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Reader Mail
Nov 22, 2009

Duty to beg off religious activity

Regarding the Nov. 11 article "Ozawa lashes out with scathing remarks on Christianity": As a pastor of a local church, I would like to share some of my thoughts on Democratic Party of Japan secretary general Ichiro Ozawa's comments. Although I have great respect for Ozawa's political skills, I believe...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 11, 2009

Yet another 'Battle of Okinawa'

CANBERRA — Elections in August gave Japan a new government, headed by Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama. In electing him and his Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), the Japanese people, like the American people less than a year earlier, were opting for change. Remarkably, however, what followed on the part...
Reader Mail
Nov 5, 2009

Kansai upends the gender rules

Regarding Koichi Ko's Oct. 28 article, "Be careful not to bend your gender in Japanese": While this is certainly a good article, as usual, I'm a bit bemused by the lack of acknowledgment that, at least in Kansai, wa is used almost as much by men as it is by women at the end of sentences. I guess I should...
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Oct 19, 2009

Kremlin cajoling Hatoyama

Russia seems to be stepping up efforts to build closer ties with Japan through cracks in Tokyo's alliance with the United States, even as it tries to resolve the thorny Northern Territories issue on terms favorable to Moscow.
Reader Mail
Oct 18, 2009

Opportunity for strong leadership

Regarding the Oct. 11 article "Many in DPJ (Democratic Party of Japan) want Japan to cut link to U.S. nukes": I agree, Japan should cut all nuclear ties with the United States. There are two good reasons. First, the U.S. nuclear umbrella is a myth. America cannot possibly protect Japan from a nuclear...
CULTURE / Books
Oct 18, 2009

Classic tales of newsprint noir

While a senior at Tokyo's Sophia University, 23-year-old Missouri native Jake Adelstein was heading home from a Shinjuku cinema when, on a whim, he dropped into a game arcade and popped u00a5100 into the slot of a fortunetelling robot for some mystical career advice.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 11, 2009

ASEAN response to nuclear risks

LONDON — As the nuclear renaissance comes to Southeast Asia, the countries of the region face an important turning point. Decisions taken today will help determine whether nuclear energy will play a positive role in their economic development, or whether a shadow of nuclear danger will accompany the...
BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
Oct 5, 2009

New Japan in sight as mind-sets, economy approach crossroads

There is little doubt that the Democratic Party of Japan's Lower House victory and the election of Yukio Hatoyama as prime minister are the most significant political events Japan has experienced in the past 20 years. After decades of behind-closed-doors policymaking and stagnant growth under the conservative...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 20, 2009

Putin's preferred memory of World War II

CAMBRIDGE, England — Soviet ideology was always about the future. By contrast, today's official Russian ideology seems to be focused squarely on the past.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL: KEYES' POINT
Sep 2, 2009

Conservativism: hoshushugisha or hankakumeisha

"Professor Keyes, you're drunk (yopparatta, 酔っ払った)! Ha ha!"
Reader Mail
Aug 27, 2009

The rural balance with nature

Winifred Bird's Aug. 23 Timeout article, "Japan's creeping natural disaster," was simply amazing. As an American foreign resident of Japan who has family living in rural Akita's Yonaizawa, I understand the point of the article completely. I believe that the balance of nature and human life is the most...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Jul 26, 2009

Blunderbuss followup to the invasion of Iraq

NEW YORK — The New York Times editorial on June 30, "The First Deadline," showed America's egocentrism at its worst. Dealing entirely with a single subject — the withdrawal of American combat troops from Iraqi cities, with 130,000 soldiers still remaining in the country — the lengthy commentary...
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jul 26, 2009

'Groundhog Day' man realizes why solar fans love running backward

Events this month have brought home to me once again the enduring truth of that popular slogan, "Think globally, act locally."
Reader Mail
Jul 16, 2009

The trashy forests of rural Japan

The July 10 Kyodo article, "Japanese group polishes the Big Apple," states: "In a hygiene-conscious country like Japan, where items like antibacterial calculators and toothbrushes are sold, the volunteers — most of whom are Japanese — do not flinch when they encounter dirty trash. Instead, they enjoy...
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Jun 23, 2009

Re: Rumpus on Tokyo campus

Following are some readers' responses to David McNeill's June 9 Zeit Gist article "Rumpus on campus":
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 10, 2009

A turning point in Japan for the right to equality?

