Regarding Mark Schilling's Wide Angle column headlined "Filming disability from a new angle" in the Sept. 8 edition, as a fellow wheelchair user I want to thank activist and documentary filmmaker Mizuko Yamaoka for bringing attention to the small things that affect the lives ...
At a recent meeting with U.S. Ambassador William Haggerty, Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera asked him to heed Japanese people's concerns over hosting U.S. bases. That's a roundabout way of expressing his dissidence over low-altitude flight training by Ospreys on six designated routes on mainland ...
Regarding the story "JR Tokai will travel on a different track, bucking trend of luxury sleeper trains" in the Sept. 12 edition, many people may have been surprised by the very conservative management strategy of Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai), not only in ...
Regarding "Panel to brainstorm lifestyle solutions for Japan's demographic ills" in the Sept. 10 edition, no one wants to acknowledge the elephant in the room. Japan has the world's highest debt to GDP burden among developed and growing economies, and it continues to live ...
The article headlined "After two-week escape, tortoise on the run no more" in the Aug. 17 edition made me ponder not only the lifestyle of tortoises but also our way of life. It's commonly known that tortoises live a long time, having a life span ...
J.J. O'Donoghue's enticing review of the Osaka restaurant Southern Peas in the Aug. 27 edition ("Southern Peas: A little slice of New Orleans") unfortunately perpetuates the popular but mistaken conflation of New Orleans Creole dishes, such as gumbo, with Cajun cooking. Cajun country lies ...
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seems to be well and truly in the doghouse over his wheeler-dealing conduct regarding the proposed veterinary department at Kake Gakuen ("Decision deferred on Kake Gakuen's plan" in the Aug. 19 edition). So why doesn't he seem in the slightest concerned, ...
Speechwriter Ben Rhodes gives his former boss, U.S. President Barrack Obama, full credit for a memorable line in the president's May 2016 Hiroshima speech ("Ex-Obama adviser rips Trump's diplomacy," in the Aug. 21 edition). Is he distancing himself from a piece of ugly wordsmithing? The ...
For all the great things about life in Japan, one thing bothers me about raising my son here, and that's the lack of a farm, or a normal backyard, or a garage with power tools and a lawn mower to repair, let alone any ...
My teenage son Matthew was born in Tokyo in November 2002. He would like to be a volunteer for Tokyo 2020 as a show of support for his birthplace. He is a competitive swimmer and a member of the Auxiliary Medical Service in Hong ...
Regarding the story "Trump's quip on Akie Abe's English skills causes stir" in the July 22 edition, my sisters and I grew up in Japan, where our parents were missionaries. We don't remember ever not being able to speak Japanese. And we can't remember ...
Japan and the United States are said to be mulling Futenma-based Ospreys conducting night-flight training in Hokkaido to reduce the burden on Okinawa, which hosts the bulk of U.S. bases in Japan. Is this really the reason Ospreys will be training in the skies over ...
