Search - opinion

 
 
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2009

Aso hints at calling snap election

Despite his dwindling opinion poll numbers, Prime Minister Taro Aso said Thursday that he will dissolve the Lower House before too long, brushing off growing calls within his own Liberal Democratic Party to find a new leader.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CONTROLS ON FOREIGNERS
Jun 26, 2009

With some concessions, DPJ backs crackdown

Ritsuo Hosokawa, justice minister in the Democratic Party of Japan's shadow Cabinet, says he succeeded in softening the tone of the government's immigration reform package.
Reader Mail
Jun 25, 2009

Good law gets public consensus

Regarding the June 20 editorial "Recognition of brain death": The Lower House's passage of the new bill is a very welcome step in the right direction, and the editorial misses the mark by falling back on a tired, old reason for not supporting this measure — a supposed lack of "public consensus."
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 24, 2009

Pattern found when stars of love align

When people searching for love find their perfect mate, they often liken the convergence to "chemistry" — that special something that brings one certain individual to the head of the class.
EDITORIALS
Jun 21, 2009

In Japan we trust

In a poll commissioned by the Foreign Ministry, a record 80 percent of the American public said Japan was a dependable country. The results of this poll, undertaken by the famed Gallup Organization and released in late May, showed a considerable shift in attitudes toward Japan.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 21, 2009

My son, I give you power over the people

Last Monday, TBS's noontime show "Hiruobi" was covering Kim Jong Un, the son of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and presumed successor. One commentator on the show, an editor for an entertainment magazine, wondered what the citizens of North Korea really thought of this dynastic system. "In Japan right...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Jun 21, 2009

Injured Baker in limbo over cash dispute with Apache

First in a two-part series
Reader Mail
Jun 18, 2009

Temps feel lost and powerless

Regarding the June 9 article "Akihabara marks year since attack": I wonder, how much did the temporary employment status of Tomohiro Kato (the man charged with running down pedestrians and fatally stabbing passersby on June 8, 2008) contribute to his feelings of hopelessness and his desire to gain recognition...
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Jun 16, 2009

Ozawa's residual influence

Even after being forced to resign as Democratic Party of Japan president because of a scandal involving his secretary, Ichiro Ozawa appears to exert strong influence over his successor, Yukio Hatoyama.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jun 14, 2009

To make an Israeli omelet is it necessary to break so many eggs?

"Between a high, solid wall and an egg that breaks against it, I will always stand on the side of the egg. . . . Bombers and tanks and rockets and white phosphorus shells are that high, solid wall. The eggs are the unarmed civilians who are crushed and burned and shot by them. . . . Think of it this...
COMMENTARY
Jun 14, 2009

A purge of Parliament is calling

LONDON — In British politics the familiar scenario is for the opposition to press for an early general election — there being no fixed-term provision in the very flexible British constitution — and for the government of the day to reject all such demands and sit tight.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 12, 2009

The first 'Japanese' opera?

Kabuki actor and designated Living National Treasure Sakata Tojuro (b. 1931) stages an opera, for the first time in his career, this month at the New National Theatre.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Jun 10, 2009

Kobe Bryant's virtuoso performance off the charts

LOS ANGELES — When Kobe plays as he did in Game 1 of the NBA Finals he may as well be in a vacant gym at midnight with the lights off throwing uncontrollable moves on operatic phantoms. Every other possession was so perversely pure he had the Magic wandering aimlessly around Bryant Park.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 10, 2009

No Japan let-up against Qatar pledges Okada

YOKOHAMA — National team manager Takeshi Okada insists there will be no let-up from his side against Qatar in Wednesday's World Cup qualifier despite having already secured safe passage to South Africa.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 9, 2009

An entrepreneurial ambassador

PALO ALTO,, Calif. — The announcement of Silicon Valley attorney and Barack Obama fundraiser John V. Roos as U.S. ambassador- designate to Japan has sparked questions about what this appointment means for the U.S.-Japan relationship. Is the choice of a Washington outsider with no obvious Japan experience...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 9, 2009

Educating Americans about Muslim voices

NEW YORK — President Barack Obama has extended an open hand of friendship in his landmark Cairo speech to the Muslim world — seeking to engage Muslims with a commitment of mutual respect. No one can doubt his sincerity. From his first days in office, he has emphasized the importance of embarking...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 7, 2009

Consequences of hostility on the Peninsula

SEOUL — Once again, the Korean Peninsula is experiencing one of its periodic bouts of extremism, this time marked by the suicide May 22 of former President Roh Moo Hyun, and North Korea's second test of a nuclear device.
Reader Mail
Jun 4, 2009

Careful whom you call 'Chinese'

Regarding Gregory Clark's May 27 article "Cross-strait gap narrows": Clark's knowledge of Taiwan is sadly out of date. Moreover, he appears to accept unquestionably what he was told in Beijing. Contrary to his assertion that "the Taiwan people are Chinese, think Chinese, and speak Chinese just like any...
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2009

Diet extension gives Aso breathing space

Now that the Diet session has been extended until July 28, the spotlight has shifted back to Prime Minister Taro Aso as politicians and analysts try to predict when he will dissolve the Lower House and call a snap election.
Reader Mail
Jun 4, 2009

Inaccurate commentary on Iran

Regarding Bijan Khajehpour's May 30 article, "Key role for young Iranians in June's presidential poll": I'm not sure why The Japan Times published this article, since it is very out of date and no longer relevant.
EDITORIALS
May 25, 2009

A first encounter goes well

In retrospect, the first meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was destined to succeed. It was assumed that the two men were deeply divided on two key issues: Israel's relations with the Palestinian Authority, in particular Mr. Netanyahu's opposition...

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?