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August 15, 2025
 

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Reader Mail
Apr 26, 2014
'Spoiled Child' fits Japan's stature
Regarding Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's dedication of a masakaki tree offering to Yasukuni Shrine during its spring festival last week: It seems clear that Japan is suffering from an acute case of national immaturity.
Reader Mail
Apr 26, 2014
Scuttling a chance to end the ill will
Regarding the April 20 AFP-Jiji article "Diet ranks vow to defy ICJ ruling": It was with considerable satisfaction that I heard of the recent 12-4 ruling by the International Court of Justice in favor of Australia's lawsuit against Japan's whaling program.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Apr 26, 2014
Jun Ikeido's "Roosevelt Game" gets drama; dancer Ebina profiled; CM of the Week: Lawson
In baseball parlance, a "Roosevelt game" is one where a team wins by one run. The new TBS drama series, "Roosevelt Game" (Sunday, 9 p.m.), is based on a novel by Jun Ikeido, who wrote last year's smash series "Hanzawa Naoki." This one is also set in the corporate world, but in manufacturing rather than...
WORLD / Politics
Apr 23, 2014
The Ukrainian conflict takes its toll in the east
On April 15, eastern Ukrainian city of Slaviansk was surrounded by Ukrainian troops attempting regain control of its territories. Five days later, there were casualties, the first in the conflict between locals and military supporters of the radical right wing.
Reader Mail
Apr 23, 2014
Building 'sister-government' ties
This year our city, Hadano (Kanagawa Prefecture), celebrates 50 years of friendship with Pasadena, Texas. Pasadena's official good will mission group visited Hadano this month in memory of our sister-city history. Exchange programs involving students, teachers, citizens, music groups, sports and so on...
Reader Mail
Apr 23, 2014
Tax hike hits hospitals hard
Unlike many countries that do not tax essentials such as food and medicine, Japan's consumption tax hike from 5 percent to 8 percent applies to both, and will negatively affect hospitals and clinics. While grocers can increase prices 3 percent to cope with the increase and pass it on to the consumer,...
Reader Mail
Apr 23, 2014
Muddling past the boomer bump
The line that really jumped out at me from the April 16 story "Japan population drops for third year straight; 25% are elderly" was that "Any suggestion of opening its borders to young workers who could help plug the population gap provokes strong reactions among the public."
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Apr 22, 2014
Anti-Abe forces emerging
Little was heard from Yasuo Fukuda, nor was much said about him, after he stepped down as prime minister in 2008. In recent months, though, he has been sought out by some LDP leaders to help repair the damage to relations with South Korea and China, which Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's style of diplomacy is said to have caused.
Reader Mail
Apr 19, 2014
Stigma comes with treatment for depression
This is in response to Michael Hoffman's April 13 Big in Japan column, " 'Big Pharma' manipulating the market? Now that's depressing." The role of pharmaceutical companies aside, we feel that the article does little to accurately discuss the complicated issue of depression and its treatment, or to dispel...
Reader Mail
Apr 19, 2014
Cultural rhetoric clouds policies
Regarding the April 16 article "Diet members dine on whale meat in defiance of ICJ ruling": Symbolizing the blatant bare-faced aggressiveness of the government, the report that Liberal Democratic Party members fed on their own hostility leaves a bitter aftertaste in the mouth.
Reader Mail
Apr 19, 2014
Does Japan think it has 'friends'?
It's small wonder that in the family of nations there are few countries today that would sincerely call Japan a "friend." Trade partner maybe, friend never.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Apr 19, 2014
Christel Takigawa gets Akita 'omotenashi'; a dandy drama; CM of the week: Nisshinbo
Former news anchor Christel Takigawa gets to sample some of that famous Japanese omotenashi (hospitality) she promoted during the bid process for the 2020 Summer Olympics. She is this week's guest on NHK's travel show "Tsurube no Kazoku ni Kampai" ("Tsurube Toasts Families"; NHK-G, Mon., 8 p.m.), the...
Reader Mail
Apr 16, 2014
Future disasters on Abe's hands
As a man living in a prefecture that hosts nuclear plants, Fukushima, I was very interested in the April 12 editorial "Energy plan looks to the past."
Reader Mail
Apr 16, 2014
Confused by energy conclusion
I am slightly confused over Jeff Kingston's April 6 Counterpoint article, "Lessons of Fukushima: Reactor restarts are unwise". It focuses on the findings of an online report by Kingston's colleague Kyle Cleveland, titled "Mobilizing Nuclear Bias: The Fukushima Nuclear Crisis and the Politics of Uncertainty."...
Reader Mail
Apr 16, 2014
High hopes for special schools
Regarding the April 10 article "Ministry funds programs to hone high schoolers": The idea of Japan's education ministry injecting money into specially designated schools in line with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's growth strategy is an interesting one that, I believe, has a great deal of potential.
Reader Mail
Apr 16, 2014
Pakistan's investment potential
We regret to observe that the March 29 Mai Yamani article titled "Saudi Arabia's diplomatic pilgrimage to Pakistan" is unfounded and based on speculation and conjecture.
Reader Mail
Apr 16, 2014
Don't judge Malaysia by tragedy
I worry that William Pesek's April 12 commentary on Malaysia, titled"How Malaysia can limit harm from lost Flight 370," is encouraging international readers to view the nation's strengths and weaknesses through the tiny prism of the lost Malaysia Airlines flight. Certainly let's call this situation what...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / NET NEWS WATCH
Apr 15, 2014
The buck stops here: ‘Hunting girls’ on the rise
Here's a new buzzword for you: kari-gaaru (hunting girls).
Reader Mail
Apr 12, 2014
Brother Russia, Ukraine diverge on key values
Regarding the April 9 Bloomberg article “U.S. labels some eastern Ukraine protesters as ‘paid provocateurs’”: As a Ukrainian now living in Tokyo with my Japanese wife, I have been following events back home since the protests late last year against a corrupt government and the subsequent ouster...
Reader Mail
Apr 9, 2014
Retailers who'll come out ahead
Regarding the April 4 Jiji article "Tax hike to spur retailing industry shakeout": The three-percentage-point rise in the sales tax on April 1 was a rather earthshaking event, leaving Japanese shoppers and retailers groping for balance in the new market. Consumers are hesitant to buy as they gauge its...
The indelible memory of being a part of Unit 731
Hideo Shimizu, 95, says he cannot forget seeing the prisoners' bloody wills scribbled on the walls of prison cells at Unit 731 in 1945.
Will Wakatakakage bring balance to the banzuke?
Wakatakakage during a ring entering ceremony in February 2020
Taiwanese drama 'Zero Day Attack' on Chinese invasion to stream in Japan
A scene from the Taiwanese television drama "Zero Day Attack," which will stream in Japan from Friday.
Japanese star convicted of indecent assault in Hong Kong
J-pop idol Kenshin Kamimura leaves the West Kowloon Law Courts on bail in Hong Kong on Wednesday, after he was found guilty of indecent assault of a woman who worked as his interpreter at a restaurant in Mong Kok district in March this year.
Ukraine war has transformed North Korean military: Kyiv’s military intel chief
An explosion of a drone lights up the sky over Kyiv during a Russian drone strike, on July 30. Moscow has dispatched military specialists to train the Korean People’s Army on how to use combat drones and air-defense systems.
The indelible memory of being a part of Unit 731
Hideo Shimizu, 95, says he cannot forget seeing the prisoners' bloody wills scribbled on the walls of prison cells at Unit 731 in 1945.
Will Ishiba's critics be able to garner enough support for a leadership race?
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's political survival likely hinges on whether a leadership race will take place within the Liberal Democratic Party following its decision to have its election committee canvass the opinions of party members and prefectural chapters on the subject.
Hidden rosters and the legacy of Japan’s germ warfare
Katsutoshi Takegami, 77, in his storehouse attic where he discovered his father's Unit 1644 documents
Osaka Expo highlights the challenge of holding events in Japan's scorching summer
People huddle near a large fan blowing icy-cold mist at the Osaka Expo on July 12. Amid Japan's relentless summer heat, organizes have put myriad measures in place in order to keep guests safe.
At Himawari Shokudo 2, Italian food with a Japanese soul
At Himawari Shokudo 2, chef Hozumi Tanaka serves Italian-inspired fare with a focus on Toyama produce, such as this appetizer of lightly blanched "hotaru ika" (firefly squid) served atop mixed wild plants and a crepe prepared from "yamato-imo" yam.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers
By Tomoko Otake

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