Search - 2018

 
 
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Dec 25, 2017

Stop pleading for Xi to visit Japan

Abe should focus on long-term objectives in Sino-Japanese ties, not short-term gains.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / HIT AND RUN
Dec 25, 2017

Fighters have to look for successor as Ohtani says goodbye

Generous Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters fans gathered at Sapporo Dome on Christmas Day to put a bow on the present they spent the last five seasons wrapping, one the Los Angeles Angels can't wait to open during spring training.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Dec 25, 2017

V.League hoping to shake up volleyball scene

The name of the new league is nothing fresh, but Japan's top volleyball circuit will shake things up next fall.
Japan Times
Figure Skating
Dec 24, 2017

Shoma Uno defends national title despite free skate struggles

Shoma Uno captured his second straight national title on Sunday night in decisive fashion at Musashino Forest Sports Centre. The young star dominated his opponents at the All-Japan Championships despite struggling in his free skate.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
Dec 24, 2017

Hawks catch break with Yanagita

On one hand, Yuki Yanagita will be one of the most well-paid players in Japan next season. On the other, he'll be kind of a steal.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 24, 2017

Why Japan's universities continue to fall in global rankings

In 2013, the government's council on resuscitation of education called for having at least 10 Japanese universities among global top 100 within a decade. But the target now seems out of reach.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 24, 2017

Pena Nieto under pressure as Mexico murders top 23,000, a record high, in first 11 months of year

According to official data, Mexico this year has registered its highest murder total since modern records began, dealing a fresh blow to President Enrique Pena Nieto's pledge to get gang violence under control with presidential elections due next year.
Japan Times
Figure Skating
Dec 23, 2017

Drama on ice: Satoko Miyahara captures fourth consecutive national title

Satoko Miyahara showed her mettle when the chips were down on Saturday night, coming from second place after the short program to capture her fourth straight national title at the All-Japan Championships at Musashino Forest Sports Centre.
EDITORIALS
Dec 23, 2017

Forestry tax merits scrutiny

Managing the nation's forests is important, but a new government tax to fund such efforts may not be the best choice moving forward.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Dec 23, 2017

'Arabization' of Malaysian religion, culture comes under spotlight

Malaysia's growing ties to Saudi Arabia — and its puritan Salafi-Wahhabi Islamic doctrines — are coming under new scrutiny as concerns grow over an erosion of traditional religious practices and culture in the multiethnic nation.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Dec 23, 2017

A year of discoveries gives scientists something to aim for in 2018

In my round up of this year's science stories I'm going to choose some big ones as well as some stories that made less of an impact but still resonated with me.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 22, 2017

South Korea's Moon promises thorough probe over deadly sauna fire as anger mounts

South Korean President Moon Jae-in comforted mourners in the small scenic city of Jecheon on Friday amid growing public anger at how fire ripped through an eight-story building, killing at least 29 people, most of them taking a sauna.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 22, 2017

While agile startups blaze a trail, Japan remains ambivalent on electric vehicles

Despite growing interest in electric vehicles amid stricter curbs on greenhouse gas emissions, globally renowned Japanese carmakers have yet to totally embrace the challenge — raising concerns they may fall behind emerging rivals.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 22, 2017

Mike Pence makes surprise Kabul visit, assures leaders U.S. will 'see this through'

Vice President Mike Pence made an unannounced trip to Afghanistan to meet its leaders and underscore U.S. commitment to the country four months after President Donald Trump agreed to an open-ended war against insurgents here.
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 21, 2017

North Korean soldier defects to South via DMZ, shows up at guard post in fog

South Korean guards fired warning shots across the heavily militarized border with North Korea on Thursday as a soldier from the North defected, officials said, complicating efforts to ease tensions over Pyongyang’s weapons programs.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 21, 2017

Kansai Electric to decommission Nos. 1 and 2 reactors at Oi plant in Fukui Prefecture

The decision, expected to be officially endorsed Friday, will bring to 14 the number of reactors earmarked to be scrapped since the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 21, 2017

IPhone supplier Murata boosting output of foldable circuits

Murata Manufacturing Co., the exclusive supplier of foldable circuits for Apple Inc.'s new iPhone lineup, is boosting its capacity to build the components on the view that demand will increase next year.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Dec 21, 2017

U.S. EPA says glyphosate not likely to be carcinogenic to people

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has said that glyphosate, the key ingredient in Monsanto Co.'s top-selling weed killer Roundup, is not likely to be carcinogenic to humans, contradicting a World Health Organization panel.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 21, 2017

Fight over Alaska Arctic drilling has just begun, opponents vow

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, won a decadeslong battle on Wednesday to open part of an Arctic wildlife reserve in her state to oil and gas drilling, but Democratic senators and conservationists vow the war has only begun.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 21, 2017

Mangled locomotive, last piece of Amtrak train wreckage, removed from Washington freeway

Workers had cleared all the wrecked train cars blocking a major West Coast highway by Wednesday morning, two days after the Amtrak train derailed in Washington state while speeding onto a bridge, state transportation officials said.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 21, 2017

U.S. aims to slap steep duties of nearly 300% on Bombardier jets after Boeing beef

The U.S. Commerce Department on Wednesday finalized steep anti-subsidy duties on Bombardier Inc.'s CSeries jets, setting up the next round of a fierce international trade dispute between the United States and Canada.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 20, 2017

Asahi to sell its stake in China's Tsingtao for $941 million

Asahi Group Holdings Ltd. agreed to place its stake in Tsingtao Brewery Co. back into Chinese hands, selling its holding to conglomerate Fosun Group and the local brewer for about $941 million.
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 20, 2017

South Korea may delay military drills to after Winter Olympics — if the North behaves

Any delay in joint military drills with the United States would depend on North Korea's behavior during the 2018 Winter Olympics, officials in Seoul said on Wednesday, while a halt to group tours from China suggested Beijing is still wary.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 20, 2017

Working in the film industry as a non-Japanese has its own challenges

Japan is home to one of the most lucrative movie industries in the world, and also one of the most prolific: 1,149 films received a theatrical release during 2016, over 600 of which were domestic productions. It can be hard to stand out in such a crowded marketplace and the challenges are often compounded...

Longform

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