<div>* * * * * * * * * T E R R I E 'S T A K E * * * * * * *</div><div><br></div><div>A weekly roundup of news & information from Terrie Lloyd.</div><div>(<a href="http://www.terrie.com" target="_blank">http://www.terrie.com</a>)</div>
<div><br></div><div>General Edition Sunday, Nov 25, 2012, Issue No. 688</div><div><br></div><div>+++ INDEX</div><div><br></div><div>- What's New -- What Will Happen to Panasonic and Sony?</div><div>- News -- Next fad is photo-realistic figurines</div>
<div>- Upcoming Events</div><div>- Corrections/Feedback</div><div>- Travel Picks -- Bistro in Okayama, Tengu Kogen in Ehime</div><div>- Japan Business Q&A -- Consumption Tax Calculation</div><div>- News Credits</div>
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<div>Communications</div><div>-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-</div><div><br></div><div>+++ WHAT'S NEW</div><div><br></div><div>Fitch and several other international credit rating </div><div>
agencies sent shock waves through the Japanese share market</div><div>last week by cutting the ratings of Sony and Panasonic, two</div><div>of Japan's bedrock electronics manufacturing companies, to </div><div>junk grade. This comes after Fitch cut Sharp's rating to </div>
<div>junk earlier this month. </div><div><br></div><div>Now, while we've been getting used to seeing massive </div><div>amounts of red ink from all three companies over the last </div><div>couple of years, the junk grade ratings are a shocking </div>
<div>milestone, and one that clearly has investors and no doubt </div><div>the Japanese government in a state of great concern. As </div><div>Fitch said in its announcement concerning Panasonic: </div><div>"...meaningful recovery will be slow, given the company's </div>
<div>loss of technology leadership in key products, high </div><div>competition, weak economic conditions in developed markets </div><div>and the strong yen." </div><div><br></div><div>While Fitch is right in saying that the major challenges </div>
<div>for Panasonic and others are lack of innovation, low-cost </div><div>Chinese labor, and the slow international economy, we think</div><div>the real cause of decline isn't just the changing business </div><div>environment (which after all has been changing consistently</div>
<div>ever since the industrial revolution). Rather, we think that </div><div>Japanese senior management is unable to adapt to the </div><div>groundshifts going on in their international markets -- and</div><div>the buffer provided by domestic sales has disappeared since</div>
<div>the Lehman Shock.As a result, their more flexible </div><div>competitors are busy making hay. For example, Hon Hai, </div><div>Samsung, and Apple are all from home countries where the </div><div>costs are higher than in China, and yet they are making </div>
<div>record profits. Why? Because besides having mastered the </div><div>complexity of running a major corporation, these winners </div><div>have also adjusted their business models to fit new market </div><div>paradigms instead of expecting the markets to follow their </div>
<div>business preferences. Having to listen to the market is </div><div>something the Japanese used to be good at when they</div><div>were lean and hungry, but now the competition has </div><div>caught up technically, they practice listening a lot better.</div>
<div><br></div><div>[Continued below...]</div><div>
<br></div><div>---------------- Go Global? it's not a joke! --------------</div><div><br></div><div>SunBridge Global Ventures, Inc. and Venture Now, Inc. have</div><div>created a entrepreneur competition to help Japanese</div>
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<div>trip to the Plug and Play Expo in Silicon Valley.</div><div><br></div><div>Who will the winner be? Find out by coming along.</div><div>Date: Tuesday, 4th December 2012</div><div>Place: JIJI PRESS Hall (JIJI PRESS Building 2nd Floor)</div>
<div>5-15-8 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo</div><div>104-8178, JAPAN</div><div>Fee: JPY6,000 (JPY3,000 for students)</div><div><br></div><div>More details can be found at:</div><div><a href="http://innovation-weekend.jp/en/" target="_blank">http://innovation-weekend.jp/en/</a></div>
<div>-----------------------------------------------------------</div><div><br></div><div>[...Article continues]</div><div><br></div><div>People Costs:</div><div>Hon Hai went to China early on, in 1988, and has kept </div>
<div>itself mean (if not lean) ever since in its relentless </div><div>pursuit of low costs. As an example, 5 years ago as China's</div><div>coastal salaries and labor discontent started to rise, Hon </div><div>Hai decided to spend US$3.5bn in opening factories further </div>
<div>inland, thus preserving its lowest cost manufacturer </div><div>status. The company now has 1,000,0000 employees, churning </div><div>out all manner of global-class products at low margins, but</div><div>which thanks to its sheer size and well-thought out </div>
<div>operational structure allows it to eke out a meaningful </div><div>JPY250bn on revenues of JPY10trn. </div><div><br></div><div>The "humans-as-cogs-in-a-manufacturing-collosus" business </div><div>model is a very familiar one for Japan's ailing giants, </div>
<div>because it's how they grew to dominance after the War. But </div><div>given Japan's now-high costs and confining labor laws, </div><div>Panasonic and the others have no option but to </div><div>significantly move off-shore and find another (probably </div>
<div>ex-China) workforce to brutalize in order to compete with </div><div>Hon Hai. In fact, Myanmar comes to mind, and there are not </div><div>a few Japanese manufacturers making early moves there. </div><div>However, for a meaningful reappearance on the global stage,</div>
<div>Panasonic would have to put billions of dollars at work in </div><div>that country, something that is probably beyond its current</div><div>capacity without making some really painful cuts in Japan </div><div>first.</div>
<div><br></div><div>And it's those employees here at home which are the biggest</div><div>stumbling block. Yes, Panasonic and others are busy hiving </div><div>off various parts of their businesses to buy-out funds, or </div>
<div>simply firing thousands. But with 330,000 employees, most </div><div>of whom are in Japan, their current efforts are just a drop</div><div>in the bucket. Our guess is that to pursue this strategy, </div><div>Panasonic would have to "double down" and continue its </div>
<div>current losses for another 3 years, while at the same time</div><div>putting an additional JPY300bn a year into its off-shore </div><div>facilities. We just don't see the stock market being </div><div>willing to accept that kind of economics, quite apart from </div>
<div>the fact that Panasonic would also need a leader with an </div><div>iron fist AND the backing of the government as it shed its </div><div>tens of thousands.</div><div><br></div><div>So if cutting people costs is not the major strategy, what </div>
<div>about simply returning to being the very best in certain </div><div>technologies?</div><div><br></div><div>Technology Refocusing:</div><div>Samsung's strategy has been to attack the Japanese position</div><div>of technical superiority in certain sectors, chipping away </div>
<div>over a 20-year period in such disciplines as DRAM memory </div><div>and LCD displays while also taking advantage of the lower </div><div>won. In addition, the Koreans do seem to be better </div><div>international traders than the Japanese at this stage in </div>
<div>their development cycle, happy to do loss-leader sales in </div><div>order to break into major international accounts or </div><div>otherwise flood the market. This is in high contrast to the</div><div>Japanese, who take a much more fiscally conservative view, </div>
<div>wanting to extract at least some profit from every deal and</div><div>preferring not to make a sale if it means losing money over</div><div>it. </div><div><br></div><div>From the face of it, the Japanese way is the correct way to</div>
<div>do business, but when you have a fierce competitor who has </div><div>products of almost the same quality, and whose mission is </div><div>to undercut you at every turn, there isn't much you can do </div><div>except to join the spiral of price cuts until one side or </div>
<div>the other bleeds to death. Ironically, this is what the </div><div>Japanese did to their American and European counterparts </div><div>back in the 70's and 80's, and the lesson to be learned </div><div>from such competitions is that it is invariably fatal to </div>
<div>the party having higher costs and/or inferior marketing.</div><div><br></div><div>As the Nikkei noted in an editorial a short time ago, </div><div>having conceded the DRAM, CPU, and LCD markets to the </div><div>Koreans, the Japanese majors either have to come up with </div>
<div>better technologies that are harder to replicate, or they </div><div>need to switch to sectors that are less competitive. It is </div><div>true that those Japanese electronics majors making </div><div>non-entertainment consumer electronics products are doing </div>
<div>much better than Panasonic and Sony. The Nikkei points out </div><div>that the air conditioner market, for example, is worth more</div><div>globally than the TV market is, and so maybe Panasonic Sony</div><div>should switch gravy trains. Then there is all the emerging </div>
<div>economies' demand for white goods such as refrigerators, </div><div>microwaves, etc. However, while we agree with the Nikkei </div><div>that another market segment would be a good idea, the white</div><div>goods space already has a Chinese dominant player, Haier, </div>
<div>which is likely to become another Samsung in coming </div><div>years. </div><div><br></div><div>Instead, we'd recommend diversifying into more technical </div><div>areas, such as medicine and the military -- both of which </div>
<div>are proving lifesavers for firms such as Fujifilm and </div><div>Mitsubishi.</div><div><br></div><div>Global Eco-system:</div><div>It's probably unfair to say that Sony should have invented </div><div>the iPhone instead of Apple. While it is true that Sony had</div>
<div>the wherewithall and experience to make such an advanced </div><div>and workable gadget, it was Steve Jobs' personal brilliant </div><div>insight (and Apple's desperation to let him pursue it) that</div><div>
while the hardware matters, the way to beat Japanese </div><div>technical superiority is through software. When the iPhone </div><div>came out without a keyboard, it was the first time that a </div><div>mobile device had broken with Japan's traditionally </div>
<div>superior PC-making skills, and suddenly any manufacturing </div><div>nation, not just the Japanese, could provide Apple with the</div><div>components. Yes, the Japanese did and still do make lots of</div><div>components for Apple, but now they do it on Apple's terms, </div>
<div>not the other way around.</div><div><br></div><div>Another amazing Jobs insight was when he realized with the </div><div>initial high-volume orders of his new gadget that he could </div><div>turn it into a platform for third-party software engineers </div>
<div>to build a massive user-entertainment ecosystem. The idea </div><div>of sharing one's product with outside developers, such </div><div>that they could make money out of the platform and do it </div><div>outside the strict control of your engineers, was and still</div>
<div>is so alien to Japanese top-down managers that it would </div><div>never happen here. Case in point was when a American fan </div><div>wrote software to make the Aibo robotic dog dance, and </div><div>Sony's immediate reaction was to sue the fellow -- a public </div>
<div>relations disaster and a good example of the inflexible </div><div>thinking that is crippling Japanese electronics companies.</div><div><br></div><div>So is there any hope for Panasonic, Sony, and others of </div><div>
their ilk? </div><div><br></div><div>Our take is that these companies will take the slow grind </div><div>approach to turning around their operations, and hope that </div><div>while they are reducing costs that their engineers will </div>
<div>come up with some hit products to turn things around. Oh, </div><div>and maybe Israel will attack Iran and precipitate another </div><div>oil crisis, or North Korea will attack the south and put </div><div>Samsung out of business... OK, more likely, the government </div>
<div>will arrange for the DBJ or some other entity to jump in </div><div>and invest a significant sum, semi-nationalizing the firms </div><div>involved. This isn't so far fetched, given the huge number </div><div>of jobs at stake: Panasonic and Sony alone employ 1% of all</div>
<div>Japanese workers. We think the grind will be a long </div><div>drawn-out affair and if things go well, both companies may </div><div>emerge a lot smaller and leaner in 3-5 years time. However,</div><div>the biggest danger is that in the meantime they will become</div>
<div>takeover targets by competitors and investment funds who </div><div>will be drooling over both companies' break up value as </div><div>well as their copious volume of patents and comprehensive </div><div>global distribution networks. </div>
<div><br></div><div>It's a sobering thought that as of last Friday, with a </div><div>market valuation of just JPY998bn, Panasonic is worth </div><div>roughly the same as Motorola Mobility was when Google </div><div>
