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Reader Mail
Jun 16, 2011

Disappointing antinuke coverage

Regarding the June 12 front-page article "Three months marked since killer quake, tsunami": I was very disappointed by The Japan Times so-called coverage of the worldwide demonstrations against nuclear power held June 11.
Reader Mail
Jun 16, 2011

Unlikely return to Fukushima

Regarding the front-page June 11 article "Housing still scarce three months after disaster": This is another good article, but it should be noted that it may be a while before people in the Fukushima region realize that many of them will not be able to return to their neighborhoods in their lifetimes....
Reader Mail
Jun 9, 2011

Place to start: reduce energy use

Although I realize the main purpose of Michael Hoffman's June 6 article, "What will Japan learn from the Fukushima meltdowns?," is to teach the Japanese language, he ought to learn more about a topic rather than pass off conventional wisdom as fact.
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
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
May 28, 2011

Funds elude drug rehab effort in Turkey

A former staffer of Mie-DARC, a drug addiction rehabilitation center in Mie Prefecture, has been providing similar support for addicts in Turkey.
Reader Mail
May 26, 2011

Virtues will stand reconstruction

I believe that Michael Hoffman's May 22 article, "Extreme nationalism may emerge from the rubble of the quake," reiterates, in its own way, the unique character of Japan. For me, the aftermath of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami seemed to remind the world of this country's character, which has always...
Reader Mail
May 26, 2011

Exalting superiority carries risk

Michael Hoffman's article on the apparent rise of nationalism in the wake of the March 11 earthquake disaster leads me to wonder: If Japanese "intellectuals" like conservative journalist Yoshiko Sakurai and professor emeritus Masahiko Fujiwara (both cited in Hoffman's article) make themselves and their...
Reader Mail
May 19, 2011

News report not ready for release

Was the May 14 Kyodo article "Radioactive ash found in Tokyo after March 11" meant for normal people, or was it badly translated into English? It is just too vague and uses scandalizing vocabulary: "A sewage plant in eastern Tokyo detected a highly radioactive substance in incinerator ash shortly after...
Reader Mail
May 15, 2011

Wish from a young Pakistani

I am a student from Pakistan currently on scholarship at the Royal Veterinary College, University of London. Before running another eloquent article about the disintegration of Pakistan, I wish newspaper editors would consider how it will hamper me emotionally as a Pakistani.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
May 10, 2011

Pension 'gap years' and missed payments

Responding to our April 19 column ("Japan pension answers often case-specific"), KW suggests that there are further conditions — aside from the special exemptions we mentioned — under which foreigners may be able to receive a pension without paying in for 25 years.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
May 10, 2011

Japan's education system failing on all levels

The article "Students choose failure over uncertainty" by Chris Burgess (Zeit Gist, April 19) is truly reflective of the state of education, employment and Japanese society. I am glad to know that someone has finally voiced his or her concern over a very broken system.
Reader Mail
May 8, 2011

Knowing what needs to be done

Regarding the May 3 Kyodo article "Ex-JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching Program) teacher dashed from U.K. to help": It was so uplifting to read this article — to see that someone cares that much for others and is willing to help out (following the March 11 disaster in the Tohoku-Pacific region).
Reader Mail
May 1, 2011

No such thing as 'passive tense'

Regarding the April 27 Bilingual page article, "Stop worrying and embrace the passive tense": Sorry to nitpick, but I think someone writing a column on language is obliged to be careful about linguistic terminology.
Reader Mail
Apr 28, 2011

Hold the sacrificial offerings

I felt dismay and sadness — but not shock! — when I read of the risk of death faced by the brave Tokyo Electric Power Co. workers at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant ("Nuke workers at risk of overwork death," April 20 article). Why not shock? Because this country has a long-held belief in sacrificing...
Reader Mail
Apr 24, 2011

Renminbi conversion still strict

Barry Eichengreen's April 15 opinion article, "Safer alternative bears on dollar," was a very interesting take on the potential replacements for the dollar. I agree that the most frequently discussed alternatives are not viable, but my question is about China's renminbi currency.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 24, 2011

