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Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 22, 2017

Ex-BOJ member says government must allay pension jitters before reflating economy

Former Bank of Japan Policy Board member Sayuri Shirai says the central bank has done about all it can do to end the nation's deflationary mindset.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Mar 21, 2017

Tillerson plans to skip NATO meeting, visit Russia in April, sources say

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson plans to skip an April 5-6 meeting of NATO foreign ministers for a U.S. visit by the Chinese president and will travel to Russia later in the month, U.S. officials said Monday, a step allies may see as putting Moscow's concerns ahead of theirs.
EDITORIALS
Mar 20, 2017

Mixed outcome in wage talks

The results of the annual management-labor pay negotiations highlight the limitations of the Abe administration's drive to get export-led businesses to raise wages.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 18, 2017

False sense of security? Experts weigh the threat that terrorism poses Japan

Widely regarded as a safe place to live, Japan currently sits in ninth position on the Global Peace Index's list of the most peaceful nations on the planet. The East Asian nation is generally believed to be an orderly society that has incredibly low homicide and assault rates, and it certainly doesn't...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Mar 18, 2017

Taiwan: Where Japanese go to feel at home on vacation

Taiwan was Japanese soil for about five decades until the end of WWII. Amazingly, this is the one country where the Japanese imperialists managed to do more good than harm when they colonized it in 1895.
BUSINESS
Mar 15, 2017

Workers at top companies get meager 2017 pay hikes in Abenomics setback

Major firms offered the lowest base-pay hike in four years, a setback for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's campaign dubbed “Abenomics” to spur the long-sluggish economy.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 15, 2017

Japan's power producers to face china coal pain after steel

First it was Japan's steel makers, now it's the nation's power producers that are set to pay for China's coal policies.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 14, 2017

The electric vehicle rush started too early

The modern electric vehicle is conceptually inconsistent with how people want to use cars, and in many countries the environmental effect of switching to EVs is negligible.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 13, 2017

Economy seen hurting as thousands of Japan's 'zombie' firms legally dodge bankruptcy

The owner of a car repair business in northwest Tokyo has been digging into his retirement fund to keep his shop going. He's in his mid-60s, he's not making money and he knows he'll eventually have to close down.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Mar 13, 2017

Malaysia arrests five Filipinos for suspected links to Islamic State extremist group

Malaysian police said Monday they had arrested seven people, including five Filipinos, for suspected links to the Islamic State militant group.
EDITORIALS
Mar 11, 2017

Hometown tax donation system

The hometown tax donation program is rife with problems and should be abolished.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Mar 11, 2017

Namie: one step forward, a few steps back

Evacuees from the Fukushima town of Namie are struggling to find a good reason to return to their homes.
JAPAN / AFTEREFFECTS OF MARCH 2011
Mar 10, 2017

Nuclear energy industry lacks new talent as Fukushima fallout turns off graduates

At a Tokyo job fair for the atomic energy industry on March 4, Kenta Kakitani, a graduate student at the University of Tokyo, hopes to some day become a nuclear plant design engineer.
BASEBALL
Mar 9, 2017

Senga impresses in WBC debut

Just when Australia thought it was safe to get back in the batter's box, with Japan ace Tomoyuki Sugano on the bench and out of pitches, it ran into the buzz saw that is Kodai Senga.
EDITORIALS
Mar 9, 2017

Taking a stand on defense research

University scientists should avoid the lure of easy government money aimed at promoting research with military applications.
Japan Times
JAPAN / AFTEREFFECTS OF MARCH 2011
Mar 7, 2017

Tsunami-hit Rikuzentakata rebuilding on raised ground, hoping to thrive anew

This is the first of a four-part series looking at the lasting impact of the March 11, 2011, disasters.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 7, 2017

Arctic sea ice may vanish this century even if climate goals met, study says

Arctic sea ice may vanish in summers this century even if governments achieve a core target for limiting global warming set by almost 200 nations in 2015, scientists said Monday.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Mar 5, 2017

Offering no evidence, Trump claims Obama wiretapped him during campaign

U.S. President Donald Trump accused predecessor Barack Obama on Saturday of wiretapping him during the late stages of the 2016 election campaign, but offered no evidence for an allegation which an Obama spokesman said was "simply false."
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 4, 2017

Yellen points to March rate hike as Fed signals end of easy money

The U.S. Federal Reserve's long-stalled "liftoff" of interest rates may finally get airborne this year as policymakers from Chair Janet Yellen on Friday to regional leaders across the United States signaled that the era of easy money is drawing to a close.
EDITORIALS
Mar 3, 2017

A shady deal over state-owned land

The government should address questions raised by the steeply discounted sale of public land to an Osaka-based school operator.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 2, 2017

Firms tap state subsidies to start day care facilities to woo working moms

Faced with a shortage of workers, Japanese companies are taking matters into their own hands, helping the government fix a chronic lack of day care facilities that is blunting efforts to get more women into the workforce.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Feb 25, 2017

Popularity of card loans add to financial woes

Supreme Court records show that there were 64,637 filings for personal bankruptcy in 2016, an increase of 781 cases over 2015, thus marking the first increase in 13 years.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 25, 2017

Mexico hardens stance against Trump, warns of tariffs, says it can afford to lose U.S. aid

An emboldened Mexico hardened its opposition to President Donald Trump on Friday by saying it will retaliate if the United States imposes a border tax and that it can afford to lose financial aid that might be pulled to pay for a border wall.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 24, 2017

Realtors say Tokyo's housing boom fading as sales to Chinese slow

Evidence is mounting that Tokyo's housing boom is nearing an end.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji