Search - 2014

 
 
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Dec 20, 2013

Putin to pardon tycoon Khodorkovsky ahead of Olympics

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that he intends to pardon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, his country's most famous political prisoner, in a broad amnesty that comes just weeks before the opening of the Winter Olympics in Sochi.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Dec 19, 2013

Senate passes deal to avoid new shutdown

Congress declared a holiday truce in the budget wars Wednesday, sending President Barack Obama a blueprint for funding the government through 2015. But the next skirmish was already on the horizon: an election-year fight over the national debt.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 19, 2013

Mitsubishi Estate to hike office rent in Marunouchi

Mitsubishi Estate Co. plans to increase office rents for the first time in about five years in 2014 as the supply of new buildings slows.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 19, 2013

Acura gets U.S. twist in bid for pizazz

Honda Motor Co.'s No. 2 executive, asked to identify the automaker's weak spot, spoke bluntly: Acura luxury sedans have to get better.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Dec 19, 2013

Osaka Hilton countdown party; Winter accommodation plan; Hakone hot springs and fugu stay

Osaka Hilton countdown party The Hilton Osaka will be counting down to 2014 with a party at The In Place lobby lounge Dec. 31.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 18, 2013

SMBC Nikko and Daiwa increase hiring

SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. and Daiwa Securities Group Inc. have increased their hiring targets for university graduates to bolster retail brokerage operations as stocks rally.
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN WEB WATCH
Dec 17, 2013

Looking at 2013's Japanese social-media scene

In the Japanese social-networking scene, Facebook still isn't dominating the way it does in the United States and many other countries. There are several other networks in Japan, both old and new, that occupy unique positions, though 2013 was an unusually quiet year, with no big takeovers among social-networking...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 17, 2013

New Year's single, Christmas concert get Meyer into festive spirit

Jazz pianist and singer Emi Meyer has a lot of fond memories of the holiday season.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 17, 2013

U.S. and EU must focus on re-engaging Ukraine

The Obama administration should make clear to Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych that his legacy would be destroyed should he give in to Russian pressure to reduce ties with the European Union.
Japan Times
BASEBALL
Dec 17, 2013

Tanaka informs Eagles he wants to pitch in majors in 2014

The man at the center of the posting system drama finally broke his silence, and it was music to the ears of MLB fans and executives.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Dec 17, 2013

Fukushi, Kiryu honored by JAAF

Veteran long-distance runner Kayoko Fukushi received the athlete of the year trophy and high school sensation Yoshihide Kiryu also grabbed the spotlight with two accolades at the annual JAAF Athletic Awards on Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Dec 16, 2013

'Tankan' signals drop in spending

Big businesses pare their spending projections for the year, signaling headwinds for 'Abenomics' ahead of April's tax hike and doubts the recovery is sustainable, the 'tankan' report says.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 16, 2013

Hapless qualities for which Obama will be remembered

The wars that he has not ended and the moral climate he has sustained in American government will be the remembered qualities of Barack Obama's presidency. This seems a disheartening.
Japan Times
JAPAN / FUKUSHIMA FILE
Dec 15, 2013

Fukushima loses first high school to meltdowns

A private high school in Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture, will close for good at the end of March because the nuclear disaster has decimated enrollment, school officials said.
EDITORIALS
Dec 14, 2013

A fair division of tax revenues

The central government should try to work out a permanent system of distributing prefectural corporate taxes to local governments that will help stabilize local revenue and decentralize administrations.
COMMENTARY / World / COUNTERPOINT
Dec 14, 2013

Indonesia's challenges — from poverty to Papua

On a recent trip to Jakarta, I experienced firsthand what an infrastructure bottleneck feels like. My driver told me the city is only third in global traffic-jam rankings, trailing Mexico City and New Delhi, but what was a 40-minute ride when I lived there in the mid-1980s took a dispiriting 2½ hours....
COMMENTARY / Japan / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
Dec 14, 2013

Leaders from outside box could ignite Japan

On Nov. 30, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company shocked Japan Inc. by announcing that it plans to appoint Frenchman Christophe Weber as its next president by June 2014. Until then, Japanese companies with foreigners in the top spot had fallen into two categories: those that promote foreigners who have performed...
EDITORIALS
Dec 13, 2013

Abe's stimulus only a short-term fix

The Abe administration's latest stimulus package has the central government spending more than it is due to receive in revenue from the fiscal 2014 tax hike, showing that the Japanese economy has yet to enter a self-sustaining cycle built on private-sector demand and investment.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 13, 2013

Dilemma deepens as drones kill more civilians

The Obama administration's refusal to apologize in some cases to family members of the innocent victims of drone attacks, or even to explain what went wrong, indicates that his promise of greater transparency on drone policy has yet to be fulfilled.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 12, 2013

Ruling bloc approves tax reform plan for '14

To stave off some of the negative impacts of the expected consumption tax hike to 10 percent in October 2015, the Liberal Democratic Party-New Komeito ruling bloc says the levy should be reduced on certain daily necessities.
EDITORIALS
Dec 12, 2013

Repeal the state secrets law

Repeal of the recently enacted state secrets law appears indispensable for ensuring that Japan remains an open society with democratic principles fully upheld.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 12, 2013

Higher-education stimulus would be sure bet for Japan

Making Japanese universities global as well as world class requires generous support not only for hiring foreigners but also — and far more importantly — for improving conditions for all faculty.
BUSINESS
Dec 12, 2013

Japan tops smartphone app market

Japan surpassed the United States as the top-grossing market for apps in October as use of smartphones surged and wireless carriers started billing customers directly for downloads from Google Inc.'s online store.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 11, 2013

Water woe solution: pave over No.1 land?

The state and Tepco should take more steps to mitigate the radioactive water accumulating at the Fukushima No. 1 plant, including paving the land to block rainwater from seeping into the ground, a report says.

Longform

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