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COMMENTARY
Feb 22, 2009

Sea bump echoes Cold War risks

LONDON — A ship I once served in had a small brass plate on the bridge with a quotation from Thucydides, the Greek statesman, historian and seaman of the fourth century B.C.: "A collision at sea can ruin your whole day." It is still true.
Reader Mail
Feb 22, 2009

Innovation with what's available

Regarding the Feb. 18 editorial "Surprisingly sharp decline": I agree that innovation is the key to fighting the recession, and I would like to cite two examples. First, do the Japanese people realize that, despite this recession, companies that have done well are none other than the mobile service providers...
Japan Times
JAPAN / MIXED MATCHES
Feb 21, 2009

Working couple balances family, careers

Emi Takei-Loubaresse could not have advanced in her career without the support of her husband, Jerome Loubaresse, 43, a freelance translator who also looks after their 4-year-old daughter, Mio, and is the family's main cook.
Reader Mail
Feb 19, 2009

Tokyo indeed is photogenic

Regarding the Feb. 13 article "Light moments in a drab metropolis": As a photographer who photographs not just the people of the city of Tokyo, but also the city itself, I must take issue with writer Marius Gombrich's suggestion that Tokyo is the most unphotogenic of cities.
JAPAN
Feb 18, 2009

Japan, U.S. sign accord on forces

Japan and the United States formally signed an agreement Tuesday to relocate about 8,000 U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam by 2014 and reinforce security ties.
EDITORIALS
Feb 18, 2009

G7 commits to acting together

As the global recession deepens, the Group of Seven finance ministers and central bankers met in Rome last week and agreed that stabilizing the global economy and financial markets remains their highest priority. Issuing a strong and welcome message, G7 nations reaffirmed their commitment "to act together...
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2009

U.N. climate chief calls for big CO 2 cuts

Japan needs to move beyond simply showing leadership and come up with ambitious targets on cutting its carbon gas emissions, U.N. climate chief Yvo de Boer said Friday.
BUSINESS
Feb 13, 2009

Cure-all to elude G7 meet

Gathering for the first time since U.S. President Barack Obama took office in January, finance ministers and central bank governors of the Group of Seven industrialized economies meeting in Rome Friday are expected to focus on the new administration's proposals for dealing with the global financial crisis....
Reader Mail
Feb 12, 2009

Any foreign tongue gets short shrift

I agree with many of the comments made by Gregory Clark in his Feb. 5 article "What's wrong with the way English is taught in Japan." Based on my own teaching experiences, lack of motivation on the part of students and teachers is a driving force for poor English-language ability. That said, I've also...
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Feb 11, 2009

Breaking the U.S.-Japan jinx

Prime Minister Taro Aso seems eager to meet the new president of the United States, Barack Obama, as the initial step toward accomplishing something big in the field of diplomacy, and in an effort to put the brakes on the downward spiral of his popularity at home.
BUSINESS / CLIMATE CHANGE SYMPOSIUM
Feb 10, 2009

Rethinking a global post-Kyoto solution

New ways of thinking on climate change are needed if the world is to create a workable post-Kyoto Protocol framework to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, European scholars told a recent symposium in Tokyo.
Japan Times
Events / WHERE IT'S AT
Feb 10, 2009

Talking around and about art

Trying to understand contemporary art is difficult in the best of times. It is sometimes abstract, obscure or just plain odd. The question of how to enjoy an exhibit is made all the harder to answer if you're in Tokyo and your artistic attachments aren't matched by your Japanese language skills. Japan...
Reader Mail
Feb 8, 2009

U.S.-centric view of engagement

Regarding the Feb. 5 article "Why can't Japanese kids get into Harvard?": I agree that the Japanese education system holds back many students with talent, particularly in terms of creativity and in the pursuit of anything outside the normal curriculum. But to suggest that only an education from an Ivy...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Feb 8, 2009

World Baseball Classic's controversial 13th-inning rule problematic

The Steering Committee of World Baseball Classic, Inc., has approved a controversial rule to help break a potential tie in a long extra-inning game during next month's WBC tournament, and it does not sit well with at least one Italian fan.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Feb 8, 2009

In an 'Era of Decline,' let's look to youth to quell 'panic of the mind'

"We are living in extremely hard times. . . . I have been reading news- papers for 60 years, and I can't recall any era when the local news pages have appalled me more."
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Feb 8, 2009

In an 'Era of Decline,' let's look to youth to quell 'panic of the mind'

"We are living in extremely hard times. . . . I have been reading news- papers for 60 years, and I can't recall any era when the local news pages have appalled me more."
COMMENTARY
Feb 3, 2009

Opening gestures show Obama's optimism

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Saying the right thing is not quite the same, to be sure, as doing the right thing, especially when you're the president of the United States. But it is much better than saying the wrong thing and then actually going on to do the wrong thing. We don't have to go back very far...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 2, 2009

Chance to lift social equity in Latin America

WASHINGTON — In 2009, Latin America will move from a period of expansion to one of adjustment. Because of the global financial crisis, growth will slow down, unemployment rates will rise, and poverty will increase. And there will be fewer public resources to face enlarged social needs.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 2, 2009

Oceania presses Fiji leader for free election this year

SYDNEY — An Australian newspaper has fired an editorial salvo at the military government of the Republic of the Fiji Islands while reminding the world of what happens when a country tramples on media freedom.
Reader Mail
Feb 1, 2009

The gantlet to language exchange

I don't really agree with the contents of (Thomas Dillon's) Jan. 24 article, "The language game — here's what not to do." Although language exchange is a poor substitute for a real language school — unless of course you exchange with a real teacher — it is, and should be, a wonderful addition to...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 30, 2009

Who says an art work must exist?

Like precious gems, Aiko Miyanaga's crystalline sculptures reflect light and shine with a brilliance that beguiles the viewer. But while diamonds are forever, Miyanaga's carefully crafted forms are not long for this world. In fact, some of her pieces are gone before her exhibitions even come to a close....
Reader Mail
Jan 29, 2009

Right to protect one's business

I don't agree with Gregory Clark's Jan. 15 article, "Antiforeigner discrimination is a right for Japanese people," but I think it was the Otaru, Hokkaido, bathhouse owner's right to use all means to protect his business — even by putting up a sign that excluded all foreigners from the bathhouse. A...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 27, 2009

North Korean crisis heating up

SINGAPORE — Will North Korea be the Obama administration's first Asian crisis? Pyongyang has recently been cranking up its bellicose rhetoric, declaring that it would maintain its "status as a nuclear weapons state" and "smash" South Korea's government in an "all-out confrontation" for tying aid to...
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Jan 27, 2009

'Marathon' ritual must change

Recently, my son ran an 800-meter "marathon" at his local elementary school. He received a congratulatory "certificate of achievement" noting his participation and the fact he placed 79th. He has come to dread this annual ritual. It is damaging his fragile self-esteem and emerging identity by blatantly...

Longform

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