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COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Apr 30, 2007

Tobacco's road from fashion to filth

NEW YORK -- If a recent article in the Science section of The New York Times is any indication, the idea that the history of the tobacco industry in the United States has been nothing less than perfidy has taken hold among the socially conscientious. Titled "Tracing the Cigarette's Path From Sexy to...
Reader Mail
Apr 29, 2007

Whitewashing is the problem

I agree with Setsuko Tokita ("America has its own atrocities," April 18) that the United States has no reason to be proud of certain chapters of its history, including slavery, as well as the forced relocation and extermination of most of the Native American population. However, to my knowledge, no American...
BUSINESS
Apr 28, 2007

Improving consumer lifestyle choices key to meeting CO2 goals

Consumer behavior holds the key to Japan's ability to fulfill its commitments under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol to fight global warming, as rising greenhouse gas emissions in the household and transport sectors make it increasingly hard to achieve the nation's goals, said participants in a recent symposium...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 27, 2007

'Flandres'

In "Flandres," the region referred to in the film's title (located in northern France) is breathtaking in its untarnished beauty. The light -- golden and buttery -- drenches the landscape in an intricately magical, Vermeer-like way. There is, however, nothing remotely idyllic about the film itself; the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / FUZZY LOGIC
Apr 27, 2007

Melt-Banana take aim again

'It was my first time to kill so it affected me a lot," says Melt-Banana's vocalist Yako, before breaking into a cackle befitting a Shakespearean witch. "But it wasn't a cute bambi. It was a big deer. You told us about (the Sex Pistols song) 'Who Killed Bambi.' It's you who made us keep thinking about...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
Apr 24, 2007

Yuji Sato

Marine, a 5-and-a-half year-old black Labrador retriever, just might be one of the world's most unexpected heroines in the fight against cancer. Marine's nose is capable of detecting 18 different types of cancer on a person's breath and has already been mechanically replicated as a sensor the size of...
Reader Mail
Apr 22, 2007

Peril in denying China's past

I hate to rain on everyone's parade, but Japan shouldn't be so readily taken in by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's recent speech in the Diet. This is because China, despite the flowery good language forwarded by Wen, is still a totalitarian regime willing to interfere in another country's domestic politics. ...
Reader Mail
Apr 22, 2007

Hardly a utopia for criminals

In his April 11 letter, "Reduction in crime is relative," James Holland misunderstands the purpose of my original letter ("Migrants are to be welcomed," April 1). It was not only to dispute claims of rampant crime in Britain and the alleged culpability of "unassimilated" foreigners, but also to challenge...
COMMENTARY
Apr 19, 2007

Nuclear basics for the alliance

HONOLULU -- Nuclear strategy has become a core concern in the U.S.-Japan alliance. North Korea is the immediate trigger for Japanese anxiety, but similar uncertainties lie just beneath the surface when Japan contemplates China as well. U.S. assurances are needed -- both to Japan and to potential adversaries...
EDITORIALS
Apr 18, 2007

Medical care for the terminal stage

The health ministry has formulated a guideline on terminal care stipulating that respect for patients' wishes is "the most important principle" when carrying out medical treatment for those in the terminal stage. The guideline, aimed at preventing single-handed decisions by doctors, is the first government...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Apr 17, 2007

Roaches and rent

Death to 'gokiburi' JB put pen to paper to vent spleen on the perennial pests that roam -- or rather scuttle about -- these islands.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Apr 15, 2007

It was 40 (very different) years ago today . . .

The re-election last Sunday of Shintaro Ishihara as Tokyo governor has demon- strated once again that the people of Japan's capital city remain attracted to the policies of this outspoken author-turned-politician.
BUSINESS
Apr 13, 2007

China, Japan begin dialogue on energy, economics

Minister-level talks on energy and a preliminary meeting on economic matters got under way Thursday as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao enjoyed the fruit of their efforts to improve a relationship described as "mutually beneficial based on common strategic interests."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 12, 2007

Within the art of darkness

Fashion, like a magnet, has been seasonally repelled and attracted to black since the 1980s, and, with the exception of photography, every art form at one point in time has been in love with the mysterious "color" (Scientifically, black is not a color as it absorbs light rather than reflects it.). Not...
Reader Mail
Apr 11, 2007

