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BUSINESS
Oct 6, 2014

World Bank cuts developing East Asia forecast on China woes

The World Bank has lowered its forecasts for growth in developing East Asia this year and next, as China's expansion slows down and policymakers brace for tighter global monetary conditions.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 6, 2014

Tesla reportedly to unveil 'autopilot' cars this week

Tesla Motors Inc. will make its first foray toward automated driving, joining luxury rivals in offering high-tech features, including one that can keep the car in its lane, according to a source familiar with the carmaker's plans.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 5, 2014

Anti-EU U.K. Independence Party on cusp of winning first parliament seat

As he walks through the southeastern English seaside town of Clacton-on-Sea with a large banner for the anti-EU U.K. Independence Party under his arm, there is no doubt who 47-year-old builder Phil Drew will vote for in an election this week.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 5, 2014

Hit to Hong Kong's economy spurs opposition to Occupy Central protests

A week into Hong Kong demonstrations notable for their order and endurance, protesters came under an attack highlighting the fault lines of a city torn between commercial interests and a desire for greater democracy.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 4, 2014

As Hong Kong protests turn violent, rival camps square off in gritty Mong Kok neighborhood

More than a thousand rival protesters, some wearing helmets, faced off in a densely populated, gritty district of Hong Kong on Saturday, fueling concerns that the city's worst unrest in decades could take a more violent turn.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 3, 2014

BOJ struggling to meet inflation deadline, former vice governor says

The Bank of Japan may need more time to achieve its 2 percent inflation target and the country can't ignore harm caused by an abrupt weakening of the yen, said Toshiro Muto, a two-time contender to lead the central bank.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 2, 2014

In Hong Kong protests, China confronts limits of its power

In the heart of Mong Kok, one of the most densely populated districts on earth, an abandoned Hong Kong police van is enveloped in the student-led demonstrations paralyzing swaths of the city. Along with yellow ribbons and flowers, symbols of the city's pro-democracy movement, protesters have taped a...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 1, 2014

Activist Hong Kong academics allege death threats, intimidation

Some academics at the forefront of Hong Kong's fight for more democracy say they have become targets of death threats or other intimidation as the former British colony remains nearly paralyzed by the biggest protests since it returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 1, 2014

Divided Chinese eye Hong Kong protests with admiration, anger

For some mainland Chinese in Hong Kong, the sight of thousands of people on the streets protesting for greater democracy is an alien one that has prompted comparisons with the relative lack of political freedom back home.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 30, 2014

Chinese receive limited coverage of 'illegal' Hong Kong protests

On a day when front pages of newspapers in Hong Kong and around the world carried stories on prodemocracy protesters confronting riot police in the city, the lead article in China's official People's Daily focused on a new book of President's Xi Jinping's speeches.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 30, 2014

U.S. takes cautious line in response to Hong Kong protests

The United States is carefully calibrating its response to pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong, showing support for peaceful protests while signaling it has little interest in seeing the situation escalate and risk a harsher crackdown by Chinese authorities.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Sep 29, 2014

As Indian orbiter reaches Mars, at home, red tape binds space firms

As India celebrated becoming the first Asian nation to reach Mars, S.M. Vaidya, head of business at conglomerate Godrej's aerospace division that made the spacecraft's engine and thruster components, sounded surprisingly downbeat.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 26, 2014

Hong Kong students take democracy fight to home of city's leader

Thousands of students and protesters marched to the official residence of Hong Kong's leader on Thursday to demand a meeting, defying police warnings as tensions simmer over the financial hub's democratic future.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 24, 2014

Hong Kong student activists rally ahead of threatened blockade

Hong Kong students gathered in the heart of the city for a second day on Wednesday ahead of a planned blockade of government buildings if the city's leader fails to discuss their demands for free elections.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Sep 24, 2014

Russian lawmakers back initial proposal to curb foreign ownership of media

Russian lawmakers gave initial backing on Tuesday to a draft law limiting foreign ownership of Russian media to 20 percent from the existing ceiling of 50 percent, a move that critics say will reinforce the dominance of outlets loyal to the Kremlin.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 23, 2014

Disaffected have their say, but will Westminster listen?

The dilemma for Britain's political leaders is how to build on the public engagement generated by Scotland's referendum without rushing into ill-conceived reforms that create more problems than they solve.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 22, 2014

Thousands of Hong Kong students seek to 'grasp destiny' in demand for democracy

Thousands of students braved sweltering heat Monday to demand greater democracy in Hong Kong as they launched a weeklong boycott of classes, underscoring a restive younger generation's determination to challenge the Chinese Communist Party.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 22, 2014

Fukushima cleanup going painfully slow

Three and a half years after Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power station spewed massive amounts of radioactive materials into the air and water, decontamination work in Fukushima Prefecture has yet to draw to an end.
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Sep 21, 2014

Rather than boon for Japan, U.S. shale oil is still rip-off

Japan's national wealth is draining away as its trading companies keeping paying premium prices for the oil on offer from the U.S. and the Middle East.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 20, 2014

Russia, Europe in a race to the bottom

As Europe and Russia head into another round of sanctions, economic data are driving home the point that nobody stands to win in this tit-for-tat battle.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 15, 2014

Nissan faces battery plant cuts as electric car hopes fade

Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn is preparing to cut battery manufacturing in a new reversal on electric cars that has reopened deep divisions with alliance partner Renault.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Sep 14, 2014

Silent Europe aghast at possible breakup of U.K.

Britain's international partners are aghast, mostly in silence, at the possibility that one of the leading Western powers could break up and turn in on itself if Scotland votes this week for independence from London.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 13, 2014

Gov. Masuzoe outlines grand tourism plan for Tokyo

Tokyo Gov. Yoichi Masuzoe sketches out his 'long-term vision' for the capital and lays out some of the steps needed to turn it into a tourism magnet.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 11, 2014

Dreams made in a galaxy far, far away

Is Chris Pratt on his way to becoming Hollywood's next big action hero? The guy whose face you may recognize from various romcoms, but more likely know as Andy Dwyer from the U.S. sitcom "Parks and Recreation," has been raking in the praise for his latest film, "Guardians of the Galaxy."
BUSINESS
Sep 6, 2014

Apple aims to change the game with mobile-payments debut

Apple Inc. is jumping into the mobile-payments market just as retailers upgrade their cash registers to be more secure and ready to receive wireless transactions.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 5, 2014

Beijing's Humpty Dumpty mindset damages Hong Kong

Hong Kong people may soon be able to choose their chief executive, but they will not have a real democratic choice in who can be a candidate for office.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 4, 2014

BOJ keeps easing in place as headwinds against inflation grow

The Bank of Japan kept its record stimulus unchanged Thursday as Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda looks to keep stoking inflation and boost economic momentum that's been sapped by a higher sales tax.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past