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Japan Times
JAPAN / PARTY LINE
Jul 12, 2007

JCP will go own way regardless of election outcome

The Japanese Communist Party will not form an alliance with the Democratic Party of Japan or any other party regardless of how the July 29 House of Councilors election turns out, according to party leader Kazuo Shii.
JAPAN / PARTY LINE
Jul 7, 2007

Tanaka won't disband party, despite defections

New Party Nippon leader and ex-Nagano Gov. Yasuo Tanaka announced Friday his party would carry on even though its only two lawmakers said they are going to leave and become independents.
Reader Mail
Jun 24, 2007

Cute description of creation

Regarding Rowan Hooper's June 13 article, "Religion's cute, but creation chemistry is complex": Until I read this article, it had never occurred to me that religion might be described as "cute." Rather, it is Hooper's description that strikes me as cute.
Reader Mail
Jun 17, 2007

Effects of social disparity

Tom Plate's June 8 article, "When getting rich impoverishes society," is the most eloquent summary of the effects of social disparity that I have seen. It should preface all economics education in the classroom. I feel that the greed/power factor is what makes all economic systems fail. I respect...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jun 17, 2007

Stand by your language — but not as a nationalist icon

Last month, on May 21 to be exact, something caught my eye in the English-language IHT/Asahi Shimbun newspaper. In an article headlined "Holistic patriotic education still missing," Professor Nobukatsu Fujioka of Takushoku University in Tokyo made an impassioned plea for Japanese children to be imbued...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 5, 2007

A 'socially accepted' act of child abuse

Last October the Supreme Court of Japan unanimously dismissed a young woman's final appeal of an Osaka High Court ruling that had found no illegality in her father's self-admitted act of suddenly touching her breast for a few seconds to "measure her sexual growth" when she was 11 years old.
Reader Mail
Jun 3, 2007

Old image of Serbia sells

The May 24 article "Appeasing Serbia hurts EU," by Natasa Kandic and Mabel Van Oranje, is one-sided in the sense that it focuses on Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica without making single mention of the more democratic President Boris Tadic, who is far more dedicated to turning former Bosnian...
Reader Mail
Jun 3, 2007

Suggested recipes bizarre

Regarding the May 24 article "Appeasing Serbia hurts EU": All those who are familiar and informed are well aware that Serbia was subjected to unprecedented international sanctions during the long rule of Slobodan Milosevic. Serbia was eventually bombed in 1999 without the approval of the U.N. Security...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 27, 2007

'Containment' time warp sours hopes that Yeltsin spawned

Nearly 60 years ago, in July 1947, American diplomat George Kennan published what was to become the single most influential article in modern American diplomatic history.
EDITORIALS
May 16, 2007

Referendum law raises questions

The Upper House on Monday enacted a law that establishes procedures for a national referendum to revise the Constitution. The legislation was backed by the Liberal Democratic Party, Komeito, one member of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan and an independent. The law's provisions concern the most...
JAPAN
May 8, 2007

Ishibashi's brief reign in '57 a key crossroads

is congratulated by Nobusuke Kishi after winning a runoff election for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party presidency on Dec. 14, 1956. KYODO PHOTO
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Apr 30, 2007

Tobacco's road from fashion to filth

NEW YORK -- If a recent article in the Science section of The New York Times is any indication, the idea that the history of the tobacco industry in the United States has been nothing less than perfidy has taken hold among the socially conscientious. Titled "Tracing the Cigarette's Path From Sexy to...
Reader Mail
Apr 18, 2007

Depiction of Japanese history

In his March 29 article, "Abe needlessly fans the flames," Francis Fukuyama is right to assert that the Yushukan museum adjacent to Yasukuni Shrine is the bigger problem of the two because of its nationalist depiction of Pacific War history.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 29, 2007

Abe needlessly fans the flames

WASHINGTON -- Barely half a year into his premiership, Shinzo Abe is provoking anger across Asia and mixed feelings in his country's key ally, the United States. But will the Bush administration use its influence to nudge Abe away from inflammatory behavior?
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2007