A year ago this week, the Supreme Court of Japan issued a judgment that struck down a clause in the Nationality Act as being a violation of the Constitution. There are good reasons for everyone in Japan to celebrate that decision. While little noted outside of specialized legal journals at the time,...
Reader Mail
Jun 4, 2009

Inaccurate commentary on Iran

Regarding Bijan Khajehpour's May 30 article, "Key role for young Iranians in June's presidential poll": I'm not sure why The Japan Times published this article, since it is very out of date and no longer relevant.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
May 26, 2009

Peru's Fujimori gets his: readers reply

Readers' responses to Debito Arudou's May 5 Just Be Cause column headlined "Fujimori gets his; Japan left shamed":
Reader Mail
May 24, 2009

The new alien registration cards

Regarding Debito Arudou's May 19 article "IC you: bugging the alien": It's finally happened; Arudou has joined the ranks of conspiracy theorists. This article on the proposed new gaijin cards is filled with the kind of tin-foil-hat rants I normally associate with those who live in fear of black helicopters...
COMMENTARY
May 12, 2009

Northern Territories dispute lives on self-righteous deadlock

Visits to Japan by Soviet and Russian leaders over the years have done little to break the Northern Territories deadlock — Moscow's refusal of Tokyo's demand for two large islands at the southern end of the Kuril Island chain occupied by Soviet troops in 1945, as a condition for a peace treaty with...
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Apr 28, 2009

Women, know your place: some readers' responses

Following are readers' responses to Kris Kosaka's March 31 Zeit Gist article, "Women, know your place":
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 26, 2009

Media silence on first lady's school visit shows Japan's education gap

Earlier this month, while her husband, the president of the United States, met with other world leaders at the G20 summit, Michelle Obama visited a school for "disadvantaged" girls in North London and was moved to tears by the students' hard work and talent. In an emotional speech, she hailed the young...
Reader Mail
Mar 26, 2009

Good news for Canadian citizens

Thank you for Jenny Uechi's March 17 Zeit Gist article, "Canucks abroad fret over new curbs on citizenship." I have been monitoring this issue for about six months, and Uechi's article might be the best in the past six months.
Reader Mail
Mar 19, 2009

Letting 'science' do the deciding

The content of the March 11 front-page wire service article "Obama scraps stem-cell limits" proved once again that the mainstream U.S. press cannot be trusted to report accurately. The article gave the impression that no research is being done on embryonic stem cells in the United States, which is wrong....
Reader Mail
Mar 12, 2009

Illegal under the Constitution

Regarding Debito Arudou's March 3 article, " Of toadies, vultures and zombie debates": In his latest bout of calling anyone who disagrees with him everything but an "Uncle Tom," Arudou once again shows how he does not let facts get in the way of a good tirade. He writes: "Racial discrimination should...
JAPAN
Feb 12, 2009

Pacifist, cultural critic Kato remembered

There are many labels to describe Shuichi Kato, who died Dec. 5 at age 89.
Reader Mail
Feb 1, 2009

Clarity on dual nationality

I was a little confused after reading Kristy Kosaka's Jan. 27 Zeit Gist article, "Half, bi or double? One family's trouble." She writes that under Japanese law those with dual nationality must abandon one nationality before the age of 22. After reading that sentence my heart skipped a beat and with trembling...
Reader Mail
Jan 29, 2009

A shocking lack of sleep

Regarding the Jan. 22 article "Train driver who overslept prompts cancellation of early-morning runs": I began to read this article with empathetic amusement, but my smile disappeared when my jaw dropped in disbelief. According to the article, the motorman decided to sleep at the Kintetsu Ikoma Station,...

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami