Search - 2012

 
 
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 30, 2012

High cost of disengagement from Afghanistan

The United States has spent nearly $600 billion over the past 10 years putting combat forces into Afghanistan. Now it's going to cost an additional $5.7 billion over the next year or two just to transfer or return most of the troops and equipment we shipped into that country, according to a new report...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Dec 30, 2012

Is juggernaut Japan being driven to destruction (and no one's to blame)?

Ryotaro Shiba, the great author of historical novels, was a student of Mongolian at Osaka University of Foreign Languages when, at the end of 1943, he was drafted into the army. Then aged 20, he received a "provisional graduation qualification" (the actual certificate was issued the following year) and...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 30, 2012

Wakeup call for Japan's politicians

The massive shock that Japan received from the earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, was not enough to shake the country's politicians out of their comatose state. This was already evident before the recent national elections.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 29, 2012

Matsui praised for impact on baseball

Kyodo, AFP-Jiji Fans in Japan were saddened Friday by the news of power-hitter Hideki Matsui's retirement from baseball at the age of 38, many wishing he would resume his career in the country.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Dec 29, 2012

F.A.'s weakness gives Ferguson free rein to run mouth

Alex Ferguson doesn't do embarrassment or apologies, so the Manchester United manager will not be bothered that he did himself, his club and football a public disservice with some ridiculous comments over the past week. He has an agenda and keeps to it.
BUSINESS
Dec 29, 2012

Mitsubishi UFJ to tie up with, advise key Myanmar lender

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. said Friday it will ally with Myanmar's Co-operative Bank Ltd. to tap growing demand for financial services in the Southeast Asian nation as it shifts to democracy.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 29, 2012

Rapid move to e-books surprises experts, roils market

America's obsession with digital tablets is driving a boom in e-book reading, a new survey shows, a trend that is dampening the appeal of printed books and shaking the centuries-old publishing business.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 29, 2012

Post-3/11 output drop tops forecast

The nation's industrial output tumbled more than forecast to the lowest level since the aftermath of the March 11, 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, bolstering the case for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to unleash large-scale stimulus.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / BEST OF 2012
Dec 28, 2012

Hold the McFilms, pass the cinematic cassoulet

It always puzzles me that people turn to the Food page curious to find out about off-the-beaten-track joints that serve up a savory cassoulet or artisan shōchū or whatever, yet so many come to the film page expecting a review of this week's McBurger. Guess what? Tasted pretty much like the last one....
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Dec 28, 2012

Special New Year's buffet in Osaka; countdown dance event in Tokyo; Champagne dinner party

Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Dec 28, 2012

Experienced heads put Cinq Reves in playoff contention

The Tokyo Cinq Reves have taken their fair share of bumps and bruises during their inaugural season, but coach Motofumi Aoki is guiding the team in the right direction.
BUSINESS
Dec 28, 2012

Toyota sees sales boom in '13 on overseas demand

Toyota Motor Corp., poised to regain its title as the world's biggest carmaker this year, said its vehicle sales may rise 2 percent next year to a record, led by demand from overseas markets.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 28, 2012

Aso takes reins of shrinking economy with fiscal gusto

Taro Aso, son of a cement magnate and a champion of pork-barrel spending when prime minister, is Japan's sixth finance chief in three years, auguring expanded fiscal stimulus in the world's third-largest economy.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 27, 2012

Social awareness takes center stage

Japan's calamities of March 2011 — the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, and the start of an ongoing nuclear disaster — changed not only the social awareness of the general public who make up theater audiences, but also how dramatists approached their work. Many questioned why so many mistakes...
EDITORIALS
Dec 27, 2012

Mr. Abe has his work cut out

Liberal Democratic Party leader Mr. Shinzo Abe on Wednesday formed his Cabinet after the Diet nominated him as Japan's new prime minister. This is his second tenure as prime minister, with the LDP returning to power after an absence of three years and three months.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 27, 2012

The rise of the attention economy

I was recently posed the following question: "The most important way in which the Internet and online social media are changing our world is [fill in the blank]."
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Dec 27, 2012

Polar bear hunting, trade sparks global controversy

The polar bear was more than 1 km away and began running toward the dog sled, quickly closing the distance on the frozen Arctic waters of Canada's Resolute Bay.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 27, 2012

Japan's public museums enjoy a makeover

The collapse of the Sasago Tunnel in Yamanashi Prefecture three weeks ago put a spotlight on the state of Japan's infrastructure, and how many of the bridges and tunnels that were built during the period of rapid economic development in the 1970s and '80s have not received proper maintenance. Much of...
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Dec 26, 2012

Bulls keeping pace in East with Rose on mend

If the Chicago Bulls are this good without point guard Derrick Rose —not great, but good — then could they really be serious title contenders even this season?
JAPAN
Dec 26, 2012

New ruling bloc gets on same page

The Liberal Democratic Party and its ally, New Komeito, on Tuesday formally agreed on key policy issues to pursue when they return to power Wednesday, including prioritizing the reconstruction of the disaster-hit Tohoku region and fighting deflation and recession.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Dec 26, 2012

Queen praises Olympians in 3-D Christmas message

London AFP-JIJI
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 26, 2012

A time to reflect on pressing economic challenges

Sir John Templeton was a legend in his own lifetime who made billions of dollars from the sensible and wise way he invested money. In these difficult times it is apposite to quote Rule No. 12 of Templeton's legendary golden rules for investment success: "Begin with a prayer," he advised.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 26, 2012

Corporate short-termism in the fiscal cliff's shadow

Economic trends are sometimes more closely related to one another than news reports make them seem. For example, one regularly encounters reports of governments' financial troubles, like the "fiscal cliff" in the United States and the debt crisis in Europe. And much attention has been devoted, often...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 25, 2012

Japan's role in U.S.' Asia pivot

Proponents of the Obama administration's "pivot," or rebalance of attention and resources, toward Asia should be heartened by the results of Japan's parliamentary election. The Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) landslide victory in the Lower House on Dec. 16 augurs well for a reinvigorated relationship...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 25, 2012

LDP returns with all its old baggage

They're baaaack. After warming the opposition bench for more than three years, the Liberal Democratic Party has returned to power, hungrier and more eager than ever to rule.

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan