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COMMENTARY
Aug 1, 2012

Disease hindering the development of Africa

The high cost of treating certain diseases, most notably HIV/AIDS, when coupled with the indirect costs from lost worker productivity, is having a serious negative impact on African economies. More effort must go toward primary care, especially in rural areas, accompanied by activities to promote health,...
Japan Times
LIFE
Jul 22, 2012

A century of Tokyo taxis

The year 1912 is recorded in Japan both as the 45th year of Meiji Era and the first year of the Taisho Era. After a protracted illness, Emperor Mutsuhito expired, age 61, on the night of July 29 (although the official announcement came the next day). Through the remainder of the summer, the front pages...
COMMENTARY
Jun 28, 2012

China's iron fist in a velvet glove

China could easily grab control of the disputed Scarborough Shoal fishing grounds in the South China Sea using its increasingly modern and powerful armed forces. Chinese naval, air and amphibious units, working in unison, already have the capability to enforce Beijing's claims of island ownership and...
Japan Times
JAPAN / History
Jun 10, 2012

The Marshall Islands: Tropical idylls scarred like Tohoku

With all its American, European and Asian cultural influences, it's easy to forget that Japan is also an island nation in the Pacific.
COMMENTARY
Jun 7, 2012

Thirst for energy driving China's foreign policy

The United States and China, the world's top users of energy, are heading in opposite directions. It is a trend that has major geostrategic implications for the Asia-Pacific region.
BUSINESS
May 8, 2012

Buffett eyes opportunities to expand across Asia

Warren Buffett, the billionaire chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., said he's pursuing more opportunities in Asia after boosting reinsurance sales and expanding the Iscar Metalworking Co. unit on the continent.
COMMENTARY
Apr 25, 2012

What happens to world's economy if Spain fails?

Just when you thought the world economy might be improving, along comes Spain. It's Europe's next economic domino, struggling to cope with big budget deficits, massive unemployment and an angry public. Will it fail — and, if so, with what consequences?
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Apr 21, 2012

Kansai's new budget airline offers juicy savings

On March 1, the first flight of All Nippon Airways' new low-cost carrier, Peach Aviation Ltd., was launched. Yes, now we know that fruit can fly. This may bring on a whole slew of flying fruit — flying bananas, pineapples, and even low-budget strawberries.
COMMENTARY
Feb 20, 2012

Media and law enforcement

The revelation last year that journalists at the News of the World, a Sunday paper, owned by News Corp., had been involved extensively in hacking into the mobile phones and the voice mail of celebrities led to the closure of this populist paper. Since such hacking is illegal in Britain, News Corp. has...
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Feb 10, 2012

Despite new plan, Okinawans fear Futenma will remain in Ginowan

Wednesday's agreement between Tokyo and Washington to delink the transfer of U.S. Marines in Okinawa to Guam from the relocation of the Futenma air base in the prefecture was greeted by politicians and pundits in both countries as an acknowledgement that the original plan was obviously no longer viable....
COMMENTARY
Jan 30, 2012

U.S. claims to be pushing reform of U.N. bodies, but campaign smacks of intrigue, shady politics

The country that has long been known to abuse its powers and privileges in the United Nations is now leading a campaign to reform the same organization. While U.N. reforms are welcomed, if not demanded, by many of its member states, there is little reason to believe the recent U.S. crusade is actually...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Jan 21, 2012

Morrison, handlers have lost the plot

We may never know how good Ravel Morrison could have been, but we already know how bad he is.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 5, 2012

Beijing maintains its iron grip on country's past

With China stumping assertively on the world stage, one might think Beijing would be open, even gracious, about the country's past. To the contrary, history remains an exceedingly sensitive subject here, drawing relentless attention from authorities anxious to keep all skeletons safely in closets.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
Dec 18, 2011

How The Japan Times saved a foundering battleship, twice

Mikasa! The name of the mighty Japanese battleship will be as familiar to the world's naval historians as it is now to viewers of NHK's Sunday evening drama "Saka no Ue no Kumo" ("Clouds Over the slope"). It was the Mikasa that all but decided the fate of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05, when it led...
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2011

Futenma base relocation has little hope left

The political games being played in Washington and Tokyo regarding whether the U.S. will fund the transfer of Okinawa-based U.S. Marines to Guam are of no consequence, experts say, because the 2006 plan to relocate the Futenma airbase to Henoko in northern Okinawa Island, which the Guam transfer depends...
COMMENTARY
Nov 16, 2011

Methane time bomb is ticking

Scientific research shows that the need for resolute action to curb global warming from fossil fuel burning is become increasingly urgent. Yet policymakers in Japan and many other countries find it more difficult to take the necessary measures because they are costly and unpopular with many voters.
Japan Times
LIFE
Oct 30, 2011

Fashion Week Tokyo gets back into gear

Fashion Week has come back to Tokyo for its 13th iteration, now under the wing of posh car-maker Mercedes-Benz and with the snazzy new moniker, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tokyo.
EDITORIALS
Oct 25, 2011

Freedom of information threatened

A government committee headed by Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura on Oct. 7 decided to submit to the Diet in 2012 a bill to mete out severe punishment to people who leak "special secrets" related to diplomacy, national security and public order. The committee says that the purpose of the bill is...
COMMENTARY
Oct 7, 2011

Nuclear power's face looking rested

The catastrophic accident at Japan's Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant earlier this year undermined confidence in, and support for, nuclear power around the world. The plant north of Tokyo on the Pacific coast was hit by a series of explosions, fires and serious radiation leaks after a massive earthquake...
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Oct 4, 2011

World Heritage listing has its price

News that Iwate Prefecture's historic Hiraizumi area and the Ogasawara Islands would be added to UNESCO's World Heritage List last June lifted the spirits of residents in the Tohoku region after the March 11 quake-tsunami trauma.
EDITORIALS
Sep 22, 2011

UBS takes a big hit

Arogue trader at the Union Bank of Switzerland's London office has cost the firm $2.3 billion as a result of unauthorized trades. The incident is an embarrassment for the banking giant and is one more reminder of the need for tighter controls on proprietary trading and risk management in financial institutions....
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 27, 2011

U.S. nukes to South Korea?

Support for the U.S.-South Korea alliance has never seemed stronger in South Korea. The two countries appear to be in lock step when it comes to dealing with the North and their two presidents seem to genuinely like and respect one another, thus permitting an unprecedented level of trust and cooperation....
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2011

Key players got nuclear ball rolling

How did earthquake-prone Japan, where two atomic bombs were dropped at the end of World War II creating a strong antinuclear weapons culture, come to embrace nuclear power just a few decades later?
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jul 10, 2011

With Japan at a crossroads, it's instructive to recall the Hidaka affair

Exactly 30 years ago this month, I had an encounter with a man who became innocently involved in an international incident. That incident may be all but forgotten now, but it's worth recalling here because it highlights the struggle of an individual of conscience to have the truth revealed.
Japan Times
LIFE
Jun 26, 2011

Inside Aokigahara, Japan's 'Suicide Forest'

I am walking through Aokigahara Jukai forest, the light rapidly fading on a mid-winter afternoon, when I am stopped dead in my tracks by a blood-curdling scream. The natural reaction would be to run, but the forest floor is a maze of roots and slippery rocks and, truth be told, I am lost in this vast...
EDITORIALS
Jun 18, 2011

CO² emissions on the rise

The International Energy Agency's latest report, released at the end of May, underlines the uphill struggle the international community faces in its efforts to limit global warming. Although carbon-dioxide emissions dipped in 2009 due to the financial crisis, in 2010 they smashed the 29.3 gigaton record...

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