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Reader Mail
Apr 19, 2012

'Sink or swim' ethic in America

Regarding Robert J. Samuelson's April 16 article "Look at Social Security for what it is: welfare," unfortunately millions of retired Americans depend upon Social Security payments for survival. Because the concept of "lifetime employment" is virtually unheard of in the United States, we do not often...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 18, 2012

The lives of boys devalued in U.S. and Afghanistan

What is a boy's life worth? The answer may depend on who is asking. It also may matter where the question is being raised.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Apr 17, 2012

Bread and becquerels: a year of living dangerously

My New Year's resolution back in January was to survive this year, and many more to come, which means keeping myself and my family as far from harm's way as possible.
CULTURE / Books
Apr 15, 2012

Japanese law: a solid reference book

The Compendium of Basic Laws of Japan, by Ted Toku Morita. Kojinsha, Tokyo, 2011, 287 pp. (paperback) Add another reference book to your Japanese shelf; there's a wedge of space between the kanji dictionary and your battered "Japanese for Busy People." Ted Toku Morita's translation, "The Compendium of...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Apr 13, 2012

Do girls just wanna have weaker sake?

When it comes to sake, I consider myself something of a traditionalist. If anything, my tastes veer toward the masculine: I tend to favor ricey, muscular styles like kimoto and yamahai over a delicate daiginjō. Funny, then, that I should find myself enjoying a girly new sake at March's FoodEx exhibition...
JAPAN
Apr 13, 2012

Fate of child abductions bill in Diet uncertain

The government finally submitted legislation to the Diet last month for joining the Hague Convention on international child abductions but its passage appears far from certain.
EDITORIALS
Apr 13, 2012

Reimpose weapons export ban

The Noda administration in December 2011 drastically relaxed Japan's long-standing weapons export ban. On the strength of this step, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on April 10 agreed with visiting British Prime Minister David Cameron to push joint development of weapons.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 12, 2012

Asian rivals elbow Japan aside in Washington

In the year of a U.S. presidential election, Japan is increasingly being overshadowed by its Asian neighbors in Washington just as the capital is increasingly functioning as a forum on global issues, according to a leading American expert.
JAPAN
Apr 12, 2012

Japan remains on alert as Thursday rocket launch window closes

Japan was on high alert on Thursday as North Korea is set to launch a rocket despite opposition by the international community, which sees the launch as a cover for a ballistic missile test.
EDITORIALS
Apr 12, 2012

New horizons for cooperatives

The United Nations General Assembly has designated 2012 as the U.N. International Year of Cooperatives. The world body recognizes the contribution of cooperatives to socioeconomic development, particularly their roles in poverty reduction, employment generation and social integration.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Apr 11, 2012

Evessa claim star Washington has decided to 'retire'

Osaka Evessa power forward Lynn Washington has been the most recognizable player in bj-league history.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 11, 2012

Lifting Myanmar sanctions would be a mistake

On April 1, international election monitors and media outlets reported a remarkable event in Myanmar. Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi — who spent years under house arrest, and sometimes in prison, fighting for democracy and justice — was elected to Parliament. All week, calls have grown for...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Apr 10, 2012

Book is behind bullying of mixed-race children

Dear Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Hirofumi Hirano,
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Apr 10, 2012

Rape victim marks 10 years on lonely crusade for justice

It surely isn't very often that elite Japanese bureaucrats hear the words to the national anthem quoted at them — by a foreigner. Earlier this year, Australian national Catherine Fisher says she pulled the words of "Kimigayo" from her head during a frustrating meeting with officials from the ministries...
JAPAN
Apr 8, 2012

Mizuho joins rush to tap Myanmar's emerging market

Mizuho Corporate Bank opened a representative office in Yangon on Friday, joining the legion of domestic companies seeking to tap into Myanmar as it moves toward democracy.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Apr 3, 2012

Revolving-door immigration policy hard-wired to fail: readers' responses

Some responses to Debito Arudou's March 6 Just Be Cause column, "Japan's revolving-door immigration policy hard-wired to fail":
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Apr 3, 2012

These are a few of my favorite things — about the Japanese

Debito Arudou's Feb. 7 Just Be Cause column describing the 10 things he likes about Japan both inspired and depressed me. As a frequent critic of the country's legal system (among other things), his piece made me stop and think of some of the things I like about Japan that are all too easy to take for...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 3, 2012

Startups test global waters in contest

In a test of Japanese startups' global competitiveness, a dozen firms took part Friday in a contest to pitch their ideas — in English — to Silicon Valley entrepreneurs.
COMMENTARY
Apr 2, 2012

India and the Iran sanctions

Writing in The Diplomat on Feb. 20, R. Nicholas Burns, undersecretary of state in the Bush administration, lamented the fact that India was going to continue to purchase oil from Iran.
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Apr 1, 2012

Woodland therapy yields Tohoku school 'dream'

When our Afan Woodland Trust came into being in 2002 (after 16 years of hard work to purchase the land and begin restoring abandoned forest to healthy biodiversity), we started a program to invite disadvantaged, neglected or abused children into these living woods.

Longform

A sinkhole in Yashio, which emerged in January, was triggered by a ruptured, aging sewer pipe. Authorities worry that similar sections of infrastructure across the country are also at risk of corrosion.
That sinking feeling: Japan’s aging sewers are an infrastructure time bomb