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Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2009

Japan, EU agree wealth gaps must be closed

NIIGATA, Japan and Europe need to address a common problem: the gap between an overconcentration of wealth, and amenities, in large urban areas compared with their rural communities, experts and journalists agreed at a recent conference.
COMMENTARY
Apr 14, 2009

Beyond the gasoline era

Mitsubishi Motors will start selling its new battery-powered car dubbed "iMiEV" in Japan this coming July while Nissan Motor plans to follow suit next year. Toyota Motor, meanwhile, says it will launch a plug-in hybrid vehicle sometime in the "early 2010s." I agree with Nissan President Carlos Ghosn,...
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Apr 14, 2009

English lessons on the cheap

Dear education minister Ryu Shionoya,
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2009

Aso stimulus push juggles election window

Prime Minister Taro Aso embarked Friday on the new task of delivering on a ¥56.8 trillion economic stimulus package, again leaving the key question of when he might dissolve the Lower House and call a snap election up in the air.
JAPAN
Apr 7, 2009

Aso orders ¥10 trillion in stimulus

Determined to get the economy off the ropes, Prime Minister Taro Aso has ordered Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano to put together a stimulus package that would see actual spending in excess of ¥10 trillion, equivalent to more than 2 percent of the nation's gross domestic product, Yosano said Monday.
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":
EDITORIALS
Apr 2, 2009

Right time for dissolution

With the Diet's enactment of the fiscal 2009 budget and budget-related bills, the Aso administration has cleared one hurdle. The government is now intent on working out a supplementary budget for fiscal 2009 to further stimulate the economy. Prime Minister Taro Aso had said he would strive to execute...
Reader Mail
Apr 2, 2009

Peers will set pace of language

Regarding Roger Pulvers' March 22 article, " Raising bilingual children takes time, huge effort — and lotsa money": While I do agree that being bilingual is a benefit, you can't force the child to learn something they don't want. His or her peers are going to be the biggest influence on which language...
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2009

Diet passes resolution demanding N. Korea halt launch

With time running out till the launch of what North Korea claims is a satellite, the Diet unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday urging the reclusive state to abandon the plan.
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 Times
Events / WHERE IT'S AT
Mar 31, 2009

Scots, fans pay tribute to national hero, poet at Burns birthday bash

The Scots language used in the poems and songs of Robert Burns may make them inaccessible to some, but their message of friendship and celebration remains universal nonetheless.
Reader Mail
Mar 29, 2009

Putting the available talent to use

Regarding the March 16 editorial "Key to economic recovery": I agree that the world's No. 1 and 2 economies bear the heaviest responsibility for trying to revive the global economy, but I believe the issue goes beyond government action. It is true that increasing domestic demand is necessary and that...
COMMENTARY
Mar 27, 2009

Perks of the warring states

WATERLOO, Ontario — Since the end of World War II, America, Britain and Israel have been among the countries most heavily involved in war and armed conflict. Don't expect to see any of their political or military leaders in an international criminal dock anytime soon.
Reader Mail
Mar 26, 2009

The impact of open immigration

Regarding the March 17 article "Calderon girl gets year stay": First, I agree that the parents of Noriko Calderon (13) should be deported in accordance with the Japan Immigration Act. As they committed a crime in possessing fake passports, they should not only be considered an illegal immigrant in Japan,...
EDITORIALS
Mar 24, 2009

For the sake of consumers

The Diet has started deliberating bills to create a government organization to promote consumers' rights. It was Mr. Yasuo Fukuda, as prime minister, who first proposed establishing a Consumer Agency. Related bills submitted to the Diet have languished for 5 1/2 months. Clearly they were pushed aside...
Reader Mail
Mar 22, 2009

Mixed feelings regarding Ireland

Roger Pulvers' March 15 Counterpoint article, "Now that the Celtic tiger's turned tail, whither the Emerald Isle," leaves me, as one who is part English and part Irish, with mixed feelings of shame and satisfaction. I cannot but feel shame at the way the English for so long kept the Irish in misery until...
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Mar 22, 2009

Our mantra of continuous growth has left us on ecological brink

If print media are any indication, change is in the air. Readers are sourcing news in new ways, and newspaper sales are declining as a result.
Reader Mail
Mar 19, 2009

Legal or not, discrimination exists

In his March 12 letter, "Illegal under the Constitution," Lance Braman had much to say regarding the fact that racial discrimination was illegal under the Japanese Constitution, contrary to what Debito Arudou wrote in his March 3 article, "Of toadies, vultures and zombie debates."
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 19, 2009

Bourbons of global finance

Today's International Monetary Fund (and, to a lesser degree, the World Bank) recall Talleyrand's description of France's Bourbon kings: having learned nothing and forgotten nothing. At a time when rich countries like the United States are running deficits of 12 percent of GDP because of the global financial...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 17, 2009

Canucks abroad fret over new curbs on citizenship

Citizenship can mean the difference between "belonging" and being just a visitor. Some people endure years of waiting in line and filing applications in a bid to change citizenship; others, by virtue of their birthplace and familial ties, begin their lives with the opportunity to be citizens of two or...
EDITORIALS
Mar 15, 2009

Help for human rights

Human Rights Watch, the second-largest rights organization in the world, will set up an office in Tokyo in April. The organization, founded in 1978, does just what its name suggests — gives attention to violations of the basic rights of all humans. HRW will come to Tokyo not to investigate abuses inside...
JAPAN
Mar 14, 2009

Calderon couple to exit in April; daughter to stay

A Filipino couple who lost their long fight against a deportation order have decided to leave their 13-year-old Japan-born daughter behind when they return to the Philippines in April, their lawyer said Friday.
JAPAN
Mar 14, 2009

DPJ seeks new rules on donations

Amid the political fundraising scandal involving the arrest of party President Ichiro Ozawa's chief secretary, Democratic Party of Japan executives are calling for a rule barring companies that bid on public works projects from donating to political parties.
JAPAN
Mar 14, 2009

Aso slams North launch plan but wary of sanctions

Prime Minister Taro Aso on Friday condemned North Korea's plan to send up a rocket that will cross Japan, but stopped short of calling on the United Nations to impose further sanctions on the country.

Longform

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