The media coverage of Reiwa, the new era name, was extravagant. I was left with the sense that it was more than a mere announcement. Kuni Miyake, in his opinion piece in the April 9 edition ("What does Reiwa really mean to Japanese?"), reminds ...
My weekly treat is a Starbucks cappuccino. On each visit it jars when I see that, after the barista pours the cappuccino from the metal pitcher into the Starbucks paper cup, a certain amount always remains in the pitcher, and this is just poured ...
The government has made a move toward a cashless society by announcing it will issue new paper money and replace the old bank notes by 2024. Even though the Finance Minister said the purpose is to prevent counterfeiting, the decision suggests that a transition ...
Justice, I believe, should be impartial and I don't want to be wrong when hailing Japan's justice system as fair and just. As I have read in the pages of The Japan Times, numerous Japanese companies and associations have been found committing transgressions vis-a-vis ...
I found the editorial in the March 24 issue, "'Indirect' deaths from disasters," interesting because while such deaths have been reported in the media, I didn't realize how dire and serious this situation is. Indeed, makeshift shelters are a necessity during an emergency, but ...
Regarding the Big in Japan column titled "New era offers an opportunity to reassess the future" in the April edition, "What's in a name?" your writer asks, quoting Shakespeare. It seems to me that the Japanese place great importance on choosing names, along with ...
Like many others, I awaited with excitement the unveiling of Japan's new era name on April 1. Sadly, upon learning the new name (Reiwa), I was shocked and deeply disappointed. While kanji can have diverse meanings, to me the first character is strongly associated ...
The other day my family was on a crowded train. I was standing, but my wife and daughter were seated. At one station, an elderly gentleman who obviously had difficulty walking entered our car. So naturally my wife and daughter stood up quickly and ...
In his March 30 column, "I told you so: Only idiots believed in Russiagate," Ted Rall implies he has seen the full Mueller report. Otherwise, how would he know Trump is off the hook? Rall should make it available to everyone. We need to know: ...
I've been staying in Japan for four years now and I plan to live here much longer. I'm an engineer who pays 23 percent income tax and I try to follow Japanese etiquette with utmost care. I don't get why Japanese police keep frisking ...
Philip Brasor's Media Mix column in the March 17 edition was very enlightening. To my shame, I learned about the March 1 Movement in Korea in 1919 only at my age of 71. Brasor tells us that Japanese media as well as the government ...
Unlike the author of the letter titled "A faulty reading of history" in the Feb. 17 edition, I am no fan of Brahma Chellaney. However, what Chellaney was writing about this time is something most Indians feel strongly about, and many Indian and British ...
