Search - 2015

 
 
BUSINESS
Jan 29, 2016

Japan power use drops to 17-year-low amid slower economic growth

Power usage in Japan dropped last year to the lowest level since 1998 as households and businesses conserved electricity amid a stagnant economy and shrinking population.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 29, 2016

Putin's son-in-law boosted by $1.75 billion Russian state loan

The son-in-law of Vladimir Putin stands to benefit from $1.75 billion in cheap finance from the Russian state, a Reuters examination of public documents shows. The money will help fund a petrochemical project at a company in which Kirill Shamalov, husband of Katerina Tikhonova, the Russian president's...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 29, 2016

Japan at risk if West unable to confront growing geopolitical threats, says analyst

The world can expect more geopolitical conflicts that will also impact Japan if Western powers fail to tackle global issues such as the Syrian refugee crisis and the rise of terrorism, according to leading political risk analyst Ian Bremmer.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jan 29, 2016

Conservationists say Mali's desert elephants face extinction within a few years

Mali's elephants, one of just two remaining desert herds in the world, will be gone in three years unless the government does more to protect them, a conservation group said Thursday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / AEC SPECIAL
Jan 29, 2016

Contributing to Southeast Asian development

ASEAN is currently attracting much attention as a major growth center in the global economy. With a market of more than 600 million people and an abundant young labor force, whose working-age population will peak in the second half of the 2040s, ASEAN has achieved remarkable economic growth with its...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / AEC SPECIAL
Jan 29, 2016

Experts see expansion of Japanese firms in ASEAN states

The emergence of an integrated market with a population of 600 million — third largest in Asia following China and India — is expected to encourage Japanese companies to accelerate direct investment into the countries that make up the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2016

Osaka moves to allow foreign housekeepers

Osaka Prefecture has decided to go ahead with a national government program allowing foreign nationals to work as housekeepers as part of a larger push toward greater participation of women in the workforce.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 28, 2016

BOJ's big problem? Abenomics

History's most aggressive monetary policy experiment has backfired by dulling Japan Inc's animal spirits.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 28, 2016

Malaysia's top lawyer rejected advice to charge Najib: source

Malaysia's anti-graft agency had recommended that Prime Minister Najib Razak be charged with criminal misappropriation, a source said, amid growing outrage after the premier was cleared of any offenses in a multimillion-dollar scandal.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jan 28, 2016

Black or white? Actor Fiennes cast to play singer Michael Jackson

British actor Joseph Fiennes has been cast as pop star Michael Jackson in an upcoming TV comedy, provoking scorn on social media on Wednesday and fueling a controversy in the entertainment industry over opportunities for black artists.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 27, 2016

Obokata breaks silence, suggests colleague bears blame for STAP debacle

A former star scientist with the Riken research institute who was accused of fraud in 2014 tells her side of the story.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 27, 2016

Lockheed F-35 jets to join U.K. air shows, U.S. Air Force confirms

The U.S. Air Force on Tuesday confirmed that it will send a pair of F-35A fighter jets to two air shows in Britain this summer, joining two U.S. Marine Corps jets and at least one British jet that are also slated to appear.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 26, 2016

Airport-style duty-free shop opens in Tokyo's Ginza

Mainland Japan will get its first duty-free shop outside of an international airport when the Japan Duty Free Ginza debuts at the Ginza Mitsukoshi department store in Tokyo's Chuo Ward on Wednesday, a top company official said a day earlier.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 26, 2016

Deals and warm words flow as Iranian president leads delegation on European visit

Italy and Iran signed billions of dollars in business deals on Monday at the start of a visit to Europe by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani aimed to rebuild his nation's ties with the West after years of economic sanctions.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 25, 2016

BOJ-fueled Tokyo property boom pricing average earners out of housing market

Rich buyers taking advantage of record low borrowing costs have pushed prices in Tokyo beyond the reach of many ordinary buyers, taking the wind out of property sales.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 25, 2016

With U.S. divided, China struggling, government and business leaders fret about power vacuum

A polarized U.S. presidential race; question marks over China's economic management; and a once-dominant German chancellor suddenly under threat.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 24, 2016

Why are America's allies so persistently pathetic?

Washington's allies, despite benefiting from capable populations and enjoying advanced economies, can't be bothered to invest heavily in their own defense.
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Jan 24, 2016

Afrirampo reunion may save 2016

While 2016 kicked off for most of the music world with David Bowie tricking hundreds of thousands of people into buying a jazz-prog concept album about death, the message from the heart of J-pop was loud and clear: "DO NOT WORRY, NOTHING WILL EVER CHANGE."
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 24, 2016

'Plane wreckage' found in Thailand fuels talk of missing Malaysian jet

A piece of suspected plane wreckage has been found off the coast of southern Thailand, a local official said on Saturday, prompting speculation it might belong to Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, which vanished nearly two years ago.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jan 23, 2016

Hiroko Kuniya's ouster deals another blow to quality journalism in Japan

Hiroko Kuniya, the widely respected anchor for NHK's stellar "Close-up Gendai" news analysis program, has been ousted from her position after 23 years with the show. She now joins a growing list of prominent news presenters and commentators who have discovered the apparent perils of not kowtowing to...
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 22, 2016

Let Japan's zombie firms die

If Japan wants to generate long-term growth, it needs to allow creative destruction. New companies can't grow when they are blocked by failing incumbents.
EDITORIALS
Jan 22, 2016

World nervously watches China

China's investment-driven growth model is fast crumbling and a new one has yet to take hold.

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