How Sharp has lost its edge
Sharp Corp., whose domestic liquid-crystal-display factories once made the company a symbol of pride for Japan's electronics sector, now has taken on a less impressive mantle: that of a sector...
View ArticleA century later, Washington's cherry blossoms are a coup for Japan
A century before cultural diplomacy became a buzzword for governments around the world, Japan scored a spectacular success - Washington's cherry blossoms, which have become one of the U.S. capital's...
View ArticleNoda tells Maehara to gain DPJ nod for tax hike
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on Monday allowed Democratic Party of Japan executives to revise part of a bill to hike the sales tax, aiming to draw an intraparty consensus on the issue, lawmakers said....
View ArticleRugby: New coach Jones picks team
New Japan rugby coach Eddie Jones picked his first team on Monday, naming a 30-strong squad for next month's Asian Five Nations match at Kazakhstan. A night after leading Top League champions Suntory...
View ArticleEasily winded Emperor to have more fluid extracted from chest
Emperor Akihito, who had open heart surgery in February and is rehabilitating at the Imperial Palace, will have fluid extracted from his chest for a second time Tuesday, the Imperial Household Agency...
View ArticleToyota raises North American managers' roles
Toyota Motor Corp. is expanding the roles of four executives in North America, including three non-Japanese, as Asia's largest automaker seeks tighter coordination in its biggest market. Steve St....
View ArticleYamanote line in Tokyo features AKB48 train
AKB48 have taken over one train on the JR Yamanote line in Tokyo. Photos of the popular all-girl group adorn the outside and inside of all the cars of one train on the famous loop. Not only that,...
View ArticleOsaka to cease paying subsidies for Korean schools
Osaka Gov. Ichiro Matsui said Monday the prefectural government will cease paying about 81 million yen in subsidies to eight Korean schools in the prefecture for fiscal 2011 ending this month. The...
View ArticleU.S. man admits insider trading on Japan drug companies
A former human resources consultant pleaded guilty on Monday to illegally sharing confidential information with a friend about deals involving Japanese drugmakers. Scott Allen, 45, of Atlanta, told...
View ArticleJapan's growing military confidence
The Japanese Self-Defense Forces performed admirably after last year's tsunami. Expect a more confident force to play a growing role in disaster response. Militaries rarely earn their spurs in...
View ArticleAnalysis: The AIJ scandal and Japan's pension time bomb
Tarumi Taxi in western Japan's port city of Kobe is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, offering a glimpse of the crisis facing tens of thousands of small and mid-sized companies across Japan with...
View ArticleK-pop groups nominated in MTV Video Music Awards Japan 2012
The list of nominees for the MTV Video Music Awards Japan 2012 is out and six K-pop groups are included. 2NE1, KARA, Girls Generation, 2PM, CNBlue and SHINee got nominated along with music heavyweights...
View Article17th anniversary of Aum's subway gas attack marked
Tokyo subway officials commemorated the 17th anniversary of Aum Shinrikyo's deadly 1995 sarin gas attack Tuesday at Kasumigaseki Station. Twenty-four Tokyo Metro Co. employees observed a moment of...
View ArticleSumo: Kakuryu still tied for Spring Basho top spot
Kakuryu rose to the challenge to remain in a share of the lead and yokozuna Hakuho rebounded from his defeat to the sekiwake the previous day, discarding of Aminishiki on the 10th day of the Spring...
View ArticleKyushu pileup kills three, hurts nine
Three people were killed and nine were injured Tuesday in an expressway collision involving five vehicles in Yame, Fukuoka Prefecture, police said. The collision occurred at around 2:10 a.m. about 1 km...
View ArticlePatriot missiles may be deployed in Okinawa to counter North Korean rocket
The Defense Ministry is considering deploying the Patriot-3 antiballistic missile defense system on Ishigaki Island and Okinawa Island to possibly shoot down the rocket North Korea says it will launch...
View ArticleU.S. exempts Japan and 10 other countries from sanctions over Iran oil
The Obama administration on Tuesday exempted Japan and 10 European nations from the prospect of biting sanctions intended to punish countries that continue to buy oil from Iran, but it left open the...
View ArticleBasketball: Washington to fight charges in drug case
Osaka Evessa power forward Lynn Washington's legal defense has begun, The Japan Times has learned. Evessa spokesman Makoto Yamada told The Japan Times that Washington informed the team he plans to hire...
View ArticleNissan reviving Datsun brand for emerging markets
Nissan is bringing back the Datsun three decades after shelving the brand that helped build its U.S. business. This time, Nissan hopes the name synonymous with affordable and reliable small cars will...
View ArticleFibre optics to connect Japan to the UK - via the Arctic
The retreat of sea ice is bringing 21st-century communications to the Arctic. In mid-August, construction should start on the first submarine fibre-optic cables to cross the Arctic Ocean, providing...
View Article
