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Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Jan 15, 2015

Revolving door with coaches damaging growth of Japanese game

A troubling trend is one of the hallmarks of the 2014-15 Japan men's pro basketball season.
EDITORIALS
Jan 11, 2015

Private sector must do its part

On the campaign trail last month, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he saw signs of a 'virtuous economic cycle' emerging, in which improved corporate earnings would create more jobs, leading to higher wages and increased consumption. Can his policies make that happen?
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 7, 2015

Hate flying? You have only yourself to blame

Ultimately, the reason airlines cram us into tiny seats and upcharge for everything is that we're online shopping on exactly one dimension: the price of the flight.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 4, 2015

Asia's bad to good for 2014

Find out who or what in Asia were honored for having the worst, bad, good and best year in 2014.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 3, 2015

Behind the wheel: Honda thinks outside the box

When it comes to business, no one wants to settle for second best. Companies, almost by definition, are always trying to ensure that they are in front of their rivals in terms of market share, sales and brand recognition.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 26, 2014

Inflation drive hampered by recession-hobbled economy

Inflation slowed for a fourth month in November and industrial production and retail sales unexpectedly dropped, based on government data released Friday, pointing to further weakness in an economy Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is trying to revive from recession.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 18, 2014

Companies still hoarding cash despite pleas from Abe, Kuroda to spend

Two days after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe secured a pledge from Japan Inc. to do its best to boost wages to revive the world's third-biggest economy, data showed companies hoarding record amounts of cash.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 16, 2014

Unlocking growth potential is top task for Abenomics 2.0

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's election win strengthened his hand to move beyond the fiscal and monetary stimulus that brought an end to deflation in his first two years. The tougher task for "Abenomics 2.0" will be to boost Japan's growth potential.
BUSINESS
Dec 9, 2014

Sumitomo Mitsui reportedly to buy Citigroup's Japan bank

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. will announce an agreement to buy Citigroup Inc.'s Japanese consumer-banking business as soon as next week, sources with knowledge of the matter said.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Dec 5, 2014

Lewis brings storied career back to track as coach

It's too early to know if Carl Lewis will one day be considered a legendary track coach.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Dec 5, 2014

Toyota lessons lost on Takata as it resists U.S. recall order

Takata Corp.'s resistance to a U.S. order to expand the recall of its air bag inflators is likely driven by a need to protect itself from legal liability, but it risks longer-term business damage by alienating the public, experts say.
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 30, 2014

Gambling debt cripples Macau 'junket' model

Companies that connect China's wealthy gamblers to Macau's casinos are waiting as long as a year for gamblers to repay billions of dollars of loans, crippling the business model of an industry that sustains the world's biggest casino center.
Japan Times
JAPAN / GENERATIONAL CHANGE
Nov 30, 2014

Video shop worker jolted into career as diversity advocate

When the Great Hanshin Earthquake hit in January 1995, Taro Tamura, then 23, was quick to sense the need in foreign communities for disaster-related information.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Nov 24, 2014

Long-term African expats and new migrants alike face growing 'integration gap' in Japan

With dysfunctional Japanese immigration policies having led to a sharp increase in incarceration rates among African immigrants, a growing number have given up on integration in favor of living a double life: married with children in both Japan and Africa.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 23, 2014

Putin has plenty of non-crazy friends in Europe

Whether the current Western leaders like it or not, pragmatism in relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin is part of the political mainstream in Europe, not the domain of fringe crazies.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 21, 2014

Blackstone to acquire GE Japan's apartment unit for $1.61 billion

Blackstone Group LP agreed to buy GE Japan Corp.'s residential property business for more than ¥190 billion to expand its apartment holdings in Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2014

Japanese artists and performers find that YouTube brings them pay and applause

Ken Sekine used to be a nameless stand-up comic. Then he turned to cyberspace and changed his stage name to Megwin and in the process became a premier entertainer in Japan, with more than 448,000 fans and counting.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 17, 2014

Xi shows U.S. his no-nonsense approach to bilateral relations

Last week, President Xi Jinping showed the world a newly assertive China that's less worried about impressing others than in pursuing its own goals.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 17, 2014

Citigroup reportedly favors Sumitomo Mitsui to buy Japan retail bank

Citigroup Inc. plans to give Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. the right of first refusal this month to buy its Japanese consumer-banking business, sources said.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 7, 2014

Putin's cronies fight for Russia's textbooks

Larger school textbook publishers who have no problem with Russia's growth into an ideological state under President Vladimir Putin are allowed to make money.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 6, 2014

An opportunity for Abe and Xi

One reason for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping's newfound flexibility toward each other may be domestic political shifts in both countries that have created a more equal balance between conservative, nationalist groups and more internationally oriented business interests.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / IEC GENERAL MEETING IN TOKYO
Nov 4, 2014

Raising Asian involvement

Asia has been lagging behind Europe and the U.S. in the standardization of electrical technology, and the trend has been that Western countries have set the standards and Asian ones have followed.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / IEC GENERAL MEETING IN TOKYO
Nov 4, 2014

Helping SMEs to standardization

Economic globalization is not just a matter of concern for large companies, but also for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which account for more than 99 percent of companies in Japan, thus forming the basis of the nation's economy.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 1, 2014

Debating the merits of lifetime employment

Some years ago I worked for a language-teaching service that offered in-house classes for companies. One client was a major electronics manufacturer, and many of the students were trained engineers assigned to the sales division.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 23, 2014

Examining ASEAN up-and-comers

Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar are among the least-developed, but growing nations of the Association of South East Asian Nations, or ASEAN.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 14, 2014

Teen, inspired by SoftBank's Son, builds a startup

Yoichiro Mikami wanted to be the next Masayoshi Son, Japan's second-richest man, so he dropped out of high school at 16 this year.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 8, 2014

Sanctions on Russia will backfire on U.S. and EU

As things stand now, Russia, the U.S. and the EU are being hurt by the West's sanctions on Russia. It is a truly no-win situation for all those involved.

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?