Keizo Nabeshima - The Japan Times

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Keizo Nabeshima

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

COMMENTARY

Mar 8, 2004

Northeast Asian safety valve

The six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons held in Beijing late last month ended without agreement on ways of achieving the complete abandonment of Pyongyang's nuclear programs. Little progress was made toward resolving differences between the North on one side and Japan, the United States and South Korea on the other.

COMMENTARY

Feb 24, 2004

Abductions can't be buried

During the government-to-government talks in Pyongyang on Feb. 11-13, Japan and North Korea went no further than stating their respective positions on the abduction and nuclear issues. They did agree to continue negotiations.

COMMENTARY

Feb 11, 2004

SDF dispatch opens new era for Japan

The dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces to Iraq marks a watershed in Japan's post-World War II security and defense policy. The SDF has joined U.N. peacekeeping operations several times since 1992. The latest deployment, though designed primarily to support humanitarian and reconstruction efforts in post-Hussein Iraq, has a significant difference: It aims to shore up the political and economic process of "peace-building" in a chaotic country.

COMMENTARY

Jan 27, 2004

Changing the Constitution

Constitutional revision looms as a major political issue in Japan. It was a key agenda item at the January conventions of the two largest political parties, the Liberal Democratic Party and the Democratic Party of Japan. The LDP decided to draw up a revision plan in 2005, the 50th anniversary of the party's founding, while the DPJ president, Naoto Kan, said his party will work out its own proposal by 2006, the 60th anniversary of the promulgation of the Constitution.

COMMENTARY

Jan 12, 2004

Koizumi flaunts propensity to curtail 'drastic' reforms

Japan is at a historic turning point, both domestically and internationally. Symbolic of this are pension reform, highway system privatization and the troop dispatch to Iraq. But Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's "structural reform" initiative appears to have lost momentum since he took office in April 2001. Koizumi is no longer as popular as he once was. His pledge to "smash" the old guard of his Liberal Democratic Party now rings hollow.

JAPAN

Jan 1, 2004

Decision to dispatch SDF troops to Iraq a watershed for defense, security policy

Japan's decision to send Self-Defense Forces troops to Iraq, coupled with the decision to introduce a missile defense system, marks a major turning point for the nation's defense and security policy. Never in its 50-year history has the SDF been mobilized for noncombat duties in a foreign country in a de facto state of war.

COMMENTARY

Dec 29, 2003

Japan eyes penalty options

Resumption of six-party talks aimed at halting North Korea's nuclear-arms development, originally planned for December, has been postponed to sometime beyond January. Since the United States and North Korea remain deadlocked over the wording of a joint statement on the abolition of North Korea's nuclear-arms programs, negotiations are likely to become protracted.

COMMENTARY

Dec 2, 2003

Bolster will to defend Japan

Last month the government published an outline of draft legislation aimed at protecting the lives and property of Japanese people during a military attack from abroad. Such legislation could also apply in the event of a large-scale terrorist attack. The Diet will discuss the draft during the next regular session, which opens in January.

COMMENTARY

Nov 17, 2003

Japan's milestone election

Japan took a major step toward a two-party system when the opposition Democratic Party of Japan made big gains in the Nov. 9 Lower House election. The poll will be remembered as a milestone in Japanese political history for this reason and because it was the first Japanese election to be fought over manifestos of rival political parties. On the basis of parliamentary democracy, voters were able to evaluate the parties through policy debates and decide which should be in power.

COMMENTARY

Nov 4, 2003

True structural reform tied to end of bureaucratic rule

The biggest question in the Nov. 9 Lower House election is which side should take power -- a coalition headed by the Liberal Democratic Party or an alliance led by the Democratic Party of Japan. Also at stake is whether Japanese politics will be able to extricate itself from bureaucratic control.

COMMENTARY

Oct 20, 2003

'Swing vote' could usher in two-party system for Japan

A brewing political drama could open the way for a two-party system in Japan. Already the ruling and opposition parties are bracing for the Nov. 9 general election in which a transfer of power between two major parties looms as a real possibility for the first time since the end of World War II.

COMMENTARY

Oct 7, 2003

Japan's diplomatic needs

In his second Cabinet reshuffle, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi retained both Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi and Defense Agency Director General Shigeru Ishiba. This promises continuity in Japan's foreign and defense policy, at least for the next three years in which Koizumi is likely to serve as president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and hence prime minister. The question is whether Japan's course should remain the same in this period.

COMMENTARY

Sep 23, 2003

LDP factions losing clout

The Liberal Democratic Party is an assemblage of factions. Since it has held the reins of government almost continuously, the LDP has derived much of its vitality from factional power struggles for the party presidency and the prime ministership.

COMMENTARY

Sep 8, 2003

Japan must stick to its guns

Officials of six nations held talks in Beijing late last month on ways of defusing the North Korean nuclear crisis, 50 years after the signing of the armistice agreement that ended hostilities in the Korean War. The talks culminated in agreement to solve the crisis in a peaceful manner through dialogue and pave the way for permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula. The United States and North Korea, however, remained sharply divided over the abolition of the latter's nuclear-arms program.

COMMENTARY

Aug 25, 2003

Japan's global security role

The most important feature of Japan's latest white paper on defense is that it gives new direction to the nation's defense policy. First, the report emphasizes that developing a missile defense system is a "matter of urgent importance for defense policy."

COMMENTARY

Aug 12, 2003

Test for Japanese diplomacy

The standoff over North Korea's nuclear-arms development is entering a new stage as officials of six nations -- the United States, North Korea, South Korea, Japan, Russia and China -- prepare to meet soon in Beijing to discuss the threat. At Pyongyang's insistence, the U.S. will hold direct talks with North Korea on the side.

COMMENTARY

Jul 29, 2003

A turning point for ODA

Japan's ODA Charter, which sets forth the basic principles and objectives of the nation's official development assistance, is to be revised for the first time since it was established 11 years ago. The Cabinet is expected to approve an updated version in late August.

COMMENTARY

Jul 15, 2003

A Japanese force for peace

The Lower House has approved a special bill that would allow Japan to aid in the reconstruction of war-ravaged Iraq. The bill is expected to be enacted late this month after the Upper House passes it. Under the new law, about 1,000 troops of the Self-Defense Forces will go to Iraq, beginning in October, to provide logistic support to U.S. and British forces in humanitarian relief, reconstruction efforts and peacekeeping operations. This will be the first time that SDF troops go overseas to help with the reconstruction of a nation under the rule of multilateral forces.

COMMENTARY

Jun 30, 2003

U.N. strives to control real weapons of mass destruction

In July 2001 the United Nations General Assembly adopted by consensus an action program to prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons. Two months later, the 9/11 terror attacks hit the United States, shifting the focus to international terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. However, terrorism in Palestine, Kashmir and elsewhere in the world is rooted in regional conflicts and uses mostly easy-to-obtain small arms.

COMMENTARY

Jun 16, 2003

Averting a nuclear disaster

The international community is joining forces to prevent North Korea from escalating its nuclear threat. The Group of Eight summit (June 1-3) at Evian, France, adopted a declaration on the nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction, criticizing North Korea and Iran for its development of WMDs.

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

A young restaurant leads the way in Karuizawa

A young restaurant leads the way in Karuizawa

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