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Reader Mail
Feb 17, 2008

What curfew for Okinawa's youth?

What's amazing is that more than 30 investigators jumped on this case. Does it really take that many? If it was a Japanese man that was suspected of this type of crime, would there be the same amount of involvement and publicity?
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Feb 17, 2008

Up and away on a latte flight of fancy

It's a clear Wednesday morning and I have a very good view through the windows of my Cessna 172. We took off from Chofu Airport in the western suburbs of Tokyo a few minutes ago. I am already 4,000 feet up in the sky over Tokyo, flying stably north at about 185 kph. I am keeping my hands rigidly on the...
Reader Mail
Feb 17, 2008

U.S. needs to work on its PR

As an American living in Japan, I found the reports of this incident very disturbing. For once I would like to see headlines that say "U.S. Military Contributes to Rebuilding Post-Typhoon Damaged Areas," or "U.S. Military Seen as a Positive for Local Communities," or, better yet, "U.S. Military Officers...
Reader Mail
Feb 17, 2008

Alleged victim also has a problem

I do not condone the conduct of this American citizen for keeping company with any underage young women. Or for any man to take advantage of any young individual. But I do have to question the conduct of the young girl involved as well. I currently teach at a junior high school, and I so often see 13-...
Reader Mail
Feb 17, 2008

Whale calves hunted for years

Regarding C.W. Nicol's Feb. 9 article, "Killing calves makes Japan's whaling indefensible": It is surprising that the author finds it indefensible that calves and their mothers are killed in the Southern Ocean whale sanctuary under special permits issued by the Japanese authorities. Since 1986 it has...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Feb 17, 2008

Trailblazer Matsui continues to hone game at Columbia

K.J. Matsui is a perfectionist.
Reader Mail
Feb 17, 2008

Stoking more distrust of foreigners

Regarding the Feb. 13 article "Okinawa rape case sparks resentment": So the Japanese government and people are "outraged" by another alleged rape of an underage Okinawan schoolgirl by a U.S. Marine. Is it just me who thinks these outpourings of outrage are driven by the fact that a foreigner is involved...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Feb 17, 2008

In Japan, there's a 'quiet revolution' afoot

First of two parts
Reader Mail
Feb 17, 2008

Double standard is showing

Although Japanese commit crimes at 12 times the rate of Americans in Japan (National Police Agency figures for 2004), every crime involving an American is treated like a deliberate act of war. The governor of Okinawa sends out the "hive is under attack" message, and the Japanese rise up on cue in "outrage."...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Feb 17, 2008

Taking to the streets of tomorrow

Listen carefully and you might detect the slight whir of this car's motor, a little wind noise and a faint thrum from the tires. Could this be the sound of driving in the future? Will our streets one day be whisper-quiet even as they teem with traffic? Mitsubishi's electric mini-car, due on the market...
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Feb 17, 2008

Japanese star vows to spread the 'bling-pong' gospel

When I went to the Table Tennis National Championships in Tokyo a month ago, the last thing I expected was a revolution.
CULTURE / Books
Feb 17, 2008

Max Hastings' analysis in a bombshell

NEMESIS: The Battle for Japan, 1944-45, by Max Hastings. HarperPress, 2007, £25, 699 pp., (cloth). (U.S. release is titled RETRIBUTION: The Battle for Japan, 1944-45. Knopf, 2008, $35) At Frankfurt airport, the insecurity police screening hand baggage discovered something in my bag that alarmed them....
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Feb 17, 2008

Japan's 'pouch curry' turns a tasty 40

Fancy a feast? Un petit peu du foie gras, perchance? A slice or three of the finest Aberdeen Angus roast beef, if you will — with lashings of horseradish, sans doute. Or, drop a plastic pouch of curry into boiling water, wait for 3 minutes, pour it over rice and — voila! — you have a meal fit for...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Feb 17, 2008

Veterans Kudo, Rhodes approaching longevity milestones

Among players within reach of milestones this season are two guys making the most of their longevity: Yokohama BayStars left-handed pitcher Kimiyasu Kudo and Orix Buffaloes slugger Tuffy Rhodes.
CULTURE / Books
Feb 17, 2008

A return to Japanese sensibility

SHAME IN THE BLOOD by Tetsuo Miura, translated by Andrew Driver. Shoemaker & Hoard, 2007, 216 pp., $24.95 (cloth) Of all the major postwar Japanese writers, Tetsuo Miura is the least translated. One or two of his short stories found print in English-language magazines during the 1970s, and my own version...
BASKETBALL
Feb 16, 2008

Gardener leads Rizing to upset

Guard Michael Gardener had 21 points, seven rebounds and seven assists to guide the Rizing Fukuoka to a 96-73 victory over the league leading Osaka Evessa (21-6) in Kita-kyushu on Friday night. Forward Josh Peppers and guard Akitomo Takeno contributed with 19 points and nine boards and 18 points and...
EDITORIALS
Feb 16, 2008

Another trauma for East Timor

The attempted assassination of East Timor's president and prime minister this week is a reminder of the plight of Asia's youngest and poorest country. President Jose Ramos-Horta will survive, but his country needs more than his return to health: It needs sustained attention and assistance from its neighbors...

Longform

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