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Reader Mail
Jun 2, 2013

A history of political stupidity

The Japanese have a place in their hearts for politicians who say outrageous and stupid things. There is a long history of it. First, the Japanese seem to confuse constitutional freedom of speech with the freedom to say absolutely anything with impunity. Hence there is a disposition to admire leaders...
SOCCER
May 30, 2013

Troussier urges Japan to clinch World Cup spot in style

Former national team manager Philippe Troussier has warned Japan not to sit back and play for the single point it needs to secure a place at a fifth straight World Cup in next Tuesday's qualifier against Australia.
Reader Mail
May 30, 2013

Fabulous example for the nation

Regarding the May 25 editorial "Challenge of a lifetime, again": A hearty congratulations to the fabulous Yuichiro Miura. I had been following his news, and it is wonderful to know that the 80-year-old scaled Mount Everest for the third time.
JAPAN / Politics
May 29, 2013

Japanese mayor calls off U.S. trip over wartime sex-slave defense

Osaka Mayor and Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) leader Toru Hashimoto announces that he is canceling the trip to San Francisco and New York he planned for next month.
EDITORIALS
May 29, 2013

Mayor's spin deepens suspicions

Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto's attempt to spin his earlier remarks about Japan's wartime sex slave system deepens suspicions about his fitness for public office.
WORLD / Society
May 29, 2013

Autobahn speed limit bid rankles

For many in this car-crazy nation, the freedom to hurtle down the famed autobahn at 190 kph or more is an inalienable right.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
May 27, 2013

Record as Newark mayor weighs heavily on Booker Senate bid

Cory Booker has become one of the most famous mayors in the nation with the help of a careful political campaign that cast him as a unique talent willing to forgo better opportunities to save this crime-ridden and poverty-plagued city.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
May 26, 2013

Corporal punishment has long history in Japanese sports

Getting slapped by a a coach has always been, as far as I could see, simply another aspect of sports training in Japan.
EDITORIALS
May 26, 2013

Super global English schools

One recent proposal likely to have a good effect on English education in Japan is allowing certain high schools to teach subjects such as science or math in English.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
May 25, 2013

Geary's vision, drive keyed Yokohama's title run

There was something refreshing, interesting and fun about the Yokohama B-Corsairs from the beginning. It wasn't always the easiest thing to explain in a few short words.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
May 25, 2013

Cole not fit for England captaincy

He is seen as the type of player who gives footballers a bad name. Someone who typifies all the perceived negatives about the modern-day player.
COMMENTARY / World
May 25, 2013

Why U.K. exit from EU may now be a real possibility

The realization hits a recent visitor to the U.K. that Britain might actually leave the EU. Attitudes are hardening well ahead of a promised referendum on membership.
Reader Mail
May 23, 2013

Watching what the church does

It is instructive to parse Jennifer Kim's May 16 letter, "Catholic link to human rights," to see what she is really saying:
COMMENTARY / World
May 22, 2013

Substitute question marks for exclamation marks

A terrible tragedy is unfolding in (fill in the name of your favorite trouble spot). Something must be done. This (choose from sending troops, air strikes, enforcing a no fly zone, arming rebels) is something. Therefore it must be done.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 21, 2013

Thein Sein stresses 'special place' for military

The military that ran Myanmar for decades will continue to play a major role in the country, the former general who has presided over the transformation of a nation that only three years ago was considered one of the world's most repressive said Sunday.
JAPAN
May 16, 2013

Fault under reactor at Tsuruga active: NRA

A fault running under reactor 2 at the Tsuruga plant in Fukui Prefecture is active, a Nuclear Regulation Authority panel says, effectively killing any chance the reactor will be restarted.
JAPAN / History
May 15, 2013

Hashimoto takes flak for sex slave rationale

The backlash against Osaka political maverick Toru Hashimoto escalates over his remarks justifying Japan's wartime sex slave system and his suggestion that U.S. soldiers in Okinawa use more prostitutes.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
May 14, 2013

Inose's slurs anger, bemuse Turks in Tokyo but may boost Istanbul's Olympic bid

It's prayer time at Tokyo's biggest mosque and the congregation is pondering God, community and Naoki Inose, the city's governor, who many here say has revealed himself to be, well, a bit of a bigot.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 14, 2013

Last refuge of weak leaders

Why have anti-Japanese sentiments resurfaced in China and South Korea in 2013 — just as Japan is trying to recover from two lost economic decades
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
May 10, 2013

Yokohama, Toyama set to battle for spot in Final Four

The Eastern Conference semifinals start on Friday night, with the Yokohama B-Corsairs aiming for a repeat trip to the Final Four.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 10, 2013

'Sinister'

Horror — like porn and Adam Sandler movies — is one of those divisive film genres that people tend to either obsess over or avoid completely. My own opinion lies somewhere in the middle: I rather like being scared witless, but don't find too many movies that succeed at it.
WORLD / EU SPECIAL 2013
May 9, 2013

Milestones on the road to a united, integrated Europe 63 years in the making

Europe Day, May 9, which is celebrated as the birthday of the European Union, is the anniversary of the proposal known as the Schuman Declaration.
Japan Times
WORLD / EU SPECIAL 2013
May 9, 2013

EU delegation's educational programs for Japan

With the emphasis on people-to-people exchanges and the increasing demand for human resources with international mind-sets, the Delegation of the European Union to Japan offers some academic opportunities for the young generation in Japan who will be the opinion leaders in the future.
EDITORIALS
May 9, 2013

New nuclear safety standards

One problem with the draft of new safety standards for nuclear power plants is that the job of anticipating the highest possible tsunami is left to each power company.
Reader Mail
May 9, 2013

Limits of planning good health

Chris Flynn (May 2 letter, "Australia's declining smoking rate") seems to believe I'm a shill for the local agricultural interests here in rural Kumamoto based on my opposition to tobacco restrictions.
COMMENTARY / World
May 8, 2013

Proud war on fools and sociopaths won't win over the anti-Keynesians

American economist Paul Krugman has been right about the U.S. fiscal stimulus being too small and being withdrawn too soon. But he's wrong about many of his critics.
EDITORIALS
May 6, 2013

Austerity under attack

The human cost of the austerity mentality is threatening national political systems and the popular will to embrace reform. EU leaders are beginning to see this.

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