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Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 7, 2011

Quake levels playing field for imported cars

The record March 11 earthquake had an unexpected side effect for Bayerische Motoren Werke AG dealer Jun Kubota: His showroom in central Tokyo had its best April in at least three years.
COMMENTARY
Jun 6, 2011

A Gaza refugee camp revisited

"Do you remember Mahmoud?" asked Abu Nidal, my neighbor from nearly 20 years ago, when I lived in Gaza.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 6, 2011

Feud over U.S. debt ceiling risks driving off investors

U.S. politicians are in the thick of a debate that is fascinating, urgent, passionate, stubborn and potentially highly dangerous both for the American economy and for the country's political reputation and standing in the world.
Reader Mail
Jun 5, 2011

Promoters of Japan's uniqueness

In his May 30 article, "Bedfellows of those 'lax,' 'insular' Japanese," Hiroaki Sato points out that cozy relationships between big business and government regulators are not confined to Japan, as last year's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico exemplifies. He is right, but I disagree with his suggestion...
Reader Mail
Jun 5, 2011

Close Futenma, save the alliance

In his May 29 letter, "" J. Tagami makes the common error of linking Japanese attitudes toward U.S. Marines stationed in Okinawa to the Japan-U.S. security alliance itself. Tagami is wrong to believe that many Japanese take America for granted. Support for the alliance is strong.
Reader Mail
Jun 5, 2011

A nation of geothermal slackers

Regarding the May 29 article "Memo emblematic of disaster plan flaws": Rather than criticize, which is way too easy, I would like to suggest an alternative. As an engineer I like to look at things from many angles to find a practical solution. My main concern is that the alternative energy suggestions...
Reader Mail
Jun 5, 2011

Sacrifices of Okinawans continue

As for J. Tagami's May 29 letter and other letters written in support of Operation Tomodachi (the relief effort carried out by American forces after the March 11 Tohoku-Pacific earthquake and tsunami): These people share a belief in the impeccable intentions of U.S. foreign policy toward Japan and Okinawa....
Reader Mail
Jun 5, 2011

This generation must pay more

Regarding Philip Brasor's May 29 Media Mix article, "Kan government struggles to raise reconstruction funds": No one wants a tax increase. I don't, my wife doesn't and my boss doesn't. However, Japan has no choice. This generation is going to have to pay for the mistakes that Japan's leaders have been...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Jun 5, 2011

Abdul-Rauf reminisces about his playing days with Shaq

Shaquille O'Neal's larger-than-life persona followed him wherever he went during his colorful 19-year odyssey in the NBA.
Reader Mail
Jun 5, 2011

IMF chief who makes a difference

Regarding Kevin Rafferty's May 26 article, "Japan: the silent IMF partner": It really doesn't matter whether the new managing director of the International Monetary Fund is a French woman or a Bushman, so long as either shares the ideology of the IMF-World Bank — that only unbridled capitalism can...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jun 5, 2011

Doomed self-obsessive remains iconic to some in the Japan of today

"It's not that I'm weak, it's that the suffering weighs down on me too heavily."
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Jun 5, 2011

Amon Miyamoto: Globe-trotting dramatist seeks new horizons

Fifty-three years ago, Amon Miyamoto was born into a world in which he grew up listening to spirited exchanges between leading lights from the stage and showbiz in his father's coffee shop across from the modern-leaning Shinbashi Enbujo outpost of the venerable Kabuki-za theater in Tokyo's smart Ginza...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2011

Students credit survival to disaster-preparedness drills

March 11 started out as another ordinary Friday at Kamaishi East Junior High School, which stands by the mouth of the Unosumai River that runs through the city into Otsuchi Bay. Classes were over for the day and students were about to start their after-school club activities when the magnitude 9.0 earthquake...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jun 4, 2011

Animal shelter in Niigata helps Tohoku pets, owners

When the March 11 earthquake hit Japan, Niigata resident Isabella Gallaon-Aoki "missed it completely." Ironic, in that she would soon find herself in the very bowels of the disaster area, and travel there some 20 times over the next two months.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 3, 2011

Peru trade minister applauds Japan EPA

The recent signing of the Japan-Peru free-trade agreement is beneficial for both nations in boosting trade and opening up investment opportunities, Peru's trade minister said Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 3, 2011

Economic transformation in one generation

East Asia today is far more urban, high-tech and wealthy than 30 years ago. And it offers a far wider range of social and economic opportunities.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 3, 2011

"Expressing Ocean And Water in Modern Art — Paul Signac, Fukuda Heihachiro, Sugimoto Hiroshi and Others"

In ancient times, Osaka flourished as a hub port connecting other regions of Japan. Its rivers, canals and seaways played a vital role in transportation and trade, and before the end of the Edo Period (1603-1867) it had developed into Japan's economic center. The Osaka City Museum of Modern Art, now...
BUSINESS
Jun 3, 2011

Tepco debt forgiveness is risk for Japanese bank ratings, S&P warns

Japanese banks' credit ratings will be at risk if they forgive loans made to Tokyo Electric Power Co., Standard & Poor's said.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 3, 2011

Decade of fine tuning yields gold for capsule

"I see capsule as a J-pop group, but then again, I don't think J-pop should be made into a particular genre with its own rules," says Yasutaka Nakata of electro unit capsule and producer of idol sensations Perfume. "There are professional producers who try to create 'J-pop music,' but really any pop...
Reader Mail
Jun 2, 2011

Group etiquette must come first

Regarding the May 27 article "Hashimoto stalks anthem foes": Some people criticize Osaka Gov. Toru Hashimoto as dictatorial for pushing a proposed ordinance that would force public school teachers to stand when the "Kimigayo" national anthem is sung at school. However, the proposal should be fairly evaluated...
Reader Mail
Jun 2, 2011

Focus belongs on Tohoku people

The lives of many people in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, the three prefectures that bore the brunt of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, are still in shambles. Many people in the region had their houses, beloved family members, property and means of living washed away. There is even an...
Reader Mail
Jun 2, 2011

Making room for the unthinkable

Regarding the May 28 article "Japan should stop building skyscrapers after quake": Before the earthquake, a lot of Japanese looked forward to the completion of the Sky Tree Tower in Tokyo. Some expected it to symbolize Japanese technology or at least to put Japan on a par with other countries like America...
Reader Mail
Jun 2, 2011

20% renewable target too timid?

Regarding the May 27 article "Kan sets 20% target for renewable energy": I can't help thinking that the 20 percent target is a little under-ambitious. I built my house six years ago, and if the local government at the time had offered incentives for me to add solar power to my house, I would have jumped...
Reader Mail
Jun 2, 2011

'Preparing for the best' has failed

Bravo! to Hiromi Murakami for his May 30 article, "Changing Japan's system to handle the 'unexpected.'" That's telling it like it is. I write a blog that gets about 1,000 reads per article under the pseudonym "gonzedo" in my local newspaper. Most of my recent articles have had to do with the Fukushima...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 2, 2011

Thee Phantom's genre-blending screams 'Rap Me Amadeus!'

Many hip-hop artists spend their days scouring record bins for choice samples to rap over, but rarely do they go out and find an actual orchestra. As rapper Thee Phantom, Jeff McNeill is doing just that.
COMMENTARY
Jun 1, 2011

Libya: running out of options

They swore blind that there would never be foreign "boots on the ground" in Libya, but as NATO's campaign against Moammar Gadhafi's regime enters its third month it is getting a lot closer to the ground. It started with Tomahawk missiles fired from over the horizon; then it was fighter-bombers firing...

Longform

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