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Reader Mail
Sep 17, 2009

Pollution by industrial China

In his Sept. 10 letter, "Hardly a Western phenomenon," Barry Ward said things I wanted to say (with regard to the Bengal Famine in 1943). However, both he and Dipak Basu, author of the Aug. 27 letter "Who represents the Western spirit?," missed one very important point: Despite there still being plenty...
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2009

Okada to prioritize ties with Asian neighbors

To envision how Katsuya Okada will approach his new job as foreign minister, one need look no further than his grilling of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi during budget deliberations at the Diet on June 2, 2005.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 17, 2009

Foreign policy and the democratic paradox

PARIS — Elections stolen in Iran, disputed in Afghanistan and caricatured in Gabon: Recent ballots in these and many other countries do not so much mark the global advance of democracy as demonstrate the absence of the rule of law.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 15, 2009

Wal-Mart's sensible turnabout on health care

LOS ANGELES, LOS ANGELES TIMES — Is Wal-Mart turning blue — blue enough to pull President Barack Obama's health care chestnuts out of the fire?
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Sep 13, 2009

Road map for increasingly accessible world of Japanese cinema

JAPANESE CINEMA, by Stuart Galbraith IV. Taschen, 2009, 192 pp., 354 photographs, $29.99 (hardcover) This is a large (23.1 cm by 28.9 cm), fully illustrated account of Japanese film from its beginnings. There have now been a number of such histories, each perforce written from different perspectives...
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2009

DPJ takes aim at budget for missile shield

The incoming government led by the Democratic Party of Japan will likely cut missile defense spending because it isn't effective in thwarting attacks from North Korea, a senior party official said.
COMMUNITY
Sep 12, 2009

Living near the Diet as it awaits newcomers

It was about 10 a.m. on a recent morning when, riding my bicycle to work, I saw a man dressed as a horse and carrying a plastic bow and arrow gallop toward the Diet building. I stopped to watch. Tourists pointed and gawked. Two baton-wielding police ran over to rein the horse-man in.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 11, 2009

Hiromi "Place To Be"

After leading a trio, dabbling in a quartet and playing duets, Hiromi Uehara is going it alone.
COMMENTARY
Sep 10, 2009

Words of wisdom from Hatoyama

It was just this side of comical. The leader of the new ruling party of Japan barely finishes acknowledging his Democratic Party of Japan's landslide win and a public relations disaster strikes. The result: an ignominious international climb-down.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 9, 2009

In Hatoyama's 'fraternity,' people the end, not means

An opinion piece by Democratic Party of Japan President Yukio Hatoyama that was originally published in the September edition of the Japanese monthly journal Voice has triggered controversy in the United States for appearing to have an antiglobalization bent.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 8, 2009

The return of Franco-German leadership

PARIS — Regardless of who wins September's parliamentary election in Germany, the time has come once again for a major Franco-German initiative.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Sep 5, 2009

How to become a gaijin that can say no

I wish I could say, "No." I wish I knew how.
JAPAN
Sep 4, 2009

Writer slams Google Book deal

A freelance journalist said Thursday he has sent a letter to a U.S. district court informing it of his "clear objection" to the controversial Google Book Search settlement.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Aug 31, 2009

Historic sea change at polls product of frustrated public

For better or worse, history has been made.
JAPAN / ELECTION 2009
Aug 29, 2009

Game almost up for LDP in Aomori

AOMORI — Perched on the upper tip of Honshu, Aomori Prefecture is tired of being left behind.
BUSINESS
Aug 29, 2009

In 'sinking world,' geisha turn barmaids

In the stifling summer heat at the roadside Yebisu Beer stall in Kyoto's Gion district, Sakiko, dressed in a thick floral kimono, face plastered in white makeup, looks flustered as two foreign tourists photograph her. "Pouring beer here is different but fun," said Sakiko, one of about 90 apprentice geisha,...
COMMENTARY
Aug 23, 2009

Scrutinizing the Chinese threat to Taiwan

LOS ANGELES — In the United States we refer to it as the Powell Doctrine. And it helps unravel a bit of mystery about what China is up to these days. Remember Colin Powell? Before Barack Obama rode into the U.S. scene on his white horse, Powell was America's most admired black public political figure....
COMMENTARY
Aug 21, 2009

Decay of Japanese politics

Japan's politics in recent years has lacked dynamism and incurred people's distrust. The purpose of politics is to present a vision for the nation's future, identify the systems and policies needed, and ensure the safety and prosperity of the nation and its people. Recently, though, Japanese politics...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Aug 19, 2009

Offhand but on record

Facebook recently made changes to its service agreement in order to make members' data more accessible to other computer users. Amuse, Inc. announced last week that hackers stole credit-card information from about 150,000 clients. Hackers broke into the social network Twitter's system and stole documents....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Aug 18, 2009

TOEIC: Where does the money go?

In a country of test-takers, the Test of English for International Communication has become one of Japan's most recognized exams. In 2008, people in Japan paid ¥4,040 — or slightly less if their company or school paid a ¥100,000 membership fee — to take the TOEIC Institutional Program (IP) at their...
JAPAN / History / JAPAN TIMES GONE BY
Aug 16, 2009

Hitler assumes presidency, repatriation to North Korea and a young Kazuo Ishiguro interviewed

75 YEARS AGO Friday, Aug. 3, 1934
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 16, 2009

Fatah's new status quo leaders

HERZLIYA, Israel — The Sixth Fatah Congress, held recently in Bethlehem, was an important event for the future of the Arab-Israeli conflict and for the Palestinian movement. But a careful look at the results of the Congress' elections to Fatah's Central Committee yields a picture that is quite different...
Reader Mail
Aug 16, 2009

Good education feeds dreams

Regarding Michael Hoffman's Aug. 5 article, "Heisei kids: a generation that struggles to dream": I am 31 and have thought about this subject for a long time. Why are so many kids today, who have access to so many fancy gadgets, have so few or such hazy dreams? What inspires one to dream?
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Aug 16, 2009

Back where they belong

High in the fork of a tall tree on a wooded slope close to narrow rice paddies on Sado Island in the Sea of Japan off Nigata Prefecture was a flimsy, ragged nest made of twigs.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 14, 2009

Dancing to N.Y. and back

Trying to rate the energy levels of a troupe of Broadway performers is like looking at a group of ants and trying to work out which is walking the fastest. They all seem to be going at 120 percent.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Aug 11, 2009

TOEIC no turkey at 30

The Test of English for International Communication turns 30 this year. In three decades it has risen from humble beginnings to become one of the best-known tests in Japan. In December 1979, 3,000 people sat the first TOEIC. In 2008, people in Japan took it 1.7 million times. Many were repeat customers;...

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami