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Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech / ADVANCES IN PROGRESS
Mar 13, 2016

Wi-Fi leaps higher in speed, range

To support the explosive growth of information and communications technology, wireless Internet connectivity is now considered essential infrastructure and is sometimes referred to as the fourth utility, after electricity, water and gas.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Mar 12, 2016

Nagoya's big names, trains and automobiles

Mount Fuji whizzes by as I drive the Tokaido N700 series shinkansen from Tokyo to Nagoya. "Don't let the speed go above 270 kilometers per hour," warns Kaori Takagi. I heed the warning, though Takagi is not a shinkansen driver instructor. We are, in fact, in the simulator at the SCMAGLEV and Railway...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 11, 2016

Toilet-maker Toto looks to Chinese to change cultural habits to boost sales

Nearly all Japanese have converted to using seated toilets since 1977 when they first overtook the squatting versions. For future growth, Japan's largest toilet—maker Toto Ltd. is looking toward neighboring China.
BUSINESS
Mar 9, 2016

BOJ no closer to reaching target for more women in management

The Bank of Japan has made no progress in increasing the proportion of women in management positions in the past two years.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 8, 2016

Abenomics losing support with economists and voters alike

Abenomics has not had much impact reviving the fits-and-starts Japanese economy. That is the verdict of nearly two dozen economists canvassed in a new Bloomberg News survey.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 7, 2016

Drugmaker wins big in Japan as its gamble leads to landmark cancer drug

Ten years ago, representatives from Japan's Ono Pharmaceutical Co. went from hospital to hospital, attempting to convince doctors to test a new product under development: drugs that helped the body's immune system fight cancer. But nobody would listen.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Mar 5, 2016

Tohoku is literally still waiting to move on

Earlier this month, the NHK travel series, "Tsurube Toasts Families," in which rakugo (traditional comic storyteller) performer Shofukutei Tsurube and a guest visit a town and talk to residents on an impromptu basis, went to some new communities in the area destroyed by the Great East Japan Earthquake...
SOCCER / World cup
Mar 5, 2016

FIFA boss wants 2026 bid process to be clean

FIFA must make the 2026 World Cup bidding process "absolutely bulletproof" because the entire organization's credibility is at stake, new president Gianni Infantino said on Friday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 3, 2016

Margin-starved Japanese banks following carmakers to Mexico

In a quest to reduce their reliance on one of the world's least profitable banking markets, Japanese lenders are setting their sights on a much more lucrative one: Mexico.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 1, 2016

Company aiming to clear space junk wins funding

A company that aims to clean junk from space has secured up to $30 million (¥3.39 billion) in public-private funding and plans to launch the world's first debris-mapping satellite later this year.
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Feb 25, 2016

Supreme Court, Abe battle over judicial independence

The Supreme Court is locked in a war with the Abe administration over the independence of the judicial branch.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 25, 2016

Faced with BOJ negative rates, money managers enter new era

BlackRock Inc.'s Jason Miller has fielded more calls from Japanese investors in the past few weeks than ever in recent memory. Among the main concern for clients: How can they safeguard returns in a new era of below-zero rates?
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 24, 2016

Morocco's economic model for the Arab world

Morocco's drive to become a regional renewable-energy powerhouse offers a real option for economic development in other Arab countries.
WORLD
Feb 24, 2016

U.S. must deploy anti-ship missile in Asia soon, admiral says

The U.S. should deploy a new anti-ship missile made by Lockheed Martin Corp. as quickly as possible to counter improved Chinese and Russian naval capabilities in Asian waters, the top U.S. Pacific commander said.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 23, 2016

Up to 90 million more Takata air bag inflators may face U.S. recalls

U.S. auto safety regulators are examining whether an additional 70 million to 90 million Takata Corp. air bag inflators should be recalled because they may endanger drivers, according to a source with knowledge of the matter.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 22, 2016

Why aren't you able to repair your iPhone?

If Apple's executives don't ease up on their proprietary stranglehold over iPhones, lawmakers will do it for them.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 21, 2016

Site of missing MH370 may be lost forever

The man leading the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 is showing the strain after almost two years of fruitless toil.
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Feb 20, 2016

CG gains a 'real' foothold in anime

Japanese audiences have long responded tepidly to the use of extensive computer graphics (CG) in anime. Even as CG has become the global standard for animation studios, anime fans prefer their homegrown artists to stick to labor-intensive 2-D illustration techniques and cel animation — or to at least...
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 19, 2016

Negative rates work best for smaller, open economies, economists say

A Bloomberg survey of 63 economists covering central banks in the euro area, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden and now Japan has found that rates below zero are thought to work better in smaller, open economies dealing with foreign exchange challenges, rather than in larger ones hoping to boost growth or...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 19, 2016

Japan Post Insurance to boost foreign debt as JGB yields plunge

Japan Post Insurance Co., the nation's biggest insurer by assets, plans to increase investments in foreign debt to boost returns as the central bank's negative interest rate policy sends government bond yields to unprecedented lows.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 13, 2016

Give me chocolate: Japan's growing obsession with the 'food of the gods'

People with a sweet tooth can get a glimpse of how Charlie Bucket felt when he first stepped into Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory in Roald Dahl's popular 1964 tale by popping into Musee du Chocolat Theobroma in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 8, 2016

U.S. Navy is urged to slow littoral ship deployments until more testing

Two top senators on defense issues say U.S. Navy leaders should consider delaying deployment of the new littoral combat ship (LCS) and tone down their effusive rhetoric about the vessel until it successfully completes more testing.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2016

Ministry tests smartphone app to navigate underground stations

The land ministry on Thursday started testing a smartphone app that provides detailed navigation services in underground areas around Tokyo Station.

Longform

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