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May 14, 2025
 

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EDITORIALS
Feb 17, 2006
Numbers to grow by
With Japan's economy following a recovery path, how fast it should grow in coming years is a subject of vigorous debate in the government and the ruling parties. The debate, however, is being conducted largely in numerical terms, with the focus on how to set target levels for nominal growth rates (excluding...
EDITORIALS
Feb 16, 2006
Help for loan victims
The Supreme Court has made a ruling helpful to those who have borrowed money from consumer and "shoko" (industry and commerce) loan firms -- which lend operating funds to small companies -- as well as from illegal loan sharks. The ruling will affect the practice of having borrowers pay interest rates...
EDITORIALS
Feb 15, 2006
Skirting justice in Yokohama
The Yokohama District Court last week made a disappointing ruling in a case stemming from the state's wartime suppression of freedom of speech. The court could have shed light on the dark side of modern Japanese history by delving into a variety of related issues, including the questionable conduct of...
EDITORIALS
Feb 14, 2006
Ottawa's distance from Washington
A new administration led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper of the Conservative Party, which won the general election Jan. 23, has been inaugurated in Canada. The Conservatives have not held the reins of government since November 1993.
EDITORIALS
Feb 12, 2006
The case for a baby princess
No wonder the Crown Princess gets depressed. The spectacle of the chasm between the Imperial family and the 21st century has long been enough to depress anyone. But then, just when the princess must have thought the gap might be closing a bit, given the prime minister's efforts to win the right of succession...
EDITORIALS
Feb 11, 2006
A pension for their thoughts
The Diet last week passed a bill, effective in April, to abolish the controversial pension system for members of the national legislature. Proposed by the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito, it is a halfhearted measure because it preserves, although in a reduced form, special...
EDITORIALS
Feb 10, 2006
The world according to the Pentagon
The U.S. Department of Defense has released its vision of the world, the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR). The four-year review of U.S. military strategy provides the Pentagon's assessment of global trends and its responses to them. The QDR receives a lot of attention, but it is important to remember...
EDITORIALS
Feb 9, 2006
Iran tests the United Nations
Iran seems intent on confronting the world. Remarkably, the international community has mustered a unified response to the Tehran government's seeming determination to build a nuclear weapon. But brinkmanship continues: Last weekend Tehran said it was ending its commitment to the Additional Protocol...
EDITORIALS
Feb 8, 2006
The dark side of reform
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's administration, which had been sailing smoothly until a few months ago, now faces strong head winds amid a series of scandals. The first scandal to hit was the disclosure late last year that a certified architect had falsified building data on earthquake resistance....
EDITORIALS
Feb 7, 2006
Enough of make-believe bidding
The arrests last week of senior officials of the Defense Facilities Administration Agency (DFAA) confirmed that bid-rigging on public-works projects remains an entrenched practice in Japan. What happens, basically, is that a contract is awarded at a price higher than if it were put out to bid through...
EDITORIALS
Feb 6, 2006
Pinch of censorship vs. pile of trouble
There's a good reason why censorship sparks so many squabbles, as developments in both China and the Muslim world this past week have reminded us. It's a slippery concept. We who favor openness and transparency think we know exactly where we stand on censorship: We think it's bad. Right? Freedom of speech...
EDITORIALS
Feb 5, 2006
A tradition not yet finished
The bad news just keeps on coming for fans of conventional cameras. Nikon Corp. will stop manufacturing most of its film cameras, and Konika Minolta Holdings Inc. will completely withdraw from the camera and film business. The sad thing is that these makers have long contributed to Japan's photographic...
Transport ministry issues warning to Haneda Airport operator
The operator of Tokyo's Haneda Airport has been warned by the government over its inappropriate transactions.
Xi defiance pays off as Trump meets most China trade demands
Then-Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping visits a school in South Gate, California, in February 2012. Experts say Xi won big in his standoff with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Nissan shares surge as carmaker set to cut 20,000 jobs in huge overhaul
U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on cars and car parts imported to the U.S. have been painful to most global brands, but crippling in Nissan’s case.
Japan might be playing long game in U.S. tariff talks
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the White House earlier this year. Ishiba said Monday that farmers won't be sacrificed for automakers in Japan's tariff negotiations with the U.S.
More details emerge about stabbing near Tokyo University metro station
Yoshitaka Toda, the suspect in Wednesday's knife attack at Todaimae Station on the Tokyo Metro Nanboku Line, leaves a police station in the Japanese capital the same day for a pre-detention medical examination.
Japan set for bigger role in Philippines after SDF’s debut in key drills
Philippine Army Brig. Gen. Michael Logico, who was involved in managing the latest iteration of the Balikatan U.S.-Philippine drills, told The Japan Times that he expects military ties with Japan to surge even further once Tokyo ratifies a key visiting-forces agreement with Manila.
In China’s ‘Michelin Guide,’ Tokyo leads overseas listings with 30 entries
China's Black Pearl Restaurant Guide held its award ceremony overseas for the first time, picking the dining capital of Singapore to promote its brand to an international audience.
Who could become Japan's next prime minister?
Clockwise from top left: Former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi, former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi, Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi
With a new Shibuya studio, Apple Music bets big on Japan
Apple Music personalities (from left) Ebro Darden, Kentaro Ochiai, Zane Lowe and Mino came together for a special recording in late April to discuss music and celebrate the newly opened Apple Music studio in Tokyo.
Escalation fears rise in Japan following Chinese moves near Senkakus
A Japan Coast Guard vessel sails in front of the Uotsuri islet, one of the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands. Concerns are growing in Tokyo after a Chinese government helicopter violated Japan's airspace around the uninhabited islets.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?
By Tomoko Otake

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Tsukuba massif granite, one of the world’s few heritage stones
Tsukuba massif granite, one of the world’s few heritage stones

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