Search - 2013

 
 
EDITORIALS
May 9, 2013

Inflation goal kills BOJ flexibility

The Bank of Japan should not stick to its 2 percent inflation goal at the expense of flexibility in its monetary policy. The goal also could cause undesirable side effects.
BASKETBALL
May 8, 2013

Griner signs with Chinese team

Center Brittney Griner, selected No. 1 in the 2013 WNBA Draft by the Phoenix Mercury will play in China after her first U.S. pro season comes to an end, it was announced last week.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 17, 2013

It's the end of everything as we know it (perhaps)

I hope you had it while you could because, last week, sex ended.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 13, 2013

Catholic priests unmasked: 'God doesn't like boys who cry'

March 13, 2013. The world is waiting. Television screens show days-old footage of cardinals in red and white, processing past Vatican guards into the magnificence of the Sistine Chapel for the papal conclave.
Japan Times
Events / Events In Tokyo
Apr 12, 2013

Tokyo to get a blast of green at Flower Dream

In most of the country, flowers are blooming and spring is well under way. Residents in the concrete jungle that is Tokyo, however, may not get to see many blossoms on their commutes. But this weekend they can make up for it in a big way.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 15, 2013

Classical community unites to celebrate bicentennials of Verdi and Wagner

This year marks the bicentennials of the births of two great composers: Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) and Richard Wagner (1813-83), both giants of the classical music world who brought opera to the peak of its artistic expression in the 19th century.
EDITORIALS
Mar 8, 2013

Pressing tasks for China's new leaders

Xi Jinping will be elected president of China and Li Keqiang will be named premier during the National People's Congress session that has kicked off.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 4, 2013

Italian election gives Europeans a reality check

For a while, Europe's political elites had convinced themselves the worst of the euro crisis had passed. Italy's latest election quashes this optimism.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 26, 2013

Firms go abroad by hiring foreign students here

As Japanese companies continue to look overseas for opportunities to expand, an increasing number are trying to hire foreigners — or what they call "global human resources."
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / BASEBALL BULLET-IN,WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC
Feb 17, 2013

Upcoming WBC sparks excitment for Japanese baseball enthusiasts

It's time once again to gear up for the World Baseball Classic.
COMMENTARY / Japan / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Feb 4, 2013

Abe's 15-month reversal budget fudges cost of swapping people and butter for concrete and guns

The government of Shinzo Abe has just unveiled its budget for fiscal 2013 starting in April. Abe's stated intention was to “radically reset” spending priorities.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Feb 3, 2013

Eagles facing big challenges in bid to make playoffs

Will this be the season the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles make it to the Pacific League Climax Series for the second time in their nine years of existence?
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 23, 2013

BOJ agrees to uphold Abe's 2% inflation target

The Bank of Japan on Tuesday adopted a 2 percent inflation target, caving in to pressure from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, while calling for closer coordination and implementation of bold measures to fight deflation in a joint statement released with the government.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Jan 22, 2013

Readers' views: Skype's downside for teachers; Senkaku and the ICJ; Arudou's ageist attack on Keene; Abe's nuclear folly

Do we really need to know ages? Re: "Osaka: What are your hopes for yourself, Japan and the world in 2013?" (Views From The Street, Jan. 1):
EDITORIALS
Dec 30, 2012

2012: a year of low points

For many people in Japan, the past year felt like a doubly busy year. In 2011, life here seemed to be on hold, waiting for the next earthquake, tsunami or radiation disaster. But by the end of 2012, the regular rhythms, worries and needs of the country started to return to normal. The past year was a...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 22, 2012

Abe's return could ease yen, aid exporters

The economy has shrunk almost 10 percent in the half decade since Shinzo Abe was last prime minister, as a soaring yen hollows out manufacturing. Abe's return may be exporters' best chance yet to halt the damage.
EDITORIALS
Dec 8, 2012

Bridging the pension gap

Because the government is gradually raising the age at which retirees can start receiving the kosei nenkin pension — a pension for corporate workers — it is requiring companies by law from April 2013 to re-employ in principle employees who are age 60 or older and want to continue working, until they...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / FOOD MATTERS
Nov 30, 2012

Japan can learn from the Nordic kitchen

Food production in Japan is not in great shape. For decades, rural populations have dwindled and local farmers have been undercut by imports, at both the cheap and luxury ends of the market. Current plans to open up Japan's famously closed farming market through free-trade pacts sound like a death knell...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / JAPAN-U.S. SEMINAR
Nov 24, 2012

U.S. ties depend on Tokyo's initiative, leadership

Japan-U.S. relations during the second four-year term of U.S. President Barack Obama will depend much on the stability of political leadership in Tokyo, a leading American expert on Japan said during a recent seminar in Tokyo.
BUSINESS
Aug 24, 2012

CBO warns of significant recession if Congress doesn't act to avoid fiscal cliff

The U.S. would be plunged into a significant recession in the first half of next year if Congress fails to avert nearly $500 billion in tax hikes and spending cuts set to hit in January, congressional budget analysts said Wednesday.
EDITORIALS
Apr 12, 2012

Ill-advised hiring cuts

The Noda administration has decided to reduce the number of recruits by government ministries and agencies for fiscal 2013 by 56 percent from the fiscal 2009's level — that is lower than the 70 percent average reduction Deputy Prime Minister Katsuya Okada asked the central bureaucracy to achieve. The...
BUSINESS
Jan 7, 2012

Yamaha joins domestic motorcycle rivals in rush to up capacity in India

Yamaha Motor Co. is joining its Japanese rivals in boosting its motorcycle capacity in India, betting demand from Indians seeking personal transportation will continue.

Longform

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