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Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 21, 2007

Rounding off a great year in food

The winter solstice is hard upon us; the days of wassail, mince pies and figgy pudding close behind. As is our custom, the final Food File column of the year is a tightly stuffed Christmas stocking of musings over 12 months of dining out. But before settling back and sifting through the fragrant lees...
Reader Mail
Dec 20, 2007

The need to bash young women

In the Dec. 16 translation "Kogyaru grow into monster mums," from the Dec. 13 Shukan Bunshun, we learn of one "monster" who brings her child to a day-care center, even though he's infected with chicken pox. Yet on the same page, in the Media Mix column, we hear of a working mother who was fired for taking...
Japan Times
Reference / Special Presentations / WITNESS TO WAR
Dec 20, 2007

A long life of peace that sprung from war

Twelfth in a series
Reader Mail
Dec 20, 2007

Media jumped the gun as usual

The Dec. 14 shootings at a sports club in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, was sad and deplorable. The coverage of the TV media was just as bad. For almost 24 hours, some media repeated over and over again that the shooter was a "foreigner." Every time a gun is used in Japan the TV media seems to immediately...
Reader Mail
Dec 20, 2007

Don't target licensed owners

Regarding the Dec. 16 article "Suspect in gym shootings found dead at church": I hope the media will not use this horrible incident to begin another witch hunt against gun owners. I know there are some 300,000 rifles in Japan, which means that up to 100,000, maybe 150,000 people, own rifles legally....
Reader Mail
Dec 20, 2007

Stupid waste of helicopter fuel

Last Friday (Dec. 14) all train services to and from Sapporo station were suspended for several hours; the exact cause could not be identified. In my opinion it was big news since it was the first time in the 17 years that I've lived here that all lines had been...
Reader Mail
Dec 20, 2007

Common sense in Japanese names

Most Japanese people write their first name first in English, even though writing their family name first is the correct way in Japanese. I think Japanese people should write their names in the same order in English as in Japanese.
COMMENTARY
Dec 20, 2007

'Supping with the devil' to sign a deal

LONDON — Prime Minister Gordon Brown's decision to boycott the EU-African Summit held recently in Lisbon won general approval in Britain. He did not attend because Robert Mugabe, the president of Zimbabwe, was going to be at the meeting.
Reader Mail
Dec 20, 2007

Remember the monks of Myanmar

I am disappointedly surprised at the comments of Nyunt Shwe in his Dec. 16 letter, "Monk deserves punishment." His arguments in support of the Tokyo High Court's judgment against a Buddhist monk who had been prosecuted for passing out Japanese Communist Party fliers' in a Tokyo Katsushika Ward condominium...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 20, 2007

Japan carmakers find an opening in U.S. market on the skids

LOS ANGELES — High oil prices may be driving down U.S. car sales, but Japanese automakers that depend on the U.S. market for the largest portion of their profits say the adverse conditions could present them with a business opportunity.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 20, 2007

Dice-K helps charity raise money

A ball from the 2007 Major League Baseball playoffs donated by pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka recently sold for $290 in an online auction for The Home for Little Wanderers, Boston's oldest and largest child and family services agency. The auction raised more than $41,000 this year, and all proceeds will...
Reader Mail
Dec 20, 2007

Can't close door to immigration

In his Dec. 13 letter, "Pay the price of social harmony," Graham Blake's suggestion (that Japan hold off on fully opening its door to immigrants) is like building on sand. As a reader, I am cognizant of his right to an opinion, but I have to dispute it because of apparent gaps in information.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 20, 2007

Honda sees record year on 6% rise in global sales

Honda expects its global sales to rise 6 percent this year to a record 3.76 million vehicles, thanks to booming demand in the United States, Europe and Asia, President Takeo Fukui said Wednesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 20, 2007

Hokusai's 'Dutch' courage

It might sound a corny to say that artists live through their works, but in the case of Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849), whose lengthy life story is mired in muddles, myths and myriad name changes, it is his art that speaks with the clearest voice and that provides the scale with which to weigh the words...
EDITORIALS
Dec 20, 2007

Strains in Malaysia

The arrest of leaders of an ethnic Indian rights group shines a spotlight on rising tensions in Malaysia. The government of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi appears unnerved by growing protests; its resort to the Internal Security Act (ISA) is a troubling sign. The focus of complaint is charges of...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 20, 2007

Hollywood's pretty boy comes of age

It is rare for a male movie star, especially one in his prime, to take time off from making feature films. Ask Clint Eastwood or Burt Reynolds, who have barely had time to pause for breath in their five-decade-long careers.

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan