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Reader Mail
Feb 6, 2011

A thought for Lindsay Ann Hawker

Regarding Alex Martin's Jan. 26 article, "Ichihashi book details life on run" (about the book written by Tatsuya Ichihashi, the accused killer of Briton Lindsay Ann Hawker): Family members of Hawker are said to feel "disgusted" and "hurt" about the book being published before Ichihashi's trial. I agree...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Feb 5, 2011

The comic life of expats in Japan

Tales of expat life in Japan all too often get blown out of proportion and quickly become picaresque adventures that little resemble real life.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Feb 1, 2011

Naturalized Japanese: foreigners no more

In Dec. 28's Japan Times, Charles Lewis wrote a respectful Zeit Gist column asking three fellow wise men (sumo wrestler Konishiki, musicologist Peter Barakan and Diet member Marutei Tsurunen) about their successful lives as "foreigners" in Japan. Despite their combined century of experience here, the...
Reader Mail
Jan 30, 2011

'Gender equality' not universal

James Hicks' Jan. 20 letter, "Speak out for 'universal' standards," implies that gender equality is a universal, fundamental and ethical standard, and that it is the duty of everyone to speak out about it in Japan.
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2011

Opposition issues Ozawa terms

Senior opposition lawmakers demanded Thursday that Ichiro Ozawa testify under oath in the Diet over his alleged involvement in falsifying political funding reports.
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2011

Preschool, day care integration plan eases

The Democratic of Japan-led government backed off a bit Monday from a push to integrate the operations of day care facilities with kindergartens and instead offered them financial incentives to merge.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jan 25, 2011

Family restaurants falling from flavor

Family-style restaurants are feeling the squeeze as diners increasingly opt for meals more on the cheap, such as under-¥300 "gyudon" bowls of beef on rice and "bento" boxed lunches below ¥500.
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2011

Opposition sees red over Yosano

Prime Minister Naoto Kan kicked off the year by sacking his right-hand man, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku, and appointing a one-time critic of him in Kaoru Yosano to the Cabinet, reaching out to the opposition to gain support for the fiscal 2011 budget.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 21, 2011

A shot of Ardbeg in temple grounds

There's a faint scent of incense as you crawl through a knee-high door into a pebble-filled corridor that leads into a white igloo-like space, just big enough to fit three people. "This is my meditation room," says Akiyoshi Taniguchi, the curator who is introducing Kurenboh, a tiny modern gallery located...
Reader Mail
Jan 20, 2011

No inducement to return islands

Regarding the Jan. 14 Kyodo article "Territory settlement 'impossible' now": This is a very sad situation, especially for those Japanese wishing to return to the place of their birth. If you look at any of the media sites for Russian television, the point of view of the Russian populace is that the "Northern...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 19, 2011

Global economy: five steps forward in 2011

MILAN — The worst of the financial/economic crisis seems to be over. Asset markets performed reasonably well in 2010. Growth in the United States and parts of Europe returned. Private-sector deleveraging continued, but was counterbalanced by rising public-sector deficits and debt. And emerging-market...
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Jan 19, 2011

Nets still hoping to land Anthony in trade

NEW YORK — The Nets' game plan to suit up Carmelo Anthony against the Jazz on Wednesday night — dubbed "An Evening of Russian Culture Night" — cannot succeed unless Mikhail Prokhorov, who will be in attendance, met with the Nuggets' fast-fading franchise player days beforehand to alleviate concerns...
Reader Mail
Jan 16, 2011

Improve teacher training at home

Regarding the Jan. 8 Kyodo article "Language teachers to go to U.S. for exchanges": I was surprised to hear about these people-to-people programs, because I had learned last year that a similar program would be discontinued because of the lack of followup on its effects.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Jan 15, 2011

Analysts doubt new picks' clout

Despite Prime Minister Naoto Kan's pledge to create the "best lineup to overcome the crisis," political pundits were skeptical that replacing Yoshito Sengoku with Yukio Edano as chief Cabinet secretary and taking on outsider Kaoru Yosano will help his team solve the ruling party's biggest problems.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 14, 2011

Global coordination task falls to French schmoozer

HONG KONG — Pity French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and be careful what you wish for. Sarkozy has taken over as the president of the once-cozy Group of Eight developed economic powers as well as the Group of 20 countries, which combines the club of old economic powers with the up and coming new ones....
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / BY THE GLASS
Jan 14, 2011

Quality is key at Chilean organic winery

When two representatives from Chilean winery Emiliana came to town in October, it coincided with fantastic news. Images of the rescue of the last miner who'd been trapped underground since the Aug. 5 Copiapo mining accident were played out over the giant screens in front of Tokyo Station and, in a nearby...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 14, 2011

'The Social Network' wins friends among film critics

The Japanese tagline for "The Social Network" translates as "Genius, backstabber, dangerous guy, billionaire." Probably not the kind of sentiment a website trying to connect friends wants to be associated with. However, for a film — it's damn sexy.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 13, 2011

The chaotic birth of South Sudan

MADRID — The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that was reached in 2005 between mostly Christian southern Sudan and the country's Muslim North ended one of the bloodiest civil wars in modern times. Lasting 22 years, the war left more than 2 million dead. Now the CPA is facing its most vital test:...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 12, 2011

Middle East peace, not process

RAMALLAH — The United States should stop pushing for the resumption of the Palestinian-Israeli peace process. Doing so might be the best way to achieve peace — a paradox that reflects the huge gap between a peace process and achieving genuine peace.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Jan 11, 2011

Dual citizens, tokenism, Futenma, the case against rants: responses

A right to dual citizenship Re: "Japan loses, rest of the world gains from 'one citizenship fits all' policy" by Glenn Newman (Hotline to Nagatacho, Dec. 9):
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 10, 2011

A plea to the prince for a practical way to Harmony

HONG KONG — Many years ago, on my second day working in London, I was invited to take tea with Prince Charles in Buckingham Palace. About half a dozen journalists met the young prince who was about to embark on his royal duties but who clearly hadn't a clue about how the rest of the world lived and...
COMMENTARY
Jan 9, 2011

A unifying method to Kim Jong Il's 'genius'

LOS ANGELES — You have to be dumber than a brick to believe that the North Korea problem can be solved by anything other than diplomacy and negotiation. Even the Macho Man of South Korea seems to have been hit with a bout of annoying but inescapable reason.
EDITORIALS
Jan 5, 2011

'Predictable' verdict in Moscow

Mr. Mikhail Khodorkovsky is a difficult man to like. He is a Russian tycoon, a multibillionaire who got rich during the fire sale of Russian national assets during the kleptocratic years of the Yeltsin era. But being unlikable does not make him a criminal, and neither does daring to challenge Russian...

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan