Tag - focus

 
 

FOCUS

Japan Times
WORLD / FOCUS
Jun 19, 2013
Private money pours into Syrian conflict as donors pick sides
Syrian tanks were closing in on the rebel-held town of Qusair last month when a Kuwaiti sheik named Hajjaj al-Ajmi and his money machine roared into action. In a series of urgent messages on his Twitter account, al-Ajmi appealed for cash to help save the town's defenders.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 14, 2013
Iran poll shows waning clerics' clout
For most of its 34-year history, Iran has been run by clerics serving not just as supreme leaders, but also as elected presidents, their turban-clad figures becoming familiar worldwide as Iran's public face.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 12, 2013
Monitoring scandals unite left, right
A late spring storm of Washington controversies has created a rare event in these partisan, polarized times: a shared I-told-you-so moment for the left and the right.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 5, 2013
Tea party rallies to thwart bipartisan education plan
Tea party groups over the past few weeks have suddenly and successfully pressured Republican governors to reassess their support for a rare bipartisan initiative backed by President Barack Obama to overhaul the nation's public schools.
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Jun 5, 2013
China constitution debate hits nerve with ruling party
After a country's new leader proclaims the overriding authority of the constitution — a document that guarantees freedom of speech and press — it's worth noting afterward when the same government heavily censors all discussion about that constitution.
WORLD / FOCUS
May 28, 2013
Iraqi Shiites take up arms for Syrian government
The Iraqi fighters in the video shoulder assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades as they walk down a highway lined with cypress trees. Grinning, some hold up cellphones and camcorders to capture the moment — the aftermath of a victorious battle to secure Aleppo Airport from Syrian rebels who...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
May 27, 2013
Abe puts best foot forward in Myanmar to tap 'last frontier'
Shinzo Abe spoke of his personal bond with Myanmar during his official visit, the first by a Japanese prime minister in 36 years, as he sought to boost Japan's presence and tap its significant growth potential.
WORLD / FOCUS
May 27, 2013
Mass surveillance wouldn't help
Two former Labour Party home secretaries, a security minister and a former "independent" reviewer of terrorism laws have called for the swift review of Britain's communications data bill, following the London killing of an off-duty soldier by two radical Islamists.
Japan Times
WORLD / FOCUS
May 21, 2013
Records offer rare glimpse into Justice leak probe
When the Justice Department began investigating possible leaks of classified information about North Korea in 2009, investigators did more than obtain telephone records of a working journalist suspected of receiving the secret material.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
May 20, 2013
U.S. shale gas alters Japan's energy plans
Japan is hoping LNG from the U.S. shale gas boom will give it the power to rework bruising long-term contracts linked to oil prices.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
May 15, 2013
EU-U.S. trade deal faces raft of challenges
Supporters of a U.S.-European free-trade deal have begun damping expectations about its immediate benefits amid a series of emerging disputes that could complicate the creation of the world's largest trade zone.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
May 9, 2013
Scores vie for spots on Iranian ballot
Not just anyone is allowed to become president of Iran.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
May 9, 2013
Political novice takes on entrenched parties in landmark polls
Winning a grass-roots political campaign in Pakistan or anywhere else depends on having committed, hardworking volunteers. Iftikhar Ali Mashwani, an aspiring provincial lawmaker, has come to realize that his supporters are neither.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / FOCUS
May 8, 2013
Britain's ports put wind in investors' sails
Methil port north of Edinburgh, once the focus of Scotland's coal exports, is set to tap a greener kind of energy as Samsung Heavy Industry Co. constructs the world's biggest wind turbine in the town's faded harbor.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Apr 24, 2013
Dreamliners to fly again, but public trust yet to be restored
Is the flying public ready to re-embrace the Boeing 787 Dreamliner? Three months after the plane was grounded, it's set to return to the skies even though the root cause of its battery trouble remains unknown.
Japan Times
JAPAN / FOCUS
Apr 20, 2013
Suu Kyi visit puts pragmatism in spotlight
Known worldwide as a prodemocracy icon, Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi showed herself to also be a capable and pragmatic politician during her weeklong visit to Japan as she sought backing for her country's political and economic development.
Japan Times
WORLD / FOCUS
Apr 17, 2013
Uncomfortable truth laid bare in Boston: not every plot will be spotted
After nearly a dozen years of foiled plots, the United States on Monday suffered the first large-scale bombing since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, opened an era of heightened security affecting nearly every aspect of American life.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 14, 2013
Late Chavez haunts Venezuela's election
In Venezuela's brief but raucous presidential campaign, the ruling party has let Hugo Chavez do the talking. On state television, he provides words of wisdom in frequent ads, and loudspeakers at campaign rallies belt out recordings of him singing the national anthem.
Japan Times
WORLD / FOCUS
Apr 11, 2013
Fight looms for rival Syria rebel factions
As this remote corner of northeastern Syria fast slides out of government control, many Syrians are bracing for what they fear will be another war, between the relatively moderate fighters who first took up arms against the government and the Islamist extremists who emerged more recently with the muscle...
WORLD / FOCUS
Apr 8, 2013
Group behind Luxor attack fills gaps left by government
There are generally two stories about how reliable the police force is in the southern Egyptian city of Assiut, and one of those is told by the police.

Longform

Rows of irises resemble a rice field at the Peter Walker-designed Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.
The 'outsiders' creating some of Japan's greenest spaces