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Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Dec 10, 2014

Electoral dysfunction leaves Japan's voters feeling impotent

This Sunday's poll could well prove a high-water mark of pointlessness even for Japan: an election campaign waged against the unelected.
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 10, 2014

Under new management: Festival/Tokyo focuses on diversity in a quest for 'border play'

Under its new 65-year-old director, Sachio Ichimura, who replaced respected 39-year-old Chiaki Soma in a shock move in March, Festival/Tokyo 2014 adopted "border play" as its catchphrase.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Dec 10, 2014

Congress reaches deal for $1.1 trillion U.S. spending bill

Congressional negotiators resolved policy disputes to reach a deal for a $1.1 trillion spending bill on Tuesday but still expected to need a stop-gap extension to avoid a U.S. government shutdown at midnight on Thursday.
BUSINESS
Dec 10, 2014

Citigroup expenses send total costs to $13 Billion during Corbat's watch

Citigroup Inc.'s fourth-quarter legal expenses and costs for shrinking the business will bring the total for those items under Chief Executive Officer Michael Corbat to $13.3 billion, more than half of the bank's earnings in his 26-month tenure.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 10, 2014

Dutch set to begin assembling MH17 wreckage for investigation

Crash investigators will try to reconstruct the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 that was shot down over eastern Ukraine in July from wreckage that was brought by truck to a Dutch air force hangar on Tuesday.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 9, 2014

'Abenomics' in the spotlight

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe blames the opposition camp for criticizing 'Abenomics' without presenting lternatives. But finding a way to put today's economy on a virtuous circle is akin to trying to create something out of nothing.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Dec 9, 2014

Christmas in Tokyo is pretty sweet

Just before the Halloween decorations were taken down and packed up, the signs advertising Christmas cakes went up. Bakeries, department stores and convenience stores all seem to have a corner for small cakes topped with whipped cream and tiny Santa Claus figurines. A traditional Japanese holiday feast...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 8, 2014

India's Modi signals end to anti-Americanism

With his latest invite to U.S. President Barack Obama, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is signaling that the senseless anti-Americanism of the Indian polity is a thing of the past.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 8, 2014

Putin struggles with oil prices and sanctions

Russian President Vladimir Putin doesn't appear to have any kind of short-term or medium-term plan for Russia's economy that's compatible with the dual impacts of falling oil prices and sanctions.
EDITORIALS
Dec 7, 2014

Yet another extension for Iran

Rather than declare international negotiations to cap Iran's nuclear ambitions failed, seven countries have agreed to extend the talks for another seven months.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 5, 2014

Yen reaches 120 to dollar for first time since July 2007

The yen-dollar exchange rate hits 120 for the first time since July 2007 as Japan's inflation scheme and a tax hike delay highlight its economic risks.
EDITORIALS
Dec 5, 2014

The elephant in the room

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's decision to postpone the second phase of the consumption tax hike may be popular with much of the electorate, but it would be unfortunate if the decision diverts people's attention from the nation's real fiscal plight.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 4, 2014

Nagano farm co-op abused Chinese 'interns,' lawyer group reports

Lawyers accuse an agricultural cooperative in Nagano of abusing Chinese hired under a ministry internship program often attacked as a source of cheap labor.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 4, 2014

Millions may rally for higher pay in Indonesia

Indonesia's capital girded for a potential turnout of millions of protesters asking for a bigger increase in minimum wages in the world's fourth-most-populous nation, a test of President Joko Widodo's pro-business image.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 4, 2014

China's railway giant flexes muscles abroad

It will take more than the abrupt cancellation of a high-speed train deal with Mexico to derail China Railway Construction Corp.'s ambition to become a global force in transport projects and take on the likes of Siemens, Alstom and Bombardier.
WORLD
Dec 3, 2014

Bill would cap Russian engines on U.S. satellite launches

A compromise defense policy bill in Congress would bar the purchase of more Russian-made rocket engines to launch U.S. military satellites, clearing the way for competitive bids for 14 future launches, senior congressional aides said on Tuesday.
EDITORIALS
Dec 2, 2014

Weighing the impact of 'Abenomics'

To present voters with a genuine choice at the polls, the opposition parties need to flesh out their own economic policy proposals.
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Dec 2, 2014

Hakuho stands shoulder to shoulder with sumo’s greatest

Much has been made about Hakuho coming from behind in Fukuoka last week to claim his latest Emperor’s Cup. And rightly so.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / NOTEBOOK
Dec 2, 2014

Tourist information tablet; ASEAN tourism, aviation seminars; DARS for the sweet tooth

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A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami