Search - japan

 
 
EDITORIALS
Jan 28, 2011

Road for the No. 3 economy

As it has become certain that China overtook Japan as the world's second-largest economy in 2010, both countries need to consider new directions for managing their economy. China's gross domestic product grew faster than expected — by 10.3 percent in 2010 — pulling down Japan from the No. 2 position...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 28, 2011

There's always art behind design

For some, life-changing moments involve a traumatic experience or a piercing epiphany. For others, something as simple as a teapot can elicit transformation.
Reader Mail
Jan 27, 2011

A perpetual state of emergency

After 50 years of self-serving shambolism, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has left Japan in a deep hole. Its only aim seems to be to create an eternal state of emergency from which there will be no easy emergence. What is holding Japan back most is the nature of its politics. There has never been...
Reader Mail
Jan 27, 2011

Leadership crisis delays solutions

It is with a frustrated and sinking feeling that I read the comments of the Liberal Democratic Party chief in the Jan. 24 article "LDP pledges to send ruling party packing." With all the problems facing Japan, what Japanese politics doesn't need is more of the same tribal mentality, greed and power faction...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 27, 2011

Leaf reverses carmakers' flight abroad

YOKOSUKA, Kanagawa Pref. — The Leaf electric car is rolling down the bustling assembly line at Nissan's Oppama plant, taking the place of a gasoline-powered compact whose production was moved abroad last year.
JAPAN
Jan 27, 2011

New EU envoy cagey on FTA pact

Newly appointed EU Ambassador to Japan Hans Dietmar Schweisgut said Wednesday various issues need to be dealt with before Japan and the EU can conclude a free-trade accord.
JAPAN
Jan 26, 2011

Child-custody pact up for talks

A high-level government panel kicked off discussions Tuesday on whether to sign an international treaty against international child abductions by parents but has set no time frame for reaching a conclusion, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Tetsuro Fukuyama said.
BUSINESS
Jan 26, 2011

BOJ raises growth forecast for 2010

The Bank of Japan on Tuesday raised its growth forecasts for the current fiscal year as strong overseas demand supports the economy.
JAPAN
Jan 24, 2011

LDP pledges to send ruling party packing

Liberal Democratic Party President Sadakazu Tanigaki pledged Sunday at his party's annual convention to lead the fight to corner the ruling Democratic Party of Japan into dissolving the Lower House for a snap election.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 22, 2011

German braumeister puts Otaru brewery on map

While Japan's major breweries continue to report flat beer sales amid an ailing economy, there is one Hokkaido-based beer maker that's brewing up a storm.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 21, 2011

Mogwai

Since making their first live appearances in Japan in 1999, Mogwai have returned to tour the country a dozen times. With this in mind, it is unsurprising that the Scottish postrock quintet played only two gigs last year, and one of them was in Japan.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jan 21, 2011

Taking the tango across the country

A renowned Argentine tango orchestra and dancers from that country and Japan are bringing their passion for the art to audiences across Japan through March.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 21, 2011

Universal meanings of a poet's personal grief

Apart from glitzy musicals and kabuki, most theatrical stagings in Japan finish their run after a couple of weeks or even a few days. With no long-run system as the norm, unlike Broadway or the West End, by the time a buzz has got around that something is good, it will almost always have closed or be...
Reader Mail
Jan 20, 2011

Offer of time and skills to a child

Regarding the Jan. 12 Kyodo article "More anonymous 'cartoon hero' donors leave gifts for kids in need": I was pleased to hear about local donations to orphanages across Japan. It has long been something that has been behind closed doors and it is good to see an increased awareness of it in the public...
Japan Times
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Jan 20, 2011

Asian Cup campaign gathering steam after five-goal salvo

Slowly but surely, Japan's Asian Cup challenge is taking shape.
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Jan 20, 2011

Wagashi

Dear Alice,
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 20, 2011

J-REITs predicted to double down as bond spreads narrow

Japan's real estate investment trusts may double property purchases in the next fiscal year to ¥1 trillion by boosting bond sales amid the lowest borrowing costs in three years, Credit Suisse said.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS / ICE TIME
Jan 19, 2011

Resurgent Mao to lead strong team at Four Continents

Following last month's dramatic national championships in Nagano, where Miki Ando won her first title in six years and Takahiko Kozuka broke through for his inaugural victory in a major senior competition, Japan will send a loaded squad to next month's Four Continents Championship in Taipei.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 18, 2011

U.S. NPO seeks 'social entrepreneurs'

A U.S.-based nonprofit organization that has helped "social entrepreneurs" around the world opened a Japanese office this month, its first branch in East Asia, with the goal of creating a similar community in a country where the concept itself is little understood.
EDITORIALS
Jan 17, 2011

A new culture of giving

The year of the rabbit has just begun, but in the first few weeks of 2011, it has been the tiger gaining all the attention. In a spontaneous Tiger Mask movement, anonymous citizens throughout Japan have been donating school backpacks and other items to orphanages and child welfare centers in the name...
Reader Mail
Jan 16, 2011

Impoverished view of the past

A better title for the Jan. 9 editorial "An embarrassment of riches" might be "An embarrassment of inequality" — to underscore Japan's obsession with glorifying its past at the expense of the many social services that are in serious financial trouble.
EDITORIALS
Jan 16, 2011

Reshuffle under opposition pressure

The lineup of Prime Minister Naoto Kan's new Cabinet, which emerged Friday after a minor reshuffle, underscores his hope for a smooth start to the Diet's ordinary session later this month and for progress in bringing about Japan's financial reconstruction and its participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership...

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’