Search - 2015

 
 
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Sep 5, 2012

Buy now to beat the consumption tax increase ... or don't

The pros and cons of making big-ticket purchases before the consumption tax increase.
BUSINESS
Sep 4, 2012

Both Ford, Toyota claim top-selling car in the world

Ford Motor Co., the second-largest U.S. automaker, and Toyota Motor Corp., Asia's biggest car company, are each saying they produced the best-selling car in the world in the first half. Their definitions are the key.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 1, 2012

Putin's bad neighbor policy reaps poor harvest

Russia has shown itself to be an international spoiler with its ardent support for Syrian President Bashar Assad. The contrast with its benign policy toward Libya in 2011 reflects how Russian foreign policy changed with the return of Vladimir Putin to the Kremlin. On foreign policy, at least, Russia's...
EDITORIALS
Sep 1, 2012

The blame for Diet paralysis

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and the ruling Democratic Party of Japan bear primary responsibility for the current paralytic political situation — the virtual stoppage of Diet deliberations after a censure motion against Mr. Noda passed in the opposition-controlled Upper House Wednesday.
EDITORIALS
Aug 31, 2012

Diet business at an impasse

Diet business has reached paralysis as the opposition forces on Wednesday passed a censure motion against Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda. Following passage of the motion, the opposition forces plan to boycott all the deliberations in both houses of the Diet on bills submitted by the government.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 31, 2012

Reverse imports on the rise thanks to strong yen

Japan Inc. has found a new export market: Japan.
JAPAN
Aug 30, 2012

Censure motion against Noda OK'd

With the Sept. 8 end of the current Diet session nearing, political players in Nagata-cho engaged in a heated tit-for-tat battle Wednesday as the opposition-controlled Upper House passed a censure motion against Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda to try to push him into dissolving the Lower House.
COMMENTARY
Aug 30, 2012

Going to the moon still matters

When the first man on the moon died Saturday, U.S. President Barack Obama tweeted: "Neil Armstrong was a hero not just of his time, but of all time." Armstrong's final comment on Obama, on the other hand, was that the president's policy on manned space flight was "devastating," adding that it condemned...
BUSINESS
Aug 29, 2012

LDP likely to halt deficit bond bill

The legislation passed Tuesday by the Lower House authorizing the sale of bonds to finance the budget will probably be blocked by the Upper House, complicating Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's economic policy.
EDITORIALS
Aug 28, 2012

Dangers of consumption tax hike

With the enactment of a law to raise the consumption tax rate, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda may feel relieved and believe that he has done something good. But one wonders whether he has given serious thought to the effects that the tax hike will have on the economy, which has been suffering from persistent...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 28, 2012

Home purchases rise ahead of tax increase

Record low mortgage rates and the prospect of a consumption tax hike that will add the price of a new Toyota Corolla to the cost of an average home spurred Sumiko Morigaki into action.
Reader Mail
Aug 19, 2012

Noda tempts economic disaster

Regarding the Aug. 11 front-page article "Upper House passes bill to hike sales levy": As someone who lives in Japan, I think raising the consumption tax at this time is an ill-conceived idea and one that could very well be the impetus for economic disaster.
JAPAN
Aug 11, 2012

Upper House passes bill to hike sales levy

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda achieved a major goal Friday when the Upper House passed his administration's social security and tax reform bills that will double the sales tax to 10 percent by 2015.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Aug 11, 2012

Legislation's OK just start of long, rough road ahead

The countdown to raising the sales tax officially began Friday with the Diet passing the necessary legislation, but the move is just the start of a long road that still lies ahead.
EDITORIALS
Aug 10, 2012

Confusing political games

A confused state of affairs developed in the Diet this week. On Tuesday night, the Liberal Democratic Party decided to submit a no-confidence motion against the Noda Cabinet to the Lower House and a censure motion against Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda to the Upper House, despite the fact that the LPD,...
JAPAN
Aug 7, 2012

LDP chief holds tax bill hostage to election

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda needs to give assurances that he will dissolve the Lower House and call a snap election before the Liberal Democratic Party votes for his social security and tax reform bills in the Upper House, the leader of the top opposition party said Monday.

Longform

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