Win up to USD 1000 with the Asian Productivity Organization Photo Contest. Just take a creative shot based on the theme: Productivity and Innovation.

Only 12cm x 16.5cm color prints from digital images taken at five megapixels or more will be accepted. Entries must be accompanied by a completed entry form attached to the back of the print.

Manipulation and/or alteration of or within an image, digital or otherwise, are strictly prohibited. The submission maximum is three images per participant.

The Asian Productivity Organization (APO) is a regional intergovernmental organization which aims to contribute to the development of Asia by through enhancing productivity. The APO is based in Tokyo, Japan.

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A new economic agreement signed by Japan and the ASEAN countries including the Philippines, aims to facilitate trade between the economic giant and its South East Asian neighbors.

One of the important factors agreed upon was a revision on the taxation of imported good from Japan to SEA countries. According to the new agreement, all products that fall under a Category A standing should not be taxed by the local customs office upon arrival from Japan.

This should be good news for local anime fans, game addicts, and toy collectors since most of their purchases are imports from Japan. However, it is highly possible that the new law will not help these consumers, since many of the products they purchase fall under Category B10. It is also unlikely that the Philippine Bureau of Customs will grant the exemptions outlined in the agreement, based on their behavior during The Great Manila Book Blockade of 2009.

Thanks to Al for the links to the press releases.

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In a move strangely reminiscent of the Philippine Anti-Hentai Bill, ANN reports that Tokyo’s Metropolitan Government has submitted a proposal on 24th February 2010 to amend current laws over child pornography.

The new amendment seeks to include production or possession of material with “sexually provocative visual depictions of characters who sound or appear to be younger than 18 years old” in the list of punishable crimes.

The Tokyo law appears to be written in the same vein as the Philippine law, however unlike Rep. Monica Teodoro’s bill the Japanese proposal does not misuse the label “hentai” and simply refer to its subject as child pornography.

According to Japanese source IT Media, a committee under the Tokyo Metropolitan government will put the proposal to vote on 19th March 2010. If it gets past that stage, the entire assembly will vote on it on 30th March 2010. Once approved, the law could be rolled out in six months time.

Several well-known mangaka, including Abe Yoshitoshi (Serial Experiments Lain) and Kouga Yun (Earthian, character designs for Mobile Suit Gundam 00), have made their sentiments against the new law known via their blogs and/or Twitter accounts. Abe in particular decried the stifling of creativity by what he sees is a censorship rather than a protectionist law.

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While we’re on the topic of funny Japanese holidays, I found a very old news article in Reuters that really intrigued me, about a company in Tokyo that gives time off to its employees for the most unusual reasons.

Hime & Co. is a cosmetics and personal goods firm run mostly by women, whose concerns veer slightly off the straight and true path of the typical Japanese salaryman. Their chief executive — also a woman, has instigated a program that gives time off for its employees to deal with bad break-ups.

Understanding full well that time heals all wounds, employees can ask for a day off on top of their sick and vacation leave allocations to cry their eyes out after the end of a relationship. Older women in the company also get additional “heartbreak holidays” over the younger employees, since they are said to be more attached to their former partners and are less likely to bounce back in a short span of time.

Aside from “heartbreak holidays”, employees also get several mornings off every year to attend sales and special events, with the condition that they report for work in the afternoon and open their parcels in front of officemates for vicarious shopping show-and-tell. That is so awesome that I don’t even have words for it. I hope this company never closes, as I have plans of applying with them when I move to Tokyo (hahaha no :/).

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The NY Times did a short piece on the opening of a no-frills terminal north of Tokyo in Ibaraki Prefecture that has friends and I really excited. Ibaraki Airport administration is currently in talks to start servicing budget carriers from India and South East Asia — including the Philippines. If all plans go through, the new airport will function as a low-cost hub to those who want to fly to Tokyo on a tight budget.

Located ninety minutes away from central Tokyo, airport authorities argue that it takes as much time to take the local train from Tokyo to Narita Airport in Chiba Prefecture so the distance should not be an issue. They also plan to develop a shuttle bus system that will only charge JPY 500 per head one-way, which is a huge drop from Japan Rail’s NEX (Narita Expess) service which costs about JPY 3000.

Oh please oh please oh please let it be true~ /o/ \o\ /o/ \o\

Thanks to Nina of Just Wandering for the heads-up :) Start saving for our field trip, bb!

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