Latest news with #non-Japanese
The Mainichi
2 days ago
- Business
- The Mainichi
Japan seeks to end living expenses aid to foreign doctoral students
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's education ministry plans to restrict living expenses support for doctoral students to Japanese nationals only, a panel proposal showed Thursday after parliamentary debate over foreign students accounting for over a third of recipients of the public grants. The plan to abolish foreigners' access to living subsidies of 1.8 million yen ($12,400) to 2.4 million yen per annum is expected to take effect in fiscal 2027, pending approval from a committee. According to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, 10,564 people received the subsidies in fiscal 2024, of whom 4,125, around 39 percent, were from overseas. Chinese nationals made up 76% of the non-Japanese cohort at 3,151 people. In March, the findings were raised during a parliamentary session by a lawmaker who called for the funds to be limited to Japanese nationals in principle. The government launched a support program in fiscal 2021 to boost the number of doctoral students by supporting their living and research expenses. The proposal presented at a meeting of panel members says that the changes "reflect the program's aims to ease Japanese students' worries about their financial situations to enable them to advance to doctoral study," adding that many foreign students fund their education privately. Foreign students will remain eligible for research support of up to 1.1 million yen under the program.
Japan Today
2 days ago
- Business
- Japan Today
Japan seeks to end living expenses aid to foreign doctoral students
Japan's education ministry plans to restrict living expenses support for doctoral students to Japanese nationals only, a panel proposal showed Thursday after parliamentary debate over foreign students accounting for over a third of recipients of the public grants. The plan to abolish foreigners' access to living subsidies of 1.8 million yen to 2.4 million yen per annum is expected to take effect in fiscal 2027, pending approval from a committee. According to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, 10,564 people received the subsidies in fiscal 2024, of whom 4,125, around 39 percent, were from overseas. Chinese nationals made up 76% of the non-Japanese cohort at 3,151 people. In March, the findings were raised during a parliamentary session by a lawmaker who called for the funds to be limited to Japanese nationals in principle. The government launched a support program in fiscal 2021 to boost the number of doctoral students by supporting their living and research expenses. The proposal presented at a meeting of panel members says that the changes "reflect the program's aims to ease Japanese students' worries about their financial situations to enable them to advance to doctoral study," adding that many foreign students fund their education privately. Foreign students will remain eligible for research support of up to 1.1 million yen under the program. © KYODO
Kyodo News
2 days ago
- Business
- Kyodo News
Japan seeks to end living expenses aid to foreign doctoral students
KYODO NEWS - 2 minutes ago - 20:45 | All, Japan Japan's education ministry plans to restrict living expenses support for doctoral students to Japanese nationals only, a panel proposal showed Thursday after parliamentary debate over foreign students accounting for over a third of recipients of the public grants. The plan to abolish foreigners' access to living subsidies of 1.8 million yen ($12,400) to 2.4 million yen per annum is expected to take effect in fiscal 2027, pending approval from a committee. According to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, 10,564 people received the subsidies in fiscal 2024, of whom 4,125, around 39 percent, were from overseas. Chinese nationals made up 76% of the non-Japanese cohort at 3,151 people. In March, the findings were raised during a parliamentary session by a lawmaker who called for the funds to be limited to Japanese nationals in principle. The government launched a support program in fiscal 2021 to boost the number of doctoral students by supporting their living and research expenses. The proposal presented at a meeting of panel members says that the changes "reflect the program's aims to ease Japanese students' worries about their financial situations to enable them to advance to doctoral study," adding that many foreign students fund their education privately. Foreign students will remain eligible for research support of up to 1.1 million yen under the program. Related coverage: U.S. to resume issuing int'l student visas, add tougher online checks Japan draws up 100 bil. yen policy to attract foreign researchers
Eater
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Eater
Perry's James Beard-Winning Japanese Chef Credits Mom For Cooking Skills
