Each week, here at Osaka.com, we bring you a selection of some of the top stories about Osaka making the local and national news here in Japan. Sometimes it’s serious, sometimes it’s funny, but it’s always direct to you, from Osaka.
Here’s a look at some of the stories hitting the headlines in Osaka this week.
Table of Contents
Kansai Airport Celebrates 30th Anniversary
September 4th marked exactly 30 years since the official opening of Kansai International Airport. Today, the airport remains the primary point of entry for most international travelers visiting Osaka and the surrounding prefectures. The airport’s operator also released statistics this week showing that Kansai Airport is back to its best, following the pandemic. Throughout 2020 and 2021, passenger numbers slumped to near zero as travel restrictions and public anxiety over Covid-19 made Kansai Airport a proverbial ghost town.
However, passenger numbers hit an all-time high this summer. Figures for July 2024 showed that 1.67 million foreign passengers passed through Kansai Airport. This is the highest number for a single month since the Kansai’s opening in 1994.
Kansai Airport Looks to the Future, Continued Growth
The future is looking bright for Kansai Airport too. A recently completed renewal project hopes to draw even more visitors. There is also the recent return of Emirates airlines, running daily flights to Dubai. A number of other carriers have sought to restore their services at Kansai Airport to pre-pandemic levels. Some have even gone beyond this and added new routes and services, as passenger numbers continue to surge.
Peach Airlines Announces New Kansai to Singapore route
In related news, popular low-cost carrier Peach Airlines announced a new route for Kansai passengers this week. Until recently, Peach’s Kansai Airport operations focused mainly on domestic and short-haul international flights. However, after the previous success of their first medium-haul route, from Kansai International to Bangkok, Thailand, the LCC announced another, longer route this week.
Starting from December 4th, Peach will run daily flights between Kansai Airport and Singapore. The flights will last about 6 and a half hours. Peach’s no-frills service means prices will remain low. However, the route will also take advantage of the carriers new Airbus A321LR. As well as wider seating, these new planes, which first debuted in 2021, also offer USB charging ports for all passengers. Bookings are already live for the new service, with seats expected to fill up fast.
Wage Rises Continue Across Osaka, Albeit Slowly
The Japanese government’s ongoing push for companies to raise wages appears to continue to gather momentum. Statistics released this week showed an average 0.4% increase in wages across Osaka. Whilst this may not seem like much, this is real-term growth. In other words, after inflation is factored in. So, it is a genuine increase in workers’ monthly pay packets. Before inflation enters the equation the nominal rise in wages across the city was 3.6 percent. Though still lagging somewhat behind Tokyo for average annual salaries, Osaka continues to close the gap on the Japanese capital. It seems more and more corporations continue to open up to the idea that Tokyo is not the be all and end all for corporate operations.
Nevertheless, unions continue to push for further pay rises, and greater parity between permanent and non-permanent workers. Financial stability, union representatives say, is just one pillar of a strong workforce. Workers also need to feel secure in their jobs and to know that they are being treated equitably and fairly. The divide between contract and full-time employees in Japan remains a regulatory headache for both the government and the private sector. Despite recent advances, there remains no clear resolution to the issue, despite strong public support for pay equality.
And Finally…
It was a Kansai double act that stole the show in Scottish soccer’s Glasgow Derby this past weekend. Osaka’s own Daizen Maeda opened the scoring for Celtic FC before Nara native Kyogo Furuhashi added a second goal for the Scottish champions. In the end, the hoops ran out comfortable 3-0 winners against their bitter rivals Rangers. Maeda has hit the ground running this season for Celtic, with 4 goals this season already. The Scottish Champions will need the Japan international to be at his very best, with a tough UEFA Champions League campaign set to commence later this month. Among the illustrious opponents Celtic will face are Germany’s Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig. There is also a UK derby of sorts, with Celtic travelling down to Birmingham to face English Premier League side Aston Villa.
This year the Champions League has a new, extended format, with the league stage running until January and teams now playing 8 games instead of the previous 6. Celtic will need to finish within the top 24 of this 36 team group to have any chance of progression to the knock-out stages.
Hi thanks for all you do, I look forward to reading the posts that get dropped into my inbox each time. I live in Orlando Florida but travel to Japan often. We have a place in Sennan
Keep it up