Search - 2016

 
 
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 5, 2016

LDP eyeing pop singer Eriko Imai as Upper House candidate: report

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party is considering fielding pop singer Eriko Imai, formerly of the megahit dance group Speed, as an official candidate in the Upper House election this summer, a report said Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 5, 2016

China filming its own version of 'The Big Short'

The second biggest economy has $23 billion of potential junk debt. A rash of downgrades could trigger the next bout of turmoil in global markets.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 5, 2016

Trump, the GOP's spleen, is ripe for surgery

The Iowa caucuses might have been called the Iowa carcasses. Both parties saw a race between body parts: the head versus the heart.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Feb 5, 2016

Powell, Rice staffers also tied to classified personal emails

ashington
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 4, 2016

China's new role as a Middle East peacemaker

Can China's impact on the Middle East be more constructive than that of the United States?
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 4, 2016

At last, justice for Litvinenko

While the punishment doesn't fit the crime, the importance of revealing the truth about Alexander Litvinenko's death cannot be overestimated.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 4, 2016

Merkel flip-flop: don't let me be misunderstood

Germany's middle-of-the-road voters have arrived at the conclusion that Merkel should have known better than to open Germany's borders to all asylum seekers.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / MLB
Feb 4, 2016

Lucchino says MLB not an easy move for Japanese players

Larry Lucchino is very comfortable in Japan and it's no wonder why. Lucchino presided over one of the most successful periods in the history of the Boston Red Sox franchise, as the team's president and CEO from 2002-2015, and many of the Japanese players he helped bring on board played a role during...
Japan Times
LIFE
Feb 3, 2016

Japan catches good luck fever — 'Setsubun' 2016

“Setsubun” celebrates the upcoming spring season and the end of winter every year on Feb. 3. On this day, people try to rid themselves of last year's bad demons and wish for good luck.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 3, 2016

Japan's epic samurai dramas are in a tight spot

Japanese can roughly be split into two camps: those equipped with an encyclopedic knowledge of history and those who have only a vague idea of who the samurai were or that a Shogun once lived in what is now the Imperial Palace. The history geeks on one side and those who couldn't care less on the other....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 3, 2016

An unforgiving look at 'Unbroken' in Japan

Flashback to 1983: Director Nagisa Oshima's "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence," set during World War II in a Japanese-run POW camp in Java, is opening in theaters across Japan. It starred David Bowie with two huge local stars: comedian Beat Takeshi and musician Ryuichi Sakamoto. The film confronted the reality...
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 3, 2016

Economist says pre-bout parade of sumo sponsors gives clues to Japan Inc.'s health

When the giants of sumo wrestling prepared to step into the ring for last month's grand tournament in Tokyo, Akiyoshi Takumori fired up his spreadsheet.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 3, 2016

Zika poses Asia, Oceania, South Europe threat; Sanofi joins race for viable vaccine

The Zika virus could spread to Africa, Asia and Southern Europe, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday, as major French drugmaker Sanofi SA and others joined the race to create a vaccine.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 3, 2016

U.S. groundhog Punxsutawney Phil predicts early spring

Punxsutawney Phil, the Pennsylvania groundhog renowned for his ability to forecast the onset of spring, did not see his shadow after emerging from his burrow on Tuesday morning, predicting an early spring.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Feb 3, 2016

Japan Tour keen to spread wings within current structure

The Japan Golf Tour Organization (JGTO) is keen to increase its involvement in co-sanctioned events abroad but remains opposed to any radical changes to Asia's organizational structure, according to a senior director.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Feb 2, 2016

Trump's defeat raises questions about his jet-setting campaign

Republican Donald Trump's surprise defeat in Iowa at the hands of U.S. Senator Ted Cruz reflected shortcomings in his get-out-the-vote operations and an over reliance on his celebrity status in a state where voters prefer the personal touch.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 2, 2016

Brace for the coming wave of oil-crunch refugees

Oil wealth can be both a blessing and a curse.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 2, 2016

Literacy, technology fuel Arab unrest

Rising literacy rates and rapid advances in communication technology have stirred the Middle East into a maelstrom of competing cultural narratives.
EDITORIALS
Feb 2, 2016

Will Kuroda's gamble work?

The latest BOJ step appears to point to the limits of what the central bank alone can do to achieve its goal of ending deflation.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 2, 2016

The lunar year that was — from bad to good

Entrenched economic interests and a 'little bric' of bureaucracy, regulation, interventionism and corruption continue to impede the structural changes needed to attract more foreign direct investment and drive long-term job creation in Asia.
Japan Times
Rugby
Feb 1, 2016

JRFU lays out vision for future under new coach Joseph

Following the Japan Rugby Football Union's recent announcement that Jamie Joseph would take over as head coach of the men's national rugby union team, the governing body explained its selection process for Eddie Jones' successor and the team's plans for the future on Monday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 1, 2016

Time for Japan's academia and media to wake up

Japan's media and academia are failing in their duty to question government policies.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 1, 2016

In search of growth strategies

Restoring growth to the global economy will require the removal of obstacles to investment, efforts to fix dysfunctional labor markets and measures to counteract rising inequality.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 1, 2016

U.S. presidential contenders vow status quo in Japan ties

With the Iowa caucus Monday, the primary voting process that will select Democratic and Republican candidates to run in the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential election has begun. Over the next four months, American, and international, attention will be focused on the primary races, and who emerges as their party's...
JAPAN
Feb 1, 2016

Tokyo to boost hiring to better prepare for 2020 Olympics: NHK

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has reportedly decided to increase how many people it will hire in fiscal 2016 to better prepare for the 2020 Olympic Games.

Longform

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