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COMMENTARY / World
Sep 28, 2011

Long-range plan for Afghanistan would help

The U.S. focus on Afghanistan largely centers on withdrawing most forces by 2014 and reducing the cost of the war. These are important issues: By the end of fiscal year 2013, the United States will have spent $560 billion on the war, and current annual costs are more than $110 billion.
Japan Times
JAPAN / POWERING THE FUTURE
Sep 24, 2011

Despite headwinds, solar energy making progress, advocates say

Japan's largest solar panel plant is in full swing in Kunitomi, Miyazaki Prefecture, daily churning out up to 16,000 30-sq.-cm solar panels that have a conversion efficiency rate of more than 12 percent.
Japan Times
JAPAN / POWERING THE FUTURE
Sep 23, 2011

Current nuclear debate to set nation's course for decades

First in a six-part series about major sources of renewable energy in Japan and the prospects for their future use and development
BUSINESS
Sep 23, 2011

Honda spending $50 million on Ohio plant to restore full production in U.S.

Honda Motor Co. is spending $50 million to expand a transmission factory in Ohio as it upgrades U.S. assembly operations and works to restore full production slowed by an earthquake.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 22, 2011

Threats to the realization of India's potential

For all of India's many and weighty advantages and its present trajectory, a fatal stall cannot be ruled out.
JAPAN
Sep 21, 2011

Cabinet approves 10% cap on budget requests for '12

The Cabinet on Tuesday approved a plan to cap budget requests for fiscal 2012 and keep total general account spending — excluding debt-servicing costs — to less than ¥71 trillion, while allocating about ¥700 billion for special policy measures to boost economic growth.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 20, 2011

You name it: Rights for more municipal sites go on sale

C.C. Lemon isn't just the name of a soft drink — it's also the name of a famous concert hall in Tokyo more popularly known as Shibuko — a mecca for aspiring rock stars throughout Japan.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Sep 20, 2011

Restructuring for the future, not rebuilding the past

Dear Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda,
JAPAN / CABINET INTERVIEW
Sep 13, 2011

Hosono to reshape nuclear policy

New Environment Minister Goshi Hosono has vowed to reduce Japan's reliance on nuclear power but has said that halted reactors that pass stringent safety tests may be restarted if the nation's energy needs are not being met.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Sep 13, 2011

Japan gets vital chance to rethink energy policy

Dear Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda,
COMMENTARY
Aug 31, 2011

Time for U.S. to say yes to Canadian oil sands

When it comes to energy, America is lucky to be next to Canada, whose proven oil reserves are estimated by Oil and Gas Journal at 175 billion barrels.
BUSINESS
Aug 24, 2011

Budget request deadline delayed

The Cabinet approved plans Tuesday to delay the deadline for funds requests made by ministries for the fiscal 2012 budget by a month, citing work on the third supplementary budget and Prime Minister Naoto Kan's imminent resignation.
COMMENTARY
Aug 19, 2011

Lighter shade of NATO fading still

During the Second World War, a future prime minister, Harold Macmillan, said America is "the new Roman empire and we Britons, like the Greeks of old, must teach them how to make it go."
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 17, 2011

Solar plant cleans Kawasaki image

Few people may realize there is a giant solar power plant in the heart of the Tokyo metropolis, where available open land is scarce.
BUSINESS
Aug 13, 2011

Honda ups India bike presence

Honda Motor Co., the world's biggest motorcycle maker, will expand its network of dealers and service outlets in India by 25 percent and introduce new models to gain sales in the nation.
EDITORIALS
Aug 12, 2011

Airport reform in Japan

A study panel of the infrastructure and transport ministry has released a report on the privatization of 27 airports managed by the central government. At present, the central government usually manages aviation-related facilities, such as runways, at these airports, while companies set up jointly by...
BUSINESS
Aug 9, 2011

Orix to invest $1 billion in China for water, renewable energy quest

Orix Corp., a provider of financial services ranging from leasing to insurance, plans to invest as much as ¥80 billion ($1 billion) in China over two years in water, machinery and renewable energy.
BUSINESS
Aug 2, 2011

Mitsubishi Estate to upsize fund, target pensions

Mitsubishi Estate Co., the nation's largest developer by market value, plans to expand a property fund that targets pension investors to help boost its asset-management business.
EDITORIALS
Aug 1, 2011

Energy plan shakeup

The government in 2009 announced the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2020 from the 1990 level. The assumption was that nuclear power would play a central role. In 2010, the government's basic energy plan called for increasing the nuclear contribution to 53 percent of total...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 1, 2011

Japan finally seems to be shifting from nuclear power

Post-nuclear Japan?
ENVIRONMENT
Jul 24, 2011

Distribution gridlock restricts renewables

Dial the clock forward a decade or so, and Japan will be getting a lot more of its electricity from renewable resources and a lot less from nuclear power and fossil fuels — that is, if you go by recent government announcements proclaiming 2011 an energy watershed.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jul 22, 2011

Forecast for Yamagata summer festival calls for games and snow

July is a time of sweltering heat, with the sun beating down on you wherever you go. But in Yamagata Prefecture, they're calling for snow.
COMMENTARY
Jul 21, 2011

Watershed moment in China's food security

China appears to have reached a watershed in its food security strategy, which has long set a target of 95 percent self-sufficiency in four key grains — rice, wheat, corn and soybeans.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jul 19, 2011

All reactors off by spring — a once unthinkable scenario

As the crisis continues at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant and thousands of people remain evacuated due to radiation fears, public sentiment has turned against allowing reactors idled for regular checks at power stations nationwide to be restarted.
BUSINESS / U.K. JOURNALIST SYMPOSIUM
Jul 14, 2011

Japan needs credible plan to reduce public debt to stave off fiscal crisis

Japan has had two decades of sluggish growth as it went through the bursting of the late 1980s bubble and a subsequent banking crisis. Are many of the Western economies that saw their own bubbles burst after the 2008 financial crisis going to follow a similar path? And is Japan, whose ratio of public...

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji