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Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / ZEIT GIST: UPDATE
Sep 18, 2012

U.S. judge dismisses rapist's bid to halt case over Yokosuka assault

Australian Catherine Fisher is one step closer to seeing justice done after a Milwaukee Circuit Court judge decided earlier this month to hear the case against former U.S. serviceman Bloke T. Deans, who raped her in Japan in 2002.
LIFE / Language
Sep 17, 2012

Going with the flow, in water we trust

In the Tokyo area, August was a month of hideri (日照り, brutal sunshine), the effects of which were accelerated by the setsuden (節電, energy-conserving) mood. Many of us trudged through the streets under a blazing sun, clutching a towel in one hand and a water bottle in the other.
Reader Mail
Sep 16, 2012

Vaccinations against pneumonia

Regarding the Sept. 9 editorial "Upper hand on pneumonia": To protect people from community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), strategic use of pneumococcal vaccination is essential. The central and local governments need to enlighten the public on who is at increased risk of CAP and when they should be vaccinated....
Reader Mail
Sep 16, 2012

The will to fly the national flag

Regarding the Sept. 12 Kyodo article "Town eyes subsidy for residents to buy flag": The plan (by the Nakanoto municipal government, Ishikawa Prefecture) to subsidize the purchase of national flags to encourage more people to fly the flag demonstrates just how out of touch politicians are with the common...
Reader Mail
Sep 16, 2012

Passing the nuclear waste buck

Regarding the Sept. 12 front-page Kyodo article "Nuke waste plan scares scientists": So it's finally out in the open — the one issue that alone should have doomed any nuclear policy long ago. I'm referring to the disposal of spent nuclear fuel.
Reader Mail
Sep 16, 2012

Don't fear the Chinese periscope

Regarding Michael Richardson's Sept. 12 article, "New ships give China's navy a stronger punch": No matter how determined China is to modernize and expand its navy/military presence and its influence in the Asia-Pacific region, the U.S. Navy is light-years ahead. The Pentagon saw this challenge a long...
Reader Mail
Sep 16, 2012

Worse off for reading the news

Regarding the Sept. 13 Kyodo article "Fukushima finds first child thyroid cancer after 3/11": What shameful journalism. Everyone with whom I've shared this article and who read only the headline assumed that a link had been proven between the nuclear reactor disasters at Fukushima and higher rates of...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Sep 16, 2012

Getting food on tables is increasingly difficult

The cover of Nikkei Business of Aug. 27 carried a photograph of a sirloin steak atop a sizzling platter. The meat was artfully trimmed to form the shape of the Japanese archipelago.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Sep 16, 2012

Beacons of hope and inspiration light even the darkest pits of despond

The renowned Polish-born film and television director and screenwriter Agnieszka Holland has created a stunning work about life and death in the Lviv ghetto during the closing months of World War II.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 15, 2012

The Neil Armstrong I knew — and flew with

Before manned space flights began, officials pondered what background they should seek in the crew for this bizarre new venture: Danger lover? Bullfighter? Mountain climber? Should they search for people who were self-aware and calm in extreme conditions? A deep-sea diver, perhaps? Finally, they settled...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues
Sep 15, 2012

U.S. Agent Orange activist brings message of solidarity to Okinawa

Residents of Okinawa Island have recently been confronted with mounting evidence that their land used to be a major storage site for the toxic U.S. defoliant Agent Orange.
Japan Times
TENNIS
Sep 14, 2012

Japan, Israel set for Davis Cup clash

Japan will be looking to remain in the World Group for the second straight year when it takes on Israel in their Davis Cup playoff tie starting on Friday at Ariake Colosseum.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 14, 2012

'Like Someone in Love'

The definition of "sublime" goes through a subtle overhaul in Abbas Kiarostami's latest "Like Someone in Love," filmed in Tokyo and featuring an all-Japanese cast. To witness the movie is to experience a massive who-would-have-thought-moment. This is Kiarostami we're talking about: one of the world's...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 14, 2012

