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Reader Mail
Jan 3, 2008

Where is the whale research?

My work has brought me in touch with quite a few Japanese researchers who have been published in internationally recognized, peer-reviewed journals. Their institutions have ethics committees that review their proposals before they are permitted to begin animal studies or human trials.
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2008

'07 political storm really the calm before '08?

Last year was full of political turmoil — from scandals and arrests to suicide and a divided Diet — but there is no time to rest because 2008 may turn out to be a historical turning point if there is a general election, depending on which side wins, analysts say.
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2008

What the U.S. presidential hopefuls see when they look East

OSAKA — The Iowa caucus kicks off Thursday in what is expected to be a hard-fought battle for the U.S. presidency. The November election itself will end the era of George W. Bush and offer the victor a chance to reshape America's role internationally.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jan 1, 2008

Seeking a life in balance

A task force set out earlier this year to bring more balance to the the grueling lifestyles that have become engrained in Japanese society over the past century. In November, a set of employment guidelines were formally adopted by the government.
Reader Mail
Jan 1, 2008

Teachers still being kept in the dark

Regarding the Dec. 26 article "Firm reneges on promised jobs for Nova teachers": G.education Co. certainly appears to be continuing in the footsteps of the English-teaching company Nova with regard to the treatment of teachers. I was a Nova teacher and had to leave Japan in November after the schools...
COMMENTARY
Dec 31, 2007

Killing cycle claimed Bhutto

WATERLOO, Canada — Born amid the mass killings of partition in 1947, Pakistan has never escaped the cycle of violence, volatility and bloodshed. Benazir Bhutto (1953-2007) is the latest casualty of that murderous cycle.
Reader Mail
Dec 30, 2007

'Terrorists' walking the streets

Regarding the Dec. 22 front-page article "Mob crackdown targets bosses, bidders": Is there any possible excuse for the National Police Agency and the Japanese government allowing terrorists with guns, swords and knives to freely roam the streets of Japan killing whomsoever they please? Surely, it is...
BASKETBALL
Dec 28, 2007

Apache guard Aoki continues climb to stardom

There are times this season when Cohey Aoki is the best offensive player on the basketball court.
Japan Times
JAPAN / WITNESS TO WAR
Dec 28, 2007

Student nurse recalls horror of Okinawa fighting

Thirteenth in a series
Reader Mail
Dec 27, 2007

Overly rosy view of U.S.-Aussie ties

Regarding Ralph Cossa's Dec. 24 article, "U.S., Australia 'still mates'": Cossa warps his analysis to fit his preconceived hopes and political ideology, and does so with a superficiality, sophistry and flippancy that demands a response. As Cossa says, the United States needs to "get over 9/11," and,...
Reader Mail
Dec 27, 2007

Belief in UFOs proves unshakable

An AFP article last week quoted the "science minister" as saying he hopes aliens exist. In the delightful decades I've spent in Japan, of the wonderfully wacky beliefs that people discuss -- from blood-type personalities to unlucky calendar days to ghosts haunting mansions -- the most unbelievable is...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Dec 26, 2007

Wrapping up the year with dollops of whale and tuna

With Christmas behind us and New Year's less than a week away, this month's column combines a bit of yearend desk clearing with some suggestions for belated stocking stuffers.
Reader Mail
Dec 25, 2007

Reviewer too close for comfort

By any chance, is the David Burleigh who wrote such a glowing review of the poetry anthology "Our Shared Japan" (Dec. 16 article "When traditions attract: Finding Japan in Ireland") the same David Burleigh who is one of the poets featured in the book? I think we should be told. david browne
COMMENTARY
Dec 24, 2007

U.S., Australia 'still mates'

HONOLULU — "Australia's Path Bends Away from the U.S.''
Reader Mail
Dec 23, 2007

If yakuza had a penchant to serve

It was fascinating reading Peter Lyon's Dec. 16 article, "How to handle a mobster on the move." Now, if only there was a good way to utilize the public fear of yakuza gangsters for the greater public good.
Japan Times
LIFE
Dec 23, 2007

Japan's 'Hidden Christians'

"It is 12:30 p.m. in Nagasaki, on March 17, 1865. Father Bernard Petitjean, a priest of the French Societe des Missions Etrangeres, hears a noise at the back door of his little chapel. On opening he is surprised to find a group of 15 middle-aged Japanese men and women — surprised because all native-...
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Dec 21, 2007

Fukuda's point of no return

Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi rocked the Japanese political landscape in November by predicting that Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda would dissolve the Lower House and call a general election "in the near future."
Reader Mail
Dec 20, 2007

Don't target licensed owners

Regarding the Dec. 16 article "Suspect in gym shootings found dead at church": I hope the media will not use this horrible incident to begin another witch hunt against gun owners. I know there are some 300,000 rifles in Japan, which means that up to 100,000, maybe 150,000 people, own rifles legally....
Reader Mail
Dec 18, 2007

Graduate degrees due greater credit

As a doctorate degree-holder, I agree with Takamitsu Sawa's Dec. 11 article, "The graduate school fiasco." For more than three years now I have been applying to graduate schools to teach even on a voluntary basis. There are no vacancies.
Reader Mail
Dec 18, 2007

Task force can't save babies

Regarding the Dec. 9 article "Panel to seek ¥6.8 trillion to boost low birthrate": Instead of allocating this amount to a "task force" to address the problem, you can buy a temporary bed for ¥7,000. That would solve birthrate problems a lot better than a panel wasting money to come up with more pathetic...
Reader Mail
Dec 18, 2007

U.S. doesn't own blacklists

The Dec. 9 Kyodo article "Japan-U.S. alliance seen entering period of drift" spills a lot of ink over Japan's reaction to U.S. plans to remove North Korea from the U.S. list of states sponsoring terrorism. That topic has caused considerable stir among Japanese people since such action by the United...
BASKETBALL / ONE-ON-ONE WITH ...
Dec 16, 2007

Confidence helps Yonamine elevate game for HeatDevils

The Japan Times will be featuring periodic interviews with players in the bj-league — Japan's first professional basketball circuit — which has entered its third season. Tsubasa Yonamine of the Oita HeatDevils is the subject of this week's profile.
Reader Mail
Dec 16, 2007

The elements of 'Britishness'

In the interests of accuracy I beg leave to differ with the Dec. 12 Reuters article " 'Britishness' campaign highlights identity crisis." If I were asked my nationality, I would surely answer not "British" but "English." The queen herself is not queen of Britain but queen of England. From the time of...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 16, 2007

Readers chime in about Giants 'jinx'

A couple of readers sent me their opinions about the subject of last week's column: the supposed "Giants jinx." It seemingly afflicts foreign players who play in Japan for one team, then cannot reach agreement on a new contract, so they move to the Yomiuri Giants, only to find bad luck, coincidental...
Reader Mail
Dec 16, 2007

Monk deserves punishment

Regarding the Dec. 12 article "Canvassing monk found guilty of trespassing": I agree with the Tokyo High Court that the Buddhist monk should be punished (for distributing Japanese Communist Party fliers in a Tokyo Katsushika Ward condominium complex in December 2004). Politics and religion must be...
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Dec 14, 2007

A tycoon's field of dreams

On Oct. 16 a Japanese media tycoon was awarded the Newspaper Culture Prize by the Japan Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association (JNPEA) at its 60th general meeting in Nagano.
Reader Mail
Dec 13, 2007

Thankful for 'socialized medicine'

"Don't hold your breath," writes Robert J. Samuelson in his Dec. 9 article, "Americans loath to push past the pain." I haven't held my breath in years, as I'm covered by Japan's health insurance system.
Reader Mail
Dec 13, 2007

Peace and quiet: matter of choice

Regarding the Dec. 8 Thomas Dillon article, "Yes -- I have a cell phone": I hear Dillon's pain. Fortunately, I've been cell-phone-free for about 3 years. And loving it! Peace, quiet, tranquillity, freedom -- it's all there. Just get rid of the cell phone! ed montgomery
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 13, 2007

Tehran's 'less is more' nuclear policy

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The recent United States National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), which reports that Iran once had a "nuclear weapons program" but suspended it in 2003, means that there will probably be no American attack on Iran during the Bush administration. How could America's president explain...
Reader Mail
Dec 13, 2007

Japanese studies alive Down Under

Regarding Roger Pulvers' Dec. 9 article, "A moment of opportunity for Australia's new PM": Pulvers should have sought information on the relative strengths of Japanese studies and Chinese studies at all levels of education in Australia (from the Japanese Studies Association of Australia or from professor...

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan