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BUSINESS
Mar 8, 2008

Analysts see bid for balance in choice of BOJ nominees

The government's nomination Friday of Masaaki Shirakawa, a former Bank of Japan executive, and Takatoshi Ito, a member of the government's Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy, as new BOJ deputy governors prompted analysts to wonder whether one of them may become the central bank's chief five years...
Reader Mail
Mar 6, 2008

Keynes' theory solved liquidity trap

Jean-Paul Fitoussi's March 3 article, "Keynes and the end of economic history," does a nice hatchet job on John Maynard Keynes. "Arrogant and naive" indeed. Yet Keynes' theory solved the liquidity trap of the 1930s, and in the current economic troubles we have immediately reverted to Keynesian economics. ...
Reader Mail
Mar 6, 2008

True heart of land development

I have to agree with Kevin Rafferty's opinion in his Feb. 28 article, "Why's Japan grown so ugly?" The myth of the Japanese love for nature is supported by the continuing degradation of the rural and coastal landscape. Rafferty refers to Alex Kerr's lament, but the reasons for this degradation is the...
Reader Mail
Mar 6, 2008

Shades of Orwell over Okinawa

After reading the March 1 article "U.S. anticrime steps little comfort in Okinawa," I fear I am living in an Orwellian nightmare. Charges have been dropped against U.S. Marine Staff Sgt. Tyrone Hadnott and he has been remanded to U.S. authorities, but the "fear" is still out there and will be fueled...
Reader Mail
Mar 4, 2008

Right thing for America to do

.5 In his Feb. 25 article, "Fuel to the fire in Okinawa," Kiroku Hanai stated that he was interested in how Americans view problems related to U.S. military bases in Japan. Here's how I see it.
Reader Mail
Mar 4, 2008

Superficial claims on both sides

Regarding the Feb. 29 front-page article "Beijing pins 'gyoza' blame on Japan end": Taking umbrage seems to be the prevailing style in Japan-China relations nowadays, as the squabble between police authorities in both countries concerning pesticide-laden gyoza amply illustrates. The Chinese side claims...
Reader Mail
Mar 2, 2008

Time for a town beauty contest

Regarding Kevin Rafferty's Feb. 28 article, "Why's Japan grown so ugly?": I love the idea of starting a competition for the most picturesque town/village in Japan. Somebody, hopefully including The Japan Times (as suggested by Rafferty), needs to do it! A community can work together to make their environment...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 2, 2008

Compartmentalizing Japanese using prefectural stereotypes

At the heart of the current argument over whether or not to continue the special gasoline tax is a question that gets overlooked: Does the central government have too much control over prefectural governments?
Reader Mail
Mar 2, 2008

Don't cry for the old leftists

Regarding the Feb. 25 article "Thai leader in hot water over remarks": I would like to comment as one who lost part of his life due to communist brutalities during the Cold War. Nowadays people tend to forget the past and to forgive leftists who might have caused great havoc to a country's security if...
Reader Mail
Mar 2, 2008

The drive to expel U.S. forces

Regarding Lt. Gen. Bruce Wright's Feb. 26 article, "Building a stronger alliance": Wright's perception of the U.S.-Japan security alliance seems constrained by the same "horse blinders" that characterize the general approach of the U.S. military toward Asia. In this post-Cold War era, he needs to...
Reader Mail
Mar 2, 2008

False hope for Myanmar opposition

Regarding David I. Steinberg's Feb. 27 article, " 'Rambo' movie sends the wrong message": I fully agree with professor Steinberg, but I don't think the next president of the United States will be as hawkish and greedy as George W. Bush.
JAPAN
Mar 1, 2008

Ruling bloc enacts '08 budget in power play

Turning a deaf ear to calls from opposition lawmakers for further deliberations, the Liberal Democratic Party-led coalition rammed the fiscal 2008 budget through the Lower House late Friday night.
EDITORIALS
Mar 1, 2008

Reforming the public servant system

The government has drawn up the draft of a bill to reform the national public servant system. While based on a proposal by a private advisory panel for Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, it somewhat deviates from the proposal. Instead of creating a Cabinet agency to consolidate government personnel affairs...
Reader Mail
Feb 28, 2008

Inspiration for a working man

Regarding Judit Kawaguchi's Feb. 19 article, "Words to live by": I was greatly moved by this seemingly insignificant report of an individual's quest for reasoning and affirmation. I am a Canadian living close to Yokohama as an English teacher (unfortunately), questioning my own self-worth and trying...
Reader Mail
Feb 28, 2008

