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EDITORIALS
Jul 2, 2011

Depths of a transplant scandal

A 55-year-old medical doctor from Tokyo's Edogawa Ward who was suffering from kidney disease received a kidney from a living donor in July 2010. He is suspected of having paid money to two gangsters at different times to find a man whom he could adopt so he would qualify to donate a kidney to him.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jul 2, 2011

Long and short of pet grooming

"Wow, what's that?" I asked Mrs. Amano. In her arms she was holding a furry thing with whiskers. I couldn't quite recognize the animal as it had tufts of hair sticking out all over it — like a hexagram with a cat face in the middle.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 1, 2011

"Fossil: Messages From the Past"

This show presents about 900 fossils spanning billions of years of Earth's existence. The collection, which includes fossils of dinosaurs, plants, and insects trapped in resin, is displayed in chronological order so that visitors can not only learn about fossilization, but also visualize the evolution...
COMMENTARY
Jul 1, 2011

Black info and media gullibility: creation of the Tiananmen myth

The recent WikiLeaks release of cables from the U.S. Embassy in Beijing has helped finally to kill the myth of an alleged massacre in Beijing's Tiananmen Square on the night of June 3-4, 1989.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 1, 2011

Radioactive debris dilemma unresolved, growing worse

Second of two parts
JAPAN
Jul 1, 2011

Cesium found in child urine tests

Small amounts of radioactive cesium were found in the urine of 10 children in the city of Fukushima, confirming their internal exposure to radiation, citizens' groups that carried out a survey said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Jul 1, 2011

MUFJ in talks with RBS to acquire Australia infrastructure unit

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. is in talks with Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC to buy the U.K. bank's infrastructure advisory unit in Australia, two sources said.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jul 1, 2011

Shichi Jyu Ni Kou: Japanese cuisine that follows nature's cues

Japan, as has been said far too often, is a country of four seasons. But that tired old mantra is by no means the whole truth. The ancient lunisolar calendar recognizes 24 distinct divisions in the year, while haiku poets and others attuned to the constant flux of the natural world identify three times...
Reader Mail
Jun 30, 2011

Better trip for Japanese retirees

Regarding the June 26 Kyodo article "Ogasawara Islands join World Heritage family": Last year I was part of a delegation of foreigners sent by the Japan Tourism Agency to assess the overseas tourist potential of the Ogasawara Islands.
Reader Mail
Jun 30, 2011

Differences in experiencing grief

In his June 12 Counterpoint article, "Barber's cutting comment denies others' humanity — and hers, too," Roger Pulvers lamented his young Korean barber's stereotypical and dehumanizing view of the Japanese and her inability to see other cultures from any viewpoint other than her own.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 30, 2011

Debris removal, recycling daunting, piecemeal labor

Removing and disposing of the debris generated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami are crucial parts of the recovery process as the people in the devastated region move forward with rebuilding their communities.
Reader Mail
Jun 30, 2011

A suicide trigger everywhere

One paragraph of The June 23 article "Suicides upping casualties from Tohoku catastrophe" states that "The link between depression and suicide is well documented, particularly in Japan, where depression has been shown to be a major suicide trigger."
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jun 29, 2011

The hidden economics of diabetes

Japanese doctors can make a lot of money from the diabetes epidemic.
BUSINESS
Jun 29, 2011

Ricoh taps wind and sun for billboard

Ricoh Co. said it has erected in England the world's first billboard fueled by wind and solar power.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 28, 2011

Eagleburger: the U.S. diplomat's ambassador

For many of us in the U.S. Foreign Service, Lawrence Eagleburger, who died early this month, was a larger-than-life figure who left an indelible mark on our lives.
EDITORIALS
Jun 28, 2011

Victory against terror in Indonesia

It was third time unlucky for Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Bashir. An Indonesia court on June 16 found Mr. Bashir guilty of terrorism charges and sentenced him to 15 years in prison. While the 72 year old maintains his innocence, his conviction is an important step in the fight against extremist Islam...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 27, 2011

Rethinking the myth that we cannot make energy independence financially feasible

Human beings' inalienable fascination with fossil fuels and their lack of political confidence in driving the nation through a careful energy transition process have often put the energy independence dream in the backseat among national priorities.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jun 27, 2011

Futility and resignation make for poor drama in Japanese politics

"Sheer futility," Quoheleth says. "Sheer futility: Everything is futile!"
Reader Mail
Jun 26, 2011

Spare the cut and save the shade

The June 16 Bloomberg article titled "'Green curtains' surge in face of power shortage" offers many ideas on how to cope with the impending summer heat — from gardening to buying cooler outfits and losing weight.
Reader Mail
Jun 26, 2011

Thrilled to have made the trip

When disaster struck Japan on March 11, the whole world gasped over media news of the horror. We prayed every day for your great country to be spared further pain. The loss was and is inestimable.
Reader Mail
Jun 26, 2011

Quotes differ from personal view

Giovanni Fazio's June 19 comments about my June 6 Bilingual Page article, "What will Japan learn from the Fukushima meltdowns?," attributes opinions to me that I do not hold and — unless I'm badly misreading my own writing — did not express.
Reader Mail
Jun 26, 2011

Dosimeters offer peace of mind

I fail to see the reasoning behind at least two negative reader responses to the June 15 Kyodo article "34,000 children in Fukushima to get dosimeters."
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2011

Top scientist in academic row

An article that helped Tohoku University President Akihisa Inoue win the Japan Academy Award has been retracted from a leading U.S. scientific journal after the author violated protocol by reusing his own previously published material without acknowledging it.
Reader Mail
Jun 26, 2011

An idea for a containment dome

The No. 4 reactor of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant contains large quantities of radioactive material that presents a hazard due to the threat of aftershocks like the one (6.7 magnitude) recorded Thursday morning off the Tohoku-Pacific coast.

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