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EDITORIALS
Dec 28, 2013

Year of ups and downs for Japan

Japan in 2013 was besieged by problems in politics, business and society even while several key events helped to rekindle a sense of confidence in Japan.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 28, 2013

Is teacher demoralization the next step?

Publicizing the names of teachers in newspapers when their students fail to measure up could be a prescription for demoralization in Japan.
EDITORIALS
Dec 27, 2013

Another backward step by Abe

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit Thursday to Yasukuni Shrine, Japan's war shrine, is a thoughtless act that could lead Japan into isolation in the international community. It also revealed his shallow understanding of the immense destruction that Japan's wars in the 1930s and 1940s brought about and...
EDITORIALS
Dec 26, 2013

All eyes on the new NHK chief

The governing board of NHK has appointed a supporter of the new state secrets protection law as the next president of Japan's public broadcaster. Katsuto Momii's three-year term starts Jan. 25.
EDITORIALS
Dec 26, 2013

Proceed with caution on TPP talks

The adjournment this month of minister-level talks in Singapore on the Trans-Pacific Partnership means that the talks will not conclude by the yearend deadline set by leaders of the 12 participating countries at their October meeting in Bali. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, for one, may be disappointed.
BUSINESS
Dec 26, 2013

Carmakers brace for Yasukuni backlash in China

Automakers are bracing for a potential consumer backlash should tensions with China escalate after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Yasukuni Shrine on Thursday, which was also Chairman Mao Zedong's birthday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Dec 25, 2013

Tokyo, the city that's not as crazy as everyone thinks

As a Japanese friend of mine who has lived all over Japan once said, 'People from the Kansai area are like Latin people, but in Tokyo they're more like Germans.
EDITORIALS
Dec 25, 2013

Rein in government spending

The government's draft budget for fiscal 2014, which Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet approved Tuesday, reflects a lack of government will to reduce public spending and debt even as the tax burden on consumers is set to increase.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Dec 25, 2013

Aisin's Kanamaru fits in well with new team

The Aisin SeaHorses (24-2) are tied with the Toshiba Brave Thunders for the NBL's best record through Sunday. That alone isn't anything unusual for the powerhouse NBL team.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 25, 2013

Snowden declares his mission accomplished

In a candid interview, NSA leaker Edward Snowden breaks his silence on surveillance, democracy and the meaning of the top-secret documents he exposed, and says his mission is 'already accomplished.'
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Dec 24, 2013

Blazers look for real with Aldridge, Lillard, 'flow' offense

It's no surprise that going into the final week of December, the Portland Trailblazers had the best record in the NBA.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 23, 2013

Automated driving tech comes to the fore

In November, a prospective customer was at the wheel of Mazda Motor Corp.'s new sport utility vehicle during a demonstration in Fukaya, Saitama Prefecture. With a sales rep in the passenger seat, the 38-year-old man drove the car toward a urethane mat hanging 7 meters ahead to test the collision avoidance...
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 23, 2013

'The bug that ate Christmas'

In West Virginia's scenic Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge, with its gently sloping mountains and emerald expanses of timber, Mike Powell relishes the perks of his job as a caretaker of the land: the sounds of a gurgling stream and the fresh pine scent of evergreens.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Dec 21, 2013

Protecting nature to protect ourselves

This month's column takes an intrepid look at efforts to expand protected areas in Japan and worldwide, areas that are essential to conserve biological diversity and mitigate natural disasters.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 20, 2013

Japan Inc. builds mountain of cash

Japanese companies' cash holdings rose to a record last quarter, highlighting Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's struggle to spur the investment and wage increases needed to end a 15-year deflationary malaise.
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Dec 18, 2013

Tokyo: If you could be prime minister for a day, what would you do?

Top concerns for would-be PMs around the metropolis: Fukushima, demographics, women in the workplace, the consumption tax, education, energy, English — and beer.
BUSINESS
Dec 16, 2013

'Tankan' signals drop in spending

Big businesses pare their spending projections for the year, signaling headwinds for 'Abenomics' ahead of April's tax hike and doubts the recovery is sustainable, the 'tankan' report says.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 16, 2013

Abe shows totalitarian bent

The president of a Japanese university classifies the Abe administration as neither conservative nor liberal. Instead, he calls it 'totalitarian' and suggests that Japan is drifting away from European ideals based on democracy and individualism.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 16, 2013

Long reform march from China's Third Plenum

Although China's leadership succession was completed earlier this year, the policy agenda for the coming decade has only just been revealed at its Third Plenum.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Dec 16, 2013

Father's diet may affect offspring

Watching what you eat and drink isn't just for moms-to-be anymore. New scientific evidence suggests that the father's diet before conception might be just as important to a child's health.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Dec 15, 2013

The war on katakana starts at school

Eliminating katakana's use as a pronunciation aide would benefit Japanese students' ability to communicate, but that clearly can't be achieved overnight. However, it's still worth putting up a 'faito.'
WORLD / Politics
Dec 15, 2013

White House delayed rules before election

The White House systematically delayed enacting a series of rules on the environment, worker safety and health care to prevent them from becoming points of contention before the 2012 election, according to documents and interviews with current and former administration officials.

Longform

In 2020, 38% of all households were single-person. That figure is projected to rise to 44.3% by 2050.
The rise of AI companionship in a lonely Japan