Search - 2013

 
 
BUSINESS / Companies
May 21, 2013

Goldman Sachs to invest big in renewable energy

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said Monday that it plans to invest as much as ¥50 billion in renewable energy projects in Japan in the next five years, tapping demand for electricity produced from solar and wind-power generators.
EDITORIALS
May 20, 2013

Tsuruga reactor's active fault

The identification of a geological fracture zone beneath a Tsuruga nuclear plant reactor as an active fault may force the decommissioning of the reactor in Fukui Prefecture.
EDITORIALS
May 20, 2013

Avoiding food allergy tragedies

The death of an 11-year-old female Chofu (Tokyo) student in December 2012 prompts the education ministry to set up a panel to consider how to prevent such accidents.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 20, 2013

For a more 'friendly' Japan

A Shiga University professor has some reservations about a government industrial council's proposals to make Japan 'the world's most business-friendly environment.'
COMMENTARY / World
May 20, 2013

Green sovereign wealth offering benefits to all

The growing might of sovereign wealth funds is causing concern that economic power is shifting to emerging nations with different political regimes from OECD countries.
COMMENTARY / World
May 20, 2013

E-cigarettes blow fog into ban on D.C. Metro

Smoking is not allowed on Washington D.C.'s Metro system. But the prospects for e-smoking — which delivers nicotine but doesn't produce smoke — are as hazy as a cloud.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
May 19, 2013

Authorized life of Thatcher is clear-eyed, rich in details

It is a tricky deal being an authorized biographer. Charles Moore's big advantage over those who have previously tackled Margaret Thatcher is that he has been provided with material denied to them. Of the arrangement that he was offered by his subject, he writes: "I would have full access to herself...
CULTURE / Books
May 19, 2013

Ranpo's novella of a desecrated grave continues to send shivers

There has long been a taste in Japan for the bizarre and abnormal. The experimental Taisho Era was no exception. A desire for sensory experience existed even in cinema. During a funeral scene, for example, an attendant might light sticks of incense in the theater, drawing the audience into the ritual....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
May 19, 2013

Google's big hitters' most ambitious predictions yet

When, in early 2011, Eric Schmidt stepped aside from his position as Google's CEO to become the company's executive chairman, some of us were reminded of Dean Acheson's famous gibe about postwar Britain — which had "lost an empire but not yet found a role." What would Dr. Schmidt's new role be, and...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
May 18, 2013

LDP wants more might for SDF, and Ospreys

The Liberal Democratic Party called Friday for a more muscular role for the Self-Defense Forces in defending Japan and fulfilling the nation's responsibility as a U.S. ally.
Events / KANSAI: WHO & WHAT
May 17, 2013

Music students to hold concert series in Kyoto

Students from music schools abroad and in Japan will perform at the Kyoto International Music Students Festival 2013 from May 25 to 29.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
May 17, 2013

Machinery orders jump 14.2%, sharpest since '05

Core private-sector machinery orders jumped a seasonally adjusted 14.2 percent in March, indicating the weaker yen and higher stocks are starting to prompt companies to boost investment, the government said Friday.
CULTURE / Japan Pulse
May 17, 2013

Tweet Beat: #이노래를듣고돌 #wizard #finalburning

K-pop, Sunday morning TV, and pre wrestling topics are among last week's top Twitter hashtags in Japan.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
May 17, 2013

Walkathon will feature more than fitness

Here's your chance to make a difference while staying fit and having fun.
COMMENTARY / World
May 16, 2013

Echoes of Watergate in IRS scandal

The nature of President Barack Obama's administration is being clarified as revelations about IRS targeting of conservative groups merge with myriad Benghazi mendacities.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 16, 2013

'Graphic Trial 2013'

This is the eighth annual "Graphic Trial Exhibition," which explores the potential and future of graphic design and its relationship with printing. The series of exhibitions showcases works from progressive designers, revealing the development of works, from design conception through to the printing...
COMMENTARY / World
May 16, 2013

Arab Christians suffer as Islamists rise to power

The abductions of the Syriac Orthodox archbishop and his Greek Orthodox counterpart reflect not only the brutality of Syria's conflict but also the Mideast crisis for Christians.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
May 15, 2013

Weak yen no respite for ailing electronics trio

A weaker yen, credited to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's economic policies, may be helping exporters in general but struggling electronics makers are not yet out of the woods.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
May 15, 2013

Greisinger eager to make season debut against Giants

Seth Greisinger will make his first start of the season on Wednesday at Tokyo Dome. Not that it matters all that much to the Chiba Lotte Marines right-hander, who is embarking on his seventh year in Japan. After battling his way back from an injury to his right shoulder, Greisinger is just happy to be...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / CHILD'S PLAY
May 15, 2013

Kids love park life in the summer

At long last, warm weather has arrived, which means more playtime in Tokyo's parks — from your scrappy, local patch of dirt to the manicured opulence of Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden. My family's favorite is Yoyogi Park. While not the most pristine public space Japan has to offer, it's certainly the...
COMMENTARY / World
May 15, 2013

Misplaced pride in conspicuous consumption

Wouldn't you laugh at someone who paid more than 200 times as much as you did for a watch, and ended up with an inferior product? Some lawmakers don't get it.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 14, 2013

Last refuge of weak leaders

Why have anti-Japanese sentiments resurfaced in China and South Korea in 2013 — just as Japan is trying to recover from two lost economic decades
EDITORIALS
May 14, 2013

Acting out in the Upper House

Upper House opposition parties played partisan politics in firing the chairperson of the Environment Committee. And the LDP's response was nothing to brag about.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
May 13, 2013

J. League's opening game stirs memories 20 years on

Players involved in the J. League's first-ever game share their recollections of the beginning of a new era for Japanese soccer.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 13, 2013

Can two U.S. senators' bipartisan bill finally halt 'Too Big to Fail' mantra?

Last month, an unlikely pair of senators — Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat, and David Vitter, a Louisiana Republican — introduced a non-binding resolution calling for the end of the implicit subsidies that "too big to fail" (TBTF) banks enjoy.
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
May 13, 2013

Is missile defense useful?

As Japan pours huge sums of taxpayer money into its missile defense system, the SDF is functioning more like a subcontractor for the U.S. armed forces.
COMMENTARY / World
May 13, 2013

The changing map of Mideast political power

The eruption of the Arab revolts in 2010-2011 put power relations among Middle East countries in a state of flux. Both winners and losers have emerged.

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