bought it last year for US$12.5bn. A Google senior manager </div>
<div>has since said that they made the acquisition primarily for</div><div>Motorola's 24,500 awarded and pending patents portfolio. </div><div>Given that Panasonic for the 8th year running has </div><div>registered the most patents, 6,881 this year alone, in </div>
<div>Japan, it probably has an overall portfolio of more than </div><div>100,000 patents. So does that make Panasonic undervalued by</div><div>this single measure alone?</div><div><br></div><div>Food for thought...</div>
<div>
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<div><br></div><div>+++ NEWS</div><div><br></div><div>- Bureacrats lose their low-cost nests</div><div>- Chinese paper imports hurt local paper firms</div><div>- Record number of bullying cases at schools</div><div>- Next fad is photo-realistic figurines</div>
<div>- First Japanese female bouldering champ</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>=> Bureacrats lose their low-cost nests</div><div><br></div><div>One small piece of commonsense news, the government has </div><div>
announced that it will cut the number of low-cost </div><div>(subsidized) government employee housing units by around </div><div>56,000 units, or about 25% of the overall number of 218,000</div><div>units. Initially the cuts, which come from the Ministry of </div>
<div>Finance, called for about 16,000 units to be cut, but </div><div>political pressure has increased the target singificantly. </div><div>***Ed: Downtown apartments with rents of just </div><div>JPY15,000/month -- the bureaucrats have done well looking </div>
<div>after their own.** (Source: TT commentary from </div><div><a href="http://japantimes.co.jp" target="_blank">japantimes.co.jp</a>, Nov 24, 2012)</div><div><br></div><div><a href="http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20121124b3.html" target="_blank">http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20121124b3.html</a></div>
<div><br></div><div>=> Chinese paper imports hurt local paper firms</div><div><br></div><div>Yet another industry is getting "rationalized" by cheaper </div><div>Chinese imports, this time the paper industry. A Nikkei </div>
<div>report says that the September monthly import of coated </div><div>paper used for flyers and brochures increased by 28.9% to </div><div>66,000 tons over the same period two years ago. The imports</div><div>have driven down paper prices by about 5.2%, causing Nippon</div>
<div>Paper Group to reduce output by 15% and Mitsubishi Paper by</div><div>7.5%. ***Ed: Good news for the printing industry and </div><div>consumers of paper, though, as prices shot up by more than </div><div>10% after the paper supplier shakeout of the last 18 months</div>
<div>post-3/11, and has now come down again.** (Source: TT </div><div>commentary from <a href="http://e.nikkei.com" target="_blank">e.nikkei.com</a>, Nov 23, 2012)</div><div><br></div><div><a href="http://e.nikkei.com/e/ac/tnks/Nni20121123D2211A20.htm" target="_blank">http://e.nikkei.com/e/ac/tnks/Nni20121123D2211A20.htm</a></div>
<div><br></div><div>=> Record number of bullying cases at schools</div><div><br></div><div>The education ministry has said that a record number of </div><div>140,000 cases of bullying were reported by schools all over</div>
<div>Japan in the first 6 months of this fiscal year (Apr-Sep), </div><div>with the number of reports increasing by more than 100%. </div><div>About 80,000 cases were reported at primary schools, 43,000</div><div>at junior high schools, and 13,000 at senior high schools. </div>
<div>Kagoshima had the highest reporting rate, with one case for</div><div>every 6 kids in school. Of the overall national total, </div><div>about 278 cases were judged bad enough to endanger the </div><div>lives or physical well-being of the victims. ***Ed: Several</div>
<div>high-profile bullying-induced suicides by school kids have </div><div>awoken the nation (and particularly the teachers) to the </div><div>curse of bullying.** (Source: TT commentary from </div><div><a href="http://e.nikkei.com" target="_blank">e.nikkei.com</a>, Nov 22, 2012)</div>
<div><br></div><div><a href="http://e.nikkei.com/e/ac/tnks/Nni20121122D22JF779.htm" target="_blank">http://e.nikkei.com/e/ac/tnks/Nni20121122D22JF779.htm</a></div><div><br></div><div>=> Next fad is photo-realistic figurines</div>
<div>
<br></div><div>The world's first 3D photo studio has opened in Jingumae, </div><div>Shibuya-ku, called Omote 3D Shashin Kan. The new studio </div><div>takes scans of your body shape and texture, and converts </div><div>
the results into a plastic replica figurine about 10cm-20cm</div><div>high. The figurines cost about JPY20,000 and a sitting </div><div>takes around 15 minutes. Initial reactions to the figurines</div><div>have been overwhelmingly positive and apparently the studio</div>
<div>is fully booked up until the end of January 2013. ***Ed: </div><div>The designer running the studio quipped that the figurines </div><div>are so realistic he decided to lose 5 kilos of weight after</div><div>seeing what he really looks like to others...!** (Source: </div>
<div>TT commentary from <a href="http://770kob.com" target="_blank">770kob.com</a>, Nov 25, 2012)</div><div><br></div><div><a href="http://bit.ly/YfZkHj" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/YfZkHj</a></div><div><br></div><div>
=> First Japanese female bouldering champ</div>
<div><br></div><div>Interesting story in the Asahi about 23-year old Akiyo </div><div>Noguchi, who was the first Japanese woman to win the </div><div>Bouldering World Cup -- "bouldering" being outdoor rock </div>
<div>climbing without a tether. The story says that there are </div><div>now 240 bouldering gyms in Japan, a 500% increase in the </div><div>last 10 years, and that the sport is expected to be adopted</div><div>in the 2020 Olympics. Noguchi is currently the World Number</div>
<div>Two in the sport and competes all over the world. ***Ed: </div><div>Definitely worth a read, to see how someone raised on a </div><div>dairy farm in Ibaraki became one of the world's top </div><div>climbers.** (Source: TT commentary from <a href="http://asahi.com" target="_blank">asahi.com</a>, Nov 25, </div>
<div>2012)</div><div><br></div><div><a href="http://ajw.asahi.com/article/globe/people/AJ201211250009" target="_blank">http://ajw.asahi.com/article/globe/people/AJ201211250009</a></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>
<br></div><div>NOTE: Broken links</div>
<div>Some online news sources remove their articles after just a</div><div>few days of posting them, thus breaking our links -- we</div><div>apologize for the inconvenience.</div><div><br></div><div>***------------------------****-------------------------***</div>
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<div>home page. Regardless of whether you are unemployed and</div><div>searching, thinking about a career change, or just curious</div><div>to know if there is something out there that might suit you</div><div>better, the BiOS Job Mail newsletter is an easy and</div>
<div>convenient way for you to stay informed. If you would like</div><div>to register for the BiOS Job Mail, or to find out more,</div><div>please email <a href="mailto:jason.kisling@biosjp.com" target="_blank">jason.kisling@biosjp.com</a>.</div>
<div><br></div><div>Interested individuals may e-mail resumes to:</div><div><a href="mailto:jason.kisling@biosjp.com" target="_blank">jason.kisling@biosjp.com</a> and check out the BiOS web page</div><div>for other jobs: <a href="http://www.biosjp.com/positions.php" target="_blank">http://www.biosjp.com/positions.php</a></div>
<div>-----------------------------------------------------------</div><div><br></div><div>***------------------------****-------------------------***</div><div><br></div><div>+++ UPCOMING EVENTS/ANNOUNCEMENTS</div><div><br>
</div><div>---------------- Start a Company in Japan -----------------</div><div><br></div><div>Entrepreneur's Handbook Seminar 9th of February, 2013</div><div><br></div><div>If you have been considering setting up your own company,</div>
<div>find out what it takes to make it successful.</div><div>Terrie Lloyd, founder of over 17 start-up companies in Japan,</div><div>will be giving an English-language seminar and Q and A on</div><div>starting up a company in Japan.</div>
<div><br></div><div>This is an ideal opportunity to find out what is involved,</div><div>and to ask specific questions that are not normally answered</div><div>in business books.</div><div>All materials are in English and are Japan-focused.</div>
<div><br></div><div>For more details:</div><div><a href="http://www.japaninc.com/entrepreneur_handbook_seminar" target="_blank">http://www.japaninc.com/entrepreneur_handbook_seminar</a></div><div><br></div><div>***------------------------****-------------------------***</div>
