Search - 2012

 
 
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 26, 2018

Wife of Japan's prime minister finds herself in scandal spotlight

First lady Akie Abe, once known mainly for embracing progressive causes that put her at odds with her conservative spouse, is now in the hot seat as doubts revive about the murky land sale to nationalist school operator Moritomo Gakuen to which she had ties.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 26, 2018

South Korea eases cap on auto imports in return for U.S. steel tariff exemption

The United States agreed Monday to exempt South Korea from steel tariffs, instead imposing a quota on steel imports as the two countries agreed in principle to revise a trade pact that has been sharply criticized by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Japan Times
SATOYAMA CONSORTIUM
Mar 25, 2018

Reviving Sasanishiki via rice sustainability

Hiroyuki Abe and Katsuyoshi Abe are growing Sasanishiki, a brand of rice that had once all but disappeared. Their rice fields are in Iriya, the only district in Minamisanriku, Miyagi Prefecture, that narrowly escaped the tsunami disaster following the Great East Japan Earthquake.
JAPAN / Politics / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Mar 25, 2018

Kyoto gubernatorial race puts focus on demographic and economic challenges to come

Faced with a rapidly aging society and a growing socioeconomic gap between its prosperous capital and the rest of the prefecture, Kyoto voters go to the polls April 8 to choose a new governor who will be either a well-connected insider or a complete outsider.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHY DID YOU LEAVE JAPAN?
Mar 24, 2018

Eiichi Sato: Fate written in the star rubies

Eiichi Sato peers through a gemologist's loupe and shines a lamp down onto the small pink-red stone that glistens against the black felt cloth below. "Take a look," he urges. "It's pretty cool."
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 24, 2018

Tradition finds a home on Tokyo's bagel scene

At a glance, Wise Sons Tokyo is a strange addition to the subterranean fringes of Tokyo Station. But zoom in on this Jewish delicatessen and you'll find something warm and inviting: crooked family photographs hanging on the wall, deli-style padded benches, bright timber features and, most importantly,...
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 23, 2018

Investigators scour Texas bomber's home, searching for motive

Federal investigators on Thursday combed through the home of the 23-year-old they say was behind this month's deadly Texas bombing spree, seeking clues about what motivated his attacks the day after he killed himself in a confrontation with police.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 22, 2018

Low-cost carriers Peach and Vanilla to merge in 2019: ANA

Vanilla Air and Peach Aviation, two low-cost carriers owned by ANA Holdings, announced on Thursday plans to merge by the end of fiscal 2019.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 20, 2018

Xi to launch 'Voice of China' broadcaster to boost global image

China has approved the creation of one of the world's largest propaganda machines as it looks to improve its global image, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 20, 2018

Putin's hawks got the result they wanted

With Russian strongman's re-election, West must brace itself for an extended period with a tough, hostile opponent.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 20, 2018

Moritomo scandal: Ruling bloc yields to opposition calls for Diet testimony by former tax agency head

The much-anticipated Diet appearance of Nobuhisa Sagawa, who resigned earlier this month to take responsibility for the scandal, was arranged to take place next Tuesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 20, 2018

Syrian asylum-seekers' bid for refugee status rejected by Tokyo court

The Tokyo District Court on Tuesday rejected a lawsuit filed by two Syrian asylum-seekers — echoing the Immigration Bureau's decision not to grant them refugee status — in the first such court challenge in Japan since civil war broke out in the Middle Eastern nation in 2011.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 20, 2018

U.S. top court rejects Arizona bid to bar 'Dreamers' from getting driver's licenses

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday required Arizona to continue to issue driver's licenses to the so-called Dreamer immigrants and refused to hear the state's challenge to an Obama-era program that protects hundreds of thousands of young adults brought into the country illegally as children.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 19, 2018

Emboldened by Abe's dive in polls, opposition bolsters calls for key figures to testify over Moritomo scandal

The Cabinet's plunge in the opinion polls prompts the opposition camp to bolster its calls for Akie Abe and others to testify in the Diet on the Moritomo scandal.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / Deep Dive
Mar 19, 2018

1995 Aum sarin attack on Tokyo subway still haunts, leaving questions unanswered

Hitoshi Jin describes his younger brother spending the booming 1980s "cult surfing," exploring what new religions had to offer to fill the gaping spiritual void left by a childhood scarred by an abusive father.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 19, 2018

U.S. regulators probe South Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia over crash fatalities and injuries

Safety regulators in the U.S. are investigating air bags in certain Hyundai and Kia vehicles that failed to deploy in frontal collisions linked to four deaths and six injuries.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Mar 19, 2018

DressedUndressed: Beyond genderless fashion

DressedUndressed from designers Takeshi Kitazawa and Emiko Sato has been an unassuming yet confident presence at Tokyo fashion week since 2012, when its initial collections courted tailoring connoisseurs with precise unisex attire that scaled in size but otherwise had no gendered distinction. A partnership...
EDITORIALS
Mar 18, 2018

Time to rethink the nation's post-3/11 energy policy

even years on, the government should revisit the lessons of the Tepco plant accident and reconsider whether it should continue to promote nuclear power despite the increased social and economic costs,
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 18, 2018

Stephen Hawking taught us it was right to be wrong

By making bets he was happy to lose, the English physicist showed that science progressed with each mistake.
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2018

Dialects at risk of extinction in Tohoku's disaster zones

In the wake of the March 2011 disasters, encouraging phrases in various dialects gave residents of tsunami-devastated Tohoku a much-needed psychological lift, but those same dialects are battling to survive amid the exodus of young people from the region.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 17, 2018

The other side of crime: 'Victims left behind'

The 1995 Aum sarin gas attacks in Tokyo laid the foundations for the creation of support networks to help protect those affected by the incident.
EDITORIALS
Mar 17, 2018

After 3/11 'reconstruction period'

The experiences of the communities hit by the 3/11 disasters should be reviewed and shared by the national government so that the lessons drawn from the data can be utilized.
EDITORIALS
Mar 16, 2018

What to expect in the wake of 'Rexit'

Japan and other U.S. partners must prepare for uncertainty and confusion in the conduct of U.S. foreign policy.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 15, 2018

Dairakudakan's 'unearthly' butoh meets a tortured Russian tale

Following a January press conference in which the New National Theatre, Tokyo, announced that Dairakudakan, one of the world's leading butoh companies, would be staging two performances of "Tsumi to Batsu" ("Crime and Punishment") in March, troupe founder Akaji Maro delivered a triumphant statement....
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets / ANALYSIS
Mar 15, 2018

Traders beware: Political black swan looms over yen and Nikkei

The scandal embroiling Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's administration may be more serious than some investors realize, raising the potential for a rapid move in Japanese markets to discount the potential for a surprise end to the champions of Abenomics.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 14, 2018

'Sakura Guardian in the North': A melodrama 'Sayurists' can be proud of

Sayuri Yoshinaga is the last star of Japan's postwar studio era to still be a box-office force. Playing a pure-hearted teen in films for Nikkatsu in the 1960s, she attracted a huge, mainly male, following known as "Sayurists."

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’