Search - 2017

 
 
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Apr 2, 2018

EPA chief Scott Pruitt under more pressure after conflict-of-interest condo reports: lawmakers

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt may not survive long in his job after reports that he paid below market rate to live in a condo owned by a lobbyist who deals with issues overseen by his agency, lawmakers and a former Trump official said in television interviews on Sunday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Apr 1, 2018

Japan's Supreme Court orders a child be sent home in a Hague parental abduction case. Maybe.

Defanged habeas corpus grew some teeth in last month's Nagoya international custody ruling, but the problem of toothless enforcement remains.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Apr 1, 2018

China says Tiangong 1 space station to re-enter Earth's atmosphere on Monday

China's Tiangong 1 spacecraft will re-enter the Earth's atmosphere at some point on Monday, China's space agency said in a statement.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Mar 31, 2018

Kirin's 'Grapefruit Dog' is a refreshingly tasty take on the classic Salty Dog

Kirin has been going global recently. In 2017, the drink maker introduced an international-themed line of drinks to their main line of chūhai (shōchū and soda) beverages, featuring flavors inspired by far flung locations such as Havana, Barcelona and Texas.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 31, 2018

New definition of beer gives Japanese breweries license to change

Japan will change its legal definition of beer on Sunday, allowing its lager-laden breweries to finally diversify and reinvigorate the stale market.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 31, 2018

China to spend $300 million on improved irrigation in southern Xinjiang

The Chinese government will spend 1.875 billion yuan ($299 million) to improve irrigation systems in the heavily ethnic Uighur southern part of the violence-prone far western region of Xinjiang, state news agency Xinhua said on Saturday.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 30, 2018

How Seoul raced to conclude U.S. trade deal ahead of North Korea denuclearization summit

South Korean trade officials braved snowstorms, ate instant noodles to save time and spent weeks hotel-hopping in Washington as they raced to overcome major trade hurdles with their U.S. ally ahead of high-stakes nuclear discussions with North Korea.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 30, 2018

Japan can end child marriage at home, and help end it abroad

Japan is joining this important global fight by setting the minimum marriage age at 18. As the world's third-largest economy, Japan should not stop there.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 30, 2018

Bank of Japan's bid to taper by stealth made tougher by supercharged yen

The Bank of Japan is finding out just how hard it is to be stealthy — when everyone is looking right at you.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 30, 2018

Robots making inroads in Japan's elder care facilities, but costs still high

Paro the furry seal cries softly while an elderly woman pets it. Pepper, a humanoid, waves while leading a seniors' exercise group. The upright Tree guides a disabled man taking shaky steps, saying in a gentle feminine voice, "right, left, well done!"
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 30, 2018

Toshiba set to miss deadline on ¥2 trillion chip sale, pushing back Bain Capital deal by at least a month

After waiting more than a year to learn the fate of its memory chip business, Toshiba Corp. investors are going to have to hold on a little longer.
BUSINESS
Mar 29, 2018

Toyota-Suzuki alliance deepens as both agree to sell each other's vehicles in India

Toyota Motor Corp. and Suzuki Motor Corp. agreed to sell each other's hybrid cars and other vehicles in India, deepening an alliance between the automakers.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 29, 2018

Kiyoshi Koyama: A life lived with jazz

"I have lived a life alongside jazz," says Kiyoshi Koyama, jazz critic, journalist and radio host. This is apparent on a recent visit to his home in Chiba Prefecture, where he and his wife live surrounded by walls of neatly organized records, CDs, books and other archives — a lifetime of research and...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 29, 2018

Unregulated ICOs threaten funding source for startups

The rising cryptocurrency boom has sparked a fundraising scheme called initial coin offerings that have become a money-pumping machine for startups but also have a problematic reputation.
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Mar 29, 2018

How will Kim tell his country he's ready to give up nuclear arms?

State media calls North Korea's nuclear weapons a "treasured sword of justice."
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 28, 2018

Abe's best chance for survival as LDP chief lies in his diplomatic skills

The passage of a record-high 2018 spending budget brings to closure a first half year in the Diet that saw the prime minister's approval rating nosedive.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 28, 2018

Mitsubishi Materials group firm covered up data falsification even after internal probe found misconduct

According to a final report, Diamet Corp. neglected final product quality tests and modified specification data when they did not meet figures agreed upon with clients.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 28, 2018

Where there's smoke, there's death

With passive smoking claiming 15,000 lives a year, there is no room for the government to compromise on measures to protect the public.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 28, 2018

Mystery no more: North Korea's Kim meets Xi, says he's 'willing' to talk with Trump

North Korea's young leader, Kim Jong Un, has made an unannounced visit to China at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, state media confirmed Wednesday, apparently saying for the first time just weeks before a possible meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump that he is "willing" to sit down...
Japan Times
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Mar 27, 2018

Wakaba Higuchi seizes on defining moment at worlds

"Man looks in the abyss, there's nothing staring back at him. At that moment, man finds his character. And that is what keeps him out of the abyss."
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 27, 2018

NRA's blunders fueled the gun-safety marches

The gun lobby created the movement that threatens to swamp it.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 27, 2018

Michiko Kon: Mistress of the dark

The abominable beauty of Michiko Kon's work is back.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 27, 2018

Amid tourism rise, Tsushima Island could play evacuation role if tensions flare with North Korea

Within sight of the bright lights and bustling beaches of Busan, sleepy Tsushima Island has little in common with its neighbor located a mere 50 kilometers north, but the island of about 31,000 people has recently become a hot spot for South Korean tourists.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 27, 2018

U.S. Republicans press for F-35 fighter jet sale to Taiwan so island can 'remain a democracy'

Two senior U.S. Republican senators asked the Trump administration on Monday to allow the sale of Lockheed Martin Corp. F-35 fighter jets to Taiwan, saying it would help it "remain a democracy" in the face of threats from China.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Mar 26, 2018

Japan tries to tackle health problems of aging homeless

Public and private efforts are gathering pace to address the increase in the number of elderly homeless Japanese.

Longform

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