Concerns about missile defense

Regarding Brad Glosserman's March 24 article, "Baseless threats of cold war": In advocating Japan's participation in the U.S. missile defense system (MDS), Glosserman glosses over Russia and China's legitimate concerns, repeats U.S.-made myths and neglects genuine Japanese concerns.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 9, 2007

A way forward for global financial policy

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Financial globalization is exploding. Yet, as the world's leading finance ministers and central bankers convene in Washington this month for the semiannual International Monetary Fund board meetings, policy paralysis continues.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 9, 2007

Only one way to move forward in Ukraine

KIEV -- Suddenly, Ukraine faces another stark choice: Dismiss the government and Parliament and hold new elections, or see the country's independence surrendered bit by bit. There is renewed talk, too, of violent civil unrest. None of this should be surprising, given how our corrupt rulers systematically...
COMMENTARY
Apr 5, 2007

The immorality of the minimum wage

WASHINGTON -- Both houses of the Democratic Congress have approved a minimum wage increase and even many Republicans signed on to the bill. Even the White House has signed on. The hike will soon become law.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 2, 2007

Challenging Russia's energy dominance

WASHINGTON -- When Gazprom, Russia's natural-gas monopoly, cut off supplies to Ukraine and Georgia in January 2006, the move was widely seen as a clear warning of the Kremlin's willingness to use its energy resources to exert political influence over Europe.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 31, 2007

Urban Kyoto tries on an old look

KYOTO -- First-time visitors to the ancient capital of Kyoto usually arrive expecting to see quiet temples and rock gardens or an abundance of old wooden buildings set against the backdrop of the surrounding mountains.
JAPAN
Mar 29, 2007

Bullying caused boy's suicide, high court rules

The Tokyo High Court on Wednesday expanded a lower court ruling and ordered Tochigi Prefecture and the city of Kanuma to pay a combined 8.6 million yen in compensation to the parents of a 15-year-old boy who committed suicide after being bullied at school.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 29, 2007

Getting to 'yes' with Iran

BERLIN -- There is a wise American saying: "If you are in a hole, stop digging." The six governments that are considering the next steps to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb -- the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany -- should heed that advice. Otherwise, they could...
Reader Mail
Mar 28, 2007

Can't beat immersion option

I agree wholeheartedly with the March 13 editorial. Japanese folks should learn English in order to succeed, but because of culture and identity, they tend to shy away from challenges. The only time I've seen these phobias fade is when I'm in a karaoke bar listening to a drunk Japanese singing American...
Reader Mail
Mar 28, 2007

Limit to what language can do

I very much enjoyed the March 13 editorial, "Japan's ambivalent English," and I strongly agree with the argument that awareness of one's cultural identity comes as much from comparison as from knowledge of oneself. I know this is true from the years I spent in Britain as a postgraduate student and...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 27, 2007

Life in the cloudy Imperial fishbowl

Although the media and insatiable public curiosity can expose the private secrets of superstars, the Imperial family remains largely out of view.
Reader Mail
Mar 25, 2007

Hey, gaijin, give it a break!

I partially agree with Hidesato Sakakibara's Feb. 28 letter, "Term 'gaijin' has run its course," and Donald Seekins' March 7 letter, "Use 'expatriates,' not 'foreigner' " -- both of which decry use of the word "gaijin." As a Westerner, I have never had much desire to be addressed with this word by ethnic...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 25, 2007

NHK upholds freedom of the press so long as it doesn't annoy anyone with its content

It has been two months since the Tokyo High Court ruled in favor of the Violence Against Women in War Network in its lawsuit against NHK regarding coverage of a December 2000 international people's tribunal, and while the verdict did not receive much press when it was first announced, it continues to...
JAPAN
Mar 22, 2007

Local elections to test depth of voter despondence

Held every four years, the polls will produce a new mix of governors, prefectural assembly members, mayors and other heads of towns, villages and wards.The official campaign period for the gubernatorial elections, including Tokyo's, kicks off Thursday.Along with the mayors for four ordinance-designated...
COMMENTARY
Mar 21, 2007

Crusading to cut carbon emissions

LONDON -- The obvious route is not always the best one. Throughout Europe the governments and political parties, as well as the central European Union Commission in Brussels, are all vying with each other to prove who is the greenest. The simplest way of doing this is to produce ever more ambitious plans...

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