippers in the Kansai area, around Osaka and Kyoto, are non-Japanese). That doesn't mean, though, that Japanese customers are as eager to start tipping as their overseas counterparts. Dinii's statistics about the tipper nationalities don't mean very much without comparing them to the nationalities of the service's total users. As a Japan-based service without much recognition internationally, it's likely a safe bet that the majority of Dinii's users are Japanese, and so roughly half of tippers being foreigners likely means that far less than 50 percent of the total number of Japanese users are leaving tips. As for the Oshi Support system, through which one waitress says she was given 70,000 yen in a single month, by co-opting fan jargon and working through perusable profiles, one could make the argument that it's actually closer to the parasocial transactions of host/hostess bars or online influencer donations, where the extra payment has less to do with skillful service and more a desire to support a presumed personal connection. There are a few other factors to also take into consideration regarding the decision to tip or not in Japan. First, many restaurants in Japan already include a tip substitute in the form of something called otoshi, a small appetizer that is served to customers without them ordering it and must be paid for. Otoshi portions are small and their ingredients usually inexpensive, and they're priced to boost the restaurant's profit margin a little extra beyond the food and drinks that customers actually order. It's also not unusual for bars and fancy restaurants in Japan to have a seating/table charge built into the bill. Finally, with tipping not being a common practice at restaurants in Japan, concepts such as the waitstaff pooling and splitting their tips, or a portion of the tips also going to the kitchen staff, may or may not be in place, depending on the establishment. It's also worth pointing out that part of the way Dinii presents its tip option runs counter to a belief in Japanese society. The text above the tip percentage options reads 'Let's show appreciation with a tip. A special thank you for special service.' To diners in Japan, though, good service isn't supposed to be 'special,' it's the norm, and something the restaurant should provide as a matter of course, so hopefully attempts to wedge tipping into dining out in Japan won't erode that part of its culture.
