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EDITORIALS
Mar 19, 2009

Money's worth in space

The U.S. space shuttle Discovery carrying its crew of seven docked with the International Space Station on Wednesday morning, Japan time. Among the crew is Japanese astronaut Mr. Koichi Wakata. While the Discovery is docked at the ISS, he will set up the ISS' fourth and last solar power panel by using...
JAPAN
Mar 19, 2009

Tokyo-area restaurants join Africa water drive

One way to spend the government's cash handout this three-day weekend is to dine out — and in the process donate clean water to African children to celebrate World Water Day.
COMMENTARY
Mar 16, 2009

Clinching a free trade accord with Beijing

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao recently offered to hold political and military talks with Taiwan in order to end the state of hostility between the two sides, which has existed for 60 years. Taiwan immediately rejected the offer, with President Ma Ying-jeou saying through a spokesman, "At this stage, we...
EDITORIALS
Feb 23, 2009

State of the world's children

With the media paying so much attention to the casualties of the economic slowdown, it would be easy to overlook a vital report on the grave situation faced by the world's two most vulnerable classes of citizens — women and children in impoverished countries.
BUSINESS
Feb 21, 2009

Kirin to buy stake in San Miguel Brewery

Kirin Holdings Co., the nation's biggest beverage maker, agreed to buy a stake in San Miguel Corp.'s Philippine beer unit for about ¥112 billion.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 6, 2009

'20-seiki Shonen Dai-2-sho: Saigo no Kibo'

Movies based on popular long-running manga commonly cram in too much, from story lines to characters. This confuses nonfans, while often failing to satisfy fans, who complain about omissions — though the original comic may have run for thousands of pages in dozens of volumes.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2009

Moving Tsukiji to new site raises fears of toxic seafood

Tokyo's Tsukiji, dubbed "the fish market at the center of the world" for its influence on the global seafood trade, is being forced to move to a site laced with benzene and cancer-causing chemicals.
EDITORIALS
Jan 28, 2009

China's ambitious defense plan

China has made public a white paper titled "China's National Defense in 2008." For the first time, China has acknowledged its policy of improving the operational capabilities of its navy on the open seas, although its move in this direction has been obvious in recent years. Recent examples of this move...
BUSINESS
Jan 17, 2009

Budget-balancing goal pie in sky?

Even if the economy recovers, the primary budget balance will remain in deficit for the next decade unless the consumption tax is raised incrementally beginning in fiscal 2011, the government said in a report Friday.
BUSINESS
Jan 17, 2009

Energy explorer Inpex signs Darwin LNG plant design deal

Inpex Corp., the nation's largest energy explorer, said Friday it has signed an initial planning contract with JGC Corp., Chiyoda Corp. and KBR Inc. of the United States for its $20 billion liquefied natural gas plant project in Darwin, Australia.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 9, 2009

Who can win on oil slicks?

SINGAPORE — What a roller-coaster ride! It took more than four years for oil to go from $35 per barrel in 2004 to just above $147 in July 2008, and less than six months to go all the way down again. Today, the oil price is two-thirds lower than its peak last year, despite Israeli military strikes in...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 31, 2008

China flexes naval muscle

SINGAPORE — Two Chinese destroyers and a supply ship are on their way to join other foreign warships on anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden and waters off Somalia. This is a milestone for a navy that has long focused on coastal defense and lacked the capability to project power overseas.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 30, 2008

Making nice in Asia during a global slump

SINGAPORE — Global financial dislocation and the economic slump are putting Asian regional cooperation to the test. They also appear to be shaping somewhat different responses in Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia. The latter, which formed the Association of Southeast Asian Nations way back in 1967,...
BUSINESS
Dec 25, 2008

Ruling bloc plans '11 sales tax hike

The government and the Liberal Democratic Party-New Komeito ruling bloc on Wednesday officially authorized a midterm tax reform program to increase the 5 percent consumption tax in fiscal 2011 if the economy improves.
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Dec 10, 2008

Japanese crested ibis

JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 9, 2008

Shinkansen about more than speed

Shinkansen stand as global symbols of Japanese technological innovation. Debuting just in time for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, the bullet trains continue to carry people across the nation at record speed.
BUSINESS
Nov 12, 2008

Nissan eyes South Korea imports

With sales in major markets worldwide shrinking because of the financial turmoil, Nissan Motor Co. aims to double its share of South Korea's auto-import market by adding Nissan-brand vehicles, the automaker said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Nov 8, 2008

Profitable battery, solar cell biz key behind acquisition of Sanyo

What does Panasonic Corp., already one of the most powerful and profitable electronics companies in the world, want with Sanyo Electric Co., a company just one-fourth its size in terms of revenues?
COMMENTARY
Oct 30, 2008

Double standard on global crises

Oct. 16 marked the 25th Annual World Food Day, an occasion whose arrival and departure received little media attention or governmental fanfare. Evidently, much of the world media and governments are consumed with an economic crisis of epic proportions.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 22, 2008

TIFFCOM sets stage for dealing in content

Japanese animation and movie content have strong global pull and inspired several foreign spinoffs, but the bottom-line profits show there is room to expand.

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’