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Reader Mail
Sep 24, 2009

Questionable right to intrude

I have read the Japanese Constitution. An English translation of Article 21 reads: "Freedom of assembly and association as well as speech, press and all other forms of expression are guaranteed" and "no censorship shall be maintained . . ."
Reader Mail
Sep 24, 2009

Tarnishing the image of Sri Lanka

Brahma Chellaney, in his Sept. 19 article, "Colombo risks squandering Sri Lanka's hard-won peace," seems to deliberately try to mislead Japanese readers about the ground situation in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka just managed to save itself from one of the most savage terrorist outfits the world has ever known....
COMMENTARY
Sep 22, 2009

Face up to civilian casualties in Gaza

NEW YORK — The long-awaited United Nations report on the conflict in Gaza is strongly critical of both Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups. Both sides are said to have committed war crimes and possible crimes against humanity. The report recommends that Israel start its own investigation into...
LIFE / Digital / Japan Pulse
Sep 21, 2009

Dating sim 'Love Plus' touches a nerve

The romantically impaired get some pointers with the Nintendo DS dating simulation game 'Love Plus,' but it's not all about hearts and flowers.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Sep 21, 2009

Less 'exclusionary' DPJ to test mettle of reporters

The resounding victory by the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) in the general election Aug. 30 not only will bring about a change of government but also is likely to shatter an exclusionary "press club" system that has long prevented freelance, non-Japanese and other nonmember journalists from interviewing...
Reader Mail
Sep 20, 2009

News about Taiji film appreciated

Regarding the Sept. 16 article "(Tokyo) Festival to screen Taiji dolphin-slaughter film": Thank you for keeping us informed about the film "The Cove" and giving us news related to Taiji — the kind of news that often gets censored by corporate media. I appreciate the integrity of The Japan Times on...
Reader Mail
Sep 20, 2009

Master-servant ties about to end

Brad Glosserman's Sept. 16 article, "Back to Earth with the DPJ," reads like a neocolonialist's lament. Although he proclaims that "the sky isn't falling," he well knows that the recent general election could have profound implications for the Japan-U.S. alliance.
Reader Mail
Sep 20, 2009

Problems with the native tongue

Regarding the Sept. 16 article "Few answers for language market": Long after reading about and watching attempts by some Canadian provinces and U.S. states to get their populaces to become bilingual in French and Spanish, respectively, I wonder about the cost-effectiveness of the push to learn English...
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Sep 20, 2009

Car-sharing catches on as a cheap and cheerful way to go

Thinking of traveling from Tokyo to Osaka? Take a shinkansen bullet train or fly and it will set you back around ¥14,000. But if you share the costs of making the trip by car, you'll likely pay half that or less.
Reader Mail
Sep 17, 2009

Accept your not being accepted

Regarding Debito Arudou's Sept. article, "Meet Mr. James, gaijin clown": So, we are again faced with the fact that the Japanese are rather clueless about foreigners. My consistent reaction to Arudou and others on these pages is, indeed, to get over it. You do not have a right to be treated exactly as...
EDITORIALS
Sep 17, 2009

New government out of the blocks

Democratic Party of Japan leader Yukio Hatoyama became Japan's new prime minister Wednesday as the Diet voted him in to the post, ending the long rule by the Liberal Democratic Party, which has been in power almost continously since late 1955. In an interesting historical twist, the new prime minister's...
Reader Mail
Sep 17, 2009

Puzzling non sequitur about India

Regarding Hugh Cortazzi's Sept. 11 article, "Shifting balances of power": In an otherwise thought-provoking piece, I was surprised to read this line about India: ". . . the country was for too long neglected by Japanese who were repelled by aspects of Indian life." Would Cortazzi care to elaborate exactly...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2009

Okada to prioritize ties with Asian neighbors

To envision how Katsuya Okada will approach his new job as foreign minister, one need look no further than his grilling of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi during budget deliberations at the Diet on June 2, 2005.
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2009

Festival to screen Taiji dolphin-slaughter film

Bowing to international pressure, the Tokyo International Film Festival announced Wednesday it will screen the controversial award-winning American documentary about the annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture, at the nine-day event in October.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2009

Fukushima has fought for women, foreigners

Mizuho Fukushima, leader of the Social Democratic Party, has long been active in dealing with humanitarian and women's issues, ranging from sexual harassment to domestic violence to foreigners' rights.
Reader Mail
Sep 17, 2009

Role of interpreter vs. translator

Regarding the Sept. 12 article "Nothing was lost in translation in Saitama mugging trial, peers believe": An "interpreter" is someone who transfers spoken dialogue from one language to another; interpreters speak. A "translator" transfers written language from one language to another; translators write....
Reader Mail
Sep 17, 2009

