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JAPAN
Aug 27, 2011

1953 records on handling U.S. forces released

The Foreign Ministry on Friday released previously classified records dating from 1953, including a section stating that Japan didn't intend to exercise its primary right of jurisdiction over U.S. military personnel involved in crimes unless cases were deemed of "material importance."
Reader Mail
Aug 25, 2011

Cleansing the soil of radioactivity

Regarding the Aug. 23 Kyodo article "Fukushima hunts for cesium-resistant rice": While I understand the goal of trying to find a strain of rice that will absorb practically no cesium, I can't help asking some questions: Shouldn't cesium and all other radioactive materials be completely taken out of the...
COMMENTARY
Aug 23, 2011

Joint development in the South China Sea

Unlike last year, when sparks flew at the ASEAN Regional Forum meeting after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Washington had an interest in the resolution of territorial disputes in the South China Sea, this year's 27-nation forum was relatively calm as China evidently sought to maintain...
BASKETBALL
Aug 23, 2011

Talented guard Gardener reunites with Nakamura

The Akita Northern Happinets have secured the services of explosive lead guard Michael Gardener for the 2011-12 season. The bj-league club made the announcement on Monday.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Aug 22, 2011

Bureaucrats blame Kan for sapping their initiative

For the past several months since the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan, an increasing number of bureaucrats have grown "negligent in their duties" because of what they view as the incompetence of Prime Minister Naoto Kan.
COMMENTARY
Aug 22, 2011

Lessons from the affairs of Cuban crocodiles

The recent finding that the seriously endangered Cuban crocodile (Crocodylus rhombifer) has been hybridizing in the wild with the American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) offers a sobering lesson. It shows that there is no real antagonism between Cuban and American crocodiles, something that policymakers...
Reader Mail
Aug 21, 2011

Understanding the deer life cycle

The Aug. 13 article "Mie crop-eating deer: venisons of the forest" (reprinted from the Chunichi Shimbun) is interesting but very naive with regard to controlling the deer population. Good wildlife management is imperative, but that doesn't exist in Japan. "Hunters," most of whom aren't very skilled,...
Reader Mail
Aug 21, 2011

Tax hike won't fix the problem

Regarding the Aug. 14 Kyodo article "Fiscal reform necessary to avoid crisis": Politicians understand that when you tax something you get less of it. In the United States, this prohibitionist rationale outweighs the revenue-raising rationale in the case of tobacco and alcohol taxes.
Reader Mail
Aug 21, 2011

The real power when Edo opened

In his July 31 Timeout article, "Most unlikely bedfellows" — on the beginning of U.S.-Japan relations — writer Michael Hoffman made a number of assertions that might have either confused or misled readers.
Reader Mail
Aug 21, 2011

No country for Asian refugees

Regarding the July 6 article "UNHCR exec lauds refugee strides, urges more": In the 1970s, Japanese vessels in the South China Sea rescued a lot of boat people who hoped to live in Japan. After several years, though, most of them left for the United States and other Western countries.
Reader Mail
Aug 21, 2011

Japan's wall of double standards

It's not clear whether the comment by Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda, reported in the Aug. 17 Kyodo article "S. Korea blasts Noda's war criminal remarks," is aimed at the Japanese public or at other countries including the United States.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / ONE-ON-ONE WITH ...
Aug 21, 2011

Westover brings impressive record with him to Shiga

The Japan Times features periodic interviews with personalities in the bj-league. Coach Alan "Al" Westover of the Shiga Lakestars is the subject of this week's profile.
Reader Mail
Aug 18, 2011

Risks from deadbeat tenants

I read with interest the Aug. 2 life & style article "Once settled in, chances are you'll have to pay to stay," as I can understand that the property rental system with its deposits, gratitude fees and renewal fees may be difficult for a foreign tenant to understand. But let's look at this from another...
Reader Mail
Aug 18, 2011

Don't wait for quake-proof plants

In his Aug. 14 letter, "Power-saving mindset has limits," James Dobson makes some good points about the lack of a long-term conservation ethic in modern society. Personally I don't like to use air conditioners or watch TV, although I admit I enjoy the Internet. All three of these devices use considerable...
Reader Mail
Aug 18, 2011

People must keep saying 'no'

The Aug. 12 Bloomberg article "Vested interests may stymie energy bill," which quotes Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Taro Kono as saying that growing anti-nuclear "public opinion may not be enough to sway politicians," is deeply disturbing.
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Aug 17, 2011

Why do Japanese advertisers suggest Internet-search keywords?

It seems that everywhere you look in Japan these days, printed advertising has Internet-style "search buttons" somewhere in the design, with Japanese text inside a box indicating the term to be searched. And many TV commercials end with a short phrase "such and such de kensaku" ("search on the Internet...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Aug 16, 2011

Which appliance is the energy hog? It's not your air conditioner

The media aren't really telling you the best way to save energy at home ...
COMMENTARY
Aug 16, 2011

Too much local sovereignty?

Since the Democratic Party of Japan came to power in September 2009, the word "chiho bunken" (devolution) has been replaced by the new expression "chiiki shuken" (local sovereignty).
Reader Mail
Aug 14, 2011

Cracks in foreign press reports

If I had not been to China, I would probably agree with Brahma Chellaney's assessment of rising social unrest in Tibet, Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia (Aug. 6 article, "Cracks in the Chinese wall").
Reader Mail
Aug 14, 2011

Against the English-teaching odds

I am from Bangladesh and a student of English linguistics and literature who is about to graduate (B.A. with honors) from a local university. It has been my dream to go to Japan and become a teacher. The history and culture and literature of Japan have always intrigued me.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Aug 14, 2011

A heady witches' brew of midsummer nightmares

Aside from the Summer High School Baseball Tournament at Koshien Stadium and NHK documentaries reminiscing about World War II, mid-August tends to be a quiet time and most of Japan's weekly magazines skip an issue.
Reader Mail
Aug 14, 2011

Conditions don't allow free trade

Contrary to Michael Sutton's assertion in his Aug. 10 article, "What in the world happened to free trade?," I think that free trade is impossible. Sutton attacks the easy target of protectionism, but governments do not control the real world. It is dominated instead by greed, fear and prejudice.
Reader Mail
Aug 14, 2011

Emergency care system in trouble

Regarding the July 24 Kyodo article "Hospitals turn away patients at record rate": The central and local governments need to exercise strong leadership in getting hospitals and the public to take steps to streamline Japan's emergency care system.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Aug 13, 2011

Mie crop-eating deer: venisons of the forest

Wild "shika" deer have caused so much crop damage in Mie Prefecture that they have become fair game — venison, as it were.
Reader Mail
Aug 11, 2011

Risky assumptions about China

I have two comments regarding Michael Richardson's Aug. 3 article, "U.S. reputation suffers in Asia":
Reader Mail
Aug 11, 2011

Imported food looking better

Regarding the Aug. 9 Kyodo article "Stop claiming food is safe, ministry told": I have lived in Japan for more than 20 years, and had always trusted the quality and safety of food in Japan. In fact, for years I have read labels and signboards to identify the origin of the food before buying it. Any fresh...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Aug 10, 2011

Disaster housing proves cash cow for general contractors

Local construction companies in Tohoku have been squeezed out of the short-term housing boom.

Longform

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