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COMMENTARY / World
Aug 31, 2011

Destroying five myths about earthquakes

Earthquakes rattle our psyches as well as our structures. We Californians can crack jokes about jumpy East Coast types, but the truth is, our blood pressure also rises precipitously when the Earth suddenly springs to life, without so much as a warning.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2011

Nuclear reform will be uphill slog

In a bid to restore public confidence, the government has unveiled plans to reform the nuclear regulatory agency, separating it from the ministry in charge of promoting atomic power.
COMMENTARY
Aug 31, 2011

China's economy not a model for emulation

At a time when the United States and Europe are beset by economic crises, it is natural that the Western model of economic development, including a democratic political system, should be viewed with some skepticism while China's growth model is greatly enhanced.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2011

Public looks to Noda to provide stability

People interviewed Tuesday on the streets of Tokyo voiced hope that new Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda will quickly find ways to rebuild the tsunami-ravaged Tohoku region but were frustrated by the frequent changes in leaders and called for a stable government.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Aug 30, 2011

Winning: 'The Alien': readers remember life in '90s Japan

The following are a selection of the winning submissions in response to last month's Zeit Gist competition to win copies of "The Very Best of Neil Garscadden's Alien Humor," a collection of many of the pieces Garscadden wrote while editor of the humor section of The Alien magazine.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Aug 30, 2011

Japan's 'silent tsunami' severs parental ties, wrecks children's lives

To the next Prime Minister,
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 30, 2011

Contracts for rare earths shifting to quarterly basis

Japanese rare earth buyers are switching to quarterly sales contracts and looking for alternative sources after China curbed shipments, increasing prices for the materials used in hybrid cars and missiles.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Aug 30, 2011

Cleverness in things great and small

Milestones for cyclists There's a bicycle craze currently sweeping the nation — or so the media would have you believe — and in the midst of it, we're starting to see designers pay particular attention to cycling accessories. Design trio Mile has introduced a beautiful take on the bike stand with...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2011

Foreign embassies give kids taste of many cultures at Tokyo event

Children tried their hand at Thai vegetable carving and practiced Indian yoga at an intercultural event put on by foreign embassies Sunday in Tokyo.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
Aug 29, 2011

Eagles soar into race for final playoff spot

The gauntlet the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles faced the past 11 games, could've all-but ended their season.
Reader Mail
Aug 28, 2011

Don't export what you won't use

I don't understand the Japanese government's policy on nuclear power plants. On one hand, it has come out with a denuclearization policy domestically; on the other, it is planning to sell nuclear power plants to Turkey, Jordan, Vietnam, Lithuania, and Kazakhstan by 2020. This is a double standard.
Reader Mail
Aug 28, 2011

China-baiting goes over the top

Regarding Michael Richardson's Aug. 24 article, "Taiwan arms deal serves as litmus test of U.S. resolve": Richardson's biased assumptions and pandering to paranoid anti-China elements borders on yellow journalism. He uses the straw man of a Chinese "red line" regarding U.S. weapons sales to Taiwan to...
Reader Mail
Aug 28, 2011

One-land, two-country solution

Territorial problems between countries are sources of permanent tension and conflict. In the past, wars and military victories were considered the main tools for solving such problems. Although the probability of applying such tools these days has essentially decreased, we still hear about military drills...
Reader Mail
Aug 28, 2011

Tragic adult behavior on river

Regarding the Aug. 19 Kyodo article "Trio still missing in boat sinking": I know this will probably conflict with the knee-jerk reaction that most people have to this tragedy (on the Tenryu River in Shizuoka Prefecture), but I do not lay blame on the tour company or the boat skippers. I believe it falls...
Reader Mail
Aug 28, 2011

Japan trip looks good in Scotland

Regarding Takahiro Fukada's Aug. 23 article, "Restoring foreign tourism tall order": I am very sorry to hear that foreign tourism is so badly affected by recent events in Japan. From this side of the world, I only hear words of support for your country and an earnest desire to see Japan recover as quickly...
Reader Mail
Aug 28, 2011

U.S. response will cause chaos

Regarding Barry Eichengreen's opinion article, "What can take the dollar's place?": The naivete of the American consumer and the greed of international corporations allowed the accumulation of dollars in Japan and China, which were used to further the economic needs of those outside the United States...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 28, 2011

Star's exit shows it's not what you know — but who

If you asked anyone in the world with access to any sort of media what last week's big news story was, they would probably say Libya. If you asked the same question of similarly connected people in Japan, they would probably say the retirement of comedian Shinsuke Shimada. The fall of Tripoli didn't...
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Aug 28, 2011

Rising yen, falling prices, cheap beer

Beginning last Wednesday, Aug. 24, the Ito Yokado supermarket chain announced a five-day sale at 120 of its branches in the greater Tokyo area. Among the reduced-price items were U.S. beef, Australian oranges and South African pineapples.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 27, 2011

Mask maker keeping Shimane tradition alive

Hanging on the walls of Jake Davies' home are around 20 artifacts that seem at odds with the idyllic village in Sakurae, Shimane Prefecture where his rustic abode is set.
EDITORIALS
Aug 27, 2011

Ending famine in East Africa

Acorollary of Murphy's law states, "Left to themselves, things tend to go from bad to worse." Unfortunately, that statement aptly sums up the situation in East Africa — and in particular southern Somalia — which is caught in the clutches of a deadly famine.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Aug 26, 2011

Vlaikidis knows path won't be easy in Iwate

Before sitting down for dinner on Tuesday evening, Iwate Big Bulls coach Vlasios Vlaikidis spoke in measured tones about the difficult work of building a team from scratch.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 26, 2011

Young souls a sacrifice too far for fictional wartime officers

The conventional Japanese World War II movie is something of a paradox. Usually set in the war's closing days and after (I've heard Emperor Showa's surrender statement so many times now I could recite it in my sleep), with a pacifist message implicit or explicit, it nonetheless celebrates traditional...
Reader Mail
Aug 25, 2011

Imagine a more positive future

Regarding Roger Pulvers' Aug. 21 Counterpoint article, "Should wartime and peace allow such different attitudes to murder?": It is sad that many acts are glorified when they are so similar to certain others that are not glorified. Our portrayal of historical incidents is much like advertisements in that...
Reader Mail
Aug 25, 2011

Cleansing the soil of radioactivity

Regarding the Aug. 23 Kyodo article "Fukushima hunts for cesium-resistant rice": While I understand the goal of trying to find a strain of rice that will absorb practically no cesium, I can't help asking some questions: Shouldn't cesium and all other radioactive materials be completely taken out of the...
Reader Mail
Aug 25, 2011

Laws that enforce conservation

Regarding James Dobson's Aug. 14 letter, "Power-saving mindset has limits": If the government would make laws to enforce conservation, Japan could easily reduce energy usage, greenhouse gas emissions, and pollution-related health conditions.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / IN THE RECORD
Aug 25, 2011

DJ SO

DJ SO (Satoshi Aoyagi) is a central figure at Mindgames, the people behind The Labyrinth festival, where he plays a supporting role as resident with his delicate blend of ambient and techno. The Japan Times peeks into his record bag.
COMMENTARY
Aug 25, 2011

Why Chris Christie isn't running for president

Near the statehouse office of New Jersey's 55th governor sits a sort of shrine to the 34th. Fortunately, Chris Christie is unlike Woodrow Wilson.

Longform

A sinkhole in Yashio, which emerged in January, was triggered by a ruptured, aging sewer pipe. Authorities worry that similar sections of infrastructure across the country are also at risk of corrosion.
That sinking feeling: Japan’s aging sewers are an infrastructure time bomb