Search - environment

 
 
EDITORIALS
Oct 2, 2010

Hard times ahead for firms

A Bank of Japan tankan survey shows that business sentiment measured by the diffusion index among big manufacturers in the three months through September was plus 8, a rise of seven points from the previous quarter, marking improvement for six consecutive quarters. The diffusion index (DI) represents...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Sep 19, 2010

Taking up residence uninvited

I could scarcely make out the small songbird moving secretively through the undergrowth in the gloom of the dark forest. Its calls were barely familiar to me and seemed so out of context that I didn't recognize them at all at first.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Aug 17, 2010

Best answer to heatstroke is prevention

When it comes to heatstroke, the scorching summer of 2010 takes the cake.
COMMENTARY
Jul 13, 2010

How Japan regains vitality

Japan's international rating has been declining lately. Heard overseas are suggestions that Japan is about to enter its third "lost decade," or that Japan has disappeared off the world's radar screen. Its share of global GDP, 14.3 percent in 1990, slipped to 8.9 percent in 2008 and is expected to sink...
EDITORIALS
Jul 4, 2010

Environmental literature

Preparations are now under way for the 76th annual International PEN Congress to be held in Tokyo this September, only the third time Japan has hosted the event. It promises to be a stimulating occasion with such guests as Chinese Nobel laureate in literature Gao Xingjian and authors from Europe, Asia,...
COMMENTARY
May 18, 2010

Overhaul industrial policy to bolster the economy

Japan's industrial power is so stagnant that it seems a crisis is in store for our economy. Even as it lags far behind the United States in creating intelligent information systems, Japan is finding that South Korea, Taiwan and China are catching up with it in manufacturing.
JAPAN
May 7, 2010

Removing SIM lock not so simple

While the government has been raising expectations that removing the SIM lock on cell phones will enable consumers to switch carriers but keep the same handsets, it will give virtually no immediate benefits to users under the current network environment, according to people in the industry.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 27, 2010

Japan needs green tech investment

The government should focus more on promoting innovations and utilizing energy-efficient technologies of Japanese companies in the nation's efforts to combat global warming, officials of industry groups said at a recent symposium in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Mar 22, 2010

Climate change battle demands cooperation, not new appliances

The Japanese economy posted growth in the last quarter, but I would like to make a few observations about the components of the growth.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 21, 2010

Uncertainty beyond the Greek financial crisis

NEW YORK — As euro-zone leaders face growing uncertainty in financial markets about the public finances of Greece and other member countries, their statements, albeit somewhat vague, underscore a much larger story — one that will force firms and investors to question their assumptions about Europe's...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 17, 2010

Stop turning cheap food into expensive fuel

LONDON — U.S. Department of Agriculture figures reveal that a quarter of U.S. cereals grown in 2009 went to biofuel, turning cheap food into expensive fuel. This pushes up food prices and damages the environment, yet President Barack Obama promised "continued investment in advanced biofuels" in his...
COMMENTARY
Jan 8, 2010

Public hopes fade to fears over the DPJ's capabilities

The Hatoyama Cabinet's approval rating is falling rapidly. In the Lower House election last August, people in Japan rejected the Liberal Democratic Party's long years of reliance on vested interests in favor of the Democratic Party of Japan for a change of government.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Dec 13, 2009

How to survive a 'fearful age'?

The other day I attended a preview screening of "The Road," the new film of Cormac McCarthy's post-apocalyptic 2006 novel of the same name.
BUSINESS
Dec 9, 2009

¥7.2 trillion stimulus plan is unveiled

After haggling with a junior coalition partner over the size, the Cabinet of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on Tuesday announced a ¥7.2 trillion economic stimulus package aimed at lifting the sagging economy and overcoming deflation.
Reader Mail
Dec 3, 2009

Web site fails to deliver goods

I'd like to respond to Kinuye Oshiro-Avery's Nov. 29 letter "Futenma has environmental issue." First, let me make it clear that I am against any country's military bases anywhere in the world. That said, I went to the Web site suggested by Oshiro-Avery, expecting to see a video about the threatened coral...
Japan Times
LIFE
Nov 29, 2009

Bearing the brunt

In a log cabin high on a wooded mountainside in Hiroshima Prefecture, Kazuhiko Maita, 61-year-old director of the nonprofit Institute for Asian Black Bear Research and Preservation, is puzzling over the fate of Japan's black bears.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE
Nov 28, 2009

Japan water, solar tech high, global share low

Third in a series
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 27, 2009

Entrepreneurs lack serious support

Entrepreneurship must be encouraged more if Japan is to play a key role on the global stage, and foreign entrepreneurs are in a great position to lead the way, experts said at a recent conference in Tokyo.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE
Nov 26, 2009

CO2 cuts will require nation's transformation

First in a series
EDITORIALS
Nov 16, 2009

Transparent universities

All Japanese universities may soon be required to provide students with key statistics about their employment and dropout rates and other quantifiable facts, if a new proposal is accepted by the Central Council for Education. The list of items to publicly divulge is divided into five areas the education...
JAPAN
Oct 23, 2009

N.Y., London, Paris still beat Tokyo

Factoring together culture, environment, economy and accessibility, Tokyo ranks fourth out of 35 major cities worldwide and only, but still, lags behind leader New York, No. 2 London and third-place Paris, but it has the potential to go higher, a report released Thursday by an urban development research...
EDITORIALS
Aug 9, 2009

Public bikes in Tokyo

Free public bicycles will become available in Tokyo this fall, according to a recent announcement by the Environment Ministry. Following the example of free bike systems in European and American cities, the ministry, in conjunction with the Tokyo metropolitan government and a tour agency, will make several...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 25, 2009

Cool Biz said to undermine productivity

Takashi Kadokura used to strip down to his underwear when working late because of the heat.

Longform

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