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JAPAN / PARTY POWERS
Jul 29, 2009

Shii says JCP will play loyal opposition role

Japanese Communist Party President Kazuo Shii said Tuesday that if the Democratic Party of Japan takes control of the Lower House his party intends to be a "constructive opposition party" that will cooperate when policies overlap but will remain a vocal critic on points of disagreement.
COMMENTARY
Jul 27, 2009

Threats against Iran feed off modern myths

NEW YORK — Several myths regarding Iran stand in the way of the United States and other nations reaching a peaceful relationship with that country. Much of the concern that Iran may attack Israel, if Iran successfully develops nuclear weapons, rests on the statement by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad...
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Jul 20, 2009

Two brothers competing on Japan's political ladder

One of the major topics of speculation among political observers nowadays is what course of action former internal affairs minister Kunio Hatoyama will take following his revolt against Prime Minister Taro Aso. He will have to make up his mind soon now that the date of the next general election has just...
Reader Mail
Jul 16, 2009

Misplaced excitement of the G8

I do not contest the global warming model of climate change. But it needs saying that the current phenomenon of the planet's ambient temperature rise is a feature of the end of the last ice age, which is an ongoing process still far from "finished" so long as polar ice caps and mountain glaciers exist....
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Jul 14, 2009

'Discontinuous minds' and discrimination: some responses

Following are some readers' views on Dan O'Keeffe's June 16 Zeit Gist article " 'Discontinuous minds' block progress on discrimination":
COMMENTARY
Jul 8, 2009

Bolstering Japan-U.S. ties

The Obama administration has shown great good will toward Japan. This was evidenced by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's testimony at her Senate confirmation hearing, her choice of Japan as the first country she visited after taking office and the fact that Prime Minister Taro Aso was the first foreign...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jul 7, 2009

Accommodation advice and visas

It's good to be able to report some positive experiences regarding finding accommodation in Japan. Here are a couple of letters we received.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Jul 7, 2009

Calderon case shows need for new mind-set

Dear Japanese lawmakers,
CULTURE / Books
Jul 5, 2009

Why Murakami's best-selling '1Q84' is worth the wait

When Shinchosha decided not to run a pre-marketing campaign for Haruki Murakami's new and highly anticipated two-volume novel, the publishing house must have banked on the book creating its own hype. It worked. The void soon filled with publicity and media speculation about the book's only available...
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Jul 3, 2009

Hatoyama gaffe exposes opposition rifts

When Democratic Party of Japan President Yukio Hatoyama let slip on FM radio on June 15 that a coalition with the Social Democratic Party and Kokumin Shinto (People's New Party) was paramount — but only until the DPJ wins next year's Upper House election and acquires a single-party majority — both...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 30, 2009

Older, smaller population to impact Japan's choices

— The next few months will be crucial for Japan's defense and security policies. The National Defense Program Guidelines (NDPG), which outline the framework for national security policy, are due by yearend. This in turn provides the foundation for the Mid-Term Defense Program, which translates that...
Reader Mail
Jun 28, 2009

Concept of Japanese citizenship

In mid-March I found an article about the Japanese government granting one-year temporary resident status to Noriko Calderon, a Japanese-born Filipino girl. Noriko's parents, facing deportation for being undocumented workers, thought it was better for their daughter, who speaks only Japanese, to stay...
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jun 28, 2009

Priorities and politics 'must change fast' to head off global calamity

The 19th-century German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer declared: "All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as self-evident."
COMMENTARY
Jun 25, 2009

Dancing with the dragon

Nearly six months after U.S. President Barack Obama entered the White House, it is apparent that America's Asia policy is no longer guided by an overarching geopolitical framework as it had been under President George W. Bush. Indeed, Washington's Asia policy today appears fragmented. The Obama administration...
Reader Mail
Jun 21, 2009

Arrests hardly seem surprising

Regarding Tom Plate's June 16 article, "Jailing U.S. journalists could prove costly": If not for the nuclear threat, it would indeed be curious that such a small, mostly insignificant country as North Korea could constantly make the top news. Its actions are illogical and sometimes unpredictable.
Reader Mail
Jun 14, 2009

Rule of anger is no substitute

Regarding Frank Ching's June 5 article, "Suspect in stabbing death a national hero": The fact that a country's legal system is not perfect is by no means an excuse to replace rule of law with rule of anger. Personally, I have great sympathy for the waitress Miss Deng Yujiao and much antipathy for the...
Reader Mail
Jun 14, 2009

Fallout from 'terrorist' label

Regarding Gregory Clark's June 11 article, "Sri Lanka and Tiananmen: Time to accept the truth": Thank you for trying to bring out the truth about these conflicts.
Reader Mail
Jun 11, 2009

Background of a couple's tragedy

Regarding the June 4 "Couple leap to death in Britain with dead kid": This terrible story was given wide coverage by the British tabloids, and I don't think the (Kyodo) article that appeared in The Japan Times did it justice. Kazumi Puttick met her British husband, Neil, when they were undergraduates...
COMMENTARY
Jun 11, 2009

Sri Lanka and Tiananmen: Time to accept the truth

It used to be said the first casualty of war is the truth. But today we do not even need wars to see truth destroyed. Even domestic conflicts in distant countries can do the job, with a flood of black information and news distortions produced, some causing enormous harm. The distorted interpretation...
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS / ANALYSIS
May 31, 2009

Canseco's MMA debut a farce

It was exactly what you'd call a chaban, or a farce.
Reader Mail
May 14, 2009

Could do without vivid details

Regarding the May 10 article "Office workers out in front in demand for men's bras" and related Timeout articles: It is hard to know which is more disturbing, the "demand for men's bras" or the "Angel-lap Pillow." What "psychological" purpose and what "calming effects of a bra" could there possibly be...
COMMENTARY / World
May 9, 2009

No place left to go after exiting Guantanamo

GUANTANAMO BAY — I write this from the U.S. Detention Center at Guantanamo Bay, where I have been held without charge for almost seven years.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Apr 14, 2009

'A battle for Japan's future'

Despite being Japan's most densely populated area, Warabi rarely causes a blip on the national media radar.
COMMENTARY
Apr 9, 2009

Australia and Afghanistan

So Australia's Labor Party prime minister, the Chinese-speaking Kevin Rudd, has promised Australia will stay the course with the United States in Afghanistan right to the very end. That's interesting. Canberra once also promised the U.S. it would stay in the Vietnam war till the very end. "All the way...
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 7, 2009

Prosecutors boast clout, success

Prosecutors are legal professionals who work for the state and represent the public interest. They have the authority to investigate any crime and indict and try alleged offenders.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Mar 27, 2009

League admits blown call cost Saitama game

Some games are difficult to forget.
COMMENTARY
Mar 22, 2009

Legacy of a 'disappeared' family in Argentina

Politics can have a devastating effect on a country and its people, as I discovered during a recent trip to Argentina.
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...

Longform

Atsuyoshi Koike, the president and CEO of Rapidus, says there is a “sense of urgency” when it comes to Japan’s efforts in manufacturing semiconductors. “We have to make sure we are successful,” he says.
Atsuyoshi Koike’s big game: Fourth down and 2 nanometers to go