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COMMENTARY / World
Apr 24, 2007

The taming of 'speculative capitalism'

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Nicolas Sarkozy, the leading contender in the French presidential election, recently lashed out against what he called "speculative capitalism," and says he wants to "moralize the financial zone" created by the euro. What does Sarkozy mean by "speculative capitalism?" Something immoral,...
Reader Mail
Apr 22, 2007

Unfair criticism of hostages

In his April 11 article, "U.S. media feasted on Iranian baloney," writer James Pinkerton was far too hard on the British Navy over the 15 sailors and marines taken as hostages by the Iranians in late March. He was right that most of the Western media, particularly CNN and most of the press, were quite...
EDITORIALS
Apr 20, 2007

Tragedy in Nagasaki

A nightmare has descended upon the city of Nagasaki again. On Tuesday evening, a gangster shot and mortally wounded Nagasaki Mayor Itcho Ito. The mayor was campaigning for a fourth term in a Sunday election. Seventeen years ago, Mr. Ito's predecessor Hitoshi Motojima was seriously injured after being...
BASKETBALL
Apr 19, 2007

Sparks provides comic relief, big plays for team

Rasheed Sparks delivers passes and takes them away with equal precision. He also delivers some of the best punch lines in Japan.
Reader Mail
Apr 18, 2007

Declining level of knowledge

Regarding Takamitsu Sawa's April 9 article, "Redundant higher education": Sawa's opinion that "At U.S. colleges and universities, many first- and second-year undergraduate students receive a basic education equivalent to the Japanese high school level" is a smug generality and simply not true.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 17, 2007

SDF emerging as the military it truly is

The government has steadily expanded the activities of the Self-Defense Forces since the 1990s as the nation sought to play greater roles in international political and security affairs. Public perceptions toward the SDF have also changed in line with changes in the security environment, espe cially...
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Apr 17, 2007

Automated External Defibrillator

Dear Alice,
Reader Mail
Apr 15, 2007

Thanks for a lighter touch

Call it naivete, call it stupidity, or just plain beginning-of-term bewilderment. I felt like a demolition ball with a cut cable (ball stolen by metal thieves, I suppose), regarding the April Fool's Day article and picture.
Reader Mail
Apr 15, 2007

Who will judge what's 'false'?

Regarding the April 7 front-page article "Cabinet OKs bill to boost grip on broadcasters": The fears of censorship are entirely understandable. Japan must have laws covering fraud. But don't such laws already apply to broadcasters?
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Apr 13, 2007

What the Japanese are drinking

Recent government data confirm that Japan remains a nation of beer drinkers, with beer and beer-like beverages accounting for nearly two thirds of the 9 billion liters of alcohol consumed last year.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 12, 2007

Within the art of darkness

Fashion, like a magnet, has been seasonally repelled and attracted to black since the 1980s, and, with the exception of photography, every art form at one point in time has been in love with the mysterious "color" (Scientifically, black is not a color as it absorbs light rather than reflects it.). Not...
Japan Times
BASEBALL / MLB'S EFFECT ON JAPAN
Apr 12, 2007

Foreign managers change face of Japanese game

This is the second installment in a four-part series.
Reader Mail
Apr 11, 2007

Not a matter of appearances

" 'Multicultural Japan' remains a pipe dream" (March 27 article) to Chris Burgess because he appears to be puffing on the wrong end of the ideological ruler that he uses to conclude that Japan is not ready for foreigners. Ready or not, they have been coming pretty steadily, and will keep coming so long...
Reader Mail
Apr 11, 2007

Concerns about missile defense

Regarding Brad Glosserman's March 24 article, "Baseless threats of cold war": In advocating Japan's participation in the U.S. missile defense system (MDS), Glosserman glosses over Russia and China's legitimate concerns, repeats U.S.-made myths and neglects genuine Japanese concerns.
Reader Mail
Apr 8, 2007

Not what you'd call simple R&R

As for the March 24, 2007, article "Nakasone claims his 'ian-jo' was for R&R": I've seen a book of World War II battleground photographs, one of which showed a building with a sign reading "ian-jo."
Reader Mail
Apr 8, 2007

A joke that can fan prejudices

Although the front-page April 1 article "Shibuya's loyal dog Hachiko vanishes" was clearly an April fool's joke, I don't think The Japan Times should do things like this at the expense of minority groups. (In this case the story suggested that soaring prices for copper and other metals, spurred by the...
Japan Times
LIFE
Apr 8, 2007

'Killing people won't cut crime; there's no data to prove this'

The gallows, like much of the rest of Japan's prison system, are shrouded in thick veils of government secrecy.
Reader Mail
Apr 4, 2007

Shoddy ruling on baby twins

Regarding the March 24 article "Top court: No registry for pair born surrogate": Why would the Supreme Court judges punish TV celebrity Aki Mukai for seeking the loving support of a surrogate mother to have children? Even if the surrogate in this case happened to be (gasp) an American woman? Does this...
Reader Mail
Mar 28, 2007

One goose step closer

Another way to view the exercise of the censorial power that Debito Arudou boasts about in his March 20 article, "Demise of crime magazine historic," is as a goose step closer to thought control. The publication (Gaijin Hanzai) has a few racial slurs, some misinformation and specious logic, and lots...
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Mar 28, 2007

Hail to the '3-alarm' Chief

It must be tough being Al Gore.
Reader Mail
Mar 25, 2007

Assimilation under strict codes

In his March 18 article, "As London shows, assimilation is what migration's about," Roger Pulvers writes of the great advantages to Britain through mass immigration. I don't know how well Pulvers knows London, but as a long-term resident let me make a few points in counterbalance.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 25, 2007

NHK upholds freedom of the press so long as it doesn't annoy anyone with its content

It has been two months since the Tokyo High Court ruled in favor of the Violence Against Women in War Network in its lawsuit against NHK regarding coverage of a December 2000 international people's tribunal, and while the verdict did not receive much press when it was first announced, it continues to...
JAPAN
Mar 22, 2007

Substance, not usual campaign noise

and Yoshito Hori, head of the Globis Group, look on at a March 2 event in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward promoting use of platforms known as manifestos in politics. PHOTO COURTESY OF WASEDA UNIVERSITY
COMMENTARY
Mar 22, 2007

Does religion do more harm than good?

LONDON -- In an opinion poll published in Britain recently, 82 percent of the people polled said that they thought religion does more harm than good. My first reaction, I must admit, was to think: That's what they would say, isn't it? It's not just that suicide bombers give religion a bad name. In "post-Christian...
Japan Times
JAPAN / INNOCENT VICTIMS
Mar 21, 2007

Foster-care group aims to change the way Japan treats its children

When Kazuko Sakamoto found herself unable to conceive a child, she and her husband figured there was more than one way to start a family.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Mar 20, 2007

Where can I get an original Japan gift?

Another creperie In reply to Sophie's recent plea for an authentic creperie in Tokyo, Yolande writes: "I am French and always enjoy the exquisite and authentic crepes served with delicious Brittany beer at 'Le Bretagne' in Kagurazaka. They also have a restaurant in Omotesando."
Reader Mail
Mar 18, 2007

The subcategories of Japanese

Philip Brasor's March 11 article, "Female foreigners are OK in Japan, so long as they're not Asian," criticizes Japan for not yielding to pressure from the United Nations to conduct a survey of its minority women. He then refers to a nongovernment organization survey that "did not target foreigners,...

Longform

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