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COMMENTARY
Jan 19, 2007

Europe, energy and Russia

LONDON -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel has a very different attitude toward Russia from the last three or four German chancellors, perhaps because she grew up in former East Germany, under Russian control.
Japan Times
LIFE
Dec 31, 2006

Shaping our future along with robots

Yoshiyuki Sankai is a professor of engineering at Tsukuba University in Ibaraki Prefecture and a front-runner in the field of "cybernics," which combines robotics with a wide array of academic disciplines, including neurology, information technology, behavioral science and psychology. Now aged 48, he...
COMMENTARY
Dec 24, 2006

Next to the Iraq catastrophe, minor dramas marked 2006

LONDON -- In hard news terms, it's been one of the slower years: no great events, few surprises and no real shocks. But as the little events accumulated during 2006, the shape of the future gradually became clearer in three important dimensions.
BUSINESS
Nov 14, 2006

Hitachi, GE in strategic nuclear tieup

Hitachi Ltd. said Monday it has reached an agreement with General Electric Co. to strengthen ties in nuclear power plant business by setting up joint ventures in Japan and the United States.
BUSINESS
Oct 18, 2006

Toshiba seals deal on Westinghouse takeover

Toshiba Corp. said Tuesday it has completed its acquisition of Westinghouse Electric Co., the U.S.-based nuclear power plant builder, from British Nuclear Fuels PLC.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 8, 2006

Mustering the will to prevent calamity

LONDON -- It's a law of physics that translates well into the behavior of human beings: The greater the mass involved, the more effort is needed to overcome its inertia. But it doesn't read very well as an epitaph for civilization.
BUSINESS
Aug 24, 2006

JAXA aims for supersonic passenger jet within six years

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency plans to develop a prototype supersonic jet that is quieter and more fuel efficient than the retired Concorde within the next six years, officials said Wednesday.
COMMENTARY
Aug 19, 2006

Struggling for transparency in China

HONG KONG -- Following the Chinese press, one sometimes gets totally depressed and feels that there is no hope for the country, with its myriad problems. At other times, the opposite is true. This week, it is a mix. On different fronts, one sees a host of problems but, at the same time, it is clear that...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 3, 2006

U.S.-India nuclear deal sets bad example

MADRAS, India -- The India-U.S. deal to cooperate in civil nuclear energy signed in New Delhi in March now appears set to be approved by the U.S. Congress. This will end India's nuclear isolation, which began in 1998 when the country first tested nuclear weapons.
EDITORIALS
Jul 4, 2006

A new team in Vietnam

Vietnam has overhauled its leadership. The country's National Assembly last week affirmed the individuals selected by the congress of the Vietnam Communist Party. Members of the new team are considerably younger than their predecessors, and their common characteristic is a commitment to economic reform....
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 22, 2006

Time to reconsider the ethics of eating

PRINCETON, New Jersey -- Global meat consumption is predicted to double by 2020. Yet in Europe and North America, there is growing concern about the ethics of the way meat and eggs are produced. The consumption of veal has fallen sharply since it became widely known that to produce "white" -- actually...
JAPAN
May 23, 2006

Ozone hole seen disappearing by 2050

The ozone hole over the Antarctic is expected to begin contracting in the future and may disappear by 2050 because of a reduction in the release of chlorofluorocarbons and other ozone-depleting gases, according to a team of Japanese scientists.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Apr 26, 2006

A voice of reason countering Big Oil's clout

The United States government may be hemorrhaging money in Iraq, but the financial condition of America's oil companies and their top management couldn't be rosier.
EDITORIALS
Mar 15, 2006

Asbestos aid falls short

The Diet enacted a law in early February to financially help people suffering from asbestos-related health problems not covered by labor accident compensation. Eligible people can start filing requests for the aid under the law on March 20. Enactment of the law was quick -- in about seven months -- after...
EDITORIALS
Mar 7, 2006

A battle that has barely begun

One year since the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control went into effect, Japan's smoking rate still remains high compared with other developed nations. The government needs to create a strong momentum toward lowering the rate.
COMMENTARY
Feb 3, 2006

Avoiding energy ultimatums

LONDON -- The recent break in energy supplies to Georgia after a natural gas pipeline and power pylons were blown up inside Russia near the border with Georgia came during a bitter cold wave, causing considerable hardship and the risk of death from hypothermia for some.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 19, 2006

Aussies tackle global warming

SYDNEY -- Amid exploding energy demand from Asia-Pacific countries, resource-rich Australia has emerged as a leader of planned energy supply and use into the foreseeable future.
JAPAN
Dec 21, 2005

Gender-free not a key focus in LDP-led equality initiative

The government's upcoming action plan for gender equality will probably rule out uniform gender-free initiatives because of opposition from within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, sources said.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 5, 2005

China's environmental health challenges

NEW YORK -- The recent environmental crises in China underscore the need to improve the mechanisms for preventing environmental disasters and responding more effectively to environmental emergencies. For the past few decades, China has maintained significant economic expansion while greatly improving...
Japan Times
Features / WEEK 3
Nov 20, 2005

Update beckons for 'lucky' feline

A retired mannequin sculptor who fashioned his entire career out of observing women's curves is now eyeing curves of an even more mystical kind: those of the manekineko, the good-luck "beckoning cat" statues found all over Japan in the corners of bars, restaurants and lottery-ticket booths, where their...
JAPAN
Nov 5, 2005

Inoguchi wants more money for kids

the low birthrate, so (the government) needs to reinforce measures" to tackle the problem, Kuniko Inoguchi, 53, a former professor of international politics at Sophia University, said in an interview Wednesday. "If the birthrate keeps falling, we will not be able to support our aging society." Japan's...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 23, 2005

It's about time for Japan to take its foot off the gas . . . and think

What do the following recent news items have in common? 1) An automobile driven by a 23-year-old man in Yokohama accidentally runs into a line of high-school students returning home from school, killing two and injuring seven. 2) The United States Senate votes to open the Alaskan wildlife refuge to oil...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Sep 24, 2005

Cambodian envoy to Japan on three-point mission

"Hello, hello," Pou Sothirak greets warmly as he enters the reception room of the Cambodian Embassy in Akasaka, central Tokyo. Then as a staff member follows on behind, with a camera: "Now stand here with me for a photo. Right, we're done. We have to let him take these official pictures, otherwise he...
JAPAN
Sep 23, 2005

Fukuoka joins Tokyo in Games quest

FUKUOKA — Fukuoka will bid to host the Summer Olympics in 2016 or 2020, Mayor Hirotaro Yamasaki said Thursday at a municipal assembly meeting.
BUSINESS
Sep 23, 2005

Orix to buy into China railway firm

Orix Corp. said Thursday it will invest 550 million yen around December to acquire a 25 percent stake in China's first railway car leasing company.
BUSINESS
Aug 30, 2005

Oil-triggered slump in U.S. is the worry in Japan

Crude oil prices around $60 to $70 a barrel for the next six months will have little direct impact on the Japanese economy, but look out for indirect hits if higher prices hurt consumption in the U.S., economists say.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami