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Reader Mail
Aug 21, 2011

Tax hike won't fix the problem

Regarding the Aug. 14 Kyodo article "Fiscal reform necessary to avoid crisis": Politicians understand that when you tax something you get less of it. In the United States, this prohibitionist rationale outweighs the revenue-raising rationale in the case of tobacco and alcohol taxes.
Reader Mail
Aug 21, 2011

The real power when Edo opened

In his July 31 Timeout article, "Most unlikely bedfellows" — on the beginning of U.S.-Japan relations — writer Michael Hoffman made a number of assertions that might have either confused or misled readers.
Reader Mail
Aug 21, 2011

No country for Asian refugees

Regarding the July 6 article "UNHCR exec lauds refugee strides, urges more": In the 1970s, Japanese vessels in the South China Sea rescued a lot of boat people who hoped to live in Japan. After several years, though, most of them left for the United States and other Western countries.
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2011

Pentagon denies burying Agent Orange in Okinawa

The Pentagon has once again denied allegations that the U.S. military buried the highly toxic defoliant Agent Orange in Okinawa, the Foreign Ministry said.
Reader Mail
Aug 21, 2011

Japan's wall of double standards

It's not clear whether the comment by Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda, reported in the Aug. 17 Kyodo article "S. Korea blasts Noda's war criminal remarks," is aimed at the Japanese public or at other countries including the United States.
JAPAN / History / JAPAN TIMES GONE BY
Aug 21, 2011

The 1940 Olympics, decreased rice consumption results in improved health, nuclear power perceptions unchanged by Chernobyl

75 YEARS AGOSunday, Aug. 2, 1936
Reader Mail / GENERATIONAL CHANGE
Aug 21, 2011

What more autopsies might tell

The Aug. 14 Media Mix article, "Media coverage often 'the last push' to suicide," contains the following paragraph:
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / ONE-ON-ONE WITH ...
Aug 21, 2011

Westover brings impressive record with him to Shiga

The Japan Times features periodic interviews with personalities in the bj-league. Coach Alan "Al" Westover of the Shiga Lakestars is the subject of this week's profile.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Aug 21, 2011

A blood donor to the masses

The bug days are here again. Shades of green are deepening in the debilitating heat of a summer that's made more of a hardship this year due to the post-March 11 energy-saving efficiencies required of us.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 21, 2011

Korean television dramas are not the real problem

On July 23, actor Sosuke Takaoka tweeted that he was sick of all the Korean dramas on Fuji TV, a network he "used to be indebted to," and demanded more "traditional" Japanese programming. "If anything related to South Korea is on," he continued, "I just turn it off." The backlash was swift, and the actor...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Aug 21, 2011

Veteran umpire Hirako remembered fondly after passing

Japanese sports papers and various Web sites on Aug. 17 reported the death of former Central League umpire Kiyoshi Hirako.
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Aug 21, 2011

Emergency escape routes: Publisher maps the best way home

The Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11 brought death and destruction on an horrific scale to a vast area of the northeastern Tohoku region.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 20, 2011

Amnesty chief targets death penalty

There is a wide gap between Japan and much of the rest of the world when it comes to human rights issues, and nongovernmental organizations need to play a role in changing people's awareness, especially on the death penalty, said Hideki Wakabayashi, the newly appointed executive director of Amnesty International...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Aug 20, 2011

World's best shoppers at my beach shop

Having run a beach shop for eight years now, I've been able to observe the shopping practices of the Japanese firsthand.
SOCCER / J. League
Aug 20, 2011

Strong play has Kofu's Havenaar out of father's shadow

Ventforet Kofu might be struggling to keep their heads above water this season, but striker Mike Havenaar is making a big splash in the J. League's first division.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Aug 19, 2011

Evessa excited to have talented Aoki on board

It's only been a few days since the acquisition become official, but Cohey Aoki's impact is already being measured by those on the Osaka Evessa. And he hasn't even participated in a preseason or regular-season contest.
Reader Mail
Aug 18, 2011

Risks from deadbeat tenants

I read with interest the Aug. 2 life & style article "Once settled in, chances are you'll have to pay to stay," as I can understand that the property rental system with its deposits, gratitude fees and renewal fees may be difficult for a foreign tenant to understand. But let's look at this from another...
Reader Mail
Aug 18, 2011

Geothermal is the most practical

With respect to Pete Hourdequin's Aug. 7 letter, "(Prime Minister Naoto) Kan's vision is commendable": Renewable energy in its current state is NOT a viable solution for Japan. Solar power cells may continue to advance technologically, but they don't make sense for Japan geographically.
Reader Mail
Aug 18, 2011

Over-analyzing the British riots

It's ridiculous the way the British government and media are fretting over the causes of recent urban riots in England. They've been deluded by their own social reconstructionist rhetoric, and are left mouthing "why?" like fish gasping out of water.
Reader Mail
Aug 18, 2011

Don't wait for quake-proof plants

In his Aug. 14 letter, "Power-saving mindset has limits," James Dobson makes some good points about the lack of a long-term conservation ethic in modern society. Personally I don't like to use air conditioners or watch TV, although I admit I enjoy the Internet. All three of these devices use considerable...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 18, 2011

Maher denies making disparaging remarks

Kevin Maher, a former senior U.S. diplomat sacked in March after allegedly making derogatory remarks about Okinawans, on Wednesday denied ever making the comments and accused the reporter who broke the story of breaching journalistic standards.
Reader Mail
Aug 18, 2011

How will a 'wayward' son learn?

I was interested in the comment in the Aug. 13 editorial, "Muddling as the economy sinks," that some people earlier this month seemed to welcome a default on U.S. debt obligations.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 18, 2011

Obama risks 'junk status'

Standard & Poor's controversial decision to downgrade the credit rating of the United States from AAA to AA-plus brought an instant angry riposte from President Barack Obama that "We've always been and always will be a Triple-A country."
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 18, 2011

Sidelined by quake, Libyans here still seek Gadhafi ouster

Japan's tiny Libyan community found itself in a tight spot when radiation scares swept the nation following the Tohoku triple disaster and foreigners fled the country en masse.
Reader Mail
Aug 18, 2011

People must keep saying 'no'

The Aug. 12 Bloomberg article "Vested interests may stymie energy bill," which quotes Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Taro Kono as saying that growing anti-nuclear "public opinion may not be enough to sway politicians," is deeply disturbing.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 18, 2011

Yelle

Your show was packed.
BUSINESS
Aug 18, 2011

Banks may be facing ratings cut

Japanese banks' credit ratings and share prices may decline as global regulators consider measures that seek to avoid the use of public funds to rescue failing lenders, Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. said.

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