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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.
EDITORIALS
Dec 31, 2006

Japan turns a corner

The year 2006 will go down in history as a turning-point year during which Japan experienced a resurgence in nationalist sentiment and felt a weakening in the influence of the lessons from its modern wars (1930s through 1945). As a result, concerns have mounted that the pillars of Japan's postwar democracy...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Dec 31, 2006

Test where you stand on 'shared Japanese values'

Perhaps it is fitting on this, the last day of 2006, to look back at the year and reflect on the state of Japanese culture, society and life.
EDITORIALS
Dec 27, 2006

The U.N. votes, Iran ignores

The United Nations Security Council at long last voted to impose sanctions on Iran for its continuing pursuit of uranium enrichment in defiance of the international community. The Tehran government immediately dismissed the U.N. move and vowed to step up nuclear activities. The stage is thus set for...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 24, 2006

Giving life-affirming gifts without dipping into your pocket

With the gift-giving season upon us, it is as good a time as any to think about the gift that keeps on giving -- your organs. Another reason to think about organ donation is that on Tuesday the Matsuyama District Court will sentence a 59-year-old man who was convicted of buying a kidney from a woman....
JAPAN
Dec 22, 2006

Besieged tax chief Honma steps down

Tax Commission chief Masaaki Honma, under fire over allegations that he used his government apartment to house a lover but yet advocated the selloff of such state-subsidized properties, resigned Thursday, dealing another blow to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's falling approval ratings.

Longform

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