Keizo Nabeshima - The Japan Times

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Keizo Nabeshima

For Keizo Nabeshima's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

COMMENTARY

Dec 14, 2004

Bush's term to test Koizumi

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will be required to fine-tune Japan's diplomatic strategies to deal with the reshuffle of U.S. President George W. Bush's administration. There is growing speculation that hardliners will gain more power in the second Bush administration following the departures of Secretary of State Colin Powell, a moderate, and his deputy, Richard Armitage, an expert on Japanese affairs.

COMMENTARY

Nov 30, 2004

One voice on N. Korea issue?

Multilateral efforts to stop North Korea's nuclear-weapons program are gaining momentum. Leaders of the United States, China, Japan, South Korea and Russia, meeting bilaterally on the sidelines of the recent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Santiago, Chile, agreed that six-nation talks should be resumed at an early date to discuss a peaceful solution.

COMMENTARY

Nov 15, 2004

Loyal vote for pork politics

On Nov. 5, the Tokyo District Court sentenced Muneo Suzuki, a former Lower House member of the Liberal Democratic Party, to two years in prison for bribery, misreporting donations and perjury. Suzuki, who once served as state minister in charge of development in Hokkaido, was a key member of the LDP's largest faction, which was headed until recently by former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto.

COMMENTARY

Nov 2, 2004

U.S. strategies pose risks

Japan's security and defense policies are at a major turning point. The policies are still based on the deployment of the Self-Defense Forces and the American forces stationed in Japan, as stipulated in the bilateral security treaty, but roles are changing drastically in accordance with transformations in the global security environment.

COMMENTARY

Oct 18, 2004

Japan will pay if ODA slides

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the start of Japan's official development assistance. Since October 1954, when Japan joined the Colombo Plan and provided technical assistance, ODA has been an important element of Japan's diplomacy. According to the Foreign Ministry's white paper on ODA, Japan has provided a total of $221 billion to 185 countries and regions in the period.

COMMENTARY

Oct 4, 2004

Staying on path of resistance

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi defines the aim of his new Cabinet as "privatizing the postal services." The new executive lineup of the Liberal Democratic Party, of which he is president, attests to the importance he attaches to postal privatization as the mainstay of his "structural reform" agenda. In both reshuffles, he has appointed reformers without consulting factional leaders.

COMMENTARY

Sep 20, 2004

Japan's diplomatic might

In late August, Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi visited four Central Asian states to build a new framework of regional dialogue. The creation of the "Central Asia Plus Japan" forum means that Japan is pushing strategic diplomacy in the geopolitically important Silk Road region, surrounded by Russia, China and the Middle East.

COMMENTARY

Sep 7, 2004

Scandal deals LDP a blow

The Liberal Democratic Party's largest faction, formerly headed by ex-Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, is embroiled in a major scandal. Hashimoto, who allegedly received a check for 100 million yen from the political arm of the Japan Dental Association (JDA) in 2001, resigned about a month ago. Tokyo prosecutors have arrested the faction's treasurer on charges of submitting a false campaign finance report and searched the group's office for evidence.

COMMENTARY

Aug 24, 2004

Dressing Japan for success

To play a positive role in the international community of the 21st century, Japan should lift its self-imposed ban on the exercise of the right to collective self-defense, reinvent itself as a political power and win a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, according to Yukio Satoh, president of the Japan Institute of International Affairs.

COMMENTARY

Aug 11, 2004

U.S. changes challenge Japan

The transformation of U.S. forces overseas, which is now under way, will have a profound effect on Japan's security policies.

COMMENTARY

Jul 27, 2004

DPJ's fortunes are rising

In the July 11 Upper House election, the opposition Democratic Party of Japan made dramatic gains, winning more seats than the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (50-49). The DPJ also surpassed the LDP in the proportional representation bloc of November's general election. With the two parties dominating both houses of the Diet, it is more likely than ever that the Democrats will take over the reins of government from the Liberal Democrats.

COMMENTARY

Jul 12, 2004

Summits of East Asian unity

East Asia is moving toward regional integration, albeit at a slow pace. In a series of meetings held in Indonesia from late June to early July, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations agreed on a package of measures to expedite economic, financial, political and security integration. This signals major changes for Asia.

COMMENTARY

Jun 29, 2004

Can Koizumi expect a rally?

Security is the key word for the July 11 Upper House election, which focuses on two major issues: pension reform and Self-Defense Force participation in a multinational force in Iraq. At stake are Japan's social security system (including pensions, health care and nursing services for the elderly) and its contributions to international security -- defining issues for the nation in the 21st century.

COMMENTARY

Jun 15, 2004

Strike a balance on defense

As the Self-Defense Forces prepare to greet the 50th anniversary of their founding next month, the prime minister's advisory panel on security and defense is updating Japan's "national defense program outline."

COMMENTARY

Jun 1, 2004

Koizumi took the right risks

The success or failure of summit diplomacy depends primarily on whether it promotes the pursuit of medium- and long-term national interests -- not on whether it yields short-term, specific results. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's May 22 meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il should be evaluated by the same standard.

COMMENTARY

May 17, 2004

Get pension reform on track

A leading Cabinet member and the top opposition leader have been forced to resign for failing to make compulsory premium payments, at one time or another, into the national pension program.

COMMENTARY

May 3, 2004

Koizumi's open-ended legac

On April 26 the administration of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi entered its fourth year in power. Following his three-year rule under the slogan "No growth without reform," the Japanese economy is finally on a recovery track.

COMMENTARY

Apr 19, 2004

Push Japan's good intentions

The lesson from the abduction and subsequent release of five Japanese civilians in Iraq is that the government should send a strong message to the Arab world that it is actively pushing humanitarian assistance and reconstruction in the war-torn country.

COMMENTARY

Apr 5, 2004

Peace mission in full swing

The humanitarian aid and reconstruction activities of the Self-Defense Forces in Iraq have gone into full swing following the deployment of 550 ground troops in Samawah. A year after the Iraq war started, Japan has now deployed a total of about 1,000 Ground, Maritime and Air SDF personnel in the country.

COMMENTARY

Mar 23, 2004

A decade of empty slogans

For all the shouting from the rooftops, political reform in Japan has made little headway. The latest reminder is the arrest of Kanju Sato, a former Lower House veteran of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan, on charges of embezzling the salary of a state-paid secretary.

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

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

Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass

Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass

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