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Reader Mail
Oct 12, 2013

Veterans group sees last days

I have learned that the Japanese Disabled Veterans Association decided on Oct. 3 to disband because its members have aged. Few Japanese know that such an organization still exists in Japan, but it is something Japanese should remember.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Oct 11, 2013

Strays become woman's calling

It's a typical evening in the Mercer-Tojo household. Susan Mercer, 37, has just settled down their 2-year-old for the night, tucking him in as he cuddles with five or six cats. Several dogs prowl restlessly, eager for a pat or a kind word. Scooping a kitten off the floor, Mercer settles down to wait...
Japan Times
TENNIS
Oct 11, 2013

Tsonga dominates Mayer, reaches Shanghai semis

Seventh seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga roared into the semifinals of the Shanghai Rolex Masters on Friday with a comprehensive 6-2, 6-3 victory over unseeded German Florian Mayer.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Oct 10, 2013

Giant duck to make its return

A giant rubber duck will make a triumphant return to Osaka after having survived serious hardships including drowning and being stabbed during its global tour.
Reader Mail
Oct 9, 2013

Heroine seemed to act alone

Regarding the Oct. 2 Kyodo article "Woman killed by train after saving man": This was a heroic young lady. Sincere condolences to her family. I saw the report on TV. She (Natsue Murata, 40) was on the other side of the railroad tracks [between Kamoi and Nakayama stations on the JR Yokohama Line]. She...
Reader Mail
Oct 9, 2013

Ultimate act of love and bravery

The whole world is reading about this story online. The pain for her family must be great, but over time they can be proud of her exceptional bravery. To give your life — intentionally or not — so that someone else lives is the ultimate act of love that one can show. Peace be with her and her family....
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 9, 2013

Honda Fit designed as 'Prius-killer' in challenge to Toyota

Honda Motor Co. wants to remind the world that hybrid means more than the Prius.
LIFE / Digital
Oct 8, 2013

Big data has made privacy obsolete

Watching the legal system deal with the Internet is like watching somebody trying to drive a car by looking only in the rear-view mirror. The results are amusing and predictable but not really interesting. On the other hand, watching the efforts of regulators — whether British ones such as Ofcom, or...
BASEBALL / HIT AND RUN
Oct 7, 2013

Time ripe for NPB to alter makeup game format

The Orix Buffaloes will be on the field when the Pacific League Climax Series begins on Oct. 12.
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 5, 2013

'Obamacare' exchanges have trouble with success

"We're building a complicated piece of technology," U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius said on the first day of the new Affordable Care Act — or "Obamacare," as it is otherwise known — "and hopefully you'll give us the same slack you give Apple."
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 5, 2013

NSA sought to unmask users of Net-privacy tool

On Nov. 1, 2007, the National Security Agency hosted a talk by Roger Dingledine, principal designer of one of the world's leading Internet privacy tools. It was a wary encounter, akin to mutual intelligence gathering, between a spy agency and a man who built tools to ward off electronic surveillance....
SOCCER / J. League
Oct 4, 2013

Urawa's Koroki learns significance of fan passion for Saitama derby

Urawa Reds would probably prefer not to have the added pressure of a local derby as they look to get their J. League title challenge back on track against Omiya Ardija on Saturday, but it will take more than just hostile fans to faze striker Shinzo Koroki.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Oct 4, 2013

Passion for swords led Briton to forge career as expert

Tucked away in a quiet residential street in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward, the Japanese Sword Museum offers a glimpse into an era where men staked their honor and their lives on the blade.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 3, 2013

Double the trouble, twice the joy for Japan's hafu

Until about 10 years ago, the standard Japanese image of kids of mixed blood was that they were 1) gorgeous, 2) rich and 3) able to live in Japan with none of the kinks and hang out at Azabu clubs when they were 13. In high school, my girlfriends scorned their own Japanese heritage. The common reply...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Oct 3, 2013

Nara, Aomori enter uncharted territory as expansion squads

History will unfold for two new franchises on Saturday.
Reader Mail
Oct 2, 2013

The fear of appearing henpecked

As for Mike Wyckoff's Sept. 26 letter, "The men that lack 'life skills,' " from The Japan Times Online, let me tell you about my husband, who used to work for a general trading company. Since our married life began, he has helped me wash dishes after dinner so that we can enjoy the evening hours together...
WORLD / Politics
Oct 2, 2013

GOP disappoints big-business backers

In 2010 and again in 2012, companies on Main Street and Wall Street did just about everything they could to help Republicans win elected office in Washington.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 30, 2013

China to foil skeptics again

China's eagerly anticipated 'hard landing' hasn't happened yet, and recent indicators make one wonder if it ever will. Maybe China's skeptics should be viewed more skeptically.
WORLD
Sep 30, 2013

SpaceX launches as Orbital craft docks

Sunday was a busy day for the commercial space industry. First, a new spacecraft built by Orbital Sciences docked at the International Space Station. Hours later, a souped-up rocket built by SpaceX roared off a California launchpad.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Sep 29, 2013

Shutdown quandary shows Washington's breakdown

Washington once again stands at a moment of crisis — only this time, Democrats and Republicans are not negotiating a way to avoid it. They are not even speaking to one another.
Reader Mail
Sep 28, 2013

Keep tabs on Lake Biwa water

It was with great distress that I read the Sept. 19 Kyodo article "Cesium-tainted wood chips found near (Lake) Biwa."
Reader Mail
Sep 28, 2013

Urban planners miss the plot

The tale of local communities losing energy and activities, told by Amy Chavez in her Sept. 21 article, "The ancient pilgrimage routes and the local community," is disheartening. If I were hyperactive, I'd immediately go to clear pilgrimage paths with Ms. Chavez. But the true solution would be to halt...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 27, 2013

New Zealand may have the fix for asset bubbles

As the world's biggest economies search for ways to let the air out of giant asset bubbles, they might find a fix that discourages leverage in tiny New Zealand.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 25, 2013

Applied Materials to buy rival Tokyo Electron

Applied Materials Inc., the world's largest supplier of chip-making equipment, has agreed to acquire Tokyo Electron Ltd., its closest rival, for $9.39 billion (¥926 billion) in stock, in the largest bid by a foreign corporation for a Japanese firm in six years.
Reader Mail
Sep 25, 2013

Keeping moral issues in context

Kudos to The Japan Times for running Michelle Boorstein's Washington Post piece, "Savvy pope wooing the Catholic middle" (Sept. 21), a reasonably accurate treatment of Pope Francis' interview printed recently in the Jesuit magazine America.
Reader Mail
Sep 25, 2013

The men that lack 'life skills'

Regarding Michael Hoffman's Aug. 31 article, "Married or single, Japan is a desolate country": I have a few elder moms as students, all with adult sons living at home.
Reader Mail
Sep 25, 2013

What will replace the signature?

Regarding the Bloomberg Global Perspective of Sept. 20, "The case against cursive writing": I do not think less of children or young adults who cannot write because they were not taught cursive handwriting in school. It is a laborious, lengthy, time-consuming lesson in an environment where teachers are...

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’