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BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
Nov 2, 2009

Japan, EU jockey for position in effort to ink India trade pact

Japanese policymakers do look to India. Last month, both countries' trade delegations met for the 12th time to explore the possibility of a free-trade deal. They have good reasons to do so.
EDITORIALS
Oct 31, 2009

More doubts about Copenhagen

The prospects for success at the United Nations meeting in December in Copenhagen to devise a global accord to fight global warming appear to be receding. Ironically, one reason for the growing pessimism is the bilateral agreement struck by China and India, two of the world's leading producers of greenhouse...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 29, 2009

Reports of the dollar's death are exaggerated

BERKELEY, Calif. — The blogosphere is abuzz with reports of the dollar's looming demise. The greenback has fallen against the euro by nearly 15 percent since the beginning of the summer. Central banks have reportedly slowed their accumulation of dollars in favor of other currencies. One sensational...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 29, 2009

Hiroshima beckons Obama

KYOTO — For the past 64 years the name "Hiroshima" has conjured a nightmare vision for all humanity: the unthinkable specter of instantaneous atomic annihilation. Only by personally visiting Hiroshima or Nagasaki, the two cities that have experienced atomic bombing, can one begin to grasp the threat...
EDITORIALS
Oct 22, 2009

New government finding its feet

More than a month has passed since the Hatoyama administration was inaugurated. People can see that it is trying in earnest to implement policy promises spelled out in the Democratic Party of Japan's election manifesto. The administration, which at its outset enjoyed an approval rating that topped 70...
JAPAN
Oct 16, 2009

Tourism budget to soar: Maehara

Tourism minister Seiji Maehara requested Thursday a budget of ¥25.7 billion for the 2010 fiscal year, a fourfold increase on the previous year, to increase foreign tourists to Japan and promote regional economies.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 16, 2009

Rich turn to solar power for latest status symbols

Forget the 58-inch flat-panel TV, the new domestic status symbol for Japan's rich is a cooker.
COMMENTARY
Oct 15, 2009

An angel among the evil energy resources

Environmental activists have an aboveground and a below-ground view of the world. Energy sources harnessed on or very close to the surface, like wind, wave, tidal, solar and hydro power, are good. They are renewable and do not emit carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas that is widely thought to be...
BUSINESS
Oct 15, 2009

Tepco looks to get more out of reactors

Tokyo Electric Power Co., Asia's biggest nuclear operator, may raise capacity at existing reactors to meet emissions-reduction targets set by the new government.
BUSINESS
Oct 14, 2009

Toyota wants exhaust credits from California

Toyota Motor Corp. said potentially valuable emissions credits that California plans to give to utilities for supporting rechargeable cars should go to automakers instead.
Japan Times
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Oct 11, 2009

Ishihara's bid for legacy was Olympian waste of taxpayer money

I hate to say I told you so . . . but I did.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CABINET INTERVIEW
Oct 9, 2009

Education chief takes liberal path

New education minister Tatsuo Kawabata says he will give more control of schools to local governments and increase practical learning, indicating a turn away from the conservative policies of previous administrations.
BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
Oct 5, 2009

New Japan in sight as mind-sets, economy approach crossroads

There is little doubt that the Democratic Party of Japan's Lower House victory and the election of Yukio Hatoyama as prime minister are the most significant political events Japan has experienced in the past 20 years. After decades of behind-closed-doors policymaking and stagnant growth under the conservative...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Oct 4, 2009

Japan's gender equality may be 'insufficent,' but it's surely coming

As the vast majority of societies worldwide are male dominated, one of the most contentious issues they face as they evolve centers on the status of women.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Oct 4, 2009

Japan's gender equality may be 'insufficent,' but it's surely coming

As the vast majority of societies worldwide are male dominated, one of the most contentious issues they face as they evolve centers on the status of women.
COMMENTARY
Oct 3, 2009

Hopes and tasks for the DPJ

In a Yomiuri Shimbun opinion survey conducted just after the election, 72 percent of those polled had an optimistic view of the Democratic Party of Japan, reflecting a favorable popular response to the outcome of the Aug. 30 general election.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 30, 2009

China worries neighbors as its navy comes of age

SINGAPORE — China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has made great strides in recent years as it seeks to come of age. While moving to demonstrate its clout, it also seems to recognize the need to reassure others that the intentions behind its modernization program are peaceful.
Japan Times
LIFE
Sep 27, 2009

Let's Bike!

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama could have made a stronger impact at the United Nations Summit on Climate Change in New York last week had he trumpeted another environmentally laudable proposal in addition to his declared goal of Japan cutting its greenhouse-gas emissions by 25 percent from 1990 levels...

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat