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Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 11, 2014

Reactors still feared despite new rules

The cost of restarting Japan's nuclear power plants: ¥1.3 trillion and counting.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 10, 2014

Renewable energy's future rosy if grids ever get updated

The March 11, 2011, mega-quake and monster tsunami that set off the Fukushima No. 1 atomic plant meltdowns forced Japan to rethink its nuclear-focused energy policy and explore the use of renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 18, 2014

Hirata and Saito: love on the run

The trial of Makoto Hirata, which commenced Thursday, is expected to reveal a number of new facts about the former Aum Shinrikyo fugitive, but of most interest to investigators will be how he managed to stay hidden for so long.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 4, 2014

How we scored on calling 2013

A year ago, we brought you an analysis of the forces that appeared likely to shape the U.S. economy, for better and worse, in 2013. So, what did we get right and what did we get wrong? And of the things we posed as open questions, what did the answers turn out to be? Here, in the interest of pundit accountability,...
EDITORIALS
Nov 24, 2013

Reduce disparities in value of votes

The Diet and government should immediatly start working out a way to drastically reduce disparities in vote values.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 2, 2013

European voters wise to back austerity

Contrary to what most of the loud media commentary would have us believe, financial 'austerity' or fiscal responsibility appears popular. Angela Merkel's success is proof.
Japan Times
WORLD
Aug 16, 2013

NSA broke privacy rules repeatedly, audit finds

The National Security Agency has broken privacy rules or overstepped its legal authority thousands of times each year since Congress granted the agency broad new powers in 2008, according to an internal audit and other top-secret documents.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Jul 12, 2013

Source says Kyoto set to join NBL for 2014-15 season

The Kyoto Hannaryz's history will mark a landmark change in 2014.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jun 2, 2013

Crony capitalism: corruption, disparities and stifled initiative

Crony capitalism is the scourge of contemporary Asia, lining pockets and diverting resources in ways that systematically undermine the public interest, accentuate disparities, sap innovative and entrepreneurial impulses — while also subverting governance.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
May 27, 2013

South Korea's 'export' crisis

South Korea ranks at the bottom of OECD member nations in 'technology trade balance,' which doesn't say much for the design capabilities of manufacturers.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 17, 2013

It's the end of everything as we know it (perhaps)

I hope you had it while you could because, last week, sex ended.
SPORTS / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Mar 10, 2013

Buffaloes appear headed in the right direction

No doubt the Hanshin Tigers are the more popular of the two Japanese professional baseball teams in the Kansai area. Their games at historic Koshien Stadium between Osaka and Kobe draw packed crowds most of the time, and the fans are arguably the most boisterous in the country.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 18, 2013

Third branch of Abenomics

Fiscal and monetary policies will do little to stimulate economic growth in Japan. So, it is time for a strategy to encourage private-sector investments.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 8, 2013

'Warning shot': 50-meter asteroid is about to buzz Earth

A close encounter of the rocky kind is set for Feb. 16, when an asteroid the size of an office building will speed past the Earth faster than a bullet.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 31, 2013

Ground conditions favor a conservative revival

The agenda of Barack Obama, whose approval rating scores lower than that of the National Rifle Association, will stimulate a conservative revival.
EDITORIALS
Oct 29, 2012

Too little, too late

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on Oct. 17 told the Cabinet members to draw up an economic package because the Japanese economy is losing steam. On the surface, his move seems reasonable. Japan's real economic growth plummeted to an annualized 0.7 percent in the April-June period from the annualized 5.3...
EDITORIALS
Jan 11, 2012

Pension cuts coming

The government plans to reduce public pensions over three years starting in fiscal 2012, saying that it has overpaid by 2.5 percent. The overpayment has resulted from the Liberal Democratic Party-Komeito government's decision.
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2011

Fiscal health deteriorates despite Noda's pledges

On paper, the draft of the fiscal 2012 budget appears to indicate Japan has found a way to trim about ¥2 trillion in spending compared with the current year, but in reality the national debt is snowballing as bond issuance will exceed tax revenues for the third year in a row.
BUSINESS
Jul 23, 2011

Toyota targets over 16,000 U.S. plug-in Prius sales

Toyota Motor Corp. said it expects U.S. sales of at least 16,000 plug-in Prius hatchbacks in 2012 after the model debuts early in the year.
EDITORIALS
Jan 8, 2011

Expect a year of frustrations

The most important fact about 2011 is that it is the year before 2012. That year will be marked by elections and leadership transitions; the prospect of those changes will influence more immediate political calculations. So, 2011 reckons to be a year in which political leaders position themselves to...
EDITORIALS
Jul 21, 2007

New warning on oil

Brace for another energy crisis. A new authoritative assessment forecasts sharply higher demand that will raise prices and increase reliance on the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and unstable regions for oil supplies. While some experts dismiss the analysis as alarmist, we need...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 8, 2022

How corporate chiefs dodge lawsuits over sexual abuse and deadly products

Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein’s rape conviction landed him in prison. Allegations of serial sexual abuse cost him his career and his movie studio. His company went bankrupt and later settled legal claims by about 50 women.
PARALYMPICS
Aug 24, 2021

Athletes to watch at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics

A primer on 10 Paralympians who are poised to make their mark on the Games.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Nov 26, 2020

Why the West continues to get China’s future wrong

The country is in its third major stage of economic change, but Beijing's true intentions and plans must be closely watched.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Sep 10, 2020

How a few lawyers pushed voter fraud fears into the U.S. mainstream

For months, U.S. President Donald Trump has tried to convince Americans that the Nov. 3 election will be "rigged,” claiming without evidence that mail voting will open the door to mass cheating.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Dec 1, 2017

The thinking behind Kim Jong Un's 'madness'

On an icy December day in 2011, North Korea's new leader Kim Jong Un was accompanied by seven advisers as they escorted the hearse that carried his father, Kim Jong Il, through the streets of Pyongyang.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Nov 23, 2017

Putin's plan to rejuvenate Russian politics makes slow progress

Poised to run for a fourth term, President Vladimir Putin has started clearing out the old Russian political elite and says he is bringing in young people with "fire in their eyes."

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.