Tag - explainer

 
 

EXPLAINER

Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 26, 2013
Firms go abroad by hiring foreign students here
As Japanese companies continue to look overseas for opportunities to expand, an increasing number are trying to hire foreigners — or what they call "global human resources."
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 19, 2013
Abe's pick for BOJ chief coming soon
With Masaaki Shirakawa stepping down as governor of the Bank of Japan on March 19, three weeks earlier than scheduled, the process to select his successor is accelerating.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 13, 2013
Turning a wall into a moving canvas
People who took in the evening celebrations marking the reopening of the Tokyo Station building in September saw a dazzling array of 3-D images on the outer walls.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 4, 2013
Cyclists who flout law face charges
Traffic accidents have witnessed an overall decline in recent years, but the percentage of cases involving bicycles is on the rise. National Police Agency data show bicycles were involved in 20.8 percent of all traffic accidents in 2011, up 18.5 percent from 2001.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jan 29, 2013
In Japan, gun control is the norm and discipline is rigid
The recent mass shootings in the United States have spurred the White House to pursue what many in the nation consider taboo: strict gun controls.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jan 22, 2013
The blunt, blue-blooded Aso is back
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may be the face of the new government led by Liberal Democratic Party, but Finance Minister Taro Aso is also a force in the LDP to be reckoned with.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jan 15, 2013
Tokyo hopes this Olympics bid wins
Tokyo's quest to host the 2020 Olympics entered a new stage last week when it presented its candidature file to the International Olympic Committee in Switzerland.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jan 8, 2013
Xenophobia finds fertile soil in web anonymity
As diplomatic strains with China and South Korea worsen over territorial disputes, more and more Japanese are using the relative anonymity of cyberspace to vent their political spleens online.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 25, 2012
LDP returns with all its old baggage
They're baaaack. After warming the opposition bench for more than three years, the Liberal Democratic Party has returned to power, hungrier and more eager than ever to rule.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 19, 2012
Firms move some eggs out of China basket
Anti-Japan riots in Beijing, Shanghai and elsewhere in China in September triggered by Japan's nationalization of the disputed Senkaku Islands brought vandalism and violence to Japanese restaurants, stores and car dealers and a boycott of Japanese products.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 11, 2012
Some election campaign rules outdated, quirky
From Hokkaido to Okinawa Prefecture, 1,504 candidates are campaigning for the 480 seats up for grabs in Sunday's Lower House election.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 4, 2012
Mismatch: Universities on rise but students in decline
Education minister Makiko Tanaka drew immediate flak in early November when she outright refused her advisory panel's recommendation to approve three new universities.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Nov 27, 2012
'Third force' elements scramble for poll position
So far 16 political parties are fielding candidates for the Dec. 16 Lower House election.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Nov 20, 2012
Ishiharas — family ties with a twist
The Ishiharas trail the Hatoyamas 2-0 in prime ministers. But when it comes to the variety, prominence and celebrity of each individual member, not many families in Japan today can compete with the Ishihara bunch.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Nov 13, 2012
The art of angling for conventions
It used to be that pouring cash into public works projects was deemed the best way to kick-start an ailing economy. Those days are long gone. Now the government is more bent on cutting spending to ease the bloated national debt.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Nov 6, 2012
Startup: Add risk, cash, entrepreneur
Softbank Corp. CEO Masayoshi Son took the world by surprise last month by announcing a $20 billion buyout of U.S.-based Sprint Nextel Corp. In 1980, his startup firm was a two-man computer wholesaler. Now through vigorous mergers and acquisitions it's angling to be the world's third-largest telecommunications...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Oct 30, 2012
Behind the no-nuclear option
The triple-meltdown crisis that began last year at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant jarred the public out of its complacent attitude toward nuclear power and every other assurance made by the government and Japan Inc.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Oct 23, 2012
Tokyo Station's Marunouchi side restored to 1914 glory
Tokyo Station is a major commuter hub that draws throngs of people who visit every day just to admire the Marunouchi side's century-old red-brick and stone facade or stay in its nostalgic hotel. After undergoing a 5½-year renovation, the historic landmark formally reopened on Oct. 1.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Oct 16, 2012
Shale oil vein raises energy, tech hopes
For the first time ever this month, shale oil was extracted from a Japanese oil field.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Oct 9, 2012
North Korea abductees mark decade since coming home
Oct. 15 will mark the 10th anniversary since five Japanese citizens were repatriated from North Korea after being abducted by Pyongyang's agents in the 1970s. The government claims that the North has failed to properly address the fate of 12 more Japanese abductees that remain missing, while others say...

Longform

Sociologist Gracia Liu-Farrer argues that even though immigration doesn't figure into Japan's autobiography, it is more of a self-perception than a reality.
In search of the ‘Japanese dream’