Feb 23, 2013

Campaigning, 21st-century style

The ruling and opposition parties agree to let election campaigns loose on the Internet, but they differ over the extent to which email should be used.

Jun 27, 2012

Rough start for Egyptian democracy

It took longer than anticipated, but there is finally a victor in Egypt’s first truly competitive presidential elections. Mr. Mohamed Morsi, the candidate of the Muslim Brotherhood, prevailed over former Gen. Ahmed Shafik. The outcome is symbolic on many levels, but most significantly because ...

Jun 26, 2012

Hurry with reapportionment

The Supreme Court in March 2011 ruled that the 2009 Lower House election, which brought the Democratic Party of Japan to power, was held in an unconstitutional state because of great disparity in the value of a vote between depopulated rural areas and populated ...

Jun 23, 2012

Negotiating with Russia

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda held his first meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday in Los Cabos, Mexico, prior to the Group of 20 summit and they agreed to “reactivate” talks on the long-standing territorial dispute over the Etorofu, Kunashiri and Shikotan islands ...

Jun 21, 2012

Tepid vote for Europe in Greece

Greece and Europe have gained some breathing room — but not much — after Sunday’s parliamentary elections in Greece. A victory by the conservative New Democracy (ND) party offers hope that the country will support a government that backs the existing austerity program, permitting ...

Jun 7, 2012

Not a minute too soon

On April 25, a government panel proposed ways to improve the management of government documents after it had reflected on a deplorable omission on the part of the government — the failure to take minutes from a series of meetings held to cope with ...

May 26, 2012

True freedom for Mr. Chen

The diplomatic row between the United States and China over how to treat blind Chinese human rights activist Chen Guangcheng appears to have come to an end with the U.S. issuing him, his wife Yuan Weijing and his two young children visas on May ...

May 8, 2012

Justice for Liberia, justice for all

Mr. Charles Taylor, former president of Liberia, has been convicted of aiding and abetting war crimes and crimes against humanity. The judgment on April 26 by the U.N.-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone on the premise of the International Criminal Court in The Hague ...

May 5, 2012

Rushing for constitutional changes

Japan marked the 65th anniversary of the enforcement of the postwar Constitution on Thursday, and 60 years have passed since the San Francisco Peace Treaty went into effect on April 28, 1952, ending Japan’s occupation by the Allied Powers. Until that day, decrees issued ...

Apr 26, 2012

Stalemate in the Upper House

The Upper House on Friday passed censure motions against Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka and infrastructure and transport Minister Takeshi Maeda. The nonbinding motions were submitted by the Liberal Democratic Party, Komeito and two smaller parties. The LDP at first said it would boycott all ...

Apr 24, 2012

A sad Summit of the Americas

It is a sad commentary on the Sixth Summit of the Americas, the triennial gathering of 34 heads of state from North, South and Central America, when the outcomes of the summit are overshadowed by the misbehavior of U.S. President Barack Obama’s advance team ...