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JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Nov 17, 2012

Medical interpreters in growing need

As Filipino Anamaria Ogahara can testify, going to a hospital in a country whose language you don't speak fluently can be a highly challenging and unnerving experience.
Reader Mail
Nov 15, 2012

Multi-ethnic community here?

Michael Hoffman's Oct. 21 article, "Only immigrants can save Japan," quotes the founder and current executive director of the Japan Immigration Policy Institute, Hidenori Sakanaka, as saying that Japan "needs immigrants" and that a "new Japanese civilization will realize a multi-ethnic community."
Reader Mail
Nov 15, 2012

Outsiders' plans for Okinawa

Regarding the Nov. 9 Kyodo article "U.S. wanted to turn all of Okinawa Island into base site in 1945-46: documents": The Okinawan people have been consistently lied to by the Tokyo government and the U.S. military.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 15, 2012

South Korean band Ulala Session wins hearts on talent show

The boys of Ulala Session originally came together because of their love of dance. As young men, however, they are now regarded for their music, live performances and backstory.
Reader Mail
Nov 11, 2012

Is 'realistic' view a path of folly?

Regarding the Nov. 3 article "U.S. needs Japan to remain nuclear, expert says": John Hamre, CEO of the pro-nuclear Center for Strategic and International Studies," tells us: "There can't be any romanticism about alternative energy. If you're going to be a modern, sophisticated economy, you have to address...
Reader Mail
Nov 11, 2012

Primary goal of any language

Regarding Shihoko Goto's Nov. 7 article, "Japan as a role model for civility": It would be wise to bear in mind a distinction between volitional "civility", and the Japan-centric tradition as a compliance culture with a hive mentality. This is worth mentioning because transitory societal behaviors can...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 11, 2012

Local media are too vague on Fukushima radiation risk

Earlier this year, NHK rebroadcast a documentary it made in the late 1980s about the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident. It showed how the Soviet Union and European countries tested people for effects of radiation throughout the region. Appended to the doc was a discussion with experts who compared...
Reader Mail
Nov 11, 2012

Safeguarding territorial integrity

Regarding the Nov. 7 Kyodo article "Japan, China engage in war of words at ASEM summit": It is disgusting that Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda talked about honoring international law. Did Japan care about international law when its soldiers massacred millions of Chinese civilians during its occupation...
Reader Mail
Nov 11, 2012

Own version of history and law

In the article "Japan, China engage in war of words at ASEM summit," Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda is quoted as telling Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi: "Historically speaking and in line with international law, there is no doubt that the Senkakus are an integral part of our territory and Japan...
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Nov 10, 2012

Cooking oil's second life: biodiesel

Japan has seen an increase in efforts to recycle used cooking oil — a byproduct of supermarkets and cafeterias — as biodiesel to use as a substitute for light diesel oil fuel for vehicles.
Reader Mail
Nov 8, 2012

Limited liberty is not the solution

Regarding the Nov. 4 article "Crimes linked to U.S. forces spur calls for (Status of Forces Agreement) revision": Here's a novel idea — put all establishments that serve alcohol off limits to U.S. service personnel as well as civilian employees of the U.S. government.
Reader Mail
Nov 8, 2012

Resist purchase of the Osprey

As for the Oct. 31 Kyodo article "Some officials argue for equipping (Self-Defense Forces) with Ospreys": As if to thumb its nose at Okinawa's vociferous opposition to deployment of the Osprey tilt-rotor transport aircraft at U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, the central government is examining...
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Nov 6, 2012

Revisionists, the Senkakus and Debito: readers' views

Some readers' letters in response to Debito Arudou's Oct. 2 Just Be Cause column, "Revisionists marching Japan back to a dangerous place":
Reader Mail
Nov 4, 2012

Cyber war needs an enemy

The Oct. 30 opinion piece "When should a cyberattack be considered an act of war?" was an excellent article by Ellen Nakashima. She raises important questions and implies some potentially catastrophic answers.
Reader Mail
Nov 4, 2012

