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Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Feb 3, 2015

Canadian foreign minister to quit amid talk of tensions with prime minister

Foreign Minister John Baird is unexpectedly set to resign from the federal Cabinet this week amid what sources said had been tensions with the prime minister's office.
EDITORIALS
Feb 2, 2015

Turbulent times for Skymark

Skymark Airlines Inc., the nation's third-largest carrier, which filed for bankruptcy protection last week after its moves to buy a fleet of Airbus A380 superjumbos to expand into the international flight market flopped, should seek to rebuild itself by refocusing on and consolidating its domestic operations....
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 2, 2015

90% of cities failed to meet air standards in 2014: China

Nearly 90 percent of China's big cities failed to meet air quality standards in 2014, but that was still an improvement on 2013 as the country's "war on pollution" began to take effect, the environment ministry said on Monday.
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.
EDITORIALS
Jan 31, 2015

Japanese talent needs grooming

Japan recently ranked No. 20 worldwide in a business school survey of competitiveness and worker quality. That's not terrible, but it does reveal a lack of readiness for the future global economy.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Jan 30, 2015

Building social change after the earthquake

In 2011, the devastation of the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami forced Japanese architects to rethink their understanding of architecture at a fundamental level — to consider closely society's systems and the affect buildings had on not only the life of, but also the psyche of the people.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jan 28, 2015

Chinese police suspended for eating endangered salamander

The southern Chinese city of Shenzhen suspended 14 police officers and put a police chief under investigation on Tuesday on suspicion of feasting on an endangered giant salamander, state media reported.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 26, 2015

Are the poor better off than King Louis XIV?

To argue that common folk live better now than royalty did in earlier times is a fatuous and politically inspired attempt to minimize the issue of income inequality.
JAPAN
Jan 26, 2015

Self-censoring kicks in as hostage drama plays out

As the hostage drama plays out, TV stations are altering schedules and pop idols are changing song lyrics to avoid shocking audiences accidentally.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jan 26, 2015

Tokyo's hydrogen mission starts now

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is setting up a ¥40 billion fund to promote the use of hydrogen energy and promote Japan's ecological technologies ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 25, 2015

Looser credit policies for China's better cities

The best way to sustain China's economic transition and prevent a hard landing is to implement looser monetary and credit policies that enable the most productive cities, companies and industries to generate new added value.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jan 24, 2015

Words from the wise on our energy future

Another year has dawned, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been at the helm for more than two years and nearly four years have passed since the Fukushima disaster brought Japan to its knees. And still we wait for a realistic blueprint from the government for clean and safe energy independence, a plan offering...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Jan 24, 2015

The Ink Dark Moon

No other period in Japan's literary history was as dominated by women as the Heian Period (794-1185). Most Japanophiles know names such as Sei Shonagon ("The Pillow Book") or Murasaki Shikibu ("The Tale of Genji") for their contributions to the world of literature, but Izumi Shikibu (Shikibu is a title,...
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.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 23, 2015

Address Pyongyang by listening to Beijing

Successive U.S. administrations have sought China's aid in restraining North Korea, yet have failed to listen to advice from Beijing officials. It's one of Washington's greatest policy failures.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Jan 22, 2015

Chocolate delight at Hyatt Regency; Ritz-Carlton offers berry good buffet; Peninsula Spa soothes, pampers

JAPAN / DAVOS SPECIAL 2015
Jan 21, 2015

Business leaders confident of recovery in coming year

This is definitely the year in which Japan will end its deflationary spiral.
JAPAN / DAVOS SPECIAL 2015
Jan 21, 2015

Adaptation vital in changing world

Kiyoshi Kurokawa, a professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies and former chairman of the National Diet of Japan Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission, says the world is currently experiencing the most dramatic shift since the Industrial Revolution in the...
Japan Times
JAPAN / DAVOS SPECIAL 2015
Jan 21, 2015

Transitioning from spectator to participant at Davos meeting

The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum is underway in Davos-Klosters in Switzerland from Jan. 21. The theme of this year's meeting is "The New Global Context" for decision making.
COMMENTARY
Jan 20, 2015

Why Abe's third arrow flopped

Japan's deflation can now be attributed to stagnant demand in the domestic market and to stagnation in technological innovation.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 20, 2015

Tokyo to spend ¥45 billion on hydrogen stations, subsidies ahead of Olympics

Tokyo plans to spend ¥45.2 billion on fuel-cell vehicle subsidies and hydrogen stations for the 2020 Olympics as part of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's plan to reduce the nation's reliance on nuclear power.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY
Jan 19, 2015

Magic moments of noncompetitive surfing

Many of the highlights of surfing have more to do with experiencing the splendor and power of the waves than with the competitive ability to ride them.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 19, 2015

What's worth getting excited about in 2015?

A general sentiment of self-restraint, bukkadaka (物価高, the high cost of living) and enyasu (円安, the weak yen) culminated in an Oshōgatsuyasumi (お正月休み, New Year's holiday) where more people stayed put and fewer traveled to exotic overseas destinations.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Jan 18, 2015

A top 10 for non-Japanese parents considering local schools

Whether your children are already in the local system or you are weighing up your future schooling options, here are 10 issues for parents to keep in mind.

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?