Search - 2014

 
 
Reader Mail
Dec 18, 2015

The consumption tax needs fixing

If the government is really interested in fiscal health of Japan, a hike in the consumption tax is not the answer.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 17, 2015

Japan, Indonesia hold first two-plus-two talks, agree to work toward transfer of defense weapons

Japan and Indonesia held their first "two-plus-two" meetings of foreign and defense ministers in Tokyo on Thursday, agreeing to work on a pact that could allow to Japan to export some defense weapons and technologies to Indonesia.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 17, 2015

Yamaha CEO sees room to exceed targets on emerging markets

Yamaha Motor Co. may beat its profit forecasts if emerging markets hold up better than expected, according to Chief Executive Officer Hiroyuki Yanagi, speaking ahead of Wednesday's interest rate hike in the United States.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 17, 2015

Putting politics over economics, Abe may stall sales tax hike, call for double Diet poll next summer

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may put off a sales tax rise and call a snap Lower House election next summer, in tandem with a poll for the upper chamber, imitating a winning strategy he used a year ago, some advisers and political sources say.
MORE SPORTS
Dec 16, 2015

JAAF names Tanii top athlete of 2015

Race walker Takayuki Tanii, who captured a bronze medal in the men's 50-km competition at this summer's IAAF World Championships in Beijing, was named the athlete of the year at the annual Athletic Awards of the Japan Association of Athletics Federations in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Dec 16, 2015

Airbnb: Will Japan kill the golden goose?

Time will tell whether new legislation kills or culls the golden-egg-laying goose that Airbnb has become for hosts and travelers.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 16, 2015

Shift from Australian to European barley providing relief for struggling wagyu beef farmers

The most expensive meat in the world is getting a little cheaper to produce.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 16, 2015

High tech and today's productivity paradox

Recent trends in productivity growth make it hard to be optimistic about the future, but when radical innovations are first rolled out, their immediate effect isn't always known.
CULTURE / Film
Dec 16, 2015

Kiki Sugino: 'I'm always looking for myself'

Kiki Sugino has a one-of-a-kind resume in the domestic movie business. Many are the young "multi-talents" who act, sing and model, but most are recruited, molded and marketed by an agency. From the start, this 31-year-old actor, director and producer took a more independent route toward multi-dom.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 16, 2015

Xi defends China's web controls in call for 'Internet sovereignty of all countries'

Chinese President Xi Jinping urged world leaders to respect each country's sovereignty over its own Internet as he sought broader support for strict controls like China's on Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Dec 16, 2015

As jobs-for-life fade, mobility key as workers face a survival reality check

Shuhei Takebe graduated from a prestigious university in Japan. It qualified him to become a day laborer.
EDITORIALS
Dec 15, 2015

The consumption tax mess

It's questionable whether the government's plan to introduce a lower tax rate on food products is the best way to help lower-income households.
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 15, 2015

Obama expected to move on Taiwan guided missile frigate sales before year-end

The Obama administration is expected as soon as this week to authorize the sale of two guided missile frigates to Taiwan, U.S. congressional sources said Monday, in spite of China's opposition to the deal.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Dec 15, 2015

Thai activists urge release of man, allegedly detained by force at hospital, over Facebook post

Thai activists on Monday demanded the release of a man arrested for sharing an infographic on Facebook detailing alleged graft in an army-built park, saying plainclothes security officers had taken him by force.
BUSINESS
Dec 15, 2015

Japan's ¥135 trillion pension fund boosts infrastructure weighting

Japan's ¥135 trillion Government Pension Investment Fund is building up its alternative investment department after raising bets on infrastructure projects more than 10-fold to secure higher returns than low-yielding bonds.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 15, 2015

BOJ gains confidence in Japan's economy; cheap oil a threat

Bank of Japan officials are gaining confidence in the resilience of the nation's economy, while keeping a close eye on the impact of low oil prices on inflation expectations, according to people familiar with the central bank's discussions.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Dec 15, 2015

Police block access as trial of 'ultimate canary in coal mine' China rights lawyer lasts just three hours

The trial of one of China's most high profile human rights lawyers on charges of inciting ethnic hatred and provoking trouble lasted just three hours on Monday, with police blocking diplomats, foreign reporters and protesters from the court.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2015

Two new Olympic stadium designs unveiled by Japan Sport Council

The Japan Sport Council on Monday unveiled two new stadium designs for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics that blend in better with the greenery-rich Yoyogi area and currently don't break the ¥155 billion budget.
WORLD
Dec 14, 2015

Australian teenager pleads guilty to 'terrorism' charge

A Melbourne teen arrested after police found explosives at his home pleaded guilty on Monday to a terrorism-related charge, highlighting concerns about youth radicalization following last week's arrest of a 15-year-old Sydney boy in police raids.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 14, 2015

Japan's U.S. entanglement

Japan's overreliance on America at times causes its diplomacy to act in a way seemingly at odds with its own interests.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 14, 2015

Abe's tax compromise raises odds of twin summer polls

Abe may now be able to persuade his ally Komeito to agree to a snap Lower House election on the same day as an upper chamber poll.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 14, 2015

Latest 'tankan' shows sentiment intact at big firms

Confidence in the economy among large manufacturers unexpectedly held up in the past few months, suggesting record corporate profits are compensating for uncertainty about the effects of an expected U.S. rate increase and the slowdown in China.

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