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EDITORIALS
Sep 28, 2008

Knowing your 'carbon footprint'

Just when you thought every marketing ploy possible had been used to lure Japanese consumers, Sapporo Breweries is leading the way with a new one — carbon footprint information. Cans of Sapporo's Black Label beer will provide information on the amount of CO2 emitted in producing each can. Many people...
COMMENTARY
Sep 28, 2008

Bush will go away as a true friend to China

HONG KONG — As the world prepares to bid farewell to U.S. President George W. Bush in a few months, his foreign policy lies in tatters. Wars continue in Iraq and Afghanistan, a crisis looms in Iran, relations with Russia are badly strained, and now North Korea is threatening to restart its nuclear-weapons...
Reader Mail
Sep 28, 2008

Sharing stories of the war

Thank you for the Sept. 18 editorial "Day of the war makers." I was one of those who suffered during the Japanese occupation of the former Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia. My father was killed by the Kempeitai. But I fully agree that it is good to listen to each other's stories.
Reader Mail
Sep 28, 2008

Computer games dwarf nature

Roger Pulvers' Sept. 21 article, "In harmony with all creation," was a reminder that not all Japanese blindly embraced industrial "progress" in the 20th century, although there are still far too many salarymen today who devote their entire drab, gray lives to fluorescent-lit corporate plantations.
Reader Mail
Sep 28, 2008

Koizumi should not be blamed

It is a bit ridiculous to blame the rice scandal on former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. I live in Australia and we have very little regulation of our food supply. But we don't have these kinds of food scandals, thankfully. Anyone in my country who is selfish and stupid enough to sell food to people...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Sep 28, 2008

Memories flow as era ends with closure of Hiroshima Shimin Kyujo

Kind of a sad week in baseball, wasn't it?
Reader Mail
Sep 28, 2008

No offense intended to 'gaijin'

Regarding the Sept. 23 Community page article "Readers get last word on 'gaijin' tag": It is way too extreme to compare the word "n--ger" to "gaijin." I get the point that Debito Arudou made in his Sept. 2 article about the debate over the use of "gaijin." But as a Japanese, I have to say that most Japanese...
Reader Mail
Sep 28, 2008

A path to assured destruction

As I am neither a resident of Japan nor Japanese, I am willing to tentatively accept professor Kazuo Ogoura's analysis of the roots of "Japan's antipathy toward China" in his Sept. 23 article. Where I take strong exception is his analysis of the roots of "China's antipathy toward Japan."
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Sep 28, 2008

Ups and downs on Japan's property ladder

Foreigners and the Japanese property market — the two sound like unlikely bedfellows, but in recent years their "liaisons" have been the focus of much media attention — and not all of it positive.
Reader Mail
Sep 28, 2008

Is foreign rice really that bad?

Amid all the recent clamor over "tainted" foreign rice, Philip Brasor's Media Mix article of Sept. 21, "Koizumi branded the bad boy in latest food scandal," provides interesting food for thought. Apparently the rice in question was found to have 0.003 parts per million (ppm) of methamidophos residue,...
Reader Mail
Sep 28, 2008

Indian perspective on nuclear deal

Regarding the Sept. 17 article "Mayors slam U.S.-India nuke deal": As an Indian, I fully respect the noble views of the mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with regard to the deal allowing India international access to nuclear supplies and technology. However, it is paramount that we view this deal in the...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Sep 28, 2008

Tales of experience from foreign homeowners

The following are the experiences of four foreigners who have ventured into property purchase in Japan.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Sep 28, 2008

Shimizu shines in Marines' win

CHIBA — The Chiba Lotte Marines gave Fukuoka Softbank Hawks manager Sadaharu Oh, a video tribute, flowers and a hero's sendoff to celebrate his last visit to Chiba Marine Stadium. The win, however, they kept for themselves.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Sep 28, 2008

Fall dramas about geisha, Ganesha and funereal pandemonium

NHK starts a new six-month-long asa-dora (morning drama) on Monday. These popular serials traditionally launch the careers of the young actresses who play the heroines, but "Dan Dan" (More and More; NHK-G, M-F, 8:15 a.m.; BS-2, M-F, 7:45 a.m.) stars twins Mana and Kana Mikura, who appeared in an asa-dora...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Sep 28, 2008

Talking of fanatics, careerists, cynics . . . and true believers

"We're doing the worst thing to you: We're depriving you of an enemy."
CULTURE / Books
Sep 28, 2008

Did Koizumi and Bush really destroy Japan?

CURING JAPAN'S AMERICA ADDICTION by Minoru Morita, Chin Music Press, Seattle, 2008, 224 pp., $15 (paper) Minoru Morita is one of Japan's most prominent and respected political analysts. And he's mad as hell at what he believes are the social and economic crimes committed by former Prime Minister Junichiro...
CULTURE / Books
Sep 28, 2008

Western heroes in Asia: missing and believed dead

A certain thriller novel, whose title shall remain unnamed, was recently plopped into my hands by a friend whose career included an extended stint on a colonial police force. "I had trouble getting through it," he said, sounding glad to be rid of it.
Reader Mail
Sep 28, 2008

Make the senders of spam pay

I didn't believe my friend who said I was being charged for unsolicited e-mail, better known as spam. In the past three months, though, my cell phone bill has increased steadily from ¥6,810 to ¥10,311 to ¥13,999 as the volume of junk mail has soared. A Washington state friend informed me that he had...

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years