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Reader Mail
Jun 28, 2009

Whaling subsidies are not wasted

Regarding the June 20 Kyodo article "WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) raps use of taxes for whaling": About 1 million minke whales in the oceans consume about 400 million tons of fish per year, while mankind consumes about 90 million tons of fish per year, according to Kanagawa Prefecture. With consumption...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 28, 2009

The only bonus you'll get this summer is the sun

One of the cleverest ideas developed by the Japanese business world is the distribution of semiannual "bonuses" to employees. Usually, a bonus is tied to a company's good fortune or an employee's performance. Japanese workers have always deemed them to be part of their salaries and tend to plan their...
Japan Times
LIFE
Jun 28, 2009

Luang Prabang, Laos: Mekong musings and much more

Watching sunset over the swirling Mekong River from one of Luang Prabang's riverside cafes while sipping a therapeutic Beer Lao is hard to beat.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Jun 28, 2009

Mythmaking and the Kamikaze 'volunteers'

NEW YORK — Lisa Hosokawa Garber, a fresh graduate of St. Andrews Presbyterian College in North Carolina, has sent me "Crosswind," her short, imaginative account of three months in the life of a youth training to be a Kamikaze pilot. It describes what its author calls a Shakespearean "twist of fate":...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Jun 28, 2009

Creative boho blooms in Jingumae

The area known as Jingumae, literally "shrine front," hugs central Tokyo's Meiji Shrine and is bifurcated by chic Omotesando street, the shrine's main approach. Roiling with well-heeled fashionistas, foreigners and photo hounds chasing the hottest new looks, Omotesando's stores showcase global mega-brands...
Reader Mail
Jun 28, 2009

Focus effort on new energy source

Regarding the June 11 article "Aso pledges emissions cut of 15% by '20": The issue of emissions is a global problem and will not be resolved by the actions of any one country. Until a new energy source is developed and implemented, the problem will continue. I believe that Japan, with the development...
BUSINESS
Jun 27, 2009

Rights-holder Sony expects revenue boost from Michael Jackson CDs, DVDs

Sony Corp., owner of rights to Michael Jackson's music, may boost revenue via a rebound in sales of the late pop icon's CDs and DVDs, analysts said.
BUSINESS
Jun 27, 2009

Komatsu sees strong China sales

Komatsu Ltd. said sales in China are exceeding its forecasts, as Beijing's $585 billion stimulus plan fuels demand.
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2009

At 70, Italian institute truly is an institution

Back in prewar Japan — when there were still titled nobility — it was the duty of the upper class to engage in philanthropic activities, promote art or spread foreign culture here.
BUSINESS
Jun 26, 2009

Sharp violating Samsung patent: ITC

Some Sharp Corp. liquid crystal display televisions and computer monitors should be banned from the United States because they infringe on a patent owned by Samsung Electronics Co., the U.S. International Trade Commission said Wednesday.
Reader Mail
Jun 25, 2009

Risible promotion of cuteness

It is a disgrace that Japan's Foreign Ministry is using celebrity "kawaii ambassadors" to introduce Japanese pop culture to young people overseas. Young adults dressed in "very short skirts" not only legitimize this provocative mode of dress but also promote immorality as a Japanese export. Young girls...
Reader Mail
Jun 25, 2009

Japanese is just a language

The other day in English class I shocked a student by supplying her with a translation of the Japanese proverb "Even monkeys fall from trees." (The English-language proverb I used for the translation was "Even Homer sometimes nods.") The student seemed amazed that English had proverbs; she had believed...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jun 23, 2009

Fans make troupe phenomenon it is

Takarazuka Revue Co., Japan's all-female musical troupe, is a love-it or hate-it theatrical landmark.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jun 23, 2009

My nursery nightmares

One thing that sets the Japanese labor force apart from practically all others in the developed world is the lack of women in permanent salaried positions. Unlike their Western counterparts, Japanese women seem resistant to the "you can have it all" mantra that has prevailed since the 1980s, and often...
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Jun 23, 2009

Re: Rumpus on Tokyo campus

Following are some readers' responses to David McNeill's June 9 Zeit Gist article "Rumpus on campus":
EDITORIALS
Jun 23, 2009

Anti-piracy law

The Diet has enacted a law that will enable the dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces for antipiracy missions at any time and anywhere in the world. Two Maritime Self-Defense Force helicopter destroyers are now in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia, joined by two P3C antisubmarine patrol planes. Their antipiracy...

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji