Search - 2014

 
 
EDITORIALS
Sep 4, 2013

Slash wasteful government spending

The Liberal Democratic Party has not learned from its past policy reliance on pork-barrel projects, which caused the national debt to soar.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jul 23, 2013

Obama's toughest campaign yet: selling health care reform

Deep inside the White House, in a bare room that the chief of staff uses for meetings, David Simas is still thinking about turnout.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 17, 2013

Obama's timid budget evades basic choices

There is something profoundly timid about U.S. President Barack Obama's proposed budget for 2014. He's evading basic choices while claiming he's bold and brave.
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Apr 5, 2013

Kuroda's strategy follows in footsteps of U.S., Europe

Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda has followed the lead of his U.S. and European counterparts in swinging from incremental moves to unprecedented stimulus.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 18, 2013

Karzai embarks on a high-stakes quest for Afghan sovereignty

As Afghanistan's second presidential election loomed in early 2009, President Hamid Karzai described his once-genial relationship with the U.S. as a "gentle wrestling match" that he hoped to win.
JAPAN / TOHOKU TRAPPED IN TIME
Mar 10, 2013

Plummeting debris estimates belie pleas for disposal aid

In the weeks after March 11, 2011, what to do with the mountains of debris that had once been people's homes and possessions before the quake and tsunami, and how to do it quickly, cheaply and safely, became the top priority of the cleanup effort in Tohoku.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 9, 2012

Candidates want you to forget the Afghan war

Here's some news that both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney would like you to ignore: Tens of thousands of American soldiers are at war this summer in Afghanistan.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 18, 2012

'Picking' a winner in Afghanistan

American debates over the war in Afghanistan tend to focus on how fast we can get our troops home and whether we can work with President Hamid Karzai's government to negotiate a peace deal with the Taliban. But at least as important to whether the country will hold together, and whether a return of the...
COMMENTARY
Jan 21, 2012

Escaping Afghanistan, the graveyard of empires

Since coming to office, President Barack Obama has pursued an Afghan war strategy summed up in just four words: "surge, bribe and run." The U.S.-led military mission has now entered the "run" part, or what euphemistically is being called the "transition to 2014" — the year Obama arbitrarily chose as...
BUSINESS
Dec 20, 2011

As local sales shrink, Sapporo looks to hike Vietnam beer output fivefold

Sapporo Holdings Ltd., the nation's fourth-largest brewer by volume, intends to increase beer production as much as fivefold in Vietnam by 2019 as a shrinking population at home crimps demand.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 15, 2011

The upper hand on post-U.S. Afghan stability

All regional players are struggling to come to terms with the withdrawal of NATO-led Western forces from Afghanistan by the end of 2014. Early this month, Istanbul became the latest venue where 12 regional states and the Afghan government came together to try again to agree on ways of bringing some semblance...
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Jun 23, 2011

Japan, U.S. can't manage to shake Futenma headache

High-level security talks between Japan and the United States held Tuesday in Washington canceled the 2014 deadline to move the contentious Futenma air base in Okinawa and highlighted the main issue that is likely to continue complicating the bilateral relationship.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 16, 2023

‘Bangkok Spring’ sets up showdown over role of Thai monarchy

The push to directly change laws affecting the monarchy breaks a longstanding taboo — even the suggestion of disloyalty to the palace has been grounds for a military coup.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Jan 5, 2023

War in Ukraine highlights importance of cutting-edge technology in conflict

Deployment of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies are key to progress in military conflicts.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 4, 2023

How pro-Putin operatives in Germany work to turn Berlin against Ukraine

Several million Russian speakers live in Germany, a legacy of Soviet ties to Communist East Germany and decades of German dependency on Russian gas.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 25, 2022

Putin wants fealty, and he’s found it in Africa

With his invasion of Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin of Russia unleashed a new disorder on the world. And in the Central African Republic, Moscow already has its way.
SOCCER / World cup
Nov 21, 2022

Japan must brave challenging climb to reach lofty ambitions at World Cup

Japan has set its sights on the quarterfinals in Qatar but may need to go through two former champions to get there.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / Longform
Oct 24, 2022

Battle to stop Kagoshima seawall highlights divide over coastal engineering

Seawalls are a fixture of Japanese coasts, but one beach on the island of Amami Oshima is fighting against the tide.
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 22, 2022

How water has been weaponized in Ukraine

Recent attacks have disrupted electricity across large parts of Ukraine, leaving some places without access to clean water.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 30, 2022

Energy crisis sires new European order: a strong Italy and ailing Germany

Germany has been caught wholly unprepared and is on the brink of recession, as its industry is preparing for gas and power rationing and as it has just nationalized a major utility.
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 26, 2022

Russia begins mobilizing Ukrainians to fight against their own country

The drive to compel Ukrainians to battle other Ukrainians is part of a broader, if risky, effort by Moscow to mobilize hundreds of thousands of new fighters.
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 23, 2022

Russia starts annexation vote in parts of Ukraine

The results are seen as a foregone conclusion in favor of annexation, and Ukraine and its allies have already made clear they will not recognize the results.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Sep 22, 2022

The war in Ukraine offers valuable lessons on changing global relations

With Sweden and Finland applying to join NATO, and other countries getting closer to Russia, the conflict has had a significant effect on international politics.
Japan Times
WORLD
Aug 17, 2022

Ukraine strikes again in Crimea, challenging Russian hold on peninsula

Ukrainian attacks in Crimea represent a growing challenge to Putin, with the peninsula's security key to Russia's military effort — and to Putin's political standing at home.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 7, 2022

In turbulent times, Xi builds a security fortress for China, and himself

Taiwan, COVID-19, “color revolutions,” the classroom: everywhere, China's leader sees threats that foreign forces can exploit, and he has enlisted the whole nation to defend against them.
Japan Times
EDITORIALS
Jul 22, 2022

An ice skating superstar steps down

Yuzuru Hanyu, who recently announced his retirement, redefined the sport of skating.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 20, 2022

Putin’s war: The 'essence of miscalculation'

Russian President Vladimir Putin's disastrous Ukraine invasion is likely the result of the wrong lessons learned from his earlier and easier successful military ventures.
Figure Skating
Jul 19, 2022

In pictures: The brilliant competitive career of Yuzuru Hanyu

Moments from the brilliant career of figure-skating superstar Yuzuru Hanyu.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.