Romanization aimed at Japanese

In his Aug. 26 article, "How bureaucrats spell logic in Romanized Japanese": Colin P.A. Jones misses an important fact about the Kunrei-shiki system: It was designed to be used only by Japanese people in the context of Japanese schools. It does not make sense to native English speakers.
COMMENTARY
Sep 16, 2009

Back to Earth with the DPJ

The wave of hysteria that greeted the victory of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) in parliamentary elections last month has receded. The win doesn't signal the end of the U.S.-Japan alliance, nor does it necessarily imply a rough patch for bilateral ties. In fact, domestic rather than foreign policies...
Reader Mail
Sep 13, 2009

Avoiding the hazards of sidewalks

Regarding the Sept. 8 Lifelines article "Cycling after drink may mean five years in clink": Finally we see some justice for the many pedestrians who have been badly injured or even killed by mindless sidewalk cyclists who think that bicycle brakes are designed only for sharp corners but not for people...
Reader Mail
Sep 13, 2009

Reopen military realignment talks

In her Sept. 4 article, "Futenma shift puts Hatoyama, U.S. ties to test," AP writer Mari Yamaguchi characterizes the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan as "staunchly pro-Washington." I would rather use the words "ridiculously subservient."
Reader Mail
Sep 13, 2009

When Reischauer was ambassador

The Sept. 9 photo of the March 24, 1964, Japan Times headline "YOUTH STABS REISCHAUER" (attached to the article "U.S. ambassador a role most vital") prompted me to write. When professor Edwin Reischauer, U.S. ambassador to Japan at the time, was stabbed by a Japanese young man who was mentally challenged,...
Reader Mail
Sep 13, 2009

India must continue nuclear tests

Ramesh Thakur is quite wrong in his Sept. 8 article, "Revisiting the folly of India's nuclear tests." The nuclear tests of India in 1998 did not create a nuclear-armed Pakistan. According to A.Q. Khan, the Pakistani scientist who developed nuclear weapons with the help of China, Pakistan got its nuclear...
Reader Mail
Sep 13, 2009

Finding the confidence to say yes

Thank you for Thomas Dillon's Sept. 5 article, "How to become a gaijin that can say no." As an expat from Los Angeles, I feel I have also lost my ability to say no. In L.A., saying no is a vital part of surviving: on the street, "Hey, little girl, do you need a ride?" "No!"; at a bar, "You look really...
Reader Mail
Sep 13, 2009

Foreigners on the streets of Taiji

Regarding the Sept. 2 article "Activist against dolphin slaughter visits Taiji to show its nice side": Ric O'Barry should just go home. Taiji is a Japanese issue, thus a Japanese decision. He has no say in it, nor does the rest of the world.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Japan Pulse
Sep 11, 2009

New strapless facemask may ruffle a few feathers

Need a new faskmask for the flu season? Go strapless . . . if you dare.
Reader Mail
Sep 10, 2009

Common-sense policies dismissed

In his Sept. 3 letter, "Rightwing hawks an easy target," Dean Geoff says I went to excess in criticizing "rightwing hawks" in my Aug. 26 article ("First ban the hawks, then the bomb"), in which I argue that people who want to get rid of nuclear weapons need first to get rid of the hawks and hardliners...
JAPAN
Sep 10, 2009

Hatoyama tries to tread line between change, status quo

OSAKA — When Yukio Hatoyama makes his international debut as the new prime minister later this month at the United Nations and in Pittsburgh at the Group of 20 Leaders' Summit, he'll be discussing Japan's new policies on everything from the environment to the global economy with President Barack Obama...
Reader Mail
Sep 6, 2009

Effect on Burmese living standard

In his Sept. 3 letter, "Sanctions don't impoverish Burma," Donald Seekins takes issue with Brahma Chellaney's Aug. 29 article, "U.S. should engage Burma," over the particular point of whether sanctions impoverish the Burmese people or not. (Seekins said it would be premature to drop all economic sanctions.)...
Reader Mail
Sep 6, 2009

Fluent Japanese does not compute

Debito Arudou's Sept. 1 article, "Mr. James, gaijin clown," was written in a balanced and professional manner, and clearly showed that, even in 2009, Japan and Japanese corporations are still more than willing to stereotype non-Japanese as buffoons.
Reader Mail
Sep 6, 2009

Good reasons for a little paranoia

Regarding Gautaman Bhaskaran's Aug. 28 article,"American paranoia insults Muslims' dignity": People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, and that is something Bhaskaran should pay heed to. First, it has been said in various circles that the recent detention of Indian movie star Shahrukh Khan at Newark...

Longform

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