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EDITORIALS
Apr 3, 2010

Freedom of expression for all

The Tokyo High Court on March 29 acquitted a former worker of the now-defunct Social Insurance Agency who was indicted on allegations that he distributed copies of a Japanese Communist Party newspaper. He had been charged with violating Article 102 of the National Public Service Law, which prohibits...
Reader Mail
Mar 4, 2010

Tiger Woods owes public nothing

Tom Plate's March 1 article, "Woods' apology whips up media incapable of behaving with class," has to be the best article I've seen written on the Tiger Woods scandal. I agree with every word. I am so worried about Woods, although he does still have a lot of friends as well as that God-given talent that...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Feb 28, 2010

Three LatAm capitals and the Tokyo of 1964

NEW YORK — While visiting three capitals in Latin America on a lecture tour earlier this month, I wondered if Tokyo looked or felt like any of these cities to someone visiting it from New York or a large European city half a century ago.
Japan Times
LIFE
Jan 24, 2010

'The wartime leaders of Japan were heroes'

General Toshio Tamogami, 61, was the chief of staff of Japan's Air Self-Defense Force between March 2007 and November 2008 despite having a history of lobbing verbal missiles at "leftists," China and Japan's so-called war-renouncing Constitution. In 2008, he pulled these and other themes together in...
JAPAN
Jan 13, 2010

Club hostesses unionize to fight gray-area abuses

Their sexy outfits and glossy makeup make it easy for "kyabajo" cabaret hostesses to entice flush male patrons into splurging fortunes on drinks.
COMMENTARY
Dec 18, 2009

Illegal wall exacerbates disaster for Gazans

NEW YORK — Collusion between Egypt and the United States in building a wall separating Egypt from Gaza not only threatens Gazans' health and quality of life, already seriously deteriorating because of the de facto Israeli blockade, but also violates international law.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 29, 2009

Cute kittens out to kill you

Cats are easy targets, which is why Shukan Asahi took such a cheap shot at them in the banner headline of its print ads for the Dec. 4 issue: "New-type influenza being spread by cats!?" In the subhead, cat cafes were cited as "hotbeds of infection."
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":

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