Mar 29, 2012

Nuclear security falls short

The second Nuclear Security Summit was held in Seoul on March 26 and 27, attended by leaders from 53 countries and representatives of four international organizations. The dangers of nuclear terrorism and improvement of nuclear security discussed at the summit are pressing issues Japan ...

Mar 22, 2012

Changing electric power policy

The catastrophe at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant has demonstrated that the long-standing assertion by the power industry and the government that nuclear power is safe and cheap is sheer propaganda and a gigantic myth. It proves that utilization ...

Mar 17, 2012

More than meets the eye in Beijing

While many dismiss China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) as a “rubber stamp,” its annual meeting provides valuable insight into the thinking in Beijing. This year’s 10-day conclave, which concluded earlier this week, was scrutinized particularly closely since China is set for a leadership transition ...

Mar 14, 2012

A wakeup call Japan ignored

by Paul Blustein

At 2:46 p.m. Sunday, March 11, my family and I joined millions of Japanese standing silently at a Buddhist temple or a Shinto shrine. With heads bowed, we remembered the events of one year earlier, when our house swayed for nearly three minutes and ...

Mar 14, 2012

Renew commitment to building a new Japan

by Yoshihiko Noda

March 11 is etched in Japan’s collective consciousness. Sunday, on the first anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake, which triggered the starkest crisis our country has faced in a generation, we commemorated all of those who suffered. Our thoughts went out to all ...

Mar 13, 2012

Put the political maneuvering aside

The Lower House on Thursday passed the ¥90.333 trillion fiscal 2012 budget with the support of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan and its coalition partner, the People’s New Party. But Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda cannot be optimistic about upcoming Diet business and must ...

Mar 12, 2012

Turkey moving to ensure religious rights for all

by Bulent ArinÇ

After decades of official neglect and mistrust, Turkey has taken several steps to ensure the rights of the country’s non-Muslim religious minorities, and thus guarantee that the rule of law is applied equally for all Turkish citizens, regardless of individuals’ religion, ethnicity or language. ...

Mar 12, 2012

Delusional pretexts to attack Iran

by Gwynne Dyer

The last time U.S. President Barack Obama met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, it was obvious that the two men distrusted and despised each other. This time (March 5), their mutual dislike was better hidden, but the gulf between them was still as big, ...

Mar 8, 2012

Revenge of the Japanese mandarins

by Masahiro Matsumura

Ever since the huge earthquake that hit Japan’s Tohoku-Pacific coast on March 11, 2011, the country’s mass media have obsessively focused on the magnitude of the physical damage and the loss of life. Repeated broadcasts of traumatic video images of the great tsunami and ...

Mar 7, 2012

Third term for Mr. Putin

He did it again. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin won another presidential election. While the outcome was no surprise, neither was the controversy that greeted his victory. Despite Mr. Putin’s claim that he won “an open and honest fight,” the opposition has charged that ...

Mar 6, 2012

Work for the public's well-being

During a debate in the Lower House last week, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and Mr. Sadakazu Tanigaki, chief of the opposition Liberal Democratic Party, appeared to have reached agreements on several issues. The ruling and opposition parties should use that momentum to break the ...

Mar 5, 2012

Much to learn from crisis report

A report made public Feb. 27 by a private-sector independent panel set up by the Rebuild Japan Initiative Foundation reveals in detail how the government handled the crisis at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. Citing factors that exacerbated the ...