Blogs

Back in September, The Japan Times interviewed Susumu Ikegami, a spokesman for Geos, and asked him about the eikaiwa market. To no surprise, he said business was down but for some reason could not explain why.

A Tennessee man was arrested in Fukouka a few months ago for trying to “kidnap” his children. The arrest lead to international media attention. Christopher Savoie, was jailed for attempting to “snatch back his children from his estranged wife,” in September of 2009. (1) The case has put a human face on the problem of foreign nationals losing their rights to interact with their children after their estranged spouses return to Japan without the consent of the other parent.

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) of Japan is an institution. The party had controlled the government of Japan for fifty years, relatively uninterrupted. However, with a bitter defeat in last year's election by the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), the once long serving party is in transition. The Liberal Democrats will not be returning to power, unless they restructure internally and provide some direction for the country.

Remember Fortress Japan? Back in 2008, they were caught stealing a page or two out of Nova's playbook with some underhanded sales tactics. The Kansai Consumer's Support Organization (KCSO) sued, and in 2009, Fortress Japan promised to change its ways and behave.

Let's Japan has been lucky in the past to have others share their stories here. For 2010, LJ introduces the Kotatsu Commentator, who will be adding his voice here.
-Shawn

The Japanese government is in the middle of a delicate balancing act. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and his coalition government are busy making inroads in a rising tide of Asian power, while preserving the close diplomatic relations with the empire that has helped provide their current prosperity.

I'm late talking about this, but it's worth noting given Hoofin's recent comments on freechoice.jp and health insurance in Japan. After I was asked to take down a letter from a private insurance provider that I posted here, Hoofin went out and did some digging, and came up with a lot of interesting stuff.

At this time last year, with Nova gone, LJers in the forums were talking about how . A year to the day that thread was started, J-cast News ran a story on the rapid growth of eikaiwa lessons online. The article reads more like an advertisement than a piece of journalism as it only focuses on three very new online schools, so it's difficult to gauge the popularity or success of online eikaiwa.

An LJ reader sent me this letter from his insurance company regarding the new immigration guideline which appears to confirm that the stance on the guideline has been softened. As the letter points out, not being enrolled in a public health plan is insufficient grounds for declining a visa renewal application. It looks like a lot of instructors can breathe a sigh of relief.

As you are aware, immigration guidelines are set to be changed next April so that you will have to show proof of enrollment in shakai hoken or kokumin kenko hoken when you apply to renew your visa. This is a huge issue for eikaiwa instructors as most are not enrolled in either health plan and are faced with the possibility of having to make hefty back payments upon enrollment.

All you need to know about a day in the life of an eikaiwa instructor. This would hilarious if it weren't true.