Plenty of tears were shed late last month as Perry's executive chef Masako Morishita and her mother, Ryoko Morishita, served Japanese comfort foods reminiscent of Masako's childhood and her family's nearly 100-year-old restaurant in Kobe, Japan, that she has been introducing to D.C. palates for almost six years. When Masako was asked by Resy to put together her own 'Dream Team Dinner' for the national American Express and Resy dinner series, she could only think of one chef she'd admired for decades. Her mother has been leading the kitchen in their family-owned tachinomi (a small standing bar and restaurant) for almost 50 years and has always been her go-to person for questions about a new dish or advice for switching up a menu. But Ryoko, like Masako, is not a classically trained chef. She was a sake brewery sales representative when she met Masako's father and it was daunting task to cook in a restaurant kitchen when they took on the family business. That led to her taking more risks, incorporating non-Japanese ingredients into her cooking and inspiring her adventurous daughter. Masako easily plays with traditional Japanese dishes, like okonomiyaki with black garlic aioli and prosciutto at her first gig at Maxwell Park and Perry's famous shrimp katsu burger that ties together togarashi tartar, lemon cabbage slaw, and cheddar on a deep-fried shrimp patty. For their first-ever crossover dinner on May 29, weeks after Mother's Day, Ryoko flew in from Japan to prepare favorite family dishes with her daughter in Adams Morgan. Gyu suji nikomi, beef tendon stew, starts the meal with a small bowl of extremely tender wagyu tendon with deep sake and soy flavors cooked down for three days. This stew is always Masako's first dinner request when she visits her family in Japan. House-made dashi broth, one of Masako's favorite comforting ingredients to make from scratch, was featured in the tofu skin-wrapped first course and a childhood of enjoying shabu shabu inspired the second course of thinly sliced wagyu ribeye in a sweet soy sauce broth. The multi-course dinner culminated in an unconventional dessert. Midori, a Japanese sweet melon liqueur, and soda were poured over vanilla gelato, making a float reminiscent of the melon soda Masako used to have as a special treat growing up. 'I used to have really severe asthma growing up. So since I was two years old, so my mom had to take me to the doctor every single week so I could get a shot,' Masako explains. 'But of course, I hate it. I was kid. I didn't like it at all, but there was a cafe nearby the doctor's office, so she always took me there and then let me pick whatever I wanted to eat or drink to make me feel better… that's that drink I used to order all the time.' That thoughtful treat at the end of their collaborative meal sums up decades of ups-and-downs in Masako and Ryoko's relationship. As an admittedly headstrong teen, Masako constantly clashed with her parents and even forged their signatures for a foreign exchange program that sent her to a small town in Wisconsin at 16 years old. 'I was a little crazy,' Masako concedes. But even when they disagreed, Ryoko was always cooking for Masako, serving up dishes with warmth and comforting flavors that 'melted the ice' of their disagreements. She constantly forged her own path, becoming a cheerleader for the Washington Commanders and then a chef as her parents urged her to stick to a reliable desk job. But her passion and drive won over the James Beard Foundation in 2024, when she won the Emerging Chef award at the Oscars of the food world. 'Even though I was working almost three years full-time in this career, they kept telling me, 'Oh, don't you want to go back to your office job?'' Masako remembers. 'But the award really made them think, 'Okay, I think she's doing okay.'' Today, food still connects the mother and daughter, with Ryoko even coming to her for advice on dishes and cheering Masako on from afar. This is the first time they've collaborated in a restaurant kitchen together, but Masako hopes it won't be the last. 'If we have a chance to do it again, of course I would,' she says. 'Because I'm really confident we can create something different and delicious' You can read Masako Morishita's own personal essay about how her mother, Ryoko Morishita, influenced her cooking here. See More:
National Geographic
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- National Geographic
A music lover's guide to Tokyo, the city that moves to its own beat
If you're a record collector, a guitar nerd, a jazz head, a garage rocker, or a karaoke crooner, Tokyo is possibly the best place on the planet for music lovers. Before planning a trip to Japan's capital city, here's what you know about its diverse music scene for all types of musicophiles. Shop for your favorites at a record store Ask anyone who has visited Tokyo about record shopping and they will all mention Disk Union. The behemoth music retailer has been around since 1967 and has multiple stores across the city. In Shinjuku alone, we're talking four separate buildings within a three-block radius, containing various levels that cover 18 different genres. Music lovers will need a map—and fortunately, you can find one online or at the front of any of their stores. Tokyo is also home to several independent record stores. Shimokitazawa is a neighborhood revered by crate-diggers, and you'll find plenty to peruse at Pianola Records, Jet Set, Flash Disc Ranch (featured in the Wim Wenders' film Perfect Days), and City Country City—a bar, café, record store, and small venue owned by Keiichi Sokabe, the frontman of revered Japanese band Sunny Day Service. (Everything you need to know for the perfect Tokyo trip.) Perform onstage at a live music venue In Tokyo, music venues are called 'live houses.' Tthe