Search - 2013

 
 
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 14, 2014

Automakers luring Japan's interest-hungry banks to Mexico

Investments by Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. that look set to make Mexico the biggest car exporter to the U.S. are giving Japanese banks a chance to escape from the world's lowest yields.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 11, 2014

Obama gambles by slashing defense spending

The Obama administration's 2015 military budget cuts may embolden potential adversaries and abet miscalculation.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 7, 2014

Mending Japan-S. Korea ties

The downward spiral in relations between Tokyo and Seoul over history issues cannot continue. But both should not expect the U.S. to mediate their dispute.
EDITORIALS
Mar 7, 2014

Enormous tasks ahead for China

As Premier Li Keqiang kicks off the National People's Congress, Japan, for its part, needs to think about developing a coolheaded strategy for dealing with perceived Chinese territorial and political provocations.
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2014

University of Tokyo still Asia's top-ranked institution of learning: survey

The University of Tokyo remained the most prestigious Asian institution of higher education in an annual university reputation survey released Wednesday.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 1, 2014

J. League seeks to widen scope in Asia

As two decades have now elapsed since its inception, the J. League is entering a new era.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League / 2014 J. LEAGUE PREVIEW
Feb 28, 2014

Cerezo looking to end Sanfrecce stranglehold

The following is the second of a two-part preview for the upcoming J. League season. Team-by-team previews of the nine highest-ranking teams competing in the first division are listed.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 26, 2014

Flying high, but not quite buzzing

I have vivid childhood memories of two circuses: Ringling Brothers and Shrine. The latter was a delightfully shabby affair held in an old auditorium where audiences sat on concrete bleachers that were occasionally adorned with tacky plastic chairs. There were lots of animals, and the holding areas outside...
EDITORIALS
Feb 13, 2014

Pork-filled supplementary budget

The Diet's passage last week of a ¥5.465 trillion supplementary budget for fiscal 2013 is deceptive as it includes items that an expert panel had recommended eliminated from the fiscal 2014 budget last fall because they were deemed wasteful.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 10, 2014

Sino-American trade and investment friction

In recent years, U.S. exports to China have been growing faster than Chinese exports to the U.S. Similarly Chinese investment in the U.S. is growing faster than U.S. investment in China. Trade frictions are inevitable.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Feb 1, 2014

Japan: Why kill whales off Antarctica?

The Japanese whaling fleet — this year just a factory ship, three catchers and what is being called a "surveillance" vessel — left Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture in secret on Dec. 9, 2013 bound for the Southern Ocean and its annual hunt that will keep it away from home through March.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 27, 2014

Yamaha hits Indonesia target for motorcycles

Yamaha Motor Co., the world's second-largest motorcycle maker, said it probably met a reduced 2013 sales target in Indonesia and expects to at least maintain the level of deliveries in its largest market this year.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 25, 2014

'Abe-genda': nuclear export superpower

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is now in New Delhi to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the founding of the Indian Republic. His presence speaks volumes about closer diplomatic, security and economic ties and, at least from Tokyo's perspective, a common agenda on responding to the rise of China. India remains...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 21, 2014

Kobe's tofubeats moves from blogs to the big time

Like many kids growing up in the 1990s, Yusuke Kawai's initial brush with the World Wide Web happened in elementary school.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jan 18, 2014

Giants' Terauchi shows importance of putting smile on fans' faces

Professional athletes have been known to have different attitudes when dealing with fans. Autograph-seekers have been told, "Take a hike, son" by players in a bad mood or on a bad day.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 14, 2014

Markets take a back seat under gesture liberalism

Building the Volt hybrid car was bailed-out General Motors' gesture of obeisance to its Washington masters when, in fact, U.S. auto sales have cruised back to 2007 levels thanks to Americans' fondness for pickup trucks and SUVs.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 13, 2014

Boosting the global economy

Although we have avoided the worst-case depressioin scenario over the past five years, thanks to the efforts of global policymakers, the world economy is not yet flying on all engines and is likely to remain underpowered this year as well, says the IMF managing director.
EDITORIALS
Jan 11, 2014

Perilous times for journalists

Given its recent enactment of the state secrets protection law, how soon will Japan start to appear on the annual lists of imprisoned journalists put out by the Committee to Protect Journalists?
Japan Times
PRESS / Services
Jan 10, 2014

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COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 6, 2014

Abe squandering good will

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's weakening public standing doesn't bode well for the 'third arrow' of his economic plan — lower trade barriers, less regulation and a greater embrace of free-market principles.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 6, 2014

Obama's Asian 'pivot' went flying off like a divot

Even in Washington-centric Washington, President Barack Obama gets the award for having the worst year in Asia. His 'pivot to Asia' looked more like a divot.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jan 4, 2014

Cash, sex, the mob? Weeklies seek clues in gyōza king's killing

Just when it was starting to look like 2013 would end with minimal gun violence in Japan, two socially prominent individuals were shot dead in the space of two days.
COMMENTARY
Jan 4, 2014

China risking a debt crisis from localities

Although the odds this year of a full-blown financial crisis in China are slim, they're not nonexistent. The flash point is the burgeoning debt of localities to finance infrastructure.
COMMENTARY
Dec 30, 2013

The distributional challenge

Assessing the recent past and looking forward to the near term may well be a necessary exercise when it comes to the global economy in 2013 and 2014.
CULTURE / Music
Dec 24, 2013

Japanese indie bands to watch out for in 2014

While the Oricon charts tend to look more or less the same (perhaps a little worse) year in year out, the indie scene remains a haven of small delights, with new discoveries constantly cropping up to brighten your day. Here are five discoveries from 2013 that would be well worth keeping an eye out for...

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?