Progenitor of the next war

Regarding Ramesh Thakur's Feb. 22 article, "Beware Kosovo's offspring": For the sake of maintaining an indefinite NATO presence in Kosovo to act against a resurgent Russia, Western leaders have destroyed the foundations of international law, including respect for sovereign nations, by illegally recognizing...
Reader Mail
Feb 28, 2008

Getting an abusive hubby arrested

Regarding the Feb. 24 article "Miura held again over '81 hit on wife in L.A.": How many Japanese readers will be happy to see that Kazuyoshi Miura (now 60) has been charged with murder by U.S. authorities? Japan, a land of overwhelming beauty, a rich culture, and people whom I find are generally quite...
Reader Mail
Feb 28, 2008

The Asian reality of South Korea

Regarding Ralph Cossa's Feb. 23 article, "Vision of ROK-U.S. alliance": Apparently caught up in reverie over the victory of South Korean President-elect Lee Myung Bak, Cossa postulates a non sequitur. He questions (suggests) that if Lee has a vision, it should be that South Korea must "maintain good...
Reader Mail
Feb 28, 2008

Do residents really hate the bases?

Regarding Kiroku Hanai's Feb. 25 article, "Fuel to fire in Okinawa": Has Hanai ever visited a U.S. military base in mainland Japan or Okinawa? Rather than repeat stories on alleged crimes, why doesn't someone in the Japanese press bother to interview Japanese people who live in the communities around...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 27, 2008

'Rambo' movie sends the wrong message

WASHINGTON — "Rambo" is a technically well made, exceedingly bad film. One of its no doubt unintended consequences has been to raise both hopes and fears among the Burmese people (depending on where along the political spectrum one sits) while potentially making today's already bad situation even worse....
Reader Mail
Feb 26, 2008

Larger questions about Ishihara

In his Feb. 21 letter, "The root of national identity" (a response to the Feb. 16 Japan Times article "Ishihara laments loss of national identity"), Timothy Khaki makes a number of valid points. But, actually, rebutting quotes by Shintaro Ishihara is like shooting fish in a barrel. Most of what the...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Feb 26, 2008

U.S. military crime: SOFA so good?

On Friday night, Aug. 18, 2006, at a third-story apartment within a gated community outside Atlanta, Ga., 31-year-old Kendrick Ledet sat contemplating life. And death.
Reader Mail
Feb 26, 2008

Reflecting on 'Sorry Day'

Regarding Alan Goodall's Feb. 18 article, "Australia's historic apology": Goodall's rendition of the mood of the "Sorry Day" apology by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was apt. Although the reply by the opposition leader Brendan Nelson was criticized by some, it provided the balance that many thought was...
COMMENTARY
Feb 25, 2008

Fuel to the fire in Okinawa

On Feb. 10 a very divisive mayoral election in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, ended in victory for the candidate who supports the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan. The election results delighted the Japanese government.
EDITORIALS
Feb 25, 2008

Right to know takes a hit

The Tokyo High Court has rejected a damages suit filed in 2005 by Mr. Takichi Nishiyama, a former Mainichi Shimbun reporter, who alleged he was illegally indicted over his news gathering on the 1972 reversion of Okinawa to Japan. The crux of the trial was whether Japan and the United States had had a...
Reader Mail
Feb 24, 2008

Positive look at Bangladesh

Thanks a lot for publishing Eric Prideaux's Feb. 15 article, "Bangladesh ready to rival Asia's mighty manufacturing hubs." Being a Bangladeshi, I appreciate Prideaux's bringing the success story of Bangladesh to the surface. There is no doubt that business conditions in Bangladesh have improved remarkably,...
COMMENTARY
Feb 23, 2008

Vision of ROK-U.S. alliance

HONOLULU — The inauguration Monday of Lee Myung Bak as the Republic of Korea's new president will open the door for a revitalization of the ROK-U.S. alliance, a relationship that has been severely tested and strained in recent years as a result of policy differences and more fundamental "vision" differences...
COMMENTARY
Feb 22, 2008

Beware Kosovo's offspring

Last Sunday, Kosovo formally declared independence to the accompaniment of festive celebrations by the good citizens of the world's newest country. We can but wish them well as they chart a new course inside a new Europe free of the distracting conflicts that had ravaged the continent until the middle...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Feb 22, 2008

Smith's play helping Albirex contend after departure of Davis

It was only natural to wonder how the Niigata Albirex BB would fare this season after the departure of free agent Nick Davis, one of the team's cornerstone players when it made the jump from the JBL to the bj-league.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji