Search - 2015

 
 
EDITORIALS
Jan 14, 2014

Leave those kids alone

The education ministry should rethink its attempt to introduce 'morals' as an official subject of instruction in elementary and junior high schools.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 14, 2014

Markets take a back seat under gesture liberalism

Building the Volt hybrid car was bailed-out General Motors' gesture of obeisance to its Washington masters when, in fact, U.S. auto sales have cruised back to 2007 levels thanks to Americans' fondness for pickup trucks and SUVs.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 11, 2014

U.S. base at center of Nago poll

In a contest with major implications for the government and military ties with the U.S., campaigning is about to start in the city chosen to host the Futenma replacement base.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 10, 2014

Mitsubishi said to weigh bid for Sendai Airport

Mitsubishi Corp., the nation's biggest trading house, may bid for the rights to operate Sendai Airport, according to two sources.
EDITORIALS
Jan 9, 2014

Tepco's flawed turnaround plan

Tepco should further streamline its operations and explore new avenues of business growth, such as the retail sale of electricity in parts of Japan, rather than return to its old model that depended on nuclear power for profitability.
EDITORIALS
Jan 8, 2014

Shaky foundation for recovery

The Japanese economy appears to be on the recovery path for now, thanks to the policy of the Abe administration, but the effects from the consumption tax rise, beginning in April, and the extra financial burden that households can expect under the fiscal 2014 draft budget do not place the recovery on a solid foundation.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 6, 2014

Arrival of 'bad inflation' trend bodes ill for Japan's rebound

Price increases are prompting Japanese shoppers to buy less mayonnaise, showing the fragility of any economic rebound unless wages keep up with living costs.
JAPAN / BULLETIN BOARD
Jan 6, 2014

Tokyo job fair to help students from Southeast Asia

A job fair for students from Southeast Asian countries seeking employment in Japan will be held Sunday in Tokyo. Recruiters from various industries, such as manufacturing, travel, transportation and retail, will be in attendance.
COMMENTARY
Jan 5, 2014

Obamacare took a beating in 2013, and this year could be worse — for the law and Democrats

As bad as 2013 was for Obamacare, the year ahead has the potential to be even worse — for the law, the Obama administration and congressional Democrats.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Jan 4, 2014

Kenya Hara: the future of design

Sitting at a plain white table in a meeting room high up on the 12th floor of a narrow building in central Tokyo, product designer Kenya Hara asks me to picture a shallow plate in my mind. "Now imagine a slightly deeper plate," Hara says, "that gets deeper and deeper and eventually becomes a bowl."
EDITORIALS
Jan 3, 2014

Dubious cure for doctor shortage

The education ministry's recent decision to approve creation of a new medical school at an existing university in Tohoku marks a new development in the government's oscillating policy on the education of doctors.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 2, 2014

Mitsubishi, Mitsui pull out of deal to buy Aussie LNG

Mitsubishi Corp. and Mitsui & Co. have withdrawn from an agreement to buy liquefied natural gas from Woodside Petroleum Ltd.'s Browse venture in Australia after delays to the project.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 2, 2014

Komatsu bets on local concrete boom as global mining sales falter

Construction equipment maker Komatsu Ltd. expects spending on disaster reconstruction and prevention, as well as preparations for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, to boost earnings in its home market.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 31, 2013

Abe's quest to revive, reshape nation rides on the economy

Just six months ago, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was riding high after his party swept the Upper House election. Now things aren't looking so rosy.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 31, 2013

Pope Francis and the meteor

If, as researchers believe, a city-killer meteor arrives about once a century, then Earth is due. But we're not close to ready, and NASA lacks the money for a serious response system.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 31, 2013

2013, a year of angry elites

The crowds who called for revolution in Cairo, Istanbul, Bangkok and Kiev in 2013 were not the impoverished losers of globalization. They were mostly the economic winners: middle-class, educated, English-speaking. So why were they rebelling?
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 30, 2013

Kuroda seen limiting '14 losses as JGB run ends

Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda has scope to increase unprecedented stimulus, limiting losses on Japanese government bonds in 2014 as global sovereigns slump, economists predict.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Dec 30, 2013

Once Tories' answer to EU fears, enlargement is now their problem

With the U.K. Independence Party breathing down the Tories' necks, EU enlargement is no longer the British government's answer in Europe, but its No. 1 problem.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 29, 2013

Conceding it's best avoided, Aso refuses to rule out fresh extra budget

While saying it is best if such a move is not made, Finance Minister Taro Aso refused to rule out the possibility an extra budget will be needed again next year to support the economy.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Dec 28, 2013

Gamba wait for new site

Gamba Osaka, one of the original J. League members, will move into a brand-new stadium as early as 2016.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Dec 26, 2013

Budget limits trim NASA's plans for big projects

The Cassini spacecraft is in splendid shape as it circles Saturn. Conceived in the 1980s and launched in 1997, Cassini arrived at the gas-giant planet in 2004 and has continued to deliver stunning images of the jewel of the solar system.
EDITORIALS
Dec 25, 2013

Rein in government spending

The government's draft budget for fiscal 2014, which Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet approved Tuesday, reflects a lack of government will to reduce public spending and debt even as the tax burden on consumers is set to increase.

Longform

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