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COMMENTARY
Sep 27, 2007

Hype on nuclear power is misleading

NEW DELHI — Talk of a "global nuclear renaissance" remains just that — all talk. Notwithstanding the strong public relations campaign by the nuclear power industry and its powerful lobbying groups, nuclear energy is hardly the answer to the twin challenges of carbon mitigation and energy security...
EDITORIALS
Aug 27, 2007

Rethinking power-supply strategy

The impact of the magnitude-6.8 earthquake July 16 off Niigata Prefecture on Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant was clearly felt Aug. 22 when TEPCO, on short notice, requested that 23 large-lot industrial customers cut back on their use of electricity that afternoon.
JAPAN
Aug 23, 2007

Tepco dials down juice to industries

Anticipating power shortages due to its closed quake-hit nuclear plant and a surge in air conditioner use during the current heat wave, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Wednesday that it had resorted to emergency supply-adjustment measures for the first time in 17 years.
Japan Times
LIFE
Jan 7, 2007

Bordeaux breaks the bank

Heralded as an exceptional vintage, premier crus 2003 Bordeaux wines are now on the market, much to the delight of wine enthusiasts -- albeit at surprisingly high prices that may rather dilute that delight.
BUSINESS
Nov 9, 2005

Tepco profit dives 41% in half as oil prices rise

Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Tuesday its group net profit for the six months through September plunged 41.0 percent from a year before to 107.98 billion yen due to rising fuel costs stemming from sharp rises in crude oil prices.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 16, 2005

Tepco head replaces scandal-hit peer

The Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan will appoint Tsunehisa Katsumata, president of Tokyo Electric Power Co., as its new chairman, federation sources said Friday.
BUSINESS
Nov 12, 2004

Sweaty summer doubles Tepco's first-half profit

Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Thursday its first-half net profit jumped 2.1-fold to 183.03 billion yen, as the sweltering summer pushed up electricity consumption and the resumption of nuclear reactors slashed fuel and generation costs.
BUSINESS
Oct 1, 2004

Industrial output up 0.3% -- but rising oil prices worry experts

Industrial production rose a seasonally adjusted 0.3 percent in August from the previous month for the first gain in three months.
COMMENTARY
Sep 27, 2004

Global weather warnings

Weather in Japan this year has shown unusual patterns. In fact, what has happened in various parts of the country defies our common knowledge. Take typhoons. Aside from a record number that hit this summer, one of them -- No. 18, or Songda -- continued unabated. After landing Kyushu, it traveled northeast...
BUSINESS
Sep 11, 2004

Beer, 'happoshu' shipments cool

Combined domestic shipments of beer and "happoshu" low-malt beer by Japan's five major brewers dropped 5.9 percent in August from a year earlier, according to shipment figures released Friday.
JAPAN
Aug 14, 2004

0.4% GDP rise rains on parade

Japan's economy expanded 0.4 percent in the April-June quarter from the previous quarter, sharply slowing on lackluster corporate investment and consumer spending, Cabinet Office data showed Friday.
JAPAN
Aug 14, 2004

0.4% GDP rise rains on parade

Japan's economy expanded 0.4 percent in the April-June quarter from the previous quarter, sharply slowing on lackluster corporate investment and consumer spending, Cabinet Office data showed Friday.
BUSINESS
Aug 14, 2004

Corporate bankruptcies continue decline into 19th month

The number of corporate bankruptcies in Japan dropped 16.8 percent in July from a year earlier to 1,151, down for the 19th straight month.
BUSINESS
Aug 12, 2004

Shipments up 9% for beer, 'happoshu' in July

Combined shipments of beer and "happoshu" by the nation's five major brewers increased 9 percent in July from a year earlier, the first rise in seven months, helped by this summer's heat wave, according to reports by the brewers released Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Jul 23, 2004

Ultraeasy monetary policy to go unchanged

Bank of Japan Gov. Toshihiko Fukui said Thursday it would take more time for the central bank to start tightening its ultraeasy monetary policy, despite recent brisk economic growth.
Japan Times
JAPAN / BY THE NUMBERS
Jul 14, 2004

Brewers hope to bask in suds sales as mercury rises

The mood at breweries goes up with the mercury -- when it's blazing hot, ice-cold beer is irresistible and sales skyrocket.
COMMENTARY
Apr 5, 2004

Angry French voters hit back

PARIS -- An old French proverb says "only the stupid never change their mind." In that case, the French certainly aren't dumb. In the first round of last April's presidential election, Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin got only 16 percent of the vote. Extreme rightist Jean-Marie Le Pen won more...
BUSINESS
Mar 29, 2003

Hiranuma wants reactors restarted

Industry minister Takeo Hiranuma indicated Friday he wants nuclear reactors that have suspended operations for safety tests to be restarted to avoid power shortages in the summer.
BUSINESS
Sep 26, 2002

Sales at supermarkets drop 0.9%

Sales at supermarkets fell 0.9 percent on a same-store basis in August from a year earlier to 1.195 trillion yen for the second straight monthly drop, the Japan Chain Stores Association said Wednesday.
COMMENTARY
Sep 20, 2002

Political lull comes to an end

This past summer was rather quiescent both politically and economically. About the only big story was former Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka's resignation from the Diet over allegations that she misused the state-funded pay of her legislative secretaries.
ENVIRONMENT
Dec 9, 2001

The heat's on nature in Japan

Think of Japan 100 years from now. The average global temperature has risen by up to 6 degrees, and here is no exception. Just as the cherry blossom wave passes up the country each spring, the frontier of many species, both plant and animal, has been moving steadily northward for a century.
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Jul 11, 2001

Please re-release me

Are you tired of hearing "Ashita ga Arusa"? This venerable kayokyoku pop classic (originally recorded by the late Kyu Sakamoto in 1963) has been revived not once, but twice so far this year. In mid-March, those wild and crazy guys from Osaka, the Ulfuls, released an upbeat, lighthearted cover. And, of...
CULTURE / Books
Jun 29, 1999

American haiku now holds its own

THE HAIKU ANTHOLOGY, by Cor van den Heuvel. W. W. Norton, pp. 363, $27.50. Cor van den Heuvel is the most important anthologist of haiku composed in English in North America. He has published three collections, all simply called "The Haiku Anthology" and all through prominent commercial houses: Doubleday,...
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 9, 2023

Glacier lakes swollen by global warming threaten millions

Earth's average surface temperature has risen nearly 1.2 degrees Celsius since preindustrial times, but high-mountain regions around the world have warmed at twice that pace.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS / Summer Olympics
Jan 18, 2023

Concern rises over lack of air conditioning in Paris 2024 village

Games organizers have promised the global event will be carbon neutral, with the use of materials chosen for their energy performance.

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