JAPAN RETAIL NEWS - Inside consuming Japan: Japan retail, Japan market, Japan economy, Japan trends, Japanese people, Japan brands, Japan tech
 
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Just when you thought there was no more commercial land left on which to build in Downtown Tokyo, here comes Japan Prime Realty Investment Corp. with an announcement of a planned 47 story, 2.13 million square-foot office complex on a little more than 2.5 acres.
 
 
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The average amount spent annually on pet-related expenses by households with at least two members rose 4.6 percent in 2009 from the previous year to 18,323 yen, the highest figure since comparable data become available in 1990, according to a recent government survey. While family spending as a whole is on the decrease, there are no signs of recession in the pet industry.
 
 
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Japan has decided to abandon its plan to introduce an environment tax in the forthcoming fiscal year starting in April, taking into account strong opposition from the business community and ruling party lawmakers who are preparing for an upper house election next summer, government sources said on Monday.
 
 
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Households with an annual income of 8million yen (60.180 €) or more spend three times more on their children's extracurricular activities, such as cram schools and sports lessons, than those with less than 4million yen (30.090 €) annual income, according to a survey by a correspondence education company.
 
 
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Average Japanese monthly household spending rose a price-adjusted 2.6 percent in August from a year earlier to 290,972 yen, up for the first time in two months due partly to the effects of government stimulus measures, the government said Friday.

The average monthly income of salaried households came to 466,393 yen, down 2.0 percent in real terms, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said in a preliminary report. The spending figure compares with the average market forecast of a 0.2 percent fall in a Kyodo News survey.

 
 
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London dropped out of the world’s top 10 most expensive cities for expatriates for the first time since 2001, sliding to 16th place from third, as the pound and rental prices slumped. Tokyo replaced Moscow as the most expensive city for foreigners and Osaka moved to number two after the yen strengthened against the U.S. dollar, according to Mercer LLC’s Cost of Living Survey. The Russian capital, which had held the top spot since 2006, slipped to third.
 
 
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Sometimes what happens in Japan stays in Japan, and the “capsule hotel” phenomenon is a prime example. Unlike, say, sushi or the Honda Civic, this is one Japanese invention that hasn’t triggered a stampede of foreign adopters and imitators. Indeed, in such a compact and crowded country as Japan, stacking up Salarymen in this way is one of few practical options, but for other countries with more space it is just causing curiosity.