Search - 2020

 
 
JAPAN
May 12, 2011

Crisis a chance to forge new energy policy

On March 15, 1970, the long-anticipated Osaka Expo opened, allowing more than 64 million people to indulge their curiosity and learn about future technologies over a six-month period. It would remain the most attended world's fair until the 2010 Shanghai Expo and continues to be regarded, along with...
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 7, 2011

In search of a nuclear disposal site

Roughly 300 km northwest of Finland's capital, Helsinki, is the island of Olkiluoto, home to two nuclear power plants and the potential site for one of the world's first permanent underground high-level nuclear waste repositories.
COMMENTARY
Apr 28, 2011

Beijing's troubling South China Sea policy

SINGAPORE — China is already one of the world's largest offshore energy producers. It wants to become bigger still by finding more oil and natural gas in home waters or in zones close to China, to avoid becoming excessively dependent on foreign imports.
BUSINESS
Apr 22, 2011

Nissan to speed up U.S. deliveries of Leaf electric cars

Nissan Motor Co. said beginning this month it will boost shipments of Leaf battery-electric cars to the U.S., where it has made about 500 deliveries since late December.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 22, 2011

Taxes must play role in quake recovery: Yosano

Economy and fiscal policy minister Kaoru Yosano said taxes must be part of funding quake reconstruction, as polls indicate public support for increasing levies to pay for rebuilding.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 21, 2011

Tepco may increase LNG imports by 50% amid energy policy shift

Tokyo Electric Power Co., which produces about a quarter of Japan's electricity, may increase imports of liquefied natural gas by 50 percent to compensate for output lost as a result of the loss of nuclear power facilities due to last month's earthquake and tsunami.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 19, 2011

EU road map to improving the lives of Roma

The European Union, at long last, is taking a significant step toward improving the lives of Europe's millions of Roma. Rather than proposing a grand plan for EU-level action, the European Commission's recently released "EU framework for national Roma integration strategies up to 2020" calls on each...
COMMENTARY
Apr 13, 2011

Nuclear disaster's impact

Japan's nuclear disaster highlights a contentious and still unresolved issue: how best to manage and dispose of highly radioactive used fuel from reactors that generate electricity.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 12, 2011

Offshore windmills weather crisis

A cheap and simply structured wind-power plant proved more resistant to natural disasters than nuclear plants.
BUSINESS
Apr 8, 2011

Growth abroad spurs Fast Retailing profit hike

Fast Retailing Co., operator of the Uniqlo chain of casual clothing, raised its profit forecast by 18 percent on overseas growth and lower costs even as other retailers say the March 11 disaster will hurt earnings.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Apr 3, 2011

Irradiated water swamps Tepco

The government and Tokyo Electric Power Co. have been struggling for three weeks to end the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear crisis but are being stymied by the need to remove massive amounts of highly radioactive water.
COMMENTARY
Mar 30, 2011

Lessons of the nuclear crisis

SINGAPORE — Before Japan's nuclear crisis struck, the world appeared to be on the verge of a nuclear renaissance. An increasing number of countries, especially in Asia, were turning to atomic power to provide electricity for rapid economic growth without the carbon emissions that many scientists say...
COMMENTARY
Mar 28, 2011

Firms prefer pushing tobacco to the poorest

NEW YORK — Facing greater restriction in the United States and other industrialized countries, multinational tobacco companies are increasingly marketing their products in developing countries, particularly among women and adolescents.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 23, 2011

No joke: Higashikokubaru to run as independent for Tokyo governor

Former Miyazaki Gov. Hideo Higashikokubaru ended months of speculation by formally announcing Tuesday his intention to run as an independent for governor of Tokyo in the April 10 election, promising to devote his energies to revitalizing Japan and decentralizing power.
EDITORIALS
Mar 21, 2011

Promoting tourism

Can tourism become a force for economic growth? The Japanese government hopes so, making tourism, including medical tourism, one pillar of its new growth strategy adopted last summer.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 16, 2011

Finding a way to make industrial policy work

GENEVA — Industrial policy (IP) is back — or rather, back in fashion. Of course, it never really went away, even in countries formally adhering to free-market principles. But the postcrisis world — in which government intervention in the economy has gained greater legitimacy — will see more of...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 9, 2011

How big is China's economy?

HONG KONG — There was much fanfare last month when Beijing reported that China had overtaken Japan to become the second biggest economy in the world. But this celebration was bogus — because the reality is that in real terms China has already become the biggest economy in the world, edging slightly...
BUSINESS
Feb 26, 2011

Chubu Electric to invest ¥800 billion abroad by '30

Chubu Electric Power Co., Japan's third-biggest energy utility, plans to invest as much as ¥800 billion overseas by 2030, increasing its foreign business by more than 10 times as domestic demand falls.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 25, 2011

Battling U.S. for huge deal, Eurofighter woos Japan

In a deal that could be worth billions of dollars and determine one of the primary fighter jets in Asia for decades to come, European aircraft makers are trying to get Japan to do something it has never done before — snub America.
EDITORIALS
Feb 24, 2011

Risk from rising global prices

A part from agreeing on a set of indicators to measure economic imbalances, the Group of 20 emerging and developed economies that met in Paris last week shared the observation that rising prices of primary industry commodities including food are becoming a risk factor for the global economy.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 12, 2011

Japan urged to beef up business ties with India

Japan has yet to explore the potential of its economic relations with India, even though the strategic importance of Tokyo-New Delhi ties has repeatedly been emphasized, Indian scholars and experts told a recent symposium in Tokyo.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 8, 2011

The growth bargain in Asian consumption

LONDON — U.S. President Barack Obama caught the imagination of the world when he talked recently of a new "Sputnik moment." He outlined a bold plan for improving education, infrastructure and technology, and vividly compared the resolve required to put a man on the moon to the determination needed...

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