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JAPAN
Apr 12, 2011

Nation's unpreparedness ahead of disaster is blasted

A month after the earthquake and tsunami obliterated cities along the Tohoku coast, Japan is struggling to limp back to some semblance of normalcy while coming to grips with the unprecedented disaster.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Apr 12, 2011

Evidence for Agent Orange on Okinawa

In the late 1960s, James Spencer was a United States Navy longshoreman on Okinawa's military docks. "During this time, we handled all kinds of cargo, including these barrels with orange stripes on them. When we unloaded them, they'd leak and the Agent Orange would get all over us. It was as if it were...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Apr 12, 2011

Kashiwa: What are you doing to save energy in these troubled times?

Simon Wood
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Apr 11, 2011

From Russia with leverage

Spiraling oil prices and the serious accidents at a major Japanese nuclear power station caused by the March 11 quake and tsunami are helping strengthen the position of Russia in the international community.
Reader Mail
Apr 10, 2011

Politicians no match for the voters

The patience and stoicism demonstrated by ordinary Japanese people has been an enduring characteristic of recent times. These are qualities that have marked the extraordinary advances of this country in the second half of the last century and will feature largely in the recovery that will surely follow....
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Apr 10, 2011

Kroon can't make cut with San Francisco

Marc Kroon was cut just prior to opening day after trying to make the San Francisco Giants. The six-year Japan veteran closer with the Yokohama BayStars and Yomiuri Giants was attempting to return to the majors with the defending World Series champions, and he did not make the team — but why not?...
BASKETBALL
Apr 9, 2011

Player concerns may force Final Four move

Voices of opposition have emerged to the bj-league's possible plans to hold this season's Final Four at Ariake Colosseum, and this could force the league to move the final playoff rounds to another region, possibly Kansai.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 8, 2011

'The Killer Inside Me'

If you like your film noir darker than a Texas outhouse on a new moon in June, and if you don't mind being shocked — and I mean really shocked — then here's your film: "The Killer Inside Me," director Michael Winterbottom's adaptation of the cult noir novel from 1952 by that most hard-boiled of authors,...
EDITORIALS
Apr 8, 2011

China cracks down on dissent

Events in the Middle East are reverberating throughout the world, but no government is as committed to squashing domestic protests as is the leadership in Beijing. The government there has begun a crackdown against liberal voices in China. This seems to be a systematic effort that includes control of...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 8, 2011

Takubo's building renovations turn art outside-in

A lot of the restlessness and energy in contemporary art actually stems from a sense of emptiness and frustration that young artists feel as they flail around trying to find their true artistic voice. This certainly seems to have been the case in the career of Kyoji Takubo, a 62-year-old artist, who...
COMMENTARY
Apr 7, 2011

West is on a slippery slope

NEW DELHI — From initially seeking to protect civilians to now aiming for a swift, total victory in Libya, the mission creep that has characterized the Western powers' military attack raises troubling questions about their Libyan strategy and the risks that it could end up creating — however inadvertently...
EDITORIALS
Apr 6, 2011

End game in Ivory Coast

In most elections, the person who collects the most votes is declared winner and takes the office that was contested. Not in the Ivory Coast. There, incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo has refused to leave office after losing to former Prime Minister Alessane Ouattara.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 5, 2011

Foreign volunteers in relief efforts

Ever since the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake, the nongovernmental organization Peace Boat has sent teams of volunteers to assist survivors in disaster-stricken areas as far afield as Kashmir, New Orleans and Indonesia. But according to Takashi Yamamoto, current director of Peace Boat's relief efforts...
JAPAN
Apr 5, 2011

Radiation terminology numbs, confuses, varies by need and country

Ever since the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant began spewing radiation on March 11, many have struggled to understand the unfamiliar units used to measure it.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Apr 5, 2011

'Fly-jin' face fallout from decision to go

DAREK GONDOR "Osaka? Why didn't you tell me about this? I'm responsible for the whereabouts of this institute's employees, you know."
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Apr 5, 2011

'Charisma Men' and temps: readers' views

Some readers' responses to last month's Just Be Cause column by Debito Arudou, headlined " Charisma Men, unite against the identity enforcers" (March 1):
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Apr 5, 2011

Shonan: After the bout-fixing scandal and the March 11 quake, do you think the sumo Summer Basho should still be held?

Robert Feeney
JAPAN
Apr 4, 2011

Softbank's Son gives ¥10 billion to victims

Softbank Corp. announced Sunday that President Masayoshi Son will personally donate ¥10 billion to support victims of the March 11 earthquake and help fund the recovery of the quake-hit Tohoku region.
Reader Mail
Apr 3, 2011

English teachers entering the fray

This month all fifth- and sixth-graders start experiencing English education. Takahiro Fukada's Feb. 26 article, "Are schools ready for English?," truthfully depicts the dire situation at hand. The education ministry is fully responsible for the mess and insufficient preparation of teachers. Nothing...
Reader Mail
Apr 3, 2011

Kids should know what's going on

Regarding Jun Hongo's March 25 Q&A article, "Should kids be shielded from coverage of disaster?": In my opinion, and as a result of personal experience with tragedy, children should play a big part in knowing what's happening with issues. In my neighborhood, I see elementary school-age kids playing around...
CULTURE / Books
Apr 3, 2011

Sojourner of the mystical realm

THE PASSING SUMMERS, The Japanese Mystique: Charm and Consequence, by Ivy C. Machida. Printed Matter Press, 2010, 280 pp., $20 (paper) The 21st century has seen a proliferation of memoirs entering the book market — from James Frey's memoir-fiction "A Million Little Pieces" to the slew of ghosted celebrity...
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Apr 2, 2011

Small businesses ask for restraint with the self-restraint

People are being asked to restrain themselves for the sake of the victims of the earthquake/tsunami, but some are questioning if it's a good idea.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2011

Tsunami-hit towns face dire future

OSHIKA, Miyagi Pref. — Survivors of the March 11 magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami are expressing reservations about returning to their homes, raising the prospect of already depopulated communities turning into ghost towns.
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2011

Sarkozy, Kan meet in Tokyo

Visiting French President Nicolas Sarkozy expressed strong support and solidarity Thursday with grief-stricken Japan over the recent deadly earthquake and tsunami.

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