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JAPAN / Politics
Jan 24, 2013

Ruling bloc airs tax plan, eye on poll

The LDP-led government outlines a list of tax reform goals for fiscal 2013 that raises taxes on the rich, scratches breaks for the poor and curries favor ahead of Upper House poll.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2013

LNG gains political value as Japan's needs soar

With Japan's nuclear power future clouded by discoveries of active faults near atomic plants in Fukui and Aomori prefectures, liquefied natural gas has become a critical resource and an area of great potential for strengthening relations with the United States.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 29, 2012

The risks of a U.S. drawdown in Afghanistan

The Obama administration appears determined to vacate Afghanistan as fast as possible. If the latest leaks are to be believed, officials are willing to leave as few as 6,000 U.S. troops behind after 2014, concentrated at the Bagram air base and a few other installations around Kabul. The mind boggles...
BUSINESS
Dec 29, 2012

Mitsubishi UFJ to tie up with, advise key Myanmar lender

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. said Friday it will ally with Myanmar's Co-operative Bank Ltd. to tap growing demand for financial services in the Southeast Asian nation as it shifts to democracy.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Dec 27, 2012

Partisan feuds leave judicial posts unfilled

It takes a calculator and perhaps the rigor of Sherlock Holmes to cut through the partisan rhetoric about President Barack Obama's first-term record on judicial nominations. But the bottom line is clear enough.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / TRAVEL INSIDER
Dec 19, 2012

Win a futsal tournament, receive Liverpool tickets; new Korean Air benefits program

Liverpool FC tickets Virgin Atlantic Airways has announced that it will again cohost the third All England Cup Futsal Tournament in Japan in March with the international banking group Standard Chartered Bank.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 13, 2012

Mazda leads diesel revival as dirty-clunker label fades

Thirteen years after Shintaro Ishihara killed Japanese interest in diesel cars by barring many of them from Tokyo, the technology is making a comeback as manufacturers adopt innovations that improve its sooty image.
Reader Mail
Dec 6, 2012

No shortcut to the master level

A thank you to Amy Chavez for her Dec. 1 column, "The best-ever tips on learning Japanese." I am pleased that Chavez knows how to write the truth with heart. Her article is the stake in the heart of those that whine about Japanese being difficult to learn.
BASEBALL
Nov 25, 2012

Samurai Japan fans will miss nation's MLB players in upcoming WBC

They are dropping like flies. Talking here about Japanese players in the major leagues who have decided they will not play in the World Baseball Classic in March. Yu Darvish, Hisashi Iwakuma, Norichika Aoki, Ichiro Suzuki and Hiroki Kuroda, members of their country's championship teams in 2006 and 2009,...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 20, 2012

Abe call for unlimited BOJ easing rattles bond market

The bond market is growing more concerned that a new administration led by opposition leader Shintaro Abe calling for unlimited easing will stoke inflation and weaken the nation's finances.
EDITORIALS
Oct 6, 2012

Future of senile dementia

The health and welfare ministry says that the number of elderly people suffering from senile dementia and in need of nursing care has topped 3 million this year. As Japan's population continues to gray, the number of such elderly people will inevitably increase.
EDITORIALS
Sep 25, 2012

JAL needs to stand on its own

Japan Airlines was relisted on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Sep. 19 as it has succeeded in strongly improving its business performance during the past two years and seven months of rehabilitation. This is only the first step to full recovery for the airline. JAL achieved its comeback...
EDITORIALS
Sep 22, 2012

Troubling elections in Hong Kong

When Hong Kong voters went to the polls to select a new Legislative Council (LegCo) on Sept. 9, prodemocracy parties appeared to have the momentum. When the votes were tallied, however, the pro-Beijing parties maintained their dominance in the legislature.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Sep 9, 2012

Final countdown under way for Ishii, Kokubo

Infielder Takuro Ishii of the Hiroshima Carp has announced his retirement as an active player effective at the end of the 2012 season. Ishii joins infielder Hiroki Kokubo of the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks who will also hang up his spikes when his club concludes its schedule in October or November.
BUSINESS
Aug 22, 2012

Fewer auto parts come with 'Made in Japan' on the tag

The nation's automakers have long relied on parts from domestic sources that are part of their "keiretsu" corporate groupings, but now they are turning to imports to cut costs and survive growing global competition.
EDITORIALS
Jul 25, 2012

Equalizing pension benefits

There has been criticism that public servants have been receiving advantageous treatment in retirement allowances and pension benefits, compared with corporate workers.
BUSINESS
Jun 9, 2012

Olympus to cut 2,700 workers, restructure

Olympus Corp. said Friday it will cut 2,700 jobs and restructure plants as it seeks to recover after writing down assets following an accounting-fraud scandal involving more than ¥100 billion.
EDITORIALS
May 27, 2012

Foundation for future pensions

The government has sent a bill to unify different pension systems for public servants and private school teachers, on one hand, and corporate workers, on the other. The Diet should thoroughly discuss the bill since it will lay a long-term foundation for the nation's pension system.

Longform

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