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COMMENTARY
Sep 20, 2009

Divining Japan's new leadership amid the expectations of change

LONDON — On a recent visit to France, I was frequently asked about the results of the Japanese election. Did the results mean that Japan was really changing? Would the new Japanese government increase Japan's influence in the world?
Reader Mail
Sep 13, 2009

Where is North Korea's good will?

I enjoyed Gregory Clark's Sept. 10 letter, "Common-sense policies dismissed," which was a response to my response to his Aug. 26 article ("First ban the hawks, then the bomb"). As I said the first time through, I am not a fan of rightwing hawks; they do exist and they do make trouble. That said, my main...
Reader Mail
Sep 13, 2009

Accomplices in promoting folly

How can a citizen know that what he reads, sees and hears from the media is accurate and fair? That's the question triggered by Hiroaki Sato's Aug. 30 article, "Media connivance in walking the dogs of war."
JAPAN
Sep 11, 2009

Incoming first lady has already made a big splash

Fresh off an accord to form a coalition with two minor parties, Democratic Party of Japan President Yukio Hatoyama began compiling a list Thursday of possible candidates to form his new administration.
Reader Mail
Sep 10, 2009

Writing about a minority group

After reading Debito Arudou's Sept. 1 article, "Meet Mr. James, gaijin clown ," I am not sure what Arudou is more upset about: Mr. James as a threat to foreign identity in Japan, or foreigners who refuse to join Arudou in his dramatic outrage. I would like to suggest that Arudou's writing does more harm...
COMMENTARY
Sep 8, 2009

Revisiting the folly of India's nuclear tests

WATERLOO, Ontario — Three recent events reopen the debate on the wisdom of India's nuclear tests in 1998, as judged from within the narrow framework of its own interests. Or rather, they confirm the folly of the tests:
EDITORIALS
Sep 6, 2009

DPJ and Japan-U.S. relations

Some media in the United States expressed concern that the new Japanese government to be headed by Democratic Party of Japan leader Yukio Hatoyama may pursue a more independent foreign policy. The DPJ's election platform and a recent article by Mr. Hatoyama that appeared in The New York Times Web site...
Japan Times
Reference / Special Presentations / WITNESS TO WAR
Sep 5, 2009

Ex-army cadet, 81, recalls war mind-set

25th in a series
Reader Mail
Sep 3, 2009

Excessive blame placed on Bush

Regarding Yoshi Tsurumi's Aug. 27 article "Time to reject tyranny and health insecurity": I appreciate the significant connections between the United States and Japan, but was professor Tsurumi seriously suggesting that Japan's suicide rate has been caused by George W. Bush?
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 30, 2009

War over whaling takes to Japan's airwaves

In early August, director Louis Psihoyos told The Toronto Star that his documentary, "The Cove," had been submitted to the Tokyo International Film Festival and rejected. In the article he quoted an unnamed TIFF "director" who said that the festival receives funding from the Japanese government, which...
Reader Mail
Aug 20, 2009

Aquino eulogy seems exaggerated

Regarding former Philippine President Fidel Ramos' Aug. 14 article, "Cory Aquino's legacy of enriched freedom": Cory Aquino was undoubtedly a kind, honest and unpretentious president, but she was ineffectual. To attribute "enriched freedom" to her is simply an intellectual exaggeration bordering on flatulence....
Reader Mail
Aug 13, 2009

Steps toward human maturation

The Aug. 6 article by the Rev. Eric Freed, "Purpose of remembering," was one of the most appropriate statements yet with regard to the 64th anniversary of the atomic explosions at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. With persuasive and quiet eloquence, Freed appealed for our unavoidable commitment to being creative...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL: KEYES' POINT
Aug 5, 2009

Heisei kids: a generation that struggles to dream

"Dad?"
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Aug 4, 2009

Party offers a third way: happiness

As a historic general election looms on Aug. 30, Japan's long-suffering electorate faces a clear choice: vote for the conservative party that has virtually monopolized power since 1955, or opt for its more liberal but untested rival, which promises long-awaited reform. For those with a taste for the...
Reader Mail
Aug 2, 2009

Constant death wish toward Israel

Cesar Chelala's July 27 article, "Threats against Iran feed off modern myths," does not reveal anything new to anybody with the faintest interest in politics. The world has known for years about the pros and cons of the topics dealt with in the article. Moreover, while explaining his point of view on...
Reader Mail
Aug 2, 2009

Questions fly over arrest of tourist

Brian Hedge's July 28 letter, "Pocket knife lands tourist, 74, in lockup," presented in the Hotline to Nagatacho column, relates what seems to be an unfortunate incident stemming from police being overly zealous to enforce a new law. However, the article also raises a number of questions.
COMMENTARY
Jul 29, 2009

Don't waste good intentions

When I read former Vice Foreign Minister Ryohei Murata's remarks in the newspaper, disclosing a secret agreement on port visits by U.S. ships carrying nuclear weapons, I was excited and hopeful that there would be new developments on this issue.
Reader Mail
Jul 26, 2009

For a more beautiful fortification

I have just read Alice Gordenker's July 16 column — "So, what the heck is that?" — about ishigaki construction at Japan's castles. The article conveyed interesting information about engineering design, but I think that the castle expert quoted in the article, Yasuhiro Nishigaya, has been misled about...
Japan Times
JAPAN / PARTY POWERS
Jul 23, 2009

SDP's Fukushima plays up differences with DPJ

With the campaign kicking off soon for the Aug. 30 election, Social Democratic Party President Mizuho Fukushima said Wednesday her party intends to appeal to voters by upholding its long-held positions — even if this keeps the SDP from joining a ruling bloc with the predicted winner, the Democratic...
Reader Mail
Jul 19, 2009

Japan's 'qualitative' contribution

I think Kazuo Ogoura's July 14 article, "Why is Japan introverted?," is hard to understand. The main topic is why Japanese people prefer not to study or work abroad, yet the article finishes with the statement that Japan needs to increase its international appeal. The conclusion is unrelated to the beginning...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 15, 2009

Remembering McNamara

NEW YORK — I first met U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, who presided over the U.S. buildup in Vietnam, in the summer of 1967. I had just returned from a trip to South Vietnam, where, as a reporter for The New Yorker, I witnessed the destruction, by American air power, of two provinces, Quang...
Reader Mail
Jul 12, 2009

Unbelievable remark on religion

Just read part of the first paragraph of Jan-Werner Mueller's July 5 article "The return of religion to Europe." Unfortunately, I could not continue after reading that "religion played virtually no role during the last American presidential election."
Reader Mail
Jul 12, 2009

Japan's 'greatest' gift to the West

Thank you for Damien Okado-Gough's June 27 article, "Zen Buddhist monk aids peace efforts in native Belfast," which is about Paul Haller, my Zen teacher. In addition to visiting Ireland a couple of times a year to lead sesshin, he keeps in touch with students through interviews and classes on Buddhism...
Reader Mail
Jun 28, 2009

The frustrating hunt for goat meat

It was interesting to read the June 19 article on the promotion of goat meat consumption in Okinawa ("Okinawa trying to get goat back on the menu") and on the efforts to reinvigorate what is apparently a traditional industry there.
Reader Mail
Jun 25, 2009

Enjoying what surrounds us

Regarding Tomoko Otake's June 18 article, "The safety nets for would-be suicides": I am very happy to learn of the advances on this important issue in Japan. Legal progress and the increasing number of advocates and safety networks are really the way to improve this unbearable situation. Coming from...
Reader Mail
Jun 21, 2009

Position that should be refuted

Regarding Paul de Vries' May 26 article, "Expat life in Japan: the good, the bad and the meaningful": I have a number of concerns with this article's position that racial discrimination can be acceptable. First, "misbehaving Russian sailors" were not the ones barred from Otaru bathhouses, though that...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jun 16, 2009

'Discontinuous minds' block progress on discrimination

On the final day of the Golden Week holiday this year, I found myself face to face with a young Japanese man who had let himself into my apartment, presumably with the intention of robbing the place. The intruder, who was standing in my living room looking around, fled when disturbed. A chase ensued,...
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Jun 16, 2009

Re: 'The good, the bad and the meaningful'

Following are some readers' responses to Paul de Vries' May 26 Zeit Gist article "Expat life in Japan: the good, the bad and the meaningful":

Longform

The byzantine process for converting a foreign driver’s license into a Japanese one entails mountains of paperwork and significant stamina — unless you're a lucky license holder from a country or region where these requirements are waived.
Driving in Japan isn’t hard. Getting the license is.