Search - 2013

 
 
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Apr 7, 2014

NPB season too young to accurately identify trends

The NPB season is less than two weeks old, so it's too early to know if anything we've seen so far really has staying power.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 7, 2014

New SDF unit shores up thinly protected cyberborders

Japan has embarked on an effort to improve cybersecurity as an ever-increasing number of sophisticated computer viruses threaten to endanger national security.
EDITORIALS
Apr 7, 2014

Taiwan's 'sunflowers' bloom

A student-led occupation of the Taiwanese government's legislature to protest a cross-strait trade agreement — which is the centerpiece of President Ma Ying-jeou's political and economic agenda — enters its third week.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 7, 2014

Pope and Xi Jinping should be sharing notes

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Pope Francis would seem like natural enemies. Yet, these world leaders should really be sharing notes as their tasks of late are surprisingly similar.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Apr 7, 2014

Jeb Bush says illegal immigration to the U.S. often 'an act of love'

Jeb Bush, a potential Republican presidential candidate in 2016, said Sunday that illegal immigrants who come to the United States to provide for their families are not committing a felony but an "act of love."
Japan Times
JAPAN / GENERATIONAL CHANGE
Apr 6, 2014

Human rights champ Doi battles social injustice in Japan

Many Japanese view human rights violations as the problems of people in a distant world, but Kanae Doi is battling to change that perception.
JAPAN
Apr 5, 2014

Host clubs: a hotbed of human trafficking

The Japanese host. You can see them on the streets of Tokyo's Kabukicho: the dapper thin men with colored, blown-dry hair, fake suntans, snazzy suits and charming smiles, chatting up passing females and trying to get them to come and have drinks. They've been the subject of documentaries, television...
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Apr 5, 2014

Umeno has chance to make presence felt

One of the more interesting young players in Japanese baseball this season and in years to come should be Hanshin Tigers rookie catcher Ryutaro Umeno. The 24-year-old native of Fukuoka Prefecture was Hanshin's No. 4 choice in the autumn 2013 amateur draft but got some playing time during last month's...
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 5, 2014

U.S. election donations cap removed by ruling

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down the overall cap on federal election contributions is sending ripples across American politics, as states have begun backing away from their own restrictions on donations and lawyers are forecasting a new wave of challenges to campaign finance laws nationwide....
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 5, 2014

North Korea envoy tells world 'wait and see' on new nuclear test

North Korea said Friday that the world will have to "wait and see" when asked for details of "a new form" of nuclear test it threatened to carry out after the United Nations Security Council condemned Pyongyang's recent ballistic missile launch.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 4, 2014

U.S. presses Japan on TPP compromises

The United States pressed Japan on Thursday to open its farm and auto markets to overseas competition and said it cannot expect special treatment in a Pacific free trade pact covering one-third of global imports and exports.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Apr 4, 2014

Caracas poor find haven in 'skyscraper slum'

It boasts a helicopter landing pad, glorious views of the Avila mountain range, and large balconies for weekend barbecues.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Apr 4, 2014

Chubu airport retools to attract foreign tourists

Chubu Centrair International Airport in Nagoya has started various new services to cater to foreign visitors, including new bus services to the city, tourist information and announcements in Chinese and Korean.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Apr 4, 2014

Mourinho's criticism hurting Chelsea's fragile strikers

Jose Mourinho did not mention Fernando Torres by name, but had what he said been in flashing neon lights the Chelsea manager's message could not have been clearer.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 4, 2014

Abe's immigrant dream is a wage nightmare

Prime Miniser Shinzo Abe wants to import 200,000 foreign workers a year into Japan to counter the decline in the population. But the gambit might work at cross-purposes with his push to get companies to increase wages.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 4, 2014

Lebanon marks "devastating" milestone with millionth refugee

The number of Syrian refugees who have fled to Lebanon officially topped 1 million on Thursday, highlighting the growing humanitarian catastrophe caused by Syria's civil war and the huge burden placed on its poorly prepared neighbors.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Apr 4, 2014

U.S. denies it created Twitter-like service in Cuba to foment unrest

The U.S. government created a service similar to Twitter in Cuba in a "discreet" operation intended to promote democracy on the communist-ruled island, officials said Thursday, but denied that the $1.2 million effort was aimed at fomenting unrest.
MORE SPORTS
Apr 4, 2014

Japan launches national marathon teams

Call it "Running Samurai" or "Nadeshiko Runners."
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 2, 2014

Mori Building, LVMH to invest ¥83 billion in Ginza retail development

Mori Building Co., Japan's biggest closely held developer by sales, and LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, the world's largest luxury-goods maker, will form part of a group developing a retail and office complex in central Tokyo, in a bid to cash in on expectations of increasing consumer spending leading...
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 1, 2014

Abe eases weapons export rules

The Cabinet approves eased principles and guidelines for weapons exports, ending a strict ban that lasted nearly 50 years as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sets the stage for Japan to play a more active role in global security.
EDITORIALS
Apr 1, 2014

Watanabe should come clean

Your Party chief Yoshimi Watanabe's lame excuse that he borrowed ¥800 million for individual rather than political expenses from a cosmetics firm chairman only adds to people's distrust of politicians.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 1, 2014

The bitcoin rhapsody to continue

Attempts to save on remittance fees by using bitcoins could lead to an addiction, which in turn risks the loss of one's savings.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 1, 2014

The Affordable Care Act isn't Obama's 'Iraq'

The new signup numbers — 6 million and counting — on the U.S. Affordable Care Act exchanges make it clear that the roll-out of the bungled federal website didn't destroy the law and probably didn't cost President Barack Obama much in lasting public opinion.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 31, 2014

Shoppers flock to stores ahead of sales tax hike

Consumers flock to stores to make last-minute purchases of luxury and sundry goods ahead of the first sales tax hike in 17 years.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 31, 2014

Gulf widens between Qatar and its neighbors

Saudi Arabia's recent decision to withdraw its ambassador from Qatar has revealed the gravity of the crisis in the Gulf Cooperation Council, composed of Saudia Arabia's most immediate neighbors. Gulf politics is shifting.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Mar 31, 2014

The Fukushima disaster: Three years on, who's fooling whom?

Japan's new Basic Energy Plan sees nuclear power as an important base load energy source. But whatever 'base load' means politically, the public is lulled — fooled — into a sense that, despite Fukushima, nuclear will remain a logistically viable long-term option.

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat