Search - japan

 
 
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Dec 23, 2014

Who was music being made for in 2014?

When looking back on the year in music, the big question music fans should be asking themselves is, "Who was music being made for in 2014?" Looking at the broader picture, we can find the answers writ large across the Japanese music scene.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 22, 2014

Airport facial recognition system eyed but only for Japanese

As Japan braces for a surge in foreign visitors in the lead-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, pressure is mounting to expedite how visitors are processed at airports.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 18, 2014

Gadget maker wants everyday items to have online access

A sleek, ¥10,246 leather-clad padlock being marketed by Tokyo-based startup DentsuBlue might look like another extravagant toy for the wealthy — but this one can be used in many different ways and even link itself to the Internet.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / DECISION 2014
Dec 15, 2014

Roster of winners in the single-seat constituencies

(L) Liberal Democratic Party; (K) Komeito; (D) Democratic Party of Japan; (IS) Ishin no To; (JI) Jisedai no To; (JC) Japanese Communist Party; (SE) Seikatsu no To; (SD) Social Democratic Party; ( I ) Independent
Japan Times
JAPAN / DECISION 2014
Dec 14, 2014

LDP clinches hollow victory as opposition options elude

The Liberal Democratic Party handily wrapped up the Lower House election Sunday even as many voters said they were driven by lack of choice rather than enthusiasm for the conservative party headed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 13, 2014

Ahead of near-certain election win, Abe pivots away from painful reforms

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is signaling that retooling Japan's economy with painful structural reforms must take a back seat to reviving growth, even though he is poised to win a big "referendum" on his economic policies in an election Sunday that might set a new record for low turnout.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / NBA / HOOP SCOOP
Dec 12, 2014

Casey has fueled rise by Raptors

The Toronto Raptors' climb hasn't been an overnight miracle. But it's been a memorable climb under the steady leadership of head coach Dwane Casey.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Dec 12, 2014

Ice Bucks strive to build brand, promote league

"Hard work, every day."
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / DECISION 2014
Dec 11, 2014

Welfare cuts? Abe won't say it

Hiroko Shinohara frets about one issue Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has noticeably avoided on the campaign trail ahead of Sunday's election: the need to cut the nation's generous social welfare program that supports millions of people.
JAPAN / Politics / DECISION 2014
Dec 10, 2014

Ishin no To's campaign haunted by voter discontent in Kinki, Tokyo-Kanagawa

With several polls indicating that the ruling coalition may win over 300 of the 480 seats in Sunday's Lower House race, the Liberal Democratic Party is poised to be the big winner — and Ishin no To (Japan Innovation Party) the main loser.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Dec 6, 2014

Hot-air Abe can't campaign on 'womenomics'

For a guy with a two-thirds majority in the Diet, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has accomplished remarkably little since 2012.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 5, 2014

Bilingirl has plenty to teach you

Chika Yoshida, aka Bilingirl, wears many hats. She teaches English, sings, dances and makes costumes. She could be dressed up as Malificent with horns sticking out of her head, have her face painted white and talk in a squeaky voice like comedian duo Nippon Elekitel Rengo or be singing songs from the...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Dec 5, 2014

What's really behind the drop in home sales?

Thanks to the upcoming snap election, which is being called a referendum for the government's economic policies, everyone is aware that Japan's GDP has worsened since the consumption tax was raised last April. A large portion of this drop is being attributed to declining sales of new houses and condominiums....
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 4, 2014

S&P doubts Abe will have detailed fiscal consolidation plan

Standard & Poor's has cast doubt on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ability to repair Japan's tattered finances less than two weeks away from a snap election, after Moody's downgraded the country's sovereign debt rating.
BUSINESS
Dec 3, 2014

Worried about broader fallout, Japanese government moves to contain air bag crisis

The transport ministry, concerned that a public-relations fallout could envelop Japan's auto industry, is finally scrambling into action, creating a task force to speed up recalls and delve into the Takata crisis.
EDITORIALS
Dec 1, 2014

Judging Abe's policies

Along with the bread and butter issues of the economy, voters are urged to take a serious look at the Abe administration's actions in the areas of defense and freedom of information over the past two years.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 1, 2014

Abe needs to butter up dairy industry as weakening yen wreaks havoc

Japan's dairies and cake lovers just cannot seem to catch a break.
Japan Times
JAPAN / GENERATIONAL CHANGE
Nov 30, 2014

Video shop worker jolted into career as diversity advocate

When the Great Hanshin Earthquake hit in January 1995, Taro Tamura, then 23, was quick to sense the need in foreign communities for disaster-related information.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 29, 2014

Newspapers take sides on 'Abenomics'

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's dissolution of the Diet has become another point of contention between right- and left-leaning entities in Japan. One of the more revealing responses involved a website set up by a member of a nonprofit organization called Bokura no Ippo ga Nihon wo Kaeru (Our One Step Will...
COMMENTARY / Japan / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Nov 27, 2014

Censorship distortion of 'comfort women'

When Toho Studios wanted to turn 'The Life of an Alluring Woman' into a film, U.S. censors stepped in multiple times to demand script revisions.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 25, 2014

Abe consumption tax backfiring with more debt, not less

What started as a plan to reduce the national debt is turning into a reason to issue more bonds.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 24, 2014

Chinese tourists step up for Abe as Japanese tighten belts

When Jingyan Hou made her first trip to Japan in 1997, the office worker from Beijing spent ¥200,000 during a weeklong stay on accommodations, meals, transport and souvenirs.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 22, 2014

Can women really 'shine' under Abe?

The prime minister has vowed to help women break the glass ceiling in the workplace but critics have questioned his motivation.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Nov 22, 2014

Blood & Guts

"Blood & Guts" by Australian journalist Sam Vincent is a behind-the-scenes investigation into whaling and a tale of two countries. Australia is on one side, united in its love of whales and its condemnation of Japan, which has refused to stop killing whales in the Antarctic despite (or perhaps in spite...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / BLACK EYE
Nov 19, 2014

Jamaican sisters come bearing victuals and vibes

Baye McNeil profiles two Jamaican women who have built thriving careers for themselves in the Land of the Rising Sun, half a planet away from the Land of Wood and Water.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Nov 19, 2014

San Francisco's huff with Hashimoto over 'comfort women' reveals double standards

San Francisco's reaction to Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto's comments about 'comfort women' says much about equality between nations, about how we judge each other through cultural lenses and blinders, and how we have to keep finding ways to address grievances from our past.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 13, 2014

China not ready to write off the Shinawatras

Thaksin and Yingluck Shinawatras' recent trip to China and Japan should remind the Thai junta that no country will put all its eggs in one basket.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years