Search - article

 
 
Reader Mail
Aug 5, 2012

Group needs to confront China

Regarding the front page Aug. 1 article "China flexing more muscle in Pacific": I am not the Philippines' president or a foreign affairs officer, but I think the solution is for small and bullied countries like Vietnam, Brunei, the Philippines, Malaysia, Japan and Taiwan to form an association for settling...
Reader Mail
Aug 5, 2012

Death penalty pros and cons

Regarding the July 31 Kyodo article: "Sugiura: End death penalty in name of democracy": Former Justice Minister Seiken Sugiura's comment that abolishing the death penalty in Japan would represent a step toward becoming a "mature democratic nation" is an unusual take for a Japanese on this difficult topic....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Aug 5, 2012

Okinawa: between a rock and a hard place

Resistant Islands: Okinawa Confronts Japan and the U.S., by Gavan McCormack and Satoko Oka Norimatsu. Rowman and Littlefield, 2012, 312 pp., $29.95 (hardcover) T his year marks the 40th anniversary of the U.S. reversion of Okinawa to Japanese sovereignty, but the long-standing disputes about the U.S....
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Aug 4, 2012

Jellyfish swarms in danger of clogging Ise thermal power plants

Large numbers of jellyfish have been swarming near nine thermal power plants on Ise Bay. Chubu Electric Power Co. estimates that there are close to 24,000 tons of the sea creatures swimming around the area, twice the usual level and the second-most recorded in the past decade.
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Aug 3, 2012

When is a beer with lunch not a beer with lunch?

Does buzz-free beer mix with business lunch?
JAPAN
Aug 3, 2012

Schools must probe for 'grave cases' of bullying

The education ministry has ordered public elementary, junior high and high schools to conduct an emergency survey of their students about "grave cases" of bullying and for school officials to tell the ministry how they are dealing with the problem.
COMMENTARY
Aug 3, 2012

Pushing Seoul-Tokyo forward

There is an old Russian proverb that applies to current Japan-South Korea (ROK) relations: "Forget the past and lose an eye; dwell on the past and lose both eyes!"
Reader Mail
Aug 2, 2012

Give credit where credit is due

The characterization of the recession and auto industry bailout by Yoshi Tsurumi in his July 26 article, "Detroit lives, thanks to a courageous decision," is a clear case of Bush Derangement Syndrome (BDS), a condition that causes otherwise intelligent people to blame U.S. President George W. Bush for...
Reader Mail
Aug 2, 2012

Japan still has a long way to go

Although I am strongly against the retention of the death penalty in Japan — and thus favor its immediate abolition — I disagree with former Justice Minister Seiken Sugiura's remarks that abolishing it would represent a step toward Japan's becoming "a mature, democratic nation," as he was quoted...
COMMENTARY
Jul 31, 2012

Smell of untaxed trillions

One of the best tax-avoidance tactics in the late Roman Empire was to sell yourself into slavery. You didn't really have to work as somebody's slave, of course — it was more like rock star Hotblack Desiato being "dead for a year for tax reasons" in Douglas Adams' wondrous confection "The Hitch-Hiker's...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Jul 30, 2012

U.S. has turned the tables on its old Declaration

On Independence Day (July 4), The New York Times printed the Declaration of Independence, as it had done — the daily noted in an article on the preceding day — for 90 years, since 1922.
Reader Mail
Jul 29, 2012

Osprey safety issue a canard

Concerning the July 24 front-page article "Ospreys reach Iwakuni; protest held": I think those opposed to the Osprey's deployment are being foolish and disingenuous. I feel for Okinawans, who carry the heaviest burden among Japan's prefectures in hosting U.S. military facilities. But right now, that's...
Reader Mail
Jul 29, 2012

Ridding the world of dictators

In his response to Roger Pulvers' July 22 Counterpoint article "Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto: 'What Japan needs now is dictatorship," Ian Gould writes that "Dictators exist only to climb to the top of the rest of humanity" ("Mayor's kind needs pruning," July 26 letter). But I am confident that, for the...
Reader Mail
Jul 29, 2012

Testament to a hero's grace

Regarding the July 25 front-page Kyodo article "Mariners deal Ichiro to Yankees": A player of firsts in a sport of records, Ichiro Suzuki elicits exaltation. It's a testament to this man's grace that he, in a matter of hours, took the field that had been his home for 11 years (Seattle Mariners' stadium)...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jul 29, 2012

In our time of global aggression we could learn from the 'Land of Sorry'

Back in 1991, I was offered a tenured position at a university in Kyoto. Needless to say, this was a big step for me and my family, who were all looking forward to settling into Kyoto life.
Reader Mail
Jul 26, 2012

Adults accountable for bullying

The July 24 Kyodo article "Ministry to establish team to battle bullying" once again highlights our failure to act in due time and respond to the small acts. We once again chose to wait for the extreme to happen before taking serious action to curb or prevent such situations. We are always reactive,...
Reader Mail
Jul 26, 2012

Mayor's kind needs pruning

Regarding Roger Pulvers' July 22 Counterpoint article, "Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto: 'What Japan needs now is dictatorship' ": On the contrary, what Japan needs is less of Toru Hashimoto. Was he alive during World War II, sponsored by a variety of dictators? I doubt it. I recall vividly many of the worst...
Reader Mail
Jul 26, 2012

Creating your own 'purpose'

Regarding the July 24 AFP article "Retirees (in Japan) still seeking work": This is similar to Canada and the United States, where the work ethic is so ingrained in the psyche of the general population.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jul 24, 2012

100 years of Summer Games

When the 293 Japanese athletes compete in the London Games that start Friday, they will represent a century of the participation in the Summer Olympics, starting with marathoner Shiso Kanakuri and sprinter Yahiko Mishima in Stockholm in 1912.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Jul 23, 2012

Bloom is off decentralization

A number of local political parties have cropped up of late clamoring for further "decentralization," which would shift much administrative and budgetary authority from the central government to local governments.
OLYMPICS
Jul 23, 2012

Costas' criticism sparks discussion over tributes

Should the International Olympic Committee permit individuals or groups to make political statements during the Olympics?
Reader Mail
Jul 22, 2012

Self-respect for mice and men

A 2011 article in Cabinet Magazine about the late research psychologist John B. Calhoun's pioneering work with rodents provides an interesting perspective on Japan's soshokukei or "herbivore" phenomenon. Since 2007, when the term was coined, many have wondered at Japan's growing numbers of unambitious,...
Reader Mail
Jul 22, 2012

Put a lid on 'malignant' shills

Regarding the July 16 Kyodo article "Public reactor hearing (Sendai) rocked by alleged government shill": A Japanese seminar or workshop usually has a question-and-answer time at the end for audience members. People are so shy that none wants to ask the first question. An awkward silence may ensue. To...
Reader Mail
Jul 22, 2012

Tokyo protest rallies admiration

Regarding the July 17 front-page article "Massive Tokyo rally decries atomic power": Those people at the rally were brave in demonstrating their democratic spirit. I firmly believe Japan will find an energy solution that's better than relying on atomic energy.
Japan Times
LIFE
Jul 22, 2012

A century of Tokyo taxis

The year 1912 is recorded in Japan both as the 45th year of Meiji Era and the first year of the Taisho Era. After a protracted illness, Emperor Mutsuhito expired, age 61, on the night of July 29 (although the official announcement came the next day). Through the remainder of the summer, the front pages...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jul 20, 2012

Boomer boom: Businesses tapping consumption where they can find it

Retired people are already single-handedly propping up consumption.
Reader Mail
Jul 19, 2012

'Burma' and 'Myanmar' are close

Cesar Chelala's July 16 article, "Why 'Burma' should remain the country's name," describes the controversy over the use of either "Burma" or "Myanmar" for Southeast Asia's second-largest country. It should be pointed out that the rationale given by the military government in 1989 for changing the country's...
Reader Mail
Jul 19, 2012

Experiences of those who stay

I love Amy Chavez's recent Japan Lite columns, and her July 14 article, "Why we came to Japan — a different realm," really tickled me. Chavez beautifully expresses thoughts I have always had (going on 40 years of still feeling the moonstones beneath my feet and often feeling surprised). Chavez's comments...
Reader Mail
Jul 19, 2012

The threshold of responsibility

In his June 25 article, "Irony of being in the company of '12-year- olds," Hiroaki Sato uses dubious rationalizations for Japanese war crimes 70 years after the fact. Sato points out American Gen. Douglas MacArthur's view of Japan as a nation of 12-year-olds, when actually it was Emperor Hirohito who...

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