Building hospital ships for disaster response

An earthquake of unprecedented magnitude, followed by a terrible tsunami, devastated the northeast coast of Japan on March 11, setting off a nuclear emergency that is having global effects.The combination of these calamities has also plunged Japan into a kind of national depression that I have never...
Reader Mail
Apr 24, 2011

Making best use of the 'military'

By explaining the role of the Japan Self-Defense Forces in disaster relief, the April 15 article "Military flexes relief might, gains newfound esteem" painted the SDF in a very good light.
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...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Apr 16, 2011

Earthquake relief: Little people doing big things

Prime Minister Naoto Kan took out nearly a full-page ad in the International Herald Tribune last week to thank the international community for their kizuna (bond of friendship), regarding Japan's earthquake and tsunami disaster on March 11. It was a stirring tribute to those who have come together to...
Reader Mail
Apr 7, 2011

Uncertain future of Japan tourism

Regarding Amy Chavez's April 2 column, "This earthquake still felt all over Japan": As a Frenchman married to a Japanese and as a one-year resident of Japan, I usually read Chavez's articles with great pleasure and enjoy the wit in her writing. This article is no exception as it gives us the usual insight...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 3, 2011

Japanese antinuclear voices are still struggling to be heard

On March 26, NHK covered an antinuclear power demonstration in Germany that attracted thousands of protesters. The report pointed out that the demonstration was sparked by the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear reactor. The next day, there was a march by Japanese antinuke protesters in Tokyo. Though...
Reader Mail
Mar 27, 2011

Japan's culture is not the culprit

Gregory Clark's March 24 article, "Nuclear meltdowns and Japanese culture," reinforced the stereotyped Western view of Japan, which very often tries to cast cultural traits as a contributory cause of a failure or, in this case, a major disaster.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 26, 2011

Canadian writer draws on creators' support for Tohoku

News stories around the world reveal a deluge of incomprehensible sameness, the debris of aggregate destruction overshadowing an area known for its rugged beauty and strong individuals.
Reader Mail
Mar 24, 2011

Comprehending the devastation

I just read Rob Gilhooly's March 20 article, " 'Nothing can prepare you to witness this.' " From the far off United States, it is hard to comprehend the scale of the devastation. From Miyagi Prefecture, Gilhooly has provided small touches of perspective that help me understand a little more the suffering...
Reader Mail
Mar 20, 2011

Stick with the same radiation unit

Regarding the March 16 article "Radiation fears grow after blasts": In the map-box for this article, radiation levels are stated in "millisieverts" for one time Tuesday morning (March 15), then in "microsieverts" for another time the same morning, thus rendering the information practically useless at...
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Mar 18, 2011

Power to the people: TEPCO at economic cross-purposes with blackout strategy

If the current energy crisis is not a more convincing argument for the development of the so-called smart-grid system, we don't know what is.
Reader Mail
Mar 10, 2011

Abolishing nuclear weapons use

Regarding Hirotaka Yamauchi's March 2 article, " A call for philosophical thinking": Excellent article. I tend to agree with everything Yamauchi wrote with one exception, the abolition of nuclear weapons. Yamauchi says we can never abolish nuclear weapons because someone will always want to make them....
Reader Mail
Mar 6, 2011

Socking away national treasures

Regarding the March 2 Kyodo article "Yakushiji pagoda (in Nara) open first time in 1,300 years": As a long-term resident of Japan, I have a very strong passion for Japanese history, arts and places of significant historical interest. I have found, though, on numerous occasions that historical places...
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Mar 1, 2011

Foreignness, nationality and naturalization: readers' views

A selection of responses to "Naturalized Japanese: foreigners no more" by Debito Arudou (Just Be Cause, Feb. 1):
Reader Mail
Feb 27, 2011

A threat despite economic travail

Regarding Michael Richardson's Feb. 23 article, "Economy is key to security": Richardson's vapid regurgitation of economic facts and figures is all predicated on Minister in Charge of National Policy Koichiro Genba's assertion — presumably supported by Richardson — that there is a link between the...

Longform

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