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Reader Mail
Aug 3, 2008

Bamboo wood best for chopsticks

I'm sure the article on waribashi made many of us feel guilty for all the times we've used them. Certainly the concept of always using your own hashi is a great contribution, not only assuaging our sense of guilt but also perhaps helping the forests that are being cut down to supply the wood.
JAPAN
Aug 2, 2008

Key challenge: Keeping New Komeito on board

Although Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda finally managed to name his own Cabinet on Friday, the lineup appears subdued and reserved, just like him, critics say.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Aug 2, 2008

Serious Ochiai enjoys rare chance to joke around

YOKOHAMA — Hiroshima Carp veteran Tomonori Maeda was returning to the dugout after fielding practice before the second game of the Nippon Professional Baseball All-Star Series on Friday at Yokohama Stadium when Chunichi Dragons manager Hiromitsu Ochiai decided it was time to have some fun.
COMMENTARY
Aug 1, 2008

Blasts in India elicit sense of vulnerability

MADRAS, India — The series of bomb explosions last week in Bangalore and Ahmedabad that killed and wounded scores of people shook the confidence of the nation, particularly after a plot to attack an important and crowded flyover in Madras was uncovered.
Reader Mail
Jul 31, 2008

Hurdles to prosecuting soldiers

As for Michael Logan's July 27 letter, "What immunity from prosecution?": Frankly, I am not a legal specialist, especially in matters of the Status of Forces Agreement (between the United States and Japan). But Logan seems to believe that Japanese police can freely arrest off-duty U.S. service members...
Reader Mail
Jul 31, 2008

China responsible for 'myth'

Gregory Clark made excellent points about the misuse of the word "massacre" in relation to the Tiananmen Square carnage in 1989. But some of his observations reveal his partiality. Clark makes a case for bias in the Western media by focusing on unsubstantiated reports that up to 3,000 student protesters...
Reader Mail
Jul 31, 2008

Riot doesn't make a massacre

Donald Seekins distorts the contents of my July 21 article ("Birth of a massacre myth") in his July 24 letter, "Critical spirit at the Olympics." I stated specifically that hundreds, possibly thousands, of civilians and students were killed in the streets of Beijing on the night of June 3-4, 1989, as...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 29, 2008

Reality of delisting North Korea

It may be premature to discuss the results of the recent six-party talks at this stage. One reason for that is that all observers agree that North Korea's nuclear report is not complete. No consensus has been reached on a method of verifying the credibility of the report.
COMMENTARY
Jul 28, 2008

Injustice of labor shortages

One of America's virtues is its willingness to dispense candid advice even to its closest ally in the name of justice and humanitarianism. One good example is in recent comments by Dr. Mark P. Lagon, director of the U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.
Reader Mail
Jul 27, 2008

What immunity from prosecution?

In his July 20 letter, "No mention of arrest immunity," Yoshio Shimoji seems to be under the impression that U.S. military personnel stationed in Japan are immune from arrest and prosecution by Japanese authorities. Maybe he should tell this to the GIs who are presently serving -- or have served -- time...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 27, 2008

Cancerlike corruption thrives in heads of bureaucrats

The ongoing investigation into charges of bribery and employment-rigging in the Oita prefectural school system has occasioned more than the usual amount of harsh commentary you hear when public servants do bad things. That's probably because in this case it is believed that the minds of innocent youths...
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Jul 27, 2008

Athletics squad faces pressure in Beijing

There was a mild dose of optimism Japan would collect a bunch of medals at the 2007 IAAF World Athletics Championships in Osaka. Some said the nation's athletes would benefit from the home stadium advantage and the fact they were acclimated to the hot, humid summers in Kansai.
Reader Mail
Jul 27, 2008

Japanese beauty on world's stage

Regarding the July 16 article "Miss Universe lesson: Japanese women find beauty inside and out": As the world becomes globalized, the concept of beauty is also globalizing. In 2003 Miyako Miyazaki won fifth place in the Miss Universe competition. In 2006 Kurara Chibana was first runnerup, and following...
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
Jul 26, 2008

Darvish poised for spotlight at Olympics

Cuba beat Japan 4-0 in the final of the 2004 World Junior Baseball Championships, resulting in the Japanese starter that day ending the tournament 0-1 with a 7.11 ERA.
OLYMPICS
Jul 24, 2008

Yoshida, Hoketsu provide compelling story lines

In less than two weeks, the bright lights in Beijing will shine on thousands of athletes.
Reader Mail
Jul 24, 2008

More questions than answers

Regarding the July 20 article "Teenager held in dad's stabbing": How bizarre we can get? A 15-year-old girl "admitted stabbing her father in the chest several times with a knife." She "didn't like to be told to study" by her parents. The police got a call "from the teen's family" saying "the daughter...
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Jul 22, 2008

Clustering with the Europeans

Japan was among the 111 countries that took part in an international conference held in Dublin, Ireland, in May and unanimously adopted a treaty that, in principle, prohibits all signatories from using, developing, producing, stockpiling, retaining or transferring cluster munitions.
LIFE / Language
Jul 22, 2008

Katakana makes Japanese trendy and accessible

Words and phrases in katakana may appear to be easily recognizable to non-native speakers of Japanese, but they are often fiendishly difficult. This generally comes as a surprise to Japanese, who naturally assume that we can understand katakana words readily, seeing as many of them originated in foreign...
Reader Mail
Jul 20, 2008

Nature of rights violations

Regarding the July 15 Zeit Gist article, "Human rights -- strictly personal, strictly Japanese?": Doshisa Law School professor Colin P.A. Jones suggests that the Justice Ministry would like us to think, at least where Japan is concerned, that "human rights violations are a problem caused by citizens...
Reader Mail
Jul 20, 2008

No mention of arrest immunity

In the July 16 article "High crime rate a 'misperception' ": Lt. Gen. Edward Rice, commander of U.S. Forces Japan, reiterates that the crime rate of American service members in Japan is lower than that of the Japanese in general. He does not say whether off-duty U.S. service members suspected of crimes...
Reader Mail
Jul 20, 2008

Crime statistics seem skewed

USFJ Commander Lt. Gen. Edward Rice states in the July 16 article that the rate of off-base crimes committed by members of the U.S. military in Japan is much lower than that for Japanese in general: "We are able to keep the off-base serious crime rate for the U.S. service members to approximately half...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jul 20, 2008

Lemon-picking prof prompts reflection on strange twists of fate

Lately I have been thinking about some wonderful teachers I was blessed with at university. Three, in particular, shaped my life. Had I not encountered them, I doubt that I myself would have become an author of fiction, a translator and a teacher.
Japan Times
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Jul 19, 2008

Now-retired Nomo made huge impact on baseball

Hideo Nomo's impact on baseball will be felt for decades to come.
Reader Mail
Jul 17, 2008

Rice flour to rescue ramen?

I read with great interest the July 13 editorial "The price of ramen," because I've been working on an article on ramen in America. Undoubtedly, rising prices for this convenient foodstuff will be a challenging problem for some time.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Jul 15, 2008

Keidanren hedging bets on LDP

The Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) is showing signs of changing its unflinching support for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, as it seeks closer ties with the No. 1 opposition Democratic Party of Japan.
JAPAN
Jul 15, 2008

Campaigners call for dual custody of children

Foreigners who have divorced their Japanese spouses are often denied access to their children.
COMMENTARY
Jul 15, 2008

Guantanamo ruling may end the nightmare

NEW YORK — The recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that recognizes the rights of Guantanamo detainees to challenge their detention in U.S. civilian courts is a serious rebuke of the controversial detention policies of the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush. It also may pave the way for the...
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Jul 13, 2008

Focused Tamesue follows his own path in search of Olympic glory

I have a confession to make, and it won't send an electric shock through your nervous system, nor will it instantly give you a Don King hairdo.

Longform

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