Time frame for exposure needed

In the Oct. 31 article "Fallout projection irks rice region, new targets," Ayako Mie writes, "Exposure to 100 millisieverts would raise the lifetime risk of dying of cancer by 0.5 percent."
JAPAN / Media
Nov 4, 2012

Symposium looks at the disturbing rise of online nationalism

While the territorial disputes between Japan and China, and that with South Korea, seem to have quietened down recently, some people remain frustrated by the issue.
Reader Mail
Nov 4, 2012

Pride may have hindered case

Reading the Oct. 30 article "Classic case of selective evidence, double jeopardy," I am petrified by the flagrant and insolent manners of Japanese prosecutors.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Nov 3, 2012

Antinuclear rallies an eye-opener for university students

Some 300 people joined an Oct. 27 antinuclear rally staged by a citizens' group at Hisaya Odori Park in Nagoya. Observing them were 10 students from Chukyo University.
Reader Mail
Nov 1, 2012

Agreeing with Ishihara for once

Regarding the Oct. 24 article "Residents riled by Tokyo governor calling their noise complaint 'nonsense,' " Yokota Air Base was originally built in 1940. It has been in use since then.
Reader Mail
Nov 1, 2012

Japan does not need more people

I would just like to say, as an economist and American who not only lives in Japan but also in the United States, that this article is absolutely wrong. I have never heard such hogwash in all my years and it has no real thought put into it. How you can honestly print this on your website or even in a...
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Oct 30, 2012

Taiji hunts continue to anger, confound readers

Readers' responses received to the Sept. 11 Hotline to Nagatacho column, "Stop the annual Taiji dolphin massacre, make your children proud" by Deb Bowen-Saunders, and letters published on this subject on Oct. 9 ("Call to stop dolphin hunt in Taiji makes waves," Have Your Say):
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LIGHT GIST
Oct 30, 2012

The world according to Toru Hashimoto

Loved by his supporters for his fiery rhetoric — which often involves bashing the Tokyo-centric status quo, overpaid local bureaucrats, utility executives, teachers' unions or, indeed, anybody who disagrees with him — Hashimoto's critics charge that he's a dangerous rightwing demagogue seeking a...
Reader Mail
Oct 28, 2012

Invitation to multiculturalism

In Michael Hoffman's Oct. 21 article " 'Only immigrants can save Japan,' " Hidenori Sakanaka is quoted as saying: "A new Japanese civilization will realize a multi-ethnic community, which no nation has ever achieved, and, in due course, it will stand out as one of the main pillars of world civilization."...
Reader Mail
Oct 28, 2012

More views on gun control

Regarding the Oct. 22 article "Hattori's mom appeals for wider U.S. gun control effort," as a lifelong member of the National Rifle Association and a certified pistol and personal protection instructor, I would like to comment on this matter.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Oct 28, 2012

'Fresh Currents' charts the way to, and from, Fukushima

This month's column is about a book that is very much more than just a book: It is a work of art, a labor of love and a realizable dream of a better future for Japan. But I'm getting ahead of myself ...
JAPAN
Oct 27, 2012

Axed manager's sexual harassment lawsuit against Prada Japan fails

The Tokyo District Court on Friday quashed a demand by a former manager of Prada Japan that the firm pay her ¥58 million in damages for sexual harassment, ruling that telling her to lose weight wasn't so bad given that Prada is in the fashion business.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Oct 26, 2012

Candidate deposit requirement guarantees same faces on the ballot

It costs a lot to run for office in Japan, and a lot to lose.
Reader Mail
Oct 25, 2012

Administration is not ownership

Regarding Ayako Mie's Oct. 12 analysis article, "No quick Senkakus fix, but return to status quo likely," Mie writes, "China has yet to indicate it is willing to back down and work to restore badly frayed bilateral ties." The flip side of this statement is that Japan has yet to indicate its willingness...
Reader Mail
Oct 25, 2012

Tragic, but gun rights needed

Regarding the Oct. 22 article "Hattori's mom appeals for wider U.S. gun control effort," I have always been heart-sickened by the death of this young man. Who knows what he could have created for his nation, his people, the world? That being said, those firearms she wants removed were a fundamental reason...

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years