Search - article

 
 
Reader Mail
May 4, 2008

Nuclear attack would be disastrous

Asked what she would do if Iran carried out a nuclear attack on Israel, U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton replied: "If I'm president, we (would) attack Iran. . . . We would be able to totally obliterate them."
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
May 4, 2008

Hideki Noda: Acting with joy in his soul

Even in today's theater world in Japan, which tends to venerate age, at just 52 Hideki Noda is already a towering, legendary figure.
COMMENTARY / World
May 3, 2008

African Union has a role to play in Zimbabwe

JOHANNESBURG — Although the Chinese ship that was carrying arms to Zimbabwe, the An Yue Jiang, has reportedly turned back, we don't know where else President Robert Mugabe's military and paramilitary forces may be acquiring weapons.
EDITORIALS
May 3, 2008

Judicial independence infringed

Documents unearthed at the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration show that the United States exerted pressure on Japan after a district court made a historically famous 1959 ruling that the U.S. military presence in Japan violated principles of the war-renouncing Constitution. The pressure...
Reader Mail
May 1, 2008

Why fix what's not broken?

Why fix what's not broken?
Reader Mail
May 1, 2008

Admiration for Japanese academia

I am not surprise by the April 15 article reporting that the University of Tokyo ranked 12th among about 3,800 academic and research institute worldwide, with Kyoto University, Osaka University and Tohoku University also ranking high ("Tokyo U. 12th in research papers").
Reader Mail
May 1, 2008

Death penalty is no deterrent

The April 23 article "Kamei seeks to undermine death penalty" states "A 2004 government opinion poll showed that 81.4 percent of respondents supported the death penalty, on the grounds that only capital punishment can provide true closure to the families of the victims, and that executions act as a deterrent...
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 1, 2008

Gas tax bill is rammed through Diet

If you forgot to fill up your gas tank last night, you're out of luck.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 30, 2008

State of Korean democracy

Recent National Assembly elections laid bare both the strengths and weaknesses of South Korean democracy. South Korea proved once again to be one of most dynamic democracies in the world, but unless both lawmakers and citizens confront shortcomings in the election rules and political parties, South Korea's...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 30, 2008

A failure to influence Bush

HONG KONG — Five years after the toppling of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, the United States has precious little to show for its $3 trillion war, except for more than 4,000 American military dead (1,000 more than perished in the World Trade Center attacks of 9/11), 150,000 Iraqis killed, 1.5 million...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / TAKING A CHANCE
Apr 29, 2008

Seller of educational toys finds a niche

With relatively few parks to run around in, many children spend long hours either at cram schools or playing their hand-held game consoles.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Apr 29, 2008

Judiciary's 'snake legs' exposed

On April 17 the Nagoya High Court ruled that the dispatch of Air Self-Defense Force personnel to Iraq was unconstitutional. While the ruling made news, it will probably not make much difference to Japan's foreign policy. Its significance may be nothing more than academic — after all, despite the headlines...
Japan Times
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Apr 29, 2008

By-election loss adds to Fukuda's troubles

The Liberal Democratic Party's defeat in the Lower House by-election in the Yamaguchi No. 2 district on Sunday is yet another blow to the already reeling Cabinet of Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda.
Reader Mail
Apr 27, 2008

Moral 'progress' is debatable

Professor Peter Singer's April 17 article, "Have we finally achieved moral progress?," is insightful and interesting. He is right in that we have made progress in the areas of racial and gender equality. Our Eastern societies need more gender equality. Nevertheless, Singer's views are Eurocentric in...
Reader Mail
Apr 27, 2008

Protests serve to remind

Regarding the April 16 article "What China and the world must do now," I am surprised and disappointed that professor Tom Plate understands so little about the anti-Chinese protests sweeping the world. I and everyone else are well aware of the fact that China regards Tibet as a part of China. The problem...
EDITORIALS
Apr 27, 2008

Ruling restricts free speech

The Supreme Court's Second Petit Bench on April 11 found three antiwar activists guilty of trespassing when they entered a housing compound of the Self-Defense Forces in Tachikawa, Tokyo, in January and February 2004 to distribute leaflets urging SDF personnel and their family members to oppose the deployment...
Reader Mail
Apr 27, 2008

One-sided view of military burden

Your April 15 editorial "Funding for U.S. military facilities" is, unfortunately, consistent with a trend that's fairly prevalent in the Japanese media -- the one-sided theme of the "burden" borne by Japan for hosting U.S. military facilities. In this editorial the burden was financial, in others...
Reader Mail
Apr 24, 2008

Good reason for over-narration

Regarding the April 13 article "Media Mix" by Philip Brasor: The simple reason why some NHK programs are over-narrated is so that the visually impaired can follow the action of what is happening. I hope this clears the matter up as I have seen this comment made in other newspapers. terence o'brien
Reader Mail
Apr 24, 2008

How to promote Japanese

The April 17 article "Tenfold boost in overseas Japanese language centers planned" unfortunately makes the Japanese government look rather childish and pathetic as it continues to try to one-up China in areas that are beyond its control. A 10-fold increase in language schools is a good thing, but one...
Reader Mail
Apr 20, 2008

Europe should worry about U.S.

The April article "NATO meeting sends dangerous signals" states "The crux of the matter is Europe's lack of political will to forge a unified stand toward Russia." I beg to differ. Rather, Europeans have to be worried about Europe's lack of political will toward the Bush government. The latter struck...
Reader Mail
Apr 20, 2008

Destructive Internet addiction

The April 5 article "Internet addiction recognized as 'an illness' " mentions that some people can become addicted to the Internet, spending excessive time online playing games, viewing pornography and doing e-mail.
Reader Mail
Apr 20, 2008

Loosen Net restrictions in China

The April 6 article "China allows access to English Wikipedia" mentions that the Chinese government has finally allowed people to access the English version of Wikipedia. On the other hand, there are still great numbers of Web sites that remain blocked.
Reader Mail
Apr 20, 2008

What's in a name?

The April 9 article "NATO meeting sends dangerous signals" portrays Greece as the aggressor and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) as the victim. The provisional name of FYROM was not selected by Greece, as the author states, but was part of an interim agreement suggested by others...
Reader Mail
Apr 17, 2008

Noble but unrealistic sentiment

In his April 1 column "Public forums, spinning wheels," Debito Arudou states that "Japanese society must stop the common practice of using grace and physical appearance as a paradigm for pigeonholing people." These are noble sentiments. But so are the sentiments that underpin the failed political philosophy...
Reader Mail
Apr 17, 2008

'Smuggler' showed poor judgment

In regard to the April 10 article titled "Swiss woman's drug smuggling acquittal upheld," I am sorry to say I feel very little sympathy for her. If she did in fact bring drugs into this country knowingly or not, then she should be in jail. In addition to asking the question of what type of person,...
Reader Mail
Apr 17, 2008

More station surveillance needed

The March 27 article "Teen held in deadly train platform push" reports on a plotting teenager who took the life of a 38-year-old Okayama prefectural employee. Evidently, the teen not only committed murder but also had a 12-cm knife in his bag. This murder and other station-related deaths have increased...
Reader Mail
Apr 17, 2008

Innocent but still in jail?

The article "Swiss woman's drug smuggling acquittal upheld" brings to light just how screwed up the Japanese judiciary system can be. The Swiss woman was acquitted of the charges against her by a Japanese court. Yet she remains in custody.

Longform

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