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EDITORIALS
Mar 7, 2007

Thailand's troubles continue

It was expected that any instability that followed last September's coup in Thailand would be short-lived. Supporters even hoped that the military-led government would lessen uncertainty, end corruption and soothe the tensions that fuel a Muslim insurgency in the country's southern provinces. Those hopes...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Mar 4, 2007

What is becoming of my grandfather's wisdom?

These days it's tough to be a journalist. This may sound like a whinge, but whinges may sometimes reflect a real situation. Oh, it's fine if you agree with the line of thought acceptable to governments, religious organizations or interest groups. But if you dare hold up a mirror to them, you may run...
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Mar 3, 2007

Playoff push starts this weekend

OSAKA -- It's no secret that the Osaka Evessa are one of the hardest working teams in the bj-league. Or maybe they are No. 1 on that list.
EDITORIALS
Mar 2, 2007

Less than music to the ear

The Supreme Court, in a 4-1 decision, has ruled that it is constitutional for a principal to order a music teacher to play the piano accompaniment to the "Kimigayo" national anthem during a public school ceremony. The top court took the position that the principal's order does not constitute a denial...
EDITORIALS
Feb 28, 2007

Media must strive for accuracy

The blow-back continues from an incident involving the broadcast of falsified information on a variety show aired by Kansai Telecasting Corp. (known popularly as Kansai TV). The communications ministry plans to include a measure targeting the broadcast media in a bill to revise the Radio Law. Under the...
Reader Mail
Feb 28, 2007

Pejorative reference to PR people

The Feb. 15 article headlined "Abe PR flack U.S.-bound for media spin control" is insulting to those of us in the public relations business, because both "flack" and "spin" are pejoratives that do not accurately convey the essence of what PR professionals actually do.
Japan Times
LIFE
Feb 25, 2007

Insider lashes 'lip service to human rights'

Written laws are like spiders' webs; they will catch, it is true, the weak and poor, but would be torn in pieces by the rich and powerful.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Feb 25, 2007

Will strategic retreat soon signal Australia's tardy advancement?

Apolitical wrangle, with Prime Minister John Howard as the prime wrangler, has begun in the rodeo ring of Australian politics -- and it certainly looks as if someone is going to take a spill.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 22, 2007

Beirut dramatist seeks new strategy

Lebanese dramatist Rabih Mroue returns to Tokyo International Arts Festival this year with the world premiere of his new play, "How Nancy Wished that Everything was an April Fool's Joke," three years after making his TIF debut. It is a work that reflects the fluid situation of Lebanese society after...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Feb 20, 2007

What's your opinion on the comment made by the health minister?

Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Feb 20, 2007

Upping the fear factor

The government and media would have you believe that Japan has lost its mantle as a safe country. Apparently we live amidst a spree of heinous crimes. Accurate? Not very, according to a new academic study. But before we get to that, let's take stock of one alleged cause of this "crime wave," this decade's...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Feb 18, 2007

Whose Japan deserves youth's patriotism now?

'I for one, cannot believe that love of one's country must consist in blindness to its social faults, in deafness to its social discords, in inarticulation of its social wrongs. Neither can I believe that the mere accident of birth in a certain country or the mere scrap of a citizen's paper constitutes...
EDITORIALS
Feb 17, 2007

Qualified GDP growth

The government has announced that Japan's economy continued to grow for the eighth consecutive quarter in the October-December period. Gross domestic product in the quarter registered 1.2 percent growth in real terms from the previous quarter, translating to an annualized 4.8 percent. This growth rate...
Reader Mail
Feb 14, 2007

English can be just as vague

Roger Pulvers' Jan. 30 article, "Euphemisms may mask ruder instincts -- or not," was as interesting as his articles usually are. However, I feel that two aspects could have been emphasized a little stronger to bring more balance to the piece:
EDITORIALS
Feb 14, 2007

Dignity for disabled people

The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities on Dec. 13. The convention, which covers rights to education, health, work, cultural activities, etc., is the first human-rights treaty of the 21st century....
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Feb 9, 2007

Avoiding a vinferno

Midway through our life's journey as wine collectors, we found our wine refrigerator almost lost, its engine straining desperately against the summer heat. Delving into the dark wood of the cabinet to remove all the bottles would provide a chance to catalog and glorify years of strategic acquisitions...
Reader Mail
Feb 7, 2007

Bloggers should share, not sell

Regarding The Washington Post article published in The Japan Times on Jan. 16, "Advertising tieups allow bloggers to turn their hobbies into dollars": I disapprove of bloggers being paid money each time someone clicks on an image or product. One possible result of this practice is that bloggers will...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 6, 2007

U.S. man on quest to find cause of brother's death

OSAKA -- Charles Lacey's brother died mysteriously 2 1/2 years ago in Fukuoka and he's still trying to learn the cause.
EDITORIALS
Feb 6, 2007

Getting heard in court

The Legislative Council, an advisory body for the justice minister, has proposed allowing victims of crime and members of their family to question defendants and witnesses as participants in trials for serious crimes such as murder, rape and kidnapping. The proposal was made in response to long-standing...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Feb 4, 2007

Upson saga illustrates how much power today's players have on transfers

LONDON -- West Ham United should beware after signing Matthew Upson from Birmingham City.
BASKETBALL / ONE-ON-ONE WITH ...
Feb 3, 2007

Evessa coach Tennichi influenced by Westhead

The Japan Times will feature periodic interviews with players in the bj-league -- Japan's first professional basketball circuit -- which is in its second season. Head coach Kensaku Tennichi of the Osaka Evessa is the subject of this week's profile. He led the Osaka Evessa to the bj-league's first championship...
Reader Mail
Jan 31, 2007

A farce with or without a draft

Robert Lezzi's contribution to the letters' page Jan. 10 was of particular interest to me. I served two tours of duty in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War, carrying out search and rescue assignments for downed pilots in the North Tonkin Gulf. While I somewhat appreciate Lezzi's seemingly cynical (perhaps...
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Jan 31, 2007

Nets likely to move Carter, maybe Kidd

NEW YORK -- Unlike the meaningful conversation the Bulls and Grizzlies are engaged in regarding Pau Gasol, nothing of any substance occurred recently when the Nets and Clippers threw out numerous names in two trade discussions.
Reader Mail
Jan 28, 2007

What passes for attractiveness

Recent moves by Spain to rein in eating disorders in the high-fashion industry by sanctioning a healthy body mass index and thereby curbing excessive skinniness among supermodels have spread to Italy and show signs of spreading to other countries as well. This is a good thing and only partly...
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Jan 26, 2007

Signing of big name like Beckham long overdue by MLS

Here we go again.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 26, 2007

'An Inconvenient Truth'

Is the world getting warmer? All sorts of anecdotal and empirical evidence, as well as what our own senses tell us, would suggest "yes." The most advanced climatological research comes up with the same answer, and places the blame primarily with the burning of fossil fuels. Against this stand a few skeptics...

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past