Search - 2014

 
 
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jan 19, 2015

Japan to co-host Premier 12 baseball world tourney

Japan was the first-ever champion of the World Baseball Classic, lifting the championship trophy on foreign soil in 2006. If Samurai Japan repeats the feat at the inaugural Premier 12, the Japanese will get to do all their celebrating at home.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Jan 19, 2015

Sagamihara: Should we be worried that 2014 was the hottest year on record?

While some in Sagamihara seem to be worried about the fact that the world is getting warmer, others appear nonplussed.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 18, 2015

Reshaping India's diplomacy

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has shaken up the foreign policy establishment with his readiness to break with conventional methods and shibboleths, yet he appears to have no intent of encunciating a Modi doctrine in foreign policy.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 18, 2015

The future of Netanyahu and the Jewish state

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared politically unassailable until the abrupt resignation of two Cabinet ministers and the inconclusive war in Gaza.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jan 17, 2015

Home away from home: the plight of refugees in Japan

On a cold winter's day in December, an African man sits in a meeting room at the Japan Association for Refugees, a nonprofit organization in Tokyo. The man, whose name and country of origin have been withheld to protect his identity from those who wish him and his family harm, has been seeking refugee...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jan 17, 2015

'Refugees should have the same opportunities in life as everyone else'

What do Nobel laureate Albert Einstein, composer Frederic Chopin, war photographer Robert Capa and psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud have in common? They were all refugees.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 17, 2015

Snark levels were on full blast for 'Kohaku'

The 2014 edition of NHK's venerated song contest, "Kohaku Uta Gassen," broadcast on Dec. 31, was remarkable for several reasons, though the performance that generated the most remarks was the one by the equally venerated pop-rock group Southern All Stars, their first on the show in 31 years.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jan 17, 2015

Mags go big for Kobe gang's 100th

This year will see the observance of various centennials, including the ill-fated Gallipoli campaign in the Dardanelles; the Second Battle of Ypres; and the sinking of the RMS Lusitania with the loss of 1,198 lives.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 17, 2015

'Dynamic' deceptions in U.S. budget debate

Instead of facing the real issues of how to cut spending in the U.S. budget debate, Republicans and Democrats find it easier to argue over technical questions that, in the end, won't much affect the budget.
Japan Times
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Jan 16, 2015

Manchester United's high-priced squad fails to inspire

It is only Louis van Gaal's cv that is preventing him from receiving the sort of merciless criticism directed at David Moyes last season.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 16, 2015

Specter of fascist past haunts Europe's growing nationalism

The real aim of today's would-be authoritarians such as French far-right leader Marine Le Pen is to present themselves as legitimate leaders who are saying what the public really thinks but is afraid to say.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 16, 2015

Charlie Hebdo horror revives fears in Israel

The Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris and the hostage scene in the kosher market — the image of frightened European Jews hiding in a freezer — were for many Israelis a haunting reminder of Jews hiding from Nazis.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 16, 2015

France defies the jihadists

To one who witnessed the transformation fear exacted from America's governing elite by the 9/11 attacks in 2001, the jihad killings last week in France seemed to produce a colossal reaction that was not one of fear at all.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 16, 2015

Former top currency official Gyohten sees yen's slide ending

The yen has never fallen for four straight years against the dollar, and Japan's former top currency official sees better than 50 percent odds that its currency will halt the losing streak.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Jan 16, 2015

Nagoya museums on quest to track visitors' nationalities

The industrial tourism business in Nagoya will have a new mission in fiscal 2015. Museums and activity centers will begin tracking visitors' nationalities in order to target them better.
EDITORIALS
Jan 15, 2015

Cost of putting off reform

The draft government budget for fiscal 2015 paints a positive picture with regard to expectations of more tax revenue but indicates little effort to rein in government spending to restore Japan's financial health.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 15, 2015

DPJ presidential candidates vow to increase female ranks in Diet

The Democratic Party of Japan's three presidential candidates vow to add more female lawmakers to make the opposition leader strong enough to challenge the Liberal Democratic Party.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 15, 2015

BOJ says minimum 1% gain in base wage needed for recovery: sources

Bank of Japan officials figure that average base wage gains of 1 percent are needed in the coming fiscal year to sustain the economy's emergence from two decades of stagnation, say sources familiar with central bank's discussions.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 15, 2015

Neeson is taken on another adventure

It's hard to believe that, a decade ago, Liam Neeson was better known for prestige Oscar dramas than high-octane action blockbusters. The Academy Award nominee spent the first 30 years of his career making his name in films such as "Kinsey" (2004), "Rob Roy" (1995) and Steven Spielberg's celebrated "Schindler's...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Jan 15, 2015

Salvage plan keeps Wakayama playing in NBL

The Wakayama Trians will spend the remainder of the season under new management, NBL acting president Mitsuru Maruo said at a Tokyo news conference on Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Jan 15, 2015

GM sees improved profit in 2015 on China, U.S. growth

General Motors Co on Wednesday forecast its 2015 operating profit will increase from last year due mostly to growth in its two largest auto markets, China and the United States.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 14, 2015

A longer look at the problems of 'Unbroken'

Why can't "Unbroken" — Angelina Jolie's hit World War II drama — catch a break in Japan? There are presently no plans to release the film here in theaters, on DVD or online, even though it has a strong Japan focus as well as a major role for popular local rock musician Miyavi (whose real name is...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Jan 14, 2015

A note of concern to wounded MLK from a friend in Japan

Throughout Martin Luther King Jr.'s pursuit of justice and equal rights for African-Americans, he knew he had the support and consideration of Japan through an old classmate who had decided to study abroad and broaden his cultural understanding.
EDITORIALS
Jan 14, 2015

Risky nursing care cutbacks

The government should carefully monitor the nursing care industry to ensure that budgetary cutbacks do not reduce quality of their services.

Longform

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