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EDITORIALS
Apr 30, 2011

Learning from train tragedy

Six years have passed since the April 25, 2005, train crash on West Japan Railway (JR West) Co.'s Fukuchiyama Line in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, in which 106 passengers and the driver were killed, and 562 others were injured. In the ensuing years, people have been asking why the accident occurred and...
EDITORIALS
Apr 29, 2011

Living with risk

Just about a year ago, the oil rig Deepwater Horizon exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, triggering one of the largest oil spills in history. A year later, the full impact — economic, social, psychological and environmental — remains unknown. But the BP disaster, like the unfolding catastrophe at the...
COMMENTARY
Apr 29, 2011

Attacks on physicians in Bahrain

The government of Bahrain has been conducting a systematic attack on doctors and other medical personnel, ostensibly because of the care they provide to protesters attacked and maimed by government forces. The United States, which has been quite clear in its criticism of repression in Syria, should now...
Reader Mail
Apr 28, 2011

Refusing a Russian hospital ship

Since March 24, I have organized a group of online friends to help facilitate the deployment of a Russian military hospital ship in port near my hometown of Vladivostok, Russia. In its initial response to our group, the Japanese Foreign Ministry cited concerns about visas, the need for translators and...
Reader Mail
Apr 28, 2011

Better food service for evacuees

Regarding Kaori Shoji's April 20 article, "A personal letter from a Miyagi hinanjo resident": Thank you for the very touching comments from a person who survived the March 11 quake-tsunami and who now lives as an evacuee in a gym.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 28, 2011

Communication challenge

The catastrophe of the earthquake, the tsunami and the crippled nuclear power plant on March 11 posed an unprecedented challenge of crisis communication with the world. Those in charge were faced with the difficult choice between calming the public by presenting an optimistic scenario that could lead...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Apr 26, 2011

Tokyo: What magazines do you read here in Japan?

Jenny Wright
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Apr 26, 2011

Memories of Agent Orange; Fukushima folly

I am a victim of Agent Orange Thanks for your story on AO in Okinawa ("Evidence for Agent Orange on Okinawa" by Jon Mitchell, Zeit Gist, April 12).
EDITORIALS
Apr 26, 2011

25 years after Chernobyl

The world's worst nuclear accident, at Chernobyl on April 26, 1986, marked its 25th anniversary Tuesday amid Japanese anxiety and wavering self-confidence over the March 11 earthquake-tsunami and the resultant nuclear crisis. Power industry people, government leaders, nuclear regulators and nuclear power...
COMMENTARY
Apr 25, 2011

The lower odds for female births in India

India's 2011 census report has many heartening things to say. More educated men and women indicate a surge in literacy. People are living longer than ever before. Stability can be seen in the size of family; couples are having fewer children.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 22, 2011

'Artists' Action For Japan'

Tokyo Midtown Atrium
Reader Mail
Apr 21, 2011

Challenges demand local efforts

In his April 17 Counterpoint article, "In this time of trials, a new nationalism would aid Japan's recovery," Roger Pulvers advocates an "informed nationalism." I disagree, while appreciating his intention. He compares the challenges we face today to those of the Meiji Era (1868-1912). I think the current...
EDITORIALS
Apr 20, 2011

Nuclear crisis and Japan's image

Immediately after the March 11 quake and tsunami devastated northeastern Japan, Japanese victims were praised by the foreign media for their calmness, orderliness and perseverance in the midst of unprecedented suffering. But the positive image of Japan is turning into a negative one because of the government...
JAPAN
Apr 20, 2011

Tepco starts to pump out turbine 2 unit

Tokyo Electric Power Co. started Tuesday pumping highly radioactive water at its Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant's reactor 2 turbine building into a nearby storage facility, a crucial step toward restoring the reactor's dedicated cooling system, the government nuclear watchdog said.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Apr 19, 2011

Students choose failure over uncertainty

"Could you please fail me?" As a university lecturer, it is by no means unusual to have seniors drop by to check if they have sufficient credits to graduate. However, I was flabbergasted by this recent visitor who wanted not reassurance - she was on track to graduate - but rather my cooperation in failing...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Apr 19, 2011

Japan pension answers often case-specific

JM has a question about the Japanese national pension system: "I am an American citizen and permanent resident of Japan and have been living and working in the country continuously since 1988. During most of this time, I have been employed as a "local" hire by my company, and contributed to the Japanese...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Apr 19, 2011

Hiroshima: Should Japan abandon the use of nuclear energy?

Chiyo Sadatomo, 40s
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2011

Clinton meets with Matsumoto

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met with Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto on Sunday in Tokyo, where she expressed Washington's sympathy and solidarity with Japan's attempts to rebuild from the deadly quake and tsunami that claimed more than 13,000 lives.
Reader Mail
Apr 17, 2011

Were meters used instead of feet?

My apologies if I am incorrect about questions regarding Jun Hongo's April 12 article, "Nation's unpreparedness ahead of disaster is blasted." My current understanding of the data presented by the world community, including Japanese television, specifically relating to the events on March 11, has been...
CULTURE / Books
Apr 17, 2011

Shining a light on Korean sorrow in Japan

INTO THE LIGHT: An Anthology of Literature by Koreans in Japan. Edited by Melissa L. Wender. University of Hawai'i Press, 2011, 226 pp. $22 (paper) The eight stories in this anthology span nearly 60 years, from 1939, when Korea was a resentful and mutinous Japanese colony, to 1997, when South Korea was...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 17, 2011

The unnatural state of Japan's self-restraint

Immediately after the earthquake and tsunami of March 11, Japanese television started covering the disaster full-time. As things returned to some sort of version of normal, the spaces where commercials were supposed to run were first filled with public service announcements provided by the Ad Council...
EDITORIALS
Apr 16, 2011

North Korea's 'chronic crisis'

North Korea is facing food shortages. International aid agencies report that the situation is dire, with millions facing the prospect of starvation in coming months without help. Even if those estimates are exaggerated, there is no escaping the fact that North korea cannot feed its own people.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Apr 16, 2011

Earthquake relief: Little people doing big things

Prime Minister Naoto Kan took out nearly a full-page ad in the International Herald Tribune last week to thank the international community for their kizuna (bond of friendship), regarding Japan's earthquake and tsunami disaster on March 11. It was a stirring tribute to those who have come together to...
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Apr 16, 2011

Stojkovic admits he has room to grow as manager

The European media may be keen to anoint Dragan Stojkovic as Arsene Wenger's successor at Arsenal, but the Nagoya Grampus manager's thoughts currently extend no further than the April 23 return of the J. League.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 15, 2011

Dance artists come together for Japan

Last Friday, at exactly 2:46 in the afternoon, the "Nihon Kizuna" bonus album, containing a further 34 electronic tracks from a range of producers worldwide to supplement the 50 tracks on the original album, was released for free online. As well as marking one calendar month since the March 11 earthquake...

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