Search - 2013

 
 
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
May 7, 2014

SoftBank tops archrival Docomo for first time on record profit

Amid growing smartphone sales and a raft of acquisitions, SoftBank Corp. has announced that its group operating profit hit a record ¥1.08 trillion, and its net profit an all-time high of ¥527 billion in fiscal 2013, surpassing rival NTT Docomo Inc. for the first time.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 7, 2014

Pioneering woman leads London's Royal Court Theatre into new realms

Since she took a first degree in drama at Manchester University, then a master's in directing after she realized she wasn't cut out to be an actress, Vicky Featherstone — the first female artistic director of London's hugely prestigious Royal Court Theatre in the heart of upper-crust Chelsea — has...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 7, 2014

Art Basel makes a difference in Asia

Magnus Renfrew, the director of Asia Art Basel, stopped by Tokyo in the lead up to this year's Art Basel in Hong Kong to talk about what it means to have Art Basel purchase Art HK.
EDITORIALS
May 7, 2014

Easing work-hour regulations

Key government panels for the Abe administration are looking into easing work-hour regulations so that some workers could be rewarded on the basis of performance rather than hours spent in the office.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
May 6, 2014

Japan meets most conditions for 'vital' EU trade talks: documents

The European Union is to tell Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday that Brussels is broadly satisfied with Japan's progress in negotiations toward an ambitious free trade deal, likely allowing talks to continue, according to EU documents.
JAPAN / Politics
May 6, 2014

Japan to work with France on future fast-breeder atomic reactor

Japan will join a French research effort to develop a new nuclear reactor that promoters say will use fuel more efficiently and produce less atomic waste.
EDITORIALS
May 5, 2014

Virus spells trouble for pig farmers

Porcine epidemic diarrhea — a virulent disease that infects piglets — is rapidly spreading in Japan and could bankrupt some farmers already hit hard by the sudden rise in feed prices.
EDITORIALS
May 5, 2014

Improving the lay judge system

As Japan's lay judge system turns 5 years old, the Justice Ministry's Legislative Council is considering excluding citizens from the duty of serving as lay judges when trials are expected to last more than a year.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
May 5, 2014

Money that must go down the pan

In almost all of Japan's major cities, close to 100 percent of the population are connected to public sewerage systems, but the farther away from cities you get the more the number drops. Tokushima Prefecture is the lowest, at 16.3 percent.
BASKETBALL
May 4, 2014

Kennedy gives Niigata edge over Shinshu

Thomas Kennedy thrived in pressure-packed games for the Yokohama B-Corsairs last season en route to the franchise's bj-league championship.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
May 3, 2014

Ako: trailing the ghosts of Japan's greatest vendetta

By noon of March 14, 1701, Edo was abuzz with rumors about what had happened earlier, in the "Great Pine Corridor" of the shogun's castle. Officials posted wooden signs around the city stating that Asano Naganori, lord of Ako Domain, had attacked and wounded his former tutor, Kira Yoshihisa.
BASKETBALL
May 3, 2014

Osaka overpowers Shiga in second half, triumphs in Game 1

The Osaka Evessa held the Shiga Lakestars to 19-for-60 shooting, seized control of the game in the third quarter and made a winner of Evessa coach Shunsuke Todo in his bj-league playoff debut.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 3, 2014

Obama's pivot to Asia: Rebalance and reassure

Summits are all about symbolism and optics and on that score U.S. President Barack Obama's swing through Asia was a qualified success. Another few nails were hammered into the coffin of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) with officials now edging toward a face saving TPP-Lite, but Americans paid little...
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
May 3, 2014

Buffaloes still behind in terms of attendance

One of the biggest surprises of the NPB season thus far has to be the play of the Orix Buffaloes.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
May 3, 2014

Golden Week activity influenced more by logistics than by economics

This year's Golden Week holiday isn't as golden as it normally is owing to the way the national holidays that make it possible fall in relation to the days of the week.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 2, 2014

Y!mobile to target smartphone users

Yahoo Japan prepares to launch a cellphone carrier in June that could pit it against parent SoftBank in the hunt for smartphone users.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 2, 2014

China militants show new daring

A bombing in western China that killed three people and wounded 79 on Wednesday has raised concerns about the apparent sophistication and daring of the attack, which possibly was timed to coincide with a visit to the heavily Muslim region by President Xi Jinping.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
May 2, 2014

Japan a key battleground for BBC's expansion in Asia

Judging from the activity on the floor at February's BBC Worldwide Showcase in Liverpool, England, television is most definitely not dead. Over 700 buyers and distributors descended on the BT Convention Centre to investigate what was new ("The Game," "The Musketeers") and what was returning from the...
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 2, 2014

Rethinking Japan's whaling

Although many Japanese seem indifferent to the question of whether they can get whale meat, pro and con reactions in and out of Japan will affect those who still live by whale hunting on a local scale.
COMMENTARY / World
May 2, 2014

Third Obama disappointment seems imminent

In the trivial case of the Sino-Japanese dispute over the Senkaku/Diaoyu isles, there was no cause for President Barack Obama's recent warning to China that the U.S. considers the islands as falling under protection of its Security Treaty signed with Japan in the aftermath of the Second World War. A polite reference to the matter as one for peaceful settlement would have sufficed.
JAPAN
May 1, 2014

Japan's orphans neglected: HRW

Japan's habit of shunting orphans and abused children to child-care institutions instead of foster parents has left thousands susceptible to mistreatment, Human Rights Watch warns.
JAPAN
May 1, 2014

Medical mishaps hit highest since 2005

Japanese hospitals recently reported the most medical near misses and blunders since 2005, but the tally didn't include private practices.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
May 1, 2014

Fazekas named NBL MVP

Toshiba Brave Thunders center Nick Fazekas was voted the NBL's Most Valuable Player for the 2013-14 regular season, the league announced on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 1, 2014

Softbank plans to reload with ¥300 billion bond sale

Softbank Corp., the wireless carrier run by billionaire Masayoshi Son, will raise ¥300 billion ($2.9 billion) in a fresh bond issue to repay past debt, boost liquidity and make investments.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years