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Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 2, 2013

Legislation bureau chief Abe's window to collective defense

The appointment of Ichiro Komatsu as director general of the Cabinet Legislation Bureau is a step toward Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's goal of reinterpreting the Constitution so Japan can engage in collective self-defense.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 1, 2013

Smoking, now too uncool for school

Kitsuen (喫煙, smoking) could become an obsolete habit in Japan in the near future, as youngsters apparently now consider smoking dasai (ダサい, uncool).
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Aug 31, 2013

Remarkable story of the independence, dedication of Isamu Noguchi's mother

Like many people, I like soft light and use lampshades of Japanese paper from the successful Akari series designed by the American sculptor Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988), certainly the artist's greatest influence on individual lives, especially at home. Some of his own upbringing is described in this book,...
Reader Mail
Aug 31, 2013

Logical end to 'scientific' whaling

Regarding Rowan Hooper's Aug. 11 Natural Selections article, "In science terms, Japan has no need at all to kill whales": I favor the discontinuation of such whaling — not because it's unlikely that Japan's claim will be upheld in the International Court of Justice or that Japan's "commercial" whaling...
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 31, 2013

Most on Abe's expert panel approve plan to hike sales tax

The government's expert panel on the planned consumption tax hike wrapped up discussions Saturday with more than 70 percent of its members supporting the plan as it now stands, saying Japan will suffer a much bigger economic blow if the tax isn't raised.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Aug 29, 2013

Nakamura's coaching tree stretches throughout league

Now entering his third season in charge of the Akita Northern Happinets, septuagenarian sideline supervisor Kazuo Nakamura's influence goes far beyond his current team.
Reader Mail
Aug 28, 2013

Western behavior back home

It's rather unfortunate that Chavez's message has been rather misinterpreted by some readers. The message is not "Westerners are discriminated against in Japan just like African-Americans and Muslims in the U.S." That would be a daft thing to say.
Reader Mail
Aug 28, 2013

Far cry from real discrimination

Chavez wrote: "Just once I'd like to hear someone who has been discriminated against in Japan say, 'Now I know what it is like to be an African, Iranian or Muslim in the U.S."
Reader Mail
Aug 28, 2013

Something valuable to take away

I appreciate Chavez's article very much, as my hardships of being a foreigner in Japan were hardships I had never experienced in my home country, which then allowed me to put myself in the shoes of minorities elsewhere.
Reader Mail
Aug 28, 2013

Minority experience understood

Regarding Amy Chavez's Aug. 16 column titled "What being a minority allows us to see": Actually the fear and hurt I felt while dealing with certain bureaucratic nonsense in Japan allowed me to understand a small piece of the American minority experience.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Aug 26, 2013

Of nuclear village idiots and radiation scare-mongerers: letters

Nab Tepco execs, take over the clean-up
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Aug 26, 2013

Denials of defoliant at former U.S. base site in Okinawa fly in the face of science

The inescapable fact is that the U.S. military, on Kadena Air Base, disposed of materials in drums containing 2,4,5-T , a wartime defoliant, and TCDD, the most toxic component of the dioxin family, known to be associated with the manufacture of such herbicides.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Aug 26, 2013

The age of 3-D printers has arrived, for better and worse

The 3-D printer boom in the United States is spreading to Japan as prices decline, but some fear the devices could break the mold, jobwise.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2013

Outside help offered to deal with Tepco debacle

Russia repeated an offer first made two years ago to help Japan clean up its radiation-ravaged Fukushima No. 1 nuclear station, welcoming Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s decision to seek outside help.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 24, 2013

It only takes one 'Barefoot' step to cross the line into censorship

If you want people to pay attention to a point you're making, try to bring the subject of children into the debate. Right now, the media is discussing a decision made by the board of education of Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, to limit student access to the manga "Hadashi no Gen (Barefoot Gen)," first published...
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Aug 23, 2013

The sky becomes less of a limit for cabin attendants (unless you're a man)

All Nippon Airways just announced a new hiring policy for cabin attendants (CA). Starting next year, new CAs will be full-time regular employees of the company. Since 1995, CAs at the company were hired as contract workers who could opt to become regular employees after three years. The reason for the...
BASEBALL / HIT AND RUN
Aug 22, 2013

Time to salute Ichiro's amazing feat, leave debate aside

Ichiro Suzuki took off his helmet to reveal a head a little more salt than pepper as he bowed in appreciation of the reception he was receiving after joining an exclusive club with the 4,000th professional hit of his career between Japan and the U.S. at Yankee Stadium.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / EVERYMAN EATS
Aug 22, 2013

The ramen burger that ate New York

It's too early to tell if Aug. 3, 2013, will go down as a landmark date in culinary history, but for the hundreds of people who lined up that morning at a food fair in Brooklyn, New York, the excitement was palpable. The crowds had braved steady rain for a chance to try the ramen burger, an East-meets-West...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 21, 2013

Spreading the word through manga

Videos of anime conventions in America greet visitors to Tokyo's Museum of Contemporary Art at this summer's "The Power of Manga — Osamu Tezuka and Shotaro Ishinomori" exhibition. Looped footage of attendants in cosplay at the Los Angeles Anime Expo and other similar events play, while a "prologue"...
Reader Mail
Aug 21, 2013

Common perception on history

These days Tokyo's views and attitudes toward the aggression committed by Japanese forces during World War II are much talked about not only in neighboring countries but also among common Japanese. Lately I had the opportunity to talk about our former history classes in school with friends from different...

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