David Howell - The Japan Times

Today's print edition

Subscribe for more access

Meta

David Howell

For David Howell's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

COMMENTARY

Jul 21, 2003

Make way for the New Way

LONDON -- Politicians and gurus from around the world have been gathering in London recently for a grand conference on resuscitating the Third Way -- the hopeful idea that the future can be guided along a path lying somewhere between socialism and free-market capitalism.

COMMENTARY

Jul 6, 2003

Iraqi case far from hopeless with time, creative thinking

LONDON -- Iraq is not Afghanistan. It is necessary to repeat this obvious point because the impression has been growing that occupied Iraq, like occupied Afghanistan, is a murderous and lawless stew of rival factions and impoverished tribes and factions, where democracy and stable government are impossible...

COMMENTARY

Jun 12, 2003

Britons fear euro's underside

LONDON -- Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl often used to say the euro would only work properly if and when Europe had a full political union -- in other words if there was a single government for Europe with a large central budget. He was, of course, completely right, and this explains why the British...

COMMENTARY

Jun 11, 2003

Peace will prove very difficult to find on Mideast 'road map'

LONDON -- One of the stronger arguments for regime change in Iraq was that it would pave the way for a settlement, at last, in the unending dispute between Israel and the Palestinians, and that this in turn would remove one of the main motivations for global terrorism.

COMMENTARY

May 25, 2003

Clouds over Blair's parade

LONDON -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair is riding high these days. His popularity ratings have never been better, and he is about to receive U.S. government honors unparalleled by any non-American since British statesman Winston Churchill. World leaders flock to see him, and he moves among the people...

COMMENTARY

Apr 23, 2003

A bigger Europe may not be any better

LONDON -- A few days ago in Athens, the birthplace of democracy, EU leaders approved a major expansion of the European Union that will embrace 10 new members and 73 million more European citizens.

COMMENTARY

Apr 8, 2003

Past guides U.S. postwar policy

LONDON -- The United Nations will only play a marginal role in postwar Iraq. The "transitional" administration will remain firmly in American hands, with some British, Australian and other coalition-member support, until there is an Iraqi government ready to take over the new Iraq. A hopeful estimate...

COMMENTARY

Apr 2, 2003

Pessimism about war looks overdone

LONDON -- As the military operation in Iraq rolls forward, those who still have doubts about the project -- and there are many -- have started to focus on all the catastrophes that could lie ahead, however speedy the campaign.

COMMENTARY

Mar 26, 2003

Unrolling the map of a rejiggered EU

LONDON -- One early and significant casualty of the war with Iraq is the unity of Europe. The European continent is split clean down the middle. On one side sit France, Germany and Belgium. On the other side sit almost all the other nations of Europe, east and west.

COMMENTARY

Feb 27, 2003

Blair gives lesson in courage

LONDON -- For anyone with a sense of history, it is impossible not to admire the tireless conviction and the lonely valor of British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

COMMENTARY

Feb 13, 2003

The 'vision thing' still matters

LONDON -- In the ideal Middle East "dream scenario," U.N. weapons inspectors, gently prompted by American and British intelligence information, stumble on stores of chemical and biological weapons hidden in Iraq.

COMMENTARY

Feb 6, 2003

Love beneath the headlines

LONDON -- France is in everybody's bad books. In Washington, France has been dismissed -- along with Germany -- as "Old Europe," paralyzed by traditional views and unable to come to terms with the security imperatives of the global age. In London, anti-French feeling has been building up in official...

COMMENTARY

Dec 29, 2002

Resist the potions of the past

LONDON -- "Capitulation bottom" is the ugly and inelegant phrase used by financial analysts in London to indicate the low point in the cycle of investor optimism and pessimism -- the point where investors give up in despair, sell their shrunken shareholdings, if they can find a buyer, and start putting...

COMMENTARY

Dec 16, 2002

Britain braces for dilemma

LONDON -- At the speed of an express train, a formidable new dilemma is hurtling toward the British government: how to respond to the prospect of a written constitution that the leaders of the European Union are determined to have. Drafts are already being circulated and will be finalized in the next...

COMMENTARY

Nov 25, 2002

Get serious about Zimbabwe

LONDON -- The miserable Zimbabwe saga now seems to be moving to a moment of catharsis. Opposition leader Morgan Tsangvirai has sent a desperate appeal to the United Nations, almost like the last cry of a free country about to be obliterated, warning of imminent descent into civil strife that will threaten...

COMMENTARY

Nov 16, 2002

Dark days for Britain's Tories

LONDON -- The once-mighty Conservative Party, which dominated the British political scene for most of the 20th century, has now fallen on very bad times.

COMMENTARY

Nov 2, 2002

Keep the EU elites in check

LONDON -- Presidents and constitutions are the subjects that excite enthusiasts for European integration at the moment, while ordinary citizens of Europe look on a little uneasily. The enthusiasts are making no secret of their earnest desire to "take Europe forward," as they put it, by creating the post...

COMMENTARY

Oct 10, 2002

Small Mideast release valve

BAHRAIN -- Here in this little island kingdom just off the coast of Saudi Arabia, all the complexities and contradictions of the Middle East and the Arab world seem to come together.

COMMENTARY

Oct 3, 2002

Iraq, yes -- but why now?

LONDON -- Everyone seems agreed that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is a very nasty piece of work, a brutal tyrant with homicidal tendencies who cannot be trusted one inch.

COMMENTARY

Sep 23, 2002

EU immigration issue heats up

LONDON -- The enlargement of the European Union, with the addition of up to 10 more states and dozens of new local cultures and minorities, is approaching.

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

Things may look perfect to the outside world, but today's mom is fine with some imperfection at home.

How 'Reiwa moms' are reshaping motherhood in Japan

By Mai Yoshikawa

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Spotlighting a Niigata castle town through sushi

Spotlighting a Niigata castle town through sushi

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER

international-reports