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Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 28, 2014

Output soars most since 2011 ahead of tax hike

The nation's industrial production in January grew the most since 2011, indicating the economy is strengthening as a looming consumption tax bump stimulates demand, while inflation matched the highest level in more than five years.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 27, 2014

Warm January sees Japan flooding Asia with kerosene exports

The mildest winter in four years is prompting Japan to export its biggest volume of kerosene in a quarter century, squeezing profits for Asian refiners while cutting fuel expenses for airlines.
JAPAN
Feb 21, 2014

Abe adviser says WSJ article on military buildup is false

Etsuro Honda, a key economic adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, denies stressing that one of the main goals of 'Abenomics' is for Japan to build up a more powerful military and stand up to China, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.
JAPAN / BULLETIN BOARD
Feb 19, 2014

Tokyo University to host symposiums on Fukushima crisis

The University of Tokyo will hold symposiums on March 9 and 11 on its Hongo campus to mark the third anniversary of the triple meltdowns at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 17, 2014

Waging cyberwarfare by the rules

The news that a highly sophisticated malware program called Mask has spent the last six years stealing valuable intelligence from supposedly secure government and diplomatic computers around the world prompts the question: At what point does a cyberattack become an act of war?
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 16, 2014

Playing the Japanese name game

Once, when telephoning the international PR office of a major electronics manufacturer, I got lucky. Without my even asking, the young woman who picked up the phone volunteered her name, saying 私は青木と申します (Watashi wa Aoki to mōshimasu, My name is Aoki). Actually it sounded more like...
EDITORIALS
Feb 11, 2014

Food safety measures fall short

The case of intentional food contamination by an employee at a subsidiary of Maruha Nichiro Holdings Inc. has exposed shortcomings in the product safety measures taken by Japanese food makers.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Feb 8, 2014

Yuichiro Miura: on top of the world

Ever wondered what it feels like to stand on top of the world? Eighty-one-year-old alpinist Yuichiro Miura should know: He's done it three times since turning 70. He became the oldest person to scale the world's tallest peak, Mount Everest, in May last year, a remarkable feat that spurred the government...
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 31, 2014

Diet grills NHK boss on remarks

In a bid to dodge criticism that he is unqualified to lead NHK, its embattled president, Katsuto Momii, tells the Diet the contentious remarks at his first official press conference were not the broadcaster's official views but his own.
WORLD
Jan 26, 2014

Former leader reignites simmering debate about his role in Iraq conflict

Tony Blair reignited the debate about the West's response to terrorism Sunday, with a call on governments to recognize that religious extremism has become the biggest source of conflict around the world.
EDITORIALS
Jan 18, 2014

More workers taking vacation

A group of companies in Japan are starting to buck the trend of making workers feel guilty for taking the full amount of vacation days to which they are entitled — and for good reason.
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Jan 12, 2014

Washoku added to UNESCO heritage list

Washoku, traditional Japanese cuisine, has been added to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list, raising the government's hopes of enhancing its global recognition, attracting more foreign tourists and boosting exports of the country's agricultural products.
EDITORIALS
Jan 7, 2014

LDP's secrecy law propaganda

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party is rebutting newspaper articles that have criticized the recently enacted state secrets protection law. But its documented arguments are far from convincing.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jan 5, 2014

Wolf numbers surge across Europe

A twig snaps, a crow calls, but nothing moves in the dense pine forests of Spain's Guadarrama mountains. Vultures and eagles soar over the snowcapped peaks and wild boars roam the valleys below, as they have for centuries. But for the farmers who work this land, a threatening and worrying comeback is...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 2, 2014

The conspicuous tendency to wish China well

If China fails and falls, the rest of the world will suffer more than a headache or a short-term setback. We need to be cautious about pessimism that might fuel self-fulfilling prophecy.
Japan Times
SPORTS
Jan 1, 2014

The most viewed sports stories of 2013

The sports story most read online in the year in which Japan won the bid for the 2020 Olympics should come as no surprise. Baseball fans had plenty to celebrate, and figure-skating followers had no shortage of drama. Let's hope to see some Sochi gold medals in this round-up next year.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 31, 2013

Abe's quest to revive, reshape nation rides on the economy

Just six months ago, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was riding high after his party swept the Upper House election. Now things aren't looking so rosy.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 31, 2013

Failed predictions: President Romney, Pope Dolores

Humanity's faith in predictions was tested around this time a year ago when the floods, famines and other disasters predicted by the end of the ancient Maya calendar failed to materialize.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 25, 2013

Top billings of 2013

Although all Japan's 50 reactors have been shut down since September, cleaning up in the wake of the March 2011 meltdowns at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant is making very slow progress and tens of thousands of people still live in temporary accommodation or are internally displaced. In addition,...
BASEBALL
Dec 25, 2013

Tanaka given chance to pursue dream in majors

Major League Baseball fans and executives finally found what they were looking for under the Christmas tree.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 20, 2013

Dictatorship of the majority

Japanese civic movements conspicuously picked up steam to oppose the state secrets bill just before its enactment into law, illustrating that many Japanese voters become critical of the Abe administration when it takes up issues other than the economy.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 18, 2013

U.S. considers military trial for Russian detainee

The Obama administration is actively considering the use of a military commission in the United States to try a Russian who was captured fighting with the Taliban several years ago and has been held by the U.S. military at a detention facility near Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan, former and current...
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 17, 2013

So far, so good for 'Abenomics'

Give the first year of 'Abenomics' an 'E' for effort, as the 'third arrow' of the plan — long-term growth strategy — cannot yet be fairly assessed. Hopefully bureaucratic resistance to deregulation will soften in the coming year.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 12, 2013

HIV/AIDS cases rising in Mideast, North Africa

Although the Mideast and North Africa has just 2 percent of the world's HIV caseload, it is one of two regions with the fastest growing HIV/AIDS infection rate.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 9, 2013

Major U.S. tech companies call for strict limits on surveillance

Eight of America's largest technology companies have called on President Barack Obama and Congress to impose strict new curbs on surveillance that, if enacted, would dramatically reshape intelligence operations that U.S. officials have portrayed as integral to the war on terrorism.

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan