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COMMENTARY / World
May 16, 2010

Prized Japanese social values that withstand 'Westernization'

NEW YORK — Japan is a fascinating and beautiful country, but its culture can be baffling to Westerners. This seems especially true for Americans, with our long history of geographic and cultural isolation from Europe and Asia.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 17, 2010

Belfor Japan carving out a niche in Asia disaster-recovery services

Any smooth-running business can be devastated by fire, typhoon or earthquake, especially in Japan.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 15, 2010

JBIC vows to help companies regain global edge

The Japan Bank for International Cooperation will take more risks to help companies win overseas projects after they lost bids in Abu Dhabi and Vietnam, the head of the state-run lender said.
LIFE / Digital
Apr 14, 2010

Tech pushes Japan's music scene; industry won't budge

The music business reinvents itself every 20 years or so — basically every time a new format comes down the pike. But the industry has never faced the kind of fundamental challenge presented by the digital file-sharing revolution.
BUSINESS
Apr 2, 2010

'Tankan' up fourth time in row

Companies' confidence has improved for the fourth straight quarter, the Bank of Japan's quarterly "tankan" survey of business sentiment showed Thursday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
Mar 30, 2010

A fresh approach to Japanese food

Nicolas Soergel graciously brings two tiny plates to the table. They each contain three pinkish "umeboshi" (salted, dry plums), but those on one of the plates have been preserved for just one year; the ones on the other plate — whose skins are a little more wrinkled — are three years old. "Please...
JAPAN
Mar 16, 2010

White Beach base site said credible

OSAKA — The proposal to build a replacement base for U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma off the Katsuren Peninsula in central Okinawa Island, stretching from the White Beach Naval Facility to a nearby small island, is the latest idea to be floated in the contentious relocation abyss.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 16, 2010

Crisis-handling goes far beyond apology bow

Toyota Motor Corp. recent massive global recalls and subsequent safety worries should serve as a wakeup call for many Japanese companies seemingly ill-prepared to survive corporate crises.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 3, 2010

Iran's 'mullahnomics' is failing

ISTANBUL — As the standoff between Iran's government and opposition continues, one factor that may determine the outcome, but which is rarely discussed, is the rickety state of the Iranian economy. Will its sclerotic performance ultimately turn out to be what tips the balance?
BUSINESS
Mar 2, 2010

Desperate for jobs, U.S. town awaits Toyota plant

BLUE SPRINGS, Miss. — Terry McShan isn't thinking about car sales analyses or excess capacity when he drives by the idle Toyota plant in northeast Mississippi. He's thinking about his little girl.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
Mar 2, 2010

Openness is key, bookseller says

Alastair Lamond, a 47-year-old Briton, is like many English-speaking foreigners. He began working in Japan as a teacher of his native tongue.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Mar 1, 2010

Do your part and take a vacation

Japan tends to vacation en masse at the same times annually, which isn't great for an ailing tourism industry.
Japan Times
LIFE
Feb 14, 2010

Tiger of the snows

White flakes slip delicately down. Dusting the glow of graceful moss-clad forest relics rotting back into the ground, they illuminate the few giants still standing — majestic Japanese yew and lofty Korean pine. The ancient trees are silent; the only sound is from the hustle of our camouflaged legs...
BUSINESS
Feb 5, 2010

Sony's quarterly profit jumps to ¥79 billion

Sony's quarterly earnings surged more than sevenfold, boosted by blockbuster movie releases, cost cuts and its mainstay consumer electronics business returning to the black.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 2, 2010

ETIC looks to lighten JAL's load

Japan Airlines Corp.'s bankruptcy filing last month has cast the spotlight on Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corp. of Japan, a government-backed corporate rehabilitation body.
BUSINESS
Feb 2, 2010

JAL's new bosses neutral on tieup pick

Japan Airlines Corp.'s new management team said Monday they will examine from scratch alliance talks with U.S. carriers American Airlines Inc. and Delta Air Lines Inc.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
Feb 2, 2010

Japan remains magnet for Kobe-born Swiss hotelier

Martin Fluck has lived a cosmopolitan life childhood and his professional career has taken him to several different countries.
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Jan 29, 2010

Toyota's image ills long-term: experts

Toyota Motor Corp.'s accelerator pedal problem isn't likely to have much of an impact on its bottom line this year, but the damage to its image will undermine it in the long term, analysts said Thursday.
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Jan 20, 2010

Path ahead unclear as carrier enters into new chapter

Now that it has filed for bankruptcy under the Corporate Rehabilitation Law, Japan Airlines Corp. closes a chapter in its history and opens a new one — a mission to turn itself around under court-led rehabilitation.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jan 17, 2010

Clandestine campaign led to Valentine's demise

First in a four-part series
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 28, 2009

Publican practices the art of beer

Love beer? Look to Bryan Baird, 42, an Ohio native living in Numazu, Shizuoka Prefecture. Imbibe a foamy one at his original brewery, The Fishmarket Taproom, but just don't call him a bartender. Baird prefers the term "pub."
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 18, 2009

Ghost in the recovery machine

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The International Monetary Fund's October World Economic Outlook proclaimed that "Strong public policies have fostered a rebound of industrial production, world trade, and retail sales." The IMF, along with many national leaders, seem ready to give full credit to these policies for...
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Nov 17, 2009

Choice, chic, cheap — no one feels fleeced

Times are difficult for many retailers. Conspicuously not among them, however, is Fast Retailing Co., which posted both record sales of ¥685 billion and operating profit of ¥108.6 billion for the business year that ended in August.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years