Stephen Hesse - The Japan Times

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Stephen Hesse

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Stephen Hesse

Stephen Hesse is an educator and writer living in Tokyo. He graduated from Vermont Law School, where he received a JD and an LLM, and is now a professor in the Law Faculty of Chuo University, Tokyo, as well as Associate Director of the Chuo International Center.

For Stephen Hesse's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Nov 13, 2003

Poor farmers pay price for subsidies

Beyond the negotiations and protesters that highlight agricultural trade talks lies a simple reality: In the end, each nation must feed its own people.

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Oct 9, 2003

The roots of national security grow under our very feet

For many policymakers, the concept of national security now simply means possessing the capacity for overwhelming destruction. Armchair warriors find such thinking reassuringly straightforward and comforting, a neat and tidy corollary of "Might makes right." It is also pure fantasy.

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Sep 11, 2003

'War on Terror' veils assaults on the environment

Alread two years have passed since terrorist attacks in New York and Washington shook America and shocked the world. Today, the repercussions of those tragedies continue to impact American lives in ways never imagined. For environmentalists, one of the most disturbing consequences has been the Bush administration's...

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Aug 28, 2003

The answer is blowing in the wind

Let me be honest from the outset: I'm a serious fan of wind power, and I'd love to see Japan become a world leader in wind-power generation. I'll admit, too, that my reasons are partly selfish.

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Jul 24, 2003

Making a BEE line for 'green living' throughout Japan

School's out for summer, and just about everyone seems to be on the road heading for the beach, the mountains or the mall. Chances are, though, many of those drivers will spend most of their time caught up in traffic.

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Jul 10, 2003

Know what you eat

Trying to understand the debate over Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) is a bit like trying to pick up mercury. It seems solid enough, but try to grasp it and it slips away. Critics of GMOs might draw another parallel as well. Considering how pervasive GMOs are and yet how little we know about them,...

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Jun 26, 2003

Shrimp farms: pawns in ecosystem destruction

Look just about anywhere in Japan and you'll find prawns. Fried, boiled, baked, frozen and fresh, they fill acres of shelves in department stores and supermarkets and are staples in sushi and tempura shops -- as well as being found in even the most unlikely bowl of noodles.

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

May 22, 2003

Corporate values ignore the bottom line

With all the scandals swirling around U.S. corporations, public respect for CEOs has plunged and, as a lawyer, I can empathize. Stories about sleazy lawyers chasing after ambulances still bring color to my cheeks, so I understand what it's like to work in a profession that is equated with sharks and...

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

May 8, 2003

Shoppers' power coming to the aid of sustainable development

Few environmentalists or economists doubt that the G-7 must take an active role in promoting environmental protection and economic prosperity in the developing world. To date, however, though the G-7 nations -- the economic powers of the developed North -- have dispensed substantial aid to the developing...

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Apr 24, 2003

Dear readers, as you rarely get the last word, this week's column aims to put that right. Two weeks ago, I wrote about the dangers of our society's addiction to oil, and noted that much of the world still believes the primary purpose of the U.S. invasion of Iraq was to dominate its oil supplies and establish...

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Apr 10, 2003

Addiction rages blindly on

Too bad the Iraq war is not just about oil. It would be much easier to fathom if it were.

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Mar 27, 2003

Fears over U.S. environmental ambush

Considering that the United States spends more for its military than any other nation on the planet, you might imagine the Pentagon taking a few extra steps to protect the environment -- but you'd be wrong.

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Mar 13, 2003

Water, water -- where?

These days the talk is all about oil, but wait a couple of decades and oil politics could be a quaint historical artifact.

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Feb 27, 2003

Environment Bushwhack

U.S. Civil War General William Sherman is credited with uttering the sage words, "War is hell." War is hell on the environment as well, and U.S. President George W. Bush's "War on Terror" is no exception. Ironically, the environment being degraded is America's own.

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Feb 13, 2003

Have we got the will to survive?

"State of the World 2003," this year's edition of a report published annually by the Worldwatch Institute, arrived in my mailbox several days before the shuttle tragedy, but it sat on my desk unopened until the morning of Columbia's fiery descent.

COMMUNITY

Feb 9, 2003

How green is your green?

What a difference a decade makes.

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Jan 23, 2003

Chips with everything makes for a hi-tech mess

If you think that your computer, being such a modern, hi-tech device, is -- or surely must be -- environmentally friendly, then think again.

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Jan 9, 2003

Emphasizing the positive

Perhaps more than any other individual today, Junko Edahiro is striving to share Japan's environmental successes with the world.

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Dec 26, 2002

Thirty years of environmental progress, but . . .

Yet another year is tugging impatiently at the sleeve of closure and within days will be history.

Japan Times

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Dec 12, 2002

A fresh approach

Ten years ago, at the first Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Severn Cullis-Suzuki got the chance to make the speech of her life.

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.

[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Things may look perfect to the outside world, but today's mom is fine with some imperfection at home.

How 'Reiwa moms' are reshaping motherhood in Japan

By Mai Yoshikawa

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Vol. 35: Travel in time — and stay there

Vol. 35: Travel in time — and stay there

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