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EDITORIALS
Nov 11, 2009

Japan and the Mekong region

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and his counterparts from five Mekong region countries held their first summit on Friday and Saturday in Tokyo, hammering out Japan's support measures to combat climate change and narrow economic gaps within the region. The summit was held at a time when China's influence...
EDITORIALS
Nov 11, 2009

Problematic 'pluthermal' era

The 1.18 million-kW No. 3 reactor at Kyushu Electric Power Co.'s Genkai nuclear power plant in Saga Prefecture, which is Japan's first reactor using plutonium-uranium mixed oxide (MOX) as fuel, attained nuclear criticality last Thursday and started trial operations Monday (commerical operations are to...
COMMENTARY
Nov 4, 2009

Pollution fears don't dent coal's popularity

Asia's rebound from the global economic slump is cheering the world with its promise of more growth, jobs and trade. But the revival is bad news for the environment because it is largely driven by a production and transport system addicted to fossil fuels, especially coal and oil. This helps explain...
BUSINESS
Oct 30, 2009

JAL to seek revival under state

After about a month of evaluating the assets of Japan Airlines Corp., the transport ministry and a reconstruction task force said Thursday that the struggling carrier needs to go through reconstruction under the Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corp.
BUSINESS
Oct 30, 2009

Japan, U.S. trail in hiking interest rates

The global monetary policy divide is widening as the U.S. Federal Reserve, Bank of Japan and major counterparts lag behind Norway and Australia in raising interest rates, a trend that is set to continue into 2010.
EDITORIALS
Oct 27, 2009

Ambitious and anxious Asia

Asia aspires to lead the world. That is the chief message from the meetings of Asia-Pacific leaders that convened last weekend in Thailand. The region's rapid emergence from the global economic downturn has confirmed the belief among its leaders that it is time for an Asian community to emerge — a...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 20, 2009

Political horse trading and climate change

AMSTERDAM — When the panda smiles, the world applauds. Or so it seemed after Chinese President Hu Jintao's recent speech at the United Nations. Judging by the way much of the media reported his words, it seemed as if China had actually made an important announcement on cutting greenhouse-gas emissions....
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 16, 2009

After fast start, it's crunch time for Cabinet

The Democratic Party of Japan-led Cabinet heads into its second month Friday, after coming out quickly to usher in a new political era in the wake of the Liberal Democratic Party's long domination.
EDITORIALS
Sep 16, 2009

The future of rocket business

Japan launched its biggest and newly developed H2B rocket early Friday morning. The rocket placed in orbit Japan's first unmanned space transportation vehicle — the H-2 Transfer Vehicle (HTV) — for transporting supplies to the International Space Station. Around this weekend, the HTV is scheduled...
EDITORIALS
Sep 14, 2009

To build a dam, or not

The Democratic Party of Japan's election manifesto calls for a complete review of large public works projects that fail to respond to the needs of the day, specifically calling for a halt to construction of Kawabe Dam in Kumamoto Prefecture and Yanba Dam in Nagano Prefecture.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 9, 2009

IPO eyed for Showa Shell solar-panel unit

Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K. is considering selling shares in a solar-panel unit to fund an expansion of its renewable energy business and cut reliance on fuel sales.
BUSINESS
Sep 2, 2009

Mitsubishi, IHI to join solar project in space

Mitsubishi Electric Corp. and IHI Corp. will join a ¥2 trillion Japanese project to build a giant solar power generator in space within three decades and beam electricity to Earth.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2009

Rural areas fear DPJ bid to ax big projects

AGATSUMA, Gunma Pref. — As media speculation mounts that the Democratic Party of Japan will win big in Sunday's Lower House election, Akiyoshi Toyoda, 44, is spending sleepless nights worrying about what may happen to his business if the opposition camp takes power.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 21, 2009

'20-Seiki Shonen'

Yukihiko Tsutsumi's hit "20-Seiki Shonen" ("20th Century Boys") trilogy is based on one of those "what if" premises that may look almost childishly obvious, but, from a commercial standpoint, is simply brilliant.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 13, 2009

Kirin-Suntory talks reflect global business realities

News last month that Kirin Holdings Co. and Suntory Holdings Ltd. were discussing a merger shocked the domestic beverage industry for its sheer breadth: The deal would create a company with annual sales of ¥3.8 trillion, making it the world's fifth-largest drink and food conglomerate.
JAPAN
Jul 30, 2009

The new face of home caregivers

Kazuo Yamazaki was in the prime of his career as an engineer at a Japanese music company doing business across borders. His decades-long profession came to an abrupt end six years ago, however, when at age 55 he became his mother's primary caregiver.

Longform

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