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COMMENTARY / World
May 10, 2013

Euro exit by Germany would be a big mistake

Politically it would be a big mistake for Germany to exit the eurozone, because doing so would jeopardize the greatest success story of the postwar period in Europe.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 9, 2013

TICAD to redefine Japan aid to Africa

When the first Tokyo International Conference on African Development was held 20 years ago, circumstances in Japan and Africa were vastly different than they are today.
Reader Mail
May 9, 2013

Limits of planning good health

Chris Flynn (May 2 letter, "Australia's declining smoking rate") seems to believe I'm a shill for the local agricultural interests here in rural Kumamoto based on my opposition to tobacco restrictions.
Reader Mail
May 9, 2013

Deploy SDF unit in Senkakus

Robert Dujarric's May 3 article, "China's rift with Japan is open challenge to U.S.," posed a number of important and disturbing points with regard to not only Japan, China and the United States but also to the fact that the tiny islets could provide the spark that might well set off a regional, if not...
COMMENTARY / World
May 9, 2013

Possible solution to Apple's cash-flow problem

It's possible that Apple's best long-term move would be to release a hefty portion of its unused cash to shareholders who would then plow it back into the economy.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 8, 2013

China questions Okinawa ownership

Two scholars from an official Chinese research center suggest re-examining the ownership of the Japanese island chain that includes Okinawa, adding to tensions over the Senkaku territorial dispute.
COMMENTARY / World
May 8, 2013

Ideological splits endanger Arab nation-state

The 'Arab Spring' generated a wave of hope for democratization of authoritarian regimes. The outcomes have called into question the viability of the Arab nation-state.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
May 8, 2013

Cartwright gives parting thoughts on experience in Japan

Head coach Bill Cartwright returned the Osaka Evessa to respectability after a remarkable plunge in the season's first four months.
COMMENTARY / World
May 8, 2013

Defusing the ethnic powder keg in Myanmar

Despite their history of anti-government armed resistance, Burma's ethnic minorities do not pursue a separatist agenda. There is hope for resolving the conflicts.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
May 7, 2013

Anticipation: How high will mortgage interest go?

After 20 years housing loan interest rates are ready to rise.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 5, 2013

Media weighs in on LDP's English education plan

The Liberal Democratic Party has a thing for archery. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's financial policies comprise "three arrows." The symbolism is based on the old Japanese saying, "Three arrows are harder to break." Since "Abenomics" has proven to be a PR success, at least with the electorate, he's using...
EDITORIALS
May 5, 2013

Mr. Inose does not understand

The Tokyo governor's remarks about Olympic Games rival Istanbul shows that he is not yet quite ready to participate in international society, let alone host the games.
Reader Mail
May 5, 2013

What was there to celebrate?

As for the front-page April 29 article "Sovereignty celebration hit by protests": Soon after the security treaty between Japan and the United States was furtively signed on Sept. 8, 1951, the San Francisco Peace Treaty was gloriously signed between Japan and the relevant countries.
Reader Mail
May 5, 2013

Mom should not have to pay

Regarding the April 25 Kyodo article "Mom, firm in crane case ordered to pay": It seems that some measure of justice has been served in the case of the epileptic driver who killed six schoolchildren in 2011. Accidents are dicey situations that force us to confront the enigmatic intersection between intention...
Reader Mail
May 5, 2013

Viewing the enemy as we are

Regarding Hiroaki Sato's April 29 article, "Photos of carnage would check war sentiment": This is very true. So many "armchair warrior" Americans seem to revel in war sentiment. Case in point: the iconic photo of a badly burned Vietnamese girl running naked down a highway after her village was hit by...
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
May 4, 2013

Old Navy chases new blood in untapped Nagoya, Gifu markets

Old Navy, the largest casual clothing retailer in the United States, opened two outlets in the Chubu region on April 25 in what appears to be a foray aimed at leveraging its fashion sense, high quality and low prices in central Honshu.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
May 4, 2013

Master craftsman carries on sashimono tradition

On the floor of an eight-tatami workshop sits master craftsman Yoshio Inoue in a spot he has occupied for decades. His atedai, the long, low slab of wood that serves as a workbench, is in front of him, and within easy reach are scores of tools — chisels, planes, hammers, saws, clamps and other implements...
COMMENTARY / World
May 2, 2013

Barren legal ground for U.S. airstrikes in Syria

Would the U.S. have any legal justification for launching airstrikes against Syrian government radars, antiaircraft sites and air bases — and killing civilians?
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 1, 2013

Please, no more Yasukuni visits

For the White House to welcome Japan to the TPP talks and to tell China to back off on the Senkakus, while Japan's top leaders visit Yasukuni Shrine, is ridiculous.
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Apr 29, 2013

Nuclear arms card for Japan

The Foreign Ministry has been conducting clandestine studies about the potential development of nuclear weapons in Japan, and the U.S. is nervous about it.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 28, 2013

Pressure grows for the nation's housewives

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's April 19 National Press Club speech about boosting women's participation in the workforce has been covered extensively in the domestic and foreign media since it signals a sea change in the Liberal Democratic Party's view of women's role in society. He said the government...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Apr 28, 2013

An avian flu outbreak in Japan could kill 'Abenomics'

No one has ever fully explained why, in 2002-3, the virulent pathogen known as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) ran rampant in mainland China (5,328 cases, 349 deaths) but only infected four people in South Korea, with no fatalities, and none in Japan.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Apr 28, 2013

First regular-season NPB games in U.S. nearly set

What do you make of the idea to have the Yomiuri Giants and Hanshin Tigers open the 2014 Japanese baseball season in the U.S.?
Reader Mail
Apr 28, 2013

Funny piece about 'bosozoku'

The April 18 article "Documentary chronicles disappearing world of 'bosozoku (biker gangs)" was funny! Kazuhiro Hazuki, a former gang leader, is quoted as saying he couldn't stomach the violence of being a yakuza loan shark, so he became a kick boxer.
Reader Mail
Apr 28, 2013

Try adding specialist teachers

The April 23 article "LDP looks to double JET Program's ranks in three years" leaves this reader feeling it's time to reassess English education in Japan. Increasing the number of Japan Exchange and Teaching participants twofold is not the answer.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Apr 27, 2013

Temple in Gifu seeks elderly disciples

Shogen Junior College, a Buddhist institution in Minokamo, Gifu Prefecture, launched a unique course this month that trains elderly students to become Buddhist priests.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 25, 2013

Reassessing Thatcher's legacy

Now that her funeral is over, let's begin a dispassionate assessment of why politicians of all parties remain enthralled by the legacy of Margaret Thatcher.
Reader Mail
Apr 25, 2013

Climate's effect on the web of life

Regarding the April 18 Kyodo article "Chilling: Arctic explorer Yamazaki sees climate change impact up close": While a scientist can observe its impact very clearly in the Arctic, global climate change is no longer something only specialists can detect, but a phenomenon that affects us all, regardless...
Reader Mail
Apr 25, 2013

War industry still sustains U.S.

I agree with Gregory Clark's April 18 article, "Blame Western 'demonists' for Pyongyang's belligerence." The U.S. economy depends on its war industry. The U.S. bluff with its theory of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq was seen by all. In Afghanistan, it is leaving without achieving much. So it searches...

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat