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Reader Mail
Feb 7, 2007

Bloggers should share, not sell

Regarding The Washington Post article published in The Japan Times on Jan. 16, "Advertising tieups allow bloggers to turn their hobbies into dollars": I disapprove of bloggers being paid money each time someone clicks on an image or product. One possible result of this practice is that bloggers will...
Reader Mail
Feb 7, 2007

Speak out and the U.S. will leave

Kiroku Hanai makes great leaps of logic in his Jan. 23 article, "U.S. presence vs. the public will." First he implies that U.S. submarines are operated in a "reckless" manner, then jumps to the conclusion that aircraft carriers are being operated recklessly, too. But let's get to the point.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 6, 2007

Innocence is presumed but bail is not a given

There are some things money can't buy, but to get out of jail, bail can be an option for some.
Reader Mail
Feb 4, 2007

Hardly an issue elsewhere

While the tone of the Jan. 25 article "Filmmaker to paint Nanjing slaughter as just a myth" was, commendably, mostly neutral, it did contain a couple of noteworthy evasions. It stated, for instance, that most historians accept the International Tribunal's findings, but didn't mention that only Japanese...
Reader Mail
Feb 4, 2007

Decisions only Tokyo can make

Regarding Brad Glosserman's Jan. 24 article, "Abe's aggressive agenda": Reinforcing what he calls Japan's "junior partner status," Glosserman recommends that the United States "help" Japan in its formulation of its vision of its emerging power and its "strategy to use it." He then warns that "Washington...
Reader Mail
Feb 4, 2007

Credit a politician who speaks up

Regarding the Jan. 25/26 article "Kyuma: U.S. invasion of Iraq a mistake": Isn't it strange that whereas U.S. President George W. Bush already admits that mistakes were made in deciding to start the Iraq war in March 2003, the leaders in Japan won't say anything about having dispatched some of our Self-Defense...
Reader Mail
Jan 31, 2007

Bigger threats than Japan

In Gregory Clark's Jan. 18 article, "So much for Abe's reconciliation policy," there are no references to China's ongoing military buildup, which has officially recorded double-digit spending increases for more than a decade. There are no remarks about the worries of other Asian nations over Chinese...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jan 31, 2007

England's white Africans cast ironic new light on reality TV's racism row

Reality TV shows, genetic research papers, politics, Hollywood and Bollywood rarely get mentioned in the same article. This week, though, in a maneuver akin to an astronomical alignment that only comes around once in a generation, I will attempt to achieve just that.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Jan 29, 2007

Same hot buttons a hundred years later

NEW YORK -- What was the world like 100 years ago? That was not the question I had in mind when I idly wondered if I could find exactly how French actress Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923) had described British playwright/novelist Oscar Wilde on one special occasion. As this is the age of the Internet, I quickly...
EDITORIALS
Jan 28, 2007

Mr. Abe's pitch to the Diet

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in a policy speech in his first regular Diet session as prime minister, pitched his top political goal -- changing Japan's postwar regime and revising the Constitution. But just what kind of nation he wants to build through such endeavors is not necessarily clear. In the short...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / LIFELINES
Jan 27, 2007

Tenor believes in power to generate new realities

Since making his operatic debut in 2001 in Mozart's "Die Zauberflote" in Paris, Dominique Moralez has received nothing but adulation throughout Europe and the Americas. His voice has been described as "shimmering -- with power and sweetness, perfect voix mixte and exquisitely refined pianissimo."
COMMENTARY
Jan 25, 2007

Abe's aggressive agenda

HONOLULU -- There is no mistaking Prime Minister Abe Shinzo's determination to transform Japan's foreign and security policies, and reassert itself in the world. Yet while he must seize opportunities as he forges this new role, he must also reassure doubters both at home and abroad that Japan will act...
Reader Mail
Jan 21, 2007

English is tested the wrong way

In his Dec. 30 article "English should be an elective," Gregory Clark's claim that Japanese "careers usually do not depend on foreign-language ability" ignores the fact that more and more Japanese corporations require TOEIC for promotion and hiring. His argument that "At that [post-secondary] level...
COMMENTARY
Jan 18, 2007

Unhappy state of education

LONDON -- Very few parents in Britain or Japan are happy about the state of education available to their children. The response of politicians in both countries to these concerns is inadequate and sometimes dangerous.
Reader Mail
Jan 17, 2007

Bringing up the rear in English

Gregory Clark's verdict in his Dec. 30 article, "English should be an elective," sidesteps a very complex situation. An overwhelming majority of Japanese parents have repeatedly expressed their desire that their children be taught English from elementary school onward. It's the government that has been...
Reader Mail
Jan 14, 2007

Puzzling stand against Pyongyang

In her Jan. 8 article, "Japan's peculiar silence on rights abuses," Sophie Richardson criticizes the Japanese government's exclusive focus on the issue of North Korea's abduction of Japanese nationals while it ignores human rights abuses in countries such as Myanmar or Uzbekistan.
Reader Mail
Jan 14, 2007

Wrong motive to study English

I agree with Gregory Clark's idea in his Dec. 30 article, "English should be an elective." Nowadays we often hear of the importance of English education in primary school. But I don't think we should attach great importance to it. Certainly, children can learn languages faster than adults, but in...
EDITORIALS
Jan 11, 2007

Uphold self-defense principles

The Defense Agency was upgraded to the Defense Ministry on Tuesday in accordance with a law revision supported by the Liberal Democratic Party, Komeito and the Democratic Party of Japan. The defense minister can now directly ask the Finance Ministry for funding for the Self-Defense Forces as well as...
Reader Mail
Jan 10, 2007

Early English makes better sense

Regarding Gregory Clark's Dec. 30 article, "English should be an elective": The debate over the proper grade level to learn English as a second language is as controversial in Japan as it is in the U.S. because the research is scanty. As a result, anecdotal evidence tends to prevail in forming school...
Reader Mail
Jan 10, 2007

Power of an independent jury

Regarding Setsuko Kamiya's Dec. 29 article, "Mansfield Center eyes lay judge debut": Although a U.S. jury receives instructions from the presiding trial judge, it is free to render a verdict by its members' own conscience -- even to the point of disregarding evidence. Jury verdicts must be unanimous....
Reader Mail
Jan 10, 2007

A setback for safer roads

Regarding the Dec. 13 article "Man gets 4 1/2 years for fatal drunken driving": I am absolutely outraged at the sentence. Not only did the court let the family down, it also added insult to the death of this little girl.
COMMENTARY
Jan 9, 2007

Oil angst may fuel Iran's nuclear quest

NEW YORK -- Any analysis posing Iran as a potential threat to peace in the Middle East is generally based on the assumption that its aggressive pursuit of nuclear power can only have the most ominous consequences for the region.
Reader Mail
Jan 7, 2007

Christmas surprise in Japan

Regarding the Dec. 26 article "Four sent to the gallows": While enjoying a wonderful visit to Kyoto, I was shocked to learn of the execution of four people on Christmas Day.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jan 7, 2007

Japan is 'beautiful' -- and don't you dare disagree

Japanese tradition has it that your first dream of the new year (hatsuyume) is a portent of what is in store for you in the 12 months to come. There are three hatsuyume (wouldn't you just know that the Japanese would even designate dreams) they hold to be symbolic: If on the night of Jan. 1 you dream...
Reader Mail
Jan 3, 2007

Revolution was good for Cuba

Cuban leader Fidel Castro is ailing and increasingly absent from Cuban government and Communist Party functions such as the recent National Assembly session in Havana. At the age of 80, let's face it, he's not coming back. And I feel sad, because I look on Castro as a great leader. The persistence of...
Reader Mail
Jan 3, 2007

Callous timing of 'justice'

Regarding the Dec. 26 front-page article "Four sent to the gallows": By having four death row inmates hanged on Christmas Day, Jinen Nagase, the current "justice" minister in Shinzo Abe's Cabinet, has shown utter contempt for all those Japanese citizens opposed to capital punishment.
Reader Mail
Jan 3, 2007

Wasteful outlays on 'research'

Regarding the Dec. 14 article "Research outlays soar to record 17.85 trillion yen (for fiscal 2005)": The story doesn't tell how all the expenditures for scientific and technological research by companies, universities and government-backed research institutes are really allocated.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 1, 2007

Defusing the dangers of nuclear proliferation

North Korea test-fired a series of ballistic missiles and carried out a nuclear test in 2006. If the policy goal of the Bush administration was to prevent the proliferation of ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons, it has failed.

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