Search - 2012

 
 
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 16, 2014

Power play: the debate over renewable energy

On Aug. 26, 2011, the same day that Prime Minister Naoto Kan resigned after widespread criticism of his handling of the meltdowns at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant that followed the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, the Diet passed legislation that created a new feed-in...
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Aug 14, 2014

Shiga brings in veteran Parmer to boost bid for title

Versatile forward Jeff Parmer has been one of the bj-league's most consistent winners during his four seasons in the fledgling circuit.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 12, 2014

Crzkny unites artists against nuclear power

Electronic-music producer Kenji Takikawa's work took a major detour following the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 3, 2014

China's Xi likely to promote PLA general who exposed graft

President Xi Jinping is likely to promote a corruption whistle-blower to China's top military decision-making body to underscore his determination to tackle graft inside the country's rapidly modernizing armed forces, two sources said.
EDITORIALS
Jun 19, 2014

Political earthquake in Virginia

The primary election defeat of the second-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives by an unheralded economics professor upends the conventional wisdom that the tea party had slid into oblivion.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 17, 2014

Deutsche execs knew of unchecked wining, dining: FSA

A pattern of spending on hostess bars and overseas junkets for local pension fund officials went unchecked by senior managers at Deutsche Bank's Japanese securities arm, who failed to prevent or turned a blind eye to expenses that could be prosecuted as bribery, previously undisclosed details of a regulatory...
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 11, 2014

N.Y. plan for fleet of Nissan taxis ruled legal

New York's plan for a new fleet of cabs from Nissan Motor Co. is legal, an appeals court ruled, overturning an earlier judgment that said the city's Taxi and Limousine Commission had overstepped its authority by requiring owners to buy a specific vehicle.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Apr 28, 2014

Money trail leads to Putin's circle

Outside a Moscow stadium one night in 2006, deputy central banker Andrei Kozlov was walking to his car after playing soccer when two men opened fire, pumping bullets into his head and neck and also killing his driver.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 16, 2014

Arts Council Tokyo sets its sights high

"For decades, many people involved in the arts — including producers, creators, administrators and academics — were pointing to the need for an overall arts-policy body in Tokyo, and finally Arts Council Tokyo came into being in November 2012," its program director, Yuko Ishiwata, noted with some...
COMMUNITY / Voices
Apr 9, 2014

Post-Fukushima reform throws up a few surprises

The magnitude-9 earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on March 11, 2011, devastated the northeast, killing more than 15,000 people and causing level 7 meltdowns at three reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. Observers believed the sheer size of the catastrophe and its subsequent effects...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 30, 2014

Chinese grabs $14.5 billion in assets linked to Zhou probe

Chinese authorities have seized assets worth at least 90 billion yuan ($14.5 billion) from family members and associates of retired domestic security czar Zhou Yongkang, who is at the center of China's biggest corruption scandal in more than six decades, two sources said.
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Mar 30, 2014

Kaoru Yosano, liberal patriot

Some people's traits are not recognized for a long time even by those close to them. One such person is Kaoru Yosano, a 75-year-old former Lower House member — and a liberal politician full of patriotic fervor.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 28, 2014

Inose admits using Tokushukai cash for election; prosecutors file charges

In a sudden reversal, former Tokyo Gov. Naoki Inose admitted Friday that the ¥50 million loan he received from the Tokushukai hospital group was intended to get him through the 2012 gubernatorial election.
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 21, 2014

Massive solar blasts missed Earth by days

Fierce solar blasts that could have badly damaged electrical grids and disabled satellites in space narrowly missed Earth in 2012, U.S. researchers said.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 14, 2014

Will Putin's Crimea gamble backfire?

Although Russia could acquire Crimea, Russian President Vladimir Putin might not be able to keep Ukraine in Moscow's economic orbit. The crisis might have accelerated Ukraine's reorientation westward.
SOCCER / J. League / 2014 J. LEAGUE PREVIEW
Feb 27, 2014

Gamba looking for payback

The following is the first of a two-part preview for the upcoming J. League season. Team-by-team previews of the nine lowest-ranked teams competing in the first division are listed.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Feb 23, 2014

Chinese schooling wins praise — but not from nation's parents or educators

The streets surrounding Shijia primary school in Beijing were mobbed by a crowd of parents so dense that cars were obliged to beat a retreat.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 12, 2014

Japan goes back to the future to affirm energy 'foundation'

The Japanese government's recently released draft Basic Energy Plan goes as close as possible to preserving the pre-Fukushima nuclear status quo, event with all nuclear power plants currently closed down and public opinion still strongly in favor of a nuclear phase-out.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 8, 2014

Sake boom revives rice types as Abe eyes exports

Farmers on Japan's west coast will sow Nihonbare rice this year for the first time in a decade as growers around the country return to older varieties to meet demand for record sake exports.
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Dec 24, 2013

Familiar obstacles stymie change in domestic music industry

While the Japanese music industry ended last year on a promise of change, 2013 has highlighted a few of the ingrained practices that are going to be a little bit more difficult to dislodge.
EDITORIALS
Dec 20, 2013

Inose must still come clean

Tokyo Gov. Naoki Inose's announcement of his intention to resign does not relieve him of the public duty to explain why he received a so-called ¥50 million loan from a scandal-tainted hospital operator group without having to put up collateral or pay interest.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 19, 2013

Acura gets U.S. twist in bid for pizazz

Honda Motor Co.'s No. 2 executive, asked to identify the automaker's weak spot, spoke bluntly: Acura luxury sedans have to get better.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 11, 2013

Japanese makers play catch-up in smartphone market

In 2013, Japan's smartphone industry faced the shocking news that NEC Corp. and Panasonic Corp. were withdrawing from making those handsets for consumers.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 25, 2013

With rapid growth imperiled, China at a crossroads

China remains a colossus, but its future is increasingly clouded.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 18, 2013

Japan Inc. doubles profit on quick cost-cutting moves

Companies that made tough decisions about exiting businesses, closing factories and revamping management led to a doubling of corporate earnings last quarter, now at the highest level since 2007.

Longform

A man offers prayers at Hebikubo Shrine in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward. The shrine is one of several across the country dedicated to the snake.
Shed your skin and reinvent yourself in the Year of the Snake