Search - 2014

 
 
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 26, 2015

Belling the nuclear wildcat

The only guarantee of zero nuclear weapons risk — five years after U.S. President Barack Obama's stirring speech outlining his dream of nuclear disarmament — is to move to zero nuclear weapons possession by a carefully managed process.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 25, 2015

Japan's Academy Prizes — the fix is in?

Comedian, actor and director Takeshi Kitano had some scathing things to say about the Japanese film industry at last year's Tokyo International Film Festival, where he was given a career achievement award. One target he singled out was the Japan Academy Prizes — the local equivalent of the Oscars —...
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
Feb 23, 2015

Pena alone can't lift Rakuten's power profile

If the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles seal the deal with Wily Mo Pena, as reported on Monday by Daily Sports Online, it will help the Eagles avoid taking a step back in the power department, but it won't solve all the team's problems.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Feb 22, 2015

More tips for filing your U.S. taxes from Japan

With the help of a tax specialist, Lifelines tackles a number of queries in response to the special on U.S. taxation a few weeks back.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 16, 2015

Twisted spending priorities of a graying nation

All Americans ought to want effective and efficient government, but government is being strangled as the rising costs of baby-boomer retirees reduce the capacity of other programs to fulfill their missions.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Feb 10, 2015

Horiguchi lands UFC flyweight title shot against Johnson

Several years ago, Kyoji Horiguchi went basically straight from high school to the gym, where he began training with the Krazy Bees MMA team, soon finding himself under the wing of Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto, one of Japan's biggest MMA stars. In a few weeks' time, Horiguchi will get the chance of the lifetime,...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 10, 2015

A year on, Crimeans prefer Russia

Poll data suggests that a majority of Crimeans see Ukraine as a poor and unstable country where the media are hostile toward them.
EDITORIALS
Feb 7, 2015

20 million tourists no pipe dream

The goal of attracting 20 million foreign visitors to Japan annually by the time Tokyo hosts the 2020 Summer Olympic Games is no longer considered the stuff of dreams if the tourism industry doesn't forget the basics.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2015

Farming reforms set to test Abe's resolve

After December's landslide re-election, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's program to revive the nation's economy is set to meet perhaps its stiffest challenge, the nation's sclerotic farming industry.
EDITORIALS
Feb 3, 2015

China's new economic reality

Economic reforms in China will be meaningless unless they are accompanied by political reforms.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jan 31, 2015

Call to arms: Hunters dwindle as animal numbers explode

Asians who crossed land bridges into today's Ryukyu Islands more than 30,000 years ago encountered plenty of game. In addition to deer and boar, they hunted elephant and steppe bison until the larger mammals were hunted to extinction in Japan about 17,000 years ago.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 28, 2015

Other nations' troubles could slow U.S. growth

President Barack Obama has declared America's economic crisis over, but will global weakness infect the U.S. expansion?
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 26, 2015

Got a spare billion? Bankers keen to help

The growing ranks of the super rich and their increased appetite for risk have caught the eye of investment bankers.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 24, 2015

Obama looking to leverage ties with Modi during India trip

Barack Obama will do something in India on Monday that an American president almost never does in public: He'll sit in one place, in a foreign country, for hours.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS / NFL NOTEBOOK
Jan 21, 2015

Manning can thrive in Kubiak's system

My first impression when I heard the news that the Denver Broncos had hired Gary Kubiak to replace John Fox as the 15th head coach in team history was that Peyton Manning is one step closer to retirement.
EDITORIALS
Jan 19, 2015

Building peace in the Arab world

Four years after the Arab Spring of hoped-for democratization, Japan needs to extend steady support for efforts to build peace in the Arab world and tolerance of diversified views and opinions.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jan 17, 2015

Five key questions as 2015 NPB season approaches

With just two weeks to go until spring training camps open for the 12 Japanese pro baseball teams, here are five things to look for during the 2015 season:
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 13, 2015

Japan sees fewest corporate bankruptcies since bubble era, but smaller firms feeling the pinch

Corporate bankruptcies fell in 2014 to the lowest level since the final year of the asset bubble, as a government request for banks to alter loan conditions for smaller firms helped companies stay afloat.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 11, 2015

Xi a keen student of U.S. power

Xi Jinping is being called China's first U.S.-style president because of how he has cultivated a distinctly presidential approach abroad, overseen loans and trade deals with strategic partners and used the 'bully pulpit' at home to advocate a clear policy direction.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / HIT AND RUN
Jan 10, 2015

Toritani may have thrived in majors

Two seasons ago, when it was thought Takashi Toritani was considering a move to MLB, many of the Pacific Rim scouts coming in and out of Japan were mostly lukewarm about his MLB prospects. They may had been fooled into thinking he was on a sharp decline by a decent, but un-Toritani-like year in 2011...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 9, 2015

U.S. economy, military remain strong

Amid the continuing trend of polarization into Democrat or Republican extremes, an increasing flow of immigrants and a waning, but still the strongest military presence, the U.S. will continue to be a superpower, but to a somewhat lesser extent, a group of academic experts recently concluded.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 5, 2015

Only modest growth expected for Japan's economy in fiscal 2015

The still-faltering economy, hit hard by April's consumption tax hike as well as bad weather last summer, is forecast to grow only modestly in fiscal 2015 despite the Abe administration's latest economic stimulus package.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Jan 2, 2015

With steady jobs scarce, South Korean students linger on campus

It's been a year since Seoul media and communications student Lee Woong-hee finished his studies, but the 26-year-old plans to skip his class graduation ceremony in February because he thinks retaining his student status will help him finally land a job.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 31, 2014

Venezuela confirms recession, highest inflation in Americas

Venezuela confirmed on Tuesday it had entered a recession while inflation remained the highest in the Americas, and President Nicolas Maduro's socialist government blamed political foes for the dismal data.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 29, 2014

94% plunge shows 'Abenomics' is losing global investors

Foreign investors have had just about enough of "Abenomics."
CULTURE / Music
Dec 23, 2014

Lower sales affected acts worldwide

The Japanese music market has faced hard times as of late. Starting with an announcement from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry in March that the country's music sales dropped 16.7 percent in 2013, the past 12 months saw no particular upswing in physical or digital sales, therefore...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 23, 2014

Obama, executive in charge

U.S. executive power waxed under the presidency of George W. Bush then waned during the first five years of the Obama administration. Now the subject is back, on issues such as the war against Islamic State, immigration reform and diplomatic relations with Cuba.
CULTURE / Japan Pulse
Dec 22, 2014

Rewinding some of Japan's top YouTubers

YouTube highlighted 14 of the Internet's best Japanese vloggers.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 20, 2014

Swallows, Buffaloes upgrade rosters, renew hope for title run

The last time there was a Yakult-Orix Japan Series played, it was 1995. The Orix team was the BlueWave, based in Kobe and led by some guy named Ichiro Suzuki. He had just completed his second full season in Japanese baseball, hitting .342 to win his second of seven consecutive Pacific League batting...

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear