Ronald Meinardus - The Japan Times

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Ronald Meinardus

For Ronald Meinardus's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

COMMENTARY / World

Jan 15, 2001

No wonder Seoul's politicos get no respect

SEOUL -- Some days ago I received a telephone call from the Office of the Chief Spokesman of the National Assembly. A friendly public-relations officer invited me to write an article for the National Assembly Review with personal observations regarding the challenges for parliamentary politics in South Korea. "Yes, I will submit the article in time," I said and hung up. Just a few moments later, the phone rang again. "Oh, I forgot to mention, you may add also some critical, even negative points, if you so wish," said the PR officer. For a little while I paused. Out of courtesy, obviously, I did not express the thought that spontaneously had shot up my mind: Is there anything other than negative aspects to deliberate on regarding the South Korean Parliament?

COMMENTARY / World

Dec 26, 2000

Don't retreat from the sunshine policy

SEOUL -- Government transitions are good times for political analysts. Before the new team moves into office, these experts share their knowledge, make evaluations and sometimes even predictions. These days the newspapers are full explanations of what the new U.S. leadership might do and should not do. Others go further and offer unsolicited suggestions as to what should be done.

COMMENTARY / World

Dec 3, 2000

Korean democracy suffers growing pains

SEOUL -- You don't have to consult opinion polls to understand that in general terms South Koreans are not happy with their government. It is enough to occasionally read editorials or to engage in political discussions with Korean friends, colleagues and neighbors. Then you detect a very basic disenchantment with all those who govern -- or pretend to govern.

COMMENTARY / World

Nov 19, 2000

Awards lift expectations of Kim Dae Jung

SEOUL -- South Korean President Kim Dae Jung is more popular abroad than he is within his own country. This is the impression I have gathered after discussing South Korean politics with many people both in South Korea and beyond the shores of the peninsula.

COMMENTARY / World

Nov 3, 2000

Behind the rush to Pyongyang

SEOUL -- Some journalists profess to know more than they ought to. While President Bill Clinton insists a decision regarding a possible visit to North Korea has not been taken, some media have already published details of the president's itinerary. According to one report, Clinton's two-day visit to Pyongyang will begin Nov. 12 -- just ahead of the APEC summit in Brunei. The source of this information is an "unidentified South Korean government official." Similar, unspecified information has been published in other media.

COMMENTARY / World

Oct 17, 2000

An unambiguous democrat

At the moment of his greatest personal triumph, South Korean President Kim Dae Jung once again demonstrated his magnanimity. "I return all my honor to the people and the citizens of the world, who love democracy and human rights," the president was quoted as saying after he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last week. The international liberal and democratic family is overjoyed that one of their torch-bearers has been chosen for this highest of international accolades. But -- and this has been generally overlooked in these days of jubilation and euphoria -- there are also some who have been disappointed by the Korean statesman recently. I am not referring to the partisan foes who, for party political and other petty reasons, would have preferred the prize to be given to someone else. I am referring to political activists who believe in the very same basic principles and values that Kim has championed for most of his political life.

COMMENTARY / World

Oct 16, 2000

South Korea grapples with rapprochement

SEOUL -- Some days ago I received an e-mail from a friend I hadn't heard from for a while, who teaches North Korean affairs at one of the major universities in Seoul. "I am worried," he wrote. "This is not a good time for South Korean scholars dealing with North Korea to express their views freely." I had heard this sort of complaint before in the recent past. Another person dealing with analysis of North Korea even said that all those expressing opposing views regarding the engagement policy are victimized in a witch hunt of sorts.

COMMENTARY / World

Oct 3, 2000

A real German lesson for the two Koreas

SEOUL -- In one of numerous books dealing with unification matters, South Korean President Kim Dae Jung refers to his meetings with leading German politicians in the early part of the 1990s. According to Kim's account, the German politicians told him, "You are fortunate because you can analyze all the problems that already occurred in Germany, and thus prepare yourselves against their recurring in Korea."

COMMENTARY / World

Sep 23, 2000

No German blueprint for the two Koreas

SEOUL -- The relationship between local autonomy and unification is becoming an increasingly hot topic in South Korea, as more and more local authorities aspire to an active role in the process of rapprochement with the North. It is clear that this nation is passing through a historic moment. Hardly a day goes by without an announcement of yet another new -- often stunning -- development on the diplomatic front of North-South relations. What until just a few weeks ago seemed next to impossible has become political reality virtually overnight: Consider, for example, the upcoming meeting between the two countries' defense ministers or the ongoing talks aimed at allowing members of long-divided families to exchange letters. In these moving times -- and I use the adjective to describe the personal as well as the historical dimension of this process -- the question is not whether the two Koreas will be united. The question at the forefront of the many current debates -- private, academic and political -- is when and in what form the two countries will come together as a unified state.

COMMENTARY / World

Aug 17, 2000

People-to-people ties will reunite Korea

Probably the most clear-cut dissimilarity between Germany when it was divided and the present state of affairs on the Korean Peninsula is the status of cross-border people-to-people contacts and relations. In the long years of Germany's division, a multitude of communication channels existed between the two parts of the country.

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

Rows of irises resemble a rice field at the Peter Walker-designed Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.

The 'outsiders' creating some of Japan's greenest spaces

By Stephen Mansfield

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Live like a lord or lady for a night at Ozu Castle

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