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EDITORIALS
Oct 8, 2012

NHK's gamble with fee cut

NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corp.) on Oct. 1 implemented a reduction in its television-viewing fees, but the decision does not appear to be a wise one. There is the risk that a decrease in revenue could cause a decline in the quality of NHK programs.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Sep 24, 2012

Toll of double tax hikes on the economy will be even worse than in '97

The number of people in Japan aged 65 or older has reached 30.74 million, or 24.1 percent of the population, according to a government estimate released on the Respect for the Aged Day last Monday. The numbers are record highs and warn of snowballing health and welfare costs the country will soon have...
Uncategorized / TRAVEL INSIDER
Sep 19, 2012

Fly China Airlines, ride Taiwan high-speed train for free; Virgin's Haneda plans

Taiwan plane, train offer
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 11, 2012

Nomura CEO: Overseas units to see '14 profit

Koji Nagai, who took over as Nomura Holdings Inc.'s chief executive officer last month, said he plans to make overseas operations profitable by June 2014.
EDITORIALS
Sep 7, 2012

Lure of public works spending

As the next Lower House election is expected to take place in the near future, proposals are gaining momentum among political parties to inject large amounts of government money for public works projects.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 5, 2012

U.S. candidates can't ignore war in Afghanistan

As Republicans gathered in Tampa on Aug. 27, a 25-year-old Army sergeant serving his third tour in Afghanistan, Christopher J. Birdwell of Windsor, Colorado, was killed in action.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LIGHT GIST
Aug 28, 2012

How did we end up here, in 'Hashimotopia,' 2022?

Walking home the other night, I glanced furtively over my shoulder and clocked the notorious tattoo-enforcement police heading in my direction. I ducked into a nearby konbini and cursed that bad decision inked onto my forearm in the 1990s.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 28, 2012

Home purchases rise ahead of tax increase

Record low mortgage rates and the prospect of a consumption tax hike that will add the price of a new Toyota Corolla to the cost of an average home spurred Sumiko Morigaki into action.
EDITORIALS
Jul 23, 2012

Aid with strings for Afghanistan

The international community has agreed to continue its support for Afghanistan, committing at a conference on July 8 in Tokyo to provide $16 billion in aid to the embattled government. But donors have adopted a new mindset, demanding that the money be well spent and promising the government in Kabul...
COMMENTARY
May 30, 2012

How the Afghan war ends

The recent NATO summit in Chicago was mostly about how to get NATO troops out of Afghanistan without causing too much embarrassment to the Western governments that sent them, and a little bit about how to ensure that the Taliban don't take over again once Western troops leave.
BUSINESS
Apr 25, 2012

Nissan can post ¥10 trillion in sales if Japan's '1,000-lb. gorilla' allows: Ghosn

Nissan Motor Co. Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn said revenue at Japan's second-biggest automaker may reach ¥10 trillion ($123 billion) in 2012, depending on the strength of a currency he compared to an oversize ape.
BUSINESS
Apr 13, 2012

Hirai announces Sony's turnaround strategy

Sony Corp., which expects to suffer a record loss for the latest business year, announced Thursday it is considering tying up with rivals to get its money-losing TV business back into the black by the end of March 2014.
EDITORIALS
Mar 31, 2012

Approach tax hike with caution

The Noda Cabinet on Friday endorsed and submitted to the Diet a bill aimed at raising the consumption tax from the current 5 percent to 8 percent from April in 2014 and to 10 percent from October 2015. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda is so obsessed with a tax hike that he seems oblivious to the possible...
BUSINESS
Feb 14, 2012

Skymark sees Haneda as budget rivalry edge

Skymark Airlines Inc., Japan's largest discount carrier, expects to boost profits during the next fiscal year by adding more flights and using Tokyo's Haneda airport as its hub to take on increased competition from three new airlines.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Feb 11, 2012

No love lost as Capello's reign ends

The post of England manager is often called the impossible job which is probably why it nearly always ends in tears. Fabio Capello became the latest victim when he resigned on Wednesday, leaving England with no coach and no captain four months before Euro 2012.
JAPAN
Feb 9, 2012

Plan for new marketplace on Tsukiji site gets mixed reviews

Moves by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to build a new marketplace on the site of the Tsukiji market have drawn mixed reactions, with some critics saying it is an attempt to bulldoze through the controversial relocation of the famed fish market to a new site.
EDITORIALS
Feb 2, 2012

Fed targets and transparency

The U.S. Federal Reserve announced last week that it will keep interest rates near zero in an effort to assist a stumbling U.S. economy. While that news was expected, the length of the extension was not — the Fed plans to keep rates well below 1 percent for three more years.
BUSINESS
Jan 28, 2012

Bond yields could soar if Noda's tax hike plan stalls

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda says doubling the consumption tax is a necessary remedy to address soaring debt and social welfare costs, and while his opponents don't disagree, they're still not going to let him do it.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years