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Reader Mail
Apr 23, 2009

Benefits of diversity

Regarding the April 14 letter "A battle for Japan's future": One of the things that makes America strong is the great diversity of our culture. I recently attended a speech given by Arun Gandhi, the grandson of Mohandas Gandhi. In his speech he dispelled the myth that America is a "melting pot." Instead...
EDITORIALS
Apr 23, 2009

Resignation not enough

Mr. Noboru Okubo and his eldest son have resigned respectively as chief director and vice director of the Kyoto-based Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation over irregularities related to its operations, including the accumulation of unusually large profits for a public-interest corporation and opaque...
EDITORIALS
Apr 23, 2009

A complicated trial

The Third Petty Bench of the Supreme Court, in a 5-0 decision Tuesday, upheld lower court rulings that sentenced a Wakayama woman to death for killing four people and poisoning 63 others by lacing a curry stew with arsenic during a community summer festival in July 1998. This was a difficult and unusual...
COMMENTARY
Apr 23, 2009

U.S. shifting Mideast policy

It is almost possible to hear the tectonic plates grinding. The whole international landscape is once again on the move, tumbling old structures and turning old assumptions upside-down.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Apr 22, 2009

Time is right for a LeBron-Kobe showdown

NEW YORK — Last season the NBA and its fans got what they sold their souls for, a showdown between the Celtics and Lakers . . . the league's two most venerated and decorated franchises.
COMMENTARY
Apr 22, 2009

Nuclear disarmament: too much, too soon?

There is no country on Earth more committed to global nuclear disarmament than Japan. Ever since experiencing firsthand the horrors of nuclear weapons at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Japanese government and people have been steadfast in calling for the total elimination of nuclear weapons from the planet....
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Apr 21, 2009

Travel by train on a budget

Rail on the cheap In Japan for only a limited time, J.K. is desperate to travel and see as much as possible. But there's a problem. "Cash is pretty limited. Are there any money-saving ways of traveling by train in Japan?"
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Apr 21, 2009

Kaneko's streak gives Fighters double vision

If Nippon Professional Baseball is serious about speeding up games this season, it should stop Makoto Kaneko from batting.
BUSINESS
Apr 21, 2009

Toyota banks on SUV demand in China

Toyota Motor Corp. is counting on demand for sport utility vehicles to reverse a drop in China sales, even as demand for the models collapses in the United States. "SUV sales are showing strong growth in China," Shoju Nozaki, executive vice president of Toyota Motor (China) Investment Co., said Monday...
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Apr 20, 2009

Looking for a new leader

David Cameron, the leader of the British opposition Conservative Party, is the envy of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which is in desperate need to find someone to replace or succeed Taro Aso, whose popularity remains low despite a political scandal involving the Democratic Party of Japan —...
EDITORIALS
Apr 20, 2009

Raising the bar at law schools

In April 2004, 68 law schools were established in accordance with the nation's legal reform. Since then, the number has increased to 74. Earlier this month, about 5,800 people enrolled in these schools. Those who have not studied law at undergraduate level will have to complete a three-year course and...
Reader Mail
Apr 19, 2009

'Witness to War' series important

Congratulations on your "Witness to War" series. Over 60 years after the end of World War II, time is catching up with many of the combatants and civilians who had firsthand experience with this major conflict. The work by your newspaper is important because the voices of these remarkable people will...
Reader Mail
Apr 19, 2009

Nintendo makes learning exciting

Regarding the April 10 article "Nintendo aims to turn DS device into learning tool, guide": As a recent visitor to Japan as well as a history teacher in the state of New York, it never ceases to amaze me the extent to which Japan and the industries within Japan are consistently at the forefront of technology...
CULTURE / Books
Apr 19, 2009

Race, ethnicity and identity in Japan

Japan is a multiethnic society largely in denial about its diversity. Here we can examine the contradictions and consequences of this discourse. This second edition published a dozen years after the first is a welcome update with 10 chapters analyzing, inter alia, Japan's six principle minority groups...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 18, 2009

'Red shirts' are in retreat

BANGKOK — The defeat of the "red-shirt" protesters under the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) has restored calm and order in the streets of Bangkok after a day of rioting that resulted in two deaths and scores of injuries. The red shirts have evidently lost the battle, but their...
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2009

Consumer bills clear Lower House

The House of Representatives passed bills Friday to create a consumer affairs agency after both ruling and opposition forces reached a compromise.
EDITORIALS
Apr 18, 2009

A strong start for Mr. Obama

U.S. President Barack Obama campaigned on a platform of "change." Change was plainly visible throughout his first overseas trip as president. Perhaps the most compelling sign of change was not of his doing: Throughout the weeklong tour of Europe, Mr. Obama was greeted with an enthusiasm that posed a...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Apr 18, 2009

Final weeks promise intriguing story lines

LONDON — This is as good as it gets.
JAPAN
Apr 17, 2009

DPJ slams strict bills on foreign residents

A Democratic Party of Japan legal affairs panel has drafted proposals to soften the rules and punishments stipulated in government-sponsored bills to tighten immigration regulations on foreign residents, DPJ lawmaker Ritsuo Hosokawa said Thursday.

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