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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":
JAPAN
Jun 12, 2009

Anything goes in virtual pornography

Should abusing a virtual teenage girl be outlawed?
COMMENTARY
Jun 12, 2009

The deficits of democracy

LONDON — Britain and Japan have prime ministers who have not been endorsed by the electorate in a general election. Both are hanging on to power and argue that it is their right as prime minister to choose the date for the next election. Under our constitutions this is a valid claim, but is it in accordance...
Reader Mail
Jun 11, 2009

Taiwan's Chinese characteristics

In her June 4 letter, "Careful whom you call 'Chinese,'" June Dreyer contradicted the claim in my May 27 article, "Cross-strait gap narrows," that most Taiwanese think Chinese, speak Chinese and are Chinese like any other Chinese people.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jun 7, 2009

What price heroism for indoctrinated fighters in unjust wars?

What makes a hero in war? If that war is unjust, do the soldiers involved deserve to be treated as heroes? And what is the civilian role in these heroics?
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL: KEYES' POINT
Jun 3, 2009

Back to basics: The choice of seihin or kinben

"You're up very late," says Reiko.
Reader Mail
May 31, 2009

Adult manga has 50-year history

The May 26 article " 'Manga': heart of pop culture" has to be one of the most poorly researched articles I've ever had the misfortune to read in The Japan Times. The Japanese comic magazine industry's targeting of the adult audience has nearly 50 years of history. Titles targeting salarymen are published...
JAPAN / YOKOHAMA AT 150
May 29, 2009

Yokohama — city on the cutting edge

Last in a series
Reader Mail
May 28, 2009

Funny way to protect identity

Regarding the brief May 25 article "Yamagata teen shot by crow hunter": This (Kyodo) article made me laugh because it says the name of the victim was withheld, yet it identifies her as the "eldest daughter of Keishi Konno 47, a local farmer."
Reader Mail
May 28, 2009

Fine points of dispute with Russia

Allow me to reply to the four points that Thomas Schoenbaum says, in his May 21 letter ("Positions on Kurils not binding"), were "inaccuracies" in my May 12 article ("Northern Territories dispute"). First, while Dean Acheson was U.S. secretary of state at the time of the negotiations with Japan on the...
COMMENTARY
May 24, 2009

An offer Pyongyang can't refuse

Past U.S.-North Korea negotiations on nuclear issues can be roughly classified into two types.
Reader Mail
May 21, 2009

Positions on Kurils not binding

Gregory Clark's May 12 article, "Northern Territories dispute lives on self-righteous deadlock," contains some inaccuracies:
Reader Mail
May 3, 2009

Too expensive to get around

Regarding Steve Hesse's article "Ignorance of 'sustainability' is not an option": Has Hesse ever lived in the countryside in Japan? I have for 10 years, and am sick of being isolated by high train prices, high highway tolls and sky-high gasoline prices — still about $4 per gallon. For example the...
Reader Mail
May 3, 2009

Critics missing the wider issue

I'm afraid I must take issue with Minako Ishii's April 23 letter, "Leniency will make matters worse," concerning the Calderon family's plight. I find that her response is typical of many Japanese who seem unable to see the wider issue that the Calderon case has raised. It should be obvious to onlookers...
Reader Mail
May 3, 2009

Technology event has paid off

Regarding Alex Martin's April 28 article, "Tokyo 2.0 a buzzing hub for online communities, entrepreneurs": As an early participant of Tokyo 2.0, I have been pleased to see that cofounder Andrew Shuttleworth's idea and hard work have finally come to fruition. I try to make a special trip to Tokyo from...
Reader Mail
Apr 26, 2009

Who thinks of these regulations?

I have often wondered about the origin of the odious, increasingly intrusive immigration-control regulations in Japan. Whether it be the airport biometric screening and fingerprinting, the fines and detentions for failure to carry passports or alien registration cards even when jogging or taking out...
JAPAN
Apr 15, 2009

Debate starts on bill to free up MSDF

The Lower House began deliberating on an antipiracy bill Tuesday to create a permanent law that would let the Maritime Self-Defense Force protect ships of any nationality against pirates and remove certain limits on the MSDF's use of force.
Reader Mail
Apr 9, 2009

No. 3 figure in Tibetan Buddhism

Regarding Brahma Chellaney's April 1 article, "China versus the Dalai Lama": The succession of the Dalai Lama is, and always has been, an important topic. He himself has long said that the 15th Dalai Lama will be born in a free world.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Apr 7, 2009

Punishing foreigners, exonerating Japanese?

Following are some readers' responses to Debito Arudou's March 24 Zeit Gist article, "Punishing foreigners, exonerating Japanese":
Reader Mail
Apr 5, 2009

Put 'Terminator' back in the box

The article "Programmed for combat or for pleasure" is so sad. The author has written quite an article on robots, in praise of an American-authored book. But one can find overt, if not pompous, references to how America has used robotic technology to further its military interests. Littered throughout...
Reader Mail
Apr 5, 2009

English aptitude of the Japanese

Hiroaki Sato's March 29 article, "Hold the SOS call on the Japanese language," is an insightful article. Japan's case is different from that of the Indian subcontinent where, due to various reasons, English has become an absolute necessity. Take a language like Bengali, which has almost twice the number...
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Mar 31, 2009

Immigration pains; 'zombie debate' revisited

Japanese system worse Re: "I am not a Pakistani child bride (but the U.K. can't tell the difference)" (Hotline to Nagatacho, March 17):
JAPAN
Mar 27, 2009

Bill offers aid to ailing international schools

An association of ruling bloc lawmakers has drafted a bill to let municipalities provide financial aid to certain types of international schools, many of which are losing students as Brazilian residents lose their jobs amid the recession.
Reader Mail
Mar 22, 2009

Apologies instead of posturing

Tomoko Otake's March 8 article, "U.S. shows way to medical apologies," describes an important reform long overdue. Other professional fields could gain from this approach as well, particularly police forces. Few things are more likely to undermine public trust and support for the police than contrived...
Reader Mail
Mar 22, 2009

Questions remain in murky case

Regarding a reader's response to my March 3 article, "Rape victim fights for justice against U.S. military, Japan": It's generally a bad idea to get involved in spats with anonymous letter writers, but the March 12 letter "Questions about an alleged rape" contains such a litany of accusations, I feel...
Reader Mail
Mar 19, 2009

What are the costs of hygiene?

"High food hygiene costs choking export growth" has got to be the most unresearched article I have read in The Japan Times in 20 years. The article contradicts itself: "According to JRO, only 21 companies . . . are authorized to export to the European Union, as they do not comply with the EU's Hazard...
EDITORIALS
Mar 17, 2009

A maritime police action

Two Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers, each carrying two patrol helicopters and two speed boats, are steaming to the Gulf of Aden on an antipiracy mission off Somalia. The government has evoked Article 82 of the Self-Defense Forces Law, which allows the SDF to take "maritime police actions" in situations...
Reader Mail
Mar 15, 2009

'Anime' needs new business model

The March 4 article "Future of 'anime' industry in doubt" highlighted many of my own growing frustrations. I moved to Japan from the United States as an English teacher a little more than two years ago. I was a casual anime fan who had just completed a degree in literature and film studies, including...
Reader Mail
Mar 12, 2009

Questions about an alleged rape

Regarding David McNeill's March 3 Zeit Gist article, "Rape victim fights for justice against U.S. military, Japan": McNeill should hire a fact-checker before he submits such an article. The victim's name is withheld probably for privacy, yet the name of her alleged attacker is revealed in full. Why?...

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.