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Reader Mail
Apr 25, 2013

Polarization in modern politics

I found the April 18 Bloomberg article by Cass R. Sunstein, "Why well-informed people are also close-minded," very interesting. The problem here is figuring out what phrases like "well-informed" and "political knowledge" actually mean.
Reader Mail
Apr 25, 2013

Rightward-bound regardless

Regarding Paul Gaysford's April 14 eulogy of Margaret Thatcher, 'Iron Lady' is worth emulating": I don't believe history is made only by leaders. With or without Thatcher, Britain would have swung right. It was already happening with James Callaghan (prime minister 1976-79), who could be described as...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 25, 2013

On the mechanics of anime illustration

The 1970s was an important decade for the development of Japanese pop-cultural icons. Kindergarten children back then would likely have been introduced to the characters Doraemon (1969), Anpanman (1973) and Hello Kitty (1974).
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2013

Abe war comment roils S. Korean media

Tokyo is forced into damage control over history issues again after a war remark by Prime Minister Abe triggers big headlines in South Korea.
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2013

Record 168 lawmakers visit Yasukuni

A record 168 Diet members visit Tokyo's war-linked Yasukuni Shrine, following visits by three Cabinet ministers and offerings by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sunday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 24, 2013

Sequestration-linked furloughs spur U.S. airport mayhem

After months of inside-the-Beltway drama, the impact of sequestration cutbacks moved to center stage America on Monday as the aviation system was slowed by the furlough of 1,500 air traffic controllers.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / NOTEBOOK
Apr 24, 2013

New-style Japanese souvenirs; Cinco de Mayo Festival in Tokyo

NEW PRODUCTS
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 24, 2013

Boston's terror and the children of the fault lines

Civilizational battles were once waged by warriors who donned garments of different lands. Today it is boys with baseball caps who carry death in their backpacks.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
Apr 24, 2013

Edoya Nekohachi entertains with animal voices

Animal mimicry artist Edoya Nekohachi, 63, is a third-generation Japanese performer whose precise renditions of hundreds of bird species' songs, as well as frog croaks, dog barks and dolphin whistles have been amusing audiences of all ages for more than 40 years.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 23, 2013

Shigeru Ban: between function and beauty

Architecture is rooted in the basic human need for shelter. But the profession today pays little attention to situations where the need for shelter is most urgent, such as after a disaster.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Apr 23, 2013

Renter guarantor system a headache for foreigners

Things were going well for Patrick after a year in Japan. He had found a job he liked, met a girl he planned to marry and was ready to move out of the small room his older brother, a longtime resident, was letting him use.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 23, 2013

Conservative tasks in Japan

As the first conservative government in Japan for a long time, the Abe Cabinet faces two major tasks, including departing from the postwar regime on security.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 22, 2013

Boston attack exposes limitations of post-9/11 security buildup

The Sept. 11, 2001, attacks led to a massive buildup of security to make the country safe. Subsequent plots, including attempts to conceal bombs in shoes and underwear, prompted hasty additions to that edifice, as officials sought to fill in cracks that terrorists might exploit.
COMMENTARY / Japan / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
Apr 22, 2013

Polished PR, perception strategy fourth arrow in 'Abenomics' quiver

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is back and so, it appears, is Japan. The yen is down, the Nikkei up, and approval ratings and expectations for the new government are sky high.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 22, 2013

Ways to 'spell' Japanese out loud

I dial a number and ask to speak to my literary agent, Mr. Suzuki.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Apr 21, 2013

Nature art: It's in the 'I' of the beholder

When a thing of beauty is perceived, the observer experiences some kind of a reaction; but what defines “beauty”? Is it art?
CULTURE / Books
Apr 21, 2013

There are no shortcuts to enlightenment, but plenty of laughs on the journey

Spring in Japan: a time to re-evaluate, to explore spiritually the choices of the upcoming fiscal year. A season of pilgrimage.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Apr 21, 2013

'The Cat Lawyer and the Invisible Man'; Imalu as a barista; CM of the week: Loto 7

A sequel to an award-winning original script solicited by TBS and Kodansha publishing, "Neko Ben to Tomei Ningen" ("The Cat Lawyer and the Invisible Man"; TBS, Mon., 9 p.m.) stars Hidetaka Yoshioka as Taro Momose, a graduate of the University of Tokyo's law department whose introverted personality and...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Apr 21, 2013

Slow pace of NPB games an ongoing problem

In response to my column of March 17, a couple of readers have come in with suggestions on how to pick up the notoriously slow pace of Japanese baseball games. From the Bay Area, fan Mike Colegate sent the following e-mail.
WORLD
Apr 21, 2013

U.S., EU differ on public monitoring

The United States is an on-camera nation, as the efforts to identify suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings showed. In the battle of security versus privacy, many European countries have made a different calculation.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 21, 2013

Toyota to start producing Lexus ES sedan in Kentucky

Toyota Motor Corp. plans to build Lexus ES 350 sedans in Kentucky, the first U.S. production for its luxury brand, as CEO Akio Toyoda pushes to localize output in the automaker's biggest markets.
Reader Mail
Apr 21, 2013

Appreciation for the Oki Islands

I live in the Oki Islands and work for the Nishinoshima Tourism Association. I discovered the April 14 Timeout travel article "The Oki Islands: where time seems to have stood still."
Reader Mail
Apr 21, 2013

Consequences of health planning

Anyone who has been around someone who is trying to quit smoking knows the common effects: increased appetite and irritability. Therefore, the headline of the April 17 AFP-JIJI article "Australians smoking, drinking less, but getting heftier, more anxious" should come as a surprise to no one.
Reader Mail
Apr 21, 2013

Thatcher's dealings with Iraq

In his April 14 paean to Baroness Thatcher, "'Iron Lady' is worth emulating," Paul Gaysford advises Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to read her memoirs, "The Downing Street Years," to fully grasp her own brand of conservatism.
JAPAN / Media
Apr 21, 2013

News-literacy lessons teach students how to find fact amid fiction

When Ife Adelona saw a picture circulating on Twitter of singer Selena Gomez as an adult-magazine cover girl, the 17-year-old knew what she had to do.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 20, 2013

Abe vows to help women in workforce

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe voices new goals to spur growth by tapping the potential of women, including by dramatically increasing the number of day care centers.

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes