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BUSINESS
May 20, 2011

Takeda Pharmaceutical to buy out Swiss-firm Nycomed for €9.6 billion

Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. agreed to buy closely held Nycomed for €9.6 billion (¥1.12 trillion), the largest takeover by a Japanese drugmaker, broadening its reach in emerging markets and adding a remedy for smokers' cough to its portfolio.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
May 20, 2011

Enjoy an evening among the fireflies

The historical garden Chinzan-so is famed for its Japanese fireflies, or hotaru, and in honor of the firefly-viewing season, the Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Chinzan-so will offer a special Hotaru Stay Plan from May 21 through July 10.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 16, 2011

Asians fuel record rally in U.S. meat prices

Food shoppers in South Korea, Mexico and Japan are fueling a surge in U.S. beef prices just as demand is set to reach a seasonal peak this month and retailers including Sam's Club promote the meat in stores.
CULTURE / Books
May 15, 2011

Nintendo's Wiining ways

PLAYING TO WIIN: Nintendo and the Video Game Industry, by Daniel Sloan. Wiley, 2011, 256 pp., $24.95 (hardcover) Ten years ago, tough times had hit Nintendo with shrinking sales and profits, increasing demand for new products and growing pressure from competitors. What hope was there for a comeback from...
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
May 15, 2011

Media starting to tally the economic effects of foreigner flight

News reports immediately following the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear plant accident of panicked foreign residents lining up for the first flight home — in many cases advised to flee by their own governments — had the initial result of helping to feed the sense of angst among Japanese that...
BUSINESS
May 11, 2011

Asahi still looks to buy Aussie firm

Asahi Breweries Ltd. remains in talks to acquire P&N Beverages Australia Pty., a deal that was blocked by a regulator on concerns it would reduce competition, according to Asahi President Naoki Izumiya.
BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
May 9, 2011

Meaningful future needed to preserve Tokyo Motor Show

Japanese automakers were hit hard by the March earthquake and the massive supply chain interruptions continue. It's so bad in fact that normalization of production at most domestic and overseas plants is expected to take until the end of the year.
EDITORIALS
May 9, 2011

Stimulating the economy

Economic reports made public April 28 by the government and the Bank of Japan underscore the rapid deterioration of the Japanese economy in the aftermath of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami and the Fukushima nuclear plant accidents.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Apr 29, 2011

Sake lovers congregate at international event

A healthy buzz characterized the atmosphere at the International Wine Challenge's Sake Discovery Tasting on April 19.
BASKETBALL
Apr 20, 2011

Japan national hoop squad beefs up competition before important qualification tournaments

The Japan Basketball Association and men's national team head coach Thomas Wisman have selected a bigger group of players to spark more intense competition inside, while having them peak at the right time.
EDITORIALS
Apr 16, 2011

North Korea's 'chronic crisis'

North Korea is facing food shortages. International aid agencies report that the situation is dire, with millions facing the prospect of starvation in coming months without help. Even if those estimates are exaggerated, there is no escaping the fact that North korea cannot feed its own people.
EDITORIALS
Apr 15, 2011

No way to run a government

A shutdown of the United States government has been averted. At the last minute,negotiators from the Republican-controlled House of Representatives struck a deal with their Democratic Party counterparts from the Senate. The final compromise cuts $38.5 billion from the 2010 budget. While that sounds like...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 7, 2011

JET post best, not 'pityfest'

SHICHIGAHAMA, Miyagi Pref. — There is a picture folder in Marti McElreath's Facebook account that chronicles her time in Shichigahama, a town located on a small peninsula in Miyagi Prefecture less than an hour's drive from Sendai and where she has been working since last summer under the Japan Exchange...
BUSINESS
Apr 5, 2011

Bonds, not taxes, should fund recovery, experts say

The government should draft a supplementary budget of at least ¥10 trillion or even ¥20 trillion to rebuild areas damaged by the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake and raise the money by issuing government bonds instead of hiking the consumption tax, economists and financial experts said Monday.
MORE SPORTS / ICE TIME
Mar 30, 2011

France's noble gesture resonates in midst of crisis

It has been said that in times of crisis, people show their true colors.
EDITORIALS
Mar 30, 2011

Portugal's problems

And now, it is Portugal's turn. Last Wednesday, the government in Lisbon was forced to resign when the opposition refused to back a tough economic package designed to tackle the country's fiscal crisis. The result is a political crisis on top of an economic mess, one that threatens — again — to spill...

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