<div><br></div><div>---------------- ICA Event - December 11 ------------------</div><div><br></div><div>Speaker: Jason Wik, Managing Director - Sentry K.K.</div><div>Title: "Empower your Sales Teams with Realtime Mobile</div>
<div>Workflow"</div><div><br></div><div>Details: Complete event details at <a href="http://www.icajapan.jp/" target="_blank">http://www.icajapan.jp/</a></div><div>(RSVP Required)</div><div><br></div><div>Date: Tuesday, December 11, 2012</div>
<div>Time: 6:30 Doors open, Buffet Dinner included and cash bar</div><div>Cost: 4,000 yen (members), 6,000 yen (non-members)</div><div>Open to all</div><div>Venue is The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan</div><div>
<br></div><div><a href="http://www.fccj.or.jp/aboutus/map" target="_blank">http://www.fccj.or.jp/aboutus/map</a></div><div>----------------------------------------------------------</div><div>***------------------------****-------------------------***</div>
<div><br></div><div>+++ CORRECTIONS/FEEDBACK</div><div><br></div><div>In this section we run comments and corrections submitted</div><div>by readers. We encourage you to spot our mistakes and</div><div>amplify our points, by email, to <a href="mailto:editors@terrie.com" target="_blank">editors@terrie.com</a>.</div>
<div><br></div><div>=> No comments this week.</div><div><br></div><div>***------------------------****-------------------------***</div><div><br></div><div>+++ TRAVEL DESTINATIONS PICKS</div><div><br></div><div>=> Le Mani Italian Bistro and Brewery, Okayama</div>
<div>Follow the yellow brick road to Bizen</div><div><br></div><div>Do you know how to get to Yoshinaga, Bizen City? Well here </div><div>is the easy way. Go to Hinase, turn left and go straight </div><div>for a few minutes. Sound easy? It is. That's all I did to </div>
<div>find one of the most picturesque landscapes in Okayama.</div><div><br></div><div>Of course, you might be wondering why I would want to go to</div><div>Yoshinaga in the first place.The reason: beer! My </div><div>destination was a micro-brewery that I had heard about. </div>
<div>When I went about looking for it the only name I had to go </div><div>on was Mitsuishi Renga. I was told that this was the </div><div>company that owned the brewery. Upon arriving in Yoshinaga,</div><div>I was given directions to what was a brick making company. </div>
<div>Renga means brick in Japanese. Indeed, I did notice there </div><div>were so many brick buildings in central Yoshinaga, such </div><div>buildings being rare in Japan.</div><div><br></div><div>Arriving at Mitsuishi Renga I wandered in an out of brick </div>
<div>buildings with no one to be found. Finally, came across a </div><div>couple of guys who looked like they were working on a new </div><div>mixture for bricks. One of them took the time to confirm </div><div>that the brewery was related to the brick company but was </div>
<div>located a good fifteen minutes away. With that, I continued</div><div>my search for the elusive brewery.</div><div><br></div><div><a href="http://japantourist.jp/view/mitsuishi-renga-in-bizen-city" target="_blank">http://japantourist.jp/view/mitsuishi-renga-in-bizen-city</a></div>
<div><br></div><div> </div><div>=> Tengu Kogen, Ehime</div><div><br></div><div>Only a two hour drive from Kochi City, Tengu Kogen is a </div><div>eautiful mountain retreat away from the hotter weather and </div><div>industrious pace of urban life. The huge park is located </div>
<div>in the Ishizuchi mountains to the east of the Shikoku Karst</div><div>on Kochi`s border with Ehime?there is even a line in the </div><div>parking lot where you can straddle the two prefectures! The</div><div>steep, twisting ride up the mountains is not for the faint </div>
<div>of stomach (unluckily for me), but it is well worth it. </div><div>Before exploring the alpine forest trails and karst rock </div><div>topography the highlands are known for, stop off at the </div><div>rustic yet somehow grand looking hotel awaiting you at the </div>
<div>end of your ascent. It offers food, bathrooms, a gift shop,</div><div>and cottages for overnight stays.</div><div><br></div><div>I was lucky enough to visit Tengu on a free “monitor tour” </div><div>for foreigners sponsored by Kochi`s tourism department. The</div>
<div>theme of the tour was “therapy.” We had a “therapy walk” on</div><div>a soft, wood-chipped trail through the forest and enjoyed </div><div>healthy, beautifully presented “therapy bentos” for lunch. </div><div>Before and after exploring the highlands we had our stress </div>
<div>levels measured. We had to stick a little indicator under </div><div>our tongue and then an expensive machine apparently read </div><div>the stress hormone levels in our saliva.</div><div><br></div><div><a href="http://japantourist.jp/view/tengu-kogen" target="_blank">http://japantourist.jp/view/tengu-kogen</a></div>
<div><br></div><div>***------------------------****-------------------------***</div><div><br></div><div>+++ JAPAN BUSINESS Q&A -- Consumption Tax Calculation</div><div><br></div><div>=> Q. What is the actual formula for calculating consumption</div>
<div>tax? Is it a straight 5%, or something less? What factors</div><div>are taken into consideration?</div><div><br></div><div>A. Consumption tax ratio is 5% (4% for national tax plus 1%</div><div>for local tax). There are two calculation methods for the</div>
<div>consumption tax.</div><div><br></div><div>Calculation formula:</div><div><br></div><div>1) Ordinary Calculation Method</div><div><br></div><div>Consumption tax payable = Consumption tax received -</div><div>(Consumption tax prepaid + Import consumption tax)</div>
<div><br></div><div>Where:</div><div>* Consumption tax received is Consumption tax received on sales</div><div>and asset transfers (Consumption tax on taxable sales)</div><div><br></div><div>* Consumption tax prepaid is Consumption tax paid upon</div>
<div>purchases of goods/services and other expenditures</div><div>(Consumption tax on taxable purchases etc.)</div><div><br></div><div>* Import consumption tax is Consumption tax paid at the time</div><div>of import</div>
<div><br></div><div>If the amount of consumption tax payable is negative on the</div><div>consumption tax return, such negative amount will be</div><div>refunded.</div><div><br></div><div>To continue reading....</div><div>
<br></div><div><a href="http://www.nagamine-mishima.com/archives/3299?lang=en" target="_blank">http://www.nagamine-mishima.com/archives/3299?lang=en</a></div><div>-----------------------------------------------------------</div>
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</div><div>***********************************************************</div><div>END</div><div><br></div><div>SUBSCRIBERS: 7,794 members as of November 25, 2012</div><div>(We purge our list regularly.)</div><div><br></div>
<div>+++ ABOUT US</div><div><br></div><div>STAFF</div><div>Written by: Terrie Lloyd (<a href="mailto:terrie.lloyd@japaninc.com" target="_blank">terrie.lloyd@japaninc.com</a>)</div><div><br></div><div>HELP: E-mail <a href="mailto:Terrie-request@mailman.japaninc.com" target="_blank">Terrie-request@mailman.japaninc.com</a></div>
<div>with the word 'help' in the subject or body (don't include</div><div>the quotes), and you will get back a message with</div><div>instructions.</div><div><br></div><div>FEEDBACK</div><div>Send letters (Feedback, Inquiries & Information) to the</div>
<div>editor to <a href="mailto:terrie.lloyd@japaninc.com" target="_blank">terrie.lloyd@japaninc.com</a>.</div><div><br></div><div>ADVERTISING INFORMATION</div><div>For more information on advertising in this newsletter,</div>
<div>Contact <a href="mailto:ads@japaninc.com" target="_blank">ads@japaninc.com</a>.</div>
<div><br></div><div>SUBSCRIBE</div><div>Get Terrie's Take by giving your name and email address at</div><div><a href="http://www.japaninc.com/newsletters/free_sign_up" target="_blank">http://www.japaninc.com/newsletters/free_sign_up</a>, or go</div>
<div>straight to Mailman at:</div><div><a href="http://mailman.japaninc.com/mailman/listinfo/terrie" target="_blank">http://mailman.japaninc.com/mailman/listinfo/terrie</a></div><div><br></div><div>BACK ISSUES</div><div>
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<div>or, <a href="http://mailman.japaninc.com/pipermail/terrie/" target="_blank">http://mailman.japaninc.com/pipermail/terrie/</a></div><div><br></div><div>Copyright 2012 Japan Inc. Communications Inc.</div><div><br></div>
<div>----------------- Japan Inc opens up Japan ----------------</div>
<div><br></div><div>J@pan Inc authoritatively chronicles business trends in</div><div>Japan. Each posting brings you in-depth analysis of</div><div>business, people and technology in the world's third</div><div>largest economy.</div>
<div><br></div><div>Visit <a href="http://www.japaninc.com" target="_blank">www.japaninc.com</a> for the best business insight on</div><div>Japan available.</div><div>-----------------------------------------------------------</div>
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