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COMMENTARY / World
Apr 19, 2011

EU road map to improving the lives of Roma

The European Union, at long last, is taking a significant step toward improving the lives of Europe's millions of Roma. Rather than proposing a grand plan for EU-level action, the European Commission's recently released "EU framework for national Roma integration strategies up to 2020" calls on each...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 19, 2011

The only panacea for Indonesia's troubles

Is there any idea of the rule of law in the Indonesian Constitution? What is the notion of the rule of law in the context of Indonesia?
EDITORIALS
Apr 19, 2011

A blow to the rule of law

The administration of U.S. President Barack Obama has abandoned plans to try several terrorists, including the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, in civilian courts. Instead, it will use military tribunals to administer justice. It is a sad decision. The United States should be leading...
BUSINESS
Apr 19, 2011

Carmaker's Miyagi investments stand

Toyota Motor Corp., the automaker most affected by the March 11 disaster, plans to build a new engine plant in devastated Miyagi Prefecture and will transfer a subsidiary's production operations to the region.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Apr 18, 2011

In a globalized world, beware the lonely going to war with the only

Only one or lonely one. This may be the question that nations start asking themselves in the aftermath of Japan's threefold disaster.
Reader Mail
Apr 17, 2011

Give the foreign experts a chance

Regarding the April 13 article "Fukushima crisis now at Chernobyl level": It is somewhat terrifying that the severity level of the Fukushima nuclear plant crisis level has been raised to level 7.
Reader Mail
Apr 17, 2011

Bogus claims against wind power

Regarding Minoru Matsutani's April 12 article, "Offshore windmills weather crisis": Sonic waves from wind turbines do not make people feel ill. Studies in Canada, the United States and Australia have shown that the sound is safe.
Reader Mail
Apr 17, 2011

Sensationalist headline and photo

What's with the sensationalist headline and lurid photo of the April 13 front-page article "Fukushima crisis now at Chernobyl level"?! The front page lead story, together with the photo editor's choice of what appears to be a possibly out-of control, post-explosion, burning reactor enclosure — actually...
Reader Mail
Apr 17, 2011

Were meters used instead of feet?

My apologies if I am incorrect about questions regarding Jun Hongo's April 12 article, "Nation's unpreparedness ahead of disaster is blasted." My current understanding of the data presented by the world community, including Japanese television, specifically relating to the events on March 11, has been...
Reader Mail
Apr 17, 2011

Unsafe radiation levels questioned

I'm curious about the math in the April 12 article "High radiation well past no-go zone: Greenpeace." It begins by describing an exposure rate of 4 microsieverts/hour, which it says amounts to 5 millisieverts/year. If that math is correct, reasonable comparisons would be a mammogram (3 millisieverts...
EDITORIALS
Apr 17, 2011

Foreign students since the disaster

Of the many consequences of the Tohoku crisis, one of the most disappointing is the fear so many foreigners now have about coming to Japan. Half a million hotel reservations have been canceled, according to the Japan Tourism Agency. In addition to those losses, the number of foreign students planning...
EDITORIALS
Apr 17, 2011

Convenience in Tohoku

One of the few signs of things returning to normal in Tohoku is the reopening of convenience stores. In the six prefectures making up Tohoku, and in Ibaraki Prefecture, a third of the 3,700 stores closed after the quake-tsunami due to power, water and infrastructure failures.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Apr 17, 2011

Viewing wildlife through a lens

I grew up in Britain, which is a crane-free zone, so from the very first time I arrived in Japan I was dreaming of seeing the iconic red-crowned cranes of Hokkaido. How much more iconic as a crane can you get than being dubbed Grus japonensis? But just how was I to learn about their haunts and habits?...
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Apr 17, 2011

Capturing the eerie beauty of Chernobyl

Pripyat, Ukraine, has been a ghost town for the last 25 years. On April 26, 1986, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant's No. 4 reactor experienced a sudden power surge resulting in several explosions and fires that sent a massive amount of nuclear debris into the air.
JAPAN / History / JAPAN TIMES GONE BY
Apr 17, 2011

Yoshiwara fire, war and foreign ministers start weekly meetings, intellectuals on dope, Japan offers to help at Chernobyl

100 YEARS AGOTuesday, April 11, 1911
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Apr 17, 2011

In this time of trials, a new nationalism would aid Japan's recovery

The worst form of bondage is the bondage of dejection, which keeps men hopelessly chained in loss of faith in themselves."
Reader Mail
Apr 17, 2011

Anticipating evacuation distance

Regarding the April 13 article "Tsunami hit more than 100 evacuation sites": Decisions made for disaster events are often modified after an event. There are particular populations, elderly and disabled, that need consideration. If evacuation sites are moved to greater distances, then planners should...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 16, 2011

Quest to gain, impart knowledge drives expat

The importance of education informs Aileen Kawagoe's life view, although early on she turned down the chance to become an educator like her father.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 15, 2011

Military flexes relief might, gains newfound esteem

In a famous speech former Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida gave at the National Defense Academy's graduation ceremony in February 1957, he had insightful advice to give about joining the Self-Defense Forces.
JAPAN
Apr 15, 2011

Fish near Fukushima have cesium

Radioactive cesium 25 times above the legal limit for consumption was detected Wednesday in young sand lance caught off Fukushima Prefecture, the health ministry said.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Apr 15, 2011

Blazers pass on Swift after tryout this week

The Tokyo Apache's season is finished, but big man Robert Swift's goal of returning to the NBA lives on.
Reader Mail
Apr 14, 2011

Journalist captures humanity

Regarding Rob Gilhooly's March 27 article, "Survivors strive to start picking up the pieces": I wish I had been introduced to Gilhooly's work before the disaster in Japan. I have been very impressed by his photographs, but this is my first glimpse at his "journalist" side.
Reader Mail
Apr 14, 2011

Connect with alternative energy

Last Sunday there were anti-nuclear protests in Tokyo. They were no match for Tahrir Square, Cairo, for sure. Nothing shut down — just a bunch of people peacefully walking down the street, accompanied by a few beat cops. Some dressed up in wacky costumes, others carried NO NUKE signs, and others, young...
Reader Mail
Apr 14, 2011

Courage to make do with less

Regarding the March 28 Kyodo article "Nuclear policy called into question": Debates over the nuclear policy in Japan have always been centered on the interests of the current generations or, perhaps, a limited number of people engaged in promoting, constructing and operating nuclear power plants.
JAPAN
Apr 14, 2011

Radiation surges above 4's fuel pool

Radiation has risen to high levels above the spent-fuel pool at reactor No. 4 and its temperature is rising, the nuclear safety agency said Wednesday, indicating the fuel rods have been further damaged and are emitting radioactive substances.
Reader Mail
Apr 14, 2011

Japanese can express anything

In their April 9 article, "With the world looking in, Japan needs to speak out," Kumi Sato and Michael J. Alfant write that the "inherent vagueness of Japanese creates many challenges in translation." While structural differences between Japanese and English certainly do make translation challenging,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Apr 14, 2011

Bouncing back and reaching higher

A blast of fashion literature
Reader Mail
Apr 14, 2011

Step beyond the stoic reaction

During the past month, pundits in the domestic and foreign news media have praised the stoicism of the people who were affected by the Tohoku-Pacific earthquake and tsunami. This is certainly an attribute that I am proud of as a Japanese person. But how come this unprecedented disaster does not also...

Longform

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