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COMMENTARY
Feb 20, 2011

Do a Mideast deal soon or risk peace later

NEW YORK — As protests increase in several Mideast countries, it is becoming more obvious that a final agreement between Israelis and Palestinians is one of the most critical issues facing policymakers in the region. For the United States, which is steadily losing control of events, it is also the...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Feb 15, 2011

Osaka: What are your thoughts on the decision to cancel the Osaka sumo tournament due to the match-fixing scandal?

Atsuko Fujimoto
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Feb 15, 2011

Go on the offensive against LDP buffoons

Dear Prime Minister Naoto Kan: It has begun to seem as if whoever it was that came up with the idea of Japan's bicameral legislature was assuming that one bloc could always maintain control of both houses of the Diet. It also looks as if you are in a big mess, because the system does not appear to have...
Reader Mail
Feb 13, 2011

Few signs of woe in Okayama

After reading Gregory Clark's Feb. 1 article, "A contrarian view of how 'austerity' bleeds Japan," I can't help thinking that much of the recent journalism about Japan has presented an overwhelmingly negative picture of the situation within the country. With an economy struggling and soon to be overtaken...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / ONE-ON-ONE WITH ...
Feb 13, 2011

Akita's Henry learning fine points from Hasegawa

The Japan Times features periodic interviews with players in the bj-league. Sek Henry of the Akita Northern Happinets is the subject of this week's profile.
COMMENTARY
Feb 13, 2011

How does Japan start to cope with fewer births, longer lives?

Economic growth depends on the rates of population increase and technological evolution, among other factors. Technological evolution relies on the capacities of human beings. So its kernel factor is human power.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 11, 2011

'A Serious Man'

If you thought being Japanese is hard work, try the Jewish life for a taste of something gut-wrenching — or so implies "A Serious Man," created by brothers Joel and Ethan Coen.
Reader Mail
Feb 10, 2011

When will the Japanese loosen up?

Regarding Philip Brasor's Jan. 30 Media Mix column, "Cultural insensitivity no laughing matter": Japan's hypersensitivity to "outsiders" laughing at something connected to Japan looks even more ridiculous and blind when lined up against the constant insensitive commercial TV "comedy shows" that grossly...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Feb 8, 2011

Tokyo: What do you make of the decision to publish the book by Tatsuya Ichihashi, prime suspect in Lindsay Ann Hawker's murder, about his years on the run?

Sri Wahyuni
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Feb 8, 2011

Hooked on U.S., Japan risks going down with it: responses

Following are responses to "Hooked on U.S., Japan risks going down with it" by Brian Victoria (Hotline to Nagatacho, Jan. 4):
Japan Times
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Feb 8, 2011

Victors bask after political hat trick

OSAKA — At an October reception in central Nagoya for delegates to the U.N. COP10 meeting on biodiversity, Mayor Takashi Kawamura seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself. As he was leaving, his face flushed red, he suddenly broke into English, singing the gospel classic "We Shall Overcome" but giving...
EDITORIALS
Feb 8, 2011

National anthem debate

In September 2006, the Tokyo District Court ruled that the policy of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education to force school teachers to sing the national anthem Kimigayo ("Your Reign") during school ceremonies was illegal. The court ruled that the policy violated...
COMMENTARY
Feb 7, 2011

Enlightened year to revive autism research

NEW YORK — The theory that the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine was responsible for causing autism has, since it was first elaborated, been a hindrance to a proper assessment of the autism problem.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 6, 2011

The bitter pill of Japan's high-cost medical treatment

When NHK's in-depth news program, "Closeup Gendai," addresses a pressing social issue, it usually offers possible solutions articulated by experts. Two weeks ago, however, the show covered a problem that seems to have no solution. The subject of the opening segment was a middle-aged man who was diagnosed...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Feb 4, 2011

Yokohama's Chinatown community marks lunar new year

Yokohama's Chinatown district is ready to get the party hopping.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 2, 2011

Kyoto plan to boost visitors with aquarium irks locals

KYOTO — The ancient capital of Kyoto, already a major tourist destination, is moving forward with plans to further boost the number of domestic and international visitors.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Feb 1, 2011

What does the 'Jasmine Revolution' in Tunisia mean to you?

Rafik Dammak
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Feb 1, 2011

Rural alien attacks 'insult' in Arudou almanac; 'Love it/leave it' lacks logic

Following are responses to "Arudou's Alien Almanac" by Debito Arudou (Just Be Cause, Jan. 4):
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Feb 1, 2011

Barred from Japan for a teenage pot conviction

Dear Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara, Justice Minister Satsuki Eda and Prime Minister Naoto Kan: I am a 32-year-old student who was supposed to study for a semester at a Japanese university. I am a very good student; I have been a teaching assistant in my department for a year, and I have many professors...
Reader Mail
Jan 30, 2011

Most progressive place on Earth

The attacking posture of Kunio Miyamura's Jan. 9 letter, "Celebrating a respectful sentiment " — in response to my Dec. 30 letter ("Overbearing demand on Christmas") — is far too common as it's the result of a perceived slight to Christianity.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jan 30, 2011

An unyielding minister, a superbartender; CM of the week: Yamato Transport

TBS stays on top of current events with "Watashi wa Kusshinai" ("I Won't Yield"; Mon., 9 p.m.), a dramatization of last year's arrest and prosecution of health ministry official Atsuko Muraki, who was accused of approving the fraudulent use of postal discounts for the disabled. She was exonerated and...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / BACKSTREET STORIES
Jan 30, 2011

Aoyama warmth beats the cold

Kotto-dori (Antiques Avenue), a pin-straight link between Aoyama and Roppongi avenues in Tokyo's Minato Ward, was once a melange of pricey boutiques and high-end antique stores. Word has it that the street is going through changes, so I set off to see what's up.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 29, 2011

New Yorker finds success within himself in Kyoto

American restaurateur Charles Roche, 62, credits his love of feting others to having grown up in the warm and noisy embrace of an extended Italian-American family in the Bronx. As part of a food-loving clan he jokingly refers to as "the Sopranos without the crime," he remembers splitting chestnuts and...
COMMENTARY
Jan 29, 2011

The task awaiting Tunisia

SEATTLE — Hunger strikes. These were the last resort for Tunisian activists as they fought against a brutal and highly oppressive regime. Prior to the ousting of Zineal-Abidine Ben Ali by an unprecedented people's uprising on Jan. 14, there seemed to be no end in sight to the regime's wide-ranging...
Japan Times
JAPAN / CAREER-SEARCH CRISIS
Jan 28, 2011

Foreigners solicited, hard-pressed to stay

Despite sending his resume to more than 15 companies, Bryan Cheng, a Taiwanese graduate student at Waseda University in Tokyo, hasn't received any positive replies.
EDITORIALS
Jan 28, 2011

Road for the No. 3 economy

As it has become certain that China overtook Japan as the world's second-largest economy in 2010, both countries need to consider new directions for managing their economy. China's gross domestic product grew faster than expected — by 10.3 percent in 2010 — pulling down Japan from the No. 2 position...
JAPAN
Jan 26, 2011

Child-custody pact up for talks

A high-level government panel kicked off discussions Tuesday on whether to sign an international treaty against international child abductions by parents but has set no time frame for reaching a conclusion, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Tetsuro Fukuyama said.

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat