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Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Aug 23, 2011

Yamanashi: What's so unique about Yamanashi?

COMMENTARY / World
Aug 22, 2011

Latest famine in Somalia born of old failures

If the past is anything to go by, televisions the world over will show heart-wrenching pictures of malnourished Somali babies with distended bellies; of flies feeding on their eyes; of mouths sucking at milkless breasts. Environmental experts will pontificate on the recurrent droughts in Somalia.
Reader Mail
Aug 21, 2011

No country for Asian refugees

Regarding the July 6 article "UNHCR exec lauds refugee strides, urges more": In the 1970s, Japanese vessels in the South China Sea rescued a lot of boat people who hoped to live in Japan. After several years, though, most of them left for the United States and other Western countries.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Aug 19, 2011

Mount Fuji prepares to host its final climb in 2011

The official climbing season for Mount Fuji is drawing to a close on Aug. 31, which means potential climbers should act fast. With 10 stations along the trails, most people begin their ascent to the summit of Japan's most famous mountain from the fifth station. Mount Fuji's crater is surrounded by eight...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 18, 2011

Sidelined by quake, Libyans here still seek Gadhafi ouster

Japan's tiny Libyan community found itself in a tight spot when radiation scares swept the nation following the Tohoku triple disaster and foreigners fled the country en masse.
JAPAN
Aug 17, 2011

Tsunami spared Matsushima but swept away bay's tourists

Matsuo Basho, arguably Japan's most famous haiku poet, is said to have been at a loss for words when he first saw the hundreds of pine-clad islets scattered around Matsushima Bay during a 17th-century journey to the Tohoku region.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 16, 2011

Man eating sharks — and mercury, group warns

What's the first thing you think of when you hear the word "shark"? For many, it's a gaping maw of razor-sharp teeth or a dorsal fin cutting ominously through the water behind an oblivious swimmer. John Williams' iconic Jaws score is probably running through your mind as you read this. Sharks are Hollywood's...
COMMENTARY
Aug 16, 2011

The Song of Chu and Japanese politics today

"Song of Chu all around" (si-mian-Chu-ge) is an old Chinese saying that means "being besieged or deserted on all sides."
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Aug 16, 2011

Katmandu: What's the best thing to do in Nepal?

Sampada MallaFilmmaker, 24 (Nepalese)The best things are the nature and Nepal's beautiful places. The fact that it is a very diverse and culturally rich society is great, too. And there is also a lot to explore around the country.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Aug 16, 2011

Post-3/11 meeting leaves group of strangers weeping in Bath

Here at our home in Louisiana in March, my daughters and I were so touched by the news of the Japanese earthquakes and tsunami that we decided to fold 1,000 origami cranes — a senbazuru — to send to Japan.
Reader Mail
Aug 14, 2011

Innate keys to a bright future

One of the many interesting and unique aspects of Japanese culture that I experienced as a foreigner in Japan from 2003 to 2010 was jishuku. Jishuku refers to voluntary moderation in one's actions, typically after a terrible event or occurrence involving loss of life or human suffering. Jishuku is a...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Aug 14, 2011

Barriers to multiculturalism are as low as they've ever been in Japan

Second of two parts
JAPAN / History
Aug 14, 2011

Film mines rich seams of history

Hiroko Kumagai will never forget the day in 1998 when she first stepped inside the red-brick building at the entrance to the closed and shuttered Miyahara shaft in the Miike coal mine in Omuta, Fukuoka Prefecture.
Reader Mail
Aug 14, 2011

Emergency care system in trouble

Regarding the July 24 Kyodo article "Hospitals turn away patients at record rate": The central and local governments need to exercise strong leadership in getting hospitals and the public to take steps to streamline Japan's emergency care system.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 13, 2011

Japan Times not just wartime mouthpiece

Many journalism scholars have long viewed The Japan Times as a mouthpiece for the Imperial government's wartime propaganda.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Aug 13, 2011

Man United still set the standard

Selecting the elite group from which the 2012 English champion will come is easy: Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 11, 2011

Making hay at the Ames straw poll

Being in politics, said Minnesota Democrat Sen. Eugene McCarthy, is like coaching football: You have to be smart enough to understand the game and dumb enough to think it is important. The game of presidential politics is especially arcane in the cunning weirdness of the Ames straw poll, a quadrennial...
COMMENTARY
Aug 9, 2011

Threat from the antidemocrats

The recent massacre perpetrated by a lone gunman in Norway has made leaders in democratic countries review the threat to their societies from extremist anti-democratic elements.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Aug 9, 2011

Kofu: Do you think Prime Minister Naoto Kan should quit now or stay on?

Takuya HikawaSystems engineer, 25A change to a new administration would cause more trouble and prevent any progress being made to solve our current problems. Kan probably doesn't have the necessary power or intellectual capability, but he should keep working and not quit right away.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Aug 9, 2011

Decent man Kan dealing with LDP's fallout

Dear Prime Minister Naoto Kan,
JAPAN
Aug 9, 2011

Kan cagey over U.N. nuke safety trip

While Prime Minister Naoto Kan promised that Japan would participate in the United Nation's nuclear safety summit in September, he did not clarify whether he himself would be present at the high-level meeting, U.N. chief Ban Ki Moon said Monday.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Aug 9, 2011

Upcoming legal reforms: a plus for children or plus ca change?

Those focused on the government's stumbling efforts to protect the children of Fukushima from radioactive contamination may find this hard to believe, but Japanese family law just got more child-friendly — maybe. If Japan finally signs the Hague Convention on child abduction, as it appears it will,...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 6, 2011

A-bomb survivor looks back on a life lived in N. Ireland

It's a difficult time of year for survivors of the atomic bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki as the August anniversaries inevitably swing around.
Reader Mail
Aug 4, 2011

Situation in the Horn of Africa

The Aug. 1 AP article "Hungry Eritreans suffer in silence" is a deliberate distorted tutorial prepared on the prevailing situation in the Horn of Africa. It is important to set the record straight.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 2, 2011

Holding oil firms liable for rights violations

Several nongovernment organizations have filed an amicus brief urging the United States Supreme Court to review the ruling of an appeals court that corporations, under international law, cannot be held liable for damages from serious human rights violations.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Aug 2, 2011

The loneliness of the long-distance foreigner

A few months ago I had beers with several old Japan-hand guys (combined we have more than a century of Japan experiences), and one of them asked an interesting question:
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Aug 2, 2011

Ofunato: Why have you come to Tohoku to help out?

Bhavuk SethiProfessional gambler, 27 (American)This is my first time to volunteer for anything like this. Luckily my job gives me the flexibility to take time off. I'm finding volunteering much more fulfilling than playing poker for a living.

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