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Reader Mail
Dec 8, 2011

Ready for the worst from China

Kevin Rafferty writes with shrewd insight in his Dec. 5 article, "China: soft or crash landing?," as he quotes and dismisses Alessandro Magnoli Bocchi's notion that the Japan of the asset bubble days resembles China today.
Reader Mail
Dec 8, 2011

MacArthur pre-empted disaster

Regarding Masamichi Yabuki's Dec. 4 letter, "A MacArthur view revisited": There have been other unjust omissions and, worse, derogatory statements made about American Gen. Douglas MacArthur, especially regarding his role in bringing about Japan's revised constitution during the early months of the Occupation....
Reader Mail
Dec 8, 2011

Japanese disclosure too, please

Regarding the Dec. 4 Kyodo brief "U.S. parks plan irks A-bombed cities": Perhaps the professional complainers from Hiroshima and Nagasaki (who want the three sites that the U.S. National Park Service is considering establishing as historic parks — because of their involvement with the Manhattan Project...
Reader Mail
Dec 8, 2011

Defense official deserves respect

Regarding the Dec. 2 editorial "Abominable remark over Futenma": Perhaps the comment of the now former Okinawa Defense Bureau chief, Satoshi Tanaka, should be taken with a translation of "screwed over" rather than "raped". In which case his comment would suggest that the Japanese central government has...
Reader Mail
Dec 8, 2011

Criticism of criticism puzzling

I can't for the life of me understand why Donald Feeney — in his Dec. 1 letter, "Unbalanced article on immigrants" — believes that Hiroaki Sato (Nov. 28 article, "Learning to live with the builders of America") should feel obligated to bring up Japan in his article on American immigration policies....
Reader Mail
Dec 8, 2011

Going the way of the dinosaur?

Regarding the Dec. 5 Kyodo front-page article "50.7% want election held before tax hike": Surely as God made little green apples, self-interest will kill Japan. The markets are currently distracted with the "1+1 = 5" economics of Europe and the United States, but eventually the Japanese short-sellers...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 8, 2011

Quake-stricken orchestra plays on in style

The Tokyo Symphony Orchestra faced a setback this year after Muza Kawasaki Symphony Hall was severely damaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, effectively leaving the musicians homeless.
Japan Times
MULTIMEDIA
Dec 8, 2011

Celebrating New Year's in the traditional way

As people in Japan prepare to celebrate New Year's Day, among the most notable tasks of the season are housecleaning, which echos the timeworn ritual of susuharai ("cleaning soot from the timbers under the roof") and placing shimenawa (sacred straw rope traditionally hung at the entrance to Shinto shrines)...
EDITORIALS
Dec 8, 2011

70 years since Pearl Harbor attack

Seventy years have passed since Dec. 8, 1941 (Japan time), when more than 300 Japanese bombers, torpedo bombers and fighters from an aircraft carrier task force attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The attack exploded, sank or severely damaged five U.S. battleships, among other seacraft, and killed some...
Reader Mail
Dec 8, 2011

Stop wasteful spending anywhere

Sana Tanaka's Dec. 1 letter, "Tourist tickets go the wrong way," reminded me of the wining and dining days in Seoul (after 1992), when I worked for a financial company underwriting securities. Private and government spending, of course, came to an end when the international monetary crisis engulfed South...
Japan Times
MULTIMEDIA
Dec 8, 2011

A look into Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

It is hard to think of fin de siecle Paris without recalling the dancing girls and dandies of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's colorful prints. It is equally difficult to imagine work by the artist not centered on the city's hedonistic and decadent nightlife.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 7, 2011

Putin afflicted by Brezhnev syndrome

The winner of Sunday's legislative election in Russia was a foregone conclusion: United Russia, organized by Vladimir Putin. Likewise, there is no doubt that Putin himself will win the presidential election due in March 2012. But the public enthusiasm that ratified Putin's rule for a decade has vanished,...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 7, 2011

Political earthquake in Osaka

Toru Hashimoto's huge victory in the Osaka mayoral election was undoubtedly a political earthquake. The question now is how sweeping and powerful will be the tsunami that follows. My worry is that Tokyo, and particularly the political and bureaucratic establishment, does not comprehend the tectonic forces...
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Dec 5, 2011

Obic, Fujitsu advance to final

Shun Sugawara threw three touchdown passes and scored another on the ground as the Obic Seagulls took advantage of six turnovers to rout the Kajima Deers 45-20 on Sunday in the semifinals of the X League playoffs.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 5, 2011

U.S. budget cuts and the next war of choice

The failure of the U.S. Congressional Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction to reach agreement on budget cuts now sets the stage for $1.2 trillion in automatic reductions to begin in January 2013.
Reader Mail
Dec 4, 2011

Avoid 'new normal' of shortages

Nearly nine months after the March 11 disasters, power-generating capacity in many parts of Japan may still not be up to demand, according to Eric Johnston's Nov. 29 article, "Utilities to cut it close amid winter demand." In the name of power conservation, individuals are being asked to sacrifice comfort...
Reader Mail
Dec 4, 2011

Bigger offense to apologize for

As for the Dec. 2 article "Noda apologizes for axed official's Okinawa gaffe": Defense Minister Yasuo Ichikawa visited Okinawa Friday to personally apologize to Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima for an extremely inappropriate remark made by Okinawa Defense Bureau chief Satoshi Tanaka, who was fired.
Reader Mail
Dec 4, 2011

Carmakers are jumping the gun

I've been an ardent fan of the Tokyo Motor Show, having been there twice. I much regret that I can't be there this year. But after reading reports such as the Dec. 1 article "Green is the big thing at this year's Tokyo Motor Show," I have doubts about its success this year.
Reader Mail
Dec 4, 2011

Averting an energy chokehold

In his Nov. 30 article, "Realpolitik drama unfolds in the South China Sea," Mark Valencia fails to include in his analysis the broader context of the South China Sea or West Philippine Sea realpolitik.
Reader Mail
Dec 4, 2011

A MacArthur view revisited

This month marks the 70th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack by the Japanese Imperial Navy. Last year I learned from a speech by Dr. Shoichi Watanabe, professor emeritus at Sophia University, what American Gen. Douglas MacArthur, who oversaw the allied occupation of Japan after World War II, told...
BASKETBALL
Dec 4, 2011

Happinets edge Golden Kings in marquee matchup

Point guard Michael Gardener returned to the lineup after a two-game absence due to an ankle injury, and the Akita Northern Happinets held off the visiting Ryukyu Golden Kings 78-75 Saturday in a showdown of teams that began the day in first place in their respective conferences.
Reader Mail
Dec 4, 2011

Dream students who work hard

Amid the trouble that Olympus Corp. faces, I would like to give my two cents worth. I have been an English teacher at Olympus for more than eight years. The students have been dream students whom any English teacher would love to have.
BASKETBALL
Dec 3, 2011

HeatDevils, Phoenix end long streaks

The Oita HeatDevils snapped an eight-game losing streak and the two-time defending champion Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix had their nine-game winning streak end in the bj-league on Friday.
JAPAN
Dec 3, 2011

'Nadeshiko' buzzword of year, 3/11 terms next

"Nadeshiko Japan," the nickname of the women's national soccer team, has been awarded a high-profile prize for being the No. 1 buzzword of the year.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 3, 2011

A graceful hand to help elderly Japanese in Holland

In 1941, in the then Dutch East Indies, thousands of people were forced into internment camps by the invading Japanese army. It is a slice of history almost forgotten today, along with so many other wartime atrocities. It is something Chieko van Santen remembers every day, as the Japanese widow of a...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 2, 2011

'50/50' / '30 Minutes or Less'

Hey, did you hear the one about my metastatic tumor? Comedy and cancer may mix about as well as champagne and toilet cleaner, but along comes the film "50/50" to attempt just that.
Reader Mail
Dec 1, 2011

Is it in CEO's interest to serve?

Yes, the Nov. 26 front-page article "Woodford: Board must be purged" reminds me of Tokyo in 1988-89, when many companies lost focus and undertook "zai-tech" investments that went sour.They try to sweep these bad investments under the tatami.

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear