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April 28, 2024
 

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Alan Goodall
For Alan Goodall's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
COMMENTARY / World
May 16, 2006
Cops of the South Pacific
SYDNEY -- Australia is far from happy about becoming the unofficial, reluctant policeman of the South Pacific. The latest tally of young, politically inept countries that expect Canberra to keep the peace for them has risen to four. And that's not counting the nearest potential hot spot, Indonesia's eastern province of Papua. Papua's ethnic-political problem, both Jakarta and Canberra agree, is an international no-go zone.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 12, 2006
Trade with China fuels Aussie economy
SYDNEY -- Just as Japan switched on the Australian economic miracle a generation or two ago, so China is giving it a recharge today. And the new source of the power surge promises implications for the whole Asia Pacific region.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 30, 2006
Canberra-Jakarta ties sink
SYDNEY -- Fragile relations between Indonesia and Australia have taken a nosedive, again, and Canberra is concerned that any sudden venting of anger in Jakarta may wreck years of painstaking efforts at building up mutual good will. The Indonesian ambassador has been recalled from Canberra "for consultations." Critics in Jakarta are charging Australia with trying to sponsor a breakaway for West Papua, Indonesia's easternmost province, just as some Indonesians believe Australia did a few years back when East Timor fought for and won independence.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 9, 2006
John Howard is still the man
SYDNEY -- Instead of the usual rancorous Canberra power-play politics, Prime Minister John Howard has lately been all smiles as guest of honor at a series of dinners across Australia.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 19, 2006
Aussies tackle global warming
SYDNEY -- Amid exploding energy demand from Asia-Pacific countries, resource-rich Australia has emerged as a leader of planned energy supply and use into the foreseeable future.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 25, 2005
Golden beaches bid ill will
SYDNEY -- Goodbye to the traditional Australian summer, surfing Pacific waves or lazing on golden beaches. Meet this summer's new beach sport, dodging gangs of racists trying to kill one another.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 10, 2005
Hanging sparks Aussie debate
SYDNEY -- Singapore has hanged a convicted Australian drug runner and some Australians are demanding a boycott against this key trading partner. Rarely before have Australians been so upset over what they see as obsolete "Asian values."
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 20, 2005
Chaff rains on Aussie trade
SYDNEY -- An international scandal revealing Australia's role in the Iraq food-for-oil coverup is costing good will in Washington and could affect agricultural exports to the key Japanese market.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 15, 2005
Aussies preparing for worst
SYDNEY -- Tough new antiterrorist laws will soon give troops shoot-to-kill authority when patrolling Australian streets in anticipation of a terrorist attack. But the change will come only after the Australian public has agonized over a claimed loss of civil liberties.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 6, 2005
Australia gets tough on terror
SYDNEY -- Tough new laws enforcing preventive detention of suspected terrorists will soon drastically change the laid-back response that Australia has so far allowed to the growing world threat of terrorism. But even before new laws start, the wails of protests from civil-liberty groups are deafening.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 3, 2005
Blunt message down under
SYDNEY -- So you live in Australia and preach terrorism? Well, get out. That's the blunt message senior Howard government ministers are telling radical Australian Muslims.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 6, 2005
Getting Japan off their back
SYDNEY -- Japanese whalers are coming and there appears no way of stopping them. Worse, their harpoons are about to slaughter more of the ocean mammals than ever.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 30, 2005
Howard scores big in China
SYDNEY -- You can't win 'em all. Fast-jetting Australian Prime Minister John Howard discovered that on his latest barnstorming through East Asia.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 18, 2005
Howard boosts neighborly ties
SYDNEY -- A bridge between East Asia and the South Pacific has been formed. The way is open for economic and security links to be strengthened between the Asian mainland and its Southern Hemisphere neighbors.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 3, 2005
Australia's rising Iraqi stake
SYDNEY -- Is Australia's decision to send troops to guard Japanese reconstruction workers in Iraq reasonable? Not if you believe Australians who are still fighting World War II or are angry at our armed presence in Iraq.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 5, 2005
A yen for change in Australia
SYDNEY -- What a great Australia Day we've just celebrated. Pity it reopened that old can of worms -- whether to dump Queen Elizabeth II as Australia's head of state.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 18, 2004
Aboriginal policy raises storm
SYDNEY -- Aborigines in the remote Australian Outback are going blind amid filthy conditions while white Australians luxuriate in some of the world's most sophisticated cities. It's a disaster waiting to happen, and that day looks close.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 5, 2004
Canberra's free trade polka
SYDNEY -- The convening of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations with Australia and New Zealand at ASEAN's meeting in the Laotian capital last week was a landmark for the region's push toward greater security and economic growth. It also started a move toward a free trade area that will have global ramifications.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 14, 2004
'Dirty bomb' threat rising
SYDNEY -- The day terrorists start blackmailing democratic governments with homemade "dirty bombs" is closer than people think. World leaders must act now to prevent such a demonstrable nuclear catastrophe.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 24, 2004
Bets off on Australian election
SYDNEY -- The long reign of Prime Minister John Howard is coming to an end if the latest pre-election opinion polls are any guide. But who believes polls? Certainly nobody caught up in a new round of election frenzy suddenly sweeping Australia.
Town to block view of Mount Fuji in response to overtourism
The town government of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, decided to set up a 2.5-meter-high screen to prevent tourists from taking pictures of Mount Fuji looming behind a convenience store.
In Japan, regional revitalization fails to halt population decline
Sakiyama elementary school in Tamba, Hyogo Prefecture, in March .Over the past decade, the government has directed efforts toward policies designed to give young people incentives to base themselves in rural areas.
Number of homeless in Japan hits record low
Homeless people sleep on the street in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward in August 2021.
Ukraine is far from doomed
When comparing Ukraine’s military situation in 2024 to Europe’s in 1941, Russia’s defeat seems entirely possible.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
Tokyo's Koto Ward by-election a race unlike any other
Natsumi Sakai, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan’s candidate and one of four female candidates running in the by-election, touts her experience as a cancer survivor and midwife as having prepared her to tackle issues that women currently face.
Theaster Gates’ ambitious ‘Afro-Mingei’ brings Black Chicago to Tokyo
Theaster Gates' “A Heavenly Chord” lines up church pews before seven speakers and a Hammond B3 organ, a type of electric organ prevalent in Black American churches.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
Casa del Cibo: A thriving jewel born from Tohoku’s harsh past
When chef Ryohei Ikemi moved to Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, and opened Casa del Cibo in 2011, it was the first proper Italian restaurant in the city.
Town to block view of Mount Fuji in response to overtourism
The town government of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, decided to set up a 2.5-meter-high screen to prevent tourists from taking pictures of Mount Fuji looming behind a convenience store.

Podcast

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

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Leading Japan’s sustainability from Tokyo
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