Osaka homeless in residency registry limbo ahead of polls

OSAKA -- As the Osaka Municipal Government's deadline looms for thousands of the city's homeless to change their residence registrations or be struck from the books, the two sides are still far apart about establishing bona-fide addresses for them to be able to vote in next month's local polls.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 20, 2007

Demise of crime magazine historic

Making headlines worldwide last month was the publication of a magazine entitled "Kyogaku no Gaijin Hanzai Ura Fairu ("Shocking Foreigner crime: the Underground File"). On sale at major Japanese bookstores and convenience stores nationwide, Gaijin Hanzai (GH) attributed criminality to nationality, and...
JAPAN
Mar 15, 2007

Foreign labor need exposes dearth of rights

OSAKA -- As the debate intensifies over allowing more foreign workers into Japan to make up for the coming labor shortage, human rights groups have recently stepped up efforts to push for a law against discrimination.
EDITORIALS
Mar 2, 2007

Less than music to the ear

The Supreme Court, in a 4-1 decision, has ruled that it is constitutional for a principal to order a music teacher to play the piano accompaniment to the "Kimigayo" national anthem during a public school ceremony. The top court took the position that the principal's order does not constitute a denial...
JAPAN
Feb 16, 2007

Archaic child registry law bio-illogical

A recently remarried woman who gave birth two months ago has become ensnarled by an outdated Civil Code that says she must register her baby as the child of her ex-husband, who is not biologically related.
Reader Mail
Feb 14, 2007

English can be just as vague

Roger Pulvers' Jan. 30 article, "Euphemisms may mask ruder instincts -- or not," was as interesting as his articles usually are. However, I feel that two aspects could have been emphasized a little stronger to bring more balance to the piece:
Reader Mail
Jan 31, 2007

Normalization and reconciliation

In his Jan. 18 article, Gregory Clark argues that there are more important issues in Japan-China relations than Yasukuni Shrine. This is true, but the article does not address the more important issues of trade, regional integration, and building trust for security cooperation.
Reader Mail
Jan 14, 2007

Shades of emperor worship

Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Hakubun Shimomura is a perfect example of the sort of people that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has stacked his Cabinet with: ultra-nationalists who would like to take Japan back to the kind of country it was during World War II.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Dec 26, 2006

Can NHK keep the air free?

The credibility of public broadcaster NHK is on the line over its handling of political interference by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 17, 2006

It's horses for courses if there's a few bucks to be made

Whenever the media covers some story about an animal that has been rescued or neglected there are always dozens of people willing to adopt it.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 5, 2006

Radio rivals are a turn off by playing it safe

In the United States, media critics bemoan the homogenization of FM radio, which has become dominated by a handful of corporations dictating what music is played. Meanwhile, AM radio is considered the exclusive domain of the right wing, filled with talk shows that badger so-called Middle America into...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 22, 2006

Plea to a TV comic: Take on the big boys and take on politics

To Hikari Ota, c/o Titan Talent Agency.
CULTURE / Books
Oct 15, 2006

The first steps to rapprochement

JAPAN'S FOREIGN POLICY 1945-2003: The Quest for a Proactive Policy, by Kazuhiko Togo. Leiden: Brill Academic, 2005, 484 pp., $49 (paper). Kazuhiko Togo, one of Japan's leading strategic thinkers about foreign policy, wrote an article in the June issue of Far Eastern Economic Review calling for a moratorium...
JAPAN
Sep 27, 2006

Hawkishness is watchword for Abe team

The Cabinet and special advisers named Tuesday by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe share one dominant trait: conservatism.

Longform

Rock group The Yellow Monkey played K-Arena Yokohama in June as part of a nationwide tour. Concerts are increasingly popular in the age of social media as users value in-person experiences.
Inside Japan’s arena boom: Sports, sound and city-building