The Japanese panel approved a plan to build a magnetically levitated train line over the shortest proposed route between Tokyo and Osaka, by which the travel time between Tokyo and Osaka under the plan is expected to be 67 minutes at the shortest.

 

According to JR Tokai, which is responsible for construction and operation, it plans to start construction in fiscal 2014 and complete the line between Tokyo and Nagoya in 2027, and finish the full line reaching Osaka in 2045.

 

The maglev train is projected to reach a top speed of about 500 kilometers per hour. Fares are assumed to be about 15,000 yen, compared with about 14,000 yen for the existing Tokaido Shinkansen bullet train line.

 

 

 

 

The nursing license exam in Japan for foreigners will be modified in February in the hope of enabling more foreign nurses to pass it and work with Japanese patients.

 

According to sources, Japan has come up with a commitment to put English translations beside some Japanese technical or medical terms which is too difficult for foreigners in its upcoming exam following requested by the Philippine government.

 

So far, only one Filipino and two Indonesian nurses have passed the Japanese nursing exam since foreigners were allowed to take it under free trade accords between Japan and other countries.

 

 

 

 

The Japan Government is to place greater burdens on individuals while reducing the tax on companies under the latest tax reform plans, which aim to stimulating the economy by encouraging companies to increase investment and domestic employment since the market shrinks due to the economic crisis and strong yen.

 

The government could limit deductions from taxable income for salaried workers with annual pay of more than 15 million yen and significantly reduce the deduction amount for executive pay of over 20 billion yen.

 

The government plans to implement a 5 percentage point cut in the effective corporate income tax rate from the current 40 percent, which is already high by international standards and believed to have undermined Japanese companies.

 

The panel will also propose introducing a new levy on carbon emissions in October 2011 to fight global warming and extending the capital-gains tax break for another two years until the end of 2013 for the purpose of revitalizing Japanese stock markets following the global financial turmoil in 2008. And it also considers putting tax on air tickets to aid the poor.

 

 

 

 

Bookstore operators Maruzen Co and Junkudo Co will jointly open Japan’s largest bookstore in terms of floor space on Dec 22 in Osaka. The new store has a total floor space of approximately 6,800 square meters housed between the first basement level and the seventh floor of a building in the western Japanese city’s Umeda district.

 

The store will stock about 2 million books with the aim of being able to offer any book sought by customers, according to the operators. The Osaka store will be the third bookstore jointly run by Tokyo-based Maruzen and Kobe-based Junkudo, following their stores in Tokyo and Hiroshima.

 

 

 

 

The Japanese government instituted a new visa to enable foreign visitors to stay in Japan for a maximum of six months to receive health-care treatment, which will start in January. The medical visa is designed as an economic stimulus measure to attract affluent visitors from China and other parts of Asia, following calls to the government for a visa revamp while other countries step up medical tourism.

 

 

 

 Maggie Zhang joined iTV-Asia in September 2010.  She is originally from Henan, China and is “Content Coordinator” for Japan.  She is focused on a number of industries including advertising, energy, entertainment, finance, food & beverage, media and real estate.  Maggie is new to Shanghai and is exploring and learning about this great city.  She can be reached at maggie.zhang@itv-asia.com.