Search - 2015

 
 
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Feb 25, 2014

Will Constitution survive Abe?

Conservative hawks who are close allies of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe express irritation over the failure of the move to amend the Constitution to have gained as much momentum as they had hoped.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 25, 2014

Olympic fanfare can't hide Russia's ills

Behind the swagger after the Winter Olympics lie serious doubts about Russia's future. Long-term price trends for the mineral resources upon which the economy depends, together with Russia's history, suggest that President Vladimir Putin's luck may well be about to run out.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 25, 2014

Okinawa assembly probes why Nakaima reversed base stance

A special investigative committee of the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly met last week and early this week to determine why Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima reversed his campaign pledge to get U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma moved outside Okinawa.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 24, 2014

Future looks dull from Washington

Absent an event that upends the country, Washington seems likely to be a lot less important over the next few years than it was over the past few years.
BUSINESS
Feb 21, 2014

Aluminum fee expected to hit record as producers reduce global output

Aluminum buyers in Japan, Asia's largest importer, are set to agree on a record fee next quarter as global producers reduce output and rates in the United States and Europe surge, said three executives who will start price negotiations next week.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Feb 21, 2014

Record trade deficit pressures Abenomics

Japan's record trade deficit adds to sinking consumer confidence and an April consumption tax increase, threatening to undermine Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's bid to engineer a sustained recovery.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Feb 21, 2014

Sotnikova stuns Kim to win Olympic gold in Sochi

Russia's Adelina Sotnikova pulled off an upset of epic proportions by defeating Yuna Kim for the gold medal at the Sochi Games on Thursday night at the Iceberg Skating Palace.
EDITORIALS
Feb 20, 2014

Expanding the temp workforce

A labor law revision being prepared by the government would remove the three-year limit on dispatching temporary workers to the same job, and thus expand the ranks of a workforce that traditionally has had little job security and received less pay than regular employees.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 19, 2014

'The refusal of time' is worth every minute

The former Rissei Elementary School site, nowadays an occasional cultural events center, was earlier home to the Kyoto Dento, the electric company whose technology helped industrialist Katsutaro Inabata to demonstrate the Lumière Brothers' cinématographe camera in 1897 — Japan's first experience...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 17, 2014

What to make of a president who'd rather crack the whip

President Vladimir Putin wants a strong sovereign and prosperous Russia, but he believes that Russians are incapable of deciding for themselves and need a shepherd with a whip — an almighty autocrat.
EDITORIALS
Feb 16, 2014

Now Kaieda must deliver

The head of the Democratic Party of Japan says the party will fiercely confront the Abe administration, which he called a 'raging horse,' to push politics aimed at protecting people's lives and jobs.
JAPAN / FUKUSHIMA FILE
Feb 16, 2014

Lack of bids threatens to keep Fukushima evacuees in temporary lodgings

Plans to build new public apartments for the nuclear refugees in Fukushima Prefecture are stalling because the prefectural government is struggling to attract bids from contractors.
JAPAN
Feb 13, 2014

Job hunters: No OT pay a key trait of 'black companies'

Not paying overtime is the biggest "sin" a potential employer can commit to get labeled as an abusive "black company" to be avoided by college students entering the job market, according to a survey of young job hunters.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Feb 13, 2014

Toyota recalls persist as most Prius hybrids need fix

Toyota Motor Corp.'s Akio Toyoda, beset by recalls since taking over as president in 2009, is now finding more flaws in one of his most high-profile models and adding to a growing fleet of cars that need fixing.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 13, 2014

Making sense of cultural nonsense

In today's complicated world of mass media and communication, contemporary British artists are finding new means of expression.
EDITORIALS
Feb 12, 2014

Prioritizing medical research

The Abe administration is seeking to establish a new system for the nation's medical research in which the government takes the lead role in pushing large-scale projects in the development of new drugs and medical technology.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 10, 2014

A wealthier Africa will depend on health care

One of Africa's biggest challenges to greater GDP growth and personal wealth is inadequate health care. Preventable and treatable diseases plague the population.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ADVANCES IN PROGRESS
Feb 9, 2014

Organic lights hold promise of softer glow

Cost-efficient and eco-friendly, lights powered by light-emitting diodes are taking off but may soon be upstaged by their organic cousins.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 9, 2014

EU effort bound for conflict

The EU's effort to build a political association with Ukraine in order eventually to make Ukraine an EU member has been extremely reckless and was inevitably destined to end in conflict.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Feb 8, 2014

Yuichiro Miura: on top of the world

Ever wondered what it feels like to stand on top of the world? Eighty-one-year-old alpinist Yuichiro Miura should know: He's done it three times since turning 70. He became the oldest person to scale the world's tallest peak, Mount Everest, in May last year, a remarkable feat that spurred the government...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Feb 8, 2014

Railroading debt into Laos

The first time I decided to fly to Vientiane, I was faced with a tossup between a Lao Airlines twin-prop or Aeroflot Soviet Airlines.

Longform

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