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Reader Mail
May 23, 2010

Stupid tax tricks from the locals

Regarding the May 19 Kyodo article "Japanese 'tourist tax' in Lake District (England) criticized": There's nothing unusual about shaking down Japanese tourists. At least that's what I've seen on my visits to Honolulu and Hanauma Bay, Oahu. The Hawaiians, noted for their generosity in welfare benefits...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
May 23, 2010

Experts fear Taiji mercury tests are fatally flawed

On May 10, in a front-page lead story headlined "Taiji locals test high for mercury," The Japan Times reported the results of tests by the National Institute of Minamata Disease (NIMD) that found "extremely high methyl-mercury (MeHg) concentrations in the hair of some residents of Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture,...
EDITORIALS
May 19, 2010

Free speech and public servants

The Tokyo High Court on May 13 upheld a lower court ruling that fined Mr. Shinichi Ujibashi, a former deputy division chief of the health, labor and welfare ministry, ¥100,000 for distributing copies of the Japanese Communist Party newspaper the day before the September 2005 Lower House election. He...
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
May 17, 2010

Political hazards follow the dissing of bureaucrats

Nearly eight months have passed since the Democratic Party of Japan came to power on a slogan of shifting decision-making power and processes from bureaucrats to elected politicians with a view to reducing or eliminating excessive reliance on bureaucrats. As a result of this shift, three distinctly different...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
May 13, 2010

Antique dealer Kunihiro Iida

Antique dealer Kunihiro Iida, 66, specializes in tea ceremony utensils. His tiny corner shop, Iidakojitsudo, is just 500 meters from Tokyo Station's Yaesu side, in the historical district of Kyobashi. Built in 1971 by the famed carpenter Kisaburo Fujii — who studied under Ogi Rodo, the grandmaster...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
May 11, 2010

Should Japan continue to host American military bases?

Nori ChibanaStylist, 28 (Japanese)The marines are basically an attack force, so why are they here? Ground forces may be needed for stability. I grew up near Kadena (base in Okinawa); the forces were necessary in a time of instability, but questions should be asked now.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
May 9, 2010

One time zone, shinkansen help NPB clubs on travel

Have you wondered how teams in Japanese baseball move from one city to another and how it differs from the hectic, rat race travel schedule endured by their cousins in the major leagues?
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
May 4, 2010

Eikaiwa on the ropes after fall of Geos

RICHARD SMART Special to The Japan Times A chain of English conversation schools is closed down. Thousands of employees are left worrying whether they will get paid or keep their jobs. Students are told refunds will not be given on advance payments for lessons. G.communication steps in to pick up the...
COMMENTARY
May 3, 2010

Untold ties of friendship exist between Okinawa and the U.S.

The baseball team from Konan High School, Okinawa, emerged from the dramatic final game as the winner of the annual National High School Baseball Championship for spring 2010. There is an untold story behind this victory.
COMMENTARY / World
May 2, 2010

Life or death for Suu Kyi's party?

The incumbent regime in Myanmar is asking all interest groups, until Thursday, to form political parties and register within 60 days. All unregistered parties will cease to exist under the new election laws. The National League for Democracy (NLD) party has openly boycotted the election laws, and has...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
May 2, 2010

Sweet and sour amid the late snow of spring

Two days ago I was in the woods, generally looking around and gathering a few butterburs — the first of the spring sansai (wild mountain vegetables), which I love to serve as tempura.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 2, 2010

Downed in her prime, a beacon of Japan's emerging new culture

The formative culture of a country is its subculture. Mainstream culture is about the present; subculture creates the future.
Reader Mail
Apr 29, 2010

New power a cause for celebration

I was most interested in reading the April 26 translated article from Sentaku magazine, "Transforming the Judiciary." As you may well be aware, the "Prosecution Inquest Committee" is similar to, if not substantially the same as, the grand jury system in the United States.
COMMENTARY
Apr 29, 2010

Media vultures circle P.M.

In Brazil they tell the story of the small-town TV crime reporter who gained fame and scoops by arranging crimes himself. He could then rush out and interview the victims well before rivals. But eventually his scoops caught up with him and he ended up in jail.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Apr 26, 2010

Transforming the judiciary

An epoch-making event in the Japanese judiciary system took place Jan. 27, when, for the first time in Japanese legal history, the prosecution's decision not to indict a suspect was reversed by votes of a panel composed of citizens.
COMMENTARY
Apr 26, 2010

China's true supporters versus the hackers

Caring about China can be hard to do. Many Chinese, for starters, resent it when others express concern, viewing it as an intrusion, especially when the other party disagrees with something China has done.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Apr 25, 2010

Results of carnal prohibition are no surprise

When the Vatican "scandal" erupted, I happened to be reading Kumagusu Minakata's writings on homosexuality — to be exact, his writings as selected, with comments, by Taruho Inagaki. I was doing so because Inagaki (1900-1977) won Japan's literary "grand prize" for his book, "The Aesthetic of the Love...
Reader Mail
Apr 22, 2010

Export plastic food models

Regarding the April 13 article "What Japanese phenomena would you like to see exported abroad?": A particular Japanese phenomenon I would love to see in my country is the practice of displaying wax models of dishes outside restaurants. This would help customers avoid making a wrong choice on the menu...
COMMENTARY
Apr 20, 2010

Between the lines of U.S. nuclear policy

HONOLULU — I have attended a number of discussions in recent years about U.S. nuclear weapons strategy and policy. All invariably begin with a presentation by a U.S. official or expert who proclaims that the United States, in the past decade, has significantly reduced the role and importance of nuclear...
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Apr 19, 2010

Playing ends off the middle

Komeito, the third largest political party in Japan, is striving not to antagonize but to be friends with as many rival groups as possible in a determined bid to win in the Upper House election scheduled for this summer. The principal reason for pursuing this tactic, which has been described by some...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Apr 18, 2010

Hisashi Inoue: A great friend, writer, and people's champion is gone

O n Friday, April 9, Hisashi Inoue died at the age of 75, and with his passing Japan lost its most brilliant playwright.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Apr 17, 2010

Persevering Williams making most of shot in NBA

The NBA playoffs begin this weekend, which means — hallelujah! — the "real season" is only hours away.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Apr 13, 2010

Lawson 100 and the evolution of the convenience store

As a rule you don't go to a convenience store for value. The new exception to the rule is Lawson Store 100.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Apr 13, 2010

'Sambo' racism row reignites over kids' play

"Little Black Sambo, Sambo, Sambo/His face and hands are completely black/Even his butt is completely black."
BUSINESS / SOUTH KOREAN JOURNALIST SYMPOSIUM
Apr 10, 2010

S. Korean recovery masks tough challenges ahead

South Korea managed a relatively quick recovery from the global financial crisis — with a 0.2 percent gross domestic product increase in 2009 — but the country will need to invest in new engines of the economy to secure future growth, veteran journalists from the country told a recent symposium in...
COMMENTARY
Apr 10, 2010

A reality check in Asia

The hearts of Asia-Pacific strategists are all aflutter. The desire of Japan's new government to "rebalance" its foreign policy between East and West and the subsequent tensions between Tokyo and Washington are seen as portents of a shift in the regional balance of power. Propelled by a global recession...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Japan Pulse
Apr 9, 2010

Office ladies shedding the uniform look

Fashion for office ladies used to be limited to monotonous uniforms as more companies lighten up, new ensembles are coming out of the closet.
EDITORIALS
Apr 8, 2010

LDP lawmakers jumping ship

The Liberal Democratic Party leadership is losing ground in its efforts to unite the party. The departures of former Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano and former acting LDP secretary general Hiroyuki Sonoda — following the March exit of former Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama — makes LDP leader Sadakazu...
Reader Mail
Apr 8, 2010

Questions about deportee death

Regarding Minoru Matsutani's April 1 article "Protests hit immigration detainee treatment": I participated in protests in front of the Immigration Bureau and the Ministry of Justice on March 31. One of the demands was thorough investigation into the death of a Ghanaian aboard an airplane that was to...

Longform

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