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Reader Mail
Jun 13, 2007

What about cigarette smoke?

Regarding the May 31 article "Government proposes programs for asthma prevention in Tokyo wards": It is interesting that Japan's government is focused on automobile pollution in its asthma prevention programs while apparently ignoring cigarette smoking as a major known cause of breathing problems, including...
Reader Mail
Jun 13, 2007

Warped sense of heroic action

I was disturbed to read the May 27 Associated Press article under the headline "Alabama boy kills monstrous wild hog after 3-hour chase." An 11-year-old boy is presented as a young hero for his achievement in finally shooting a wild boar point-blank in the head with a high-powered pistol.
EDITORIALS
Jun 13, 2007

Crime and punishment

The Upper House is discussing bills that will allow crime victims and their family members to sit with prosecutors and question defendants and witnesses in trials for serious crimes such as murder, manslaughter, rape, kidnapping and confinement. If the accused are found guilty, crime victims and their...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 13, 2007

Toddler robot a learning tool

Scientists have developed a robot that acts like a toddler to better understand child development.
BUSINESS
Jun 13, 2007

Steel Partners head sells investors on hedge fund

Confronted with takeover-defense measures adopted by Japanese companies, Warren Lichtenstein, the head of U.S. hedge fund Steel Partners, urged Japanese investors Tuesday to consider the downside of such "poison pill" tactics.
Reader Mail
Jun 13, 2007

Make high school exams relevant

Proposed education reforms reported in recent articles do not address the most glaring, fundamental problems in the school system. Most crucially, no mention is made of the fact that it is too hard to enter university and too easy to graduate.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 13, 2007

Pensioners place little premium on pledges to mend record fiasco

Lawyer Tadahiko Tanizawa has spent his 40-year career upholding the principles of law and order, both of which he found lacking during a visit last year to a social insurance office.
Reader Mail
Jun 13, 2007

Taiwan's Lee deserves courtesy

In Robyn Lim's June 2 article, "Lee should avoid Yasukuni," Lim grudgingly admits that, as a private citizen, former Taiwanese President Lee Tung-hui is free to visit Japan and has a right to religious freedom, which includes paying a visit to Yasukuni Shrine (Lee did visit the shrine June 7). Yet she...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Jun 13, 2007

Buchi salamander

* Japanese name: Buchi-sansho-uo * Scientific name: Hynobius naevius * Description: This is a lizard-like animal growing from 8 to 15 cm long, including the tail. Also known as the blotched or spotted salamander, it is dark brown with a purple tinge, and has blotches of silver and white spots over its...
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN TIMES BLOGROLL
Jun 13, 2007

Watashi to Tokyo

This is the first in a series of profiles of bloggers who write about Japan.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jun 13, 2007

Religion's cute, but creation chemistry is complex

The ancient Chinese believed the universe began inside a cosmic egg. In Japanese mythology, two gods, Izanagi and Izanami, stirred the oceans with a giant spear, forming the islands of Japan and, eventually, its people. There are countless more creation myths. Every culture has them. But I like to think...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 13, 2007

Who wants peace in the Middle East?

TEL AVIV — Forty years after the Six Day War, peace between Israelis and Palestinians seems as distant as ever. Israel still refuses to accept the new Palestinian national unity government as a negotiating partner because Hamas is part of that government. What is the cause of this seeming paradox?...
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Jun 13, 2007

Dancing penguin ups the cute factor for iPods

Teddy bears might be the tradi tional cute characters of choice but the animal shape of the moment in Japan is undoubtedly the penguin. This is in no small part due to JR's Suica card advertising campaigns. Sega Toys are not a company to miss a trend and so, perhaps in tribute to the animated movie "Happy...
EDITORIALS
Jun 13, 2007

Learning from the Comsn scandal

A scandal involving Comsn Inc., the nation's largest nursing-care services operator, shows that the government and the public must be on guard against operators that put profits before all else. It also highlights the need to improve working conditions for nursing-care employees to ensure the field attracts...
JAPAN
Jun 13, 2007

Murakami issues closing denial of NBS inside trading

The high-profile trial of Yoshiaki Murakami wrapped up Tuesday with the flamboyant fund manager maintaining he did not commit insider trading and reiterating that his purchase of Nippon Broadcasting Inc. shares was not motivated by knowledge that Livedoor Co. intended to make a move on the broadcaster....

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes