Search - 2003

 
 
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 12, 2014

Let the neighbors take care of Islamic State's ambitions

President Barack Obama is channeling George W. Bush in launching a new war in the Middle East. Why is Washington involved? Let Iraq's and Syria's neighbors take care of Islamic State's ambitions.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 7, 2014

Abenomics' women problem

The key to Abenomics' success may turn on whether the Japanese people are convinced that more women in the workforce are essential to their country's economic revival, and on whether they will support efforts to establish institutions that support working women.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 5, 2014

The 'evil' in Iraq and Syria

Questioning the use of force by the U.S. and its allies in response to the crisis in Iraq and Syria does not mean we should sit idly by as innocents continue to be killed and abused.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Oct 4, 2014

Manga, the Rising Sun and Abe's history problem

During his recent visit to the United Nations, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reasserted his eagerness to improve relations with Japan's East Asian neighbors, but the reaction from Beijing and Seoul was tepid.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 4, 2014

U.S., not the EU, needs to tackle Apple's taxes

Apple, the world's most valuable company, receives much of its profit in Ireland but pays taxes on a fraction of it. The U.S. primarily has the power to make Apple and other offshore companies pay more.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 3, 2014

Japan, South Korea can stop GMO testing, U.S. wheat official claims

Japan and South Korea are still testing the U.S. wheat they buy to make sure the grain is not contaminated with an experimental genetically modified version developed by Monsanto Co., but can stop the practice, the head of a U.S. wheat association said Thursday.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 2, 2014

In Hong Kong protests, China confronts limits of its power

In the heart of Mong Kok, one of the most densely populated districts on earth, an abandoned Hong Kong police van is enveloped in the student-led demonstrations paralyzing swaths of the city. Along with yellow ribbons and flowers, symbols of the city's pro-democracy movement, protesters have taped a...
EDITORIALS
Oct 1, 2014

The achievements of Takako Doi

People who respect the ideals of Takako Doi, the former head of the Social Democratic Party who died last month at 85, have a lot to learn from what she achieved and what she could not achieve in Japanese politics,
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 28, 2014

China's border belligerence

It appears that the central objective of Chinese leaders' visits to India over the years has been to reinforce China's territorial claims. Beijing is at it again.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 28, 2014

Iran has its dissenters on intervention in Iraq

Iran — already struggling to manage a decrepit economy and tricky nuclear negotiations with the international community — now worries about getting in over its head by intervening in Iraq.
BUSINESS
Sep 26, 2014

Famed bedroom trader Takashi Kotegawa reveals his wealth secrets as he guns for $1 billion

It was six minutes after the opening bell on Feb. 4, and dozens of big-name stocks were still untraded in Tokyo. Telecommunications giant SoftBank Corp. was among those that hadn't budged. The offer price fell 5 percent, then more, and still there were no takers.
EDITORIALS
Sep 24, 2014

New Komeito's raison d'etre

Natsuo Yamaguchi, the just re-elected chief of New Komeito, and other party leaders should realize that if the party fails to ensure that Japan stays on the pacifist road with respect to the passage of new legislation, it will lose its raison d'etre.
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Sep 24, 2014

Obama forges disparate coalition to combat Islamic State, but will it stick?

The Arabs are in. Turkey is on the fence. Britain, still smarting from an earlier Iraq war, is cautiously edging toward expanded action. Even Greece wants to help — if someone would tell it how.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 23, 2014

Fewer obstacles to Putin-style nationalization

The house arrest on Sept. 16 of one of Russia's richest men is part of an attempt to nationalize his oil business. It also shows how the recent Western strategy of isolating Russia is perversely benefiting President Vladimir Putin's close circle of friends:
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 22, 2014

Weak yen puts Japan at risk of recession, says ex-BOJ deputy

Japan is in danger of falling into a recession as the yen's decline reduces the purchasing power of households and squeezes corporate profits, according to a former deputy governor of the Bank of Japan.
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 21, 2014

Iraqi Christians fly to new life in France after escaping Islamic State

On a warm evening at Irbil International Airport in Iraqi Kurdistan, some 150 mostly Christian refugees anxiously waited to flee their homeland aboard a French government plane.
CULTURE / Books
Sep 20, 2014

Studio Ghibli inspires endless adaptations

As one of the most important and acclaimed animation studios in not only Japan but the world, it's unsurprising that Studio Ghibli has also inspired a wealth of printed material. Helen McCarthy's "Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation" about the studio's most celebrated director and Miyazaki's...
Japan Times
Rugby
Sep 18, 2014

Japan coach Jones says team sets target of reaching 2015 Rugby World Cup quarterfinals

National rugby team head coach Eddie Jones believes Japan can reach the quarterfinals of next year's Rugby World Cup by flummoxing the opposition with "samurai eyes and ninja bodies."
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 18, 2014

Comfy life amid stagnation

While information and communications technologies have increased the conveniences and comforts of life in Japan to an unprecedented level, the nation's economy remains stagnant, partly because of the saturation of the auto market.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 17, 2014

Korea's new 'Goddess' of musicals

The central Seoul district of Daehangno is renowned for its small theaters in much the same way as Shimokitazawa is in Tokyo. But whereas the latter boasts teens of venues, Daehangno has upward of 140 — so really there's no comparison.
JAPAN
Sep 16, 2014

Fuji trail areas without toilets raising waste concerns

Human waste left behind by climbers using sections of trails on Mount Fuji where there are no toilets have raised concerns about whether the mountain's pristine scenery can be maintained, after the iconic volcano was last year added to UNESCO's World Heritage site list, according to an NHK report.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Sep 14, 2014

Liberian president appeals to U.S. for help to beat Ebola

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has appealed to U.S. President Barack Obama for urgent aid in tackling the worst recorded outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus, saying that without it her country will lose the fight against the disease.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 12, 2014

NATO's new missions won't solve Ukraine, Iraq crises

NATO leaders emerged from a summit in Wales with a plan to protect eastern members from a resurgent Russia, a pledge to reverse the decline in their defense spending, and an embryonic Western coalition to combat Islamic militants in Iraq.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 11, 2014

BOJ adviser Kawai urges Abe to proceed with second tax hike

The Abe administration should proceed with the next consumption tax hike as planned to signal it is serious about reining in the world's biggest debt burden, an adviser to Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda said.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Sep 11, 2014

China asserts paternal rights over Hong Kong in clash over democracy

Just days before China was set to deliver its edict on electoral reform in Hong Kong, Beijing's most senior official in the city held a rare meeting with several local lawmakers whose determined push for full democracy had incensed Beijing's communist leaders.

Longform

Ayumi Matsuki, a priestess at Yoshiwara Shrine, shows off some "o-mamori" charms. She says visitors to the shrine have increased since the NHK drama “Unbound” began airing this month.
Tracing Tsutaya Juzaburo, Edo’s media maverick