Search - 2023

 
 
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 4, 2019

U.S. sensation known as kombucha makes a return trip to Japan

Brewer Yuji Shimada carefully holds the stem of a short wine glass and pours a clear, golden liquid from one of the taps mounted on the commercial refrigerator, the light fizz from natural carbonation creating a thin layer of foam reminiscent of beer head.
BUSINESS
Jan 1, 2019

Top business news of 2018

The Japan Times newsroom selected the following business news stories as the most important of 2018.
JAPAN / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Dec 23, 2018

Most Kyoto firms have no plans to add foreign workers, survey finds

The government may be planning to bring in nearly 345,000 foreign workers by 2023, but in Kyoto, a recent survey shows most firms outside the hospitality sector have no plans to discuss adding overseas laborers to their workforce.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 22, 2018

Rationale for extending Japan's copyright protections unclear

Several weeks ago, I was surprised to read that a revision to the copyright law would go into effect on Dec. 30, extending the current protection period from 50 years after an author's death to 70 years. When the extension was first discussed as part of the original 12-member Trans-Pacific Partnership...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Dec 16, 2018

FIBA task force positive on Tokyo 2020 berth for Japan

Japan's men's basketball team is on the right track to earn a spot at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, FIBA task force co-chairman Ingo Weiss told a news conference on Sunday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 14, 2018

Virgin Galactic rocket ship reaches space in test flight, setting stage for tourists to boldly go

A Virgin Galactic rocket plane reached space on Thursday and returned safely to the California desert, capping years of testing to become the first U.S. commercial human flight to breach Earth's atmosphere since America's shuttle program ended in 2011.
Japan Times
WORLD / FOCUS
Nov 26, 2018

Buy green palm oil or forests will suffer, industry warns

New rules to stop deforestation caused by palm oil production can only succeed if brands and consumers buy larger amounts of oil certified as green and ethical, industry officials and environmental activists said.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 23, 2018

Pig out? Asia gets a taste of climate-friendly vegan 'pork'

It's Friday afternoon at the Venetian Macao hotel's Portofino restaurant, and on the terrace a handful of chefs in white uniforms are preparing the casino hub's famous pork chop bun for waiting guests.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2018

Japan startup's superflies may hold key to food self-sufficiency — even in space

Houseflies, the Soviet space program and manned missions to Mars — these aren't plot devices for a Cold War space thriller, but key terms to understand the history behind Fukuoka-based startup Musca Inc.'s project to provide a solution to some of the world's most pressing agricultural problems: food...
Japan Times
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Nov 17, 2018

Kansai business community sees future foreign worker influx with both hope and concern

The news last week that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government is preparing to admit up to 345,000 foreign workers by 2023 has been met with a combination of hope they will help prop up agricultural, manufacturing and service sectors that are struggling to find workers, and concern that Abe has rushed...
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 14, 2018

Abe says government will set 'cap' on number of foreign workers under new visa types

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Tuesday that the government will soon reveal estimates of worker shortages that will effectively function as a cap on the number of foreign workers to be admitted under a new visa system currently being deliberated by the Diet.
EDITORIALS
Nov 12, 2018

Japan positions itself for the future

Japan now has its own own satellite positioning system, but it must be careful that it does not miss out on innovation and get stuck with a technology that is outdated and of limited application.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 31, 2018

Transparency for tuna

Global fish stocks are in decline, but a new tuna management scheme by the Federated States of Micronesia offers a blueprint for recovery.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 30, 2018

Lion Air jet made erratic altitude changes before final fatal plunge hit 350 mph: transmitted data

Investigators are beginning the grim task of determining why a brand-new Boeing Co. 737 Max jet flown by Indonesia's Lion Air plunged into the Java Sea minutes after takeoff, killing all 189 people on board.
Japan Times
New Zealand report 2018
Oct 22, 2018

Suzuki: A way of life in New Zealand

Japanese cars, motorcycles and outboard marine engines can be found throughout New Zealand’s beautiful cities, towns, off-road tracks, lakes and rivers.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Internationalization of Japanese Universities
Oct 22, 2018

Government aims for 300,000 international students

Japanese universities are racing to attract international students to raise competitiveness among their ranks, as well as their global counterparts. The government is also taking steps to help them.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 12, 2018

High maintenance costs mean newly opened Toyosu market must grow trade to break even

While Tokyo's Toyosu new wholesale food market is furnished with cutting-edge equipment for temperature and hygiene control, resultant high maintenance costs are seen as a potential problem amid increasing off-market trading.
BUSINESS
Oct 11, 2018

For largest rocket in NASA history, Boeing is two years behind schedule and double over budget

Boeing Co.'s construction of the largest rocket in NASA's history is projected to cost $8.9 billion — double the initial budget. While taxpayer-funded cost overruns are common in the U.S. military industrial complex, the massive aerospace company is also two years behind schedule — a gap that could...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 9, 2018

Zozo chief Yusaku Maezawa eyes world peace and inspiration with SpaceX moon trip

Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, who is scheduled to take a trip to the moon in 2023, said Tuesday that he wants to use the opportunity to make a name for himself around the world and promote his initiatives, while also expressing his expectation that the trip will be great inspiration for his work....
EDITORIALS
Oct 4, 2018

Goodbye NAFTA, hello USMCA

After more than a year of intense negotiations, Canada, Mexico and the United States have agreed on a trilateral trade deal to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement, a nearly 25-year-old pact that has been excoriated by U.S. President Donald Trump as the "worst trade deal ever." While the leaders...
Japan Times
Australia report 2018
Oct 1, 2018

Australia’s leading property and financial services company

Celebrating its 70th anniversary this month, the Prudential Investment Company of Australia Pty Ltd. (PICA Group) is Australia’s largest property services company.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 27, 2018

Countdown to Okinawa's critical election

The Okinawa gubernatorial election is an important one for the prefecture, for the central government, for the Japan-U.S. alliance and for the Indo-Pacific region as a whole.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 26, 2018

Elon Musk's SpaceX secures second Japanese client for lunar rover mission

Elon Musk's Space Exploration Technologies Corp. signed its second Japanese customer in as many weeks — but the payload this time will be lunar rovers rather than a group of space tourists.

Longform

Rock group The Yellow Monkey played K-Arena Yokohama in June as part of a nationwide tour. Concerts are increasingly popular in the age of social media as users value in-person experiences.
Inside Japan’s arena boom: Sports, sound and city-building