Search - 2020

 
 
Reader Mail
Jan 3, 2020

An optimistic view of Japan in 10 years

Year's end finds Yoko Ishikura in a reflective mood ("A long-term outlook for decisions here and now" in the Dec. 11 edition). She feels good about the past year. Japan has a newly enthroned emperor. The Rugby World Cup went well, she believes, auguring equal success for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Reader Mail
Jan 3, 2020

Beware Trump's sleaze tactics

Regarding Donald Trump's historic impeachment, one thing is indisputable: He will plunge to the darkest depths of unfathomable sleaze once he grasps that his Titanic-like presidency has run full tilt into a self-made iceberg, even if the Republican-majority Senate acquits him (as is expected).
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / B. League / B. LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Jan 3, 2020

Sunrockers continue to make progress under coach Tsutomu Isa in second year at helm

Sunday's game provided ample evidence of the growth and potential of the Sunrockers Shibuya under Tsutomu Isa, who became head coach in October 2018 after the team opened last season with a 1-7 record.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 3, 2020

'Fortune' updates Faust's devilish deal

Playwright Simon Stephens turns to ideas of terror for his British-Japanese transformative theatrical trip.
CULTURE / Film
Jan 3, 2020

15 minutes with rising star Ryota Katayose

Ryota Katayose is facing a busy year, with television and film projects and a tour with his group in the offing
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ABOUT JAPAN
Jan 3, 2020

Japanese Classics series: Vintage Classics gives timeless Japanese literature a look for the new decade

The new Japanese Classics series from Vintage Classics presents five seminal Japanese novels, from Junichiro Tanizaki to Yoko Ozawa, with stunning cover art by Japanese illustrator Yuko Shimizu.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 3, 2020

Wall Street starts 2020 at record levels on China stimulus and trade hopes

U.S. stocks extended their rally into the new year, with all three major indexes hitting record highs on Thursday, as fresh stimulus from Beijing to prop up its economy added to optimism fueled by easing trade tensions and an improving global outlook.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 3, 2020

U.S. sees signs Iran or its allies may be planning attacks: Pentagon chief

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Thursday that there were indications Iran or the forces it backs may be planning additional attacks and said it was possible the United States might have to take preemptive action to protect American lives.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 2, 2020

A Masayoshi Son shopping list for 2020

Softbank's chief could do worse than to take this advice.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Jan 2, 2020

Strawberry desserts bursting with flair

Japan's love affair with strawberries remains unabated at ANA InterContinental Tokyo, with the Strawberry Sensation 2020 extravaganza, using approximately 7,000 kilograms of strawberries, scheduled to run from Jan. 15 until May 31.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 2, 2020

Rock-throwing Iraqi militias end protest at U.S. Embassy

Supporters of Iranian-backed Iraqi paramilitary groups who stormed the U.S. Embassy's perimeter and hurled rocks in two days of protests withdrew on Wednesday after Washington dispatched extra troops and threatened reprisals against Tehran.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 2, 2020

Art from the silver lining of life's dark clouds

Threatening the precarious peace of everyday life are unforeseen incidents, disease and emotional turbulence. Such are the narrative threads running through 'Song to Life, Struggles of the Soul' at Wacoal Studyhall Kyoto.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 2, 2020

U.K.'s Lloyds Banking Group reports disruption to online services

Britain's Lloyds Banking Group suffered an outage on Wednesday that left customers of its Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland operations unable to access their accounts online.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jan 2, 2020

U.S. chief justice who will preside over Trump's trial prefers to fly under the radar

U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts will be a central figure in the ongoing drama of the Donald Trump presidency in the coming months. He is due to preside over a Senate impeachment trial, while the Supreme Court he leads will rule on a titanic clash over the president's attempts to keep his financial records...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 1, 2020

Airbus knocks ailing Boeing off top spot with 863 deliveries in 2019

Airbus has become the world's largest planemaker for the first time since 2011 after delivering a forecast-beating 863 aircraft in 2019, seizing the crown from embattled U.S. rival Boeing, airport and tracking sources said Wednesday.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Jan 1, 2020

Vissel rings in new year with first-ever Emperor's Cup title

A new year, a new decade, a new stadium and a new champion.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jan 1, 2020

Republican Sen. Susan Collins open to calling witnesses at Trump impeachment trial

GOP Sen. Susan Collins said she's open to calling additional witnesses for the Senate trial of President Donald Trump's impeachment, but stopped short of backing demands from Democrats for testimony to be set before the process begins.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 31, 2019

Tesla delivers its first China-built cars in Shanghai

Tesla Inc. is about to find out whether the second time is the charm for Elon Musk making bold predictions about how many cars the company can build and sell.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 31, 2019

China's factory activity expands for second month as output and export orders pick up

Manufacturing activity in China expanded for a second straight month in December as seasonal demand and signs of progress in trade talks with Washington boosted factories' output and order books.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 31, 2019

North Korea's Kim calls for 'diplomatic and military countermeasures' as year-end deadline looms

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for "diplomatic and military countermeasures" for preserving the country's sovereignty and security ahead of Pyongyang's self-imposed year-end deadline for U.S. concessions in nuclear talks, state-run media reported Tuesday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language
Dec 31, 2019

Cleaning house (and head) at the end of the year

In the tradition of year-end cleaning, writer Daniel Morales takes a look at his Japanese study notes and tidies up some loose ends.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 31, 2019

Germany takes nuclear plant offline, with final six to close within two years

Germany will take another step toward completing its withdrawal from nuclear power when EnBW pulls the plug on the Philippsburg 2 power station on New Year's Eve, leaving half a dozen plants still to close over the next two years.
EDITORIALS
Dec 30, 2019

Collective action needed to meet existential threats

The threats posed by climate change and mass surveillance will worsen if we continue the laissez-faire approach that fails to intervene and bend both phenomena toward more sustainable trajectories.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Dec 30, 2019

Christianity Today's split with Trump highlights deeper issue in white evangelical America

After evangelical publication Christianity Today published a blistering editorial on what it called U.S. President Donald Trump's "grossly immoral character," some church leaders and the president himself denounced the criticism as elitist and out of touch.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 30, 2019

Old habits die hard: Japan still struggling with push toward working style reform

Older managers are failing to recognize changing expectations among a younger workforce.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets / CURRENCY MARKET
Dec 30, 2019

Good time to buy yen with your dollars, history suggests

The last quarter of 2019 has been painful for yen bulls, but if history is any guide, good times may be just around the corner.

Longform

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