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Reader Mail
Jul 13, 2008

Profiting at the poor's expense

In his July 8 article "Thickheadedness on African debt," Franklin Cudjoe paints an inaccurate picture of debt forgiveness. Debt relief is a pragmatic and tested tool in the fight against global poverty.
Reader Mail
Jul 13, 2008

Wasteful gesture at a bad time

I read the front-page July 10 article "Russia threatens military action after U.S. inks Czech missile deal" not only with great interest, but also with grave anxiety. Russia has been against U.S. plans to build a missile defense shield in Europe. Russians will not feel comfortable seeing it built near...
COMMENTARY
Jul 11, 2008

Life and death of an American editing legend

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — An over-used cliche in the American language is that some man or woman is or was "larger than life." As with most cliches, this one can render a measure of value by capturing the aura of an unusual individual.
Reader Mail
Jul 10, 2008

Last resort to gain recognition

In the July 1 article, "Society's role in Kato's crime," writer Jenny Uechi sampled a number of Tomohiro Kato's online postings as a source of analysis. I understand that the footprints Kato left on the mobile net site are crucial for tracing the mental trail to his June 8 attack in Tokyo's Akihabara...
Reader Mail
Jul 6, 2008

Customary trust on shaky ground

Regarding the July 1 article "Customs officials had habit of planting drugs" (which reported that three customs officials at Narita airport had planted cannabis resin in travelers' bags more than 160 times to train drug sniffer dogs in violation of Tokyo Customs' rules): Might the same officials have...
Reader Mail
Jul 6, 2008

Ode to the charms of Fukuoka

I read with some elation the June 26 article "Fukuoka world's best shopping city: Monocle magazine survey." Having lived in Fukuoka, I rate it the best-kept secret in Japan, a gem set beside a blue bay. The public transport system is good, and the subway system connects major centers of commercial business...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jul 6, 2008

Was the Japanese language influenced by Tamil? The war goes on

For years I have been watching from the sidelines as the opponents battle it out. For the players this fight will go on and on, and the theater of war is right here.
JAPAN
Jul 6, 2008

Glimpses into Japan's frontier

Hokkaido is seen as a prefecture apart, where the vastnesses are vaster, the wilds wilder and the splendor more splendid than anywhere else in Japan. The Group of Eight summit attendees and other summer visitors will have a chance to see for themselves at the 11 national or quasi-national parks in Hokkaido,...
Reader Mail
Jul 6, 2008

Foreigners who became geisha

Regarding the June 29 article "Aussie geisha speaks out": Why does The Japan Times identify Fiona Graham as the first foreign geisha? American anthropologist Liza Dalby (who spent her first year in Japan with a Saga City family in the 1960s) became a geisha more than 20 years ago. james guthrie
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 6, 2008

Driving scams abound in the world of the bureaucrat

As long as I've lived in Tokyo, I've wondered why the city's public transportation system, maybe the best in the world, doesn't operate round the clock. One of the explanations I've heard is that taxi companies have successfully campaigned against any extension of train and bus services past midnight....
Reader Mail
Jul 6, 2008

Big challenge facing society

Thank you for publishing the July 1 Zeit Gist article, "Society's role in Kato's crime." After living in Japan for more than four years now, I have witnessed a steady decline in economic conditions and morale among the masses. Having a family and a modest income, and living in a regional center, I am...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jul 5, 2008

Truly, it's a jungle out there!

While the rest of the brave world is out fighting terrorism, on my island we are fighting a different kind of evil: age, sickness, and most recently, weeds.
Reader Mail
Jul 3, 2008

Home stay with a working family

Regarding the June 26 article "Retirees start hosting home stays": I would like to offer my experience as an American student currently studying in Tokyo at Sophia University. My host family fits the description of a "nuclear family of the working generation." But contrary to Succeo Co. director Chitose...
Reader Mail
Jul 3, 2008

Wisdom in the gold standard

I was encouraged to see professor Noriko Hama's June 30 article, "What gold is telling us about global economy" — about returning to the gold standard: This is one of the first such pieces I have seen out of Japan and I hope the government takes her studies and advice into consideration.
Reader Mail
Jul 3, 2008

