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Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 5, 2014

Wales minister says nuclear power remains a good investment

While the nation debates the wisdom of restarting its nuclear power plants, the energy source remains central to some nations' investments for tomorrow. The process to construct a new two-reactor facility in Wales has been going as planned, the British province's economy minister said.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Nov 5, 2014

Let's ensure no happy returns to Japan for this vile 'dating coach'

After bragging on a YouTube video about degrading assaults on women in Tokyo, Blanc says he's coming back.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Nov 5, 2014

Does social change in Japan come from the top down or bottom up?

Should bad social habits be thrown out the second-floor window, or patiently cajoled down the stairs and out the front door? Discuss.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 4, 2014

The six years from 2008 show Keynes was right

The main lesson from all the policy experiments conducted worldwide since the 2008 financial crisis is that government decisions on taxes and public spending have turned out to be more important as drivers of economic activity than the monetary experiments with zero interest rates and quantitative easing.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / IEC GENERAL MEETING IN TOKYO
Nov 4, 2014

Raising Asian involvement

Asia has been lagging behind Europe and the U.S. in the standardization of electrical technology, and the trend has been that Western countries have set the standards and Asian ones have followed.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Nov 3, 2014

Redaction of a 'comfort woman' story

One of the Japanese stories sometimes mentioned in the 'comfort women' controversy was written by the late Taijiro Tamura in the spring of 1947. It depicted Korean 'comfort women,' but the U.S. Occupation 'suppressed' it.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Nov 3, 2014

Paradox of politeness: humbling and exalting at same time

Each year in fall, the Bunkachō (文化庁, Agency of Cultural Affairs) publishes the results of its annual opinion poll on the linguistic state of the nation, officially called Kokugo ni Kansuru Yoron Chōsa (国語に関する世論調査, Survey of the National Language). This time, the survey...
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 3, 2014

Wounded Abe grapples with tax jinx after BOJ easing move

Back in April when Shinzo Abe raised the consumption tax, he was betting he could break a jinx that has doomed prime ministers to losing their jobs.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 1, 2014

Debating the merits of lifetime employment

Some years ago I worked for a language-teaching service that offered in-house classes for companies. One client was a major electronics manufacturer, and many of the students were trained engineers assigned to the sales division.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 30, 2014

Funding scandals prompt veiled LDP threat to call snap election

Feeling the heat, Prime Minister Abe tells the opposition to stop revealing his Cabinet's fundraising violations and threatens to call a snap election over the 'obstruction.'
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 28, 2014

Perilous spirit of the times

A gap has emerged between Japanese and foreign media in their appraisal of Japan's political scene. Some overseas media are growing skeptical that Japan is indeed a champion of freedom and democracy.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 27, 2014

Leftist Rousseff narrowly wins second term in Brazil presidential poll

Brazil's leftist president, Dilma Rousseff, narrowly won re-election Sunday after convincing voters that her party's strong record of reducing poverty over the last 12 years was more important than a recent economic slump.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 27, 2014

Ukrainians vote in election likely to strengthen Poroshenko's mandate

Ukrainians voted Sunday in an election that is likely to install a pro-Western parliament and strengthen President Petro Poroshenko's mandate to end separatist conflict in the east, but may fuel tension with Russia.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 26, 2014

As Abe's political ratings fade, top official calls for delay in next sales tax hike

A top government official said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe should delay a planned consumption tax increase, the strongest sign yet that economic weakness is causing concern among those close to Abe ahead of his final decision on the levy.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 26, 2014

Moderate defense of what they call extremism

Few words are less meaningless in political discourse than 'extremism,' as people are extremists only in comparison to what is mainstream at the moment. Today's extremism becomes tomorrow's moderation under a different system.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 24, 2014

Give Abe a break on 'womenomics'

What matters for Japan — after two female ministers resigned this week from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet — is not the number of women in the Cabinet, but whether Japanese women get good jobs en masse.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 22, 2014

Prosecutors set to decide whether to indict Tepco execs over nuclear disaster

The judicial review is unlikely to result in prison terms, legal experts say, but it could drag the company into criminal court, rehashing details of the meltdowns.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues
Oct 20, 2014

Bicultural Japanese baby names can be double the trouble

What do the following names have in common: Ayeisha, December, Eli, Gabrielle, Haruki, Julie, Kaede, Koh, Leon, Louis, Lucia, Luke, Margaret, Olivia, Ryuken, Tobin and Tennis? They are all children's names — all but one the sons and daughters of bicultural couples.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 18, 2014

Hideaki Anno: emotional deconstructionist

With dozens of the renowned filmmaker's works scheduled to be screened at the Tokyo International Film Festival over the next two weeks, we speak to the man behind the 'Evangelion' sci-fi franchise about his apocalyptic influences and prod him on the question that is on every fan's lips
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 18, 2014

Russia, Ukraine near deal on gas supplies after tough Milan talks

Russia and Ukraine made progress on Friday toward resolving a dispute over gas supplies in time for winter, but European leaders said Moscow still has to do much more to prop up a fragile cease-fire and end fighting in eastern Ukraine.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 17, 2014

Rule 1: 'Don't do stupid stuff'

The challenge for the Obama administration as it 'rebalances' toward the Asia-Pacific is that diplomatic and economic interactions lag military ties. That's why a system of trans-Pacific free trade in the region is vital.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
Oct 17, 2014

BIFF 2014 plays down unavoidable controversies

The biggest event of the year for South Korea's film industry is the opening night of the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), which marked its 19th year Oct. 2 to 11. Whether or not they have films screening at the festival, almost all the major Korean movie stars show up and strut the red carpet...
EDITORIALS
Oct 16, 2014

A step backward in Indonesia

The old guard in Indonesia may have lost the fight for the presidency in July, but in the late night hours of the last legislative session, they consolidated their control over local and provincial elections by changing the voting procedures.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 16, 2014

Less meant more to Shunso Hishida

It's no secret that the Japanese art world was going through major changes at the end of the 19th century. On the one hand, there was a flood of Western art styles, called yōga, offering exciting new possibilities, while, on the other, there was a reaction called nihonga, which sought to revitalize...
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 16, 2014

China blocks BBC website as Hong Kong tensions rise

Chinese censors have blocked the website of Britain's national broadcaster, the BBC said in a statement late on Wednesday, as tensions rise in Hong Kong between pro-democracy protesters and police.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Oct 15, 2014

For Americans abroad, old 'Duke' flicks can transport us home

As expats, our Americatown is the corner DVD shop, where we know who we are and have roots.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 14, 2014

Hong Kong a growing thorn in Sino-American relations

Just as China and the U.S. are preparing for another Xi Jinping-Barack Obama summit, this time in Beijing for the annual APEC leaders meeting, China is stepping up charges that Washington is secretly supporting student-led pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 14, 2014

Saudi Arabia's oil enigma

Saudi Arabia is sometimes likened to a central bank managing the global oil market, adding or withdrawing supplies to control prices. But that vastly overstates the degree of influence, let alone control, that the kingdom exercises over the market.

Longform

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