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JAPAN / PROMOTING TOURISM FROM CHINA
Jun 17, 2010

Tourism revs up for China boom

With the government easing the criteria for granting individual travel visas to Chinese next month, Japan is gearing up to lure more tourists from the Middle Kingdom and make international tourism a pillar that can prop up the anemic economy.
JAPAN
May 22, 2010

NPT meet urged to press Japan to end Monju program

OSAKA — Antinuclear activists from Japan, South Korea, Europe and the United States called on delegates at the Nonproliferation Treaty Review Conference on Friday to pressure Tokyo to end its troubled Monju fast-breeder reactor program, saying it sets a bad example for the rest of the world and dramatically...
SOCCER / World cup
May 18, 2010

Technology fuels Japan's 2022 bid

Japan is banking on its reputation for technological innovation to win hosting rights for the 2022 World Cup.
COMMENTARY
Apr 29, 2010

Obama conceding lead in space exploration

In the movies, all the spacemen are Americans, but that's just because Hollywood makes the movies. In the real world, the United States is giving up on space, although it is trying hard to conceal its retreat.
EDITORIALS
Mar 22, 2010

Those aging overpasses

In making recommendations to the infrastructure and farm ministries concerning the maintenance of the nation's road overpasses, the internal affairs ministry has said that the number of overpasses at least 50 years old will rapidly increase and that serious damage frequently happens already.
JAPAN
Mar 13, 2010

F-35 price tag may force fighter review

WASHINGTON (Kyodo) Japan may think twice about selecting the U.S.-built F-35 as its new mainstay fighter, given the high cost of the aircraft, observers said Thursday.
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Feb 20, 2010

Proposed new league will have major obstacles to overcome

To accurately describe what's been going on for several years now in this nation's pro hoop scene, I submit the following analogy:
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 19, 2010

Visions of art in an alternative key

In its own quiet way, Yebisu International Festival for Art & Alternative Visions was one of the standout art events of 2009.
BUSINESS
Jan 27, 2010

Kyushu Electric to buy Chevron LNG

Kyushu Electric Power Co. has signed contracts to buy liquefied natural gas from the Chevron Corp.-led Wheatstone and Gorgon ventures in Australia.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Jan 18, 2010

Ex-minister making waves

Former Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Yoichi Masuzoe, who had lain low for some time, resumed his political activities in earnest late last year. Political observers now wonder what his ultimate aims are: Does he seek to create a political party of his own?
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 15, 2010

Russia looking to expand oil markets in East

SINGAPORE — For a long time, energy-hungry Asia has watched in frustration as Russia, currently the world's biggest producer of both oil and natural gas, sent nearly all its exports to former Soviet bloc partners and Europe, leaving Asian consumers increasingly dependent on imports from the Middle...
BUSINESS
Jan 6, 2010

Tourism 'czar' aims high, targets Chinese

The newly appointed commissioner for the Japan Tourism Agency said he wants to raise the number of foreign visitors to more than 10 million annually during his two-year term, with special emphasis on the Chinese market.
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2009

Cabinet OKs move to pursue World Cup

The Cabinet on Tuesday approved Japan's bid to stage the 2018 or 2022 World Cup soccer tournament, saying hosting the global event would not only promote sports and international exchanges but give the public some much-needed upbeat news.
BUSINESS
Dec 2, 2009

Skynet starts ¥10,000 ticket offer for foreign tourists

Skynet Asia Airways Co. kicked off a campaign Tuesday offering ¥10,000 one-way domestic flight tickets for foreigners with temporary visa status.
BUSINESS
Dec 1, 2009

Japan Tourism Agency Web site seeks foreigner buzz

The Japan Tourism Agency is kicking off a Web site Tuesday to give foreigners a forum to pitch this country in their native tongues to promote more tourism.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 23, 2009

Tokyo theater scene gets kiss of life

The Edinburgh theater and street-performance festival in Scotland annually sends a buzz round the arts world; France's Avignon invariably features a cordon bleu international menu; and Adelaide and Singapore vie for the Asia-Pacific spotlight.
EDITORIALS
Oct 22, 2009

Unexpected Olympic pitch

The mayors of the atomic-bombed cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have announced their desire to invite the 2020 Summer Olympics to their cities and have called on the central government and the Japan Olympic Committee for support. Mayors Tadatoshi Akiba of Hiroshima and Tomihisa Taue of Nagasaki put...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 19, 2009

Pulling out all the stops for an Olympic bid

In an alternative universe, here's how Japan might have won the right to host the Olympic Games in 2016 with a glowing pitch to the International Olympics Committee (IOC) in Copenhagen.
JAPAN
Oct 16, 2009

Tourism budget to soar: Maehara

Tourism minister Seiji Maehara requested Thursday a budget of ¥25.7 billion for the 2010 fiscal year, a fourfold increase on the previous year, to increase foreign tourists to Japan and promote regional economies.
JAPAN
Oct 14, 2009

'Disruptive' Kamei roils markets

In more than three weeks since becoming financial services minister, Shizuka Kamei has sent bank stocks plunging, accused the Bank of Japan of sleeping on the job and blamed the nation's biggest business lobby for increasing the murder and suicide rates.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.