Effects of rate manipulation

It was refreshing to see Noriko Hama's article, especially in these times of disappointing economic performance. There is still more to be said, though. Hama suggests that growth under a gold system is slower or worse than under a fiat money system. It's worth pointing out, though, that growth spurned...
COMMENTARY
Jul 2, 2008

Puzzle awaits G8 delegates

Spare a thought for the puzzle that will meet foreign delegations to the Group of Eight Summit in Hokkaido on July 7. On the one hand they will find a nation that organizes itself with clockwork perfection. Indeed, the summit organization will almost certainly be over-perfection, with every detail scripted...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 1, 2008

Fukuda's heart for G8 leadership

This fragile earth of about 6.5 billion souls faces grave and unprecedented challenges: soaring prices of oil and basic commodities that fuel daily life; price increases that make staple foods like rice and wheat too expensive for millions of poor people; a savage profusion of natural and man-made disasters...
JAPAN
Jul 1, 2008

Prime ministers should serve four-year terms, Nakagawa says

The prime minister should serve a four-year term instead of the current situation in which the post sometimes seems like a revolving door, Hidenao Nakagawa, former secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party, said Monday.
COMMENTARY
Jun 30, 2008

Taiwan's way with dignity

The inaugural address that Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou gave was titled "Taiwan's Renaissance." It was well-composed, reflecting the president's views clearly while not evoking excessive alarm or expectations on complex and sensitive issues. These include the future of Taiwan's democracy, relations...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Jun 30, 2008

Justices made right call on habeas corpus

Among the commentaries I've read about a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, the one from George F. Will (The Japan Times, June 24) surprised me. The conservative columnist for The Washington Post upbraided Sen. John McCain for condemning Boumediene v. Bush — which upheld the right of habeas corpus...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 30, 2008

Get biotechnology on the agenda for Africa

Leaders at the Group of Eight industrialized nations' summit in Hokkaido next month need to take strong measures to promote cooperation in using biotechnology to address Africa's food challenges. At present there is resistance from Europe, and even Japan is dragging its feet on this vital issue.
Reader Mail
Jun 29, 2008

Theory full of logical fallacies

I was quite surprised to see John Spiri's June 17 Zeit Gist article, "Lawmaker takes 9/11 doubts global," because, despite Yukihisa Fujita's credentials as a Diet member, he is simply repeating the tired intonations of completely discredited theories regarding the events of 9/11.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 27, 2008

'In the Valley of Elah'

Iraq War movies are dying at the box office one after another. It doesn't matter if they're brutal expose ("Redacted"), touching family story ("Grace Is Gone"), or high-firepower entertainment ("The Kingdom") — nobody's buying.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 26, 2008

Balancing act across Taiwan Strait

WASHINGTON — So far, events have proven the optimists to be correct. The dialogue between Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) and China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) has resumed. As the basis, the Taiwan side only pledged adherence to the "1992 consensus," and...
Reader Mail
Jun 26, 2008

Youth unemployment in the EU

I wonder if anyone else caught the contradiction in Giles Merritt's June 17 article "A Vanishing Europe and lifestyle." In paragraph 7, Merritt notes a looming labor shortage in the countries of the European Union, but several paragraphs down, he mentions "stubbornly high youth unemployment."
Reader Mail
Jun 26, 2008

Antiforeign attitude unchanged

Regarding the June 21 article "Fukuda gets report on boosting immigrants": Most wealthy advanced countries have a long, open history of allowing immigration because they accept it as their international duty. Although the trend has more recently been to try to curtail this, the percentage of immigration...
Reader Mail
Jun 26, 2008

The real risks from mad cows

The June 21 feature "South Korean Netizens mad over mad cow" wastes a great deal of space detailing the more ridiculous fears of South Koreans while ignoring the very real threat that does exist, not only to Koreans but to Japanese alike.
Reader Mail
Jun 26, 2008

What attack on Christianity?

What attack on Christianity?

Longform

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