Random Japan

Otoshidama: How kids in Japan get rich once a year


Philip Kendall

With Christmas being just a regular day and the exchanging of gifts something of a rarity, we often feel that kids in Japan are missing out somewhat. Of course, not every Westerner is fortunate enough to know the joy of waking up on December 25 and finding presents–brought by a benevolent bearded man, no less–under the Christmas tree or at the foot of their bed, but those who are would most likely agree that it’s a pretty spectacular feeling for a kid to have.

But while the rest of the world is coming to realise that the toys they asked for aren’t quite as cool as they’d expected and dreading going back to school or work, kids in Japan are making out like bandits and getting not presents but cold, hard cash on New Year’s Day in the form of otoshidama.

OOPS
After wowing members of the International Olympic Committee with its plans for a spiffy new National Stadium, the Japan Sports Council determined that the design is “bloated” and will reduce the size of the facility by 25 percent.

Officials at the health ministry say several articles that appeared in a magazine for cancer patients were actually “tie-ups” with pharmaceutical companies to promote anticancer drugs.

The MPD busted 27 people for watching premium TV channels for free by using modified digital cable cards.

Headline of the Week: “Rescue Officials Apologize After Climber Dropped from Helicopter” (via Mainichi Japan)

Abe Golfs

With Media Fools

The Cook Who Fell To Earth

From Hot Air Balloon

Nothing Like Pizza

With Bug Spray

Japan eyes increasing foreign construction workers ahead of Olympics

KYODO
Japan may let more foreign workers from Asia work at construction sites under an on-the-job training system ahead of the construction boom in the run-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, officials said Friday.

The Liberal Democratic Party-led government is considering relaxing a range of curbs on the entry of Vietnamese and other Asian workers to cope with the labor shortage in the construction market, they said, adding that they hope any relaxation won’t lead to the exploitation of cheap foreign labor at the expense of the domestic workforce.