Search - agree

 
 
EDITORIALS
Jul 9, 2011

A new face at the IMF

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), the world's most influential financial institution, has a new boss. Ms. Christine Lagarde, France's finance minister until her appointment last week, replaces Mr. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who stepped down amidst allegations of sexual assault. Ms. Lagarde's selection...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 8, 2011

'Bal'

As Hollywood films become ever more breathless — with special effects sidelining nearly all plot and character development, and digital-editing abuse leading to few shots that last beyond a second — art cinema has moved just as extremely in the opposite direction, with slow, meticulous pacing; long,...
BASEBALL / HIT AND RUN
Jul 5, 2011

Wins don't paint accurate portrayal of lefty Takeda's season

Hokkaido Nippon Ham pitcher Masaru Takeda may not have the record of an All-Star, but that's exactly what he is.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Jul 5, 2011

Disunited 'English-speaking diaspora' bites back

The Community Page received a large number of emails in response to Debito Arudou's June 7 Just Be Cause column, headlined " 'English-speaking diaspora' should unite, not backbite."
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jul 3, 2011

Murakami puts a bomb under his compatriots' atomic complacency

"The Japanese will someday outgrow their nuclear allergy." I've never forgotten futurologist and Cold War military strategist Herman Kahn saying this to me on his visit to Japan in 1969, when I was his guide and occasional interpreter.
Reader Mail
Jun 30, 2011

Differences in experiencing grief

In his June 12 Counterpoint article, "Barber's cutting comment denies others' humanity — and hers, too," Roger Pulvers lamented his young Korean barber's stereotypical and dehumanizing view of the Japanese and her inability to see other cultures from any viewpoint other than her own.
EDITORIALS
Jun 27, 2011

Go-ahead for reconstruction

The Upper House on June 20 enacted a basic law for reconstruction of Tohoku-Pacific coastal areas devastated by the March 11 quake and tsunami. Besides the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, the Liberal Democratic Party, Komeito and other opposition parties supported the bill, while the Japan Communist...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jun 26, 2011

Potential MLB realignment presents challenges

You have no doubt heard about the proposal for realignment in Major League Baseball. According to media reports, the MLB wants to switch one National League team to the American League in order to make two 15-team leagues and end the current unbalanced setup of 16 NL teams and 14 in the AL, as early...
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jun 26, 2011

Readers offer 3/11 insights, valuable resources

As Japan has struggled with the physical and emotional challenges of the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake and tsunami of March 11, and the ongoing nuclear crisis that resulted, I have written three Our Planet Earth columns related to those events: one on Japan's response (March 27); one on alternative...
Reader Mail
Jun 23, 2011

Fukushima 'risk' was avoidable

I agree to some extent with Grant Piper's June 19 letter, "Impossible to live without risks." Yes, we do face risks every day and even "getting out of bed in the morning is dangerous." If Piper has come to the conclusion that the possibility of radiation sickness and death is a part of his life, fine,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 23, 2011

Bedroom ears: Japan's new D.I.Y. ethic

The dimly lit Bar Fabrica is an appropriate place to meet the four artists from Cuz Me Pain Records, who describe their music as "quite dark" and are known for being shrouded in mystery.
COMMENTARY
Jun 20, 2011

Living with national universities

In fiscal 2004, the state-run national universities in Japan were given the status of "corporations." The initial six-year "medium term" after this shift to "national university corporations" ended in fiscal 2009. The current fiscal year is the second year of the second medium term.
Reader Mail
Jun 19, 2011

Backing a methodical phaseout

Michael Hoffman's columns are always a great read, but his June 6 article, "What will Japan learn from the Fukushima meltdowns," is clearly one of his weaker ones.
Reader Mail
Jun 19, 2011

When those who should can't

Regarding the June 16 article reprinted from Sentaku magazine, "Yakuza eye cleanup profits": Can Japan's gangsters get the job (of cleaning up parts of the devastated Tohoku-Pacific region) done? So far, the government has been unable to do much or even agree on how the job should be done.
JAPAN / History / JAPAN TIMES GONE BY
Jun 19, 2011

The national sport; State to take over electric power firms; flooding kills 235; concerns over Chernobyl accident

100 YEARS AGOSaturday, June 19, 1911
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Jun 19, 2011

Anti-whalers should just stop ...

Nearly a quarter of a century since Japan began its controversial "research whaling" cull off Antarctica, there was a major development this year in the annual contest of wills between whalers and conservationists.
JAPAN
Jun 17, 2011

Panel evaluates Tepco assets to assure redress footing

The government launched a panel Thursday to streamline the operations of beleaguered Tokyo Electric Power Co. and evaluate its financial assets as it prepares to pay massive compensation for the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 15, 2011

Economy hits political faults

Naoto Kan's departure as Japan's prime minister looks to be as messy and wretched as his uncomfortable time in the job.
Reader Mail
Jun 12, 2011

Benefits of singing the anthem

Regarding the June 7 editorial, "": As a student, I sang the national anthem "Kimigayo" and felt that I was a Japanese. I cannot agree with former Tokyo-area high school teacher Yuji Saruya's opinion and I wonder if he has contemplated the importance of the national anthem.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 12, 2011

Those opposing Kan offer no clear reason he must go

The 2012 U.S. presidential election campaign officially started two weeks ago, when former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney announced he would be a candidate for the Republican Party nomination. Romney chose as the setting for his momentous, though unsurprising, announcement a beautiful old family farm...
Reader Mail
Jun 12, 2011

Prerequisites for Mideast peace

Regarding Ramzy Baroud's June 6 article, "A Gaza refugee camp revisited": No one would deny that the so-called Arab uprisings that have taken place in recent months have drastically altered the political landscape of the region. The events have led many to hope for a much greater level of democracy in...
JAPAN
Jun 10, 2011

Fishermen take matters into own hands

The fine drizzle falling on the picturesque fishing village of Kyubun, Miyagi Prefecture, is dampening Toshikazu Takahashi's normally sunny disposition.

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?