Search - 2014

 
 
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 7, 2014

Job market set to overheat with labor shortage

Kazufumi Yamamoto is having such a hard time finding waiters and sushi chefs to fill jobs at Ganko Food Service Co. that he's going to boost wages for the first time in more than a decade.
BUSINESS
Mar 7, 2014

Toyota to recall Highlander SUVs

Toyota Motor Corp. will recall a total of 7,067 of its 2014 model Highlander sport utility vehicle for free repairs in the U.S. market due to a seat belt problem, Toyota officials said Thursday.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Mar 7, 2014

Hodgson facing tough decisions ahead of naming World Cup squad

Over the next two months each display by England's World Cup hopefuls will be scrutinized by the media. Marks out of 10 will be given along with updated World Cup chances (on the plane, in contention, etc).
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Mar 7, 2014

Tunisia lifts emergency rule in force since 2011 uprising

Tunis
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Mar 7, 2014

As Kakuryu eyes promotion, Haru Basho to test yokozuna Harumafuji's mettle

With Sunday the first day of the 2014, Haru Basho in Japan’s third most populous city of Osaka, many fans and commentators will be looking at Kakuryu’s quest to win his first ever yusho, and, if successful, the resulting talk of promoting him to yokozuna.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 6, 2014

U.S. lawmaker pushes Japan to treat 'comfort women' as human rights issue

A key U.S. congressman who is pressing the Japanese government to issue a thorough apology for the wartime 'comfort women' system urges Tokyo to view the matter as a human rights issue, not as a political spat between nations.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 6, 2014

East Asia should build resilience through disaster-relief cooperation

The president of Soka Gakkai International urges Japan, China and South Korea to take the initiative in building a model of cooperation that will serve to mutually strengthen regional resilience to extreme-weather events and other disasters.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 6, 2014

Putin's contribution to Obama's miniaturization

Russian President Vladimir's aggression in Ukraine has contributed to the miniaturization of Barack Obama — after Obamacare shattered the general belief in Obama's competence and honesty.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Mar 6, 2014

Happy birthday to Kumamon, Japan's favorite regional bear

You don't have to be from Kumamoto Prefecture to know Kumamon — a cute red-cheeked black bear who was officially introduced as the region's yurukyara (mascot character) in 2010. Since his appearance, he has arguably become one of the hottest yurukyara, along with Funabashi's blue-aproned pear, Funassyi....
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 4, 2014

APEC: Does what happens in China remain in China?

China may not kill its journalists, but imprisonment, explusions and visa delays vex foreign news organizations. As host of this year's APEC Forum, China has a chance to turn a page by allowing open coverage of events.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 4, 2014

Will Ukraine invasion be Russia's Anschluss?

Ukrainians do need to recognize Russia's interests in the region and the rights of the Russian-speaking majority in the southeast of the country. If they show good will, Russian President Vladimir Putin may generously pull back his forces.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 4, 2014

Crunch's debut mini-album aims for a 'sense of minority'

In a music scene where the border between underground and mainstream can be incredibly difficult to traverse, it's not surprising that many bands trapped in the indie-sphere bemoan their lot.
BUSINESS
Mar 4, 2014

Nissan tops Asia-brand U.S. sales

Nissan Motor Co. led February U.S. sales gains for Asia-based carmakers, with its Altima passing Toyota Motor Corp.'s Camry so far this year amid severe winter weather that again was blamed for chilling demand.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 3, 2014

China fights dragon of credit-allocation reform

China needs to reforming the credit-allocation mechanism to provide more capital to well-performing projects and enforce hard budget constraints on poor-performing borrowers.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 3, 2014

Tips for electing a leader with common sense

One way voters perhaps can eliminate a presidential candidate from consideration is to look at his or her watch. If it costs more than $500, they should find someone else to vote for, someone whose interests extend beyond personal enrichment.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 3, 2014

Obama complicates policy, playing good cop, bad cop

The Obama government has taken a Cold War stand on the crisis in Ukraine, which is a questionable tack given his disposition of combining threat with accommodation.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Mar 3, 2014

When it comes to public space, Atelier Bow Wow barks up the right tree

Atelier Bow Wow uses the framework of art exhibitions to encourage public social interaction in what it calls 'micro public spaces.'
BUSINESS
Mar 3, 2014

Detroit bankruptcy prods other cities to target pensions

Local officials in at least 10 states are trying to cut pensions of municipal workers, or eliminate defined-benefit plans, pointing to Detroit as a symbol of the peril of growing retirement costs.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 2, 2014

Abe courting equality or estrangement in quest

In Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's view, Japan needs to regain, wherever possible, the right of independent decision-making if it is to manage successfully the challenge posed to it by China. He seeks a policy of voluntary cooperation with the U.S.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 1, 2014

Yanukovych son's biz empire probed

On a street in ousted President Viktor Yanukovych's political stronghold, Donetsk, stands the imposing headquarters of the Mako Group, a Ukrainian conglomerate spanning banking to construction.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 28, 2014

Warming or not, this is the best climate for liberals

Bleak judgments about stimulus spending in the U.S. miss the main point of it, which was to funnel a substantial share of the money to unionized, dues-paying, Democratic-voting government employees. In this way, the stimulus succeeded.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 28, 2014

Ukrainian coup is not a revolution

In a real revolution, the core mission and organizational structure of a country's military are radically altered. The leadership changes in Ukraine and Egypt don't signify revolutions.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 28, 2014

Russia's Crimean shore?

Today's Crimea, the traditional playground of czars and Soviet comissars, does not want independence from Ukraine; it wants continued dependence on Russia.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Feb 28, 2014

U.S. strategy on Russia under fire

Days after his ally Viktor Yanukovych was ousted as Ukraine's leader, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a 150,000-troop Russian military exercise on Ukraine's border. The fall of Yanukovych — and Putin's potential response to it — has reignited a debate in Washington on how to respond to the...
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 28, 2014

Record budget clears Lower House

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe gets his draft budget for fiscal 2014, worth a record ¥95.88 trillion, through the Lower House, giving him more time to focus on the contentious issue of collective self-defense.

Longform

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