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Reader Mail
Mar 19, 2009

Media should choose high road

Thank you for publishing Gwynne Dyer's solidly written March 15 article, "Planets like Earth appear to be out there." It provides timely, insightful, scientifically based, thought- provoking information that is a pleasure to read while one considers the wider implications.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Mar 16, 2009

LDP is running on empty

Amid the dwindling approval rate of Prime Minister Taro Aso, triggered by a series of gaffes coming out of his own mouth and by disgraceful behavior of his right-hand man in the international arena, the conventional wisdom would call either for him to resign and hand over the reins of government to Ichiro...
Reader Mail
Mar 15, 2009

South Africa ready for World Cup

I was disappointed to read The Observer article "Little feel-good for Africa's World Cup," published Feb. 12 on The Japan Times' Focus page. The writer's pessimistic and nit-picking assessment of the preparations for, and expectations of, the 2010 FIFA World Cup to be held in my country, South Africa,...
JAPAN
Mar 14, 2009

Pending launch raises tension level in Tokyo

North Korea's imminent launch of what it claims is a rocket carrying a satellite raised the government's tension levels a notch Friday as Cabinet members warned the hermit state to steer clear of provocative actions.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 13, 2009

Climate change mitigation by low-income countries

MUMBAI, CITIZENS NEWS NETWORK — The economies and resultant emissions of low-income countries are growing at a rapid pace. China and India are already among the top five greenhouse-gas emitters. The rest of the world may strive to stabilize its emissions at 1990 levels, but if China and India continue...
Reader Mail
Mar 12, 2009

Bigger issues than kanji gaffes

Regarding the March 7 article "Aso's kanji conundrums spur self-reflection, textbook sales": It is true that Prime Minister Taro Aso sometimes misreads kanji. However, I wonder what opposition lawmaker Hajime Ishii's intention was last month when he held up a chart with a dozen difficult words and asked...
Reader Mail
Mar 12, 2009

'Market' needs to be controlled

In his March 2 article, "There's no deleveraging the illusions of politicians," Christopher Lingle argues that instead of trying to do something about the current economic turmoil, governments should get completely out of the way, and let the "market" decide wages. Lowering wages, he says, is the most...
Reader Mail
Mar 12, 2009

Beware assumptions about Japan

Regarding Thomas Dillon's March 7 column, "Statistically speaking ": The author makes numerous assumptions, but one big assumption stands out in particular: If statistics don't lie, it would appear that some Japanese people do not like living next to a foreigner or someone of a different race. Does that...
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Mar 11, 2009

Nakasone predicts major changes in politics

Former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, who still exerts much influence in Japanese politics at the age of 90, hailed Ichiro Ozawa in an interview toward the end of last year as "having gained dignity, insight and stature during the past year" as the man qualified to lead his Democratic Party of Japan...
COMMENTARY
Mar 11, 2009

Gauging Obama's Asia policy

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's recent trip to Asia underscored elements of continuity and change in the Obama administration's Asia policy. Generally speaking, her visits to Japan, South Korea and China represented continuity; her trip to Indonesia signaled change.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Mar 10, 2009

Antiwar groups, Almond and Michi Aoyama

Nuts! Where's Almond? Julie was with friends on a bus passing through Roppongi and saw from the window that the famed Almond coffee shop on the crossing was no more.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 10, 2009

Mexico's fight against organized crime

The international media have recently placed increased attention on the actions carried out by Mexican President Felipe Calderon to combat organized crime and strengthen the rule of law in Mexico.
Reader Mail
Mar 8, 2009

No word against Sri Lanka rebels

Brahma Chellaney's March 4 article, "China fuels Sri Lankan war," misinforms the public and destroys the credibility of the Web sites that carry it. The author's comments are very biased in favor of the Tamil Tigers. Surprisingly, there is not a single word against the Tigers or their leader, Prabhakaran,...
Reader Mail
Mar 8, 2009

Middle way to drug policy reform

Regarding Hiroaki Sato's March 1 article, "What 'prohibition' has wrought": There is a middle ground between drug prohibition and blanket legalization. Switzerland's heroin maintenance program has been shown to reduce disease, death and crime among chronic users. Providing addicts with standardized doses...
Reader Mail
Mar 8, 2009

An attitude that spells disaster

Roger Pulvers' comment about America's failure to reflect on its interventionist blunders in his March 1 Counterpoint article ("Obama please note: Those who fail to master the past are guilty, too") gets right to the point. I have heard it many times myself from the mouth of Americans: They agree that...
Reader Mail
Mar 8, 2009

