Search - 2015

 
 
EDITORIALS
Aug 18, 2014

The high cost of cheap labor

The recent revelation that excessively long hours were imposed on workers at Sukiya should not be dismissed as an isolated case limited to the popular beef-bowl chain.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 18, 2014

Make no mistake about Thailand's problem

The Thai military has not played the role of 'democratic defender' following its recent coup. Instead, its intervention shows its desperate move to maintain power ahead of the imminent royal succession.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 18, 2014

Welcoming refugees to fill labor shortages

Why doesn't Japan, Canada and other governments admit more refugees for resettlement with a view toward addressing the governments' labor shortages?
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Aug 18, 2014

Europe struggles with cost of caring for its elderly nuclear plants

Europe's aging nuclear plants will undergo more prolonged outages over the next few years, reducing the reliability of power supply and costing operators many billions of dollars.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 16, 2014

Weather systems stalling more often

Summer heat waves and downpours have become more frequent in the northern hemisphere this century, apparently because extreme weather can get trapped for weeks in the same place in a warming world, a study showed Aug. 11.
EDITORIALS
Aug 15, 2014

Worrying economic signs

The government must determine whether the slump in consumer spending during the April-June quarter is temporarily the result of the reaction to the three-percentage-point rise in the consumption tax, or reflects the Abe administration's policy failure.
EDITORIALS
Aug 15, 2014

A glut of unoccupied houses

Roughly one in every seven houses throughout Japan is unoccupied, and the number keeps growing. Blame the graying of society, the depopulation of rural areas and the 'fixed-property' tax break.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Aug 15, 2014

Japan's ailing rural towns push free beer, other perks to urbanites in tax-sharing drive

Faced with the danger of elimination, hundreds of rural districts in Japan are plying gifts that include craft beer and balloon rides to entice their mini-diasporas to send tax payments back home.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 14, 2014

Stagflation stalks 'Abenomics' as pattern sets in

Maybe it's time to stop dismissing the risk of stagflation in Japan.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 13, 2014

Homebuyers in Japan seen at risk on floating-rate loan rush

Homebuyers are piling into floating-rate mortgages, stirring debate over whether they are too complacent as Bank of Japan stimulus revives inflation.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Aug 12, 2014

U.N. names panel to investigate alleged war crimes in Gaza

The United Nations on Monday named three experts to an international commission of inquiry into possible human rights violations and war crimes committed by both sides during Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Aug 11, 2014

Local municipalities vie for your 'hometown tax'

If you donate money to a local government, you can get rewarded three times.
OLYMPICS / OLYMPIC NOTEBOOK
Aug 9, 2014

Legacy of 1984 Olympics still growing strong

What will be the legacy of the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics?
EDITORIALS
Aug 9, 2014

The waterworks are wearing out

The cost of maintaining and repairing Japan's water infrastructure is expected to be at least ¥1 trillion annually after 2020 as the 40-year life span on most pipes andd equipment runs out about the same time.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 9, 2014

A Russian bureaucrat rebels on Facebook

President Vladimir Putin's standoff with the West, which has turned Russia into a corporate state in defensive mode, makes the rebellion of a lone bureaucrat in the Economics Ministry all the more impressive.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 8, 2014

U.S. experts eye Japanese drug in race for Ebola cure

The FDA acts to expedite the approval of experimental drugs, including one made by Fujifilm, to counter the worst Ebola outbreak in history.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 7, 2014

Why ASEAN has not condemned Thailand

It is not a given that ASEAN won't condemn Thailand's recent military coup. At present, though, most neighbors regard the events as an internal matter while more than two-thirds of Thais surveyed report being happier now than before the intervention.
Reader Mail
Aug 6, 2014

Bravo to Seoul's persistence

Regarding the Aug. 5 Jiji article "South Korea to issue 'comfort women' white paper in 2015": It's curious how Japan would have the world remember the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but cries foul when other nations remind Japan that not too long ago it was a militaristic power hellbent on...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 6, 2014

Europe's rich tapestry unites two contrasting theater fests

As I often go to theater festivals in Europe, I was delighted to hear about the Schweizer Theatertreffen (Swiss Theater Encounter), a brand-new event being held in May. And since I'd already planned a trip that month to the Berlin Theater Festival, it was a no-brainer to check out this new Swiss kid...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 6, 2014

Spy probe heightens China-Canada tensions, reflects split in Ottawa

China's decision to investigate two Canadians for suspected spying highlights a sharp and unexpected deterioration in bilateral ties just months ahead of a trip by Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper to Beijing.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 6, 2014

Toyota leaving Hollywood roots to boost North American profits

A closer look at Toyota Motor Corp.'s record profit shows why the world's largest automaker is leaving behind its Hollywood beginnings.
MORE SPORTS
Aug 5, 2014

Packers to honor former star Favre

Brett Favre is returning to Titletown.
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Aug 5, 2014

Abe's hollow Asia diplomacy

The Asia diplomacy — aka China-containment policy — of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is showing signs of falling apart amid irritation among Southeast Asian countries over the slow pace at which Abe's promises of assistance, equipment, and acceptance of foreign workers are being carried out.

Longform

Koichi Tagawa’s diary entry from Aug. 9, 1945, describes the day of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
The horrors of Nagasaki, in first person