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Reader Mail
Apr 10, 2011

Bad habit of judging foreigners

There are many great things about the Japanese people, but the biggest problem is that they judge people by one perspective. With regard to their criticism of foreign residents — the so-called "fly-jin" — who left Tokyo after the Fukushima nuclear plant crisis began, I am sure that some Japanese...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Apr 10, 2011

Could Japan's tragedy help forge some overdue reconciliations?

The Tohoku-Kanto earthquake and tsunami of March 11 has altered the relationship between Japan and its neighbors, particularly the relationship with China. Given the sympathy for the plight of hundreds of thousands of residents of the Tohoku region of northeast Japan, the Chinese media's old "bash Japan...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 8, 2011

Okinawa comic duo show less is more

On Dec. 26, as the curtain came down on the 10th and final M-1 Grand Prix — an annual comedy competition aired live on TV Asahi — there was a distinct feeling that something special had been witnessed, that the performance of one duo in particular heralded the beginning of something new.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 8, 2011

Urayasu still dealing with liquefaction

URAYASU, Chiba Pref. — Flanked by Tokyo Bay and greenery, Urayasu has long been a popular home for young families. But the March 11 earthquake turned the resortlike city into one of tilting houses, cracked roads and thrust sewer pipes up.
JAPAN
Apr 8, 2011

On relief duty after Okinawa slur, chided U.S. diplomat Maher quits

A U.S. diplomat who allegedly made disparaging comments about Okinawa that caused him to be sacked last month as the head of Japanese affairs resigned Wednesday from the State Department.
JAPAN
Apr 6, 2011

Nuclear crisis man-made, not 'an act of god': experts

Despite protestations from the government and Tokyo Electric Power Co. that the tsunami that knocked out the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant was unforeseeable, noted seismologists and nuclear experts say the crisis is largely man-made.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Apr 6, 2011

Despite adding Williams, Nets have big issues

NEW YORK — Some impure thoughts before they become outdated or suppressed:
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 4, 2011

Russian alienation and the cost of freedom

MOSCOW — The Russian government, with its solid hold on power, has invariably gotten away with poor performance, inefficiency, corruption and widespread violation of political rights and civil liberties.
EDITORIALS
Apr 4, 2011

Mr. Kan's crisis leadership

According to a March 26 and 27 Kyodo News poll, the approval rating of the Kan administration rose 8.4 percentage points from mid-February to 28.3 percent, and 57.9 percent of the polled approved of the way his Cabinet deals with the victims of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
Reader Mail
Apr 3, 2011

Nuclear benefits outweigh risks

Philip White's argument against nuclear power in his March 30 article ("A silver lining to the Fukushima disaster?") is weak. It's typical of the attacks used by opponents of atomic energy in that it includes no hard data, relying on vague fears of unseen or unknowable impacts as it tries to steer us...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Apr 3, 2011

Life's a breeze on far-out Miyakojima

Like tree rings, the islands of Okinawa contain cultures within cultures; ever more singular layers of age and time.
EDITORIALS
Apr 2, 2011

Relocation of evacuees

The March 11 massive earthquake and tsunami and the crisis at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant at one point made some 450,000 people, mostly from Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, homeless. Now some 170,000 people are staying at temporary evacuation shelters. An encouraging...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2011

Tsunami-ravaged Ishinomaki slowly sets off on long road to recovery

Self-Defense Forces vehicles kick up clouds of dust as they make their way through narrow streets cleared through the piles of crushed houses, shops and fishing boats scattered like broken toys by the massive tsunami that killed thousands and flooded nearly half of this once beautiful city.
COMMENTARY
Apr 1, 2011

Japan-China relations warming up in crisis

HONG KONG — If there is a rainbow behind the dark clouds currently blanketing Japan — the country's gravest crisis since World War II — it could be this: Relations with China, which were at their worst in decades last year, are taking a turn for the better.
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2011

High radiation found outside no-go zone

Despite alarming new radiation data presented by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the government said Thursday it has no plans to widen the evacuation zone around the crippled Fukushima No. 1 power plant.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 1, 2011

Tohoku's larder still needs stocking: How you can help

Three weeks since the devastating Tohoku Earthquake, and in Tokyo it's still far too soon to say we're back to normal — least of all when it comes to dining out. In the uncertainty and gloom of the rolling blackouts, many restaurants are still closing early, and more than a few are suffering financially,...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 31, 2011

Quake relief effort highlights a vital U.S. military function

SENDAI — In September 2009, I resigned my tenured faculty position at a Japanese national university to begin working for the U.S. Marine Corps in Okinawa. While at Osaka University, I had the opportunity to teach many talented Japanese and international students over the years both at the undergraduate...
JAPAN
Mar 31, 2011

World pitches in to offer support

Messages of support and donations have been flooding in from all over the world to give the grieving people of Japan hope and courage and remind them they are not alone.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 30, 2011

A silver lining to the Fukushima disaster?

The most remarkable thing about the response so far to the "genpatsu shinsai" (nuclear-earthquake disaster) that has engulfed Japan is that there are still people who think nuclear power has a future. Should this be attributed more to the dependence of modern industrialized societies on massive inputs...
MORE SPORTS / ICE TIME
Mar 30, 2011

France's noble gesture resonates in midst of crisis

It has been said that in times of crisis, people show their true colors.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Mar 29, 2011

Hosting, contacting survivors

Reader DB says: "I've created a Facebook group to provide Japanese victims with accommodation. Right now there are about 20 offers from different countries around the world. We need help contacting Japanese locals and/or organizations so people can actually get help."
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 27, 2011

Japanese officials dress the part but fail to address the issues

During the March 19 broadcast of TBS' "Newscaster," comedian Beat Takeshi complained about the work clothes (sagyogi) that Japan's politicians changed into after the earthquake-tsunami of March 11, saying that instead of trying to give the impression that they were working they should go up to the afflicted...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Mar 27, 2011

Don't destroy that invader, it was here first!

NEW YORK — Among the most recent invaders of the United States to be exterminated that I learned about is the red lionfish. Before that, the Asian carp got all the attention. About the time the carp scare was quieting down the yellow jacket — yes, the wasp — came forward as a heinous invader to...
JAPAN
Mar 26, 2011

Tsunami survivors face monstrous cleanup task

HIGASHIMATSUSHIMA, Miyagi Pref. — Where do you even start?
JAPAN
Mar 26, 2011

Kan breaks silence, vows to help locals rebuild lives

Addressing the public for the first time in a week, Prime Minister Naoto Kan vowed Friday evening to do everything in his power to prevent the crisis at the Fukushima nuclear plant from escalating.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight