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EDITORIALS
Nov 19, 2011

Diet action for reconstruction

The Lower House on Nov. 10 passed the supplementary budget for fiscal 2011 to finance reconstruction from the March 11 disasters. This week the Upper House has started deliberations on it. Both the extra budget and related bills are expected to be enacted by the end of the month. But more than eight...
EDITORIALS
Nov 19, 2011

Storing radioactive waste

Eight months since disaster struck Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, the cleanup of areas contaminated by radioactive substances and the safe storage of contaminated soil and waste are pressing issues.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 17, 2011

Thai floods may divert Japanese investment

Japanese companies, Thailand's biggest foreign investors, may spend more to build factories in neighboring Indonesia and Vietnam after the worst flooding in 70 years disrupted global production.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 16, 2011

Toyota concepts await show

Ahead of next month's Tokyo Motor Show, Toyota Motor Corp. on Tuesday unveiled two fuel-efficient concept cars, one an electric vehicle and the other a fuel-cell vehicle.
BUSINESS
Nov 12, 2011

Sumitomo Electric eyes EVs, hybrids

Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd. plans to sell a sodium-ion battery it is working on to makers of electric and hybrid cars, expanding its horizons beyond commercial-vehicle fleet operators.
COMMENTARY
Nov 11, 2011

Two days that shook the CIS

On Oct. 18-19, eight of 11 members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) — gathering in St. Petersburg for its annual session — accepted a proposal from Russian Prime Minister and returning President Vladimir Putin to establish a free trade zone, thus taking a decisive step toward a Eurasian...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 9, 2011

Russia's Eurasian integration

With Russia's 2012 presidential elections effectively over since Vladimir Putin's decision to reclaim his old Kremlin office, it is time to turn from personalities to policies. Putin plans to stay in the Kremlin for two more presidential terms, another 12 years, as he is enabled to do by the recently-amended...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 3, 2011

Timing may be everything in TPP

As emerging Asian economies facilitate growth in the region and increasingly stand out as important players in global trade, the United States appears intent on getting its own share of the pie in the form of taking a leadership role in the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade framework.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 3, 2011

Japan has viable options on the TPP conundrum: Why not use one?

U.S. President Barack Obama will soon head to Hawaii for the 2011 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum, November 8-13. Hosted by the United States, it and eight other APEC economies are holding talks to reach broad outlines of a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement.
EDITORIALS
Oct 24, 2011

U.S. remembers trade diplomacy

On the morning of Oct. 14, U.S. President Barack Obama signed three free-trade agreements, one each with South Korea, Colombia and Panama. The trade deals are important steps forward for the United States and its partners. While these deals are economic agreements, they are much more. In particular,...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INDIA-JAPAN SYMPOSIUM
Oct 24, 2011

India bids for closer East Asia ties for regional integration

India wants to play a role in the economic integration of Asia through closer ties with East Asian powers including China — despite a long history of political hostility — and Japan, journalists and experts from India said at a recent symposium in Tokyo.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 12, 2011

Missing the boat to Myanmar

Where is Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's foreign policy? A neighboring country that has suffered years of isolation and plunder by the misruling junta may be signaling that it wants to come in from the cold. Japan, which could offer the greatest help, seems to be asleep to the opportunity.
BUSINESS
Oct 8, 2011

Ghosn decries lack of yen action

Carlos Ghosn, chief executive officer of Nissan Motor Co., said Japan faces a "hollowing out" of its industrial base should the government fail to take steps to counter the yen's rise.
COMMENTARY
Oct 7, 2011

Nuclear power's face looking rested

The catastrophic accident at Japan's Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant earlier this year undermined confidence in, and support for, nuclear power around the world. The plant north of Tokyo on the Pacific coast was hit by a series of explosions, fires and serious radiation leaks after a massive earthquake...
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Sep 29, 2011

Aki goes pear shaped for Harumafuji as Hakuho notches No. 20

On Day 1, popular ozeki Harumafuji downed komusubi Toyonoshima in a match that had the audience at the Kokugikan clapping wildly and looking forward to a tournament in which the smallest man in the second rank would make a run for yokozuna grand champion status, following his championship win back in...
Japan Times
Rugby
Sep 28, 2011

Late Canadian rally spoils Japan's winning ambitions

Japan's Pool A World Cup finale had a "been there, done that" feeling for Japan.
COMMENTARY
Sep 27, 2011

Groping for a path to jobs

Market turmoil and the continuing slowdown in growth have led to increased unemployment especially in the developed economies of Western Europe and in the United States.
Japan Times
JAPAN / POWERING THE FUTURE
Sep 24, 2011

Despite headwinds, solar energy making progress, advocates say

Japan's largest solar panel plant is in full swing in Kunitomi, Miyazaki Prefecture, daily churning out up to 16,000 30-sq.-cm solar panels that have a conversion efficiency rate of more than 12 percent.
EDITORIALS
Sep 19, 2011

Advancing to preschool care

As part of its policy to support children and child-rearing families, the Democratic Party of Japan government is pushing the idea of integrating yochi-en (kindergartens), which are for the education of preschoolers, and hoiku-jo (day-care facilities for children).
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 19, 2011

China's historic rise (or slowdown)

Is China on the brink of eclipsing the United States as the world's economic megapower, with the yuan taking over from the dollar as the global currency, and China able to exercise financial, military and political hegemony?
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 19, 2011

India and China in deep water over sovereignty

An unidentified Chinese warship demanded that the INS Airavat, an amphibious assault vessel, identify itself and explain its presence in the South China Sea after it left Vietnamese waters in late July, London's Financial Times reported.
BUSINESS
Sep 15, 2011

Toyota says its parts woes are 'behind us'

Toyota Motor Corp. resumed full production at all North American plants this week and said it will expand U.S. output of small engines as Japan's largest automaker works to boost sales slowed by a March earthquake.

Longform

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