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EDITORIALS
Jun 23, 2010

Strategic details of growth

A chieving "a strong economy" is one of Prime Minister Naoto Kan's three major policy goals, along with "strong finances" and "strong social welfare." To realize his idea, his Cabinet on June 18 announced a new economic growth strategy.
EDITORIALS
Jun 22, 2010

China's new economic reality

Once, the thought of strikes in China would have been laughable. Not only because the People's Republic is a communist country — with its emphasis on workers' rights and the authoritarian political system — but because China was thought to have an inexhaustible supply of labor that would prevent...
JAPAN
Jun 22, 2010

Japan holds key to keeping whaling ban

A quarter-century ban on commercial whaling — one of the world's most successful preservation agreements — could crumble altogether if conservationists can't persuade Japan to cut back on the tradition it champions.
BUSINESS
Jun 22, 2010

As China wages, yuan rise, exporting to get costly

Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. suppliers sacrificed earnings in China by raising wages to end strikes, and Beijing's decision to allow greater exchange-rate flexibility may slow plans to export vehicles from the nation as the currency appreciates.
COMMENTARY
Jun 21, 2010

Indonesia moving to reduce forest loss, warming emissions

SINGAPORE — Recent developments in curbing high levels of forest loss around the world, particularly in the tropics, are promising. They are significant because deforestation, including the clearing of trees from peat swamps in Southeast Asia, is the biggest source of global warming emissions from...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 20, 2010

Try to imagine if nuclear deterrence failed

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. PACIFIC PERSPECTIVES — Before the catastrophic BP oil gush in the Gulf of Mexico, there were environmentalists who warned that offshore drilling was fraught with risk — risk of exactly the type of environmental damage that is occurring. They were mocked by people who chanted...
JAPAN
Jun 18, 2010

DPJ, LDP platforms test tax hike waters

The ruling Democratic Party of Japan and the opposition camp unofficially began campaigning Thursday for the July 11 Upper House election, by releasing their platforms, and both sides seemed to be dancing around a tax hike.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 18, 2010

'The Road'

There's a terrible reality to "The Road" — a sickening, no-exit sensation of being in a waking nightmare. An old Woody Allen maxim has it that people don't want too much reality from the movies; "The Road" on the other hand, has no interest in what people want but what they can endure.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 18, 2010

Back in Japan, Hotel Mexico rides the wave

Much is often made of the differences between popular music in the East and in the West, either praising the former for its inventive takes on Western styles, or deriding it for making cheap imitations. The truth, however, is that music travels so easily between nations and continents these days, and...
EDITORIALS
Jun 17, 2010

Hints to financial reconstruction

Lawmakers representing opposition parties on Monday and Tuesday questioned Prime Minister Naoto Kan in the plenary session of each house of the Diet over his first general policy speech he made June 11. The ruling Democratic Party of Japan has decided not to extend the current Diet session so that it...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 15, 2010

Large-scale agriculture won't cure hunger

BRUSSELS — The World Bank, U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization, International Fund for Agricultural Development, and U.N. Conference on Trade and Development Secretariat recently presented seven "Principles for Responsible Agricultural Investment."
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 14, 2010

Coalition no threat to City, Anstee says

The City of London will remain attractive to investors because it proved resilient in the wake of the global financial crisis in 2008 and its environment will not change under the first British coalition government since World War II, according to Nick Anstee, lord mayor of the City of London.
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2010

Freelancers OK at Tokyo prosecutor briefings

The Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office opened its news conference to nonpress club members Thursday, following the example of several ministries that have started allowing freelancers into their regular media briefings.
EDITORIALS
Jun 11, 2010

National strength for security

U.S. President Barack Obama has long emphasized the necessity of getting his country's house in order if it is to play the global role that it sees as appropriate. That focus explains his seeming preoccupation with domestic issues. In his mind, domestic reform is the crucial stepping stone to a credible...
COMMENTARY
Jun 10, 2010

Finding your way to the world of happiness

There can be few things less useful than a world map of happiness. If you live in one of the unhappy places, there is little chance that you will be able to move to one of the happy ones — and anyway, there's no way of knowing whether immigrants are happy there. Besides, your personal capacity for...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Jun 8, 2010

Virtual versions map out real benefits of Tokyo localities

Jimotonow lets local shop-owners speak for themselves with Twitter-friendly communities representing areas in Tokyo's Suginami-ku.
JAPAN
Jun 5, 2010

New Prime Minister Kan to 'rebuild trust'

Naoto Kan was voted in as prime minister by the Diet on Friday, shortly after the ruling Democratic Party of Japan elected him as its new president.
JAPAN
Jun 5, 2010

Likeable, shows promise, but Tarutoko who?

When he emerged Thursday to run against Naoto Kan for the Democratic Party of Japan presidency and hence the prime ministership, many probably asked who is Shinji Tarutoko?
EDITORIALS
Jun 5, 2010

Economy growing for now

Japan's real gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2010 grew 1.2 percent, or an annualized 4.9 percent, from the previous quarter, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of growth. Nominal GDP, which is said to better reflect people's true feelings about economic conditions, also grew...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 5, 2010

Boost industry through tax cuts, technology, new JAMA head says

YOKOHAMA — The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association wants the new administration to take steps to support the country's top-flight vehicle emission-reduction technologies and cut corporate and car-related taxes to help the industry compete on the global stage, the group's new head, Toshiyuki...
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2010

Kan front-runner to replace Hatoyama

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Naoto Kan is expected to win the Democratic Party of Japan presidency, get voted in by the Diet as prime minister, then form a new Cabinet — all on Friday.

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