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JAPAN / ANALYSIS
May 29, 2011

G-8 differ in reactions to Fukushima

While the Group of Eight wrapped up their two-day summit in Deauville, France, by agreeing on the need to better define international standards for nuclear safety, its member nations differ in their reactions to the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 28, 2011

Kansai prefectures on board with Son's huge solar energy project

Seven Kansai prefectures have agreed to participate in a project proposed by Softbank founder Masayoshi Son to turn unused farmland into sites for solar energy panels that would eventually provide the same amount of electricity as 50 nuclear reactors.
COMMENTARY / World
May 25, 2011

Japan's nuclear conundrum

Concerns regarding nuclear power in Japan following the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant are fueling debates on a possible reformulation of the country's energy policy.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 14, 2011

Renewable's time is now, expert says

Prime Minister Naoto Kan's request that Chubu Electric Power Co. shut down the Hamaoka nuclear power plant was valuable, though he should have reached this decision much sooner after the Fukushima crisis, according to an expert on nuclear and renewable energy.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2011

Crisis to heat up winter LNG prices

Japan, which buys about a third of the world's liquefied natural gas, is poised to import record amounts in the coming year, heralding a surge in prices as demand peaks next winter.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
May 13, 2011

China: the next frontier for konbini

Japan's convenience store monoliths begin taking bigger steps into the lucrative Chinese market.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 12, 2011

Crisis a chance to forge new energy policy

On March 15, 1970, the long-anticipated Osaka Expo opened, allowing more than 64 million people to indulge their curiosity and learn about future technologies over a six-month period. It would remain the most attended world's fair until the 2010 Shanghai Expo and continues to be regarded, along with...
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 7, 2011

In search of a nuclear disposal site

Roughly 300 km northwest of Finland's capital, Helsinki, is the island of Olkiluoto, home to two nuclear power plants and the potential site for one of the world's first permanent underground high-level nuclear waste repositories.
COMMENTARY
Apr 28, 2011

Beijing's troubling South China Sea policy

SINGAPORE — China is already one of the world's largest offshore energy producers. It wants to become bigger still by finding more oil and natural gas in home waters or in zones close to China, to avoid becoming excessively dependent on foreign imports.
BUSINESS
Apr 22, 2011

Nissan to speed up U.S. deliveries of Leaf electric cars

Nissan Motor Co. said beginning this month it will boost shipments of Leaf battery-electric cars to the U.S., where it has made about 500 deliveries since late December.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 22, 2011

Taxes must play role in quake recovery: Yosano

Economy and fiscal policy minister Kaoru Yosano said taxes must be part of funding quake reconstruction, as polls indicate public support for increasing levies to pay for rebuilding.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 21, 2011

Tepco may increase LNG imports by 50% amid energy policy shift

Tokyo Electric Power Co., which produces about a quarter of Japan's electricity, may increase imports of liquefied natural gas by 50 percent to compensate for output lost as a result of the loss of nuclear power facilities due to last month's earthquake and tsunami.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 19, 2011

EU road map to improving the lives of Roma

The European Union, at long last, is taking a significant step toward improving the lives of Europe's millions of Roma. Rather than proposing a grand plan for EU-level action, the European Commission's recently released "EU framework for national Roma integration strategies up to 2020" calls on each...
COMMENTARY
Apr 13, 2011

Nuclear disaster's impact

Japan's nuclear disaster highlights a contentious and still unresolved issue: how best to manage and dispose of highly radioactive used fuel from reactors that generate electricity.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 12, 2011

Offshore windmills weather crisis

A cheap and simply structured wind-power plant proved more resistant to natural disasters than nuclear plants.
BUSINESS
Apr 8, 2011

Growth abroad spurs Fast Retailing profit hike

Fast Retailing Co., operator of the Uniqlo chain of casual clothing, raised its profit forecast by 18 percent on overseas growth and lower costs even as other retailers say the March 11 disaster will hurt earnings.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Apr 3, 2011

Irradiated water swamps Tepco

The government and Tokyo Electric Power Co. have been struggling for three weeks to end the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear crisis but are being stymied by the need to remove massive amounts of highly radioactive water.
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...
COMMENTARY
Mar 28, 2011

Firms prefer pushing tobacco to the poorest

NEW YORK — Facing greater restriction in the United States and other industrialized countries, multinational tobacco companies are increasingly marketing their products in developing countries, particularly among women and adolescents.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 23, 2011

No joke: Higashikokubaru to run as independent for Tokyo governor

Former Miyazaki Gov. Hideo Higashikokubaru ended months of speculation by formally announcing Tuesday his intention to run as an independent for governor of Tokyo in the April 10 election, promising to devote his energies to revitalizing Japan and decentralizing power.
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.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 16, 2011

Finding a way to make industrial policy work

GENEVA — Industrial policy (IP) is back — or rather, back in fashion. Of course, it never really went away, even in countries formally adhering to free-market principles. But the postcrisis world — in which government intervention in the economy has gained greater legitimacy — will see more of...

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