Search - 2017

 
 
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 26, 2018

In Japan's Diet, is there such a thing as too much time for questions?

It may be hard to find a workplace more rife with inefficiency and inertia than the national Diet.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / The Big Questions
Feb 25, 2018

Japan Inc. seen embracing change slowly but surely

Sitting in a Shibuya meeting room at the Tokyo headquarters of human resources and specialist recruitment consultancy Robert Walters Japan, David Swan cuts a swarthy, muscular figure.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 25, 2018

2018 marked by a polarization of trust

While 89 percent of Chinese trust their government, only 37 percent of Japanese feel the same way about theirs.
Japan Times
JAPAN / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Feb 25, 2018

Kyoto executives consider making nightlife in Kyoto more tourist-friendly

As residents and tourists in Kyoto complain more about higher prices, hotel shortages and crowds at train stations, shrines and temples, Kansai's corporate leaders are searching for ways to keep visitors coming.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 25, 2018

Apple moves to store iCloud keys in China, raising rights concerns

When Apple Inc. begins hosting Chinese users' iCloud accounts in a new Chinese data center at the end of this month to comply with new laws there, Chinese authorities will have far easier access to text messages, email and other data stored in the cloud.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS
Feb 24, 2018

Craft Beer Market Osaka: Cheap pints of tasty craft

The craft beer explosion in Japan has been a boon for drinkers, but the one bitter note in this success story is price. Generally speaking, there's little wiggle room from the ¥1,000 a pint mark — a hefty price to pay for a beer you might never go near again. This makes Craft Beer Market a worthy...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 24, 2018

Bringing little-known New York wines to Japan

Running to the west of the center of the city of Fukuoka is the wide, tree-lined boulevard of Keyaki-dori. An upmarket part of town, spots on the street rarely come up for renewal; once a shop has its prized location, it clings to it for all it is worth. So it is a pleasant surprise to find fresh noren...
BUSINESS
Feb 24, 2018

'Premium Friday' got off to lukewarm start in 2017 with 11% participation: METI

The consumer spending campaign isn't gaining much traction outside big cities, but the economy ministry and the private sector promise to forge on with more incentives.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 23, 2018

Macron vows to protect French farmland from foreign buyers amid uproar over Chinese deals

France will clamp down on farmland purchases by foreign buyers, President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday, responding to a controversy over deals attributed to a Chinese firm.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 23, 2018

Japan's ODA white paper links aid to support for Indo-Pacific strategy

Japan will make good use of the aid it gives developing countries to promote its "Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy," the government said in its 2017 white paper on official development assistance.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 23, 2018

With Kuroda staying at the BOJ, Japanese firms rush to issue long debt

Japanese companies are selling superlong bonds amid expectations that Haruhiko Kuroda's reappointment as central bank governor will prolong easy monetary policy, even as increases in overseas yields put pressure on domestic market rates to rise.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Feb 23, 2018

Distrust of unions and GM hangs over South Korean efforts to stem job losses

South Korean President Moon Jae-in is in a bind.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 22, 2018

Chiaki Soma puts on a not-so-common theater festival

In the world of Japanese contemporary drama, the action often takes place offstage as well as on.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Feb 22, 2018

Awards season blows through Japan with a conspicuous lack of buzz

It's awards season. Many a film journalist, from those working at the trade papers to those at the major dailies, spend months speculating who'll get Oscar nods and, as we get closer to the March 4 ceremony, who'll win.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 22, 2018

India's state-run bank adopts strict SWIFT controls after $1.77 billion fraud case

India's state-run Punjab National Bank has stepped up its controls on the use of SWIFT, a global payments network, following an alleged $1.77 billion fraud, according to memos issued this month and seen by Reuters.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Feb 22, 2018

Who to watch for Day 15 (Friday, Feb. 23)

10 a.m., Figure skating, women’s singles, free skating: Four-time national champion Satoko Miyahara and 2017 runner-up Kaori Sakamoto ranked fourth and fifth, respectively, after Wednesday’s short program. Alina Zagitova (Olympic Athletes from Russia) leads after the short program with 82.92 points,...
EDITORIALS
Feb 21, 2018

LDP's proposed electoral system amendment

The LDP's proposed electoral system amendment won't solve the vote-value disparity problem and may conflict with the Constitution's Article 43.
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Feb 21, 2018

The false promise of missile defense

Excessive spending on missile defense could be detrimental to other defense programs, leading to a weakening of the nation's overall defense capabilities.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Feb 21, 2018

Japan Times readers sound off on courtesy, blackface and education

A selection of letters about recent stories on the Community pages.
JAPAN
Feb 21, 2018

Abe calls for foreign employment review to bring in skilled workers from overseas

In a bid to address labor shortages, the government aims to draw up a plan by summer to reform the immigration system to allow in more skilled foreign workers.
JAPAN
Feb 21, 2018

Government task force proposes ¥2,000 fee for Japanese and foreign nationals entering casinos at planned 'integrated resorts'

While the proposed admission fee is aimed at preventing gambling addiction among residents in Japan, tourists from overseas will be admitted to casinos free of charge.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 21, 2018

TPP remains largely unchanged in attempt to lure back U.S., Japanese official says

Details released Wednesday reveal that the 11 remaining Trans-Pacific Partnership countries have managed to agree on terms close to the agreement's original form.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 21, 2018

'Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms': Mari Okada's visuals tell a moving story

Mari Okada is one of the most prominent — and prolific — writers in anime today. A native of Chichibu, Saitama, she's perhaps best known for penning a pair of deeply personal titles that take place there, "Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day" (2011) and "The Anthem of the Heart" (2015). But Okada...

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami