Search - question

 
 
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 24, 2019

Japan and the World Bank's new direction

to stay relevant, the World Bank needs to blend financing with its expertise in problems of rapid urbanization, alarming demographic shifts and rising income disparities.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Mar 23, 2019

Are democratic principles at risk of being undermined?

Is democracy dying? Certainly authoritarianism is rising. A generation ago, it was the opposite — authoritarianism seemed moribund, democracy on the cusp of new life. Sekai magazine (April) sums up the gloomier mood now gaining ground. "We cannot," it says, "take democracy for granted."
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 23, 2019

'Utterly shocking': Trump sparks new confusion over North Korea sanctions policy

The U.S. will leave in place North Korea-related sanctions on two Chinese shipping companies that were announced on Thursday, and U.S. President Donald Trump has no plans to impose additional penalties on Kim Jong Un's government, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 22, 2019

Tsuyoshi Hoshino, the Heisei Era's last maestro of Japan's Diet formalities

When at home, Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Tsuyoshi Hoshino wouldn't dare let the hours pass without a humidifier on. The whole time the device is humming, he is also wearing a neck gaiter. Whenever he goes out, he makes sure his bag contains a constant supply of cough drops.
JAPAN / History / Heisei Icons,Heisei Icons
Mar 22, 2019

Haruki Murakami: Writing in a parallel universe, connecting with a global readership

In Japan, it was the runaway best-seller status of 'Norwegian Wood' (1987), his wistful tale of crushed innocence and young love that sold more than 4 million copies in Japanese alone, that established Murakami's iconic status.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Mar 22, 2019

How many times do we have to die before we are dead?

Thanatometabolomics, a new field of science that looks at how biomarkers can help determine time of death, brings up new questions on the definition of 'dead'
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 21, 2019

Osaka wrestles with merger plan as campaign for governor kicks off

To merge or not to merge? That is the question Osaka hopes to finally answer as the campaign for Osaka governor kicked off Thursday morning.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 21, 2019

Boeing, FAA officials called to testify in U.S. Senate on 737 MAX jetliner crashes

Boeing Co. faced growing pressure in Washington on Wednesday with U.S. lawmakers calling for executives to testify about two crashed 737 MAX jets even as the world's biggest plane-maker works to overcome obstacles to returning the grounded fleet to the skies.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Mar 21, 2019

Trump calls top aide Kellyanne Conway's spouse 'husband from hell' in Twitter brawl

U.S. President Donald Trump refused to row back on his feud with White House aide Kellyanne Conway's spouse on Wednesday, calling George Conway a "husband from hell" and prompting Conway to renew his accusation that Trump was mentally unfit for his office.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 20, 2019

Hero to zero — exports turn to source of fragility in Asia

A decades-old economic model needs reappraisal as the global downdraft causes trade-reliant economies to reel.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 20, 2019

'Shinjuku Tiger': A story of one man and his mask

Spend enough time on the streets of Shinjuku, and you'll eventually spot a flamboyantly dressed figure in a tiger mask carrying fake flowers, stuffed animals and a boombox. This is Shinjuku Tiger, the subject of a documentary of the same name out this week.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 20, 2019

Rakuten's Hiroshi Mikitani has a new goal for his 17,000 workers: Learn to code

Less than a decade after stunning workers at his tech giant with an edict to learn English, billionaire Hiroshi Mikitani wants to do the same with computer programming.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 20, 2019

South Korea's ruling party retracts critique of Bloomberg reporter

South Korea's ruling party withdrew personal criticism of a Bloomberg News reporter for writing an article about President Moon Jae-in, after international press groups warned the remarks threatened journalistic freedom and demanded a retraction by the party.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 20, 2019

One day before deadly crash, an off-duty pilot saved Lion Air 737 Max from malfunctioning flight-control system

As the Lion Air crew fought to control their diving Boeing Co. 737 Max 8, they got help from an unexpected source: an off-duty pilot who happened to be riding in the cockpit.
Japan Times
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Mar 19, 2019

Reigning world champion Nathan Chen raring to go after time away for school

Defending world champion Nathan Chen will attempt to do something no American man has done since 1984 when he takes the ice at this week's world championships.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 19, 2019

Is Nissan a Japanese or a global company?

Which view prevails will greatly impact the lessons learned from the Ghosn case.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 19, 2019

America isn't as divided as it looks

On some important issues, public opinion is starting to converge.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Mar 19, 2019

In interview, Dalai Lama contemplates Chinese gambit after his death

The Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, said Monday it was possible that once he dies his incarnation could be found in India, where he has lived in exile for 60 years, and warned that any other successor named by China would not be respected.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 19, 2019

Probe of FAA's oversight of Boeing 737 Max began before second crash

U.S. federal authorities began exploring a criminal investigation of how Boeing Co.'s 737 Max was certified to fly passengers before the latest crash in Ethiopia involving the new jet, according to sources familiar with the probe.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 18, 2019

BOJ gets extra innings just to hit a single

Finance Minister Taro Aso bought Haruhiko Kuroda time to reach that elusive 2 percent inflation target, but this isn't where the BOJ head wants to be.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 18, 2019

America: that awful country that everyone wants to move to

If quality of life is better in Canada and Europe, why don't more Americans emigrate?
Japan Times
WORLD / FOCUS
Mar 18, 2019

FAA workers sounded alarm about Boeing performing its own safety checks as early as 2012

Employees of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration warned as early as seven years ago that Boeing Co. had too much sway over safety approvals of new aircraft, prompting an investigation by Department of Transportation auditors who confirmed the agency hadn't done enough to "hold Boeing accountable."...
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Mar 18, 2019

Pressure mounts on Tory lawmakers to back Brexit deal

U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond ramped up the pressure on Brexiteer Tory MPs as he warned they will trigger a long delay to leaving the European Union unless they support Theresa May's proposed deal when it returns to Parliament.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Mar 17, 2019

Non-Japanese people are poorly represented in Japanese media: That needs to change

For almost a decade, the Japanese TV show "Why Did You Come to Japan?" has operated on the premise of finding foreign tourists and asking them the titular question. It might seem like an innocent query at first, but in fact this show and its ilk embody everything that is wrong with the depiction of non-Japanese...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / ANALYSIS
Mar 17, 2019

Ghosn eager to speak publicly, but are the dangers of entrapping himself too great?

Legal and communications experts not involved in the former Nissan CEO's case warn he may be wading into treacherous waters.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 17, 2019

India and Pakistan threatened to unleash missiles at each other: sources

The sparring between India and Pakistan last month threatened to spiral out of control, and only interventions by U.S. officials, including national security adviser John Bolton, headed off a bigger conflict, five sources familiar with the events said.
Japan Times
WORLD / FOCUS
Mar 16, 2019

Boeing 737 crashes raise tough questions about automation

Tom Enders just couldn't resist the swipe at the competition. It was June 2011, and the chief executive officer of Airbus SE was on a stage at the Paris air show after the plane-maker won in a matter of days an unprecedented 600 orders for its upgraded A320neo airliner, while Boeing Co. stood on the...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 16, 2019

Robot overlords wouldn't be the worst

They can't match humanity's malice and greed.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 16, 2019

Massacre in New Zealand shows how violent videos can evade tech giants' radar

The Friday massacre at two New Zealand mosques, live-streamed to the world, was not the first internet broadcast of a violent crime, but it showed that stopping gory footage from spreading online persists as a major challenge for tech companies despite years of investment.

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