U.S. can't fix Japan's problems

Regarding the March 4 article "Aegis ships may target missile from North (Korea)": Is there a corridor over the Pacific Ocean into which a missile could fly without being a threat to Japan? Tracking systems could determine the direction of the missile. It would be stupid for a country that is the focus...
Reader Mail
Mar 8, 2009

An example for Japanese victims

Regarding the March 3 Zeit Gist article, "Rape victim fights for justice against U.S. military, Japan": "Jane" is very brave and has set a good example for Japanese women who were victims but were afraid to tell anyone. But due to the intrinsic cultural attitude in Japan that "men are big, women are...
Reader Mail
Mar 5, 2009

Professor a model of generosity

Regarding the The Observer article "Peter Singer: moral arbiter of life and death," published in The Japan Times on Feb. 28: Professor Peter Singer is quoted as saying that "All the arguments to prove man's superiority cannot shatter this hard fact: In suffering, the animals are our equals."
Reader Mail
Mar 5, 2009

Japanese should not be ashamed

The Feb. 20 article "Aso accepts blame for Nakagawa" mentions that Prime Minister Taro Aso apologized for appointing Shoichi Nakagawa as finance minister. Although Aso should be held accountable for Nakagawa's slurred words and groggy appearance during a news conference in Rome, the Japanese government...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 5, 2009

Japanese perceptions of Obama's nuclear 'twin commitments'

How does Japan view U.S. President Barack Obama's "twin commitments" to the goals of nuclear abolition and maintaining an adequate deterrent as long as nuclear weapons remain?
Reader Mail
Mar 5, 2009

'Slumdog' has benefited actors

Gautaman Bhaskaran's rather negative Feb. 27 article, " Little reason for Indians to claim 'Slumdog,'" only reasserts the cynical desire for India not to address the issues on its doorstep. Amid all the British-bashing rhetoric, perhaps Bhaskaran should be reminded that the novel "Q&A" (on which the...
Reader Mail
Mar 1, 2009

A safe place for driving around

Regarding Amy Chavez's Feb. 21 article, "Driving in Japan is not for the gullible": I am an American living in Japan and have my own car. Japanese spend a long time at driving schools — not like Americans in the United States who just take drivers' education in high school and maybe a short weekend...
Reader Mail
Mar 1, 2009

BOJ road to more economic pain

Regarding the Feb. 20 article "BOJ will buy ¥1 trillion in corporate bonds; rate stands": It's a shame that the action taken by the Bank of Japan with such good intentions will in the long run lead only to more economic pain. This is not just a Japanese mistake; America's stimulus package and Troubled...
Reader Mail
Mar 1, 2009

Odd unit of energy acceleration

Regarding Rowan Hooper's Feb. 8 article, "City ecology explains Japan's low birthrate": In addition to the argument running a bit more like numerology than science, Rowan Hooper quotes "natural" human energy consumption as 8,400 kilojoules (kJ) per day and then proceeds to convert that to 100 watts...
Reader Mail
Mar 1, 2009

Prime targets of suicide bombers

Regarding the Feb. 17 article "Novelist Murakami accepts Israeli literary prize": Congratulations to Haruki Murakami on his Jerusalem award, but his negative comments about Israel show a lack of understanding. The "egg" that he will always defend is a prime target of these Hamas terrorists. Hamas and...
Reader Mail
Mar 1, 2009

Lingual connection to culture

Regarding the Feb. 25 article "The character of a culture resides in its language": Writer Boye De Mente says native-language "keywords preserve and transmit concepts that are pivotal in shaping the thinking of the people who use them" and that "the beliefs and behavior of people in all societies, especially...
Reader Mail
Mar 1, 2009

Cabdriver with the big picture

Regarding the Feb. 26 "Words to Live by" column about Jazz Taxi driver Toshiyuki Anzai: What a fantastic article. Now here's a man with wisdom — not some MBA jerk I see in the United States every day who acts like he knows something. This cabdriver will never go hungry because he feeds the heart of...
JAPAN
Feb 28, 2009

Lower House passes ¥88 trillion budget

The Liberal Democratic Party-New Komeito ruling bloc passed the ¥88 trillion fiscal 2009 budget bill and related legislation Friday through the Lower House, paving the way for implementing the biggest initial budget ever by the March 31 end of the fiscal year.
COMMENTARY
Feb 27, 2009

Econ lessons from Japan

Searching the reasons for Japan's "lost decade" — the deflation and stunted growth said to have plagued Japan ever since the collapse of the "bubble economy" in the early 1990s — has long been popular among U.S. and British commentators seeking an answer to the West's current economic problems.

Longform

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