[Via the Mainichi] Japanese-language proficiency test geared toward non-Japanese who are searching for employment in Japan or with Japanese companies overseas will be discontinued at the end of the current fiscal year, it has been learned.
The Business Japanese Proficiency Test (BJT) – established in 1996 by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and administered by the Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation (JKATF) — has been used as a criteria in reviewing applications for residency in Japan by non-Japanese. As such, its discontinuation is likely to affect foreigners who have been …

Known as Oyatoi Gaikokujin (hired foreigners), these outside adviser were well compensated for consulting on matters of engineering, architecture, medical and legal affairs. Breaking with Japanese business tradition Ghosn began to slash thousands of jobs and sold off assets, which made him not so popular in the public’s eye. Relatively low salaries offered by many companies in Japan. In addition, foreigners in Japan should not expect much in compensation when it comes to your educational background and experience.

Hi!
My wife and I have made eight micro loans via Kiva to various individuals around the world that need assistance in establishing and growing their business. Five of the loans have been repaid. My loans have supported two retail businesses in the Philippines, weaving and pig farming businesses in Cambodia, a used clothing store in Kenya, cosmetics sales and a soft drink business in Tanzania and farming in Sierra Leone.
I want to recruit you to my lending team, Black Tokyo, on Kiva, a non-profit website that allows you to …

Nike’s plan to develop Miyashita park in Shibuya and turn it into a recreational facility has apparently hit a snag. Nike is no stranger to controversy with allegations of abuse, underage workers, low wages and long working hours in its Asian factories.

In transportation news, JR East announced Tuesday that they have appointed their very first female bullet train operator to the Tohoku Shinkansen line. Sakai is now a member of a group of 400 male bullet train operators and began her first solo operation on April 9 of this year. I do not have exact number but JR Tokai and JR West have already had women actively operating bullet trains.

Arigato to Black Tokyo contributer, Brad, for this story:

You can also checkout the Next McDonald’s website. Gives a whole new meaning to eating and working at Micky D’s!

Hey BT’ers!
Here is a new feature on Black Tokyo, Jobs in Japan, via the Atom Jobs Job Board. Just sign-up for Job Mail, enter your profile, choose your job preferences and upload your resume, it’s that simple! Click here to get started.

Hey BT’ers!  Check out  May’s First Friday’s at the  Apple Store Ginza.

Event Description:
Note:  Due to Golden Week Holidays next month’s First Friday’s will be held on the 2nd Friday.

However, the Black Professionals in Tokyo have a special event for this belated get-together: The Apple Store Ginza has invited the Black Professionals in Tokyo to a seminar on how small businesses can use Apple Mobile Technologies such as the  iPhone, iPad and iTouch, etc. to reduce costs and gain a competitive advantage in the market. This seminar is exclusively for Black Professionals Tokyo and our friends …

(Via Kyodo) — “More than 30 percent of homeless people in Tokyo are suspected to be mentally disabled and may have difficulty in claiming social assistance by themselves, a study recently compiled by a group of psychologists and psychiatrists revealed.
The group, led by Suimei Morikawa, 36, a doctor at the Kurihama Alcoholism Center in Kanagawa Prefecture, urges administrative bodies to give consideration to their situation in providing assistance.
Members of the group conducted intelligence tests on some 170 homeless men around a station in central Tokyo on Dec. 29 and 30 and found 56 out of …

It seems that Japan’s population continues to shrink due to the number of women able to have children and the number of elderly deaths. This from the Japan Times:
“The population dynamics estimate of the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry indicates that Japan’s population decline is accelerating. The report, based on birth and death registers submitted from January 2009 to October 2009, estimates the number of births in Japan in that year at 1,069,000, or 22,000 less than in 2008, and the number of deaths in 2009 at 1,144,000, or 2,000 …