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EDITORIALS
Jan 13, 2015

Strong-arming Okinawa's governor

A reported Abe administration plan to sharply trim spending on measures to spur Okinawa's economy in fiscal 2015 smacks of an attempt to coerce Okinawa's new governor into ending his resistance to construction of a new U.S. military facility in the prefecture.
BUSINESS
Jan 12, 2015

Administration readies record ¥96 trillion budget

The government will propose a record budget for the 2015 fiscal year of more than ¥96 trillion but cut borrowing for the third year in a row.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 7, 2015

Okinawa development budget may be smaller than requested, Tokyo warns

The central government, irked by the election of a new Okinawa governor opposed to its plan to build a new military base in the Henoko district of Nago, has indicated that the prefecture's development budget for fiscal 2015 could be less than it originally requested.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 5, 2015

Toronto traffic validates carbon tax opposition

For opponents of a carbon tax, traffic in the Greater Toronto Area, which includes fast-growing suburbs, offers plenty of ammunition.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 27, 2014

U.S. high-speed rail plans may ride in Texas

With high-speed rail in the United States long on plans and short on construction, a Texas company is aiming to fast-track service between Dallas and Houston.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 13, 2014

Ahead of near-certain election win, Abe pivots away from painful reforms

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is signaling that retooling Japan's economy with painful structural reforms must take a back seat to reviving growth, even though he is poised to win a big "referendum" on his economic policies in an election Sunday that might set a new record for low turnout.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / DECISION 2014
Dec 11, 2014

Welfare cuts? Abe won't say it

Hiroko Shinohara frets about one issue Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has noticeably avoided on the campaign trail ahead of Sunday's election: the need to cut the nation's generous social welfare program that supports millions of people.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 6, 2014

Orion, NASA's new unmanned spaceship, blasts off for trial run

A U.S. spaceship designed to one day fly astronauts to Mars blasted off Friday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida for a 4½-hour unmanned trial run around Earth.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 5, 2014

NASA scrubs Orion test flight; launch reset for Friday

The launch of NASA's deep-space Orion capsule for a test flight around Earth was delayed on Thursday after a last-minute technical problem with its rocket, NASA said.
EDITORIALS
Nov 24, 2014

Lowering the recidivism rate

The National Police Agency's 2014 white paper shows that the recidivism rate has been on a steady rise since 1997.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2014

Shimomura wants to make English classes mandatory for fifth- and sixth-graders

Education minister Hakubun Shimomura proposes a root-and-branch overhaul of the elementary, junior high and high school curricula.
EDITORIALS
Nov 17, 2014

Okinawan verdict on base plan

The results of the Okinawa gubernatorial election on Sunday is the clearest rejection to date by local voters of the national government's plan to relocate Air Station Futenma.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 15, 2014

As Okinawa votes, Futenma base looms

In an election widely viewed as the final referendum on relocating the U.S. Futenma base within their prefecture, Okinawans prepare to choose a new governor.
EDITORIALS
Oct 31, 2014

Awaiting Okinawans' verdict

As the campaign kicks off for the Nov. 16 Okinawa gubernatorial election, the Abe administration maintains that it will go ahead with land reclamation off the Henoko district of Nago to build a replacement facility for U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, regardless of who wins the race.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 30, 2014

Okinawa gubernatorial election kicks off with four candidates

The Okinawa gubernatorial race kicks off with four candidates in an election that could sink Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's political fortunes and strain military ties with the United States.
Japan Times
WORLD / FOCUS
Oct 29, 2014

Imminent U.S. revamp of nuclear weapons, subs and planes is too costly, some say

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel grabbed a ladder extending through the sleek black hull of the USS Tennessee at a U.S. Navy submarine base in Kings Bay and disappeared down the hatch for a close look at one of the Pentagon's most daunting budget issues.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 14, 2014

As nuclear waste piles up, South Korea faces storage crisis

Among the usual commercials for beer, noodles and cars on South Korean TV, one item stands in marked contrast.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 9, 2014

Toyota supplier Denso mulls domestic expansion in as yen weakens

Denso Corp. is giving Prime Minister Shinzo Abe a reason to believe his weak-yen policy will eventually boost investment by manufacturers.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 24, 2014

Firms revamp menus to tap fruit of Abe's 'womenomics' pledge

While pundits ponder whether women will answer Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's call to join the workforce, businesses are betting on an increase in demand for pizza and wine.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Sep 12, 2014

NASA prepares Orion capsule for debut deep-space test flight

A NASA spacecraft designed to one day fly astronauts to Mars rolled out of its processing hangar at the U.S. space agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday to be prepared for a debut test flight in December.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 28, 2014

JAL orders 32 Mitsubishi Regional Jets

Japan Airlines Co. said Thursday it will buy 32 planes from Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp. to make its fleet more fuel-efficient.
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 28, 2014

NASA says new heavy-lift rocket debut not likely until 2018

NASA's new heavy-lift rocket, designed to fly astronauts to the moon, asteroids and eventually Mars, likely will not have its debut test flight until November 2018, nearly a year later than previous estimates, agency officials said on Wednesday.
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.

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