Search - 2014

 
 
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Apr 22, 2016

Obama urges 'friend' U.K. to stay in EU but Brexit camp tells him to 'butt out'

U.S. President Barack Obama made an impassioned appeal on Friday for Britain to remain in the European Union, saying membership had magnified Britain's place in the world and made the bloc stronger and more outward looking.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 21, 2016

Japan, Panama agree to begin negotiations over exchange of tax information

Japan and Panama on Wednesday agreed to start negotiations on a tax information exchange agreement to enhance transparency in the financial system. The move comes at a time of scrutiny over offshore tax avoidance by the rich and powerful following a leak of records from a prominent law firm.
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2016

Japan's government defends against multiple accusations of stifling press freedom

The government is on the back foot in the wake of mounting global criticism to the effect that the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is threatening press freedom in Japan.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 21, 2016

China eyes deeper military ties with Afghanistan

China wants to have deeper military ties with Afghanistan, including counterterrorism intelligence cooperation and joint drills, a senior Chinese officer told a visiting Afghan envoy.
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2016

U.S. commander of Yokosuka naval base is fired

Capt. David Glenister, the commander of the U.S. Navy's Yokosuka Naval Base, is relieved of duty over his poor leadership abilities.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Apr 21, 2016

Iran bank must pay $2 billion to U.S. kin of 1983 Beirut bomb victims: Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that almost $2 billion in frozen Iranian assets must be turned over to American families of people killed in the 1983 bombing of a U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Beirut and other attacks blamed on Iran.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 21, 2016

Yellen's done 'serviceable job' but Trump hints he would replace her, wants weaker Fed, backpedals on debt

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump would be inclined to replace Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen if he wins the White House despite supporting the U.S. central bank's efforts to keep interest rates low, he told Fortune magazine.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 20, 2016

Japanese whisky at ¥100,000 a bottle driving rice farmers to the drink

Japan's burgeoning whisky business is driving rice farmer Hiroshi Tsubouchi to hit the booze.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Apr 20, 2016

Brazil prosecutor says more Olympic projects under investigation in corruption probe

A sweeping investigation into corruption in Brazil is targeting more infrastructure projects for this year's Olympic Games than previously made public, a federal prosecutor said, citing testimony from construction companies and executives.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Apr 20, 2016

U.S. appeals court rules for Virginia transgender student over bathroom access

A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday ruled for a Virginia transgender student seeking access to the bathroom of his gender identity in a case that could impact the national bathroom wars playing out between gay rights activists and social conservatives.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 19, 2016

Time to burn ¥10,000 bills?

Japan has a technology problem: it's called paper money. Can a digital currency cure the economy's woes?
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 19, 2016

Abe insider wages one-man campaign to challenge foreign media over reporting 'mistakes'

An Internet strategy adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is keeping his eyes peeled for what he calls "mistakes" by foreign media, because he thinks nobody in the government or the ruling Liberal Democratic Party has ever paid proper attention.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 18, 2016

How Brazil can save itself

If President Rousseff's likely impeachment could move Brazil forward if it helps bury beliefs and values that have been holding the country back.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 18, 2016

Panama's president says vilification over tax haven issue is unfair

Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela said Monday in Tokyo it is unjust of the global community to attack his nation over the so-called Panama Papers, as it is in the process of negotiating tax information exchange agreements with other countries, including Japan, to enhance the transparency of its...
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 18, 2016

Japan index compilers rush to please BOJ and excite normal investors

A man walks into a tailor, orders a custom-made suit and then says he's bound by his own rules to only buy half of it. Sell the rest to someone else, he says.
JAPAN / NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Apr 17, 2016

Day care crisis stuck in vicious cycle

The employee was in the throes of desperation as her maternity leave drew to a close in mid-March.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 17, 2016

Rainbow Disco Club may be the dance music scene's pot of gold

With new venues such as Contact and Sankeys opening their doors in Tokyo this spring, there is hope for a resurgence in the underground electronic music circuit in 2016. But with a glut of EDM mega-bashes, the festival scene for mature dance music fans can sometimes look a bit bleak.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Apr 17, 2016

Breaker helps pave a new path to stardom via YouTube

In the days of Japan's bubble economy, the second-level basement of the Fiction Building in Tokyo's Harajuku neighborhood housed a decadent Italian restaurant complete with a grand stairway down to the main dining area, providing every customer the chance to make an entrance. However, the opulent eating...
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 17, 2016

Rome's subway: the eternal project

In power for two years, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has initiated many reforms aimed at invigorating the anemic economy, including his flagship overhaul of the constitution, which was approved by parliament this past week.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Apr 16, 2016

Saluting Shakespeare's scientific legacy

On April 23, the literary world marks the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare. It's a good excuse for a lot of fuss: Britain's Royal Mint has produced a new £2 coin, the postal service has prepared a set of commemorative stamps depicting portraits of the Bard and thousands of theaters...

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