Search - 2014

 
 
BUSINESS
Dec 17, 2014

Ruble collapse could shake Putin's grip on power

Russia failed to halt the collapse of the ruble on Tuesday, leaving President Vladimir Putin facing a full-blown currency crisis that could weaken his iron grip on power.
Japan Times
JAPAN / DECISION 2014
Dec 16, 2014

Novelty party in Hokkaido shows that 105,000 voters want 'none of the above'

While many voters struggled to find a party that matched their hopes for the nation's future, voters in Hokkaido had an easy way out: a box marked "No party to support" on the proportional representation section of the ballot.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 16, 2014

No excuse for tolerating torture

Already 'torture' is fading from the headlines. Anti-torture Americans have been way too polite the past 12 years. They should have shouted down the torturers and apologists, ridiculed them, locked them away.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 16, 2014

How regulation spurs growth

The world's richer countries created their regulatory infrastructure over generations, during a time of little direct global competition. Emerging markets need to create theirs in a greatly compressed time frame to strengthen their growth capacity.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 16, 2014

ECB must banish the specter of deflation

The European Central Bank is moving, hesitantly but ineluctably, toward quantitative easing, as the threat of deflation — and the ineffectiveness of its previous measures — leaves it no choice.
WORLD
Dec 16, 2014

U.S. dictionary Merriam-Webster picks 'culture' as word of year

Whether popular, corporate or entitled, "culture" was named word of the year by U.S. dictionary Merriam-Webster on Monday as a flexible catch-all that can easily identify a subject, idea or issue.
JAPAN / Politics / DECISION 2014
Dec 15, 2014

Ozawa keeps hope for regime change alive

Diet heavyweight Ichiro Ozawa, leader of Seikatsu no To (People's Life Party), admitted Monday that the opposition camp failed to give voters an alternative to the ruling bloc in the Lower House election but stressed that change is still possible if they join hands.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / DECISION 2014
Dec 15, 2014

Abe claims mandate for economic, security policies despite lowest turnout ever

Emerging as the big winner in the Lower House election, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declares he has a renewed mandate to keep pushing his policy agenda.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 15, 2014

Kaieda quits as DPJ chief after humiliating ejection from Diet

Humiliated by the loss of his seat in the Lower House election, Banri Kaieda resigns as president of the Democratic Party of Japan.
JAPAN / Politics / DECISION 2014
Dec 15, 2014

Election results a mix of good and bad for Hashimoto's Ishin no To

For Ishin no To (Japan Innovation Party), the Lower House election was a mixture of good and bad as the party held onto virtually all of its seats , courtesy of the proportional representation system, amid predictions it would lose big.
JAPAN / Politics / DECISION 2014
Dec 15, 2014

Resurgent JCP has night to remember

While the leaders of most of the opposition parties were grim-faced Sunday night, the Japanese Communist Party was celebrating after it more than doubled its seats in the Lower House.
JAPAN / Politics / DECISION 2014
Dec 15, 2014

DPJ President Kaieda loses Diet seat, set to quit as leader

In a stunning development early Monday morning, Banri Kaieda, president of the Democratic Party of Japan learned he lost his Diet seat in Sunday's Lower House election and is now set to quit as leader of the nation's largest opposition force.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / DECISION 2014
Dec 15, 2014

Lower House election results

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito, its junior partner in the ruling coalition, win the Lower House election by a landslide Sunday, claiming 325 seats.
JAPAN / Politics / DECISION 2014
Dec 15, 2014

Undecided voters swing Abe's way again

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is a gambler, and he won again Sunday night.
JAPAN / Politics / DECISION 2014
Dec 14, 2014

Proportional representation gamble stems Ishin no To losses

A last-minute appeal by Ishin no To (Japan Innovation Party) for proportional representation votes appears to have prevented larger-than-predicted losses in Sunday's Lower House election.
Japan Times
JAPAN / DECISION 2014
Dec 14, 2014

LDP clinches hollow victory as opposition options elude

The Liberal Democratic Party handily wrapped up the Lower House election Sunday even as many voters said they were driven by lack of choice rather than enthusiasm for the conservative party headed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
EDITORIALS
Dec 14, 2014

Nuclear arms risks — a reminder

As the 70th anniversary of the nuclear attacks on two Japanese cities approaches, it is high time that Japan worked out its own idea for eliminating nuclear weapons and presented it to the international community.
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Dec 14, 2014

Nagoya: What do you think of Abe's decision to call a snap election?

Voters and non-voters alike give their views on today's Lower House election, which was called by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe only two years after the last one.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.