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SOCCER / J. League / J. LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Sep 20, 2012

Urawa eyeing immediate reward for improved season

Urawa Reds would have settled for a step in the right direction after escaping relegation by the skin of their teeth last season, but with a first J. League title since 2006 in sight with only nine games left to play, hopes of an unlikely triumph are gathering steam.
Reader Mail
Sep 20, 2012

Ineligible corporate governance

Regarding the Sept. 17 AP article "Head of nuclear disaster investigation defends report": Columbia University professor Gerald Curtis misses the point when he criticizes the report issued by Kiyoshi Kurokawa's Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission.
COMMENTARY
Sep 20, 2012

Territorial row is a ticking time bomb for Asia

As the struggle to control disputed islands and valuable offshore resources has intensified in the East and South China Seas over the past few years, the United States has said repeatedly that it does not take sides in the disagreements among Asian countries over who has ownership rights.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 20, 2012

'It' girl Rola welcomes Jepsen to Japan

It's a meeting of the memes. Inside one of Shibuya's biggest clubs, Japan's happy-go-luckiest talent perches eagerly and wide-eyed on her high stool awaiting the arrival of Canada's most cheerful pop star.
Reader Mail
Sep 20, 2012

Fear-mongering over fuel rods

Regarding the Sept. 8 article "Global help urged to avert reactor 4 pool fire": I was very disappointed to read such a blatantly fear-mongering story. The engineer cited in the article, Arnie Gundersen, is a well-known anti-nuclear activist whose neutrality on nuclear safety matters is suspect to say...
Reader Mail
Sep 20, 2012

Let Israel identify its own lines

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently called on the international community to lay down some "red lines" regarding Iran's nuclear program.
BUSINESS
Sep 19, 2012

Relisting just starting point for rejuvenated JAL

Japan Airlines Co. will return to the Tokyo Stock Exchange's first section Wednesday, two years and eight months after filing for bankruptcy in one of the country's biggest corporate failures.
BUSINESS
Sep 19, 2012

Japanese companies become protest targets in China

As anti-Japan protests in China rage with no end in sight, Japanese businesses there are seeing their operations disrupted, while government officials seek to limit the damage to economic ties.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Sep 18, 2012

Work-rules verdict jars with laws aimed at leveling playing field for employees

We live our lives bound by rules. As a student, my teachers scolded me to comply with school regulations, which were Draconian by modern standards: "Skirt hems must reach down to within 5 cm above the knees," "Boys must shave their heads" and other meaninglessly strict school regulations were the rule...
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).

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’