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Reader Mail
Jul 8, 2012

Most people suffering in silence

I think the interesting argument made by Michael Hoffman in his June 24 article — that depression from the workplace can lead to a desire to join a doomsday cult — makes some sense.
Reader Mail
Jul 8, 2012

Unprepared for times like these

Regarding the June 24 Big in Japan column, "The doomsday cult of 9-to-5 depression": I would like to thank writer Michael Hoffman for a very well-written and timely article on the relentless rise of depression in Japan. There are, according to the business magazine cited by Hoffman, a wide variety of...
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jul 8, 2012

Attitudes hardening toward the welfare state

Last March, the number of individuals receiving seikatsu hogo (financial assistance from the government) exceeded 2.1 million people, the first time the record had been surpassed since 1951. Payouts this year are likely to exceed ¥3.7 trillion.
Reader Mail
Jul 8, 2012

Biomass: a question of viability

Regarding the June 19 Kyodo article "Biomass town shining amid Fukushima taint": As nice as it sounds, biomass will not meet Japan's power needs for the foreseeable future. ... Does the city of Maniwa (Okayama Prefecture) seriously think that harvesting trees will meet its energy needs, and for how long?...
COMMENTARY
Jul 6, 2012

Culture of greedy hypocrites

One of the causes of the present crisis in the eurozone has been the failure of European government to collect all taxes levied on citizens and companies.
Reader Mail
Jul 5, 2012

Immigration issue gets covered

Regarding Philip Brasor's Medix Mix column July 1, titled "Often-ignored immigration issue raised in new film": Immigrant labor and the education of the children of immigrants have NOT been ignored. There was substantial television and newspaper coverage of the issue following the 2008 financial crisis....
Reader Mail
Jul 5, 2012

Dubious claim about cesium

Regarding the July 2 Kyodo article "Cesium found in urine of Fukushima children": Tokyo University honorary professor of food safety Hideaki Karaki is quoted as saying that "the level of cesium (from the samples) is lower than that of potassium, and it definitely has no effect on the human body."
Reader Mail
Jul 5, 2012

Victory for a regular salaryman

Regarding the July 1 AP article "Whistle-blower defeats Japan Inc. for first time": I would like to congratulate Masaharu Hamada on his win and on his dedication and courage in continuing to press for restitution and remedial action for his 2008 suit (in which he alleged that Olympus Corp. took reprisal...
Reader Mail
Jul 5, 2012

Adding English-acquisition points

Regarding the June 30 article "Rakuten's English drive ready to take full effect": I have a suggestion for making Rakuten Inc.'s drive to force employees to speak and write English at work more successful. Much research concludes that the ability to speak and write is the result of acquiring language,...
Reader Mail
Jul 5, 2012

Drone strikes may haunt U.S.

Regarding Ramesh Thakur's June 21 article, "Drone warfare clashes with law, human rights": Congratulations to Thakur for saying what needs to be said and to The Japan Times for publishing it. Thakur points out the realities of U.S. drone aircraft attacks and raises the right questions, as troubling as...
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Jul 3, 2012

Change necessary if Noda really wants to put 'children first'

Dear Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda,
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Jul 3, 2012

In formulating immigration policy, no seat at the table for non-Japanese

Last month the Japanese government took baby steps toward an official immigration policy. Ten ministries and several specialist "people of awareness" (yūshikisha) held meetings aimed at creating a "coexistence society" (kyōsei shakai) within which non-Japanese (NJ) would be "accepted" (uke ire).
COMMENTARY
Jul 2, 2012

Two Peace Prize laureates fail to communicate

"The lead interrogator at the Division Interrogation Facility had given me specific instructions: I was to deprive the detainee of sleep during my 12-hour shift by opening his cell every hour, forcing him to stand in a corner and stripping him of his clothes. Three years later the tables have turned....
Reader Mail
Jul 1, 2012

Past nuclear lessons not heeded

Regarding The Washington Post article appearing on the front page of The Japan Times on June 27 titled "Nuclear redress will never approximate losses": Media such as The Washington Post and even The New York Times are finally acknowledging that nuclear energy itself was not the cause of the angst and...
Reader Mail
Jul 1, 2012

Safest bet is to skip having kids

Regarding the June 28 Kyodo article "Tax hike vote pleases big business": Of course, big business leaders are pleased, as the higher consumption tax will generate more money for them — at the expense of the people, who incidentally will not only pay more in taxes, but also pay more for pension premiums....
Reader Mail
Jul 1, 2012

Lots of reports, too little action

Regarding the June 26 AP article "Oi restart rush blasted as new crisis": I am sick of all the talk about Japanese nuclear energy policy measures, but I cannot help opposing the government's and the utility companies' attitudes. It may be true that, without nuclear power stations, electricity outages...
OLYMPICS
Jul 1, 2012

Japan's medal count in London hard to forecast

In its past 11 Summer Olympic appearances, dating back to the 1964 Tokyo Games, Japan has collected 275 medals.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jul 1, 2012

The land where sex fears to tread

No love, no sex, no marriage, no kids — such, in glum outline, is Japan today. It's too bleak a picture, it can't be true! But it can't be false either. If it were, people would be marrying, making babies and having love affairs. Instead, statistics reflecting everything from marriage and childbirth...
Reader Mail
Jul 1, 2012

Rosy 'leftwing' view of unions

Regarding Washington Post writer Harold Meyerson's July 23 Op-Ed, "U.S. middle-class fortunes fade as unions decline": The figures are interesting, but this is a very leftwing article, and in my view, the leftist view causes complete misinterpretation.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Jun 29, 2012

Warriors to give Burrell shot in Summer League

Power forward Justin Burrell has accepted an invitation to play for the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Summer League in July.
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Jun 25, 2012

Liberating Japan's resources

Japan has long been characterized as a nation with virtually no natural resources like oil, natural gas, coal, iron and copper. More than 125 million people live on land area ranking only 61st in the world in terms of size.
Reader Mail
Jun 24, 2012

Beware the national mythology

I have lived in Japan more than long enough to naturalize if I wish. But I don't wish to naturalize because I don't see sufficient advantage in it. Sure, I would be able to vote, but what's the good of that in a "democracy" such as this?
Reader Mail
Jun 24, 2012

Truth about population decline

The June 19 editorial "Reversing the population decline" lists facts and figures on Japan's population decline, recently made public by the health ministry. But the editorial's solutions offer nothing new and simply make well-worn suggestions by rote: more employment for young people, shortened working...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 24, 2012

Escaped-animal antics are good for ratings

One of the interesting factoids accompanying the escaped-penguin story that delighted the media for the last three months is that Japan has more penguins in captivity than any other country. Tokyo Sea Life Park, the facility from which the male Humboldt penguin in question made his break, has 135. The...
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jun 24, 2012

There's none so blind as those who deny they cannot see

Buddhism teaches that all human suffering is rooted in greed, anger and ignorance. Whether true or not, it is clear that related human failings are compromising our planet: our material greed, our ignorance of natural systems, and most of all, our dogged denial.
Reader Mail
Jun 24, 2012

Addressing basic human needs

To Rowena Xiaoqing, the writer of The Washington Post article "China: no answers and no justice" (which ran in The Japan Times on June 14): I share Tiananmen Mothers' indignation and never doubted the idealism of the Tiananmen protesters. Ultimately, a China that understands its past and recent history...
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Jun 23, 2012

U.S. students mold careers in Aichi

Every summer, University of The Arts professor James Makins attends a ceramics workshop in Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture.
Reader Mail
Jun 21, 2012

Disposal of quake-tsunami debris

Regarding the June 12 Kyodo article "Gunma agrees to help dispose of Iwate quake-tsunami debris": I'm glad to hear this news. After hearing earlier that many people in a city of my prefecture had voted against accepting quake-tsunami debris, I was afraid that the number of areas willing to receive it...
Reader Mail
Jun 21, 2012

New taxes are not the answer

Regarding the June 5 front-page article "Noda replaces censured ministers," what is Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda thinking? Japan doesn't have a revenue problem; it has a spending problem. The last thing you want to do is raise taxes during a time of deflation — particularly a tax that will...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 21, 2012

Fan loyalty brings 2PM ups and downs

Dancing boy bands are a common feature in K-pop, but when it comes to fan loyalty, 2PM has few rivals.

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?