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April 29, 2024
 

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Alan Goodall
For Alan Goodall's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 20, 2003
Australian attitudes harden against illegals
SYDNEY -- Burn, baby, burn. That's how arsonists among illegal arrivals held in detention centers across Australia greeted the new year. What an inglorious way to start 2003!
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 11, 2002
Relax, Australia's not invading anyone
SYDNEY -- To hear some Southeast Asian leaders sound off lately, a casual observer might suspect Australia is about to invade Indonesia or Malaysia or even the Philippines. Such is the folly of listening to "news" as whipped up by audience-boosting television channels fed by headline-grabbing politicians.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 7, 2002
Shocking raids open new era in Australia
SYDNEY -- In dawn raids across Australia, gun-toting security police bashed down doors, questioned Indonesian residents, then carted off private papers to check for suspected terrorist activities. Surely this is Hollywood? No, it's "she'll be right, mate" Australia.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 19, 2002
Bali blast brings war home to Australians
SYDNEY -- In the wake of the Bali bombing, Australia's relations with Indonesia, never much better than guardedly cordial at the best of times, have sunk to a new low.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 17, 2002
El Nino plays havoc with drought-stricken Australia
SYDNEY -- First a devastating drought grips the nation. Now bush fires have begun burning down houses. And the real sting of summer is still months away.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 4, 2002
Reform or bust for South Pacific nations
SYDNEY -- Tropical paradise or basket case? The South Pacific has taken a good look at itself and decided it's a bit of both. And the bad bit, everyone agrees, must be cleaned up.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 15, 2002
PNG's founding father back at the helm
SYDNEY — It's back to the future for Papua New Guinea. Only this time round the friends of the young, troubled South Pacific nation are hoping it's not a case of the more things change, the more they stay the same.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 9, 2002
Howard's hesitation on ICC draws fire
SYDNEY -- A split in the Howard Cabinet ranks over whether to join the United States in refusing to support an International Criminal Court is the most serious threat yet to the dream run so far enjoyed by the Canberra government.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 18, 2002
Australia tightens net against illegal aliens
SYDNEY -- Now that the monsoon season is over, the huddled masses of Asia's worst conflict areas, notably Afghanistan and Iraq, are again looking abroad for refuge. As in past years, they see a big, empty island on the map and steer southeast. Unfortunately for them, the folks already here have other ideas.
COMMENTARY / World
May 8, 2002
Smiling Koizumi guarded on free trade
SYDNEY -- All sweetness and light, plus a dash of pay dirt. That about sums up the three-day foray into Australia by Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. A free-trade agreement, or FTA, got no further than free-talking. A security protocol including the United States as a third party came a few steps closer. Canberra stayed coy on environmental protection through the Kyoto Protocol, and Japan was not badgered over whaling in the South Pacific.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 25, 2002
Australia moves closer to approving research using human embryo cells
SYDNEY -- Like a newborn baby, it's a miracle. At least, that's what cynics are calling Australia's political approval of state-supervised destruction of human embryos for stem-cell research.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 20, 2002
Fence-mending with Megawati trumps failure by Howard to meet with Bush
SYDNEY -- Two weeks of hard-sell diplomacy in New York and Jakarta have left Australian Prime Minister John Howard feeling a little cheesed off. Back home, his wins are being downplayed. And as Parliament opens its autumn sitting in Canberra, his mind is strictly on urgent domestic problems.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 7, 2002
Canberra sticks to its policy on illegal immigrants despite growing protests
SYDNEY -- Just as Australian Prime Minister John Howard was addressing world economic leaders in New York on the profits to be made from investing here, Afghan asylum seekers held in detention camps in the Australian desert were trying to die in hunger strikes.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 13, 2002
The blackest summer in Sydney's history
SYDNEY -- The pall of eucalyptus-scented smoke that has smothered Australia's largest city since Christmas Day is lifting. More than 11,000 evacuees are returning to the burned-out bush where their homes once stood. The cost of Sydney's worst-ever bush-fire season? Who dares count?
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 3, 2002
This summer it's Sydney's turn 'to sizzle'
SYDNEY -- At times like these, Australians are wondering whether they really do live upside down. While the Northern Hemisphere, shivering in the cold, was welcoming in 2002 with hot drinks, Australia has been battling bush fires.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 19, 2001
John Howard gets but a brief respite
SYDNEY -- Pangs of guilt are creeping into the Australian psyche in this self-indulgent time of year. The annual spending frenzy, known to some as Christmas, is being contrasted with the wretched life of hundreds of refugees detained on Australia's Indian Ocean territory, Christmas Island.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 9, 2001
Howard ahead as election draws near
SYDNEY -- In these days of crisis -- as Australia sends troops to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan and thousands of boat people try to reach Australia illegally -- what more does Prime Minister John Howard need to win a national election this coming Saturday?
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 5, 2001
Refugee horrors haunt Australian race
SYDNEY -- The human agony of the Afghan refugee crisis has exploded in the middle of Australia's election campaign. Suddenly ethics are pushing aside vote-grabbing promises in the knife-edge runup to the Nov. 10 poll.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 3, 2001
Trade, security top agenda
SYDNEY -- A new regional security mechanism involving the United States, Japan and Australia that risks offending China is high on the agenda of Australian Prime Minister John Howard for his Tokyo visit.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 4, 2001
Wahid warms Australian-Indonesian ties
SYDNEY -- Staying or going, Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid can number at least one advance during his troubled term in Jakarta. He has earned the awe, even respect, of often-critical neighbor Australia.
Number of homeless in Japan hits record low
Homeless people sleep on the street in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward in August 2021.
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.
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.
Ukraine is far from doomed
When comparing Ukraine’s military situation in 2024 to Europe’s in 1941, Russia’s defeat seems entirely possible.
When will Japan intervene to support the yen?
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki has reiterated the government's readiness to take an appropriate action as the yen continues to slide against the U.S. dollar.
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.
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.
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.
Kyotographie's strong 12th edition shines light into the margins
Yassine Alaoui Ismaili, who goes by Yoriyas, turned to photography, shooting motion while in motion himself, after an injury forced him to give up his career as a professional breakdancer.

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
Leading Japan’s sustainability from Tokyo

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