best of them reside in neighborhoods such as Koenji (SUB Store and Sound Studio DOM), Asagaya (Club Heavy Sick and Forestlimit), Shinjuku (Space and Shinjuku Loft), and Shimokitazawa (Shelter and Live Haus). At Heaven's Door in Nishi-Ogikubo, I was the only non-Japanese patron. Within 30 minutes, I was onstage behind a mic with a guitar around my neck, performing The Rolling Stones' 'The Last Time' and The Who's 'The Kids Are Alright,' accompanied by regulars on lead guitar, bass, and drums. I received high-fives from everyone in the room and swapped Facebook and Instagram details by the end of the night. (Some of the nicest gardens in Tokyo are hidden behind hotels.) Attend a popular music festival Music fans can plan their vacations around Japan's music festival calendar. One of the biggest and most famous festivals, Summer Sonic was established 25 years ago and is held over two days every August in Tokyo and Osaka. Recording artists featured at previous festivals have included Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Strokes, Blur, Kendrick Lamar, and popular Japanese bands such as Babymetal. Electronic music fans flock to Ultra Japan, which is held on a man-made island in Tokyo Bay and has hosted all the biggest dancefloor-fillers, including David Guetta, Tiesto, and deadmau5. If you're a garage rock music fan, you should plan a trip to attend Back from the Grave's annual Halloween Ball. This is like a United Nations summit of the best acts in this wild, loud, and sweaty genre. If jazz is more your thing, then Asagaya Jazz Streets transforms the bars, venues, parks, and streets of Tokyo's Asagaya neighborhood into jazz nirvana at the end of October. All outside events are free of charge. (Don't leave Tokyo without these must-do experiences.) Relax at a listening bar Jazz kissatens are cafés or bars devoted to listening to vinyl records. In a city as fast paced as Tokyo, it's a contrast to step into one of these places, slow down, and immerse yourself in music, whether it's classical at Lion Café in Shibuya or soul, disco, and R&B at Little Soul Café in Shimokitazawa. Tokyo has approximately 100 listening bars—some have a no-talking policy during the day and become more convivial at night. In the heart of Shinjuku, Dug was opened in 1961 by photographer Hozumi Nakadaira, whose pictures of jazz greats, including Miles Davis and John Coltrane, grace the walls. This listening bar was also featured in Haruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood, the best-selling novel published in 1987. Visit a guitar lover's oasis in Tokyo Just 10 minutes from Shinjuku Station on a rapid express train, you'll find yourself standing on Meidai Dori also known as Guitar Street. The strip is lined with more than 50 musical instrument stores. Meanwhile, a temple to the guitar opened in 2023 in a building near Harajuku's popular Takeshita Street. Fender Flagship Tokyo is the renowned U.S. company's very first flagship. Every Fender instrument and amplifier is artfully displayed on four floors, and you can go in, point at anything you like, plug it in, and play. The store also features a custom shop (named 'The Dream Factory') for made-to-order instruments, a café (from California company Verve Roasters), and an apparel store. (8 family-friendly things to do in Tokyo.) Street musicians perform in Tokyo's Harajuku neighborhood. Photograph by Igor Kisselev, Alamy Stock Photo Visitors at Cozy Café in Tokyo can peruse its vinyl collection and listen to music. Photograph by Izumi Oki, Alamy Stock Photo Sing at these popular karaoke spots Karaoke is a popular pastime in Japan—after all, it started here. Unlike karaoke in the West, which is generally found in a bar or pub, most Japanese karaoke joints are hosted in private rooms for a half-hour, allowing amateur crooners an opportunity to sing along with friends, or even solo, also known as hitokara in Japanese. One of the most popular karaoke chains is Karaoke San, and their outlet in Shibuya is featured in Lost in Translation, where Scarlett Johansson sang a sassy version of The Pretenders' 'Brass in Pocket' and Bill Murray did a melancholic, jet-lagged take on Roxy Music's 'More Than This.' (How to eat your way through Tokyo.) Enjoy the nostalgia of The Beatles The Beatles's Japanese tour in 1966 is still spoken about in reverential tones. Fans can relive the nostalgia and phenomena by visiting vintage clothing shops to easily find Beatles t-shirts, and many record stores in Tokyo have an impressive section devoted to them. Be-In Records in Koenji is one of those must-visit places. This record store has every Beatles album, including versions from different countries, and also has full bins with the solo work of John, Paul, George, and Ringo. To witness the pinnacle of Beatles fandom, music lovers can book a ticket to Abbey Road, a club in Roppongi where The Parrots, a Japanese band, do note-perfect renditions of the legendary band's entire catalogue. The Parrots play four sets a night, five nights a week, and provide a joyous evening of nostalgia that's a must-see for any fan of 'The Fab Four.' (10 of the best hotels in Tokyo, from charming ryokans to Japanese onsen retreats.) Barry Divola is a journalist, author and musician from Australia, and his latest book is the music-infused road novel Driving Stevie Fracasso - follow him on Facebook.
