Search - 2014

 
 
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 24, 2014

Review: TM Network at Tokyo International Forum

Just as the year drew to a close, so too did J-pop trio TM Network's touring schedule at the Tokyo International Forum's Hall A.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Dec 23, 2014

First Air Jordans were banned by NBA for clashing with team colors

This is the third installment from Hall of Fame writer Sam Smith's new book "There Is No Next: NBA Legends on the Legacy of Michael Jordan."
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 23, 2014

High risks, rewards in Xi's reforms

Only by addressing the weakening of investment-led growth, bureacratic inefficiencies and worsening pollution, and then shifting to an innovation-based, environmentally sustainable growth model, can China continue to prosper and ultimately achieve high-income status.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 23, 2014

A tipping point for Pakistan?

The attack on an army school in Peshawar, Pakistan, was the Taliban's single deadliest in its history. The question now is whether it will turn out to be a turning point for Pakistan in its relations with the group.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Dec 22, 2014

Real costs of nuclear power

Until now, Japan's power industry and the government have emphasized the lower energy costs from having nuclear plants generate the nation's electricity. And until now, consumers and business circles have bought into that myth.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 22, 2014

Christians a vanishing species in Arab world

The observance of the Christian holiday in the Middle East is a sad reminder that the region's distinctive relgious, ethnic and cultural diversity is rapidly disappearing.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 22, 2014

Abe's election victory means gain for big companies, pain for smaller ones

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's victory in the snap Lower House election earlier this month, an endorsement of his economic policies, may help the nation's biggest companies get richer while extending a surge in bankruptcies among smaller ones.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Dec 21, 2014

Ishin-DPJ tieup, Kepco's greed to play key roles in April polls

In terms of domestic politics, the recent Lower House election was merely a prelude to next April's nationwide local elections.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 21, 2014

'The Interview': It's time for Sony Japan to say no

To put the lame, ill-conceived comedy film 'The Interview' on the frontline of a trumped-up battle in defense of Western values is a bit like betting the bank on Bozo the Clown and refusing to back down.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Dec 21, 2014

Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble: a gaijin's lot in Japan?

A selection of readers' responses to Debito Arudou's last column, 'Time to burst your bubble and face reality.'
JAPAN / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Dec 21, 2014

In no-surprise poll, parties' main players re-elected in Kinki

In an election that produced no surprises, it's little wonder the biggest political names in the six prefectures that make up the Kinki region (Shiga, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, Nara and Wakayama) were all returned to the Diet, though one or two had a close call.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Dec 20, 2014

Christmas in Japan is not for faint of heart

"Santa's not coming! You liar!!"
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 20, 2014

A better way to spend yen on schools

Japan's Finance Ministry wants to increase the number of students in each class to save ¥8.6 billion in personnel costs. This will result in 3,325 schools being shuttered and up to 4,000 teachers cashiered. A good idea perhaps, but why not prioritize spending on students who need the most attention?
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 19, 2014

Under Xi, China is coming clean on dirty air

Recent developments in China suggest that, after decades of prioritizing economic growth over the environment, the country now seems set to pressure and even embarrass some of its most powerful corporate citizens to curb pollution.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 19, 2014

Broken U.S. moral compass

The most disturbing and basic question with regard to the maintenance of Guantanamo and any one of the so-called Black Sites in recent years is why American officials seemed to want so badly to torture when to do so was known — even to the CIA — to be so unprofitable.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Dec 18, 2014

Spending New Year's Eve in style ; a different take on traditional cake ; fresh fans find fare from farms

Spending New Year's Eve in style
Japan Times
MULTIMEDIA
Dec 18, 2014

[VIDEO] International Robot Sumo Tournament 2014

Japan Times
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 17, 2014

Jeter, Matsui coming together to aid Tohoku children

Retired New York Yankees greats Derek Jeter and Hideki Matsui are teaming up once again, this time in support of children in the Tohoku region.
BUSINESS
Dec 17, 2014

Ruble collapse could shake Putin's grip on power

Russia failed to halt the collapse of the ruble on Tuesday, leaving President Vladimir Putin facing a full-blown currency crisis that could weaken his iron grip on power.
Japan Times
JAPAN / DECISION 2014
Dec 16, 2014

Novelty party in Hokkaido shows that 105,000 voters want 'none of the above'

While many voters struggled to find a party that matched their hopes for the nation's future, voters in Hokkaido had an easy way out: a box marked "No party to support" on the proportional representation section of the ballot.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 16, 2014

No excuse for tolerating torture

Already 'torture' is fading from the headlines. Anti-torture Americans have been way too polite the past 12 years. They should have shouted down the torturers and apologists, ridiculed them, locked them away.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 16, 2014

How regulation spurs growth

The world's richer countries created their regulatory infrastructure over generations, during a time of little direct global competition. Emerging markets need to create theirs in a greatly compressed time frame to strengthen their growth capacity.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 16, 2014

ECB must banish the specter of deflation

The European Central Bank is moving, hesitantly but ineluctably, toward quantitative easing, as the threat of deflation — and the ineffectiveness of its previous measures — leaves it no choice.

Longform

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