Search - 2012

 
 
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 16, 2013

World Bank pushes Asia stimulus end

Asia's emerging economies should consider reining in monetary stimulus to curb the risks of asset bubbles and inflation as policy easing in developed nations, including Japan, spur capital inflows, the World Bank said.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 16, 2013

Startups find there's financing in numbers

In a country where a stubbornly stagnant economy has turned the adventurous away from high-risk investment, fundraising has become one of the highest hurdles a startup can overcome.
EDITORIALS
Apr 16, 2013

Road map for base reversions

As long as Okinawans are stuck with having to host Futenma functions at Henoko, their resentment of future plans for U.S. military facilities will deepen.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Apr 14, 2013

Gun rights lobby pushes weaker bill

As the U.S. Senate prepares to begin debate this week on the biggest gun-control bill in nearly two decades, the gun rights lobby and its Senate allies are working on a series of amendments that have the potential to do the opposite — loosening many of the restrictions that exist in the current law....
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Apr 14, 2013

Myanmar's unrest: Colonial legacy undermines nascent democracy

Alarming outbreaks of sectarian violence pitting Buddhists against Muslims in Myanmar cast an ominous cloud over that nation's democratic transition from military rule.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 14, 2013

Garuda plans Osaka-Jakarta flights amid soaring interest in Indonesia

Garuda Indonesia will begin offering flights between Osaka and Jakarta in October as part of its international expansion strategy, the chief of the nation's flagship carrier said.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 14, 2013

Net TV expresses views the mainstream ignores

Last week's column mentioned "Pack-in News," a current-affairs talk show that used to stream on the Internet TV channel Kinkin.tv, which is the personal project of veteran actor-emcee Kinya Aikawa. It was a continuation of "Pack-in Journal," a show hosted by Aikawa on the satellite station Asahi Newstar...
EDITORIALS
Apr 14, 2013

A positive step in Senkaku dispute

Japan and Taiwan on Wednesday signed an agreement on fishing rights in the sea near the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, claimed by both China and Taiwan. The agreement sets aside the sovereignty issue over the Senkakus and allows Taiwanese trawlers to operate in part of Japan's exclusive...
CULTURE / Books
Apr 14, 2013

Digging for insights on foreigners living in Japan from some of the most prominent figures

Donald Richie, prolific author of more than 40 books and longtime contributor to The Japan Times, died in February at age 88. April 17 was his birthday, so this review pays tribute by sharing some of the insights he passed on during an interview, one of 12 in this book, conducted four years ago.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Apr 13, 2013

Aichi tries to hang on to female doctors

Starting from April, female doctors with children at Fujita Health University Hospital in Toyoake, Aichi Prefecture, who need shorter working hours to care for their young will have the option of working 20 or 30 hours a week, instead of the regular 40 hours.
BUSINESS
Apr 13, 2013

Teachers fund to invest abroad as J-REITs become expensive

The Teachers' Mutual Aid Cooperative Society will invest as much as ¥6 billion in real estate investment trusts mainly abroad this fiscal year after REITs at home became expensive.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Apr 13, 2013

Swallows' Balentien glad to return to diamond after WBC injury delayed season debut

Wladimir Balentien's season began with a lot of lonely days in Toda, Saitama Prefecture, a city of a little more than 126,000 (according to a 2012 population estimate) just across the Arakawa River, while his Tokyo Yakult Swallows teammates were busy taking on three of their Central League rivals.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 13, 2013

Tokyo Disneyland, now 30, still casts spell

Tokyo Disney Resort, comprising Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea, celebrates its 30th anniversary Monday with no signs that its magic spell has worn off, as figures show the wildly popular venue lured a record 27.5 million visitors in fiscal 2012.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Apr 13, 2013

How keeping it real took Matt Damon to the top

In 1987, when Bruce Springsteen wrote the song "Ain't Got You," he was the biggest rock star in the world. He had vast estates in New Jersey and Beverly Hills, and he had not long returned from a honeymoon at Gianni Versace's villa in Lake Como. "Ain't Got You" was Springsteen's attempt to make a self-aware...
Figure Skating
Apr 12, 2013

Suzuki rescues Japan after Mao stumbles

Akiko Suzuki and Daisuke Takahashi lift Japan to the top of the World Team Trophy standings.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
Apr 12, 2013

Morgan hopes to aid BayStars' climb out of CL cellar

There are so many written and unwritten rules around baseball that sometimes people in the sport tend to take things a little too seriously.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 12, 2013

Ford, Toyota both claim to have top-selling car

For the second time in seven months, Toyota Motor Corp. and Ford Motor Co. both claim to produce the world's top-selling car. The clash shows how counting in the global automotive industry is complicated.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 12, 2013

Funahashi: 'Good stories don't need happy endings'

A graduate of the University of Tokyo's cinema studies course, Atsushi Funahashi studied directing at the School of Visual Arts in New York and shot his first two films, “Echoes” (2002) and “Big River” (2005), in the United States.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 12, 2013

Beware economists who peddle cute models

A study that mimicked the behavior of 2 million potential homeowners makes plausible assumptions about how the U.S. subprime crisis got started.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 12, 2013

A revived Japan must adjust its ASEAN business sights

If resurgent Japanese companies return to Asia looking for the strongmen, cheap land and low-wage labor of old, their expectations will be frustrated.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 11, 2013

Election campaigning takes to Net

Japan is finally dropping restrictions on the use of the Internet as an election campaign tool in a first step toward sweeping changes to the outdated Public Offices Election law before the Upper House poll slated for July.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 11, 2013

Muza Kawasaki marks grand return

Tokyo Symphony Orchestra has returned to its home at Muza Kawasaki Symphony Hall.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 11, 2013

Pyongyang-Tehran military ties test nuclear nonproliferation regime

Circumstantial evidence and a growing number of reports suggest that North Korea and Iran are sharing advances in nuclear and missile technology.
EDITORIALS
Apr 11, 2013

Uphill battle for arms treaty

The U.N.-adopted Arms Trade Treaty faces a bleak prospect of being ratified by the three countries that account for 60 percent of weapons exports.

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.