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COMMENTARY / World
Dec 13, 2008

EU members must coordinate China policies

PARIS — China's cancellation of the annual EU-China summit four days before it was to be held in Lyon is explained by French President Nicolas Sarkozy's decision to meet the Dalai Lama in Poland a few days later. But what looks like a diplomatic spat shows European leaders that they need to face up...
Reader Mail
Dec 11, 2008

Unfair burden on the elderly

Regarding the Dec. 4 article "LDP may ease costs of elderly health care": The Liberal Democratic Party MUST ease the costs of elderly care. We elderly people contributed to health insurance for many years during our working period before getting to be "elderly citizens." Most of us have not used much...
Reader Mail
Dec 11, 2008

What is LDP official trying to do?

What is LDP official trying to do?
Reader Mail
Dec 11, 2008

Hardly a punishable offense

A recent article about the worry that economic turmoil is bringing to retirees caught my eye. I am closer to 70 than 60, and my solution to the retirement blues is not to retire, which is possible as long as I am allowed to work. Work, if enjoyable, may be adrenaline for the mind, so being forced not...
COMMENTARY
Dec 8, 2008

Mumbai and Kashmir: What goes around, comes around

We were all shocked, rightly, by the Islamist attacks in Mumbai. But how many or us were equally shocked by earlier reports about the discovery of unmarked graves in Kashmir?
Reader Mail
Dec 7, 2008

Fingerprinting law is unjust

Regarding the Nov. 29 article "Fingerprint screening stops 846": We're all glad that immigration authorities are stopping people from using fake passports, but that does little to change the fact that the fingerprinting law is fundamentally flawed.
Reader Mail
Dec 7, 2008

'Civilian control' misinterpreted

Regarding the Nov. 28 article "SDF's rise in '90s behind Tamogami's challenge": I'd like to point out that "civilian control" has been wrongly interpreted — by the media, government bureaucrats, politicians and the like in Japan — ever since the end of World War II to curtail the freedom of speech...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 7, 2008

Graduates' security goes to pot

Last week, a 25-year-old University of Tokyo graduate was arrested for allegedly posting death threats on his blog. The police say that the man, who has been unemployed since graduating from Japan's most prestigious university, had written that he would kill members of the education ministry for misleading...
JAPAN
Dec 6, 2008

Revised law removes barrier to nationality

The revised Nationality Law cleared the Diet Friday but only after lawmakers at the last minute managed to have a clause inserted to prevent what they claimed would be a surge in bogus paternal recognition cases.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 6, 2008

Armitage calls for active role

U.S.-Japan relations will remain the pillar of president-elect Barack Obama's foreign policy in Asia, but Tokyo must play its part if it hopes to remain in the "driver's seat," former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said Friday in Tokyo.
Reader Mail
Dec 4, 2008

Welcome rectification of history

Kiroku Hanai's Nov. 24 article, "Tamp down the old ways," provides insightful knowledge of the inner thought processes at work within Japan's Self-Defense Forces. It's hard to imagine military figures denying Japan's aggressive actions against Asian countries in the past.
Reader Mail
Dec 4, 2008

Lessons maybe not so helpful

In his Dec. 1 article, "Look at the brighter side of the financial crisis," Tom Plate writes that the world has learned more helpful lessons from Asia than from the United States about how to handle one's economy, including lessons on saving money, significant reform, strong leadership, investment in...
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Dec 2, 2008

Hailing the tail end of Bush

Regarding Barack Obama's election as U.S. president, I welcome the groundswell of hope. It's about time. The past eight years have been, well, awkward for Americans overseas.
Reader Mail
Nov 30, 2008

Fundamental law against racism

I would like to point out that a quote attributed to Debito Arudou in the Nov. 25 Zeit Gist article, "An Obama for Japan? Yes, we can?," is factually incorrect. There IS a fundamental law against racism in Japan. It is in the Japanese Constitution. neath oum
Reader Mail
Nov 30, 2008

