Feb 20, 2012

Media and law enforcement

by Hugh Cortazzi

The revelation last year that journalists at the News of the World, a Sunday paper, owned by News Corp., had been involved extensively in hacking into the mobile phones and the voice mail of celebrities led to the closure of this populist paper. Since ...

Jan 25, 2012

China's limits as a role model

by Frank Ching

Forty years ago, the arch-conservative American President Richard M. Nixon shocked his country and the world by visiting communist China, a country that the United States did not recognize and whose soldiers had fought American soldiers in the Korean war. Last week, that historic ...

Jan 22, 2012

Keep casinos out of Japan

Agroup of lawmakers is now considering a bill that would allow resorts to combine their hotel, shop and restaurant complexes with gambling. If the bill passes, casinos could become a Japanese industry worth several trillion yen. With the government facing an expensive reconstruction bill ...

Jan 16, 2012

Russia as a WTO member

A ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization in mid-December unanimously approved Russia’s request to join the world trade body. It also approved Samoa’s and Montenegro’s entry. It took 18 years for Russia to become a WTO member. This is the first time since ...

Jan 14, 2012

Questionable Cabinet reshuffle

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on Friday reshuffled his Cabinet. His main aim is to push a hike in the consumption tax and social welfare reform. To show his strong will, he picked Mr. Katsuya Okada as deputy prime minister and minister in charge of ...

Jan 13, 2012

21st-century U.S. defense strategy

Two basic principles guide the United States National Defense Strategy unveiled Jan. 5. The first is the rising significance of the Asia-Pacific region to U.S. national interests. The second is a new fiscal environment: Washington just does not have the resources to fund a ...

Jan 4, 2012

Can China sate its thirst for energy?

by Michael Richardson

Among the sinews of superpower strength in the 21st century, maximum energy self-sufficiency will be critical as nations jostle to secure supplies of oil and natural gas, as well as food, water and minerals. This contest for power and influence will take place in ...