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Reader Mail
Apr 3, 2011

Kids should know what's going on

Regarding Jun Hongo's March 25 Q&A article, "Should kids be shielded from coverage of disaster?": In my opinion, and as a result of personal experience with tragedy, children should play a big part in knowing what's happening with issues. In my neighborhood, I see elementary school-age kids playing around...
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Apr 3, 2011

Renewed national pride will shape Japan's future

Spring dawns on a shattered Japan. "Not since World War II" is a recurring phrase, and no wonder. Mass destruction accompanied by radiation — what other analogy is big enough?
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 3, 2011

Yen for a new global currency

HONG KONG — A growing feeling that the dollar has had its day is still being spoiled by the lack of a ready alternative and by inertia and lack of global political vision or leadership. China's unwillingness to assume international responsibilities is another important factor.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Apr 3, 2011

Facial gymnastics, interviews with 'average people; CM of the week: Loto6

As further proof that variety-show producers are getting hard up for subject matter, Tuesday sees the premiere of the regular series "Sono Kao ga Mite Mitai" ("I Want to See That Face"; Fuji TV, 10 p.m.), which is hosted by the comedy duo Ameagari Kesshitai.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 3, 2011

Japanese antinuclear voices are still struggling to be heard

On March 26, NHK covered an antinuclear power demonstration in Germany that attracted thousands of protesters. The report pointed out that the demonstration was sparked by the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear reactor. The next day, there was a march by Japanese antinuke protesters in Tokyo. Though...
BUSINESS
Apr 2, 2011

Wall Street banks hope physicists, bottled water ease staff radiation fears

Wall Street banks operating in Japan are inviting nuclear physicists to inform Tokyo employees about radiation risks, providing counseling and supplying bottled water to calm workers and keep them in the city.
COMMENTARY
Apr 1, 2011

Japan-China relations warming up in crisis

HONG KONG — If there is a rainbow behind the dark clouds currently blanketing Japan — the country's gravest crisis since World War II — it could be this: Relations with China, which were at their worst in decades last year, are taking a turn for the better.
EDITORIALS
Mar 30, 2011

Portugal's problems

And now, it is Portugal's turn. Last Wednesday, the government in Lisbon was forced to resign when the opposition refused to back a tough economic package designed to tackle the country's fiscal crisis. The result is a political crisis on top of an economic mess, one that threatens — again — to spill...
BUSINESS
Mar 29, 2011

In wake of disaster, tax hike issue revisited

A tax increase to finance earthquake reconstruction may be unavoidable considering the nation's huge debt, two ruling party officials said, and two-thirds of the public agrees the measure may be necessary.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Mar 28, 2011

Tales of reconstruction: How do you assess damage of this magnitude?

Before Japan's devastated northeast areas can receive relief compensation, private property has to be assessed; a process that could take months.
EDITORIALS
Mar 28, 2011

Preparation begins now

Even though the damage from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami is only beginning to be cleaned up, people should take time to prepare for future disasters. It is unknown when another large quake will hit Japan, but the continued aftershocks are insistent reminders to get ready in sensible and reasonable...
SOCCER
Mar 28, 2011

Saitama J. League clubs put skills to good use to lift evacuees' spirits

SAITAMA — Tuesday's charity match between the national team and a J. League select XI gives soccer a high-profile platform to contribute to disaster relief efforts, but beneath the radar the desire to make a difference is just as strong.
COMMENTARY
Mar 27, 2011

Hamas must sell a new vision

SEATTLE — "Now it is time to naturalize the flow of history," wrote Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkey's minister of foreign affairs in the March 16 edition of The Guardian.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Mar 27, 2011

Circumstances certain to make for challenging season

When it finally gets under way, this is going to be what one fan has called a "patchwork" baseball season in Japan.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Mar 25, 2011

Ramirez to salute disaster victims after HRs

Alex Ramirez's generally jovial, gregarious disposition sometimes makes it easy to forget there's a more serious side to the Yomiuri Giants star.
COMMENTARY
Mar 21, 2011

U.S. gesture would reduce risks posed by weak Kan government

LOS ANGELES — It was a perfect (if quiet) storm in the tense triangular relationship among Beijing, Tokyo and Washington, but with all the noise coming from North Africa and the Middle East, hardly anyone noticed three developments.
Reader Mail
Mar 20, 2011

Words of advice for the media

I agree with Ivor Paul's March 6 letter, "TV listings offer little help." Japanese television is absolute garbage, unworthy of viewing by anyone. It is heavily biased with rightwing, conservative viewpoints pushed relentlessly on the viewing public. An example is the debate on whaling.
CULTURE / Books
Mar 20, 2011

Black ink, red blood

THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE PRESS NETWORKS OF EAST ASIA, 1918-1945, by Peter O'Connor. Global Oriental, 2010, 381 pp., £61 (hardcover) In the pre- and early war years, the big three newspapers at the center of the networks in Japan were The Japan Times, Japan Advertiser and the Japan Chronicle.
Reader Mail
Mar 20, 2011

Rare throwback to 19th century

Regarding the March 16 article "Ishihara sorry for quake gaffe": Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara's remark suggesting that the earthquake-tsunami in northeast Japan was "divine punishment" against the Japanese for egoism shocked me.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 16, 2011

Finding a way to make industrial policy work

GENEVA — Industrial policy (IP) is back — or rather, back in fashion. Of course, it never really went away, even in countries formally adhering to free-market principles. But the postcrisis world — in which government intervention in the economy has gained greater legitimacy — will see more of...
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Mar 13, 2011

Japan's future is hardly predictable

So this is how history is made. An astonishing phenomenon. Suddenly we are all lifted as by a whirlwind out of our individual, quotidian, petty concerns, into something larger, much larger. Only one name does it justice: Revolution.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Mar 13, 2011

Traditional paddies are great ecosystems

Japan's rice-farming areas face two broad trends: field abandonment and farm modernization. Both impact the environment as well as the economy.
EDITORIALS
Mar 13, 2011

Centennial for an artist

Japanese artist Taro Okamoto died in 1996 at the age of 84, but his ever-young artworks and attitude toward life are gathering new attention 100 years since his birth in 1911. What would have been his 100th birthday on Feb. 26 was commemorated with a Google-logo homage to Okamoto, original music at an...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Mar 13, 2011

Has rice farming passed its expiry date in Japan?

Atsuo Aoki doesn't appear to be an irrational man. At 52, he works in the banking division of the Japan Agricultural Cooperative (JA) in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, an old castle city at the foot of the Japan Alps about three hours by rail north of Tokyo. He lives there with his wife and three children...
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Mar 11, 2011

Get ready to switch chairs

Prime Minister Naoto Kan will likely have to decide whether to call a general election or to resign as early as next month as his popularity continues to plummet.
BUSINESS
Mar 10, 2011

Toyota sets profit goal of ¥1 trillion

Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda said Wednesday the auto giant aims to earn more than ¥1 trillion in group operating profit as soon as possible as it tries to rebound from a record loss two years ago when it was hit by the global economic downturn and massive recalls.
Reader Mail
Mar 6, 2011

Study materials could be better

I enjoyed the Feb. 26 article "Are schools ready for English?" But by the looks of the photographed open book (presented as an example of the teaching materials to be used), my answer to the question posed by the headline would be NO!
BASKETBALL
Mar 6, 2011

Sojourner says JBL superiority just a myth

The ongoing debate about how to improve Japan's basketball, from the elementary school level to the professional ranks, has produced a number of different viewpoints. The one thing that most people agree on is that the current approach isn't working to create a powerful national team and a number of...

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