Very last option against pirates

Regarding Ramesh Thakur's Nov. 25 article,"Pirates feel the sting of India's naval muscle": This analysis is founded in part on a gross inaccuracy because, as it turned out, the Indian Navy did not sink a pirate "mother ship."
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Nov 29, 2008

Second Harvest gets the food to those who need it

Sitting at the wheel of a 4-ton truck, Charles McJilton suddenly says, "Oh wait, wait!" before pulling off his T-shirt and swapping it for a white one with a bright orange Second Harvest Japan logo on the chest and "Food for all people" spanning his back. "It's all about branding," he jokes, as he slips...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 28, 2008

Diet extended for key bills as DPJ relents

The government and the Liberal Democratic Party-New Komeito ruling bloc officially ordered an extension to the current extraordinary Diet session until Dec. 25 to secure passage of two key bills.
Reader Mail
Nov 27, 2008

More immigration is a solution

Regarding the Nov. 22 article "Workers urged to knock off early, make babies": Declining birthrates are a good thing. They have been dropping in other developed countries for many years, but those countries have rising populations that are more balanced by age because those countries encourage immigration....
Reader Mail
Nov 27, 2008

Salt water encroaching on Tuvalu

I regard the Nov. 21 article "Salaryman-turned-activist keeps island nation Tuvalu in the picture" — about photographer Shuichi Endo and the island of Tuvalu — as well-intentioned but inaccurate. I have read items about Tuvalu written by experts. Tuvalu is not sinking. The entire Pacific is not rising...
Reader Mail
Nov 27, 2008

Reason to be leery of foreigners

Regarding the Nov. 18 Zeit Gist article, "Prejudice among obstacles facing non-Japanese tenants": Although I support anti-discrimination laws with regard to accommodations for foreigners, I can understand why many Japanese landlords discriminate against foreigners. I have heard numerous foreigners boast...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 26, 2008

Too much for the Earth to bear

HONG KONG — The global financial crisis that has sent economies teetering from recession toward slump is preoccupying politicians and families worldwide, who see their livelihoods being snatched away by the consequences of the inventive greed of financial whiz kids.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Nov 25, 2008

U.S.-China ties weaken alliances

As the United States works harder than ever to strengthen relations with China, there are signs its alliances with Japan and Taiwan are weakening. A conspicuous sign of change in Japan-U.S. ties came early Oct. 12 when President George W. Bush telephoned Prime Minister Taro Aso to inform the latter of...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Nov 25, 2008

The long Japanese love affair with foreign words, from sake to sōpurando

I wouldn't blame some readers for assuming that an article about foreign borrowings in these times of economic crisis would delve into the subprimal world of international finance. But I write this week and next not about leverage but linguistics.
Reader Mail
Nov 23, 2008

Verifying credit cards in flight

Regarding the Nov. 19 article "Police probe credit card scams involving airborne duty-free": If the problem is the verification of credit card details in flight, why not implement a system where only credit cards that have been used to purchase the flight ticket itself can be used in flight?
Reader Mail
Nov 23, 2008

Reaction to 'Chinatown' mystifies

Regarding the Nov. 18 article "Merchants' plan for Chinatown in Ikebukuro faces resistance": As a former assistant manager of the Japan Center in San Francisco, I am extremely perturbed over the Japanese business community's reaction to the goodwill overture made by the Chinese business community in...
Reader Mail
Nov 23, 2008

Opposition leader's spots remain

Regarding the Nov. 18 article "DPJ to boycott debate in Diet on key legislation": I am amazed that Democratic Party of Japan leader Ichiro Ozawa has threatened to act in such a childish manner, although it would not be the first time he has demonstrated this self-indulgent trait. Who can forget his...
Reader Mail
Nov 23, 2008

Sarkozy serves as worthy foil

Regarding the Nov. 16 Associated Press article "Sarkozy nixes U.S. missile shield plan (in Europe)": I applaud French President Nicolas Sarkozy for throwing a wet blanket over the U.S. plan. If I wanted to provoke Russia and squander billions of dollars, the plan would be outstanding. How much more...

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