Search - 2015

 
 
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 3, 2016

Kuroda's deputy calls for faster reforms

Now that the central bank has added negative rates to its record monetary stimulus program, it's time for the Abe government to double down on reform efforts, said Deputy Gov. Hiroshi Nakaso.
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.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 3, 2016

Italian Mafia earnings from drugs rival Fiat's from cars: report

Italian mobsters make as much money trafficking narcotics in Italy as Fiat does selling cars, but without having to pay taxes, the anti-Mafia prosecutors office said Wednesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 2, 2016

'Oyster Factory' dredges up the dreams and fears of Japan's rural workers

Japanese documentaries tend to be blandly inoffensive, especially those dealing with sensitive topics. Typically, a velvet-voiced narrator sets the scene and a sympathetic interviewer lobs questions to her subjects as gently upbeat music plays in the background.
BUSINESS
Mar 1, 2016

Abe setting up panel to debate extra budget before G-7 summit

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will convene an advisory panel to consider an extra budget for the coming fiscal year, sources said days after the Group of 20 nations urged more fiscal spending to support the ailing global economy.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 1, 2016

Lower House approves record ¥96.7 trillion budget

The Lower House passes a record budget, marking a turning point in Diet deliberations in which the ruling and opposition camps will switch attention to the Upper House election.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 1, 2016

The Pentagon's big lie about the South China Sea

The notion that China's actions in the South China Sea threaten commercial shipping is a load of analytical rubbish.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 1, 2016

China launches floating dock for warship repair

China's navy has launched its first self-propelled floating dock, giving it the ability to repair warships far from the coast, the official People's Liberation Army Daily said on Tuesday, Beijing's latest move to modernize its navy.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / HIT AND RUN
Feb 29, 2016

Healthy Balentien ready to make up for lost time

Wladimir Balentien laughed his familiar laugh as he held court in the visitor's dugout at Tokyo Dome, making rapid-fire transitions between a number of topics, from the yakiniku he ate in Okinawa, to teammate Tetsuto Yamada or whatever else popped into his head at the time.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 29, 2016

Humans can't keep trashing the oceans forever

The oceans are a critical ally of life on Earth, and we must do everything in our power to safeguard them.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 29, 2016

Competing interests converge on health care price-setting panel

On Feb. 10, as hundreds of people in business attire watched from the gallery, a panel of experts under the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry adopted a long list of proposals to revise the fees that can be charged by the nation's hospitals and pharmacies for medical procedures and prescriptions under...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 28, 2016

City pop revival helps Suchmos at just the right time

Walk into a Tower Records store in Shibuya or Shinjuku and you'll eventually come across the apparel section. The current fashion aesthetic here leans retro: Hoodies and T-shirts come emblazoned with text highlighting throwback music signifiers, from equipment ("cassette tape," "analog") to genres ("surf...
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Feb 28, 2016

Canadians gear up to handle any influx of Americans if Trump wins presidency

Americans have said it many times before when eyeing a White House prospect they view as unpalatable: "If that guy is elected president, I'm moving to Canada!"
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 28, 2016

Europeans should spend more for their defense

The question has to be asked: Why is the U.S. defending Europe? The need for America to play an overwhelming role disappeared when the Cold War ended.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 27, 2016

Rocket tests have Japanese media wondering: How do you solve a problem like (North) Korea?

North Korea — what to make of it? Nobody knows. In an age of secrecy stripped bare, it has succeeded in being unfathomable. It's horrible — on that most observers agree; but how horrible? To what purpose? In spite of, or because of, what obstacles to its survival?
Japan Times
Rugby
Feb 27, 2016

Fans enjoy experience of Sunwolves' Super Rugby debut

The end result wasn't what they had hoped for, but the Sunwolves' Super Rugby debut drew a large throng of fans, both Japanese and foreign, and it gave them a lot of excitement at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground in Tokyo on Saturday afternoon.

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