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BASKETBALL
Apr 20, 2011

Japan national hoop squad beefs up competition before important qualification tournaments

The Japan Basketball Association and men's national team head coach Thomas Wisman have selected a bigger group of players to spark more intense competition inside, while having them peak at the right time.
EDITORIALS
Apr 16, 2011

North Korea's 'chronic crisis'

North Korea is facing food shortages. International aid agencies report that the situation is dire, with millions facing the prospect of starvation in coming months without help. Even if those estimates are exaggerated, there is no escaping the fact that North korea cannot feed its own people.
EDITORIALS
Apr 15, 2011

No way to run a government

A shutdown of the United States government has been averted. At the last minute,negotiators from the Republican-controlled House of Representatives struck a deal with their Democratic Party counterparts from the Senate. The final compromise cuts $38.5 billion from the 2010 budget. While that sounds like...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 7, 2011

JET post best, not 'pityfest'

SHICHIGAHAMA, Miyagi Pref. — There is a picture folder in Marti McElreath's Facebook account that chronicles her time in Shichigahama, a town located on a small peninsula in Miyagi Prefecture less than an hour's drive from Sendai and where she has been working since last summer under the Japan Exchange...
BUSINESS
Apr 5, 2011

Bonds, not taxes, should fund recovery, experts say

The government should draft a supplementary budget of at least ¥10 trillion or even ¥20 trillion to rebuild areas damaged by the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake and raise the money by issuing government bonds instead of hiking the consumption tax, economists and financial experts said Monday.
MORE SPORTS / ICE TIME
Mar 30, 2011

France's noble gesture resonates in midst of crisis

It has been said that in times of crisis, people show their true colors.
EDITORIALS
Mar 30, 2011

Portugal's problems

And now, it is Portugal's turn. Last Wednesday, the government in Lisbon was forced to resign when the opposition refused to back a tough economic package designed to tackle the country's fiscal crisis. The result is a political crisis on top of an economic mess, one that threatens — again — to spill...
COMMENTARY
Mar 30, 2011

Lessons of the nuclear crisis

SINGAPORE — Before Japan's nuclear crisis struck, the world appeared to be on the verge of a nuclear renaissance. An increasing number of countries, especially in Asia, were turning to atomic power to provide electricity for rapid economic growth without the carbon emissions that many scientists say...
EDITORIALS
Mar 21, 2011

Promoting tourism

Can tourism become a force for economic growth? The Japanese government hopes so, making tourism, including medical tourism, one pillar of its new growth strategy adopted last summer.
BUSINESS
Mar 17, 2011

Taiwan may delay start of new atomic plant

Taiwan Power Co., the island's state-run grid monopoly, said Wednesday it may defer the start of a nuclear plant for the sixth time in light of Japan's calamity. The government may ask for stricter inspections of Taiwan's fourth atomic facility before allowing fuel to be loaded, Chief Engineer Roger...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Mar 12, 2011

Arsenal fans have to be realistic

LONDON — The reaction was predictable.
EDITORIALS
Mar 11, 2011

China struggles with change

China's legislature, the National People's Congress, commenced its annual 10-day session last weekend. The body is pretty much a rubber stamp, providing a democratic veneer to the decisions of the Chinese Communist Party. The session does shed light on affairs of state, in particular the government's...
BUSINESS
Mar 9, 2011

Prius station wagon models set to debut, will vie with Honda

Toyota Motor Corp. was poised to unveil two new Prius prototypes Wednesday that are extended versions of its popular sedan, hoping that when they debut on the domestic market at the end of April, demand will be further stimulated for fuel-efficient hybrids.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 6, 2011

Minding the tensions over changes in China

The closing decade of the 20th century offered a crystal ball for anyone peering into the future of the Asia-Pacific region. Japan's economy, once the region's leader, was "lost" after its asset bubble burst, whereas China overcame the economic stagnation that followed the Tiananmen Square crisis of...
EDITORIALS
Mar 6, 2011

Vaccination policy booster

Japan's vaccination policy has taken a small step forward. The fiscal 2010 supplementary budget approved by the Diet in late November includes some ¥108.5 billion to financially help local governments subsidize the costs of inoculation with three types of vaccines: one to prevent haemophilus influenza...
/ Sarah Furuya Coaching
Mar 3, 2011

Democracy's brakes on costly wars are fading

NEW YORK — As the United States takes up the decision to lift its self-imposed debt ceiling, we would do well to remember why America's public debt is as large as it is, and how it matters. With the rise of the tea party, Republicans may rail against raising the debt ceiling, but they are likely to...
JAPAN
Mar 1, 2011

Kim's son likely to make high-profile visit to China

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's son and the hermit nation's heir apparent, Kim Jong Un, will probably visit China immediately following the National People's Congress in Beijing on March 14, according to a document recently seen by The Japan Times.
BUSINESS
Feb 26, 2011

Consumer prices dip 0.2%, fall for 23rd month

Consumer prices went south for the 23rd straight month in January as deflation kept its hold on the world's No. 3 economy.

Longform

A man offers prayers at Hebikubo Shrine in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward. The shrine is one of several across the country dedicated to the snake.
Shed your skin and reinvent yourself in the Year of the Snake