Sharp's losses may approach ¥300 billion, frighten lenders

Sharp Corp. may lose more money than it forecast this year, analysts predict, increasing pressure on the struggling electronics maker to raise funds and complete a stake sale to Foxconn Technology Group.
Reader Mail
Sep 13, 2012

Beijing as Tokyo-Seoul mediator

Regarding Ralph Cossa's Sept. 8 article "Tokyo-Seoul : enough is enough!": As a frequent caustic critic of Cossa's views, it is only fair that I congratulate him on his wise and heartfelt insights in this article. Of course, I do have a few quibbles — such as that his main concern about deteriorating...
Reader Mail
Sep 13, 2012

The least noble of alternatives

Regarding the Sept. 10 article "Japan minister Matsushita found dead at home in possible suicide: police": The heads of Japanese ministries and companies must understand that suicide is not noble. It brings shame to families and everyone around them.
Reader Mail
Sep 13, 2012

Reproaching the nationalists

Regarding the Sept. 10 article "Lee says 'true meaning' of comments about emperor not conveyed to Japan": South Korean President Lee Myung Bak's clarified position is exactly true. Japanese people often, for the sake of national pride, do convey a propensity to defend or water down their history.
Reader Mail
Sep 13, 2012

More lasting Takeshima solution

In response to David Watson's Sept. 6 letter, "Takeshima/Dokdo University": Building an international university on the Takeshima/Dokdo islands is a nice pie-in-the-sky idea, but completely impractical. The problems of providing fresh water and power (nuclear reactor, anyone?), as well as the huge obstacle...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 13, 2012

Kansai Music Conference to bring new sounds to Osaka

Music fans in Osaka can catch a variety of overseas acts this weekend at the Kansai Music Conference (KMC).
Reader Mail
Sep 13, 2012

Managing a symbol of unity

Japan and South Korea are too closely connected, and have far too much in common, to quarrel over the Takeshima/Dokdo islets. Simply put, the risks of dragging the conflict out are too great. There are many possible solutions to the problem.
Reader Mail
Sep 13, 2012

Better way than the 'baby post'

We read the Sept. 6 editorial "Up from the 'baby post'" with great dismay. Please understand that these babies and their mothers suffer a profound loss from which they will never recover.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 13, 2012

The woman who could bring Beppu back to life

In Japan's performing arts scene, it's widely believed that 32-year-old Akane Nakamura is one of the country's most famous globally known theater producers. As executive director of the theater production company Precog and the performing arts nonprofit Drifters International — which she founded in...
COMMENTARY
Sep 12, 2012

New ships give China's navy a stronger punch

In the latest step in its naval modernization and expansion, China recently announced that it is accelerating serial production of an advanced destroyer. This will tilt the regional balance of power at sea in its favor and put it in a stronger position to enforce its sovereignty claims over Taiwan and...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2012

Syria war reporting risky, and a hard story to sell in Japan

When photojournalist Shin Yahiro heard compatriot video reporter Mika Yamamoto was killed in late August in Aleppo, he was not surprised, because he too has come under fire while covering the civil war raging in Syria.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 11, 2012

Reformed Myanmar ready for foreign investment

The rapid political developments in Myanmar since last year, including the April by-elections that saw democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi elected to parliament, have resulted in the easing of economic sanctions by Western nations, with businesses rushing to plan new investments to explore opportunities...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Sep 11, 2012

Louis Vuitton still going dotty

Fans of French luxury brand Louis Vuitton are still seeing spots before their eyes.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Sep 11, 2012

18 months on, 'stayjin' in Tokyo, Iwaki tell a tale of two cities

While the media both in Japan and overseas reported on a perceived exodus of foreigners in the immediate aftermath of the March 11, 2011, disasters in Tohoku, the reality is that very few actually left for good.

Longform

After the asset-price bubble crash of the early 1990s, employment at a Japanese company was no longer necessarily for life. As a result, a new generation is less willing to endure a toxic work culture —life’s too short, after all.
How Japan's youth are slowly changing the country's work ethic