David Howell - The Japan Times

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David Howell

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

COMMENTARY

Nov 11, 2001

Unified war plan impossible

LONDON -- Giving parties is fun, but it also poses risks -- chiefly that of offending those who are not asked.

COMMENTARY

Nov 4, 2001

'Rights' resulting in wrongs

WASHINGTON -- Concern for human rights has become the universal preoccupation. Whole armies have been mobilized by the international community against their abuse -- most recently in Kosovo and Afghanistan. Complex charters and networks of international law have been constructed to enshrine them and...

COMMENTARY

Aug 25, 2001

Asking a lot of peacemakers

LONDON -- What have Macedonia, Israel and Northern Ireland got in common?

COMMENTARY

Aug 9, 2001

The dangers of cohabitation

LONDON -- The institution of marriage has been taking some hard knocks lately. It is not just that cohabitation -- living together without the marriage commitment -- is now increasingly popular. Nor yet that, as is widely known, one in four British marriages end in divorce. (In the United States, the...

COMMENTARY

Jul 25, 2001

A nasty taste of things to come

LONDON — Conventional wisdom has it that the future is impossible to predict, or at least to predict with any accuracy.

COMMENTARY

Jul 12, 2001

Facing up to the harsh truth

LONDON -- The long shadow of recession is now stretching from America over Europe, bringing disappointment and unease to Europe's policymakers and business communities.

COMMENTARY

Jun 14, 2001

Britain's real battle begins

LONDON -- The Labour government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Tony Blair, has gained a second term of office. The conservative opposition has been utterly defeated and its leader, William Hague, has duly "fallen on his sword" by resigning.

COMMENTARY

May 30, 2001

Monarchy makes a comeback

LONDON -- The Crown Prince of Japan visited Britain last week and was warmly received all round.

COMMENTARY

May 16, 2001

New metaphors for Europe

LONDON -- German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and his Social Democratic Party have done Europe a great service -- although it may not have been the one Schroeder intended.

COMMENTARY

May 1, 2001

Bush strains cross-Atlantic ties

LONDON -- In a world of disorder, fluidity and shifting power centers, one factor has remained fixed and constant for all states, all governments and all national leaders: the supreme importance of relations with the United States, and how to handle them.

COMMENTARY

Apr 24, 2001

Economy keeps Blair on top

LONDON -- All being well, there will be a general election in Britain on June 7. It is not yet official but it seems almost certain.

COMMENTARY

Apr 11, 2001

The hazards of reform -- British-style

LONDON -- Forget sagging stock markets and omens of world recession. Forget global warming and U.S. President George W. Bush's rejection of the Kyoto treaty on carbon emissions. Forget, even, the foot-and-mouth disease that is currently paralyzing Britain's farming and tourist industries and has caused...

COMMENTARY

Apr 1, 2001

Banks offer no miracle cures

LONDON -- This is a tale of two banks, combined with a large dose of blind faith and credulity.

COMMENTARY

Mar 18, 2001

Solving the democracy deficit

LONDON -- Transparency and accountability are the buzzwords of the age. No gathering of policy experts or seminar on public affairs is complete without demands all round that the institutions of modern government, both national and global, especially global ones, should become more accountable and open...

COMMENTARY

Mar 3, 2001

No quick fixes for Japan's ills

TOKYO and LONDON -- The 17th annual meeting of the U.K.-Japan 21st Century Group -- the bilateral think tank set up by Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher way back in the '80s -- took place this year on Awaji Island in Kobe Bay, island of gods and puppets and,...

COMMENTARY

Feb 19, 2001

Should war criminals worry?

LONDON -- Almost unnoticed by the world's media, a huge step forward in the pattern of global governance is about to be taken.

COMMENTARY

Feb 7, 2001

In defense of Davos' ideals

DAVOS, Switzerland -- President Vicente Fox of Mexico was received very warmly at this year's World Economic Forum summit in Davos. His message was clear: that globalization creates dangers, such as a deepening divide between rich and poor, and that these must be addressed if the globalization "backlash"...

COMMENTARY

Feb 1, 2001

Resist the revisionist impulse

COMMENTARY

Jan 19, 2001

EU overlooking a vital ally in Turkey

LONDON -- The Turkish "problem" is looming ever larger in European affairs.

COMMENTARY

Jan 6, 2001

Globalism: our last, best hope

LONDON -- The central proposition of our times was summed up neatly over 200 years ago by Samuel Johnson. "Society," the sage doctor said, "is held together by communication and information."

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

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