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JAPAN
Jan 22, 2003

Actress's estate worth 430 million yen

OSAKA -- The late actress Chocho Miyako had 430 million yen worth of taxable assets, sources said Tuesday.
COMMUNITY
Mar 4, 2001

Japanese estate agent right at home in London

"I'll have the agreement drafted by Monday, then fax it over," Kazuyuki Nakamura was saying to a client over the phone last week in northwest London. "It's not your property? So who is the landlord? Well, he can appoint you to collect (rents) on his behalf. Otherwise we can, but then that will cost you;...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Oct 3, 2015

Don't be green about the charm of tatami

When we were thinking of buying a condominium, we visited several old danchi — apartments built by Japan's former public housing corporation — because they were cheap and, we thought, easy to renovate. One of the units we inspected had bedroom floors made of tatami mats, and we wondered if we could...
BUSINESS
Jul 24, 2015

Long history of money-losers for Japan Inc.

Here we go again?
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 22, 2015

Mitsui Fudosan to build office tower in Manhattan

Mitsui Fudosan Co., Japan's biggest developer, will build an office tower in Manhattan with an expected cost of ¥150 billion.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 21, 2011

Korean television dramas are not the real problem

On July 23, actor Sosuke Takaoka tweeted that he was sick of all the Korean dramas on Fuji TV, a network he "used to be indebted to," and demanded more "traditional" Japanese programming. "If anything related to South Korea is on," he continued, "I just turn it off." The backlash was swift, and the actor...
JAPAN
Jun 13, 2001

Kajiyama left behind 400 million yen estate

Former Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiroku Kajiyama, who died last June at age 74, left behind about 400 million yen in taxable assets.
EDITORIALS
Jun 10, 2005

The real state of the economy

Japanese corporations, by and large, chalked up their biggest profit gains ever in the financial year ended March 31, breaking previous records for the third straight year. But numbers can be misleading. Earnings statistics indicate economic movements and trends but do not necessarily tell what these...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 28, 2022

From property crisis to 'COVID zero': What to watch for in China's Politburo meeting

There are some signs that authorities could tweak the rhetoric around economic targets or downplay its significance, rather than change it outright.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 28, 2019

The real problem in Hong Kong is inequality

The failure of the government to address the problem stems from the electoral politics to which the protesters are so committed.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 3, 2017

Hong Kong's handover hangover — a serious lack of real leadership

Hong Kong's leaders have let down both the city's residents and their Chinese overlords.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Jun 4, 2017

Parking the car can drive you crazy

In the 1990s when we rented an old house in Saitama Prefecture, we needed a parking space since we had a car at the time. There was none on the property and so we talked the landlord into tearing down a decrepit prefabricated storage shed that stood next to the house. He did, and then, at our own expense,...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Mar 4, 2017

Will we ever see no obstacles in our way?

Infrastructure in Japan is up to world standards in most areas, and in terms of public transportation it often surpasses those standards — but there's one field it falls way behind: utility poles and overhead cables that carry electrical power and telecommunications.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Apr 2, 2013

When remodeling isn't quite a home improvement

A year ago we looked at a 20-year-old apartment after it had just gone on sale in the city where we live, which is about an hour from Tokyo. It was large and sunny, but the walls needed to be re-papered and the floors replaced. The realtor told us that the ¥11.6 million asking price included the cost...
JAPAN
Mar 17, 2007

Horie handed 2 1/2 years

The Tokyo District Court sentenced Livedoor Co. founder Takafumi Horie to 2 1/2 years in prison Friday for falsifying financial statements and violating the Securities and Exchange Law in a harsh ruling sure to raise questions about double standards in the justice system.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Feb 24, 2003

Like real reforms, banking crisis this spring unlikely to materialize

Each spring in recent years, people have started talking about a financial crisis in Japan as the month of March draws near. In about five weeks, most Japanese firms will be closing their books for fiscal 2002, and I would like to discuss this year's situation from several perspectives.
EDITORIALS
May 8, 2001

The real test lies ahead

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Monday declared that his administration is determined to initiate the hard-hitting structural reforms needed for Japan's "resurrection and development."
China's exports fell by 14.5% year on year in July, a stark contrast from the robust 17.2% export growth recorded in July 2022.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 11, 2023

Why hasn’t China rushed to bail out its economy?

China's reluctance to unveil a massive stimulus package despite the ongoing economic slowdown has puzzled foreign observers and the Chinese public alike.
A China Railway employee works at the construction site for the Xiongan station of a new railway connecting Beijing to the area in Hebei province, China, in March 2019. In his annual new year speech, Chinese President Xi Jinping trumpeted the city’s progress saying it was "growing fast” and helping to revitalize northeastern China.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Jan 10, 2024

Xi Jinping’s empty dream city shows limits of his power, even in China

The meticulously planned metropolis' slow start underscores the flaws in the Chinese president's plan to tempt people from the capital.
A woman passes an "akichi" (vacant lot) in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo. The capital is littered with such small lots in part because of Japan's aging and shrinking population.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Sep 21, 2024

Dealing with rising land vacancies as Japan shrinks

"Akichi," or vacant plots of land, are nothing new to the urban landscape. As the population decreases, however, the challenge is how to handle their steady increase.
Xu Pengcheng (right), model Mao Yi and Nono walk along a corridor inside an abandoned hotel in Shanghai on May 24.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 6, 2025

China's abandoned buildings draw urban explorers despite risks

Urban exploration is growing in popularity in China, where a yearslong property sector crisis has left many cities dotted with empty buildings.
In August 1950, The Japan Times reported on the canceling of Hiroshima's fifth annual peace ceremony due to the Korean War.
JAPAN / History / Japan Times Gone By
Aug 2, 2025

Japan Times 1950: Hiroshima peace festival canceled

In August 1950, the fifth anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, the city’s annual ceremony praying for peace was canceled due to ongoing combat on the Korean Peninsula.
A sign is attached to the exterior fence at the South Lawn of the White House as demolition work is underway on the East Wing to begin construction on U.S. President Donald Trump's planned ballroom in Washington on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 26, 2025

The bulldozer and the ballroom: Trump puts permanent stamp on the White House

To many, the plan symbolizes a presidency that has taken a wrecking ball to national norms, international institutions and the world order itself.
A person takes a video of the ongoing demolition of the East Wing of the White House on Friday.
WORLD
Oct 25, 2025

Tourists gawk and recoil at Trump's destruction of the White House East Wing

The U.S. leader says they aren't missing much and no one should mourn its demise. "It was a very small building," Trump told reporters this week.
A WeWork co-working space in New York
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 5, 2023

WeWork's troubles darken outlook for embattled office market

Media reports suggest the New York-listed flexible workspace provider — once valued at $47 billion — may petition for bankruptcy next week.
Economists often struggle to predict business downturns and different economic theories may apply in different situations.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 27, 2023

What economists got wrong about the Great Recession

Macroeconomics faces challenges and limitations in predicting and understanding economic events.
Donald Trump addresses the Bitcoin Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, in July last year.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 6, 2025

Cashing in on his comeback, Trump rescues frail finances

Contrary to the president’s assertions, records filed in a fraud case against him suggest that his riches were not the product of a steady and strong empire.

Longform

The byzantine process for converting a foreign driver’s license into a Japanese one entails mountains of paperwork and significant stamina — unless you're a lucky license holder from a country or region where these requirements are waived.
Driving in Japan isn’t hard. Getting the license is.