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Japan Times
JAPAN / FOCUS
Nov 21, 2014

Japan's robotics revolution gets a reboot as nation aims to regain lead in ¥3.4 trillion industry

Neurosurgeon Tetsuya Goto had just begun testing a robot to perform brain surgery when he discovered Japan was moving to tighten regulations that would shut down his seven-year project.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2014

Shimomura wants to make English classes mandatory for fifth- and sixth-graders

Education minister Hakubun Shimomura proposes a root-and-branch overhaul of the elementary, junior high and high school curricula.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 25, 2014

Toyota's hydrogen car may come with ¥3 million rebate

Japan is raising the bar for subsidizing zero-emission cars as incentives may exceed ¥3 million a vehicle for Toyota Motor Corp.'s first hydrogen-powered sedan.
JAPAN
Jul 8, 2014

TV news should have English subtitles, panel says

Japanese TV broadcasters should introduce English subtitles in news programs by 2020 in light of an expected increase in the number of foreign visitors ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, according to an expert panel at the communications ministry.
EDITORIALS
Jun 9, 2014

Creeping Orwellian angst

Legislative attempts to criminalize the act of 'conspiracy' to commit some crimes as well as other government moves are enough to cause anxiety that Japan may be inching toward an Orwellian society.
ENVIRONMENT
Jun 3, 2014

U.S. emissions cuts a 'bold step,' Japan says

The United States' proposed cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions from its power plants is a bold step to tackle climate change, Environment Minister Nobuteru Ishihara says.
EDITORIALS
Apr 15, 2014

Flawed foreign labor plan

The Abe administration's sudden plan to use participants in a controversial foreign trainee program to fill manpower shortages in the nation's construction industry smacks of a ploy that benefits only Japan. The government must first consider how these workers' rights will be protected as well as how to avoid social problems if they are used.
EDITORIALS
Mar 24, 2014

Cold response to global warming

A new Environment Ministry report estimates damage from anticipated global warming. Unfortunately efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions do not appear high on the Abe administration's policy agenda.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jan 18, 2014

Cooperation vs. competition in space

Shadows of winter clouds
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 22, 2013

Record budget unveiled as debt burden mounts

The government and the ruling coalition agreed on a record budget for the next fiscal year, as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe boosts spending on social security, defense and public works while trying to contain the growth of the world's biggest debt burden.
JAPAN
Nov 15, 2013

Japan changes emissions target in setback for U.N. talks

The government has set a new target for greenhouse gas emissions that critics say will set back United Nations talks for a treaty limiting fossil fuel emissions.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 22, 2013

Japan's 'helplessness' crisis

The biggest crisis in Japan's democracy today is that people know the prime minister is telling lies — intentionally or not — but they've given up even imagining alternative ways of politics.
Reader Mail
Sep 14, 2013

Olympics to hurt reconstruction

I quite agree with the Sept. 11 front-page article "Abe's nuke assurance to IOC questioned." I am afraid to say that the leaked contaminated water can't be stopped by simply freezing because the Earth is getting warmer little by little.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 13, 2013

Zaha Hadid: queen of the curve

Zaha Hadid was once flying to Frankfurt to give a talk. Her plane taxied out, developed a minor fault, and stopped. She refused to believe the reassurances that the delay would be brief, and demanded that she be put on another flight. Her wish was impossible — to return to the stand, to unload and...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / 'SUMMER DAVOS' SPECIAL 2013
Sep 10, 2013

Abe hoping to prove to the world that Japan truly is back

Tokyo's victory for the right to host the 2020 Olympic Games is a reassurance to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's recent go-to catchphrase, "Japan is Back," with the slogan having appeared as the subtitle of the government's growth strategy and even as the title in one of Abe's policy speeches.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / BALANCING INTERESTS
Jul 23, 2013

Food looms large as trading houses plot overseas forays under new pact

Second in a series
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 14, 2013

Abe growth wish list gets Cabinet's nod

The Cabinet adopts two sets of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's economic and fiscal policy papers, filled with dozens of bold economic goals and no specifics on how to achieve them.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Jun 14, 2013

Proof of 'Abenomics' pudding is in execution

The third pillar of 'Abenomics' approved by the Cabinet may have lacked the impact of its two predecessors, but everything will hinge on the steady execution of all three.
JAPAN
May 10, 2013

Tourism goal sparks plan to expedite immigration process

The government may simplify the immigration process to make it easier for foreign tourists to enter Japan and achieve its goal of bringing in 25 million visitors a year by 2020.
COMMENTARY
Dec 15, 2011

Sunny days ahead for the solar power industry

The solar power industry in Asia and other key growth markets is struggling in a competitive bloodbath. Companies are producing far more solar cells and panels than they can sell.
BUSINESS
May 20, 2011

Sumitomo Metal ups exploration

Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Japan's largest nickel producer, plans to increase mine-exploration spending by 75 percent to a record level this fiscal year to increase its overseas mining interests.
Japan Times
LIFE
Oct 24, 2010

Some participants' hopes for COP10

The Japan Times asked delegates and other COP10 participants what their top priorities are at the conference. Many mentioned an Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) Protocol that is currently the subject of intense negotiations. This would determine how companies and researchers gain access to and distribute...

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight