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EDITORIALS
Jan 26, 2009

Safety lessons for the MSDF

The Yokohama Maritime Accident Tribunal determined Jan. 22 that insufficient surveillance on the part of the Maritime Self-Defense Force's 7,750-ton Aegis destroyer Atago was the main cause of its Feb. 19, 2008, collision with the 7.3-ton trawler Seitoku Maru, which killed the two fishermen aboard the...
Reader Mail
Jan 25, 2009

The limits of discrimination

In commenting on the famous Otaru, Hokkaido, bathhouse case, Gregory Clark cops out when he says that barring drunken sailors and applying tests of drunkenness are not the answer. It's pretty clear when someone is over the limit. You throw out drunks by throwing them out!
Reader Mail
Jan 25, 2009

Businesses can be persuaded

I have been to Japan and have never felt as if I was being discriminated against for any ill reasons. I found it quite nice to see a more closed society wanting only their serene ways. I speak Japanese pretty well and had no problems. It is not a racial or country-specific thing; it would be wrong if...
Reader Mail
Jan 25, 2009

Whitewash of xenophobia

I was with Gregory Clark through the first few paragraphs of his Jan. 15 article, "Antiforeigner discrimination is a right for Japanese people." Whingeing foreigners here often seem the norm and not the exception. Thus I understand his frustration with many of his fellow expatriates. I too have little...
EDITORIALS
Jan 25, 2009

Economy down, stress up

The muted celebrations at the passing New Year have slipped from mind more quickly than in most years. The less-than-festive mood around the world was yet more evidence of how deeply and strongly the economic downturn has disrupted everyone's lives. Joblessness, homelessness and general discomfort are...
LIFE
Jan 25, 2009

What future for fish as Japan's daily fare?

When I first joined a commercial hook-and-line boat fishing for salmon off the west coast of Vancouver Island, Canada, in 1976, we began our season in April, moved north through the summer months, and returned home at the end of October.
Japan Times
JAPAN / MIXED MATCHES
Jan 24, 2009

Couple share California dream, can't wait to get back in the States

Ever since Haruki Imaoka watched the popular American TV series "Beverly Hills, 90210," he had dreamed of marrying a good-looking Western girl. When he went to Los Angeles for college, he met local resident Laura Beltz in May 2004, and they hit it off right away.
BUSINESS
Jan 24, 2009

Honda pulls out of Suzuka 8 Hours race

Honda Motor Co. said Friday it is pulling its team out of a motorcycle race in Japan this year as part of cost-cutting amid the global slowdown.
JAPAN
Jan 24, 2009

Cabinet OKs diluted tax reform bill

Prime Minister Taro Aso got a little breathing room Friday after the Cabinet approved his modified tax reform bill, which now offers an open-ended clause for a future consumption tax hike, while mending an internal rift over the issue in his Liberal Democratic Party.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 23, 2009

'Kansen Retto'

Disaster movies became big in both Hollywood and Japan in the 1970s — an era of soaring gas prices, volatile exchange rates and a failed Republican presidency. Now, with history repeating itself (in spades), this much-derided genre is booming again.
Reader Mail
Jan 22, 2009

Efforts of activists misguided

Although bombastically titled, Gregory Clark's Jan. 15 article was a welcome riposte to the chorus of criticism originally inspired by Paul de Vries' Dec. 2 Zeit Gist article, "Back to the baths: Otaru revisited."
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 22, 2009

Can Hamas leaders win the peace?

WASHINGTON — For generations to come, the Palestinians will remember the horrific war in Gaza with pain and bitterness. But what cannot yet be seen is how Palestinians will view Hamas. Whether Hamas can claim a victory — and whether Palestinians will believe them will be determined by the type of...
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2009

Namesake town parties into night

The Fukui Prefecture town that shares its name with new U.S. President Barack Obama celebrated his inauguration Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Jan 22, 2009

Dekopon

Dear Alice,My husband attended a business dinner late last year at a very fancy traditional Japanese restaurant. At the end of the evening, as he was heading out the door, the kimono-clad proprietress presented him with a gift of a single piece of fruit. It was like a large orange but with a weird pear...
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2009

Sasebo holds nuclear leak drill without U.S.

NAGASAKI (Kyodo) The city of Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, conducted its seventh drill to deal with a possible radioactive leak from a U.S. submarine Wednesday, but U.S. forces declined to take part, as in previous drills.
Reader Mail
Jan 22, 2009

False assumption from fluency

The Jan. 15 article "Antiforeigner discrimination is a right for Japanese people" by Gregory Clark, was sad and insulting on so many levels. I can only speak for myself, a female Japanese citizen, but I don't feel it is our "right" to discriminate against others on any basis. To so freely use the word...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2009

Magnetic speaker's words resonate with masses

When Tsutomu Toyama first read Barack Obama's November victory speech, he was deeply impressed, both by the choice of language and the message conveyed.
BUSINESS
Jan 22, 2009

Japan to Obama: Stay far away from trade issues

Despite the U.S. public's joyous welcome for new President Barack Obama, Japanese policymakers and business leaders are fretting over a revival of trade protectionism.
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2009

Ruling bloc sets stage for antipiracy mission

The Liberal Democratic Party-New Komeito ruling bloc said Tuesday it will work to send Maritime Self-Defense ships to take part in antipiracy efforts off Somalia under a maritime police action provision of the Self-Defense Forces law.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 21, 2009

The key words that kept Japan abuzz in 2008

Last October, publisher Jiyu Kokuminsha released the 61st edition of its "Gendai Yogo no Kiso Chishiki (Encyclopedia of Contemporary Words)" — a massive 1,614-page tome that retails for just ¥2,980. I have a facsimile copy of the book's first edition, launched on Oct. 10, 1948. In the introduction,...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 21, 2009

The key words that kept Japan abuzz in 2008

Last October, publisher Jiyu Kokuminsha released the 61st edition of its "Gendai Yogo no Kiso Chishiki (Encyclopedia of Contemporary Words)" — a massive 1,614-page tome that retails for just ¥2,980. I have a facsimile copy of the book's first edition, launched on Oct. 10, 1948. In the introduction,...

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight