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Reader Mail
Aug 22, 2007

Suggestion without enforcement

Regarding Mark Smith's Aug. 7 article, "U.S. takes tougher line on parental abductions": It is very good that this issue has received some attention from The Japan Times. Being denied access to a parent or child is nothing less than a violation of human rights. I am in a similar situation.
Reader Mail
Aug 22, 2007

Germany remains apt comparison

In response to Florian Coulmas' July 8 article, "Act of missionary hypocrisy: Is U.S. the one to censure Japan about the past?," I would like to say that Germany is an apt comparison to Japan when it comes to a nation's memory of its war crimes.
Reader Mail
Aug 22, 2007

Japan exporting unemployment

The International Monetary Fund has lost all credibility with its analysis of Japanese interest rates and Japanese monetary policy. Near-zero interest rates and no inflation are not just puzzling; they are totally incomprehensible for the trained, monetary economist. Japan's reluctance to intervene...
EDITORIALS
Aug 22, 2007

Confusion at the Defense Ministry

The confusion in the Defense Ministry that accompanied the selection of the ministry's new administrative vice minister appears to have been settled. But the unfortunate episode revealed a lack of prudence on the part of Defense Minister Yuriko Koike and a lack of leadership on the part of Prime Minister...
BUSINESS
Aug 22, 2007

Rakuten reaffirms intention to grab bigger stake in TBS

Rakuten Inc., already embroiled in a prolonged takeover battle with Tokyo Broadcasting System Inc., reaffirmed Tuesday its intention to boost its stake in the broadcaster to about 21 percent.
EDITORIALS
Aug 22, 2007

Surviving summer's heat waves

The hot weather last week certainly made some people wonder whether the Japanese archipelago is experiencing the effects of global warming. On Aug. 16, the city of Kumagaya in Saitama Prefecture and the city of Tajimi in Gifu Prefecture registered the highest temperature — 40.9 C — in the history...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 22, 2007

Japan's bureaucrats versus Shinzo Abe

OSAKA — Much has been made of the massive defeat Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party suffered in the July 29 Upper House elections. But as the smoke from the vote dissipates, it has become clear that the real victor is neither the leading opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ)...
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Aug 22, 2007

Can others save Earth despite Big Oil's blinkers?

How can an economic superpower founded on progress and innovation be so averse to change that would cut the greenhouse-gas emissions that are spurring global warming and climate change?
Reader Mail
Aug 22, 2007

Pieces of the lunar/solar calendar

The July 23 Japan Times front page features a wonderful photo of a polar bear chewing on an icy treat at Tennoji Zoo in Osaka, but the tail end of the caption misleadingly says, "The ice was a present ahead of 'Taisho' . . . the hottest day of the year under an old variation of the lunar calendar."...
SOCCER
Aug 22, 2007

Eriksson proves worth as Man City sets pace in Premiership

LONDON (AP) Eriksson for England?
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 22, 2007

Nuclear deal fueling opposition to Singh

NEW DELHI — Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's political future has come under a cloud over a controversial civil nuclear cooperation agreement with the United States that has helped isolate his party in Parliament.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Aug 22, 2007

Spot-billed duck

* Japanese name: Karugamo * Scientific name: Anas poecilorhyncha * Description: A medium-sized, mainly gray duck that has a pale head and a black bill with a bright yellow tip. At 60 cm long, and with mottled "scaly pattern" plumage, it looks and sounds similar to the more familiar mallard, but the...
BUSINESS
Aug 22, 2007

GE considers selling Lake credit unit

General Electric Co., the world's largest provider of private-label credit cards, said Tuesday it is considering the sale of its Japanese consumer-credit unit, Lake Co.
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Aug 22, 2007

Multitasking watches and solar iPod rechargers

No craze is complete without its own gadgets. This new Sudoku aid looks just like another Japanese obsession — the "keitai" — with players using the number keypad to enter their sudoku answers. It costs ¥1,029, with more information available at item.rakuten.co.jp/wnd-minakuru/4582256_900052/. If...
Japan Times
Reference / Special Presentations / WITNESS TO WAR
Aug 22, 2007

Vet blames those on high for war's sins, delusions

Sixth in a series

Longform

Mamoru Iwai, stationmaster of Keisei Ueno Station, says that, other than earthquake-proofing, the former Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen (Museum-Zoo) Station has remained untouched.
Inside Tokyo's 'phantom' stations — and the stories they tell