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BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Nov 28, 2009

Even pawnshops got it rough

You'd think that pawn shops would be one of the business capitalizing on the recession, but that's not exactly the case.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 28, 2009

Publican practices the art of beer

Love beer? Look to Bryan Baird, 42, an Ohio native living in Numazu, Shizuoka Prefecture. Imbibe a foamy one at his original brewery, The Fishmarket Taproom, but just don't call him a bartender. Baird prefers the term "pub."
Reader Mail
Nov 26, 2009

Cancer is not a separate thing

Regarding the Nov. 22 article "Exploring cancer research, the classic 'Sakura' and filial piety": Takashi Tachibana's views about cancer do not make sense to me. This may be a fault of the translation. Cancer is not always associated with death. Many people with cancer will die of some other illness....
Reader Mail
Nov 26, 2009

Mountains of tectonic evidence

Regarding Jeff Ogrisseg's Nov. 22 article "Our growing Earth?" and related articles: I am extremely disappointed in The Japan Times' decision to run a nearly two-page spread on the scientifically bereft growing Earth hypothesis. Ogrisseg's credulous account of this hypothesis uses the same old tired...
Reader Mail
Nov 26, 2009

Taiwan maintains interest in Japan

I would like to respond to Max Hirsch's Nov. 19 (Kyodo News) article "When Taiwan-Japan relations run afoul, there's always Hatta Yoichi." Hirsch's point that President Ma Ying-jeou's observation of the 67th anniversary of Hatta's death in a ceremony last May 8, held at a bronze statue of the engineer...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Nov 25, 2009

Hallods puts definition on its screen; Maxell turns volume up

Screen saver: Putting genuine high definition in portable-media players is a bit like trying to craft the perfect diamond. If you pull off the act it looks brilliant, but the difference between it and the normal article is nearly impossible for laypeople to actually see. Despite doubts over whether the...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Nov 24, 2009

Every husband a potential 'abuser'

Before the Christopher Savoie case hit the news, Japanese commentators on the Hague Convention on international parental child abduction had already begun fretting over the completely unsubstantiated assertion that "almost all" instances of children being brought to Japan involve a Japanese mother fleeing...
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Nov 24, 2009

Parental child abduction and custody: readers respond

The following are a selection of readers' responses to the recent Zeit Gist articles on child custody and parental child abduction by Colin P. A. Jones (Oct. 20, Nov. 17) and "Richard Cory" (Nov. 3):
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Nov 24, 2009

Every husband a potential 'abuser'

Before the Christopher Savoie case hit the news, Japanese commentators on the Hague Convention on international parental child abduction had already begun fretting over the completely unsubstantiated assertion that "almost all" instances of children being brought to Japan involve a Japanese mother fleeing...
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Nov 23, 2009

Deflation at the vending machine

Vending machines used to be a safe haven for drink companies in Japan, but price-hammering rivals are changing that.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Nov 23, 2009

Whither the LDP withers

The once dominant Liberal Democratic Party has withered so miserably since losing the general election Aug. 30 that it looks as if it could suffer a total collapse or disintegration.
Reader Mail
Nov 22, 2009

A soldier's fight to keep the faith

Thank you for publishing Setsuko Kamiya's Nov. 19 article, "Demons still haunt Christian soldier," which reveals the human suffering caused by war. I was in Japan as a missionary from 1949 and had the privilege of knowing a few of the courageous Japanese who tried to remain true to their Christian faith...
Reader Mail
Nov 22, 2009

American people need to grow up

Regarding the Nov. 18 article "U.S. conservatives: Obama bowed too deeply to Emperor": That seems to be one of the problems that President Barack Obama has to fix. American people just have to be better than others. Can't show even a speck of respect to others. Not even to an elderly Emperor who has...
Reader Mail
Nov 22, 2009

Mental machinery for EU lagging

Kevin Rafferty's Nov. 17 article, "Unholy hunt for an EU president shows the hypocrisy of states," is excellent! Rafferty has ticked all the relevant boxes bringing to light most, if not all, of the salient and negative aspects of the European Union. The EU is a laudable conception, but the requisite...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 22, 2009

Obsessed with 'ugly' women

When I read the news item in early November about the three men in Tottori Prefecture whose mysterious deaths were linked to a woman already under arrest for fraud, I associated them with the similarly mysterious deaths of several other men linked to a Tokyo woman who was under arrest for swindling....
Japan Times
LIFE
Nov 22, 2009

Dogmas may blinker mainstream scientific thinking

The competing claims of Growing Earth Theory and Plate Tectonics Theory as presented in the accompanying article may appear to be a recent rivalry, but they are in fact following in a long tradition.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 20, 2009

What lies behind the eccentric?

The German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel wrote that what is "familiarly known" is not "properly known," just for the reason that it is familiar. The familiar historical image of the Edo Period Eccentric painters, one of whom was Ito Jakuchu (1716-1800), is no exception. They are remembered...
Reader Mail
Nov 19, 2009

Shinkansen can stand on its own

Regarding Daniel Kliman's Nov. 10 article, "U.S.-Japan collaboration on high-speed rail": I don't see how promoting the Japanese shinkansen really has a lot to do with the issue of the unbalanced security alliance between Japan and the United States. I don't think the author clearly makes the link that...
Reader Mail
Nov 19, 2009

Time for 'inclusive' dialogues

Regarding the Nov. 11 article "Ozawa lashes out with scathing remarks on Christianity": Democratic Party of Japan secretary general Ichiro Ozawa's public admiration for the "inclusiveness" of Buddhism provides a wonderful opportunity to open a series of dialogues in Japan among scholars of comparative...
EDITORIALS
Nov 17, 2009

Enhancing the Diet's performance

Aprivate sector group known as Niju-isseiki Rincho (21st Century Ad-Hoc Study Group) has handed Democratic Party of Japan secretary general Ichiro Ozawa a set of proposals to enhance the performance of the Diet. Mr. Ozawa also has his own ideas and prepared a bill.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Nov 17, 2009

Changes must go beyond Hague abduction treaty

First in a two-part series
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Nov 16, 2009

Does Ozawa run the show as Hatoyama foots the bill?

Only two months in office, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama appears to be losing his political influence primarily because of (1) his failure to exercise leadership in foreign diplomacy and on the domestic agenda, and (2) the extraordinary concentration of power vested in Ichiro Ozawa, whom Hatoyama has...
Reader Mail
Nov 15, 2009

Kids cut off from caring fathers

Thank you for running Richard Cory's Nov. 3 article, "Fatally flawed math of risking it all (betting a family) on Japan," which gives a voice to fathers who have had their children stolen from them. Before they had no voice. I have been in the position of advising a father to try the Family Court, while...
Reader Mail
Nov 15, 2009

Do all men risk facing this ordeal?

Wow! What a horrible story ("Fatally flawed math")! I was wondering if it's possible to compare this to stories of Japanese men going through a divorce in Japan. Do they deal with the same problems, or are the problems (mentioned in Richard Cory's article) unique to foreigners? I think this man should...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Nov 15, 2009

Children pay the price when parents put their own feelings first

It is hard enough for a child to be shuffled back and forth for scheduled stays like a puck over the ice that separates divorced parents. Difficulty turns to tragedy when one parent takes it into their head to abduct the child and keep it out of reach of the other.
Reader Mail
Nov 15, 2009

Welcome retort to pro-U.S. stance

Professor Gavan McCormack's Nov. 11 article, "Yet Another 'Battle of Okinawa,' " is a rare and welcome retort to the vacuous platitudes one often reads in The Japan Times about the need to avoid disrupting Japan-U.S. security cooperation by being too sensitive about U.S. nuclear weapons — as if Hiroshima...
Reader Mail
Nov 15, 2009

Ignoring New Zealanders' wishes

Regarding Ralph Cossa and Brad Glosserman's Nov. 11 article, "A good time to remember the ANZUS alliance's fate": It seems that Cossa and Glosserman find it difficult to accept the democratic right of the New Zealand people to say "no" to nuclear weapons. The majority of New Zealanders opposed letting...
Reader Mail
Nov 15, 2009

New boss looks like the old one

Regarding the Nov. 11 article "Ozawa lashes out with scathing remarks on Christianity": I would have expected such misinformed statements from someone (in the Liberal Democratic Party). Now we see that things in the Democratic Party of Japan might not be any different.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Nov 15, 2009

Children pay the price when parents put their own feelings first

It is hard enough for a child to be shuffled back and forth for scheduled stays like a puck over the ice that separates divorced parents. Difficulty turns to tragedy when one parent takes it into their head to abduct the child and keep it out of reach of the other.
EDITORIALS
Nov 12, 2009

20 years on the Imperial throne

The government-sponsored ceremony on Thursday (Nov. 12) to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Emperor's enthronement serves as an occasion to express people's respect and affection not only for the Emperor but also for the Imperial couple and the rest of the Imperial family.

Longform

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