Search - 2015

 
 
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Sep 14, 2014

Next consumption tax raise painting Abe into a corner

Ever since the Cabinet Office released preliminary figures last month that showed an annualized 6.8 percent decline in first-quarter GDP, a war of nerves has flared up between the prime minister's office and the Finance Ministry. The next consumption tax hike could be delayed.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 9, 2014

Abe needs more stimulus to raise sales tax, adviser Itoh says

The administration should consider a supplementary budget this year and will need to add stimulus for the economy to weather the planned increase in the consumption tax in 2015, according to Motoshige Itoh, a member of an advisory panel to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
EDITORIALS
Sep 9, 2014

Reform key to eurozone growth

The surprise move by the European Central Bank to lower its main lending rate from 0.15 to 0.05 percent and to push the overnight deposit rate further into negative territory indicates the central bank's fear that the stagnating eurozone economy will fall into deflation.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ADVANCES IN PROGRESS
Sep 7, 2014

Drone enthusiasts see bright future but legal hurdles await

Last December, Amazon.com Inc. created a buzz by releasing a video of a drone delivering a package to a customer's home. If Amazon launches its Prime Air service as planned in 2015, we could soon see unmanned aircraft whizzing through the skies to deliver purchases in as little as half an hour.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 5, 2014

Economic safeguards again in works for next tax hike, Amari says

The government plans to have steps in place to protect the economy if it decides to complete the doubling of the consumption tax to 10 percent in October 2015, reappointed economy minister Akira Amari said Friday.
EDITORIALS
Sep 5, 2014

Stronger measures against stalking

In its budgetary requests for fiscal 2015, Japan's National Police Agency includes expenses to beef up measures against the persistent problem of stalking.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 5, 2014

'Abenomics' at risk as firms put brakes on spending, hoard their cash

Japanese companies from NTT Docomo Inc. to Honda Motor Co. are putting the brakes on spending as they pile up cash, showing the challenge Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's new Cabinet faces in reviving the economy.
EDITORIALS
Sep 4, 2014

Keep a close eye on new Cabinet

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has reshuffled executive posts of the Liberal Democratic Party and his Cabinet apparently with the aim of setting up his re-election as the Liberal Democratic Party's president in autumn 2015.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 4, 2014

Disaster risks in small-island developing states

National Red Cross and Red Crescent societies from the Pacific to the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean are eyewitnesses to the humanitarian impacts of climate change on small-island developing states.
BUSINESS
Aug 26, 2014

Boeing lands $8.8 billion BOC Aviation order on Asian demand

Boeing Co. won an order for $8.8 billion in jets from BOC Aviation Pte. as the aircraft lessor made its biggest-ever purchase to help meet surging travel demand in Asia.
JAPAN / FUKUSHIMA FILE
Aug 17, 2014

First tranche of public housing for Fukushima evacuees hit by delays

About 40 percent of the first batch of public housing for people displaced by the Fukushima nuclear disaster will not be ready by the end of fiscal 2015, forcing those who evacuated to wait longer for permanent abodes.
BUSINESS
Aug 13, 2014

Homebuyers in Japan seen at risk amid floating-rate loan rush

Japanese homebuyers are piling into floating-rate mortgages, stirring debate over whether they are too complacent as Bank of Japan stimulus revives inflation.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 25, 2014

With poll numbers falling, Abe turns to suffering local economies

As his polling numbers dive, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe turns his attention and bluster to the nation's rural economies, vowing to work his 'Abenomics' magic outside Tokyo.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 25, 2014

China sees growth in a cleaner environment

Surprisingly China — currently the world's largest emitter of carbon dioxide — is emerging as a global leader in climate policy as it seeks to build a cleaner and more efficient economy.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 21, 2014

The real victims of U.S. sanctions on Myanmar

Myanmar's opening attracted much interest not only from Asian neighbors but also from those in the West that once considered the country a pariah.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Jul 12, 2014

Rising tide: long-term ramifications of global warming on the country's coastline

It's a scenario we're all familiar with: Unequivocal climate change warms our oceans, which in turn causes ice sheets at either pole to melt and sea levels worldwide to increase. Citizens of low-lying nations such as Tuvalu, much of which is less than 1 meter above sea level, are forced to relocate as...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 10, 2014

Shale oil to push U.S. past Russia, Saudi Arabia

Four years into the shale revolution, the U.S. is on track to pass Russia and Saudi Arabia as the world's largest producer of crude oil, most analysts agree. When that happens and by how much, though, has produced disparate estimates that depend on uncertain factors ranging from progress in drilling...

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat